Their Runaway Mate (20 page)

Ian sighed and put his head down. “How long have we been friends?”

“Fifteen years, give or take,” Trent said automatically.

“And in all those years, have I ever taken a drug?” Ian asked calmly.

“No, but you may not know they're doing it. Let’s just get your blood tested,” Trent argued.

“Man, you are my best friend, I have already told the parents, call them. I showed them. Now calm the fuck down and listen. Logan is hot, nice, and the best part, Blake’s brother, which means you'll live in the Castle with me. We can hang out, work together, have beer night, and everything like we have been. Just please listen and go. I don’t want to leave you, and I think Logan would flip out. We only have a short period of time to be here,” Ian said and then whistled loudly, and the large men unlocked the door somehow and entered. Trent looked at them with surprise. He knew the door didn’t have a key; it only locked from the inside.

Trent’s eyes instantly were drawn to the man who was staring at him again. Damn, it was the eyes. They were fucking amazing. They had to be the funkiest shade of blue he had ever seen, almost purple. Trent loved his hair, cut into a short high and tight, thick, and either light brown or dark blond hair. It made him seem like he was in charge. He was sexy.

Was he honestly thinking about one of the cult members as hot? Seriously, 'cause it seemed like possibly he was being brainwashed right now. Shit, perhaps they put something in his drink, or perhaps they used hypnosis. Trent turned and closed his eyes refusing to make eyes contact with them, as well as throwing the drink Ian gave him away.

Excerpt from
Damon’s Redemption

The Secret of Wolf River Book Two

By Jessica Lupo

Prologue

“Alright, alright,” he said, backing away slowly. “But you'll be seeing me again, I promise you. You better protect your friends and loved ones, especially your dear Helena.”

David advanced on him and snarled viciously. Damon snarled and jumped back quickly, continuing to back away at a slightly quickened pace.

“I'll be guarding her life with my own, and if you ever come near her again, I will kill you myself! That, I promise you, dear brother.”

“
Goodbye
, brother! Until we meet again!” he shouted, turning around and sprinting away through the snow as fast as he could, changing to his wolf form in
midrun
.

Damon awoke with a start, bolting upright in bed. He wiped the couple of beads of sweat from his forehead and looked at the clock. It was only two a.m., the same time as the night before, when he had been awakened by the same dream. He was beginning to think that memory would continue to haunt him. He would never forget their cold stares of hatred when he saw them, only day before yesterday.

It wasn’t until 3 a.m. that he finally fell back to sleep, only to dream the same dream, but instead of running away from his family, as he had in reality, he attacked David, killing him… his
own brother
. Only seconds later, he felt a searing pain in his neck and everything suddenly went black.

Damon was startled awake again, and this time, his heart was beating rapidly in his chest, and he was drenched in sweat. Sighing, he got up and went in the bathroom to take a sip of water from the glass resting on the counter. His reflection in the mirror caught his eye and he stared at himself for a moment. He looked tired, not only from lack of sleep, but genuinely depressed.

How the hell did I get this way?
What was the point of it all this shit?
he thought, before turning away and returning to bed, unable to go back to sleep. He lay there in his bed thinking of how his life had gone to hell in a handbasket. He only hoped he would get the opportunity to turn it around.

Chapter One

Damon walked past the cells in the New York State Prison where he worked, still assuming his false identity as Jeremy Myers. He loved his job, as a prison guard, but not because of the paycheck or regular hours, he worked every day.

He loved whom he worked with. It wasn’t all the employees he enjoyed working with, though. It was only one person in particular. She was a beautiful woman named Morgan Delfina, who worked in the prison as a nurse. Every time he looked at her, he found it difficult to take his eyes off her. She rather resembled a porcelain doll in a way; her skin was pale, yet perfect, and her curly, long, raven-black hair accented her slightly round face. Her frame was thin, but not too thin, and had nice curves. In his eyes, she was perfect.

The first time Damon saw Morgan was one night at the edge of the forest near the prison. He didn’t know it at the time, but she had just moved to town, and was walking home from her first day at work, because she didn’t have a car yet. He didn’t know if she had seen him change to his wolf form, but his golden wolf eyes met hers for a moment before he disappeared out of sight.

The day after he first saw her, he spotted her at the prison, and found out through his co-workers that she had just been hired as the new nurse. He had been seeing Rose for a couple years at that point, so all he did was occasionally say hi, and make small talk with Morgan.

