by Milly Taiden
Table of Contents
Epilogue
Title
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
About the Author
Also by Milly Taiden
The Wolf’s Royal Baby
A Howls Romance
Milly Taiden
Latin Goddess Press
Contents
Title
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
THE WOLF’S ROYAL BABY
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
SIGN UP FOR MILLY TAIDEN’S NEWSLETTER FOR LATEST NEWS, GIVEAWAYS, EXCERPTS, AND MORE!
http://eepurl.com/pt9q1
Harper Burns was just abducted from her house by four big, bad shifters. When she finds out her father traded her for his life to a wolf king, she’s ready to escape. Even more confusing is the fact Sebastian tells her she must have his baby. The craziest part is she’s actually considering it. Clearly, she lost her mind on the car ride to the castle.
Sebastian Roarhart is shifter royalty. He’s been cursed and needs to have a child or die. Now, he has to convince Harper to see him as more than some man holding her hostage. He needs her to fall for him. But it’s harder than he realizes when someone in his castle keeps trying to kill her.
Sebastian has secrets he’s keeping to save Harper from heartache. Harper knows one thing for sure: she can’t let him die. Not when he’s the first man in her life to show her how special she is. Time’s running out. When truths come to light about her family and past, only the man she’s come to love will be able to keep her safe.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
Winter Springs, FL 32708
http://millytaiden.com
The Wolf’s Royal Baby
Copyright © 2017 by Milly Taiden
Cover by Willsin Rowe
Edited by: Tina Winograd
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden
May 2017
Created with Vellum
—For the fairytale lovers
Not all prince charmings are perfect. Sometimes, they’re scarred, dominant alphas that love you exactly as you are, imperfections and all.
1
Before we start, have you signed up for my newsletter? There’s always giveaways and tons of fun stuff going on. I promise not to spam you.
http://eepurl.com/pt9q1
Harper Burns glanced at the letter in her hand. Her stomach lurched and the wrap she’d had for lunch suddenly wanted to make a very unwanted reappearance. How could her father owe so much money? Why?
She fell onto the sofa, dizzy with so much anxiety, she could feel a panic attack coming on. Her hands shook. For most her life, she’d learned not to depend on her father for anything. When her mother passed away, Harper knew she was on her own.
Throughout her childhood, she’d seen her father as a roommate more than a parental figure. He’d come and go and never really did much for her. Her mom always told her he was just not the type to be tied down. And Harper had tried to understand, she really had, but it was hard for a nine-year-old. Other kids had a daddy they could do stuff with. Harper had the name of a father who was never there.
Letter crumpled in her grasp, she clenched her jaw to stop the stream of bad words that wanted to come out. She shouldn’t care that he was in trouble. She should let whoever was going to come after him to do whatever they were going to do and forget he’d ever existed. Not like he cared how she was doing. No. He only called and texted for money. Nothing else. Not even to say hello.
Her cell phone chose that moment to go off. She ignored it and instead went back to her job. Updating websites was not that difficult and she could easily do it from home. Another ringing of her cell phone brought her out of her work mode. She needed to focus and get her job done so her clients would pay her.
Nibbling on her bottom lip, she started to wonder just how bad things were with her father. Christian. She’d never called him Dad. He would have had to try to be a father for that to happen and he never had. Christian wanted her help. When he wasn’t in a rush, he’d go as far as come to her home and attempt civil talk before hitting her with the need for cash. The fact he sent a letter, instead of an email, or instead of calling, that really set off alarms in her head.
A loud pounding on the door sounded. Leaving her colorful mouse and laptop mid-design, she got up and opened the door.
Three men, three very big, handsome and well-dressed men, stood there. They reminded her a little of Men in Black. They had the black suits with the earpiece and the black shades. It was a little daunting.
She frowned and glanced from guy to guy. “May I help you?”
“Miss Burns?”
She wanted to deny who she was. A sick sensation settled at the pit of her stomach. It wouldn’t serve any purpose to deny it. “Yes.”
“We need you to come with us.”
She was already shaking her head when the men went to grab her. She elbowed one of the big guys, punched one of the others in the nose, kicked the other and hit him with the door when she tried to close it in his face. Doing a mad dash for the kitchen exit, she tried to leave them behind.
