by Leela Ash
Table of Contents
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Collections
OAK MOUNTAIN SHIFTERS
Bear Shifter Romance
FORSAKEN RIDERS MC ROMANCE
Highlander Time Travel Romance
Billionaire Romance
Dragon Shifter Romance
The Runes of Argyll Trilogy
Love and Survival in the Time After
Wolf Shifter Romance
Victorian Mystery
[TM1]
[A2]
Second Chance with the Shifter
Stonybrooke Shifters
Leela Ash
Copyright ©2017 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Introduction
Thank you so much for purchasing my Novellete. All of my stories also contain bonus stories, so please take a look at the other stories I offer here. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for updates and free books!
Also from Leela Ash…
STONYBROOKE SHIFTERS
DADDY SHIFTER’S VIRGIN
A SECRET BABY FOR THE SHIFTER
THE SHIFTER’S MAIL ORDER VIRGIN
DADDY SHIFTER’S FAKE FIANCE
THE SEAL SHIFTER’S SECRET BABY
CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA DADDY
NANNY TO THE SHIFTER
THE SHIFTER PROTECTOR’S VIRGIN
OAK MOUNTAIN SHIFTERS
HER BILLIONAIRE SHIFTER BOSS
HER SECRET PROTECTOR BEAR
A SECRET BABY FOR DADDY BEAR
Also from Totally Romance…
LOST CREEK SHIFTERS
ARLO (Book 1)
SCAR (Book 2)
BLU (Book 3)
BODHI (Book 4)
KODHI (Book 5)
Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Collections
OAK MOUNTAIN SHIFTERS
Bear Shifter Romance
FORSAKEN RIDERS MC ROMANCE
Highlander Time Travel Romance
Billionaire Romance
Dragon Shifter Romance
The Runes of Argyll Trilogy
Love and Survival in the Time After
Wolf Shifter Romance
Victorian Mystery
1.
“Thank you, that’s all I needed to know. Yeah, I’ll be back in probably a week. Make sure you have the place cleaned out for me. I don’t want any nasty surprises.”
Max hung up the phone and grinned to himself. It had been a long time since he had been to the town of Stonybrooke, where all of the shifters knew him and knew him well. He had been driven out fifteen years beforehand, because of some serious danger the arrival of a pack of outsider wolf shifters had ultimately presented to him. It had more or less destroyed his life, but he tried not to dwell on it.
Everything had been falling apart anyway, for a long time. He had been thrust into a position of power that he wasn’t ready for. Although it was quite an honor to be considered the alpha, leading the pack wasn’t his passion, and he wasn’t very well adept at pretending he cared enough about the dogmatic ways of the hierarchy. He really didn’t. In fact, he would prefer to stay away from that type of power entirely. Whether he was good at it or not was beside the point. It wasn’t what he wanted to do.
But now, he was coming back to Stonybrooke, and whether he was going to lead a pack or not, this time, he was going to establish himself with a vengeance.
“Mr. Stone, somebody is calling about the order out to California. Has that already shipped? I couldn’t find any records of it in the computer.”
Max looked up at his secretary, Nancy. She was looking at him from behind the round, clear lenses of her glasses. She had been a great asset as he had worked hard to start up his company, and he was really going to miss her. But she was going to appreciate having her own branch of the store to run. It would work out well for them both.
“Yes, I heard they already shipped it, but I’ve been so busy packing up the place I didn’t get to enter it into the system yet. Let them know it’s on the way and update the server if you can,” Max said, smiling at his secretary apologetically. “I know everything is a mess right now. It can be hard to relocate the headquarters of the company.”
“Well, you have worked really hard for this, Mr. Stone. And it has been quite an honor to work with you like this. I have learned a lot since being here, and I know that whatever choices you make in the future will be the right ones. Never doubt yourself.”
“Stop kissing ass and get back to work,” Max said. But he smiled broadly at her, and she smiled back. They had a good understanding of each other, and it had been great to work with her. But he was excited about his new venture in Stonybrooke. It was nice to know he had her support.
“You have a few things to pick up from the warehouse,” Nancy said. “Maybe you should do that now while there is still some time. I don’t want it to interfere with your trip this afternoon.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Max said, standing up from his desk and stretching deeply. Nancy averted her eyes quickly and stepped out of the room. They’d had a small fling a few years back, but it had never amounted to anything much. Still, he could sense her attraction to him, and although it was flattering, the truth was, his heart belonged to another.
