Builder Bear
Justice Squad Book 6
Scarlett Grove
Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Also by Scarlett Grove
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An Omega’s fire … Charity Morning is a werewolf Omega held captive by Raze, a cruel Alpha who wants the power her mating thrall can give him. When a vision shows Charity her true mate, she flees to him. But will the cool, controlling man she finds be any better? An Alpha’s strength … Aaron Blake must prove his worthiness to become his pack’s new Alpha. To claim Charity as his Omega, he must fight off the other males who want her … and then pleasure and dominate her in bed until he earns her trust. Only then, with her true submission, will their mating be complete. A deadly challenge … As Aaron and Charity realize that their mating is much more than a tradition, Raze and his pack track the Omega to her new home. They want her back--at any cost. Can Aaron defeat them all, or will Charity lose him before they can confess their true feelings? Super hot read. 18+ Steaming hot love scenes and mild violence. HEA Standalone novella.
Under the light of the full moon, Avery experiences a night of endless pleasure in the arms of a seductive stranger. When she witnesses his transformation into a wolf, she's convinced their passionate encounter was part of an otherworldly dream. But her pregnancy test confirms it was all too real and now she must find the father of her child.
Chapter 1
Jamison Stone hung another ornament on the Christmas tree and smiled. Christmas was his favorite time of year. It was still several weeks away, but he was fully prepared. All his shopping was done, and presents were wrapped and under the tree. He couldn't wait to see the looks on his friends’ faces when they opened their gifts. This year, he’d had posters specifically made with funny phrases that corresponded to each of their personalities.
Unlike previous years in Fate Rock, the Justice Squad would be celebrating with their mates. Of all six of them, Jamison was the only one, besides Zander, who still hadn't found his one and only. That fact wasn't lost on him. Considering he wanted a mate so badly, it felt like cruel irony. He was one of the oldest members of the crew — he’d been a part of the Justice Squad since the beginning, and a member of mate.com just as long.
He hung another ornament, and then checked his phone one more time. Ever since the hyena terrorists had been taken down, the Justice Squad had had time to relax. Unfortunately for Jamison, relaxing meant obsessing over still not having found his mate. He swiped open his phone and tapped over to the mate.com app. No, he still hadn't been matched with anyone. He growled at himself for his obsessive-compulsive behavior — this was not his usual personality.
He might have been both a successful real estate investor and a member of one of the most highly decorated, clandestine military special forces operations, but he also had a wicked sense of humor. It was, however, not only the down season for real estate development, but his crew had also just completed the most important mission of their lives. He had nothing to occupy his mind, and that was not a good thing.
Jamison needed the constant activity to keep himself from the ever-increasing sense of despair at not having a mate. He opened the tinsel package and began to sprinkle it around the boughs of the blue spruce Christmas tree. He didn't know how he was going to get through the cold winter months unless a new terrible enemy arrived, or he could find a new property to invest in. He’d bought up most of the suitable land in the area already. Maybe he needed to start looking outside of town.
Even if he couldn't break ground in the frozen cold of December in Colorado, at least he could start the planning phase of a new development. That was what he decided to do. Once he was finished with decorating his Christmas tree, he climbed the stairs to his office and began clicking through the real estate listings.
The pickings were slim; this was not the best time of year, and sellers knew that buyers were not in the market. He found a few parcels that were far overpriced, and decided to expand his horizons and start looking further afield. It wasn't the most economical thing to invest in a property over thirty miles from the city limits, but Jamison needed something to occupy his mind. Any project would do. Even if it involved a longer commute. He expanded his search parameters to fifty miles from Fate Rock and began scrolling through the listings. There were several very interesting properties, and he could imagine the possibilities with most of them.
There was a two-hundred-acre parcel, completely undeveloped, but it was down a gravel road, and over five miles from the nearest electrical pole. It was an extremely good price, but accounting for bringing in electricity and paving the road, the investment potential was negligible. There was a thousand acre spread close to a paved road and electricity, but it was far outside his price range. There was a fifty-acre parcel with an old farmhouse that needed too much work to justify remodeling. And even if it could be salvaged, the land was worth more than the house. He looked at the comps on the property, the figures rolling through his mind. This place was on a paved road and already had electricity.
Plus, the original house had a well and a creek-fed pond, so that meant the infrastructure for a subdivision was already there. Jamison was thrilled to find this property. It was only forty miles from Fate Rock and presented an excellent opportunity for development. Fate Rock was growing. Not so fast that it had lost its small-town charm, but people from the neighboring cities who wanted to escape the urban sprawl were looking further afield for their homes.
