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  Legacy

  A Shifter of Consequence Tale

  Copyright 2020 by Mazzy J. March

  ISBN: 978-1-68361-429-6

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden

  without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Decadent Publishing LLC

  Table of Contents

  Academy Books from Decadent Publishing You Might Enjoy

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Next in Series: Triumph

  An Excerpt from Survivor

  They claim there’s magic in my hands.

  Too bad I can’t figure out which guy is my mate. In moving close to the Midnight Alder pack, something happened. I’m about to become an official member of the pack now, and they say I have a gift. A gift that’s been prophesied for centuries.

  They need to get a grip.

  I’m nothing special. I’m just a girl, trying to get stronger and figure out which one of these men I want. Because if you asked me to choose, I’d probably pass out trying. I just hope the other pack with their stalker ways doesn’t get to me first.

  Legacy is the second book in a paranormal reverse harem shifter series featuring a badly injured female wolf shifter, her healing, and the four male wolf shifters who all want to be her fated mate. It is a why choose werewolf romance with a slow burn buildup sure to make your toes curl. Relationships develop over the course of this supernatural series and, of course, Mazzy guarantees an HEA.

  Academy Books from Decadent Publishing You Might Enjoy

  The Lycan Academy by Mazzy J. March

  First Howling

  Second Growl

  Third Snarl

  Jaded Love

  The Academy of Fire and Ash by Mazzy J. March

  Betrayed by Dragons

  Coveted by Dragons

  Mated to Dragons

  Alien Academy by Jenna M. Jett

  First Contact

  Second Sighting

  Third Encounter – Coming Soon

  Shifters of Consequence

  Survivor

  Legacy

  Triumph – Coming Soon

  Legacy

  A Shifter of Consequence Tale

  By

  Mazzy J. March

  Chapter One

  “I tell you she saved me. She’s a healer.” The voice came from far away but drew me out of the dark place, and I opened my eyes to see Eschel and the others looking down at me. I lay on a big bed with white sheets and a down comforter. Sunlight streamed through the window, and while I didn’t recognize the room, I thought I was probably in the alpha’s house.

  And I had no idea how I’d gotten here.

  “There hasn’t been a healer in over a century,” someone else said. Cash. It was Cash. My guys, Christie, and the alpha along with one of his betas stood a distance from me, arguing. “It’s impossible.”

  “Not impossible.” The alpha spoke this time. “But as it was foretold. We must redouble the guards because those who sent your attackers will not rest until they have her.

  “Why did they stop, then? Why not just kill me and take her?” Escher’s voice was strained, and I squinted at him, trying to see his injuries. But there were none. He had not a mark on him. Shifter healing, or was there something to what they were saying? Who was the “she” they were calling a healer? Maybe whoever it was had saved his life after those wolves attacked him. He was big and strong, but three on one…not good odds for anyone.

  I tried to remember the details because it all seemed fuzzy, out of focus. We’d been on a date, our first date, and it had been magical, strolling through the forest together. Me. Wendi who, until very recently, hadn’t been able to walk more than a few steps. I’d been nearly giddy at the simple pleasure. When we’d stopped to rest…I strained, and it all came flooding back.

  While I sat with my fingers locked together over my knees, he shifted. The others took at least ten or fifteen seconds, but Eschel became a black, long-haired wolf with piercing golden eyes in less than half that. And he was magnificent.

  He moved close to me, allowing me to bury my hands in his fur and rub my face against his snout. A low rumble in his throat could have been a growl, but I knew it was pleasure at my touch. He leaned against my legs while I explored his form, my heart aching at his beauty.

  I don’t know how long we would have remained had there not been a crashing in the underbrush ahead of us followed by the appearance of a trio of rangy, gray and dirty-white wolves. Escher leapt to block their path, and they charged him, snarling and biting. Saliva and blood flew out of the pile of wolves, and I couldn’t tell who was winning, but it was three to one.

  I couldn’t do a thing to save him, but to at least make myself less of something he had to worry about, I moved behind a huge tree trunk and peeked around. Why couldn’t I shift?

  Where are you? I demanded of the wolf who was somewhere deep inside me. They are going to kill him, and I have to stand here and watch.

  I’d left my purse in the truck, so I didn’t even have a phone to call anyone in the pack. Not that anyone could get here soon enough anyway. Then, as fast as it started, it was over. The three limped away, leaving a trail of blood and ragged pieces of fur behind, and Eschel, lying limp on the ground.

  With my heart in my throat, I clung to the tree trunk, knees wobbling too hard to hold me up. I cursed having overexerted myself. I couldn’t run back the way we’d come. Run! I couldn’t walk.

