Animal Desire: A Paranormal Romance (Werewolf and Shapeshifter) (The Animal Sagas) Read Free Page B

more both sisters became aware of an additional unknown presence inside with the babies. A magical presence. A female presence. A witch! Yet this… this was a completely unknown scent to them both, though it reminded them of another for some reason.
    As Lynda neared the shack, the twins, sensing her presence, began to wail and howl for their mother. The being inside the shack must have realized that she had been caught, because she attempted to bolt out of the shack and away from the wolves that had formed a tightening circle around the shack. With her dark cloak hanging low, disguising her features, she could have been anyone.
    Lynda had already sensed that the magical presence inside was female, and more than that, she was also werewolf. All of the other members of the pack were coming to this realization too as they took in her scent. Right there in the front of the pack Ben inched forward, Clay to his right, with his snout raised in the air. Her scent… the new being… it was familiar to him for some reason. Who was she?
    Lynda did not wait for permission to go to her babies. As she bolted past the cloaked figure and into the shack she immediately transformed into her human state and swept both babies up into her arms. With tears of relief, and gratitude, she cradled them close to her. Outside, Ben and the other werewolves tightened their circle around the woman even further. The closer Ben got to her the more he thought that she did not exactly smell like a witch. Strange… he could not figure out her familiar scent. Though he knew without a doubt she was a witch.

Chapter 5
    Show yourself,” Ben demanded, his voice shifting from a growl to a powerful demand as he transformed into his human form right there in front of her.
    The woman boldly reached up and drew back the hood of her cloak, eliciting a chorus of gasps and snarls from the wolves completely surrounding her. Only Sonya, who stood at the back of the pack, ready to pounce on this woman who had stolen the babies, did not react to the sight of her once her face was visible.
    She had white blonde hair that fell forward in various clumps and braids. Her skin was ivory, nearly the same shade as her hair. But it was her eyes that gave her fully away as they raised to meet Ben’s without hesitation, they shimmered a violet hue.
    “Tanis,” Ben breathed out, his eyes wide, his desire for wrath faltering.
    At that same moment Lynda stepped out of the shack, carrying the two babies that had been stolen from her. She glowered at the woman from behind. “You will pay for what you’ve done,” she warned her as she moved past her back to the safety of the pack.
    Tanis was unmoved by Lynda’s words. Her eyes were still locked to Ben’s.
    “Ben, do something,” Sonya hissed from just behind him. “Or I will!”
    Ben blinked, as if startled out of some sort of hypnotic state. “No,” he said sharply. “Everyone… leave us!”
    The wolves all around him scattered instantly beneath his command. They all moved back a few hundred yards, just out of earshot, but still close enough to return when needed. Only Lynda, still holding the twins, and Sonya remained there with him, immune to his authority at the moment.
    “Tanis… we all thought that you had died years ago,” Ben said haltingly as he stared at the young woman before him. She couldn’t have been much more than a teenager.
    “Obviously you all were wrong,” she replied calmly, her voice as smooth as silk.
    “But now you will perish,” Lynda threatened as she handed the babies over to Sonya. “Ben, please allow me to do it myself right now.”
    “No,” Ben replied quietly, but sternly.
    “What do you mean no?” Lynda looked at him in shock, she had no idea what was happening, why he would deny her the right to punish this young witch for attempting to harm her children.
    “Tell her,” Tanis smirked as she tilted her head slightly to the side. “Tell her who was forgotten in the woods,