Lupine: Wanted by Wolves: Spell Library: Lupine

By Hanleigh Bradley

My birth started a war that my daughter's birth will end... Does that even make sense to you?

There is no such thing as a 'normal day' at the Silver Springs Orphanage. In fact, most days are utter chaos between the Creepy Twins giving away all of Lupine's secrets and Edmond constantly running away.

But when Lupine's wolf mafia mates decide to throw her a baby shower she'll never forget, the normally well-managed chaos suddenly erupts and disaster strikes.

The spell protecting Lupine and her unborn pup suddenly stops working and all hell lets loose when the Rossi mafia come looking for her in the small town of Silver Springs.

Lupine: Wanted by Wolves is a sequel to Lupine, a paranormal mafia royalty reverse harem romance from USA Today Bestselling Author, Hanleigh Bradley and is written within the Silver Springs shared universe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hanleigh Bradley
• Release date: Jul 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201707514

Hanleigh Bradley

British Author Hanleigh Bradley writes Contemporary Romance about British twenty somethings in London.

Book preview

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Copyright © 2020 by Hanleigh Bradley

www.hanleighbradley.com

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

This book is licensed for your personal use only. Please respect the author’s work and refrain from sharing it with others. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

The characters, organisations and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Usually Hanleigh Bradley writes in British English but as Lupine: Wanted by Wolves is part of a Multi-Author Series, she is writing in US English on this occasion. Please have patience with her because a random bit of Brit might come out accidentally.

Contents

Dedication

Epigraph

1. Can't Keep A Secret

2. I Hope It's Good News

3. I Shouldn't Be Surprised

4. They Found You Once

5. This Isn't What I Wanted

6. War Is My Birthright

7. A Monkey's Tea Party

8. Will They Always Be This Way?

9. All Glowy & Pregnant

10. A Tempting Prospect

11. Date Night

12. My Luna

13. Unanswered Questions

14. A Trip to The Park

15. Feral Supes

16. A Witchy Visitor

17. Going All Wolfie

18. Retribution

19. Baby Shower Bedlam

20. Unwanted Guests

21. I'm A Force to Be Reckoned With

22. Far From Over

23. Waiting For Magic

24. Rescue Mission

25. Power or Destiny?

26. You’re Going to Have to Kill Me

27. Autopilot

28. Will It Kill Me?

29. Don't Go

30. She Likes Cake

31. He Can't Be Trusted

32. Armani Looks Good in Pink

33. Without the Carnage

Epilogue

Preview

Preview

Thank You

About Hanleigh

Discover Silver Springs

Hanleigh's Silver Springs Books!

For all those readers with a not so secret penchant for bad boy book boyfriends. I hope you love Enzo Rossi.

Tonight is going to be good. I can feel it in my bones. They’re going to turn me to jelly over and over again, and I’m going to relish in their touch until it hurts.

1

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Can't Keep A Secret

Lupine’s pregnant!

Panic sweeps through me as I stare at Camden. This isn’t how I’d hoped he would find out. In the few weeks that have passed since I found out about my pregnancy, I’ve been thinking up all the amazing ways I could tell my four mates.

And this definitely didn’t make the list.

Lupine? Camden’s eyes are practically bulging out of their sockets as he stares back at me.

Er— Fuck sake! Why couldn’t the creepy twins keep their mouths shut, just this one time? Don’t they have any idea when to keep their damned mouths closed? I mean seriously… She’s supposed to be psychic, surely, she can tell when it’s in her best interest to stay quiet.

Larissa looks pleased with herself; the bloody brat. It’s not surprising that she knows, her and her sister have that creepy psychic thing going on, but I would have thought she’d have the good manners not to mention it.

I guess I should be grateful she’s only told Camden and not the whole orphanage.

Lupine! Camden is growing impatient and the grin on Larissa’s face makes it pretty clear, she thinks this has gotten her off the hook. If I’m dealing with this, I can’t possibly tell her off for breaking Evangeline’s barbie doll.

