by Diane Leyne
Call of the Wolf 2
Desired by Wolves
Veterinarian Lena Windsor grew up expecting to be mated to shape-shifter Alex James and his brothers, Joe and Will, when she finished university, but when military vet Alex leaves the three of them behind to re-enlist, she builds a new life for herself, eventually coming home to take over her fathers' practice in Harmony, where she reconciles with Joe and Will.
One day, Lena begins to suspect that someone has been prowling around her house while she's at work and uses a nanny cam to find the culprit. She's shocked to see a very changed Alex, who is dealing with a severe war injury by bonding, in wolf-dog form, with the stray dog she adopted who has a similar injury.
She'd never turn away an injured animal, not even when he's also the man who broke her heart. Can she help him to heal without falling in love with him again?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 41,590 words
DESIRED BY WOLVES
Call of the Wolf 2
Diane Leyne
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
DESIRED BY WOLVES
Copyright © 2013 by Diane Leyne
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-137-1
First E-book Publication: July 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Desired by Wolves by Diane Leyne from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Diane Leyne’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Leyne’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
The best part of writing, besides the great readers, is being able to create your own reality. The town of Harmony is fictional, obviously, but who wouldn't want to visit it and find out what it would be like to be “Desired by Wolves.”
Enjoy!
DESIRED BY WOLVES
Call of the Wolf 2
DIANE LEYNE
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Lena looked across the table at Ginger and Penelope, her two best friends. They were all grinning as Gabe and his brothers led Samantha, their new neighbor and friend, from Lupo’s Bar where they had spent the evening dancing and carousing.
A shiver ran down her back, and she wasn’t sure why. She was here at Lupo’s with good friends and enjoying a night of dancing and fun, but every now and then she felt a shiver of anticipation or maybe dread. She wasn’t sure. And she wasn’t sure what was causing it. She’d laughed with the others when Gabe had stomped into the bar and he and his brothers had swept Samantha out with them.
“So, what do you think the odds are that they’ll mate her tonight? I was surprised Gabe wasn’t angrier. After all, she walked him on a leash through town and took him to a vet,” asked Penelope as she picked up a cheese-covered nacho and studied it carefully before shrugging and popping it into her mouth. Penelope owned the Sunshine Cafe and was often critical of other people’s cooking, but it was late and she must have been hungry from the dancing.
“A vet she knew understood all about shape-shifters. She was making a point, and from his amused expression, I think he got the point of what she did,” countered Ginger. “My cousin may be a serious pain in the ass sometimes, but he’s also a fair guy. The hair, however, I think that really got to him. He’s always worn it long. Now it looks almost military short.” Ginger giggled. “I really wish I’d been there to see her do it.”
Lena finally let herself laugh out loud, and then she found she couldn’t stop. “I’ve tried to keep it professional. It’s not nice to laugh at my patients, but you should have seen his face. Even in wolf-dog form, you could see the outrage and outright fear.”
“But why didn’t he just shift there and then? I get that he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure she knew about shifters, but his balls were at risk.” Penelope looked both amused and puzzled. “Was he that determined to keep shifting a secret? I mean, he wants her to be their mate. It’s not like he can keep the secret forever.”
“I think he did try to shift and couldn’t. He tried when she came at him with the clippers when my back was turned. He yelped and cowered away from her, but she’d attached his collar to the frame on my exam table that I use to keep nervous animals from bolting. That’s when I hustled her out of there, but not before she made it abundantly clear that she knew without actually saying the words. When I detached his collar and unbuckled it, that’s when I realized she’d wound a silver chain around it. Apparently that will prevent a shape shifter from changing form. Who knew?”
“Wow. I thought that was all myth.” Penelope looked thoughtful. “If I’d known it was true, I’d have had some fun with my brothers when they tried to make my life miserable when we were kids. It’s tough to be a female in a pack of male wolf-dogs. Sometimes I wish we could change, too.”
“Hey, you only have two brothers,” Lena protested. “I have four, and if I’d known about the properties of silver, I’d have used it on them years ago.”
“Oh
, well, it’s something we know about now. We may yet find a purpose for the knowledge.” Penelope raised her glass. “To Silver. And to Samantha for giving us so much excitement.”
