“I did, too, and she helped me see some things more clearly. Like the fact that I can see who Anne Catherine is as a human, a nurse, mirrored in her caring, protective nature in wolf form. She’s still Anne Catherine. It doesn’t matter whether she’s in human form or wolf form.”
Kate felt his hurt come across their bond, no matter how hard Callan tried to hide it. She knew exactly why and tried to explain. “You’re the pack alpha. You’re a scary person in human form to a whole lot of people. Not to me, maybe, but a whole lot of people.”
He gave her a mock growl but nodded.
“That’s who pack alphas are. They’re scary people. And they’re scary wolves. I couldn’t see you, human you, in your wolf form because wolves are already scary to me. I couldn’t see beyond that. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I’m sorry I hurt you. And I’m sorry I hurt your pack—our pack—and your family in the process. I hope you can eventually forgive me, and I’m really hoping everyone else will be able to forgive me as well.”
“I’ve already forgiven you, Katie, mine.”
“But I still hurt you, and I’m very sorry for that.” She kissed his forehead, his nose, and his lips. She tried to make the kiss on the lips a quick one so she didn’t get distracted from her explanation, but Callan had a different idea. When they came up for air again, she continued.
“Where was I before you interrupted me? Oh, right, Anne Catherine. I had to start with someone who by nature doesn’t have a scary personality no matter what form she takes. And then I moved on from there. I thought about some of the guys who have ridiculous senses of humor in human form, and how that plays out in wolf form as well. By the time I got to you, my love, I could easily see what my fear had been hiding. What I’d been missing all along, all the parts of your personality that are easily seen in both human and wolf forms. And then I knew.”
“What did you know?”
“I knew this is where I belong. Here. With you. If you’ll have me.”
She held her breath, waiting to see what he’d say. All of nature surrounding them seemed to hold its breath too, waiting with her. She didn’t hear birds singing or the typical forest sounds such as squirrels chattering and playing chase. Yes, he’d said he wasn’t turning her loose any time soon, but she’d hurt him deeply. Could he really forgive her and accept her back?
His golden eyes were like flames. “Do you really think I’ll ever let you go again? Of course I’ll have you. From this day forward, as long as we both shall live.” Callan punctuated his declaration with another kiss.
“Shew. I’ve missed your kisses.”
“I’ve missed you.” The truth of that statement blazed through their bond so that Kate had no question as to how much he meant it.
“I also knew something else,” she said.
“What was that?”
“I knew I needed to actually package up and send all of the drawings I’d done as a huge apology to everyone. But y’all needed to see them before I got here so no one bit my head off when I arrived.”
Callan chuckled and the sound rang like sweet music to her ears. “Ah. Hence the timing of the signature for the package.”
“Yep. But I also realized one last thing.”
“And that was?”
“Your cousin is a horrible person no matter what form he takes.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more.”
“That was the other thing Cindy helped me see. That in my job as a sketch artist for the police department, I drew human monsters every day. That was my job. I worked with men and women whose job it was to find and capture those monsters. Your cousin just happens to be one of them who can also change into a wolf and make that form even scarier than it already is to me. I’ll always be scared of him.”
“As you should be. Because speaking of my cousin, security ended up finding a couple bags of drugs planted between the crossbeams of two different pallets in the warehouse. They were found in different areas, one was about a half pound of marijuana, and the other, a gallon bag of crystal meth.”
“Holy shit. JT planted drugs in the warehouse?”
“Yeah, looks like it.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Callan’s shoulders sagged. “I am, too. I’d always tried to be understanding toward him, what with his mom being killed by revenuers when he was a boy, but he’s now gone beyond my uncle’s ‘sticking it to the man’ philosophy.”
Kate wished she could take away the pain JT was causing Callan. “I don’t even know what to do with that.”
“You just need to know that he’s as dangerous as you always figured him to be. Keep clear of him, know that he’s out to destroy the pack by bringing down the warehouse and always let us know if you see him.”
Kate ran her fingers through Callan’s hair and looked directly in his eyes to make him this promise. “I can do that.”
“We have some folks we’ve let know about the situation. You don’t happen to have your own contacts through the APD, do you?”
For once, the tables were turned. She sent as much reassurance as she could through their bond. “I have a few friends I can reach out to. I’ll do that first thing tomorrow.”
“I’m glad you came back.”
“I’m glad you’re glad.”
“And now I’m going to take you back to my—I mean our—lodge and welcome you back properly.” He swung her legs up and over one arm, the other cradling her back, reminiscent of their very first walk through the woods.
“You haven’t welcomed me back properly already? I’m certain that I feel welcomed back properly.”
“Speaking of stubborn. Fine, Katie, love, I’m whisking you back to our lodge so we can celebrate you being home for good.”
“Sounds like an excellent plan to me.”
