Free Animal Desire: A Paranormal Romance (Werewolf and Shapeshifter) (The Animal Sagas) by Susan G. Charles

Chapter 1
    Lynda Seron-Wilder was one happy lady, yessiree. Happier, in fact, than she had been in years. And her new life was bustling. It was so much different now than it had been only a short time ago. That was when she decided to offer herself to the leader of a wolf pack for the sake of rescuing her younger sister Sonya from the grasp of one despicable beast. All that was in the past now though, as she currently had the safety and security of the pack around her.
    More than that, she now had her wonderful mate, Ben, and her family, which was celebrating two beautiful new additions. The twins she had given birth to just a few months back, one boy and one girl, had been just the miracle she needed. They were the one thing proven to break the curse put on all Yukonia were-panthers, preventing them from producing offspring since way back when Lynda and Sonya were small children.
    No one knew exactly what to expect from the twins as they grew, since they were half wolf, half cougar. Such a combination of bloodlines had never occurred before. But Lynda was sure of one thing, they were going to be nocturnal.
    How did she know that? Because every time she laid her head down to rest, for even a moment, they beckoned to her with their wails. So she would drag her tired body from the bed to nurse her little ones, and never once did she not whisper a quiet “thank you” for the chance, despite being exhausted.
    Her husband, Ben Wilder, who was also the leader of the Strongheart Pack, would stir each time she left the bed to feed the twins. He would often get up as well and follow her to the bassinet where the babies slept. He would lay his head against Lynda’s knee and stare up at her as she cradled the twins so lovingly as she rocked them to sleep. He felt as lucky as she did to have such an amazing life.
    But, even though she felt so happy, Lynda could still not find it in herself to completely relax. Sure… they all assumed that the witch had been taken care of months back, but how could she really be certain? With her babies surviving after they broke the witch’s spell, Lynda knew that the witch was sure to be livid and eager to take revenge on them… if she had somehow evaded her fate as they had left her that fateful night not so long ago.
    To this very day Lynda felt really nervous every time she was away from the babies, which is why she had insisted that they share the same room with her and Ben. Now Ben wasn’t so thrilled about that decision, but Lynda didn’t ask for permission either.
    Despite Ben being the alpha male of the pack, Lynda only showed submission to him when she was around others in the pack, and he did not often ask her to. They had a balanced marriage that might have been born out of necessity and bargaining, but now flourished with a deep love and understanding for each other.
    Meanwhile, a few cabins away, Sonya, Lynda’s baby sister, was up all night for a different reason. She had an insatiable appetite for her mate Clay. Clay was still bewildered by the passionate and lively bundle of chaos that Sonya was. One minute she was hollering at him about using all the hot water, the next minute she was inviting him into the shower to warm her up.
    Clay was dazed, but certainly the most satisfied member of the pack. And the rest of the pack had finally gotten used to Lynda and Sonya’s unusual presence and had accepted them, and now the twins, completely. Though Sonya was hard to swallow sometimes, she certainly made everything more fun, and Lynda, well, she was a born nurturer, always there for anyone who needed her.
    It was during this celebratory atmosphere that Lynda kept sensing danger approaching. She sat bolt upright in the middle of the night, though the babies were sleeping peacefully. Alarmed by her sudden motion, Ben immediately sat up as well growling a low but threatening growl. Lynda stared at the darkness through the window of their bedroom. She could only see her own reflection,