They raised their glasses and toasted.
“But now back to my original question. Do you think they’ll mate her?” asked Penelope.
“My cousins are crazy in love, and I think Samantha loves them back.” Ginger sighed. “I mean, she wouldn’t have done that to Gabe if she didn’t care. She was trying to teach him some kind of lesson. If she didn’t care, she’d just have told him to get lost. But mating? That’s serious business. It’s forever. It’s more serious than marriage. You can’t divorce your mate if you think you’ve made a mistake.”
“But, Ginger, it is the first night of the full moon, and the way the five of them swept her out of here…” Penelope persisted.
“I agree, Pen. That’s what they want, but I don’t know if she’s ready for that. She doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman who’ll let them push her into making a hasty decision. We’ve only known her a short time, but I think she’s going to move forward on her own terms.”
“The full moon cycle lasts three nights,” Lena mused thoughtfully and a little sadly. “It can make the most levelheaded of us do crazy things.” Lena felt that strange shiver again.
Ginger looked sharply at her friend. She seemed to catch something in Lena's tone that bothered her, but she seemed to know that this wasn't the time or place to probe.
“On the other hand,” continued Penelope, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents, “Maybe she’ll let them do a single bite. On a full moon night, a bite from the Alpha can lead to a night of really hot sex, but without the commitment of mating bites from the pack.”
Ginger was amused. “You speak from experience?”
“Oh, yeah.” Penelope grinned. “It’s a good thing those bites heal quickly, but damn, the sex is hot, hot, hot after an Alpha bite on a full moon night.”
“Penelope, if you are talking about sex with my brothers, I’m going to have to ask you to stop right there, or I’m going to stick my fingers in my ears and start shouting ‘la la la’ at the top of my lungs.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll change the subject. I hear Alex might be coming home to Harmony.”
Lena felt her face grow pale. Her glass dropped from her suddenly nerveless fingers. Luckily it didn’t shatter, but the remains of her water and the ice spilled. Ginger pushed her hands away and mopped it up with her napkin.
“Shut up, idiot,” snapped Ginger. “Ignore her, Lena. She’s got a big mouth, and half the time she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Sorry, honey.” Penelope reached out to cover her hand. “I…I guess I thought you must have heard something. You still hang with his brothers. I thought you would know if the rumor was true. I’m sorry. It is just a rumor. And I’m sure I’ve got it all wrong. After all, Joe or Will would be shouting it from the rooftops if big brother Alex was coming home for good.”
“He’s career military. He would never return to Harmony permanently. He rarely even comes on leave.” Lena’s tone was carefully neutral and designed to shut down any discussion. “And now, ladies, I have to take my leave of you. I have to stop by the office and check on a patient, and then I’m heading home.”
They got up and hugged their good-byes. Lena could see how sorry Penelope felt for upsetting her and couldn’t stay mad. She hugged her friend and tried to reassure her. “I’m fine, really. What happened with me and Alex was a decade ago. You don’t have to avoid his name around me. I’ve moved on, and I’m sure he has, too.”
She hugged Ginger, who asked, “You okay to drive?”
“Yeah, I’ve been nursing the same beer all night. I’ll be fine.”
* * * *
Ginger was doubtful, but let her go. After the door closed behind her, Ginger turned to Penelope, “She says she’s over him, but that’s such an obvious lie.”
“I know. And I know that I have a big mouth, but I thought the fact that she was out on a full moon night meant she was finally moving on.”
“Me, too. But I guess her desire to see the outcome of Samantha versus the McAllister brothers overrode her usual aversion to full moon outings.”
Before she could say more, the James brothers approached their table carrying soft drinks and more nachos.
“Where’d Lena go? We brought her a Diet Sprite. It’s her favorite.”
“She had to go check on a patient. Then she’s heading home. Sorry, guys.” Ginger looked at the handsome brothers. They’d been sitting with Lena when she, Penelope, and Samantha had arrived. They owned the place, so they couldn’t hang around her all night, but they’d come by regularly either singularly or together throughout the night. And now that they realized that Lena had left without even a good-bye, they were obviously unhappy, but they were also innkeepers, and with a struggle, they cleared their expressions and smiled. It was only because Ginger knew them really well that she realized that their smiles didn’t quite reach their eyes.
