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  “Well then, what are the other downsides?” I ask, seeing Fergus’ eyes light up in interest too.

  “I mean,” Theo starts, motioning to his upper half. “Looking this good only encourages women to flirt their arses off.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “Like you don’t appreciate the ego-boost.”

  He shrugs. “I’ve only got eyes for one woman so it’s kind of a waste.”

  Sebastian snorts. “There aren’t that many downsides, I’ll be honest. The need for rest is the big one. We can heal from injuries that would be fatal to humans. Silver is dangerous to us. It’s fairly easy to avoid coming across in general, but there are wolf hunters out there and they know how to use it.”

  Theo pulls a face. “Don’t remind me.”

  “You’ve been hunted?” I ask, my eyes widening.

  “I’d rather forget it,” he mumbles, as the waitress brings out our drinks.

  She eyes all of my mates appraisingly and I can tell by how red she gets when Theo winks at her that she finds them all as alluring as I do. Why do I feel like we’re going to get this kind of reaction everywhere we go? I’m glad Theo’s a stellar cook. I don’t think I want to bring my mates out like this too often. I want to keep them all to myself.

  “What are you thinking?” Lukas leans in and whispers.

  “I’m thinking I’m a lucky woman.”

  The girl who cried wolf grew up to be the woman who became one, and she couldn’t be happier with the world. Well, at least for now. There are pancakes coming and a new mate to properly welcome. I can’t help thinking that things can only get better.

  Smoke rises off the sea as the sun beats down on us. The beach is packed full of humans in the biggest heat-wave we’ve seen in years. My mates make sure I’m covered up, protective of my swollen belly and my easily burnt skin.

  “Get her ears,” Theo says, as he rubs the sun-cream around my neck and collar bone, his fingers skating dangerously close to his mark on my shoulder.

  I give him a warning glance that he catches through the rosy-pink lenses of my sunglasses.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll save the screaming orgasms for later,” he whispers as he passes the bottle to Lukas.

  “I’ve got her ears,” Fergus is quick to claim, making me sigh at him.

  How many times do I have to tell them to stay away from my marks while we’re in public? I know how tempting it is every second they’re around me to send me straight to orgasm town but for feck’s sake, this beach is crowded.

  “No, you don’t,” Lukas tells my over-eager fourth mate, as he gently applies the cream to my ears.

  I bite my lip. He’s extremely gentle and rubs softly into my right lobe, where Fergus bit me when we became mates officially. It still stirs desire in me, but because it’s not his mark I don’t immediately come in my bikini shorts.

  “You’re glowing,” he tells me, something he’s commented on a lot since he made me pregnant.

  Apparently my skin improvements are down to more than just becoming a wolf.

  “Only for a few more months,” I tell him.

  He shakes his head at me. “You think I won’t just get you pregnant again immediately?”

  “Hold up,” Sebastian says. “You can’t call dibs on her womb. It isn’t fair.”

  I laugh as the conversation goes right off the rails.

  “Yeah,” Theo says. “Give the rest of us a chance. She picked you first, as you so enjoy reminding us. She’s already having your kid.”

  “I think I might turn celibate once the baby’s here,” I tell them all, trying to stop this insane conversation. Having one kid feels nice and special and I don’t know, like we’re a family. Talk about putting a second one in me the moment the first one’s born is seriously freaking me out.

  Theo laughs as he lies down on the towel next to me. “Sorry, Maggie, but I’ll believe that when I see it.”

  I slap his arm and shake my head. Lukas finishes creaming me up, rolling his eyes at Theo.

  “Hey, you took his rings,” Lukas murmurs.

  I did, and they still refuse to come off my finger, though that might be because of the swelling my entire body’s been doing. My breasts were big enough before. They’re ridiculous now, not that any of my mates are complaining.

  All I can smell now is the sun cream, and it’s not even the nice coconut kind. I screw up my nose, and stay seated on the towel as Lukas sits next to Sebastian at my right side and holds a hand out for a drink from the ice-box. Sebastian sits up and gets it as the smell of smoke starts to sting my nostrils.

  “Is someone barbequing?” I ask, taking a look around.

  A shriek sounds out from the water ahead and I look up, my heart stopping at the sight of the horrifying decaying corpse that emerges from the water, coated in blood that seems to be moving to cover the bones like something out of a horror movie.