Fate Rock had become a sought-after location for people who wanted a wholesome life for their families. And those who were willing to make the longer commute would also be willing to spend a little bit more for extra privacy and a bigger house. Jamison tapped his pen on his desk, thinking of all the potential of this property. Tearing down the old farmhouse would be a bit of a loss. He did have respect for historical buildings. But it was a sacrifice that would have to be made for his project. He could fit ten homes on the acreage, and the farmhouse was just in the way.
With his new goal in sight, Jamison sent a quick email to the seller, and scheduled a viewing the next day. With that done, he felt much better about himself — instead of sitting around woefully obsessing about not having a mate, he would be occupying himself with a lucrative new project. Breaking grounds might have to wait until the spring, but at least he could get the demolition crew out to take down the old house and began clearing the property for the new development. His imagination was going a million miles a minute, thinking of everything he could do with the property. If he could get the place at the right price, his profit would be astronomical. It was exactly what he needed to focus on now that the hyenas had been taken down once and for all.
The Justice Squad had all worked so long and so hard to accomplish that goal. It would be wrong to suggest that he missed the thrill of the chase. The hyenas had been a real and present danger to the safety of good people everywhere, but without that hanging over their heads anymore, the Justice Squad had a great deal of time on their hands.
If Jamison had had a mat
e, and family, it would have all been different — having no bad guys to chase would have been nothing but a blessing — but without a family to love and care for, he felt a bit lost without the constant threat of the hyenas.
"What has become of me?" he asked himself. "Do I need bad guys to chase to feel like I'm a man? That's just not right."
He thought about his crew, and all the guys who had found their mates. They were all so happy. Even Zander, the only other member of the Justice Squad who still hadn't found his fated one, seemed to occupy himself with his books, strategy games, and psychological consulting. But Jamison needed to be moving, to be working, to be fully and completely physically engaged with some real stakes on the line, otherwise his longing for a mate would drive him mad.
Jamison was pushing forty, and as a man who had been waiting for a family to love for over ten years, he felt as if his prime years were slipping away. If he didn't find a mate soon, could he even expect a woman to want him? Jamison was still fit and active; he looked ten years younger than he was, but that didn't change the many years of longing in his heart. He hoped against hope that someday soon his mate would arrive and together they could create a beautiful life of peace and happiness. He picked up his phone and checked mate.com yet again. But he still hadn't been matched with anyone.
Chapter 2
Ruby Wilson looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Her curly black hair was coiffed into a perfect updo. Her wedding dress glided over her curves. It was the perfect creamy white to accentuate her pecan brown skin.
Having been a full-time author for the last ten years, Ruby was more used to wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt than anything even remotely so formal. The last time she could remember getting dressed up was for her last book release a year ago. It was a wonder that her fiancé had ever been attracted to her.
“You look so beautiful, Ruby," her sister Sasha said.
Ruby turned to Sasha and smiled. She loved being home in Fate Rock. She wanted more than anything to be near her sister and her growing family.
"I'm surprised you fit into that dress," her mother said.
Her mother on the other hand, she was not quite as eager to be around. No matter what Ruby did or how much success she had achieved, her mother had never supported her or acknowledged what she’d done. She’d graduated valedictorian from her high school and had received a full scholarship to a prestigious university. She'd received a master’s degree in creative writing and had her first novel published by the time she was twenty-two.
Now, at the ripe old age of thirty-two, she was one of the best-selling romance authors in the world. But you wouldn't know it from her mother, who still compared her with her sister and always found her lacking.
"I hope Chad likes this dress on you," her mother said.
Chad was her groom. They had been dating for over six years, and sometimes Ruby really couldn't believe he wanted her either. Ruby was petite and curvy and enjoyed spending time outdoors or curled up by the couch with a book. She wore reading glasses and her hair in a ponytail. Chad, meanwhile, was a successful investment banker who was far more comfortable in a three-piece suit walking the streets of Manhattan than he was in her hometown of Fate Rock, Colorado.
She had been trying to convince him to buy an old farmhouse on fifty acres that she'd seen in the real estate listings. She'd absolutely fallen in love with the rustic charm of the building and imagined herself writing her novels by the fire as the snow fell during a Colorado winter. Even though Chad was free to live anywhere he wanted, he didn't want to live in Colorado. The only reason she lived in New York was to be near her publisher.
Ruby had been longing to move back to the country for years, and only hadn’t done it after her wild success because of her relationship with Chad. She'd been trying to convince him for years to come back home with her, but the only compromise she'd been able to get him to make was to hold their wedding in her hometown.
Most of their wealthy friends from New York had been able to afford to fly out for the day, and it was wonderful to be at home with her sister again. Visiting her nieces and nephews at Sasha's house had been so satisfying that she just didn't want to leave. She wanted to be able to raise their families together. But that was the last thing that Chad wanted.