He barely even realized not being able to pursue a relationship with Morgan, was what slowly turned him against Rose. He became hateful and short-tempered with her. God, he even slapped her in the face before, in the heat of an argument. He was a total ass with her most of the time. Damn, he even chased her with a knife. The worst part of all of this; he knew it to be wrong, but he just couldn’t stop himself at the time. Shit, Rose didn’t need to hate him; he hated himself for what he had become.

There had to be a reason for his bad behavior; he just couldn’t think of one at this time. Except, Rose wasn’t his true mate, he had known that from the minute he met her. It was just that the pull towards her had been so strong. He should have ignored it, but Damon had been so lonely then, and Rose had been so kind to him.

Damon met Rose one evening at the
fast-food
restaurant where she worked. Back then, she was only a minimum wage employee. It was her first day working there, he could tell. She was still nice to the employees, but he could tell she was frustrated.

“Come on, hurry up!” said the mouthy man in front of Damon in line. Rose sighed and hurried out as quickly as she could with his food, setting it in front of him, accidentally spilling his drink on him. “What the fuck, lady?!”

“Hey, chill out!” Damon said to him, aggravated with the man’s attitude. “Can’t you tell she’s new here? Give her a break.”

Just then, Damon made eye contact with Rose and she smiled at him, silently thanking him for defending her. Rose handed the man a new drink and he rolled his eyes while he picked up his food and left. Thankfully, there was no one in line behind Damon, so hopefully
,
he would have a minute to speak with her.

“May I take your order?” she asked, smiling.

“Um, yeah, I’ll have a small drink, burger, and fries, thanks,” he said. He gave her the money and a minute later, she handed him the food. “What’s your name?”

“Rose. What’s yours?”

“Jeremy,” said Damon. He hated to lie to her about his name, but he had been going by that alias for many years now. He hated to change back to his real name all of a sudden. “Um, what are you doing after work?”

“Well, thankfully I’m finishing up in about ten minutes. I’ve got no plans after that.”

“Would you like to grab a bite to eat?” he asked and she laughed. “Someplace else?”

“Definitely. That sounds great
,
”
s
he
said with a
smile.

Damon couldn’t believe how things between him and Rose had drastically changed. He thought about it, replaying the memories in his head.

At first, he thought Rose was his true love. However, after a while, that spark in their relationship went away and every day that went by seemed to get more boring and dull. He had been drawn to her just as he had Helena, even Gwen. The feeling he got when he was near them was very slight. He realized this wasn’t right. True love must feel different from what he had with Rose.

When he first laid eyes on Morgan was when things seemed to drastically change for him. He was drawn to Morgan. Something about her intrigued him in a way no other woman had before. No, it wasn’t just
something
; it was
everything
. Every time he saw Morgan, his mood was lifted and he felt happier.

As he replayed the memory of the first time he saw Morgan, he realized it was then that the conflicts with Rose had started, and it was his entire fault. Seeing Morgan at work had become the highlight of his day, and when he got home and saw Rose, his mood changed and he became the darker person again that had caused his own brother to abandon him.

Since his relationship with Rose had officially ended, he was drawn to Morgan now more than ever. Anytime he ran into her, he got the strangest feeling, and would harden instantly. That was definitely a new experience for him. With the centuries he had lived and the women he had been with, this was undeniably different. He had a notion why, too. He would have to think about all this. Even though Damon had been working so long with Morgan, he didn’t know much about her, other than the fact that she was in her late-twenties and lived alone. He learned little random facts about her here and there from other employees in the prison, too, but nothing substantial. He liked to think he fancied her mainly because of her personality and good looks, both of which he had great difficulty finding in anyone in the past. It wasn’t that he had trouble finding beautiful women with nice personalities. He had trouble finding the right one. He needed to find his perfect match; his true mate.

There were other small, unique features he loved about her, like, her long, black, curly hair and her gorgeous, brown eyes. He loved the way she would smile and say hi to him every time he walked by her office. He loved the nice things she would say to him that would always cheer him up. He didn’t know if such friendly behavior was one of her normal traits, or she was paying him special attention. Either way, he enjoyed her company, and getting to see her every day brought happiness to his life.
Fuck, he could use it,
he told himself.