He left the office and got into his truck, sighing deeply as thoughts of Sadie began to fill his mind. She had been his first love, and it had been complicated and tumultuous for them both. He often thought of her, and had even attempted to write her letters over the years to explain how he felt about her. But she had never replied, and it left a gaping hole in his heart even to that day. Being an attractive wolf shifter as he was, it had been easy for him to attract the attention of others, and he had recently broken up with a woman he hoped he could be serious with. But she had turned out to be just like all the rest, which was all the more reason for him to relocate the headquarters for his business.
Not only that, but Stonybrooke had become quite a booming economic center, especially for a shifter in business. He was going to be able to have access to a lot of different resources, and network among some of the biggest names in the business scene. It was everything he needed in order to make sure his company succeeded. They had vastly outgrown his initial headquarters, and although most of his business operated primarily online, he needed a space that was impressive and versatile to cond
uct out of.
“Ah, Max. You’re picking up for Stone Shifter, right?” James, the man at the warehouse, asked as soon as he saw Max. Max nodded.
“Yep, this should be the last time I do this. I’m sure Nancy will have one of the boys come out from now on.”
“Well, it’s about time you start expanding. Business is through the roof right now, and you are really going to make something of yourself. I can feel it.”
“Thanks, James,” Max said, unable to keep himself from smiling. It was true. Everybody who knew him knew he worked very hard at what he did. He set his mind and achieved his goals. If only that would have been enough to keep Sadie interested in him.
On the days when he couldn’t get her out of his mind, he usually worked out and tested out his shop’s outdoors equipment. He had made a killing by developing and selling this stuff to the rugged shifter species, and the specially designed materials turned out to be quite a hit among the human population as well.
Now, it was going to be Nancy’s job to make sure his company was dealing well with humans, as they had a very different PR style than the shifters did. In the meantime, Max was going back to where he had grown up so he would be able to truly utilize all his potential in growing his business and seeing it succeed.
All he could do was hope he would not find himself face-to-face with Sadie again after the way things had ended. She had been furious with him, and he had learned after a hard and tumultuous relationship with his parents to take words of anger and heed them the first time. If someone felt upset and felt strongly enough to tell you about it, they were probably never going to feel any other way, no matter how well they got along when they were in a good mood.
“I’m going to miss seeing you around, Max. But I know you’re going to take this thing and make it great. I believe in you,” James said, after Max had loaded up his equipment and was heading back out toward his headquarters.
“Thanks, James,” Max said, grinning out at the friendly man who had become quite a fixture in his life. Sometimes, it was hard to see things change, but it was going to be a good change. Max could feel it.
And so, he headed back to his workplace, one final time, excited about the adventure that was unfolding before him.
2.
“You can’t be serious,” Sadie exclaimed, pausing in front of the huge building as Terry Porter perfected the sign he was hanging from the top of his ladder.
“What are you talking about?” Terry asked, quirking his brow down at her.
“This is Stone Shifter,” Sadie said, taking a step back and looking the storefront up and down. “That’s Max’s store, right?”
“You would be absolutely correct about that,” Terry said, laughing heartily. “I hear there’s going to be a huge grand opening for his new headquarters and it’s going to bring him some serious business. It’ll be good to have him back in town again.”
“You mean he’s going to be coming here?” Sadie exclaimed. “I thought he was living over near Oak Mountain!”
“Well, he’s moving back,” Terry said. “And it’s about time. The pack has needed him for a long time. You know things went a little south when he ended up having to leave.”
Sadie’s stomach turned. She knew better than anybody how south Max’s luck had become at that point. Because it had been her fault it had happened in the first place. She had never forgiven herself for the way her big fat mouth had gotten him into trouble. If he hadn’t been run off and forced into leaving town the way he had, then maybe their relationship would have had a chance.
But she had been angry at him, and angry at the world, at that point. And although she had just been a kid, she still found it really hard to forgive herself. She had ruined his life, as far as she was able to tell. Even if he did have a successful business now, he had been forced to give up the things he had cared the most about. Things like his leadership and his duties and his role within the pack. Stonybrooke had been his home, and it was because of her he had lost it. And now, she was going to have to face that reality again and again, every time she passed the storefront. And any time she might potentially run into the man she had never stopped loving.
“Okay, thanks, Terry,” Sadie said quietly.
She felt a tightness in her chest as she turned away, her mind reeling with the new information. Max hadn’t spoken to her in fifteen years. Ever since he had been driven out of town and she had gone off on him about what a selfish, arrogant prick he was, they had been estranged. He probably hated her guts, and she had no way of contacting him to tell him how sorry she was.