Larissa, I say, momentarily ignoring my mate.

As shocked as he must feel, he’s going to have to wait. I can’t just let Larissa get away with this. What would Mrs Mackney say?

Yes Piney? She’s giving me an innocent look as if she thinks I’m going to just ask her to leave the room to give us some privacy. And for the first time, I question her psychic abilities.

You’re grounded, I begin.

Her eyes widen in horror before beginning to water. The girls of the Silver Springs orphanage have definitely got the manipulative water works down to an art, but unlike all the other adults that live or work here, I don’t fall for it.

You will help Jacqueline with chores until you have made enough pocket money to replace the doll you broke.

She shouldn’t be surprised, but she clearly is, and I feel proud of myself that I’ve managed to catch her off guard.

Yes Lupine, she quickly agrees, probably hoping that that’s the end of it.

You will also write a letter of apology, I begin, but she quickly grumbles that she doesn’t want to in a way not dissimilar to how I used to whenever Mrs Mackney made me write a letter.

I will not take no for an answer, I tell her in my sternest voice. You will write one letter to Evangeline, apologizing for ruining her doll, and one to both Camden and me, for telling him that I’m pregnant.

Three letters? She looks up at me pleadingly.

Three letters, I confirm. Now go help Jacqueline in the kitchen before I find you something else to do.

She scurries out of the room, desperate not to get even more punishments added to her list and I return my attention to my mate. Camden’s eyebrows are furrowed and the corners of his mouth are turned down in what I presume is disapproval. Although, I’m not sure what at; that Larissa told him that I’m pregnant before I did, or the fact that I’m pregnant in general…

It’s very early days. I certainly didn’t plan to fall pregnant so early on. Hell, I only know because Evanora, the witch in the woods, told me so. We’d all have remained happily ignorant for at least a few more weeks.

Well, except for the dreams.

I’ve been dreaming about my baby for weeks and each night the dreams grow even more vivid. I haven’t told Camden and the others about the dreams, though. And that’s probably a good thing, given Camden’s reaction to the news of my pregnancy. He’s clearly freaking out.

You’re pregnant? he asks as soon as we’re left alone.

The house is surprisingly quiet. Wren, Rehan and Kalen have taken most of the children to the park, leaving me to deal with Larissa. Or that had been the plan. I had intended to have a brief conversation with her about the doll and the matter would have been over and done with.

But nope. Nothing ever goes to plan and now I’m standing here, wondering how the hell I’m supposed to explain this to him. It’s not like I’ve done a pregnancy test or anything. I’m just trusting the word of a really old, crazy witch who lives in the woods.

Er—Yes.

And you didn’t think you should tell us? He snarls at me.

I’m surprised by the waves of anger coming off him. It’s not like him; he’s usually a big softie. Not that you’d know that to look at him. His hair is on the slightly longer side and regularly falls into his face. His dark eyes look haunted, as if the idea of me being pregnant terrifies him.

I—I haven’t known long, I say defensively.

How long?

Evanora told me when she rescued me in the woods.

So, a few weeks then, Camden is saying as he paces back and forth. You’ve known for a few weeks?

I— The way he says the word ‘weeks’ makes it seem far worse than the way it sounds in my mind. This whole thing is crazy. I’ve only known my mates for a few months. I really wasn’t ready to deal with being pregnant on top of having four mates and finding out I was the princess of some wolf mafia.

You’d think Camden would be more understanding that this isn’t exactly a normal situation.

You should have told us. He’s pulling out his phone, typing something on it before returning his attention to me. We needed to know.

I was planning—

It’s dangerous, Lupine! He’s no longer listening to me and it infuriates me. I’m not stupid; I know that we’re all in danger. But our entire lives don’t have to be turned upside down because of a little prophecy.

I’d like to at least announce my pregnancy normally—You know, with balloons or an ultrasound or something cutsie like other people do.