  Dropping to hands and knees, I crawled to Escher’s side, terrified by all the blood streaking his fur. An ear looked nearly severed. I didn’t know what to do. I was sobbing so hard I could hardly breathe, whimpering, and muttering his name. “Eschel, you can’t die. We haven’t made love yet and you promised!”

  Panicked, I reached for the ear and moved it into place, praying it would be able to heal. That he would be able to heal. The blood was dark on dark against his fur, only the moon reflecting its wetness, and then there was a flare of brilliant light and I fell back on my bottom. I was still touching the ear, and the light was coming from me. My hands were bright with it, flowing from me to Eschel’s body and coursing over it, like a river until his whole form gleamed and then, nothing.


  I held my hands in front of me, but they were ordinary hands, callused from years of using a wheelchair, and not at all lit up. What had happened? Still, I kept looking at my hands, my fingers, and wondering if I’d been in such a state of stress I’d imagined the effect. The light. Desperate to save him when I thought I’d lost him.

  The alpha growled out, “You would have killed them before you let them get to her, and they did not have the opportunity to send their best. Nobody knew your plans, so they must have seen you at the food stand and taken a chance. You bested them, this time.”

  “I will go find them and kill them now,” he growled, but the idea of him fighting more, after what he’d already been through, terrified me.

  “Eschel,” I called. “Please don’t go.”

  The guys crowded around the bed, and Christie sat beside me. Behind them, the alpha gave me a long look before leaving, followed by his beta.

  I looked at my friends, and possibly more, their eyes wide and movements awkward, almost nervous, like they weren’t people I’d spent nearly every day with since I moved here.

  OMG. The healer—they meant me.

  Chapter Two

  “I don’t know how to dress for a new pack member celebration…thing!” I complained to Christie while she sat on my bed and I flung things out of the closet. All of a sudden, my wardrobe seemed unacceptable by any standards though it had been fine the day before.

  “Oh, please. You look cute in anything you have. Plus, you’ve got four guys fawning all over you. You could come wearing a burlap sack, and they would drool.”

  I stuck my head out of the closet. “What about you? Don’t you date?”

  She sighed and looked down at her freshly manicured fingernails. “No. I’m waiting on my mate, of course. My mom says I will never find him because I’m always hanging around with my guy friends.”

  I made a pfft sound at her mom. “Whatever. You can hang around my guys anytime. And if some dude can’t handle it, he’s not good enough for you.”

  “Yeah, well, we shall see. Oh, wear that one. Blue looks fantastic on you.” She picked up the navy fitted sweater I had thrown onto the bed. “This with those skinny jeans will be perfect.”

  Christie was my inside security while there were at least two men outside, one in front and one in the backyard. I didn’t think it was necessary, but then again, I still wasn’t buying the whole healer thing.

  My guys were, though.

  My guys. I was careful to only call them that in my head.

  The situation was…confusing at best.

  When we arrived at the pack lands, the celebration was already in full swing. Cash and Moss came to the car and opened the door for me. “You’re late,” Moss said, chuckling as he lifted me off my feet and into a tight embrace.

  “I couldn’t figure out what to wear.” I tugged at the sweater.

  Cash leaned in after Moss had put me down and whispered, “You certainly chose well. You look great.”

  We walked toward what seemed to be the center of the activity, and I gasped. There were tables and tables worth of food and music flowed in the air while people danced.

  It was like a wedding, but without the marriage part. Just the reception.

  “What in the world?” I gawked at it all.

  “It’s not a big deal. We were going to do a pig roast, but it seems you are pretty popular. They each decided to bring a special dish for you. The whole pack.”

  “They did?” I asked, still shocked.

  “We had a vote yesterday after the alpha announced he wanted you to become a pack member. It was unanimous, by the way. Some of the elders said they couldn’t remember ever having a unanimous vote.”

  The alpha hadn’t said anything about a vote, but why would he? It would’ve stressed me out to the bone to know they were voting.

  I looked around for Eschel and Brandon but didn’t see them anywhere, to my disappointment. Moss caught me and snaked his arm around my waist. “They are in charge of the cake. They made a run to the bakery. Don’t worry. All your men will be here. Want something to drink while you wait?”

  “Um, sure. Water is fine.”

  He nodded. “Water it is.”

  In his absence, Cash sidled up to me. “How are you feeling?” His tone was nothing but sincere. “I mean, after the…healing thing. You’re okay?”

  The healing thing.

  The thing about that episode was it felt kind of ironic, like the blessing had gone to the wrong person.

  I was still weak, though stronger than before. Certainly if I was some kind of healer, I could heal my own freakin’ self.

