Tether: A Shifter of Consequence Tale (Shifters of Consequence Book 6) Read online

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Tether

  A Shifter of Consequence Tale

  Copyright 2020 by Mazzy J. March

  ISBN: 978-1-68361-454-8

  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

  Epilogue

  An Excerpt from Survivor – The First Shifter of Consequence Tale

  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

  Shifters of Consequence

  Survivor

  Legacy

  Triumph

  Dominion

  Torn

  Tether

  Tremble

  One is mine, the other…well, he’s an ass.

  Tris and I are mated, mostly. But Samson still won’t budge. He’s the most obstinate man I’ve ever met, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting him. I won’t give up on him, no matter how hard he tries to push me away.

  Not to mention, someone is stalking our pack. They already kidnapped two girls, but it seems like they are out for some kind of vengeance. Not if I have my way. I would give me life for my pack, and I might just have to.

  Grandma is coming to visit, soon, and promises to share all the lore of our family, and I can only hope it will answer so many of the questions hanging over me and the pack as well. We keep getting targeted, and if Samson spends all his time rescuing pack members, it’s not looking good for our relationship. Or our pack! How many more lives will be lost?

  Tethered is the 6th book in a paranormal reverse harem shifter series featuring members of the Midnight Alder Pack. This is the second volume of Christie’s story. 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.

  Chapter One

  A stray beam of sunlight warmed my face, and I rolled over to glance at the clock on the nightstand next to me only to realize I needed to sit up and look past Tris to check the time. We were sleeping together most nights, now, but sometimes at my house and others at his.

  It was eight thirty, and I had a ten o’clock class, so I had to get up within the next fifteen minutes or so or risk being late for my bio lab. I pushed the covers back and sat up, but before I could get a foot on the floor, Tris had his arm wrapped around my waist.

  “Don’t get up yet.” He tugged me down to lie beside him. “Stay here where it’s warm.”

  “It’s not exactly freezing out there. It’s a beautiful fall day.” I tried to extricate myself. “Supposed to be in the high seventies.”

  “Mmm, but it’s not that now. If you stay, I’ll let you be on top.”

  I slapped his chest. “Lazy. You know you prefer to lie there and let me do all the work in the mornings.”

  “Sometimes.” He tucked me close to his side. “But I like all our positions. You pick.”

  “I take it back. You are far sneakier than you are lazy.” But I loved all his silliness. Before we moved forward together, he’d been so reserved, holding me at arm’s length. I’d had no idea he could be funny, goofy. We cooked together and ran errands, even did laundry, and I enjoyed every moment we spent together.

  Despite my protests, I wasn’t fighting him, and despite his offer to let me be on top, it wasn’t something that happened often. Tris was a dominant male. An alpha, if not the pack alpha. When he did let me take control, it was because I begged him to. Not that I minded. Outside the bedroom, he always consulted me before making decisions, but between the sheets, my wolf lover was full of surprises.

  I’d never dreamed of some of the things we did together, but this morning, when he really did know we had limited time—I could stretch the fifteen minutes to twenty if I showered extra fast—he kissed me deeply and rolled over me, his cock as ready for me as I was for him.

  Wrapping my legs around his hips, I clung to him while he drove inside, filling me, stretching me, and bringing me to three quick orgasms before spilling inside me.

  As he braced himself on his arms to keep from squashing me, his kisses went on and on. Finally, I wriggled free and stood next to the bed. “I have to get ready for school.”

  “How about if we do the thing you like?” He was all wide-eyed innocence.

  “You know I like it all. Stop teasing. Aren’t you sated for a few hours at least?” I was slipping my arms into my robe, which I would wear on my walk of no-shame back to my place.

  “Never.” He reached for me, but I slipped to the doorway. “When will you be home?”

  “I have a busy day, and won’t be back until dinnertime. Didn’t you have a lot to do as well?” He’d recently opened a security company, and although he was working on keeping me home, he’d be there all day. He was a hard worker. “You know. Work?”

  “I suppose.” His sigh came from deep down. Then his eyes lit up. “Can you come by at lunch?”

  My cheeks burned. “You know what happened last time. That couple who came in for information found us in the back room. We almost got caught. “This is a small town, and you don’t want to get a reputation for debauchery.” I studied his mischievous grin. “Or do you?”

  “It sounds interesting.” He lay there with the sheet at his waist, his impressive upper body on full display. “How about if I promise not to make any moves. Will you come? I’ll order sandwiches.”

