Boone's Baby [Scent of a Mate 9] (The Stormy Glenn ManLove Collection)

by Stormy Glenn

  Scent of a Mate 9

  Boone’s Baby

  As sheriff of Potter’s Creek, Boone Marshall was just doing his job when he went to investigate a report of vandalism. He never expected to find his future. When he discovers Jackie is his mate, he’s overjoyed.

  Jackie is not. His fear of shifters sends him into a panic, uncaring that they have already mated. He wants nothing to do with shifters, even if he is one. After being tortured by a madman bent on creating omega shifters, the last thing Jackie wants to do is get involved with someone on four paws.

  But fate will not be denied. Suffering from a mating heat gone wild, both men give into their desires for each other. When truths are spoken, they both discover that they have a lot more to learn about the world than they thought they knew. Shifters and humans come in all shapes and sizes, some good, some not so good. Boone and Jackie just have to figure out who they can trust before the past destroys the future they are trying to build together.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Paranormal, Shifter

  Length: 36,678 words

  BOONE’S BABY

  Scent of a Mate 9

  Stormy Glenn

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  BOONE’S BABY

  Copyright © 2017 by Stormy Glenn

  ISBN: 978-1-64010-580-5

  First Publication: July 2017

  Cover design by Jess Buffett

  All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. 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.

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  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Stormy believes the only thing sexier than a man in cowboy boots is two or three men in cowboy boots. She also believes in love at first sight, soul mates, true love, and happy endings.

  You can usually find her cuddled in bed with a book in her hand and a puppy in her lap, or on her laptop, creating the next sexy man for one of her stories. Stormy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website at www.stormyglenn.com.

  For all titles by Stormy Glenn, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/stormyglenn

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Author

  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

  Landmarks

  Cover

  BOONE’S BABY

  Scent of a Mate 9

  STORMY GLENN

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  “Hey, bro.”

  Boone Marshall smirked when his brother looked up from the dresser he was sanding. Hugh smiled, set his sandpaper down, and then reached for a rag to wipe his hands off.

  “How did it go?”

  Boone had accompanied their half-brother Otto back to their old pride to handle what they knew would be a hostile takeover. The council had ordered Otto to replace their father as alpha after the man had been imprisoned for his crimes, but that didn’t mean that the pride would accept Otto.

  Boone shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. “It went. There were a few altercations, but Otto took care of them fairly effectively. Some of the pride members requested transfer to the de Luca Pride, but most stayed. In general, even if they weren’t real happy with Otto being the new alpha, I think everyone was just relieved that Aldo was gone.”

  Boone knew he would be happy never to see the man again. His father had made his life miserable since the moment he was born. And when he wasn’t abusing Boone in some way, he was going after Hugh or Simon.

  It wasn’t until recently that Boone discovered he had more than two brothers. He had suspected but no one ever said anything. Maybe it was because no one wanted to be considered Aldo Marshall’s son or because they were afraid of what might happen if they admitted it. Whatever the reason, Boone was still reeling from the fact that he had more brothers than he’d thought.

  “How’s Otto?”

  Boone chuckled. “He’s still pissed.” Otto had gone ballistic when he had been appointed alpha. Boone had been really glad he hadn’t been the one to give Otto the job. The man was going to be pissed for quite some time. “He’ll get over it.”

  Certainly, no one else wanted the job. The Marshall Pride was too fucked up.

  “Before or after he kills me?” Hugh griped.

  “And take on another pride?” Boone shook his head. “I don’t think even Otto is that crazy.”

  “Has he had any luck tracking down his mate?”

  Boone’s mouth curved down as he frowned. “No. He’s put out feelers and he’s tracking down a few leads, but so far he hasn’t found a trace of him.” Boone’s dark hair fluttered around his face as he shook his head. “It’s like the man just fell off the face of the earth. Even Kumiko can’t find him, and it turns out that that man has some serious contacts.”

  “Are they still fighting?”

  “Not so much. Otto and Kumiko have their arguments and all, ’cause let’s face it, they’re both too stubborn for words. But they seem to be presenting a united front to the rest of the pride. Hell, someone made a comment about Kumiko’s heritage, and Otto almost tore them to pieces.”

  Everyone had been shocked when Otto made Kumiko his beta. Granted, the man was perfect for the position. He was tenacious, vicious when needed, and liked being in control. As far as Boone knew, though, the two men couldn’t be in the same room for more than five minutes without killing each other.

  “How are Kye and Yuji taking their brother being gone?” Boone asked.

  “Pretty well considering. Kye has me and Neumus, and I think that helps. Yuji seems a little lost. Kye is mated and Kumiko has his position as beta. I think Yuji is kind of wondering where he fits in all of this.”

