by Sam Crescent
“I’m at your service, Mabel. Forever.”
She put her hand against his chest. “I don’t want to ever lose you, or even be in a position where I could lose you.”
“That thing with your dad scared you, huh?”
He wiped away the tears as they spilled.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“No.” He lifted up, wrapping his arms around her. “You don’t have to be sorry. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. This is all me, and you’re not going to take that away.” He sank his fingers into her hair. “I was the one at fault, not you.” He pulled her down and pressed his lips against hers.
“No more running, Lucas. I promise.”
“It doesn’t matter because even if you were to run, I’d come and find you. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
He pulled her down and kissed her lips hard.
Lucas couldn’t remember a time he was happier. He loved this woman more than anything in the world, and no matter what, he’d always be making up for the way he’d treated her. Never again would he take her for granted.
“Do you think we should tell our parents that we’re ready to go home?” he asked.
“Nah, let’s stay here awhile. You never know, we could go home and be right back where we started.” The smile on her lips was all it took.
“Yeah, and this is really important.”
“So important,” she said. “We don’t want to rush this in case it backfires.”
“Exactly, and it’s so new.”
“Oh, so new.”
He pulled her down, rolling her onto her back as he slid between her thighs. “Now I’m going to make love to you.”
“I’m here, Lucas. Always here.”
Epilogue
Five years later
“You’re stealing the pineapple again,” Lucas said, wrapping his arms around his very pregnant wife and mate.
Mabel held a piece up for him. “And I’m eating the cheese. I’m not totally mean.”
He laughed and took a piece, chewing on the sweet fruit as well as the savory cheese. “Tastes so good.”
“I know, but I’ve got to stop. All I keep thinking is they would taste so good with fried tofu,” she said.
Lucas moved down the tables as his wife tried little nibbles. He kept his arms around her.
It was a fair in town, and the pack was surrounded by tourists and their fellow civilians. The full moon was only a few days ago, and Lucas had spent it near his wife. They owned a small house in the center of town. Since his wife was also pregnant, the need to change wasn’t as strong as it usually was. He had the choice to run out in the open or stay indoors loving his wife.
Mabel was the most important person in the world to him. They’d been able to get away with another four months alone at the island before Duke had come to take them back. The pack had accepted them with open arms, and now, five years later, married, mated, and with a little baby on the way, he couldn’t be happier. Mabel worked for him, helping him with the pack. She was learning her duties from his mother. There wasn’t a lot of time for anything else. Running the pack was a full-time occupation, but he saw her still ferociously typing away at her laptop, creating a brand-new world.
“People are staring,” she said.
“Let them look.” He kissed her neck, breathing in her scent. “They’re probably wondering if you’re ready to drop.”
“Pfft, I’ve got another couple of months yet.”
He ran his hands over her stomach, loving everything. Life, his wife, his child, their town, their pack. All of it.
After nearly losing it all, there was no way he was going to let anything go, not ever again.
“Why don’t we skip the fireworks?” he asked.
“What do you have in mind?”
He pressed his teeth against her neck, nipping at her flesh before sliding his tongue across a path with a promise of what was to come.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
Hand-in-hand, they left the fair, heading home. He intended to spend the entire day making love to his wife.
The End
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His Refused Mate by Jade Marshall
Meredith by Beth Linton
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BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER
THE ALPHA’S VIRGIN PRIZE
Mated for Life, 1
Sam Cresent and Stacey Espino
Copyright © 2020
Sample Chapter
“It can’t be that hard to find a woman for him,” Reese said.
“Really? The guy would rather spend the entire day cutting logs than finding a woman,” David said.
“We’ve got to do something. It’s not healthy for a man to go without a woman. I mean, how does he not want to have a woman he can fuck and fill with his babies? I know I want it,” Brian said.
Caleb heard his men and knew they were desperate for him to find a mate. The curse of the wolf meant only the alpha could find a mate first. Until then, the pack had to wait to find their true mates and live happily ever after. It also meant they couldn’t have babies. To a wolf, an heir was everything. All of his men were desperate to mate, to breed. Not that he blamed them. He got it, he really did.
Having a woman was high on his list once upon a time, now, he just wanted to continue cutting his wood and not living in a land of fairy tales. He’d hit the big forty not long ago. Wouldn’t he have found his chosen mate by now? Caleb was tired of wolf lore and the idea that one perfect woman was out there for him.
After lifting his axe, he brought it down on the wood and it came apart. He didn’t need the axe. With his unique strength alone, he could go around tearing pieces in half, but then he wouldn’t be able to feel normal.
He was a strong wolf, but for some odd reason, the fates had decided to grant him an even bigger burden. According to the gossip, he was a monster, an abomination because of his sheer size and strength.
