Mated To Magic (Stark Creek Shifters Book 1) by Barb Shuler (free ereaders .TXT) 📕

“Honey, I’m home.”

He blinked a few times before the small monster in my arms yapped at him. It was too little to be a bark, but someone was trying to get his attention.

“Shit! That was only supposed to be a nap. I wanted to surprise you!”

“You did! How long have you been planning this?”

“A while now. I had to make sure that I found the right one. I couldn’t pick between the two of them, so they both came home with me. One is hyper and playful, the other is chill as fuck.”

“Do they have names?”

“Not yet. I thought I would leave that up to you. They’re both girls.”

“Well, I think little Miss Chill there should be named Belle.” I didn’t mention that growing up, Beauty and the Beast was my favorite children’s story. I had always wanted a Belle and now D had given her to me. “Why don’t you name this one?” Scratching the one in my arms behind the ear, I watched him think.

“I don’t know why, but Roxy seems fitting for her.”

I laughed as she growled at D. Sitting her back on his chest, I leaned down and kissed him again. “Roxy it is.”

“One little thing you need to know…”

“Oh? What’s that babe?”

“My wolf thinks they are his.”

I shook my head. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“Hey, I tried to tell him they were yours. You know the asshole never listens to me.”

“Maybe he’ll share with me. He loves me, after all.”

Dalton shifted on the couch. Taking advantage of that, I moved to lay down beside him, my head resting on his chest as I watched Roxy play-fight with his hand. Belle just slept. When Roxy jumped to get his fingers, she landed on Belle, who opened her eyes and growled at her.

“She’s so my dog. Roxy is as crazy as your wolf is.” I looked up at Dalton and smiled. He kissed me and I melted. This man really was the other half of my soul. He knew how much I had been struggling, and no amount of him telling me that what happened wasn’t my fault had me believing it. I knew I would have to ease up on Jay and give her room to breathe, but I worried about her.

“Speaking of my wolf, I need to let him out, but I don’t feel ready to leave you. It’s been a while since we’ve had a night out. Feel like some star gazing with me?”

Nodding, I kissed him before standing up. “I’d like that. Let me change into something more comfortable while you get the girls settled and then we can head out. I would take them too, but I don’t want them getting hurt or anything.” I knew his wolf wouldn’t let anything happen to them, but accidents did occur so I would rather be safe than sorry.

Heading into the bedroom, I kicked off my heels and unbuttoned my jeans. Slipping them off, I walked over to my closet and pulled out a pair of hiking pants. I didn’t wear them often now, but back in Wyoming, D and I used to go out into the woods a fair bit; he made sure I had the best gear so my legs didn’t end up scratched and I was comfortable. After getting a pair of socks, I slipped on my hiking boots and grabbed a light hoodie in case it got cold later. Leaving the bedroom, I went and took my phone from my bag and slid it into one of the pockets. Before I could move, D had scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder.

“Dalton!” I smacked my hand against his ass. “I can walk!”

“I know, but this is more fun!”

I huffed and crossed my arms as Dalton locked up the house and carried me out to his truck. He opened the driver side door and set me down. I shoved my hand against his chest.

“You are such an ogre!”

He just chuckled as I got in, squealing as his hand smacked my ass.

“Payback for you doing it to me.”

I pinched his side. “Keep it up, buddy, and I will stop doing a lot of things to you.” My lips curled into a smirk as he narrowed his eyes.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, buddy!”

He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into a headlock as he reversed out of the driveway; I laughed when he let me go.

“Jerk.”

“You love me.”

“Never denied that.” I leaned into him as he headed toward the pack lands. It would be good for him to let his wolf out for a bit, especially when he doesn’t have to kill anyone. It had been a while since I had spent any time with him. After claiming my puppies for his own, he needed out too so he could get to me. That would mean tonight, when we got home, there was more of a chance of him leaving us to relax. I hoped.

Dalton pulled up at the spot and parked the truck. He got out and passed me the keys, stripping to nothing and winking at me before letting his wolf take over. I put his clothes on the front seat, locked up, and turned to see him sitting there, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. I laughed, stepped forward, and kissed his nose. He nuzzled my hand until I moved it to scratch his head, behind the ears.

“Come on, let’s go exploring.”

25

Dalton

Being Alpha to a pack of misfits was a ‘job’ that I loved. No matter how many times I wanted to choke one of them, usually it was Max or Kody, they were always there, ready to jump into a fight even if it wasn’t theirs. They were my pack, my family. Each one of them had done so much for both Mia and I over the last month. Lost sleep, did extra patrols, worked at a bar, and did I mention all that lost sleep? They were