Forever Mated

by Penelope Wylde

  Forever Mated

  Magically Mated, Book Two

  PENELOPE WYLDE

  Copyright Notice

  Copyright © 2019 Penelope Wylde. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to authorpenelopewylde@gmail.com

  http:/www.penelopewylde.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Edited by Em Petrova

  Cover Designer: Bookin’ It Designs

  Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Her Savage Mountain Man: Chapter 1

  Books by Penelope

  Mailing List

  About Penelope

  Word to the wise: beware the lure of the full moon over a possessive and hungry half-naked alpha shifter.

  What the Silver Circle doesn't know can't hurt them. At least that's what I told myself until they found out that I, a witch with royal blood in my veins, mated with a shifter—a man with the sexiest whiskey eyes and tempting mouth perfect for driving me crazy.

  A sin I paid the price for.

  Why, you ask? You see, in my world, a witch and a shifter are forbidden to mate, but that's just what I did. That was a year ago, but I'm back now. Drawn by the power of our shared boned and I'm determined to have my alpha reclaim me.

  To help me do that I have the help of an illegal truth spell jacked up with some dragon's blood. Should be no problem.

  But if that doesn't work, some dirty kitchen sex should remind him how perfect we are together. Honestly, I have until midnight to reforge my connection with the man who holds my heart and I'll do anything to get him back. I should stay away for both our sakes, but I want him. I ache for his touch and bite and that’s all that matters.

  To me, all’s fair in magic and love and I'm ready to break some rules to get what I want. If that doesn't work, I guess hot makeup sex serves as a great backup plan.

  Author's Naughty Note: Forever Mated is a tantalizing second chance romance filled with ex-sex, illegal use of magic, filthy and forbidden sex and a claiming. Sure, it's slightly over-the-top with magic and werewolves that's as sweet as it is hot, but if that's your jam, you're going to love this one! As always this is safe with a HEA.

  Chapter One

  He was on fire.

  Flames licked up his spine and burned through his veins until all he could think about was Eva. Having her wrapped around him, balls deep and his mouth claiming hers.

  The burn had been on a constant high heat since she’d strutted back into town.

  Seven months of pure fucking over-heated torture.

  Why the hell did she have to come back here? She could be in a million other small towns with her magic and heart-crushing ways. Why come back to Sleepy Briar?

  Tension seeped bone-deep and constricted all his muscles until he could barely move or think without gnashing his teeth. A shuffling sound came from behind him, but he brushed it away as small animals scurrying through the dead underbrush.

  They sensed the predator in him and they were right to be afraid. It had been too long since his last hunt. Weeks since he’d felt the freedom of the woods with no one for company except the moon. He tightened his fists by his sides.

  Tonight wasn’t about the hunt so much as it was about the escape. His wolf would have to wait for the rush and thrill of a good hunt for a bit longer.

  Howls broke through the trees and brought him around to face the thick woods at his back. That’s when he caught the female’s scent.

  Son-of-a-bitch!

  A wall of fiery magic rammed into him, knocking the air from his lungs. He clutched a hand to his chest and doubled over, and it took him several seconds to regain his composure.

  He raised his head and inhaled sharply.

  Eva.

  He’d recognize her signature anytime, anywhere. All witches left a small portion of their essence in their magical handiwork and this magic smelled of only one particular witch.

  His witch.

  What was she up to?

  From the remnants of energy tied in with the magic wafting along the cold currents, it smelled like she was up to no good as usual. She was working with dragon’s blood which would catch the eye of the Silver Circle if she wasn’t careful.

  With his bare feet braced on the cliff rocks, he drew in another long breath. She wasn’t nearby or even in the same woods with him from what he could tell, so that had to be a powerful spell she was working.

  He lifted his chin and took a deep drag through his nose before exhaling. His heart rate spiked and the blood in his veins heated. Her magic always did that to him.

  He clenched his teeth against the surge of adrenaline that shot through him and with it came a drudge of old memories. She’d promised nothing would keep them apart the night he’d claimed her as his mate, then she’d vanished. That was sixteen months ago without a word. Nothing. He’d scoured the whole fucking town looking for her only to have her family shun him at every turn. No one knew anything, or everyone that knew didn’t want him to know.

  He shoved the past aside, buried the present beneath a wall of truth and let his gaze fall to the jagged rocks at his feet.

  Earlier tonight he’d stopped in for a couple of shots at the Cauldron Bubble, the only dive bar that served anything worth drinking. Eva’s sister concocted a mean supernatural version of moonshine, and all walks of the otherworldly kind loved to get their buzz on with her Moon Brew.

  He could lie all he wanted, but the last thing he went there for was the liquor. On most nights like tonight, his pack pounded back shots and tossed around a load of bullshit for hours, but he liked the off chance of her walking through those doors. Sixteen months was a long time to wait and wonder and he caught enough shit from his pack for it, but taking another mate held no appeal.