In his old pack, he was feared, even when there was no reason to. He’d been a large child, strong even before his transition. The moment he first turned into a wolf, everything had changed.
Within two months, his alpha had cast him out. He’d deemed him too much of a risk. For such a young alpha, he wouldn’t know how to properly manage a large pack. Of course, he’d been frightened. Eighteen years old, alone, and lost in the world. There hadn’t been anyone to care for him, to help him understand all the hungry cravings. From food to sex and everything in between. After two years of living from town to town, doing odd jobs, trying to curb all of his cravings, he’d finally been able to be free. Only this didn’t always feel like freedom.
There were times he couldn’t believe that had happened twenty years ago.
Finishing with the wood, he turned to the three men at his back. They should be paroling the perimeter. Rumors were flying that bears were making an advance on all wolf packs. He’d yet to encounter a bear nearby. He’d dealt with a coyote who lived a few miles down-stream, a rather pleasant man, even if he was a little eccentric, constantly talking to himself. He liked him.
“Are you girls finished watching?”
“We’ve heard of a storm coming, Alpha,” Reese said. “We need to head into town for supplies.”
There was no storm. “You mean head into town where all the females are. You’re hoping I’ll take a chance with one of them.”
“What harm would it do?” David asked.
“I’ve been to town many times. I’m telling you there’s no female destined to be mine. This is getting old.” He also didn’t want to
delve into all the trouble women could cause. He wasn’t in the mood, not today. Was he growing old and bitter? He didn’t give a fuck.
“New women are arriving daily,” Brian said. “The old town is growing.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Come on, let us help you.”
He couldn’t criticize them and their need to find a woman of their own. They also wanted to have children. He was constantly holding them back. In their view, he was punishing the entire pack by not mating. But it wasn’t about choosing just any woman, it was about finding his fated mate.
“Fine, fine,” he said. There was no harm in giving his men what they wanted.
He placed the axe next to the tree stump and pulled off his gloves.
“Are you going to change?”
“Not a chance,” said Caleb.
“But you’re dirty.”
“Then the woman who’s going to be mine better get used to me being dirty. I’m not changing, not for anyone.”
He walked into the house, well, it was more than a house. This place had ten different rooms. He took the master bedroom on the top floor with the amazing view while his pack had their own rooms. They were a small group but fierce nonetheless. He hoped their pack would have grown by now, but four was still fine by him.
In their own way, they were all outsiders. All outcasts and drawn together to bring one new pack together.
After grabbing his keys, he walked over to his truck. He rarely liked to be in metal cans, but his truck was his pride and joy. He’d turned her from a rust bucket into a machine that purred to life.
This was the dream. He loved this damn truck. It was stupid, he knew that, but there was nothing wrong with admiring a good car.
Pulling on his seatbelt, he waited as Reese, David, and Brian all rushed to the truck. He only had room for two so he let them fight it out. David ended up traveling in the back, not that he minded.
One thing about being a wolf, the outdoors was the best place to be. No one held them back. No one told them what to do.
Feeling the crisp air and relishing the sensations that Mother Earth had to offer, it was a heady experience. Even without the full moon, they loved being part of the world.
He drove into town, which was a twenty-minute ride by car. It was faster to get there in wolf form, but he rarely ventured near humans in his fur unless he had to. In some towns, there were hunting parties that liked to scope out the woods and forests for big game prizes. He didn’t know if humans were aware of werewolves or if they even suspected men turned into beasts around the full moon.
Either way, he did what was necessary to keep his pack safe. He never risked exposure.
Even the coyotes didn’t risk it. The last thing their world needed was humans hunting them for sport. Humans always feared the unknown, and discovering men turning into animals once a month wouldn’t exactly go over well.
He parked near the diner and as he got out, Caleb paused. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to hide what he’d already detected.
Brian took in a deep breath. “She’s close,” he said.
Another little pesky problem—his pack could apparently detect his mate.
They could be so fucking irritating. It was why one or more of them insisted on coming with him whenever he went to town. They believed he would purposefully avoid his mate. He wouldn’t dream of doing that. It had just never happened for him.
This scent though…
It was sugar and cinnamon and all things sweet. His mouth watered, not to mention how his dick reacted to it. He wanted her instantly and he didn’t even know who she was or what she looked like. It didn’t matter.
For all he knew, it was a damn good cinnamon roll.
“Enough,” he said to his men.
He was drawn to the diner. Without waiting for his men, he stepped through the door and found a table right in the back.
He had no idea why humans always wanted to be the center of attention. All his life, he’d tried to hide his size and strength. None of it had done him any good. He couldn’t change who he was, and now with his pack, he didn’t want to.