Even if she had wanted to, it was just too much to say over the phone or in a letter. And that was assuming he would even be willing to talk to her at all. It seemed likely that if he knew who was calling, he would laugh right in her face or hang up on her.
“So Max is back in town, is he?”
Sadie froze as her mother’s voice reached her ears and she turned toward her, smiling as cheerfully as she could muster.
“I guess so. I haven’t seen him yet.”
“He will be in town Monday,” Terry said loudly from up on his ladder. Sadie cringed inwardly. Great. At least she knew how long she was going to be safe from his memory. But, come Monday, she would have to avoid this street for the rest of her life.
“How charming,” her mother said.
“I guess so, Mrs. Green,” Terry said with a chuckle. “Sure will be good to have him back in town again.”
Sadie’s mother smiled tightly at Terry. She had never liked Max, and Sadie knew the news didn’t make her mother feel any better than it made her feel. She had viewed Max as the scourge of the Earth. In fact, she had been insufferable during Sadie’s teen years, being controlling and paranoid about her relationship with him. She thought he was some sort of hooligan, and always treated them that way.
“Indeed. Come now, Sadie. We have some shopping to do.”
“Bye, Terry,” Sadie said.
“Take care, ladies.”
Sadie followed along behind her mother, nausea plaguing her. The news about Max meant her day had just gotten considerably worse. It was no fun to be trapped in her mother’s pushy Friday shopping trips, but now that she had a reason to complain, Sadie knew bad things would happen. There was nothing worse than being stuck with her mother when she was in a bad mood.
“Isn’t that interesting? About Max…” her mother began as they rounded the corner.
Sadie sighed. That hadn’t taken very long.
“I guess so,” Sadie said. “It doesn’t affect us any, though, so whatever.”
“’Whatever?’” her mother asked, frowning. Sadie sighed.
“Here we go,” she mumbled.
“That man was a heathen! He was an absolute disgrace and Stonybrooke was much better off without the likes of him here. And all you can say is ‘whatever’?”
“I know you never got along with him well,” Sadie sighed. The truth was, it had been hellish to try to get her mother to admit even one decent thing about Max. Sure, he was a cocky jerk, but he wasn’t useless. He was brilliant and strong and handsome…
But those weren’t the types of things a mother could see in the man she thought was desecrating her daughter, and Sadie couldn’t help but sigh. Her relationship with Max had been complicated enough without her mother’s interference. If she hadn’t planted those awful ideas into Sadie’s head about the kind of person Max really was deep down, maybe she never would have said those things to him…blabbed and said things that got his enemies right on his trail and drove him out of Stonybrooke forever.
And now, he was coming back.
“If the rest of the world knew Max the way we know him, I doubt his little business would be so successful. Why would anybody want to support such a dishonest man? I have never met anybody more full of himself in all my life.”
“Mother, do we have to talk about this now? We’re almost to the store. Let’s pick this up later. It’s distressing enough to know
he is coming back to town.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right. Let’s just try to enjoy this experience together, shall we?”
Sadie sighed. It was rare that she actually did enjoy these shopping trips, but her mother had insisted on them. It was something they had done ever since she had moved out of her mother’s house, where she had felt deeply depressed for most of her life. Their relationship had always been strained, mostly because her mother really didn’t understand her. And she certainly did not understand her taste in men like Max. Then again, she had a hard time justifying that attraction to herself as well. It certainly hadn’t turned out very well.
“All right, let’s get this over with,” Sadie said.
Her mother nodded, and they walked into the store in silence.
3.
“Max! Long time no see!”
“Hey, Terry. The sign looks great! Thanks for holding down the fort for me until I got back in town.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m so happy you’re back! The pack has been needing your guidance for a long time now!”
Max grimaced. The last thing he’d wanted to do back when he had lived in Stonybrooke was deal with the pack’s demands. He had left them behind long ago, sure he wouldn’t be able to stand the pressure even for another minute. They had thrust him into a position of authority he had never wanted anything to do with. Not only had it put him in grave danger, but he hated hanging around the air-headed shifters that seemed to look to him before they made any move at all. He had little to no respect for a man who couldn’t think for himself, and yet, in the pack he had been presumed leader of, everybody was miserable and lost without someone to look after them.
He didn’t want to be anybody’s father figure. The thought repulsed him and he resented anybody who thought it was his duty to lick the ass of some lost moron who couldn’t make good choices. That type of blind conformity made him furious, though he couldn’t really understand the nuances of it. It may have been because of his own father’s attitude toward failure and pack mentality. Max’s father had objected deeply to the reliance on other shifters; he felt it was every man for himself.