Someone growled. She glanced over her shoulder and time slowed. One of the guys’ faces, the one she punched in the nose, was doing a strange alteration. Fear and shock stopped her dead in her tracks.
What. The. Hell?
One of the other guys grabbed her arm. She struggled but was too fascinated by the man who had an almost animalistic look to his features to give her all to the fight.
“Who are you people?” she asked the men.
They loo
ked at each other as if her struggles had meant nothing and took their sunglasses off. Air rushed out of her lungs, making it near impossible to breathe. She swore she’d faint at any moment. Fuck, she wasn’t that weak, but this was some serious shit. These were…they were…shifters.
The rim of gold around their eyes and the glow in the pupils told her all she needed to know. She was fucked.
She didn’t fight any longer. There was no point. Getting into the massive SUV, she glanced around to see if any of her neighbors were nosy enough to try and figure out who was at her place. Not like she ever had male visitors. She hadn’t had a boyfriend in over a year. Men didn’t frequent her home.
Meghan, her best friend since middle school, was the only other person who came to see her regularly. If Meghan were there, she’d still fight the shifters thinking she had a chance. Meghan was a lot more reckless than Harper. Harper was the logical one. The one who always weighed all options and was way too forgiving for her own good.
“We’ve got her,” one of the men said into his earpiece.
“On our way,” said another guy.
She gulped, her throat bone dry. The drive was quiet and long. She didn’t recognize the area, so she wasn’t sure where they were taking her. Fuck. And her cell phone? Still on her desk.
They could be driving her to some remote location to kill her and dump the body in the woods. Fear ran rampant in her veins. She kept eyeing the road. The car was going so fast. Would she die if she threw herself out?
“You look green,” the guy sitting next to her said with an almost gentle voice. “Do you need us to stop?”
She turned to look at him instead of the quickly moving scenery. Her stomach lurched again. “It might be a good idea.”
“Don’t even think about running off, sweetheart,” the same handsome guy with black hair said.
She licked her lip and nodded. It was like he’d read her mind. The vehicle stopped and she was let out on a deserted road to get some fresh air. The driver was back to talking to his earpiece.
“Yes. She’s car sick. No, we’re not driving like maniacs.”
She almost laughed at the fact someone wanted to make sure her ride was smooth. It couldn’t be that bad, could it? What if she was blowing it all out of proportion? Not like she had any enemies, anyway. Or anyone she knew in the shifter world.
2
King Sebastian Roarhart growled with impatience. He hated waiting. He paced around the inside of his library like a caged animal. A snort that sounded more like a snarl left him. He was a caged animal.
He’d been trying hard to be the social person his sister wanted, but the truth was, he wasn’t that. Not when those who came to his castle stared at him like he was an alien. That might be easier to live with.
He saw his reflection in the glass of an old family photo and growled. The reminder was always there. Scars. He’d never be rid of them. But he didn’t care anymore. Not really. Instead, he focused on what was coming.
A smile formed on his lips. She was coming. Harper. It had been years since she’d met his gaze that one fateful human event he’d attended. A high school prom. His sister, Sarai, had asked him to accompany her.
She didn’t have a boyfriend and didn’t want to miss out. Since her best friend, Delilah, was human and went to a human school, Sarai had begged their parents to allow her to go there as well. Unable to deny their little girl anything, they’d agreed.
Seeing Harper, standing quietly in a corner, sent a jolt of hunger through him. The animal in him knew she was the one. His mate. But she was a human and he couldn’t react as he wanted.
Taking her home and making her his might not be the best course of action, even if she was barely legal. A brand new eighteen-year-old with a twenty-seven-year-old would look pretty bad for him.
That week had been the best and worst of his life. He’d found the one woman meant for him and lost his parents. A horrible explosion at their lake house took his mom and dad. Two people were to blame. His father’s worst enemy, and the witch he had for a lover.
Sebastian ended up scarred from saving Sarai from the fire and trying to go back to save his mom and dad. But that explosion hadn’t been the only thing his father’s enemy had done to destroy the family. The witch had placed a curse on the Roarhart first born. Him. Sebastian.
The curse had been one he didn’t realize would dictate his life the older he got. She cursed him to need and offspring to live. And not just any child. One by his destined mate or he’d die on his thirty-fifth birthday.
But neither the witch nor his father’s enemy knew who they were messing with. Sebastian Roarhart didn’t cower to anyone. He had found his mate.