  I glance at Fergus and I know he’s as sure as I am that this is his mother clambering out of the ocean like some kind of un-killable psychopath, intent on destroying all of us.

  The sky turns colours above us, until it’s dark enough and terrifying enough on the beach to make everyone run screaming for their cars. Everyone but us. We watch the banshee resurrect, too stunned to move. She’s beautiful when she’s whole. Her smile is vicious as she stops before us and lets out an almighty shriek.

  I snap awake, reaching down for my swollen stomach and finding it flat. It was just a dream.

  A nightmare, but it wasn’t real. I shiver as I try to calm my racing thoughts. I can’t seem to make myself believe it was nothing more than a dream.

  I turn and shake Fergus and Theo in turn, hoping to wake them up. They used a ton of magic wiping out the evidence and clearing the memories of everyone in the police station who knew something. They’ll probably sleep for hours. They can’t.

  “Wake up,” I tell them, sitting up and raising my voice. “Everyone, wake up. Now.”

  My hands look brighter for a second when I push a command behind that last word.

  Shock flows over me. I used magic, and it worked. Theo snaps awake and shudders.

  “What happened?” he asks, as Sebastian groans beside him.

  “I had a nightmare. We need to get down to the beach.”

  I get up and push the covers back, heading to the dressing table where I left my leggings and T-shirt on the chair. The spade is outside the shed. We’ll need it. I throw on my clothes as the guys move off the bed.

  “Why are we going to the beach?” Fergus asks with a yawn.

  “Oh shit, the beach,” Theo says, looking sick. I know he’s remembering what happened when he was possessed. I can see it on his face.

  “I’ll get the spade, just hurry up okay?” I tell them as I rush out of the room.

  Theo grabs his clothes and comes with me, stepping into his jeans as I open the back door and race out into the garden. He’s beside me fully clothed a few seconds later, taking the spade out of my hands.

  “I’ll do the digging.”

  We get back inside and I lock the door. Everyone else is ready in the hall when I get to the front door. I swallow as I unlock the front door.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing, but I need to be certain,” I tell them.

  “We should have moved her,” Lukas murmurs as we head out.

  I hope he’s wrong. I hope I am too.

  Theo digs for what feels like forever, after they all have a go at scraping the sand back with their hands. It’s faster with one guy and a spade, unfortunately. I pace a little as I wait. Lukas and Sebastian are watching Theo tensely as Fergus paces with me.

  The rustle of the bag reassures me. We rush to the edge of the hole as he drops the spade and reaches down to tug on the edge of the bag. There’s no resistance. The thick black bin bag is pulled out of the hole and the wind catches it. Empty.

  The bones are gone. The banshee is loose.

  There goes my fairytale ending.

  I hope you enjoyed Cry Wolf. When I
got the idea for this story, I originally intended to write it as a standalone novel but the characters started to demand more and I quickly realized the story was morphing into a trilogy. So, books two and three are in process now and there shouldn’t be a long wait for them. You can follow one of my social media accounts for updates as below.

  Want more steamy RH goodness right now? Check out my other work, detailed below, or follow me on my social media links for updates on future works!

  Looking for more full length novels? Here’s a list of my other works:

  Need steamy, twisted standalone fairytale reverse harems? Check out Devilry for a vampire filled version of Snow White, or Cursed Slumber for a demon filled version of Sleeping Beauty. Lastly, Ruby’s Pride, inspired by the Wizard of Oz, is the first in a series of steamy fairytale standalones which also feature shifters.

  If you love stories about unusual shifters, you might also like Flashing Her Gators, which is a standalone that’s slower burn with eventual steam, and features multiple POVs.

  Need a complete series with serious steam and multiple POVs? Make sure you check out my completed low fantasy Rock Goddess Reverse Harem Series.

  Need a break from multiple partner romance? If you love sweet but steamy contemporary romance or romcoms, you might want check out my new Summerville Valley Romance Series.

  Looking for shorter RH reads? Here’s a list of my shorter works:

  If you’re looking for a standalone shorter read, be sure to check out my seriously steamy snake shifter novella, Venom’s Kiss. This was originally published in Falling for Them Volume Five.

  If you’re looking for something short and steamy with vampires, check out my Charming Their Djinn trilogy serial. The first story, Lucky in Love, was originally published in Lucky Between the Sheets, with the title Charming the Djinn. The characters demanded their story be expanded on so there are two more novellas in the series, Hard Luck and Lucky Streak.

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