“It’s not only about you digging up the guts to do your duty. It’s about Niola, and you throwing yourself a pity party over all of it.”
Ryan mouthed off before his brain gave the go ahead. “What would you know about it? You got to choose your mate, not have one rammed down your throat! And guts, really, you want to go there? Hell, you don’t even have the guts to change anymore!”
Zander’s body tensed and a quiver rippled the fur along his spine. From hurt or anger, Ryan wasn’t sure. A bloated moment of silence, one not even the growing volume of cicada song could penetrate, crowded in on them.
Fuck. Ryan hadn’t just stepped over a line; he’d kicked the shit out of it. By rights, he should be presenting his throat to the other Wulver, letting him take his due. Ryan squeezed his eyes shut and hung his head. He knew better than anyone that Alexander Chaney, after losing his beloved Sofia to the same war that had taken Ethan, found it easier to live as Zander, a northern timber wolf, than face life as a man with a gaping hole where his heart had been.
The same hole Ryan had just twisted a burning stick into.
Ryan swallowed his shame and dug his fingers into Zander’s thick undercoat. To his relief his friend didn’t shake it off or snap at him. “Shit. Zander, I—”
“Leave. It. Be.” The mental firewall Zander slammed up on the subject pierced Ryan’s skull, which was far less than he deserved. The increasing buzz in his ears grew nearly unbearable before Zander reached out again. “I know you’ve always wanted what your Aunt Sofia and I shared, but with your thirtieth birthday only weeks away, the odds of that are less than winning the fucking lottery. It’s time you grew up and faced reality, Ryan. What’s ahead for you may not be the life you envisioned, but at least it is life. There are those among us who will take advantage of your weakness if you don’t get a grip. There are still bloodthirsty ways to gain leadership.”
“I know—”
“I’m not through. Then there’s the bonding contract between you and Niola. Again, something you have that others would die for—and have for lack of it.” Zander placed his heavy paw on Ryan’s leg. “Wulverkynn females like Niola are beyond rare after the Overseer wars, whelp. True love bonds for young males like you are just a pipe dream now. The sooner you accept that the easier things will be for you.” Zander looked away toward the tree line and glided out from under Ryan’s hand, pausing after a few feet. Without turning his head, he sent his next thoughts wrapped in sympathy. “Sometimes you must move forward on faith alone or risk missing the hidden happiness that could be yours. Take some time to consider my words, Ryan of Sheridan Alpha line. Then call to me if you want company.”
Ryan stared after him until the gray tip of Zander’s bushy tail melted into the black silhouette of the forest. He was right. It was time for Ryan to wake up. He’d already come closer than most ever would to a true mate. The guilt and pain he would never get over clawed at his heart, making it hard to breathe. The unforeseen triangle they’d ended up in had cost him his cousin’s friendship and Arlene her life. Given how well that turned had out, what made him think he deserved another chance?
At this point, bonding with Niola Alderick was all that would prevent his descent into insanity–and she hated him as much as he dreaded a lifetime shackled to her. Without the mating bond, at moonrise on his thirtieth birthday, he’d turn full Were and become trapped inside a mindless killing machine. Cognizant of every heinous act but powerless to stop it.
Ryan let his head fall back and lifted his index finger. “Behind door number one—you, unable to touch another while the mate who hates you is free to live as she pleases. Or door number two—be put down like a rabid dog by your own family.”
Yup, Zander had nailed it again. What other choice but the bond contract did he have? Without it, not only would he leave the Clan vulnerable, but he’d die dragging them into disgrace with him. The last time an Alpha blood had been taken by the moon was during the Crusades, and that family still hadn’t regained its seat on the Council nor its honor among the other Clans.
Ryan stared blindly at the stars. He’d spent enough time wishing some other option would present itself. That another heir would miraculously appear, or that Ryan would somehow find his true mate before it was too late.
No more. At least he’d have a mate and live so he could learn to shoulder his responsibilities. What more did he want?
The wolf inside him snapped at the edges of Ryan’s mind and growled.
Everything!
Magnolias and Moonshine – the Complete Series
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Her Hero by Hildie McQueen
Hurricane Bride by Beth Williamson
The Wedding Charm by Susan Hatler
Sweet Love of Mine by Lindi Peterson
Moon Over Atlanta by Kymber Morgan
Georgia on My Mind by Amanda McIntyre
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Out-lanta by Tina DeSalvo
From Now On by Raine English
Sweet Georgia Peach by Amelia Adams
Maybe Baby by E. E. Burke
A Kiss is Just a Kiss by Melinda Curtis
Heat Wave by Merry Farmer
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Hit and Run Love by Jennifer Peel
Devils on Horseback Millennium
His Firefly Cowgirl
Her Bucking Bronc
Hurricane Bride
His Prairie Blossom
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About the Author
Beth Williamson, who also writes as Emma Lang, is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of both historical and contemporary romances. Her books range from sensual to scorching hot. She is a Career Achievement Award Nominee in Erotic Romance by Romantic Times Magazine, in both 2009 and 2010, and a quarter-finalist in the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.
Beth has always been a dreamer, never able to escape her imagination. It led her to the craft of writing romance novels, fueled by Reese’s and tenacious pursuit of the perfect story. She’s passionate about purple, books, and her family. She has a weakness for shoes and purses as well as bookstores.
Life might be chaotic, as life usually is, but Beth always keeps a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and a cowboy on her mind. ;)
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Published by Beth Williamson
Copyright © 2017 Beth Williamson
Smashwords Edition
Edited by Catherine Wayne
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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fi
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ISBN: 9781943089123
Hurricane Bride Page 8
