Unexpected Mates (Red Moon Shifters Book 1)

by Grace Brennan

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Unexpected Mates

  Red Moon Shifters - Book One

  Grace Brennan

  Copyright 2017 © Grace Brennan

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to, or downloaded from file sharing sites or distributed in any other way via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of Grace Brennan.

  Cover Photography & Model: Nathan Hainline.

  Cover Design: Wicked Women Designs

  Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Coming Soon

  Prologue

  Parker Leighton sat in her car, hands gripping the steering wheel, staring at the worn building in front of her. It was a Friday night in small town Wyoming, which meant Crazy Pete’s, the only bar in town, was hopping tonight. There had been a steady stream of people going in and out, laughing, chatting, and looking like they were having the time of their lives.

  The last thing she wanted to do was go in there. She didn’t have a choice, though, if she didn’t want to hear about it from her sister. Tiffany would never forgive Parker if she drove home like she was longing to do.

  Parker shivered despite the warm air blowing from the vents. She loved her sister, but Tiffany wasn’t the problem. Tiffany’s friends were, along with the crippling social anxiety Parker always felt around crowds and people she didn’t know. Her phone dinged and she reluctantly looked at the screen, already knowing who it would be.

  Where the hell are you? Get to Pete’s. It’s my bachelorette party!

  Parker closed her eyes and sighed before putting her phone in her pocket and reluctantly shoving the car door open. A shiver wracked her body and she pulled her flimsy coat around her body tighter. It was March and still freezing, and Parker had been in California for the past six years, so she wasn’t used to cold like this anymore.

  She took a deep breath, wishing more than anything that she was still in warm and sunny San Diego. She hadn’t missed the cold. Really, she hadn’t missed much at all of Eagle Creek since she’d escaped for college.

  Chiding herself for stalling even more, Parker made her way through the parking lot and walked inside Pete’s. She froze just inside the doorway. Loud country music was blaring from the jukebox and almost every table and barstool was taken, full of people in various stages of sobriety who were talking and laughing.

  She spotted her sister just as Tiffany jumped up and made her way over to where Parker was standing. “What took you so long?” Tiffany shouted to be heard over the noise.

  Not bothering to answer Tiffany as she was pulled toward a table in the back, Parker concentrated on her breathing, trying to calm herself down. She spotted Tiffany’s friends at the table, but it was the sight of Hannah and Wendy that made Parker’s blood run cold.

  For a moment, she was instantly transported back to high school. Plain Parker. Parker the pig. Parker tried to shut out the memories of the names they’d used to call her, but it was hard.

  We’re not in high school anymore. We’re grown women now. It’s going to be okay.

  Parker had almost convinced herself of that when she heard Wendy say her name to Hannah, and they both started giggling.

  Parker sat down stiffly and accepted the margarita Tiffany shoved her way. She took a cautious sip. She wasn’t a drinker, but maybe tonight she’d embrace it. That might be the only way she’d get through the evening.

  An hour later, Parker was on the tipsy side, as relaxed as she could be at Pete’s, and ignoring Tiffany’s friends as much as she was able. She was circling her straw slowly through her second drink, trying to space out, when she heard Wendy gasp.

  “It’s him. Tyler MacKeltar is here,” Wendy said, her voice excited.

  Parker’s head whipped up and she was unable to stop herself from looking around the room. It took no time at all for her to spot him, standing by the bar. Her breath caught in her throat. Tyler looked different, yet still the same, all at once. He was as tall as she remembered him being, but more muscled and tatted up now. Lord, he was huge. Parker was on the shorter side, and she knew he would dwarf her if they were to stand side by side. He was only wearing a t-shirt, despite the colder weather, and the thin material was clinging to him like a second skin. He had tattoos going down both arms, and she watched as he reached a hand up, his biceps bulging as he ran his fingers through his long sandy brown hair.

  She was still staring at him, unable to look away, when she heard Hannah and Wendy sniggering. “Looks like porky Parker still has a crush on Tyler.”

  Parker flushed and pulled her gaze away from Tyler, glancing at the girls before looking back at her drink. That was her cue to get out of here. She stood up unsteadily and made her way to where Tiffany was standing by the jukebox, giving her a hug and telling her she was heading back to their parent’s house.

  She made her way to the door, unable to keep herself from glancing once more in Tyler’s direction as she passed by him. He was looking right at her, and Parker stumbled as she met his chocolate brown eyes. He shot a hand out, grabbing her arm to steady her, and Parker sucked in a breath as an electric shock moved through her body from the contact.

  Unable to meet his gaze, Parker pulled away and rushed for the door. She went outside and moved toward her car, stopping to take deep breaths of the cold air.

  He’d touched her. Tyler MacKeltar had touched her.

