Body to Barter (Half-breed Shifter Series)
Page 8
Epilogue
Life was good. Brynn had to admit, she liked being mated to another shifter, to Gannon specifically. He was the perfect blend between alpha, witty smart-ass, and innocence in all things human.
She’d finally talked him into wearing clothes, which had been quite a battle where she’d had to spread her legs for him numerous times, one fuck for each article of clothing he put on. It had been a trial, but whew, she’d managed to make it through all the moaning and orgasms!
Once she’d finally gotten him in the damn duds, he’d been fine, realizing he’d been putting them all on wrong before, either wearing them backwards or upside down. Though she liked him better naked, she had to admit, he looked damn fine in the loose denim jeans and the snug black t-shirt he was wearing now as he stood by her father’s grill on the other side of her mother’s back yard, talking with her dad, her brother, and Ari’s father, Knox.
“Boy, do you know how to pick ‘em, big sister,” Rhea murmured, as she stretched languidly in her reclining deck chair, watching Gannon as well.
“He is a bit of a feast for the eyes,” Ari added from her recliner on the other side of Rhea. “Not quite as hot at Dane, but—”
Since both Rhea and Brynn were sisters of Dane, they had to reject that idea before Dane’s mate could fully form it. They each flicked tea from their cups at her until Dane was calling across the yard, telling them to leave her alone.
As the three females settled back into their chairs, Brynn sighed and took in an eyeful of her mate. She’d been worried about how well he would adjust to her way of life. He had readily left his old life behind without a moment’s hesitation to follow her here, but she knew he missed some of it, knew he worried about a lot of things in his life. But they were working through all that. Their love helped a lot.
Squee! She couldn’t believe she’d actually found a mate who loved her.
Rhea gave a sad little hum as if she could read Brynn’s mind. “I wonder if my mate will be as devoted to me as your two ended up being to you.”
As if on cue, both Dane and Gannon glanced across the yard to check on Ari and Brynn. Brynn delighted in her good fortune, but she felt awful for her sister. Reaching out, she clasped Rhea’s hand. “Someday, little sister,” she promised. “You’ll find your soul mate, too.”
“God, I hope so,” Rhea moaned. “And I hope he doesn’t turn out to be a douche like your Matt did.”
Brynn snorted. “Let’s all hope that.”
Suddenly, Gannon stepped away from the men and strode toward the lounging women. Alarmed by the stiffness in his gait, Brynn sat up. “What’s wrong?”
He lifted his nose toward the air. “Do you smell that?”
Now all three females were sitting up in worry. “No. Smell what? Damn your sharp sense of odor. What do you smell?”
“The mating scent.” He glanced between all three ladies as if trying to figure out where it was originating. “One of you is about to go into heat.”
“Oh, Shit.” Dane was right on his tail. “Who is it? Is it Ari?”
As both Brynn’s and Ari’s mothers stepped from the back of the house to join the group, their fathers trailed Gannon and Dane toward the deck.
“What’s going on?” Brynn’s mother asked as she noticed the difference in everyone else’s attitudes.
“Gannon smells something.” Dane moved protectively close to Ari. “He thinks one of the girls is about to go into heat.”
Riley dropped the bowl of salad she’d been holding. “Oh, no. I was hoping they wouldn’t have to go through that since they’re diluted with so much human in them.”
“I’m beginning to smell it too,” Knox, a wolf like Gannon but not quite as pure-blooded as him, spoke up.
“Well, where it coming from?” Rhea demanded, looking panicked. As the only unmated female in the group, she’d have the hardest time during her mating heat.
Brynn gripped her hand again, for moral support, just as Gannon met Rhea’s gaze and said, “It’s coming from you.”
A moment of disappointment filled Brynn. She’d hoped she could be going into heat so she and Gannon could make little puppy-kittens together. But then he glanced at her as well. “And you too,” he murmured, with an excited gleam in his eyes. “Actually, I think all three of you are about to experience your first mating heat.”
“Holy shit,” Dane murmured, looking stupefied before he jerked Ari out of her chair and slung her over his shoulder. “Prepare to become grandparents, you guys.” He glanced toward both sets of parents as he slapped Ari on the rump. “We’ll see you guys again in a few weeks.” Then, with a stupid grin on his face, he strolled from the yard, lugging a shrieking Ari with him.
Brynn grinned after them, glad Dane was ready to become a daddy. But then worry over Gannon’s reaction clenched her stomach painfully. Mating with a half-breed was one thing, actually having a litter together was another. What if his full-blooded sensibilities—
“We should be going too,” Gannon said, cutting into her thoughts as he reached down to extend his hand to her. When she met his gaze, he smiled. “I’m anxious to start my own family.”
Joy flooded her. He wanted a family with her. Leaping into his arms, she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him hard.
“Could you two at least wait until you get home before you start that?” Shaw snapped.
She knew how tough it must be for him to know both his daughters were about to go into heat, where they’d have to fuck constantly for two weeks straight to abate the painful urges for sex.
“But what about me?” Rhea asked, looking panicked. She hopped to her feet and fled to Riley for a motherly hug.
Riley smoothed her trembling daughter’s hair back. “We’ll get you a shot from the doctor to numb the pain. It’ll provide you with enough testosterone to fight the urges.”
But everyone cringed at that idea. Nothing could quite abate the sting of a female shifter’s mating heat quite like fucking a male would.
“What about all the males that will come sniffing around?” Rhea sobbed.
The closer she came to her heat season, the strong her pheromones would grow, summoning unmated males to her. Soon, they’d be flocking in from all over the the area, seeking her out and trying to mate with her. Both Ari and Brynn were safe because they were already mated. Only Gannon would go crazy over Brynn’s mating scent.
“Your father can take care of getting rid of any bothersome males who try to get to you,” Riley said, while Shaw cracked his knuckles and nodded.
“It would be my pleasure, baby,” he assured her.
Rhea didn’t look convinced, but Brynn couldn’t sympathize with her for long.
“Let’s go,” Gannon murmured in her ear. “Your scent is already making me want you right here and now.”
With a last hug and wish good luck to her sister, Brynn was swept away by her loving mate. Thrilled about the future she was about to start with Gannon, she raced him back to her house, laughing the whole way.
They were about to start a family together.
(Rhea’s story coming next. Titled : BEAR WITH ME)
About the Author
Miranda lives with her wonderful, Brad-Pitt-lookalike husband (hey, they're both blond-haired and blue-eyed) and adorable still-needs-to-learn-the-meaning-of-NO toddler daughter on their spacious corn-field-and-cow-pasture-front property in Kansas.
Librarian by day and author by night, she is also published in YA and contemporary mainstream romance under a different pen name.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
About the
Author