  Maybe be able to shift?

  “I’m fine. I think it was a fluke or…something, to be honest, Cash.”

  He chuckled low and deep. It made warmth flourish in my belly and a shiver pulse through me. “You, Wendi Walker, are anything but a fluke.”

  We talked for a while, and, soon, Moss joined us. “There. That’s who you were looking for,” Moss said, pointing to Brandon and Escher who each carried a large sheet cake toward the tables. Faintly, I smelled peanut butter and chocolate in the air.

  “I wondered where they were,” I replied, trying to cover up what I was mentally calling selfishness. I had two amazing guys flanking me, and yet, I was searching for the others among the crowd.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s not the same when everyone isn’t here. I get that. I will never…none of us will ever chastise you for searching for what belongs to you.”

  The what?

  I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but the alpha stood and a hush fell over the pack.

  “Pack members, brothers and sisters, we are gathered to celebrate not only a new pack member, but the finding of one of our own. A very special pack member indeed. Raise your glasses!”

  Everyone raised their glass, and, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out if I should raise mine or not. I did a half-mast thing in case.

  “To Wendi!’ he roared, and the pack echoed him. I smiled, feeling the rush of heat in my cheeks.

  Everyone drank, and he announced they would run after we all ate. He also told everyone to make their way to me throughout the night and welcome me in person.

  “Welcome to our pack, Wendi.” Brandon approached first and kissed the side of my neck, sending goose bumps along my skin.

  “Thank you.”

  He chuckled and pressed his forehead against mine. “You can thank me later.”

  Chapter Three

  Christie came home with me after the party, something she’d done most nights lately. As indoor security. Something I was curious about. Sure, she was great company and a lot of fun, and clearly my best friend, but what would make me safer having her here? I could holler for help as well as she could.

  I looked over at her lying next to me, on her back with an arm over her eyes. She wore a knee-length T-shirt with the image of an ice cream cone with about five scoops in different flavors on it, and her rainbow socks—toe socks!—came up to her knees. If anything, I thought I might need to protect her in a crisis. She was sweet and kind and funny. None of the things that said guardian wolf to me. Oh well, with a security wolf in both the front and back yard, we should be very safe.

  But I was too tired to think about it any further tonight. As a new member of the pack, I would be getting a real assignment of my own, and, as my eyelids got heavy, I wondered what I could contribute to the group. I was walking better every day, but I didn’t think making it from the kitchen to the front porch was a skill they needed. But I supposed they knew what they were doing.

  My jaw stretched wide in a big yawn. I still wasn’t sold on being the healer they expected. If I had it in me, why had it taken me so long to walk after the accident? Pills or no pills.

  And what were those pills about? To all appearances, they had contributed to my lack of improvement, but why would my step-aunt have wanted me to be confined to a wheelchair? If she hated me, she’d hidden it for many y
ears…

  Back to the subject of what I could do to help the pack on a daily basis. Maybe I could do some cooking. I loved it, and they all sure enjoyed eating.

  My eyes opened wide as I realized if I continued to get better, I could cook without needing to sit often or use the chair at all. But even that couldn’t hold me in wakefulness after my long and busy and exciting day. I fell asleep and dreamed of endless rows of pastries and roasts and casseroles…seafood delights…and a mountain of donuts. After all, who didn’t love donuts? I could be the donut goddess.

  “Wendi, wake up!”

  I yanked the pillow over my face, lost in a fantasy where the whole pack was eating a meal I prepared and showering me with praise. “No, go away!”

  “Wendi!” Christie tugged the pillow away and leaned over, almost nose to nose. “Wendi, the alpha wants to see you. Now.”

  I sat up, nearly bonking faces. “The alpha? Why?”

  “I don’t know. Brandon is outside in the front, and that’s all he told me. Get dressed. He doesn’t have to explain why he wants someone. And he hates to be kept waiting.”

  I scrambled to my feet, taking only a moment to realize I had done that before racing into the bathroom for a two-minute shower. Awake now, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, my black-and-white Converses, I was on the porch, ready to go, in less time than ever before in my memory. “Brandon, what’s up?”

  He shrugged, confirming what Christie had said—as if she’d have lied. “Not a clue, but we need to get going.”

  I looked around for his motorcycle but, instead, saw his low, classic sportscar. “My first ride in her.”

  “Right.” Despite the tension on his face, he gave me a small smile. “And it’s going to be fast. You ready?”

  “Yep.” I reached inside the entryway for my purse and waved at Christie. She still wore the silly ice-cream shirt but had shed the socks. “I’ll be back when I can. Help yourself to coffee and whatever.”