  “Are you okay?”

  Parker jumped and shrieked at the deep voice behind her. Whirling around, she stared open mouthed at Tyler. Shutting her mouth when he cocked an eyebrow, she managed to croak out, “I’m alright.”

  He studied her for a moment. “You look familiar.”

  “I’m Parker. I grew up around here,” Parker replied, unable to believe her voice was coming out relatively steady and she wasn’t stumbling over her words like she usually did.

  She shifted uncomfortably when he continued to gaze at her. “Are you leaving? I mean, are you okay to drive? You seemed pretty unsteady on your feet in there,” Tyler finally said.

  Parker fought back her blush. “I haven’t had much to dri
nk. I’m just clumsy.”

  The corner of Tyler’s mouth kicked up. “Still, maybe you shouldn’t go just yet. Come sit with me for a bit, sober up some more.”

  Parker’s breath caught and she forced herself to nod.

  What followed was the most amazing night of her life.

  They sat and chatted on a bench outside of Pete’s for a while, before her shivers got the best of her, and then they moved to Tyler’s truck. When she told him that she was for sure sober, he hesitated before leaning over in the truck cab, saying he had to kiss her before she left.

  He pulled back after kissing her thoroughly, both of their chests heaving, Parker feeling like her whole body was alive and tingling.

  And when he told her he wasn’t ready for the night to end and asked her to leave with him, Parker felt herself agreeing. The whole night feeling like a dream.

  She left him sleeping in the early morning hours, walking back to Pete’s to get her car. She needed to get some sleep before she had to be up for her sister’s wedding, and then she was flying home right after the reception.

  She hadn’t wanted to come home this weekend, hadn’t wanted to go to Pete’s tonight. But she was so glad she had. It really had been the best night of her life.

  Chapter One

  Tyler MacKeltar glared at his brother Chase. “I have work to do tonight. I don’t have time to go to Pete’s.”

  Chase kicked back in his chair and propped his boots on Ty’s desk. “Come on,” he said, ignoring Tyler’s warning growl. “It’s been months since you’ve gone out. All you do is work.”

  Ty sighed, exasperated. “Red Moon is doing better, Chase, but that’s because we’ve all been working so hard. We can’t start slacking now.”

  “We also don’t need to burn ourselves out any more than we already have, Ty. Come on, let’s go out. Just for a couple hours.”

  Ty looked around the office, taking in all of the worn furnishings, the old and scarred desk, the ancient desktop that he’d turned on fifteen minutes ago and was still waiting on to boot up fully. The farm was finally out of the red, and they weren’t in danger of losing it anymore. But they still had a way to go before they were back to where they’d been before their deadbeat asshole dad pissed their livelihood away.

  They’d been working twelve to fourteen hour days for years, but they were getting somewhere. Finally. He didn’t want to take a break when they were making progress. Although the last time they’d gone out had done Ty a world of good.

  Or maybe that had been Parker. Beautiful Parker, whose last name he’d never gotten. Beautiful Parker, who he’d never been seen again after that night, although he’d looked. She’d managed to soothe the wolf inside him, and he’d wanted more of that.

  It had been four months, though, and he hadn’t found one trace of her. He was starting to think he’d dreamed her.

  Not a dream, his wolf piped up inside him.

  Abruptly aware of the silence in the room, he looked up to find his brother studying him. “What’s up with you lately, Ty? Sometimes you seem different.”

  Resisting the urge to shift uneasily in his seat, Ty shook his head at Chase. “Nothing’s different, pup. All right, let’s go to Pete’s.”

  A triumphant grin lit Chase’s face as they both stood up. Normally Ty would have smacked it off Chase’s face, but right now, he wanted to get out of here and turn Chase’s attention away from him. Besides, he thought as they walked outside, maybe tonight would be the night he got lucky and ran into the curvy little human again. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to so badly, except for the fact that that night four months ago had been amazing. He’d slept with his share of women in his lifetime, but none had ever felt like she had. That, and the fact that she had managed to shut his wolf up for the first time in years, was heady stuff.

  An hour later, Ty was settled onto a bar stool in his usual spot at the corner of the bar with Chase and Garret, one of their farm hands. He spun the beer bottle on the table before taking a sip. He used to wish he could get drunk like a human. For years, he’d longed to be able to do it. He didn’t now, though, and he wasn’t sure exactly what the change was. He just knew he’d been feeling more solid than he had in a long time.

  “Sam called before we left,” Garret said.

  Ty looked over at the normally quiet fox shifter. Garret had changed, too. He used to be lively, always with a smile, more like a teenager than a man. Some hard shit had gone down last fall that had forced Garret to grow up fast. Now Garret was quiet and broody, not at all like the Garret he used to be. Ty was happy to see him grow up a bit, but he wished it hadn’t come at the expense of Garret’s naturally happy personality. He was more like Ty now, and that wasn’t anything Ty would wish on anyone.