  He’d almost given up hope of ever seeing Eva again when she waltzed through the double doors looking like the goddess of his dreams.

  He still couldn’t believe it. Sixteen fucking months of wondering where the hell she’d disappeared to and out of nowhere she walks back into his life like she’d never left town. The second her ice-blue eyes connected with his, the white-hot connection of their bond burst back to life and even now—hours later—the veins crisscrossing his body burned with a renewed wildfire.

  It had been months since he last felt the pull of their magical tethering. He had thought their connection might have died when she left him and this town behind since they hadn’t had the chance for it to strengthen.

  But no dice. The second he saw her again, the fire of Hades replaced every cell in his body. He sure the hell hadn’t meant for it to happen but here he was, standing in the middle of a coming snowstorm, his dick hard as granite and the sensations in the pit of his stomach went beyond lust.

  No mere human could carry the burden of a severed bond the way he did.

  The fiery rage inside him demanded he seek her out, feel the warmth of her body, the gentle caress of th
ose delicate hands on him and taste those sweet lips.

  He shifted his throbbing cock a little to the left from the bite of his zipper.

  Searching for anything to help him calm the beast, he dragged his attention to the thick silver beams of moonlight pouring over the snowed-in town laid out before him. Gauzy white light drowned the roads and left only small spirals of smoke that disappeared into the blackened sky as the only proof of life. Tucked between two rising mountains filled with cone-shaped pines, Sleep Briar slept.

  He’d left almost the second she entered the Cauldron Bubble. If he had stayed longer, watched as more drunk fucking pricks hit on her, he would have dragged her back to his cabin, tied her to his bed and fucked her until he either worked her out of his system for good or until nothing else existed between them. The only thing that would be left would be their bond as mates. He bit out a harsh laugh. Like it meant anything to her. In his world, it was ‘till death do us part. For her, who knew? He was done guessing in the matters of all things Eva.

  Regret welled inside him, but it was too late for that shit.

  Devlin backtracked over the jagged rocks and made his way deeper into the dense forest. Shrouded in the shadows, he flicked open the satchel on his Harley and tossed in his discarded boots before stripping down to nothing.

  Cold gusts washed over his naked body and he relished the abrasive air.

  A run in the cold would do him good. Clear his head if nothing else. Winter drove all the humans inside and kept the bastards there and out of his way.

  His pack bordered on several hundred acres of land along the ridge of the mountain. Days could pass and not a soul would bother him. He could get lost and he’d welcome the solitude.

  Snow covered his feet, and small flurries drifted along the current. He bowed his back and stretched his arms out. Another wave of supercharged magic collided with him.

  He angled his head and listened. Heavy footfalls padded by several feet of snow echoed in the distance and at the edge of his hearing, a woman’s voice joined the mix. Faint, even to his ears, but no denying the soft feminine chords.

  Not the husky, sensual voice of his woman, but someone who struggled. Half of him wanted to follow the sounds and check out the commotion. The half that called to his position as second-in-command to the Sleepy Briar Alpha. And if he were half the man he used to be, he would. He’d save the knight-in-shining-armor for some other dumbass that didn’t know any better. Last time he held the position, the fucking world had split open and left him for dead.

  Need hummed along his spine. Need to reclaim his mate. Need to mark the woman he loved.

  Fuck it all to hell. He needed to run. Everyone could fend for themselves just as he did. He had his duty and he made damn sure the pack law was followed. Everything else didn’t matter. Staying the fuck out of witches’ business was at the top of that list.

  Knots bunched in his gut as the moon dipped behind the clouds. His eyes dimmed and the world faded to gray with sharp accents. Smells from the surrounding forest intensified. Dead leaves buried beneath layers of ice and snow to the deer tucked away from the coming storm pinged on his radar.

  Unable to stop the shift, he dropped to his hind legs and let the moon call to his inner beast. Muscle stretched, bones snapped and popped. Human hands morphed into paws, and blunt teeth turned lethal.

  Lusting for the feel of the cool beams against his fur and the smallest of reprieves from the haunting shadows of her, he ran. Pine trees flew by, cold air filled his chest, replacing the sweet vanilla scent that plagued relentlessly.

  United, his human mind forged with his wolf. Why the hell did she have to come back?

  Why now? And why did he want her more than his next breath?

  Chapter Two

  “If they didn’t want the law broken then they should have stripped my magic when they had the chance. Not my fault the old geezers are slow in the head.”

  Eva rolled her eyes and put in a little extra effort to subdue her mounting rage.

  They referred to the archaic cave-dwelling Silver Circle Elders who ruled over all witches and warlocks. Or, card-carrying dick douches if Eva was feeling particularly generous with her fury. Lucky for them, tonight she didn’t care what they thought of her, her past or what they wanted to hang over her head as blackmail this time. They could kiss her witch-gone-rogue ass!