“Let us know if you need anything else, ladies, anything at all.” Joe’s tone was jovial but forced as he put the drinks down and walked away, his brother trailing after him still holding the nachos. Penelope started to make a grab for them, but Ginger held her arm.
“Let them go. You can see how they are hurting right now. They love her, but she keeps them at a distance during the full moon.” She watched them walk past all of their patrons, not responding to greetings, and go back to their private office.
* * * *
“Damn it, Joe.” Will sat down on the couch in their office and bent over, his head in his hands. “I thought the fact that she was here on a full moon night meant something.”
“Me, too.” Joe’s tone was as bleak as Will’s own as he sat on the chair in front of the desk, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “She never goes out on a full moon night, ever. And she never lets us come to her either. But she was here in Lupo’s, and I thought it was significant, but I guess she was just here for Samantha.”
“Yeah, she tried to tell us that when she first arrived. And she was quick to shoo us away from her table when Sam, Ginger, and Pen arrived, but I don’t know how much longer I can take this half relationship. I want a commitment. Sure the three of us have hot sex frequently as long as it isn’t a full moon, but that’s not enough anymore. I want marriage and a family.”
“Me, too.” Joe chuckled. “I may be turning into a woman, but I don’t want to just be used for sex anymore. We’ve been more than patient. She’s thirty-one. We’re thirty-one. None of us are getting any younger. If she won’t commit to being mated to us, then we need to move on.”
“Easier said than done. You know it’s in the blood. Deep inside, we know she’s our mate and she knows we are her mates. It’s not like she’s been seeing other men or other wolves, except, of course, as patients. And she’s free with her body when she’s with us, although that doesn’t happen as often as I’d like. She just won’t commit emotionally. She still holds part of herself separate.”
Joe and his brother looked up when the man sitting behind the desk chuckled. It was a sound without much real mirth in it. He looked a lot like them. He was tall with the same green eyes and dark hair as Will and Joe, but where their hair was shaggy and unkempt, his was militarily short and it was shot through with gray at the temples. He was older than them, too, only by four years, but he had the eyes of a man who had seen too much that made his seem much older than his years.
“Alex,” Will snapped. “You caused all this. If you had just let us mate her properly back when she was willing, we wouldn’t have this problem.” Will’s tone was accusatory.
“The three of you were barely twenty-one. I was twenty-five and shipping overseas for god knows how long, and there was no certainty I was ever going to come back. I made the right decision. Should I make a recording and play it for you whenever you try to go over this old ground yet again?”
Alex’s tone was hard and flat. He’d had this discussion with his brothers and himself many times, and he wasn’t going to budge from his position. He couldn’t budge from that position. It was hard enough as it was not being with his mate, but if he admitted that he made a mistake all those years ago, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to deal with the knowledge, so he deliberately refused to consider the possibility. He couldn’t consider the possibility.
“As it was, I didn’t come back in quite the same condition as I was when I left.” His hand went to his left leg automatically. The damage to his hip and the leg muscle was extensive. They told him he was lucky to walk again, but he wasn’t sure that it was luck, more like a punishment, to make him half the man he was and unable to either do the job he loved or be with the woman he also loved.
“Is that why you refuse to see her and just lurk in the dark like the goddamned Phantom of the Opera?”
Alex could hear the irritation in Will's voice.
“You think I should be wearing a mask, little brother? I thought women liked scars?”
“Nah. You’re no uglier than you were when you left. But you have been back for a week and never leave the house in human form.” Will's voice was now more worried than irritated.
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, but only because you thought Lena wouldn’t be here.” Joe wasn't letting Alex off the hook.
“You told me she never went anywhere on a full moon night.” His eyes narrowed. “Was that a lie to get me here? Did you think that if I saw her again, I’d suddenly change my mind and rush out and sweep her off her feet?” He laughed again with no mirth in his tone. “You know, if I tried that, I’d end up flat on my ass. The crippled veteran making a fool of himself over a woman who would probably spit in his face.”