  I belted my robe and searched for my slippers. “Okay. But they’d better be good, and I will hold you to your promise.”

  He did manage to
get in a few more kisses before I escaped, his affection and enthusiasm making it hard for me to go. If I didn’t know how devoted Tris was to his new enterprise, I’d have believed he really intended us to spend all day and all night in bed for the foreseeable future.

  But once I was at home and standing under my steamy shower, another face replaced Tris’ in my mind. The one topic that hadn’t come up this morning was the one he knew would end in an argument. Tris didn’t see any reason for me to pay rent for this little house when we were already mated.

  He believed we should live together, and so did I. But I feared the action would end any chance of resolving our differences with Samson, the pack alpha and my other mate. My wolf was adamant, and so was I. Tris made me very happy, but I was always aware of the missing element. We belonged together. They were brothers destined to share a mate. And he’d told me he cared. Took one step closer and another back.

  How long could I expect Tris to wait for me to live with him?

  With those thoughts in mind, I climbed into my car and drove toward school. Nothing was going to be resolved today, and bio was a class I struggled in. Unlike Wendi, my bestie who was working toward medical school, I was more a liberal arts girl. But the college had a science requirement, and biology for the non-major had sounded like an easy way to meet it.

  Wrong. My whole GPA and, therefore, my scholarship hinged on my getting at least a B in a class in which I currently hovered around a high D.

  Focus on school, Christie. If everything else in your life blows up, at least you’ll have a degree.

  So, why were my priorities not there?

  Chapter Two

  Picking up my books for the new semester. Parking in the campus lot. Even sitting at a desk and listening to the professor—it all seemed harder with what was going on in my life. Especially as we got into the semester, and I was struggling with some of the classes. But such was life, I supposed. Doing what you had to while the hurricane continued to blow.

  Kelli and Laney hadn’t said much. They’d been blindfolded and gagged most of the time since they were kept. Kelli, in particular, said she could hardly stay awake while she tried to get the scents of her captors and maybe pick something up from their conversations, which meant they were probably drugged the entire time.

  Samson and the others thought that fact in particular pointed right toward Rattlecreek, but I knew better.

  This was the work of someone else.

  Didn’t scent of Rattlecreek, and honestly, the explosion with the shed? Way too smart for those assholes.

  I had barely made it on time with Tris’ antics which I enjoyed more than I was willing to admit.

  A short car ride later, I arrived at Wendi’s and my favorite spot, the diner. They had the sloppiest, gooiest cheeseburgers in town. And it was’ just what a girl needed when she was plagued with romance, kidnapping, and school issues.

  “Hey”.” I slid across from Wendi in the red-vinyl booth. She was typing away at her phone, probably texting one of her mates. A job all in itself.

  She glanced up and smiled. “Hey, how was class?”

  I shrugged. “It was class. Bio lab first then lecture. I took notes, but they’re all a mess. Good thing I recorded the professor. I’m having to do that a lot lately. Listening later is like attending class twice, but I’ll do what it takes to get a better grade.”

  “I had to do that a few times as well. What are you ordering? Like I don’t already know.”

  She was right. While she held the menu and surveyed the options, I never looked at it.

  “What are you getting?” I asked. Wendi hadn’t eaten much of late, and it was written all over the way her clothes were fitting. Dark crescents hung below her eyes and, though it had improved, her color was still off.

  “What’ll you two have?” Dot, the waitress, popped her gum and tapped her pen on the order tablet. She gave me a wink and, without a word from me, jotted down my usual.

  Wendi saw the exchange and shook her head. “I’ll have… You know what? Just double whatever this one is having.”

  Dot narrowed her eyes. “You sure you can handle it, hon?”

  Wendi laughed and patted her stomach. “I’m sure. Bring it on.”

  I waited until Dot left before prodding. Was it still prodding when it was your best friend? Nah. “So, you’re hungry again?”

  She laughed and a blush reached her cheeks. “Yeah. I’m hungry again. All that has passed.”

  “All what?” I asked, truly confused. Wendi had some off days, but I hadn’t realized the extent.

  She blew out a long breath. “I need you to keep a secret. And if you’ve blabbed all the other secrets I’ve ever told you, consider yourself forgiven. But you cannot, under any circumstances, tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.”

  I rolled my eyes and played with the trio of silverware wrapped in a cheap napkin. “Come on, you know my ears are bigger than my mouth. Tell me.”

  She nodded and leaned forward like we were in a treehouse and about to share a sacred oath. “I haven’t told the guys yet. I think they all suspect, and Escher said something about my scent being off lately, but…I’m pregnant.”