His brother had been right and Damon still had a chance to find a mate to start a new life with. The woman who came to mind when he thought of his mate was Morgan. He wanted nothing more than for her to be the one, but first, he needed to get to know her better, and there was only one way to do that, but he was nervous when it came to asking her out on a date. Seriously, Damon was nervous. Nothing in his life had ever made him nervous, but when it came to asking Morgan out on a date, he was
definitely
nervous.

He was starting to think there was definitely something to this mate deal. He figured before it was all over, he would make a fool of himself. Then what would Morgan think of him?

Damon shook his head and said in a low voice that only he could hear,
When the hell have I ever given a shit what people think of me? Damn, she has to be my
one
. For God’s sakes; I am a wolf; a confident, strong and feared animal. I will get to know her better and I will ask her out. That is a definite; I will give myself no choice. Therefore, I need to stop acting like a lame-ass. There, that’s
settled.
’ After arguing with himself, he continued with his day.

Excerpt from Tyler’s Dream

Haven’s Wolves – Book Two

by Shelby Lynn

Prologue

It didn’t take Tyler long to find his beautiful mate. Tyler smoothed back his long dark-red hair and kissed his checks. He drew him up into his arms rocking him back and forth. Why would something like this happen after just finding each other?

"Why, Spirits, why would you take him away from me," cried Tyler to the heavens.

There was no answer to his anguished plea, as Tyler held Shannon tightly to him and the tears ran down his face. Tyler cradled Shannon to his chest looking down into his face. The fall of Tyler's tears touched on Shannon's check, and the air around them began to shimmer. Tyler held onto Shannon not knowing what to do. Tyler was scared of losing even this moment holding his mate close to his side.

The shimmering around them stopped in a cloud of smoke, and Tyler looked mystified by the display. He looked down at his mate gasping in surprise when his mate looked up at him and smiled. In that moment, Tyler almost dropped his mate.

"Oh my god, you are okay, baby. What the hell just happened, you were dead. I know you were dead!" Tyler yelled.

"I don't know, my mate, but I'm very much alive, Tyler," Shannon said softly.

Tyler hugged Shannon close to his chest. He looked at the heavens and thanked the Spirits for giving them another chance to be together.

"I promise you will be protected, my precious mate."

"We will protect each other, that I promise you, my beloved mate,” said Shannon.

The reinforcements arrived just as the fight was winding down. They stood at the edge of the forest watching in amazement as the Dragons fought in unison with the creature out of children's worst nightmares. They helped round up the rebel wolves of the Pack and were killed as the Cedarhill Pack cheered from the background.

There was a victory cheer as the Alpha fell and the Dragons tore him limb from limb. The people cheered on the Dragons as they took to the air with their massive wings. They roared in victory as they flew back towards the Blackwood Pack house. What a remarkable sight and one they would tell for many years to come.

Tyler came up carrying a very much alive Shannon in his arms, when out of the crowd ran a little boy who threw his arms around their legs.

"Shannon, you are all right, thank you, thank you, Spirits,” he chanted.

"I am fine, Timmy. I promise."

"Where are your parents, little one?” Tyler asked.

"They were both killed by a crazy man a few years ago,” said the little boy.

"Well, you have a home with us,” said Tyler, already able to read Shannon's thoughts plainly on his face.

The little boy, unsure of Tyler’s response, looked at Shannon and asked, "Really, Shannon, I can come and live with you? The people that were taking care of me did not like me much. Will you like me, Shannon?"

"I will love you, Timmy, I promise. You will always be loved."

The people of the Cedarhill Pack watched the exchange between the grown men and the little boy. Something changed within them in that moment. They seemed to know their lives were changing for the better. They just didn't know what to do next after so many years of abuse. This Pack was going to need a firm but kind Alpha pair to guide them into the future.

Blackwood looked over at the pair cuddling the little boy close and an idea hit him. This would be the perfect Alpha pair to help repair all the hurt that had occurred over the years. It would take a lot of patience and loving care for these people before they would start opening up to others.

"Tyler, I have a proposition, and I would like to run it by you and your mate. As the highest-ranking wolf from this region, it is up to me to see the Cedarhill Pack gets the help it desperately needs to heal. I think you and your mate is exactly what this place needs for an Alpha Pair. Shannon is already familiar with the place and the people and you would make a fine Alpha for this Pack."