  “He just needs to find something that gives him purpose.”

  Hugh nodded and then suddenly narrowed his eyes. “You know, if you’re going to be the town sheriff, you’re going to have to do something about that hair.”

  Boone almost groaned. He hadn’t forgotten about his brother handing off the job of town sheriff to him. He didn’t so much mind being the sheriff. He actually kind of looked forward to it. But he was not cutting his hair.

  “Snowblowers, dude, snowblowers.”

  Hugh chuckled.

  Boone decided to change
the subject as quickly as possible. “Any word from Simon?”

  Hugh nodded as he leaned in to work on one particular strip of wood that seemed to be resisting his attempt to smooth it out. “Yeah, he called to say he would be home on Sunday. Elder Hamilton is going to be joining him, so that should be fun.”

  Elder Hamilton had been a huge surprise to everyone. Not only was he not an alpha as they had thought, but he was trying to save Simon from their father’s evil clutches and not broker a deal for Simon to marry his daughters, as they had been led to believe. The elder had recognized Simon as an omega and knew that Alpha Aldo would abuse that power if he learned of it.

  There was no daughter to mate Simon with as their father had suggested. It had simply been a ploy to free Simon from what Elder Hamilton saw as a horrible situation. Simon was currently training with the elder to better be able to use his omega abilities.

  “This is pretty nice,” Boone said as he glanced around the new shop that Kye and Neumus had insisted on building for Hugh.

  It had taken almost a month to build, but it was the workshop of Hugh’s dreams. Kye and Neumus had gone on a shopping spree after the shop was build and bought him every woodworking tool they could find. Hell, some of the tools were so odd Boone didn’t even know what they were for.

  Hugh grinned as he grabbed his sandpaper and went back to work on the antique dresser. “Yeah, it is.”

  “Has Neumus discovered what his hobby is yet?”

  “Yeah, annoying the hell out of me.”

  “I heard that!”

  Hugh grinned as he glanced toward the doorway.

  “Stop looking at me like you want to eat me,” Neumus said to Hugh as he brushed past Boone and sauntered across the room.

  Hugh grinned. “But I do want to eat you.”

  “Okay.” Boone covered his eyes. He so did not want to see the lust building between the two men. He could smell it and that was bad enough. It’d been a while since anyone had looked at him like Hugh was looking at Neumus. “I’m leaving before my eyeballs get burned.”

  “Don’t forget that we have dinner at Mom’s on Sunday.”

  “Got i—ouch!” Boone ran smack-dab into a wood planer. He frowned as he dropped his hand from his eyes and glared down at the tool. He mumbled to himself, moved around the planer, and walked out the door. “I have so got to get laid.”

  But as much as that need was riding him, Boone also wanted what his brother had found with Kye and Neumus. He was tired of back-room fucks and one-night stands. He wanted someone who was just his, someone he was proud to stand beside.

  He wanted his mate.

  He was just starting to wonder if such a person existed.

  Two months later

  The first thing Boone noticed was the long auburn hair that fell in gentle waves down to a beautifully curved butt. He could just imagine those gorgeous strands brushing against his skin as he fucked that perfect little ass.

  The second thing Boone noticed was that the gorgeous ass he was dreaming about was dressed in tight denim shorts. It curved down over nicely rounded ass cheeks to a beautiful set of long tanned legs and a pair of hot-pink stiletto heels.

  And that sent all of Boone’s sexual fantasies up in a huge puff of smoke.

  He didn’t do women.

  Ever!

  And wasn’t that damn sad, ’cause that really was a fantastic ass.

  Boone cleared his throat so that he didn’t startle the woman, as she was bent over a box and facing away from him. “Ma’am.”

  He hoped he got that right.

  “Oh!” The figure swung around, thick auburn hair flying everywhere.

  Boone’s jaw dropped as he watched a thin-boned hand flutter at a delicate, swanlike neck. He slowly raised his gaze until he met the oddest gray eyes he’d ever seen. They were pale gray like summer clouds before a violent rainstorm.

  And they were staring right back at him.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you,” Boone said carefully, not real sure if he was dealing with a man or a woman at this point. His guess could go in either direction. “I received a call that there had been some vandalism.”

  “You’re the sheriff?”

  “Yes, ma—uh, yes. Sheriff Boone Marshall.” Boone almost groaned when the man or woman’s lush lips spread into a glorious smile. He so did not need to be obsessing over a woman. And if this was a man, he needed to rethink his thoughts on how men were supposed to look.

  “Jackie Lee.”

  The name didn’t help at all. Jackie was kind of a unisex name. Boone held out his hand instead. A handshake might be able to give him more of a clue.

  Damn.