  Eva pressed her shoulder closer to her ear when her cell phone began to slip from its perch with all the winding bends and dips in the road.

  “I can hear you’re in full snark mode tonight.”

  She smiled and tightened her fingers around the wheel of her Jeep to take another curve.

  “Can’t seem to help myself lately.”

  “Eva darlin’, you know this ain’t gonna work, sweetie. Breakin’ the law again won’t change the past.” Aleaha’s soft Southern twang added an effortless layer of exasperation to her tone. How the hell her coven sister did that, Eva would never know, but the woman was good, she’d give her that.

  The truth of the matter, she no longer had a family to worry about and that was a damn blessing in disguise. If they didn’t have her back, why should she stick her neck out for them?

  “The past can suck big hairy balls. I’m so over it and anyone who wants to stand in my way.”

  “Maybe…” a deep sigh crackled through the earpiece before her sister continued gently. “I don’t know. Maybe it is time to move on, Eva? Have you considered that?”

  Only half a million and a half times since breakfast. “Tried it, I really did,” she drew in a breath and on a long sigh of her own. She had a question of her own, and until tonight, never had the guts to put out there. “Do you think he’ll forgive me? Or understand at least? Hell, maybe he’ll just rip my throat out and call it a day.” Threads of energy tightened in her belly and water rimmed her eyes to cast a blurry mirage over the road in front of her.

  Hades to blazes. She never cried. Or lost her cool. Not anymore. Not a single tear had trailed down her cheek in sixteen months. So why the waterworks now? She sniffed and passed a hand over her face. No way in hell she’d break that record tonight.

  “You don’t mean that. We both know Devlin would never hurt you, sweetie. You know him better than that. If he’s gonna bite you, it’ll be for a whole other reason and we both know it.”

  Eva’s arched her brows and she smiled. What could she say to something like that anyway? Yes, please? It’s what she is after anyway. To have her mate reclaim her by any means necessary. Lucky for her she didn’t mind getting her hands a little dirty as long as it got the job done. She eyed her box of herbs and crystals.

  “The man looked at me once tonight and left like I had the plague. Tonight is not going to be as easy as I thought.” Eva breathed out again trying to calm her nerves but it didn’t work like she’d hoped. “Tell me I’m crazy, Aleaha. That I should turn around because the only way I see me getting him back is by doing exactly what got me in trouble in the first place—doing a helluva lot of magic with a shifter. You know the scariest part? I don’t really care what firestorm of Hades comes my way from what I’m about to do.”

  Besides, she’d made her mind up about five miles back.

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to say, crazy witch, but it seems your heart has your attention, darlin’, not me.” A small understanding laugh colored her sister’s tone. “Just be careful, won’tcha? I don’t think you’ve forgotten what happened last time you pushed the Circle like this.”

  Eva splayed a hand over her midriff at her sister’s mention of the Circle.

  No, she remembered all too vividly.

  Nothing could erase the judging look from her family upon finding out she was pregnant and married to Devlin by shifter law. But the real soul-crushing moment had been their nasty disloyalty when they’d found out who the father of their grandchild was. Watching them turn their backs on her as she stepped over the threshold of her home for the last time was something she’d never forg
et. Not in a million years.

  Shunned and betrayed were two very distinctive emotions no one could bury, she only hoped Devlin understood she never meant to hurt him when she had to leave.

  As members of the Silver Circle, she never once thought her own flesh and blood would have picked the all-mighty dickwads and their fat bank accounts over their own daughter. One phone call and five minutes proved her dead wrong.

  Almost two years and the pain still sliced at her chest, and the burn hurt like a fresh wound.

  Eva’s fingers tightened around her cell. In the same breath her father had used to shun her, blackmail had spilled out with a vehemence that shocked her younger self into silence and self-loathing. Until that night, when the news of her mating and pregnancy to the second-in-command of Sleepy Briar’s shifter pack spread within the Circle, her father had always treated her with respect. Never disgust or shame.

  Her brows pinched together and she focused her attention out over the hood of her Jeep. The ultimatum he delivered cut her deeper than any blade could ever slice. Young and naïve made a desperate combination that landed her on the firm side of plain stupid.

  Eva ran her free hand through her loose hair before slamming it back over the leather padded wheel.

  Turning her back on Devlin, the man she’d fallen for with a single caress of his ethereal whiskey-colored eyes, haunted her day and night. But his eyes were not the same anymore, nor was the man. And it was all because of her.

  “I really screwed up, Aleaha. I don’t think there will be a way out of this.”

  If all that wasn’t bad enough, a week after she was forced out of the only home she ever knew, loss struck again. All medical advice she sought labeled it a stress-related miscarriage. In a blink, what she thought had been a beautiful thing turned ugly under the archaic beliefs of others. The one thing that had made the betrayal and heartache worthwhile, stripped from her. They could have taken her powers, and she would have gladly given them if that were the only cost.