  I gasped loud and hard, making everyone in the restaurant almost break their neck looking at me. With a smile, I waved them off, signaling nothing was wrong.

  “Oh my God, I’m so happy for you!” I bounced my knees and clapped, but quietly. “When are you going to tell them?”

  “Well, I hoped you would help me.” She picked at her napkin. “It’s just they went so over-the-top with their proposal, and this is just as big a deal. I have fewer than zero ideas about how to do it, but I really want to make it special.”

  I nodded while Dot put our food on the table. Wendi’s eyes grew big as she took it all in. “Gods above, this is a spread.”

  It was a lot, I supposed. I called it stress eating. A triple cheeseburger, huge plate of onion rings, and a strawberry milkshake. And she had two of each. “Can you handle this, punk?” I asked my best friend, trying to sound like some movie star.

  “I can now. Damn, this looks so good. Thank you.”

  Dot walked away laughing while I popped an onion ring into my mouth. Wendi was still staring. “Dude, you don’t have to eat all of it.”

  She waved her hands. “No, I can so eat all of this.”

  “So, how far along are you?”

  She blushed again. “I’m right past the first trimester. I know it’s silly, but I didn’t want to tell anyone until I was past that milestone.”

  I shook my head. “They’re gonna be a little pissed you didn’t inform them sooner.”

  She shrugged one shoulder after taking an impressive bite out of her cheeseburger and groaning like she hadn’t eaten in months. “I know my boys. Pissed will only last for a few seconds. Then they will be so excited.”

  Then I really started to think about it. Four mates. One baby. How in the…?

  “Don’t, Christie. I’m not asking the question, and neither will they. It’s our baby, no matter what. Though I am excited to see who the baby looks like.”

  I guess it didn’t matter. She looked so overjoyed I refrained from pressing the subject anymore. We ate the rest of our meal in silence, and, true to her word, she finished it all.

  “Now,” I said, pulling a stray notebook from my bag. “Let’s get planning this big reveal. If you wait too much longer with the way you’re eating, you’re gonna have a belly before we can do this thing.”

  Chapter Three

  Wendi headed off to meet one of her mates—she didn’t mention which one—for an afternoon stroll and ice cream afterward. I’d known her for a while, and although she did enjoy her food, as we both did, she was eating for an army. At least if anyone noticed a bump, they would blame it on her ravenous appetite.

  It was so much fun planning her reveal to her mates. The pack would rejoice to know their healer and some of their strongest, smartest warriors were about to reproduce. Their
happiness was so evident whenever they appeared they brought up the level of any gathering. Even pack meetings held a particular joy, thanks to the presence of Wendi and the men she loved.

  Me? I suspected the chaos between me and Samson was also felt throughout the group. Shifters were sensitive to one another’s emotions, and I didn’t like to think we were contributing to negativity. With the kidnappings, everyone had enough to worry about. Would the time ever come when my mates and I also produced joy in a crowd.

  I had to admit, I was happier with Tris than I’d ever dreamed I could be with anyone, but mates weren’t a matter of choice. They were destiny. Fate. Souls who, when they were apart, longed for one another, but my mates were determined not to get along in any meaningful way.

  As I headed for my car, my phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my purse and read the text message.

  Christie, I need to see you in my office this afternoon. Within the hour.

  He didn’t sign it. Of course, my contacts showed who it was even if the tone of the communication hadn’t told me. I had half a mind to ignore him and just continue on with my day. Preferably go home and jump into bed with Tris. Samson had made his opinions clear. Why should we keep going over the same subject? Beating a dead wolf? Reminding me he wanted me to choose. Never going to happen.

  Of course, he was also my alpha, and when he summoned me, I was obligated by pack membership to obey. Maybe Tris had a better idea. He didn’t seem to mind not being a member of the pack anymore—much.

  With reservations and resignation, I turned the key and started the engine.

  No matter the reason for my visit, I always felt better being on pack lands. Which begged the question why I didn’t live there. Mainly, I didn’t have a house there. On the rare occasion someone moved there from another pack, they usually built a house for themselves, like the one Wendi’s mates built for her. The houses they moved from were instantly occupied by families or, in Moss’ case, became the healer’s office and a limited hospital facility. When I finished school, I’d have more money with which to consider building something. The land itself belonged to all of us, but the construction materials would be on me. Those were my reasons for living in town to start with. First, I’d rented a little apartment, and now, Wendi rented her house to me for a very low fee.