The others are on their way back, he says coolly.

You told them? I ask, close to tears. I’m struggling to keep my temper under control. I wanted to tell them myself. I’ve been working my way up to it for weeks, terrified how they might react, but excited all the same. Where does he get off taking the opportunity to tell them away from me? He’s no better than Larissa.

Without waiting for his reply, I storm from the room, too angry to continue this conversation and perhaps just a little bit hormonal.

LUPINE! He calls me back, but I ignore him as I rush up the stairs and into my bedroom.

2

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I Hope It's Good News

I’m not really sure what’s gotten into me. I’m not usually a big crier. But right now, I’m sobbing buckets because I didn’t get to announce my pregnancy the way I wanted to.

Not that I’d actually made a real decision about how to tell them. I’d had plenty of ideas, but nothing had seemed special enough. Now though, all the ideas seem special. Or at least they were better than this.

It’s not really Camden’s fault but I’m furious with him. Not to mention creepy Larissa. I wanted to be the one to tell them. I wanted to see the look on their faces as I told them the good news. Or at least, I hope it’s good news.

It’s a little too soon, and it’s definitely scarier than it should be, what with the prophecy and the Rossi mafia searching the world for me.

But a baby is supposed to be good news, right?

It’s probably my own fault for putting it off. I kept telling myself that it needed to be special, that the announcement needed to be just perfect, but really, I think I was just scared. I had a really bad feeling that they’d react badly, and if Camden’s reaction is anything to go by, I was right.

Lupine? Camden calls through the door.

I ignore him, choosing to cry into my pillow instead. It doesn’t help. The pillow smells just like Camden and although that should be soothing, instead it just infuriates me more. Why couldn’t it smell like Kalen or Rehan? Someone who hasn’t managed to piss me off in the last ten minutes.

Lupine? he tries again, as he turns the door handle.

It’s not locked, and he slowly makes his way into the room, closing the door behind him. I fight to stop my tears. I don’t want him to know that he made me cry. Not that I really know why the idea of him knowing that I’m crying bothers me so much.

I’m just not used to having so many people involved in my life. Growing up as an orphan, you learn to be independent and self-reliant, or wilful as Mrs Mackney would say. So, having four mates all of a sudden, can be overwhelming to say the least.

I feel the bed move as he comes to sit beside me, his warmth seeping into the air around me, causing my body to instinctively shuffle towards him.

I didn’t tell them, he whispers so quietly I wouldn’t hear him if I wasn’t a wolf shifter with super sensitive hearing.

Gulping back my tears, I turn my face minutely in his direction.

You didn’t? I ask.

Of course not, he says, moving towards me so he can take my hand in his. It’s hardly the sort of thing you should put in a text message. Plus, it’s not really my place, is it? Got to keep up the pretense of being the respectful one.

He’s right about that. Wren would probably slaughter him if he had, and the house is far too still for that. Wren hasn’t banged the front door down or threatened to kill Camden.

I only asked them to come home.

I was planning on telling you, I tell him. I just didn’t know how.

I know love, he says, as he pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly against his chest.

This is ridiculous. I’m crying in my bed about something I really have no control over. This isn’t like me at all. I’m normally pretty in control of my emotions. I like to believe I have that sensible adult thing down to a tee.

The guys will be home in a few minutes, Camden is still speaking. Can I get you anything? A cup of tea?

I almost want to strangle him. How would a cup of tea fix this entire mess? What I need is a bottle of vodka, but that’s off limits because I’m pregnant. Although in fairness, isn’t tea off limits too? Caffeine is bad, right?

Pregnancy sucks! It’s exhausting just remembering what I can and can’t eat and drink.

No, thank you, I answer him, removing myself from his embrace, I can get to my feet. I guess I better head downstairs so I can face the music.

I hear the front door open and the sounds of the children chattering amongst themselves before I cross my bedroom floor.