He was a good man, and she hoped that someday he would be a good father, even though he had hinted that he didn't really want children. At thirty-two years old, Ruby was beginning to think that maybe she was running out of time if she and Chad didn’t always want the same things, but she had invested so much in him that the idea of breaking up and starting over was not something she was willing to entertain.
After spending her twenties on her career, she'd spent the majority of her thirties investing in Chad. And on paper, he was everything that she should want: handsome, successful, good-looking. He got along with everyone and everyone loved him. And Ruby loved him. She truly did. There were wonderful things about their relationship. He was always supportive of her career. They went on wonderful vacations. In many ways, they had a great deal in common.
And even though he didn't like the idea of living in a small town, he did go skiing with her every year and would even rent a cabin to go camping in upstate New York once a summer.
“It’s enough," she would tell herself. They could be happy.
"You probably shouldn't have had that toast for breakfast," her mother said. “You look bloated."
"She looks beautiful, mother," Sasha said, coming to her rescue.
Ruby knew that if she didn't get married and have children soon, not only would she start running out of time to live her dream, her mother would find yet another excuse to compare her unfavorably with her sister.
"The guests have arrived, and everyone is seated," her bridesmaid Monica said.
Ruby looked at herself in the mirror as Sasha pulled the veil over her face. She took a deep breath and let it out as Monica handed her a bouquet that was dripping with white roses.
"I don't know why you chose December to get married," her mother said. “It's freezing in here."
Ruby ignored her mom and went to antechamber of the church, where she found her father waiting and dressed in his tux. The groomsmen and bridesmaids began to form a line, all paired up with their partners. Ruby saw Chad standing at the altar with the minister, looking handsome and dapper in his tuxedo. Her heart skipped a beat; he really was the love of her life,
Everything was going to turn out just fine, and they would have a beautiful life together. And they would visit Fate Rock as often as possible. If only to go skiing in the winter.
The music began to play, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen began marching down the aisle. The last was Sasha and her husband Tony, who Chad had begrudgingly asked to be his groomsmen. She looked to her father. He smiled at her and patted her hand. Ruby couldn't believe the man was still with her mother after all these years. He was everything she was not. Supportive, kind, nurturing. It made her heart hurt to think of all the things her mother must say to him when no one was around.
But her father was a grown man who made his own choices, and she had long ago given up trying to convince him to stand up for himself. She was so happy that he was here with her today, on the happiest day of her life. The day she’d finally wed her soulmate and start the life of her dreams.
"Are you ready, kiddo?" he asked.
"I sure am, Dad."
“He better be good to you," her father said.
"He will be," she said, sniffling back a tear.
The wedding march began to play, and they stepped out into the aisle of the church. Chad's eyes never left her as she stepped to the beat of the music with her father's warm arm entwined with hers. All her bridesmaids were lined along the altar before the minister. Her heart raced and sweat trickled down her arm. She told herself to relax. This was her day. Her moment. She and Chad were finally tying the knot. All the problems they'd had, and all their disagreements, would disappear.
&nb
sp; She stepped up on the rise, and Sasha took her bouquet. Ruby reached out to take Chad's hand, but instead of taking her hand, he stepped back and looked down at the ground. There was an audible gasp from the guests. He took a deep breath and his shoulders slumped, then he looked up at her, his lips a thin line. His eyes had that look of disappointment and determination. He got that same look whenever he planned to short a company he wanted to make a profit off of.
"Ruby, you're a wonderful woman. And I’ve done my best to be the man that you need. But I've come to realize that we have nothing in common. We want very different things. This time in Fate Rock with your family has made it clear that this relationship just isn't going to work. I'm sorry. It's not you, it's me. I just can't do this.”
Ruby's eyes went wide with shock. Her heartbeat rang in her ears. WTF had he just said? He couldn't have said what she thought he'd said. There must have been some kind of mistake. But, as she watched him walk down the aisle and disappear out of the church, the realization of what had just happened slowly dawned on her.
She gulped, and luckily as her legs buckled her father and sister were there to catch her. She blacked out for a moment and the next thing she knew she was sitting at the bridal table in the banquet hall. The guests were eating and speaking in low tones. The band played a melancholy tune and the energy in the room was anything but celebratory.
Ruby grabbed a bottle of champagne from the table and took a long swig, trying to drown out the memory of what had just happened. She'd never been so humiliated in her life. In front of all her friends and family and even that mean girl from high school that she’d wanted to show off her success and her handsome fiancé to. So much for that. She should have known better. Ruby Wilson was, and always would be, a loser. No matter how successful she'd become, no matter how many fans loved her work, she would always be a laughing stock among those she knew.
Builder Bear (Justice Squad Book 6) Page 1