His cold heart warmed at the memory of that first conversation with Harper. He’d taken control. Not even telling her his name and trying to find out everything he could about her instead. She’d quietly told him she didn’t like parties and had been talked into going to prom by her mother.
In the dark ballroom, he’d sat with her most of the night, talking, about anything and everything, except who he was and what she meant to him. It had been refreshing and wonderful to get to know the girl that would be his.
Before leaving, she gave him her number and address. As she left the room to meet her mom, she asked his name and he smiled and said, “The only man you will ever belong to.”
Her eyes had widened but she was being rushed out by a teacher to meet her mother at the door. He’d see her soon. After all, she was his. Only his.
After his accident, he’d gone to visit her and met her father. The man had disdainfully yelled at him to leave once Sebastian told him who he was. He said Harper wouldn't have a monster for a husband. He hadn’t fully healed but the words and the venom they were said with fired a fury that had never died in Sebastian. But he’d get the last laugh over Christian Burns.
His phone rang, momentarily pulling him from his thoughts.
“Kellen,” he growled, “is she okay?”
“Yes. I told you, she got car sick but seems better now.”
“Where are you?” He paced his library, wishing he could be there to make her feel better.
“We’ll be there soon. Don’t worry, I’ve made sure she was comfortable. I know what she means to you.”
He had no idea. This was his future queen. The woman that would be his wife, mate, and mother of his children. She owned his heart for the past eight years and there was no way he’d allow anyone to harm a hair on her head.
“Is she asking questions?”
“She seems more preoccupied with not dirtying the inside of the SUV,” Kellen chuckled. “I feel bad for her. I’d suggest the chopper next time, but I think that might be just as bad.”
“I’ll have Mrs. Patty put tea in her room. It should calm her stomach.”
Kellen sighed. “Don’t worry, Seb. We’re almost there. Your mate is coming to you.”
Yes. His mate was coming. He hung up the phone and continued pacing, his thoughts back to Christian Burns and the irony of Harper being his destined mate.
It took many years to realize Christian Burns’ anger wasn’t because he'd been disfigured. No. He was his father’s enemy. A madman hellbent on destroying the Roarhart family. It was Christian and his witch who were responsible for his parents’ death and Sebastian’s curse.
Christian Burns deserved to die a slow and painful death, but instead of killing him, Sebastian had signed on to do business with the man. A deal that Christian thought would bring him millions, brought him ruin, and pushed him to give Sebastian anything he wanted. And he wanted Harper.
Now, he just had to convince her to have his baby. Thankfully, her father had made things easy for him in that department. When he found himself unable to talk his way out of the millions he owed Sebastian, Christian had offered him anything for his life. Anything included trading his daughter for the money he couldn’t pay back. Her life for his.
Sebastian frowned. His mate was on the way. She was c
oming and didn’t know what Christian had done. She’d need to give Sebastian something only she could. A child. To keep Christian alive, she’d have to do the unthinkable. Make a deal with the devil. He’d finally get the one he craved and she would never leave. Never.
A soft knock sounded at his door.
“Come in!”
He winced at the angry bellow but nothing he could do now.
Sarai poked her head into his sanctuary. “Sorry, Seb. I wanted to ask if you were going to come down for dinner?”
He let out a rough exhale and gave a sharp nod. “Yes. Someone will be here soon. She’ll be staying with us for dinner as well.”
Sarai frowned. “You have a guest?”
“I do.”
She blinked. “A real person?”
He couldn’t fault her for being surprised. He didn’t have guests. The only person who dared come to see him was Kellen, his beta. Kellen handled all the business issues with the pack and Sebastian handled the business aspect of everything. Everything could be done online these days. That made it possible for him to not need to leave home most of the time.
“Yes,” he met her bright blue eyes. “She’s going to be staying a while.”
Curiosity lit in Sarai’s gaze. “That’s nice. Well, I can’t wait to meet her. I guess I’ll have Mrs. Patty set the dinner table for four.”
She left quickly, shutting the door quietly behind her. He loved Sarai. At twenty-three, she was the lady of the house but still managed to live a pretty carefree life of traveling the world whenever she wanted. Sebastian wouldn’t ask her to stay confined to the castle just because he was, that was torture for someone as free as Sarai.