His men joined him at the booth. They were all larger than most males and from what he’d heard, even their dicks were bigger. He’d never seen a human man to judge, not that he cared. His pack seemed to know many useless facts about the species living side-by-side with them.
“She’s here,” Reese said.
The scent got stronger. Almost irresistible. Caleb had never felt this pull in his life.
He glanced around the diner, eager to find this specific woman. The table helped to shield his cock that was getting thicker by the second.
Get a grip. You’re the one in control.
He didn’t like anyone taking control away from him. Unlike his pack, he wasn’t at the mercy of the full moon. He could change on any whim. It was one battle he’d spent years perfecting.
Always in control.
Never giving himself over to anyone.
When he was all alone in the world, he’d made multiple promises to always be the one in charge, to never allow another to take that kind of control from him. He was born to be an alpha.
The scent of his mate grew even stronger.
The door to the kitchen swung open, and he knew it was her. Even as she tripped over her shoelace, nearly dropping the order of food, he sprang into action. He captured the tray, holding it for her as he caught her with his other arm.
Instinct took over. The need to protect stronger than anything else.
Green eyes stared back at him from a flushed face. She was kind, he saw that. Her black hair was held back in a ponytail. Such long hair he wanted to run his fingers through it.
“Great reflexes,” she said.
Even her voice.
His wolf was more than happy with this mate.
Mine.
****
In all of her twenty-five years, no one had ever made her feel so incredibly small, fragile even. Bethany smiled at the stranger who’d caught her and the tray of food. There was no doubt Joe, her boss, would have taken it out of her pay at the end of the week.
Joe had hired her reluctantly. Of course, he was also pissed that she wouldn’t sleep with him. Just because he was sexy as hell and all of the other women swooned over him, he didn’t seem to understand she wasn’t interested. She couldn’t be bought, and Bethany believed there was more to a relationship than sex and big muscles.
This man though, there was something about him with his messy brown hair, and were his eyes gray?
He helped her to her feet.
“Bethany,” she said, holding her hand out.
“Caleb.”
He was large in every single direction. Muscular too. The clothes he wore hugged his body, showing off the definition of his thick arms and chest. The man had clearly been working before he came to the diner.
“How about I get you a coffee? My treat as a thank you?” She took the tray from him. For some odd reason, she had this desire to feed him.
“We’d love that. How long have you been in town, Bethany?” one of his friends asked.
She glanced over his shoulder to smile at the table. “A couple of weeks. Really not long. Thank you again. I better serve this food. I’ll be right back though with coffee and I’ll get your order.”
She took the food over to table six then headed back to the booth. As she walked past the counter, Joe grabbed her arm.
“I want those men out of my diner,” he said.
“What men?”
“Those men. The ones you’re being really nice to. I saw how clumsy you were.”
“Er, I want to buy them a coffee.”
“I don’t care what you want to do. It’s not happening. Get them out.”
“Oh,” she said.
Joe glared at her and something flashed in his eyes that unnerved her. Her boss scared her. There was always something in the way he watched her, as if he expected her to
do something.
Always confusing.
He made her feel guilty just doing her job. This town was lovely for the most part, and this was the only job she could get on short notice.
She entered the kitchen where Ronnie, a real sweetheart of a man, was serving up more burgers.
“What’s the matter, darlin’?” he asked.
“Joe wants me to kick some customers out. Should I be the one to do that?”
Ronnie sighed. “Probably not, but you know Joe. He’ll make your life a misery until he gets what he wants.”
“Yeah, how could I forget.” Either way, she grabbed four travel mugs to go, filled them with coffee, and even packed them all a muffin each. She’d baked them. Ronnie had said she had a gift. While she didn’t think of herself as overly talented in the kitchen, she loved to cook. It had been a passion of hers for longer than she could remember.
With everything wrapped up, she placed them in a box. Her hands shook as she left the kitchen. Caleb and his friends were still waiting.
“Hi, I hate to do this but my boss says he doesn’t want you in here. I want to thank you for rescuing me. I’m really, really sorry about this. I don’t know why he acts the way he does.” She shrugged.
Guilt clawed up her body. Why did Joe have to be such an absolute asshole?
She wanted to hug the man in front of her. And damn, he was huge.
Caleb.
Such a nice name.
Sexy.
Dangerous.
He smiled at her, and she felt it radiate through her entire body like sunshine.
It seemed like he didn’t smile enough in his life and needed to learn to do so. I could help him. The thought struck her so hard and so fast, she nearly stumbled. Keeping her smile in place, she tried to ignore her rioting feelings.