by J. L. Wilder
Eric howled with outrage at not getting the chance to hit his sister back.
“I thought they should have some vegetables,” Percy said defensively.
“Yeah, that was a good instinct.” She pulled out some baby carrots and poured a few onto plates, setting them down in front of the kids. A moment later, they were snacking happily.
“Why aren’t they throwing those?” Percy demanded.
She laughed. “They like baby carrots.”
The door swung open and Owen entered the kitchen effectively distracting everyone from what they were doing. The twins looked up at their father and squealed with joy, raising their hands, each of them clamoring to be the first one picked up and hugged. Owen tousled their hair, but went to Fiona and wrapped her in his arms.
“How was the hunt?” she asked, after she had satisfied herself with a long kiss.
“Good,” he said. “We’ll have venison all winter. Angus and Dusty are out in the shed now, taking care of it and getting it on ice.”
“That’s great.” She stood on her toes to kiss him again. “I wish you’d have let me come along with you, though.”
“Next time,” he promised. “I miss hunting with you too. Next time it’ll be the pair of us.” He looked down at the kitchen table, which was still covered with lettuce. “What happened here?”
“Percy was babysitting.”
“Ah,” said Owen, as if no further explanation were necessary.
Percy rolled his eyes. “Permission to go chop more wood?”
“Okay, you’re excused,” Fiona agreed.
Owen turned to the twins. “What do you think, you little wild animals?” he asked them. “Venison steaks for dinner?”
“Yum!” Kayla cried, snapping her teeth like a wild animal.
“Yum,” Eric echoed more solemnly, his eyes searching his parents’ faces.
Fiona laughed. “You know they have no idea what venison is. You could offer them roadkill steaks and they’d say yum.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty easy to live with.” Owen reached into his pockets. “Who wants licorice?”
“Me!” Kayla shrieked, hands waving.
“Daddy,” Fiona said sternly. “We’re having our vegetables now. Candy comes after vegetables.”
Owen looked down at Kayla. “What do you say, cub?” he asked her. “Does candy come after vegetables? Or before?”
“Before!”
He laughed and handed her a piece of licorice. Eric let out a cry at the temporary inequality and stretched out a hand for his own treat, and Owen fished in his pocket and produced it.
Fiona rolled her eyes as her children gnawed happily on their candy. “Some example you’re setting,” she teased. “And I don’t suppose you’ve had any vegetables today either.”
“Daddies don’t need vegetables.”
“Everybody needs vegetables.” She whacked him on the arm, then handed him one of the salad bowls she’d set aside. “You can finish this, how about that?”
“Rabbit food,” he grumbled, but he was smiling. “Bears don’t eat this stuff.”
“Humans eat this stuff, and when we’re inside the house we’re human. Don’t make me give you an order.”
“As if you could!” he laughed. Fiona joined him. It was a game between them these days, trying to compel each other to follow orders, and since they had no traditional alpha power over one another, it usually came down to logic and manipulation. Fiona knew that she was right about the need for a balanced diet—Owen knew it too. But she had an ace up her sleeve that he didn’t know about, one that was going to win this argument for her.
She wasn’t ready to play that card just yet, though. First she would see if she could get him there another way.
She took his hand and led him into the pantry, which was shielded from the main kitchen by a hanging curtain. “I missed you while you were off hunting,” she said quietly.
He frowned. “Was I away too long?” he asked. “Did you need my help with the twins? I should have come back sooner, I’m sorry. It was just such a nice day for a run.”
“No, no, it’s not that,” she said. “The kids and I were fine. I just...missed you.” She stood on her toes so that she could reach his lips, pulling him down to her, and pressed her body against his as she did so.
She felt the moment when he understood. He inhaled sharply, his arms tightening around her, then lifting her in the air so that her legs could wrap around his waist without ever breaking the kiss.
And for a moment, Fiona almost lost track of her plan. For a moment she almost gave in to desire. Feeling him pressed up against her, her heels resting against his firm ass, his hands roaming up and down her back—it was almost enough to take her mind away from the reason she had dragged him in here in the first place.
But then it returned to her. “Vegetables,” she gasped, well aware that she sounded like she was coming up from having been submerged underwater for too long.
Owen raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Vegetables. Eat your salad.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
She struggled her way out of his arms and landed neatly back on the floor. “Eat your salad. Then you can do whatever you want with me.”
He groaned. “You can’t use that to win every argument, Fiona.”
“Let’s see if I can,” she said, giving him a wicked grin.
“It’s not going to work,” he said. “Not this time. I actually was going to eat that salad, because I know it’s the smart thing to do, but now I’m afraid I just can’t let you win.” He shook his head regretfully.
“Oh, you’ll eat the salad,” she said, lowering her voice to a dull growl. “You’ll eat all your vegetables, because everyone in our family is going to get all the vitamins and nutrients they need for the next nine months. Because it’s not fair if I’m the only one who has to eat well.”
He frowned, processing what she’d said.
And she saw the moment when understanding hit him, when he realized what she was telling him. His whole face lit up. And in that instant, Fiona forgot about the battle over who was going to eat their vegetables. She forgot everything except how happy she was making her man, how much joy he was feeling in that moment because of what she had been able to tell him.
“Nine months?” he breathed.
She nodded, a smile spreading over her face unbidden.
“When did you find out?”
“This morning,” she said. “I’ve suspected for a couple of days, but I just took the test this morning.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“I’m pregnant.”