* * * * *
Acknowledgments
I never could’ve written this book without the help of so many different people. My best friends Bozhena, Jenny, Kirsten (K-Oz) and Megan supported me every step of the way. Bozhena served as a sounding board and created opportunities for me to write throughout the summer, Jenny and Kirsten went from fans to beta readers in the span of a heartbeat and Megan took on extra work for the communications committee at school. I’m forever thankful to them for their help, their story thoughts and their extra effort.
The SFs and Smacs are always there for me with an encouraging word. Their support and love are as necessary to me as breathing.
My editor, Penny Barber, is amazing. She understood exactly what I thought I wanted to do with the story, and then gently guided me in the direction I needed to go to make the story stronger. Her edits gave me life and I’ve loved working with her.
Angela James, Stephanie Doig and the entire Carina Press team are wonderful to work with. I’m so thankful for this opportunity to write with them again.
And last, but certainly not least, my son, who finally went back to school at the end of August and stopped yapping at me so I could get this story written. I love him dearly.
Also available from Shari Mikels
and Carina Press
Christmas Curveball
About the Author
After a career in the tech industry, the birth of Shari Mikels’s son led her to become a stay-at-home mom, spending her time reading to him and teaching him to read. While modern children’s books are quite engaging, they do tend to be geared toward the...shall we say “younger” crowd. This helped her recall a lifetime love of reading that had been pushed to the background for too long.
The writers’ strike in Hollywood during this time had her picking up books to get her fix of happily-ever-afters and vampires. Her voracious appetite for books came back full force, and she found not just paranormals, but romantic suspenses and contemporaries. She began
proofreading for some of her favorite authors when her brain wouldn’t let her skip over the typos. What they didn’t know was that they were teaching Shari how to write the stories that lived in her head. Her second submission became her first industry-published book, Christmas Curveball, at the end of 2013. In the intervening years, Shari was busy publishing another genre under a different pen name. The chance to write the paranormal story she’s had in mind since 2012 gave Shari the opportunity to come back to Carina Press.
Shari lives in North Carolina with her husband and son. She spends her days volunteering at her son’s school and dreaming up scenes for the many characters who live in all the varied worlds residing in her brain.
Visit her on her website and blog, www.sharimikels.com, and sign up for her newsletter: eepurl.com/JqCTj.
Introducing the Carina Press Romance Promise!
The Carina Press team all have one thing in common: we are romance readers with a longtime love of the genre. And we know what readers are looking for in a romance: a guarantee of a happily-ever-after (HEA) or happy-for-now (HFN). With that in mind, we’re initiating the Carina Press Romance Promise. When you see a book tagged with these words in our cover copy/book description, we’re making you, the reader, a very important promise:
This book contains a romance central to the plot and ends in an HEA or HFN.
Simple, right? But so important, we know!
Look for the Carina Press Romance Promise and one-click with confidence that we understand what’s at the heart of the romance genre!
Look for this line in Carina Press book descriptions:
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise.
Find out more at CarinaPress.com.
If you love paranormal romantic suspense, then you’ll love Kerri Adrienne’s Shifter Wars series!
The Shifter Wars series
WAKING THE BEAR (Shifter Wars, book one)
Sexy shifter passion is awakened when two unlikely lovers are challenged by secrets, danger and an unstoppable need to claim one’s mate
PURSUING THE BEAR (Shifter Wars, book two)
The Shifter Wars heat up when a woman investigates the mysteries surrounding a fierce breed of man and exposes more than just secrets
TAMING THE LION (Shifter Wars, book three)
Pack bonds are tested in the Shifter Wars as the lion heir must choose between his legacy and his mate
Order your copies now!
Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers and much more!
Visit CarinaPress.com
Other ways to keep in touch:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress
Twitter.com/CarinaPress
CarinaPress.com/newsletter
Looking for more paranormal wolf romances? Check out
PRIMAL NEED: A Sexy Male/Male Shifter Anthology
This anthology includes:
A WOLF IN KING’S CLOTHING by Parker Foye
THE ALPLHA’S CLAIM by Holley Trent
DARK WATER by K.L.White
Stories also available for purchase separately.
Order your copies now!
Connect with us on CarinaPress.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Visit CarinaPress.com
Other ways to keep in touch:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress
Twitter.com/CarinaPress
CarinaPress.com/newsletter
We think you have a good book in you!
Do you write in the below genres? Harlequin’s Carina Press wants to see your manuscript.
• Contemporary Romance
• Romantic Suspense
• Historical Romance
• Paranormal Romance
• Mystery
• Erotic Romance
• LGBT
• Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance
Submit today!
All manuscripts receive a thorough evaluation by a Carina Press editor and a decision within 12–16 weeks. What do you have to lose?
To learn more about our submission guidelines, visit us at CarinaPress.com/WriteForUs.
ISBN-13: 9781488078552
Mated: A Paranormal Romance Shifter Anthology
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Saving His Wolf
Copyright © 2017 by Kerry Adrienne
Wolf Summer
Copyright © 2017 by Emily Kilduff
Drawn to the Wolves
Copyright © 2017 by Sharon Muha
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.CarinaPress.com
Mated: A Paranormal Romance Shifter Anthology Page 28