Shifter's Legacy: The Amethyst Desire Collection, #4

By Eden Glenn

Vol 4 of The Amethyst Desire Collection. Novella M/F/M Menage' Erotic Paranormal Romance

The complications of the birth of their first child, demands of mothering and keeping her wolf rescue running leaves Addison feeling less like a sexy mate and more like a saggy mom. Duncan's stranded in the quaint (er…hole in the wall) north Florida town waiting on a part to repair his motorcycle. Addison and her curvy little ass are a significant interruption to his fence building chores. Nathan, her husband, purchases an amethyst pendant from Salynne's Crystals and Thyme and whether magic or chemistry, sparks ignite between the three of them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eden Glenn
• Release date: Aug 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393679967

Eden Glenn

Eden Glenn and her wife "the Lady Librarian" live in the eastern lee of the smoky mountains outside of Asheville, NC on a little piece of land they've named 2 Ole Foxes Farm. Their household is owned by a miniature spotted donkey, a pinto Shetland and palomino ponies, a couple of nuisance Corgis’.  When she's not writing she enjoys being Garden Goddess, dabbling in Essential Oils, playing dulcimer, riding her motorcycle or driving her Shetland ponies around the neighborhood. She loves hearing from readers. Romance So Hot It Burns Off The Pages

Book preview

Chapter One

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Nathan stared down his pack brother with a low throated growl. The air crackled with the energy between them as their barely vocalized growls rumbled a challenge. The executive board meeting threatened to become a brawl. Tempers flared around the living room of the modest farmhouse, headquarters of the Chinsequet Wolf Rescue. Homo Sapien Canid, wolf shapeshifters, existed as a sub-species of human. Nathan stood as Alpha to the pack.

He should have known to let his inner wolf run off some aggression before the meeting to help him maintain control. Physical activity, running, weightlifting, or sex, helped shifters keep their inner violence in check.

Sex always worked best for taming his inner wolf. However, the birth of their son and the work of the wolf rescue kept his wife, Addison, tired, and preoccupied.  She hadn’t been as interested in sex lately and he missed the intimacy they’d shared. His hostility wasn’t her fault. He’d have to give some thought to how he could help her more. They’d have to find a way to get things back into balance and Nathan needed to find other ways to blow off steam.

He chose his words carefully. We’re not alone. There are other species of shifters in the area. I came across two men who are some type of large predator. We need to find out more about them toward forming an alliance.

Quinten snarled, the hair of his beard bristling in outrage as he spoke. No, wolves need to stick with their own kind. It’s a mistake to tip our hand to these people. We don’t even know what they are. We should keep to ourselves. Slade and Everett lounged across the couch and floor listening to him adding occasional nods and murmured agreement with his argument. Not good.

The grey wolf inside Nathan hovered close to the surface clawing to get out. Alpha instincts roared to be unleashed. His skin burned, aching for the change. The ghost whisper of fur, earthy and strong, filled his head. Adrenaline pumped through his muscles hovering on the edge of explosion. His bones ached with throbbing pain. The rational side of his mind gripped tight to the threads of self-control. No, damn it, no, stay Human.

Roughing his hands through his short brown hair in frustration, Quinten pressed on. We need to consolidate the pack and have our own community away from the humans. We could be independent of them.

Nathan wanted to snap the brown wolf’s neck between his jaws and shake him like roadkill for bucking his authority with such isolationist bullshit. He counted silently to ten while he composed his thoughts into the response his pack needed. Leaders led. Explaining every decision wasn’t required. The needs of his pack were paramount. He’d always worked to appease them in an effort to shape them into a cohesive group. The murmurs and nods attested that too many of the pack sided with his opponent on this issue.

Nathan ticked off on his fingers. "Do I need to remind you of all the reasons this won’t work. We don’t have the resources to buy the land. We don’t have enough of a skill base to make autonomy work for the needs of establishing a community. We have to learn to live within the human society." Many of their kind judged the shifter race superior to the Human one yet they remained a culture in hiding.

Quinten wouldn’t let it go. We have to start somewhere before it’s too late. We need to formulate a plan for separation from the humans.

Nathan held up his hand to quiet the next argument. We can’t keep ignoring the issue. We need to know what lives within our borders. If we don’t work together, we all risk exposure. I’m going to talk with them to see what I can find out without revealing the pack.

Saffron stood up from her seat by Angelica. We have other matters equally pressing. What are you going to do end forced seclusion of the females during heat?

One of the necessary roles of the wolf rescue was a safe place to isolate females when their heat cycle erupted near a full moon. For many, the segregation became akin to prison. Yet, there were dire biological consequences for the fertile females who mated in wolf form during a full moon. When shifters came together in pack societies the problem escalated.

It’s a common practice amongst packs for the female’s safety and well-being. The rescue provides the security needed to avoid accidents without raising human suspicion.

Weeks into the gestation the fetuses’ hormones overrode the human ones. Morning sickness couldn’t compare with shifter-block. The female would end up trapped in wolf shape for the duration of the pregnancy, fifty-nine to sixty-three days. Then she’d give birth to non-sentient Whelps.

Don’t you think in this day and age it’s time we had control over our bodies? Saffron shook her blonde hair off her shoulders with her hands on her hips.

He wanted to say I’ll agree to that when we don’t have any Whelps dropped on our doorstep. He knew those words would be a death sentence for innocent. At least families were beginning to bring females in for care. Once the birth occurred the ability to shift returned. Too many females abandoned pups to die refusing to shift to wolf even on a limited schedule enough to feed them. Recently, Whelps were remanded to the rescue so some of them were salvaged. Just last week, a litter of four had been dropped off. Addison hadn’t managed to save any of them. He’d held her while she cried over the losses. If you want control you’ve got to show it and learn to take responsibility.

Quinten jumped into the fray. You can’t be seriously considering leaving the females to run loose on full moons.

Saffron glared at him, her eyes like ice daggers. We don’t deserve to be locked up like animals by the men in the pack.

Nathan had lost the shreds of patience he’d managed to gather. Enough! Both of you. Saffron, you’re a representative of the unmated females. Get with them and give me a plan for how to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Give me something we can work with. Until then we use what is established and has worked for other packs.

Their gatherings were usually convened at a remote forest location only accessible in wolf form. Travel to the meetings allowed them to shed some of their natural aggression before they gathered. Nathan wanted the pack to accept his human wife and son. They couldn’t accept what they never saw, so he’d moved the meetings to their home, to everyone’s misery.

Addison, his wife, entered the room with a platter of what looked like different kinds of deli meats and cheese. She wore a baggie t-shirt and bulky jeans, her brown hair hung dark, falling off her shoulders obscuring her face as she slid the tray onto the low table in front of the couch.

Sit. He growled low under his breath. His mate shouldn’t be fetching for the group like a servant. She jerked her head up to meet his look. Anger glowed from