Night Critters (Collection) by Lena Austin Page A

She leaned toward Roni and winked. “He didn't even get sick at his first goblet of blood."
    Jon sniffed and pretended to be offended. “As if I would. I'm a surgeon. I never get sick at the sight of blood. What took me so long was convincing my oh-so-stubborn love that turning me solved everything. We'll just adopt if we get the urge to hear ‘Whyyy?’ a million times and want our stuff destroyed."
    Ana playfully slapped him on the arm. “Who neglected to tell me he wanted a literal eternity in my arms, hmm? C'mon, feather brain, let's boogie!"
    "Boogie? Is that a particular set of steps, like the Electric Slide you taught me last week?” Jon swung Ana out on the dance floor with his elegant white wings tucked close to his body.
    Katriena mounted the dais, looking elegant and cool in gray silk. She accepted as her due Eduardo and Duke's howls and whistles. She hugged both Corbin and Roni. “When do I get grandpups to spoil, hmm?"
    All Roni did was smile. “Sooner than you think, Mom. I had my implants removed the week after Corbin revealed who he was to you."
    Katriena tilted her head in Roni's direction. “Any offspring you have are going to be a pack of trouble. I can't wait."
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Epilogue
    Duke and Eduardo stood over the box bed, grinning as proudly as if they'd fathered the litter squirming on the padding themselves.
    Eduardo nudged his old friend and bounced on his toes. “Those are some great-looking puppies. My daughter did very well for her first litter."
    Duke looked at Eduardo sideways and folded his arms across his chest. “You mean cubs, and my son provided the seed."
    Roni sighed inwardly. Werewolves called their young “cubs” to differentiate from the weredog “pups.” Once again, the ugly prejudices could arise to bite them all over nothing. She jiggled the baby in her arms and he rewarded her with a burp.
    "They are puppies,” Eduardo corrected, his large brown eyes twinkling.
    "Cubs.” Duke stared him down, his lips twitching with humor.
    "Would you two stop it?” Katriena hissed from her position comfortably curled up in the oversized chair and returned to her knitting of the sixth blanket.
    Both pack leaders bowed in unison. “Yes, our beloved Alpha Bitch."
    Jon and Ana laughed and applauded from their position at the music keyboard, where they took turns playing winter holiday music for the assembled grandparents.
    Corbin silently squeezed Roni's shoulders. “I'll get them some punch.” He sauntered off to the kitchen, whistling in time to the music Ana picked out on the keyboard.
    Eduardo leaned down and straightened the fur on one of the smaller Chihuahua blends. He laughed when the feisty little fellow bit his finger.
    "How about we just call them grandcubs?” Duke suggested and nuzzled a black lab blend.
    Eduardo looked at Duke and smiled. “Done."
    Roni tried not to laugh at their antics from her makeshift throne on the couch. She was exhausted but she was not going to deny the grandparents their bragging rights.
    Eduardo looked at his daughter and pointed to the infant in her arms. “Roni, honey, why hasn't that one shifted?” Eduardo looked concerned.
    "This is Luciano. We'll nickname him Lucky. It seems he is unable to shift.” Roni tickled the chin of her son, and was rewarded with a baby sigh and smile.
    Duke shook his head sadly. “Oh, no. We have a Faux Paws. I know the pain of being different. He's got a life of hell ahead of him."
    Jon turned from the keyboard and winked. “Only if he doesn't find a guardian angel."
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Night Critters: Faux Paws
    Lena Austin & Tuesday Richards
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    Lucky Thornburn, a Faux Paws, or shifter-born who can't shift, meets a half-angel named Charm. Charm doesn't need or want his chivalry, but she's literally trouble on the wing. She wants to renovate an old house into a home for foster children just like Charm needed as a child before she was adopted. Lucky's cold-hearted brother