  The hand held out to him was delicately boned and had hot-pink painted nails. Boone tried not to swear or curse—in case it was a woman—as he shook Jackie’s hand. There was a grip, but it wasn’t tight. It wasn’t limp either.

  It was no help at all.

  Maybe he could fish for information.

  “You’re new to Potter’s Creek. Am I right?”

  “Yes. I just moved in.” Pink fingernail polish flashed through the air as Jackie waved a hand back toward the box he or she had been leaning over. “As you can see, I’m still unpacking.”

  It was only as Boone looked at the boxes that Jackie indicated that he noticed the stuff stacked all over the place. There were shelves of pottery and dishes and clothing. Colorful quilts hung from the walls, as did paintings. Jewelry dangled from small turning displays on top of the counters. Handmade bric-a-brac lined every other available space. There were even jars of jam stacked on one shelf.

  “Just what kind of place is this?”

  Jackie’s perfectly white teeth gleamed in the daylight. “It’s a craft store, sort of. For a commission, I provide space for local artists to sell their wares.”

  Boone smiled as he rubbed his fingers over one of the quilts. “I thought I recognized this. Kye Hara made it, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s good.” Boone could see how carefully each stitch was made on the handmade quilt. Kye really was good. He was still smiling as he turned to face Jackie. “Kye is sewing stuff all the time. You should see his sewing room. It’s filled with things he’s working on. I’ll bet you’ll get a lot of business from him.”

  The broad smile on Jackie’s lips seemed to wobble just a bit. “You know Kye Hara?”

  “Oh yeah. We live together.”

  “Oh.” Jackie clasped his hands together and stared anywhere except at Boone. He acted as though he was suddenly nervous. “He seems really nice.”

  “He is, although he drives my brother and Neumus crazy on a regular basis.”

  “Your brother and Neumus?”

  Oops!

  How in the hell was he supposed to explain his brother’s relationship to a stranger? It wasn’t as if he could tell Jackie that Hugh, Neumus, and Kye were all mated to each other. He hadn’t been able to get close enough to Jackie to scent whether he was a shifter or not. Well, he had when they shook hands, but he’d been too distracted by Jackie’s looks to concentrate on how Jackie smelled.

  “Kye is my brother-in-law.”

  There.

  That was simple.

  “Oh?”

  “He’s married to my brother Hugh, and then they have a third in their relationship, a man named Neumus.”

  Yes!

  The glorious smile was back.

  Oh, wait. Boone scratched the side of his head. Why in the hell did he care if Jackie smiled or not? He couldn’t even tell if Jackie was a man or woman, and he needed to know that before he got interested—except a little voice in the back of his head said it was too late for that.

  He was already interested.

  In a woman…maybe.

  Hell, he needed his head examined.

  “Can you show me the vandalism?”

  “Oh, yes, of course.” Jackie’s smile made Boone’s knees weak. “I didn’t notice it right away because I came in the front this mo
rning. It wasn’t until I went to take some boxes out back that I noticed the spray paint on the wall by the back door.”

  Boone followed Jackie to the back of the store. It took everything in him to keep his gaze above Jackie’s waistline. That ass really was a work of art. Boone bet he could bounce a quarter off it and get change back.

  Damn.

  “It’s probably just some kids, but…” Jackie shrugged. “I thought it should be reported in case it wasn’t.”

  Boone was going nuts. He had to know if Jackie was a man or a woman—preferably a man. Beyond stripping Jackie naked, there was only one way he knew of to tell if someone was a man or a woman, human or shifter.

  He needed a good sniff.

  Boone made his strides just a little longer, hoping to get to Jackie before they reached the back door. Crowding him or her from behind wouldn’t seem so weird if they were both going out the back door at the same time.

  Boone groaned when the phone rang and Jackie veered off toward the counter, waving a hand back toward the door. “Oh, I need to get this. I’m expecting a call from a distributor. The paint is right outside the door on the wall.”

  With no other choice, Boone pushed the back door open and stepped outside. The paint wasn’t hard to find. It was bright neon orange. It wasn’t until he pulled out his cell phone and stepped back to take pictures that he actually saw the words drawn out with the paint.

  “Well, shit.”

  Leave or die

  Not very nice. Boone had to wonder if the threatening words were aimed toward Jackie or just a bunch of kids goofing off. The knot starting to form in his stomach said the latter.

  Boone snapped several pictures of the words on the wall and then the area surrounding them. Beyond finding paint drops on the ground, there was nothing else, not even leaves. Jackie kept the place pretty clean.

  Boone checked to make sure the door was still closed and then leaned down close to draw in a good lungful of air. Noxious paint fumes burned the hairs in his nose. The scent was strong enough that Boone sneezed.