NEW SERIES BLURB AND CHAPTER ONE
I’m supposed to marry the alpha. But he thinks I’m too young and inexperienced.
The pack has announced that we’re a match, but he says I could never be his mate.
But when my old flame shows up, he suddenly changes his mind.
He gets protective of my curves and wants to make babies.
I tried to oppose it, but the pack set me up on a date with him anyway.
I’ve seen him a hundred times. There’s no reason to get excited.
So why am I suddenly feeling sensitive and tender at the sight of him?
Why do I want more when I know my attraction isn’t reciprocated?
He says I can’t be his mate but moves me into his house anyway.
He pretends he doesn’t care but get irate when my ex shows up.
He makes me furious but his protectiveness turns me on badly.
The tension hangs in the air, and I’m about to beg for release.
What will the alpha do when he finds out I’m pregnant with his baby?
In the small town of Beaufort Creek, people believe in arranged marriages. Because when two shifters are brought together to overcome old resentments and form strong alliances, the power of love heals all…
Chapter 1 - Troy
A well-earned sense of accomplishment glowed within me as I bowed my head toward the newly purchased patch of land set next to the Beaufort Creek ranch. The fields would need tilling. The trees would need
trimming. Animals would soon be bought once the housing was finished up. All of that would come in due time.
But the time was also now. Part of me bristled at the thought of having to start over. As resilient as I’d always been, my heart quivered at the thought of failing the only remaining members of the Bravecrest pack— which were four in total including me. Many suns had already set since our last encounter with our families. Many moons had signaled the passing of those dear to us.
I stepped up on the porch and wandered inside the cabin, punching the security code into the pad next to the door. As I tucked my keys into my pocket, I inhaled the fresh scent of pine and wood. I noted the hints of tobacco on the air and patchouli hanging around. The scent made me smile at its familiarity. The teapot on the counter called my attention, so I went
about making tea to prep for my meeting.
That dreaded night when my pack died echoed still in the back of my mind. It kept me up at night, often my cousin too, and frequently our friend, Wendell. Isaiah was settled with his mate, and now that a month had passed of him attending his anger management therapy sessions, he had
shown significant improvement in many areas. Our friendship had only gotten better in the same time.
Much to my dismay, my confidence had dropped. I thought perhaps once a member of my pack had gained notoriety and security, I would have felt more at peace with our situation. And as accommodating as Blake had been, I found myself struggling to accept the ample charity he had provided. These thoughts weighed me down like chains as I boiled water for the teapot.
The charity was far from scraps, for Blake wasn’t that type of alpha. I felt no malice or pity from him. I hardly felt anything malicious at all. His
soul was truly one of a kind, producing the sort of energy that inspired flowers to bow toward him instead of the sun. Such purity could hardly be produced by a menace.
What remained of our lives was shavings at this point. The medical facility in which I had been held rarely bothered me these days. My focus was captivated by progression—the heated, aggressive, hopeful marching into the future where I knew our pack would multiply and thrive. It was in our nature to do so. We couldn’t fail.
Already, we had a pup in the works. Jada would undoubtedly birth a gorgeous child full of hope and life. She visited often, made us tea, forced me to rest when I was hobbling on tired legs from building houses and turning soil. Isaiah watched with a playful and quiet grin that told me she often treated him this way as well. His mate was wonderful. And she loved him. I felt it.
Joy could be found in those two. Yet joy wasn’t what I felt
whenever I sat on my simple bed in my simple room inside my simple home. Furnishings had yet to arrive. Elias had promised to paint the place, yet fell short, choosing to spend most of his time volunteering at the mixed- age school on the Beaufort Creek property.
It wasn’t a problem by any stretch of the imagination. Yet it also wasn’t a solution to our current stagnancy.
And I was fresh out of solutions.
Which must have been the reason why the Beaufort Creek alpha called me to our neutral meeting ground, set on the line separating our properties. With Jada’s pup brewing, warm feelings had been stirred between our packs. I believed we were feeling sentimental. Blake must have been missing his parents. It wasn’t so long ago that he’d lost his mother.