He scooped her up in his arms again, spun her around, and kissed her passionately. When he set her back down on the ground, his face was glowing, and he kept his arms firmly locked around her waist. “I can’t believe it,” he said wonderingly.
“You’re happy?” The answer to that was obvious, but she wanted to hear him say it. Even knowing how he would react, she had been aching to hear the words, to have the confirmation that this was something he wanted as badly as she did.
“Of course I’m happy,” he said. “It’s wonderful.”
She leaned against him and felt his warmth and strength flow into her, supporting her. The pack is growing, she thought with deep satisfaction. Every child we have helps to guarantee the future of this new, stronger pack. The Wild Hellions. Bears and wolves, working together to ensure a strong future. It was more than she could ever have dared to dream of when she had taken over command of the pack from Tank.
A howl from one of the twins brought them out of the pantry and back into the kitchen. Kayla had finished her licorice and was now trying to take Eric’s from him. Fiona intervened quickly and returned the candy to her son. “Eat your carrots,” she told Kayla.
Kayla pouted.
“She hates being bossed,” Owen said thoughtfully.
“She sure does,” Fiona agreed. “You should have seen her l
ast night when I was trying to get her into her pajamas.”
“It makes me wonder,” he said.
“Wonder what?”
“Who’s going to be our next alpha,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll always have two. The next generation will probably go back to having one.”
“And you think she’s it?”
Owen smiled and rested a hand on his daughter’s head. “I think she’d make an outstanding alpha,” he said, and smiled.
More Books by J.L. Wilder
Hell’s Bears MC Complete Series Box Set
Take a ride on the back of a Hell's Bears' motorcycle in this sizzling complete series box set!
Book 1: Omega’s Bears
I’m an omega. I’m all alone. And the wolves are coming for me.
All my life, I’ve felt I should be stronger. All my life, I’ve felt I should be powerful. But all my life, I’ve been nothing. The only thing I had was my clan. But the wolves took them from me. Every single one of my family is gone.
The wolves want me for crossbreeding, and I have to run. The only bears who might protect me are dangerous, lawless, and wild. But still I ride on. Straight into the den of the Hell's Bears MC.
Book 2: The White Omega
I've never left my home. I'm a prisoner in my own pack. All because I'm an omega...
All my life I've been told I need to stay inside, stay protected. As an omega polar bear, i'm an object of lust to shifter men, and the outside world is not safe.
When my pack's alpha claims he has imprinted on me, I know it’s a lie. I know the outside world is the only one I can trust. Even if I get kidnapped, and delivered to the doorstep of the infamous Hell's Bears MC.
I am to be their new omega, their breeder. What terrifies me most, is which Hell's Bear will imprint on me, and claim me for life....
Book 3: The Hidden Omega
There's something wrong with me. Sometimes I'm not even sure I'm human.
I was raised by humans, and all my life I thought I was a monster.
Turns out I'm something more valuable—an omega bear shifter.
After being kidnapped for a prostitution ring, I'm rescued by the Hell's Bears MC.
There is Clay who imprints on me, Mike who comforts me, and Bruno the alpha.
Sometimes it seems like Bruno wants nothing to do with me...
Do they really want me to be a member of their pack,
or do they just want to use me for breeding?
This box set contains three full length romances and is 18+ only!
Hell’s Wolves MC-The Omega Games
An omega held against her will.
To protect her, he must win the omega games—or watch her be bred by another.
Wyatt
All my life I’d been a lone wolf.
Drinking, hiding my inner beast.
Then I became second to the Alpha of the Hell’s Wolves MC.
That’s when she came into my life—the omega.
Now my sole purpose is to protect this sexy little wolf.
Even if it violates my alpha’s orders.
Izzy
Those bastards think they can treat me like a breeding bag.
When the wolf moon comes and I’m in heat,
They’ll hold the omega games—with me as the prize.
What they don’t know is I’ll decide who gets my body, and my heart.
For me, there is only one.
And I need him so bad it hurts.
Hell’s Wolves MC-The Omega Purebred
No one ever taught me what to do if I was kidnapped. What did they expect? I am a rare Omega purebred—the last of my line.
Hazel
As an Omega purebred of the wealthiest shifter family on the east coast, I was given three rules:
1. Stay in the house.
2. Always travel in groups.
3. Don’t go out at night.
Well, I didn’t listen to those rules, and now I’m the world’s most wanted omega. I've been kidnapped for breeding. Who can protect me now?
Emmett
I’m president of the Hell’s Wolves MC, the Itinerant Chapter. I travel from place to place doing difficult and dangerous jobs. I have no women and no children, and I like it that way.
I just landed the best paying job of my life, rescue a kidnapped Omega. A lot of what they say about Omegas is myth, but there is one thing about them that is true—they are nearly impossible to resist. And a rare omega purebred is no exception. Good thing I care more about money, than mating with an Omega.
18+ Only. Standalone shifter romance. Full length novel.
About The Author
J.L. Wilder likes wild things! Her alpha shifters are gruff and tough, with a pinch of tenderness. Curl up with these bad boy book boyfriends, and they will have you howling at the moon!
When not writing shifter smut, J.L. spends as much time as possible exploring the outdoors. She loves getting into trouble with Ace, her Siberian Husky.
You can grab a free shifter romance and join her email here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/mvci9dryz6