  “What’d he want?” Ty asked. Sam was Garret’s brother and worked at Red Moon, although he lived on Bear Claw Ranch now. He was mated to Kendall Montgomery, one of the owners of the ranch.

  “Said Adara had her babies. Twin girls, both dragons.”

  Ty absorbed that information, waiting on the jealousy and resentment to hit him. It was there, but it wasn’t overwhelming, which surprised him. He’d hated Jared Montgomery for years, and when Jared mated Adara, the burning resentment had threatened to suffocate Ty. Learning Adara was pregnant had been even worse. Jared had always managed to have it all. First Cassie, who Tyler had loved, then finding another mate when Cassie died. The pregnancy had just been the icing on the shitcake.

  Which made it all the more surprising that hearing about the babies’ births didn’t make Tyler want to turn wolf and kill shit.

  “Good for them. It was a long shot that she could even get pregnant, and then she not only had twins, but had girls, too? That’s pretty much a miracle,” he said quietly.

  Silence met his pronouncement and he looked up to find Garret and Chase both looking at him like he’d suddenly grown a second head. Gripping his beer more tightly and fighting not to sound defensive, Ty said, “What?”

  Chase shook his head. “Like I said. Different. You’re almost being nice,” Chase said in disgust.

  “I’m not fucking nice,” Ty replied, voice hard. “I don’t like Jared Montgomery, but I have nothing against Adara.”

  Shooting him a skeptical look, Chase took a swig of his beer. “Because she’d sooner eat you than look at you. Can’t step a foot wrong with that one.”

  Lips quirking involuntarily, Ty fought to hide his amusement. Adara was a dragon shifter, and the first time he’d met her, he’d been in Jared’s face. Adara had threatened to eat him if he didn’t back off. Even drowning in resentment over Jared finding a new mate after Cassie, Ty had been amused. He didn’t doubt she’d do it, either, and Ty had nothing but respect for Adara for that. She was fierce, and he appreciated that quality.

  Leaning onto the bar, Ty listened with half an ear to Chase and Garret as he absentmindedly ran his gaze over the bar. Pete’s had been around forever, first established in the 1800’s as a saloon and whorehouse. He honestly didn’t think much had changed since then, either, other than the fact that the upstairs wasn’t open for business anymore. There was a jukebox in the front and pool tables in the back, but everything else looked pretty authentic. His eyes passed over Hannah and Wendy, girls he’d known in high school, and he silently cursed as they headed toward the bar.

  It seemed like every time he was here, they were too. He half suspected they lived here. They were making their way toward him, Chase, and Garret, teetering in high heels and wearing the shortest skirts he’d ever seen. Ty supposed they were hot, objectively speaking, but he’d never been attracted to them, and their personalities made it a certainty that he never would.

  Vipers, the both of them. They’d been the mean girls in high school, and not much had changed.

  He nodded hello to them when they stopped by the bar, but he didn’t speak and continued to let his gaze roam the room. Until Hannah said a name that perked his ears up.

  “Ugh, what is Parker doin
g here? And what the hell is she wearing?”

  Wendy giggled. “And look. She’s staring at Ty like a moon struck calf. Or should I say cow?”

  Ty wasn’t listening to them, though. Because he’d spotted Parker, standing uncertainly by the door. His breath left his body in a whoosh. She was as gorgeous as he remembered. Loose black curls tumbled over her shoulders, and her pale skin looked creamy even in the harsh light of the bar. He couldn’t see her eyes because of the distance between them, but he knew behind the black frames of the glasses she was wearing that they were a pale, light grayish-blue color. She was wearing leggings and a baggy shirt, but he knew underneath those that she had curves for days, with a generously shaped hourglass body.

  He watched as she nervously adjusted her glasses, looking around the bar before her eyes landed on him. She stilled, staring at him, and then seemed to blanch as she took note of the girls standing by him.

  Ty wanted to get up and go to her, but his body was frozen and he was still trying desperately to suck much needed oxygen into his body. She was really here, and her presence hit his body like a hurricane, the force of it stunning him to stillness. What was this hold she had on him? He didn’t know, and he suddenly wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

  Chapter Two

  Parker couldn’t stop staring at Tyler. She told herself to move but she couldn’t get her body to respond to her commands. He was gorgeous, sitting there on the barstool looking at her like she was a cold glass of water and he was a man stuck in the desert.

  She’d never had a man look at her like that before, and the fact that Tyler MacKeltar was doing it was blowing her mind. She needed to get it together, though. She needed a clear mind for the night ahead.