Read Deer Heart [Shifter Crossroads 3] Online
Authors: Zenina Masters
Tags: #Fantasy, #Shapeshifters, #Paranormal, #erotic romance
Deer Heart [Shifter Crossroads 3] (7 page)
Leah pulled the collar of her dress to one side.
“We were going to be mates, but he got cold feet.”
“Really. Why are you showing me the marks?” Venny knew what she was going to say. Athon had given her the ex briefing.
“Because he gave them to me before he even met you.” She crossed her arms and crowed.
Venny shrugged. “Two things. One, if he had met me before he met you, you wouldn’t have those marks. Two, that isn’t his bite. He has had a chipped lower canine when he shifts them for half his life. It shows up in his pictures. I just got him to get it fixed last week, and the tearing that that canine caused isn’t in evidence on your neck.” Venny had her own marks with precisely that jagged blur, though the actual cause was not what she had thrown at Leah.
Leah flushed scarlet and turned to leave.
Venny reached out and gripped her shoulder, “Stay away from me and mine, or I will stomp you into a fine, bloody paste. It won’t be the first time.”
Her voice was a quick whisper, but a pale wash ran through Leah when she looked into Venny’s eyes. She nodded quickly and headed for the exit, grabbing a wolf male as she passed.
Henrietta gave her a look of respect. “I didn’t know that about Athon’s tooth.” Venny grinned. “That is because I lied. The truth is he is a sloppy biter when he is horny, and I tend to squirm. He bites twice, but I didn’t want Leah to figure that out.”
Henrietta winced. “That sounds painful.”
“I know, right. Oddly enough, I don’t mind.” She shrugged and walked with her in-law, meeting pack members who showed polite respect that they normally didn’t display when meeting a ruminant.
Henrietta didn’t mind having a reindeer as a sister-in-law. The amount of contact that Athon and Apollo now had made the Alpha happier and that made Henrietta’s life easier.
In one email, Henrietta had told Venny that if she was a tap-dancing weasel and Athon was happy with her, she would be happy.
“I can’t believe he got you to pose for all those pictures. The human ones, I mean.” Henrietta was standing in front of a risqué image of Venny wrapped in heavy white satin, her back bare and facing the viewer while her head and shoulders were turned to face the camera. Her hair was a snow-white cascade and there were minute braids in her locks. With the red of her eyes digitally enhanced, it was an eerily frightening image.
A familiar voice spoke. “I never thought to see you like that, Venny.”
She turned and smiled at Pierce. “I never thought to marry a photographer. The world turns and life changes us.”
She hugged him and he hugged back.
Henrietta cleared her throat.
“Oh, pardon my manners, Henry. This is Pierce, Reindeer Herd Master. Pierce, this is Henrietta, my sister-in-law and Alpha female of the local pack.”
Pierce took the wolf’s hand, and he bowed gracefully. “I am pleased that Venezia has found family at last.”
Henrietta blinked. “I was not under the impression that she was an orphan.” Pierce stood and shook his head, “I mean since her family abandoned her to my care. Our clan normally destroys albinos. They are usually weaker, but Venny has proven all our histories wrong.”
Henrietta looked horrified. “That’s barbaric.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “What do you do to albinos?”
“We simply shun them.”
“Do you not think that denying them the society of their own kind is a detriment to their sanity?” Pierce had Henrietta thinking, and Venny’s wine glass was empty.
She wandered to the serving station and poured a champagne glass full of ginger ale.
Athon freed himself from his crowd, and he whispered, “How are you doing?”
“Fine. As long as I stay away from the crab puffs. Those things are killing me.” She chuckled weakly and moved away from the food with her camouflage beverage.
“Only two more hours and we can be back in bed and relaxing.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “So, what do you think, puppy or calf?” She sighed. “I don’t care if it’s a zebra unicorn. When can we go home?”
“End of the week, love. I have invited my sisters for the holidays.”
Venny grinned and thought about the five thousand acres of forest and meadow that housed their home. “I think we will have room. What about your parents?”
“They are staying in the tropics. It will be a charming family holiday with you holding centre stage. When do you think you will stop being able to shift?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. None of my family will return my emails and Pierce is hopeless on that side of things.”
“That isn’t it. You haven’t told anyone, have you?” He frowned.
“No. You?”
“No. I was waiting for you to make an announcement at dinner with Apollo and Henry. You didn’t.”
She frowned. “I don’t know how folks are going to take it, so I just want to keep it safe. It must be the reindeer in me, but I don’t want to expose the child to danger before it is even born. Afterward, I am guessing that I will be a complete pain in the ass.”
He laughed and hugged her in the midst of the very elegant photographic exhibition. “You already are, and I love you for it.” She wrinkled her nose, and then, her eyes widened as they heard the sound of an argument coming from the rear of the gallery.
“Pierce is here?”
“I left him arguing with Henrietta, and I am guessing Apollo joined in.” She winced as the voices rose another notch. “Go stop them.”
“Me? Why me, he was your Herd Master.” He crossed his arms and scowled.
“You are the Alpha. Go get him.”
“Living goddess.”
She opened her mouth and closed it with a snap. She could never argue with that logic. “Wish me luck. I am going in.”
She strode into the argument and offered Pierce a dinner with the Alpha and his wife so they could continue their debate. It would be a private event at Venny’s home, but everyone would be free to scream as much as they liked.
She exhaled as the cluster dissolved and returned to Athon.
He grabbed her and dipped her in his arms.
“My hero.”
She snorted, but his kiss was holding back any true expression of frustration. The frustration faded as her mate nibbled at her lips and caressed her back. Venezia sighed and held tight to his shoulders. Dealing with family appeared to be her venue, and she added it to her side of the balance that they created together.
Who knew that hysterics in a public park could have led to finding a man she didn’t even dare to dream of?
Well, one month from now, we will meet Dira’s match in
Dragon Around
.
Living within the Crossroads is an excellent shelter, and it has the bonus of having plenty of eligible men wandering past her doors. Dira watches all the newcomers and waits for the day a male walks the streets of the Crossroads who is equal to her power…and her lifespan.
Rajek is a unicorn who, after centuries, has left the safety of his herd, looking for a mate of his own. Women are drawn to him, but the feeling isn’t mutual until he enters the Open Heart Bed and Breakfast and he sees a woman rippling with power…and she has cookies!
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.