Lost Howl (7 page)

Amira felt her hackles rise.

Lorr shook his head. “We have been given the authorization by both her father’s people and the Crossroads. The union must be upheld.”

“Her father’s people are not here. They cannot defend their decision.” The alpha was frowning, and he was having a hard time keeping his face human. He was furious.

Amira came to a conclusion. Her maternal grandfather was a dick.

She held herself still until the other wolves came from the woods, and they were snarling and growling. When she noted the attack posture, she shucked her clothing and bounded out into the yard with a snarl. Her grandfather looked at her in shock.

“What the hell is that?”

Lorr didn’t need to look. “That is my wife, the object of your visit.”

She growled low with her lips rippling around her teeth. She stood behind her mate and watched the two dozen wolves that were gathering around the edge of the clearing.

She let out low warning huffs and half of the wolves retreated.

“Stop it, bitch. These are my wolves, not yours.”

She glared at her grandparent. She could smell their blood match in the air. She snapped at him and he backed away a step. It was a mistake. His own wolves stepped back until they were only glaring at half a dozen where the others had been.

To her surprise, sheep were coming out of the house, the males were standing with their heads down and ready to charge.

The alpha realized his problem, and he shifted to wolf, going on the attack to assert his dominance.

It sparked the fight that took a very peculiar turn. Amira ran out to stop half the wolves while using her body as a blockade. The feel of three wolves ploughing into her side was annoying, but it gave Lorr enough time to get into his ram form.

Her grandfather was treated to the full force of Lorr’s head colliding with his. The crack echoed in the clearing, and it was mimicked by smaller collisions of wolves and rams.

The retreating wolves had gotten their nerve back and rallied to help their alpha. Amira charged, snapping and snarling, tossing the smaller wolves into the air.

When a roar sounded from inside the house, she wished her lips could smile. Her other grandparents had arrived. The door opened and three lions came running. It was now a fair fight.

Fur, claws and yelps filled the air. Amira didn’t know how much time passed, but when the last of the wolves had limped into the woods, she was exhausted.

Thomas came by and rubbed his head along hers. Sarah did the same, and soon, she was standing with her family and a noise was rumbling in the air. To her surprise, it was coming from her throat. Her wolf form was purring.

She shifted back to human. “How is that possible?”

The casual nudity was becoming less odd. Her grandparents were in amazing shape for folk in their sixties.

Sarah smiled. “You are a blend. Your body is hosting both species at the same time. The purring shouldn’t be possible, but here it is.”

Thomas laughed. “Any child of Jennifer’s would be exceptional. The combination of Laurence in there locked you in. There was no way you could not have been an extraordinary creature. It was in your blood.”

Lorr came up and nuzzled her with his head. Blood dotted his body but little was his. Most of it was from the residue on his horns.

“Hello, love. These are my grandparents, Sarah and Thomas Ardux. This is my mate, Lorr.” She made the introductions.

Lorr changed to his human form, and hands were shaken and introductions flowed.

Amira smiled. Despite the situation, her family was all together in the same place at the same time. It was going to be a good dinner.

Part of her had been worried that the sheep were vegetarians, but their human forms ate barbeque just like the predators did. During dinner, descriptions of the fight were passed around while the salads and steaks made their rounds.

The young rams were proud of their participation and the ewes were delighted by the show of defence. Amira smirked. There were relationships forming in the distant family groups and it was amusing to watch.

The lions were surprised by their warm welcome, but they sat next to the humans and asked questions to learn about the methods used to raise Amira. It was embarrassing to be the focus of so much conversation, but when Lorr caressed her knee under the table, she calmed.

Sarah smiled at her. “So, when can we expect our first great grandchild?”

Amira did some math. “Just over nine months.”

Lorr’s hand gripped her thigh hard. “You are pregnant?”

“I went into heat, we took care of that, and when the heat faded, I was left pregnant. That is the way it works, love.”

He sat back while everyone congratulated him.

Amira laughed. “I don’t know why they are congratulating him. I have to do most of the work.”

Sarah laughed, Dorine looked delighted and Lianna was making lists for baby things. She was going to be an aunty.

Lorr sighed. “I will file for protection right away. The Shifter Council will take care of it. Your family will have no recourse. If you carry my child, they have to leave you.”

Amira blinked. “I should have told you before, but I was so excited to have my family over for dinner that I forgot. I missed them.”

Lianna looked up from her notebook. “We missed you, too. I can’t believe I am going to be an aunty. Do you think it will be a lamb or a puppy?”

Dorine snorted. “It will be a baby. The rest will come later.”

Amira sighed and settled in to watch her family plan for the baby.

Lorr was still bemused and he was making plans of his own.

There was a wedding in her future, a baby, some time with the council and a new job. Everything was new, bright and heralding change. She could hardly wait to see how things shook out. If she could move the hands of time, she would see it all that moment, but patience was a virtue and virtue was something she aspired to.

With a new life on its first few days inside her, she had to get planning on her own. Grinning as she ate her meal, she imagined what would happen if it were a sheep with teeth. She could dream, and if it came true, her child would learn to control itself around other shifters, humans and real animals. There was nothing like self-control to make someone aware of their possibilities and limitations.

With Lorr at her side, the possibilities were endless, and with him in her bed, the options boggled her mind. It was a very bright future indeed.

I wrote the first half of this during the rainy season in Costa Rica. It was not a vacation, but I survived and managed to get a few tours in. The landscapes that I saw will work their way into my books.

Thanks for reading,

Zenina Masters

http://www.zeninamasters.com

[email protected]

Zenina Masters was born in Canada and lives in Canada. She has a regular job and does nothing particularly exciting with her life. She enjoys fishing, silence and the ability to pick and choose friends she can trust. Life is too short to watch your back all the time.

Her writing life is a teeny bit of escapism, she would probably chicken out if confronted by three naked men and looks forward to one day finding out.