Free Animal Secrets: A Paranormal Romance (The Animal Sagas) by Susan G. Charles Page A

efficient manner. And this was the key to his success – he was known to take action when needed and to have the lives of his pack members ahead of everything else, they were always first in his life.

Chapter 2
    Now, although the sisters were immersed in much happier times than they had experienced in the past year or so, settling into pack life was no cup of tea for them either. And this was especially true for Lynda. In so many ways, she had been the leader of the sisters own little pack, and submitting to the desires and will of Ben as the Alpha of their pack was no easy task for her, especially since her hormones were raging as she now entered the second trimester of her pregnancy.
    And being a first time mom this was all new to her – the pregnancy was the source of great pride in her, yet the nausea and just the general feeling of being “off” was getting her down a bit. In fact, she hadn’t shifted in months and maybe that was a part of it too. And all these new things she was now expected to do, on top of everything else, well, it was just a little overwhelming. And she did not like feeling overwhelmed at all. This was so very foreign to her.
    “Lynda, have you set up the run with the other females of the pack?” Ben asked as he glanced over a map of the territory their pack claimed as their own. The map was not for him, it was for Lynda. He had pulled it to help her learn their territory as she planned out this new activity.
    “Oh, no, not yet,” Lynda said casually as she rubbed on her rounding belly. She was feeling extra tired lately.
    “Lynda,” Ben said patiently as he turned to look at her. “As the mate of the Alpha, it is your duty to lead the run.”
    Lynda narrowed her eyes as she looked back at him. Sonya often called this look “the stink eye.” He cringed internally as he knew this was a definite sign that she was not pleased.
    “I understand that Ben, but I’ve just been so tired lately,” she sighed heavily, still rubbing her tummy.
    Ben put his markers down on the map, stepped over to her and gently encircled her with his arms. He kissed her gently on the top of her head. But he was careful not to hug her too tightly. He did not want to do anything to harm the twins growing safely inside Lynda’s tummy.
    “Of course you are. And I completely understand. I really do. So, then maybe you could appoint someone else to lead the run for you? What do you think about that?” he suggested to her as he moved his face down to nibble on her ear.
    Lynda nodded at his suggestion, a tiny little smile growing on her face as Ben kept kissing her ear. “You know, I think that would be best. That is a great idea, honey. How about Sonya – I bet she could do it,” she smiled at her suggestion.
    “Well… do you really think that would be best?” Ben asked with a hint of displeasure in his tone. He liked Sonya very much but she had a very impulsive nature about her and wasn’t always the best person to follow through on completing projects.
    “Oh, it’ll be fine,” she nodded and sighed as his closeness and his scent began to drive her wild with desire. Since her pregnancy began she found it difficult to keep her hands off of him. It was not only her hormones that drove this need, but her Yukonia nature as well. They were designed to automatically sense and respond to the needs and wants of their mates. It made for sensational pleasure in the bedroom for them both, which could easily become addictive to both of them if they were not careful.
    “She’s calmed down a lot since she mated with Clay, don’t you think?” she added, trying to distract herself from the soft kisses that Ben was now lining the side of her neck with.
    “Oh Ben, stop,” she sighed. “You know what that does to me.”
    “But did you notice something? That we are alone,” he murmured just beside her ear. “And we will not be bothered for hours,” he added with a heavy sigh of desire. As the Alphas of the pack