by Olivia Arran
“Leona,” I chided with a smile, my eyes widening as my mate playfully nipped at my neck.
“Actually,” Austin interrupted, “It’s Leona Ford, now.” His words were a low, possessive growl that sent a shiver of lust racing down my spine.
That suited me just fine.
Raucous laughter trickled on the air from across the fire, the flames leaping and dancing and lighting the dark with a soft glow. Sparks snapped and floated in spinning circles, illuminating faces both familiar and new.
Noah coughed, drawing my attention. “I wanted to add my congratulations and that I’m overjoyed I didn’t have to bite you.”
“You wouldn’t have gotten an inch near her with that mouth of yours.”
I patted Austin’s hand, soothing him until his growl had dialed down to a low rumble. “I’m pretty glad you didn’t either.” Others had wandered out from the woods, and someone had conjured music from somewhere, the soft acoustics of a guitar blending into the background noise. Julie waved at me from across the way, standing with a small group of people, her hand comfortably resting in her mate’s back pocket as they both spoke to different people. Wolves and bears and cats all mingled, co-existing together. And a fox, I realized as I spied Harper winding her way through the crowd toward us. Untangling myself from Austin’s arms, I met her halfway, twisting her around until her face was lit by the fire enough for me to see every little nuance clearly. “Everything okay?” I couldn’t help the anxious note; this was a lot of people and we hadn’t prepared for it.
Squeezing my hands, she laughed, but underneath, I spied signs of exhaustion. “I’m fine. I was thinking of heading off and didn’t want to go without saying bye.”
I fished in my pocket. “I forgot to give this to you earlier. I took it from your suitcase when I wasn’t sure…” My voice trailed off, not wanting to put into words the thoughts that had crossed my mind when she had gone missing. And I’d wanted something to remember you by…
Her face lit up. Plucking the small SD card out of my fingers, she grinned. “I thought I’d lost it for good! Now I can get back to doing some work.” I knew how much it must pain her to not be working on her pictures and kicked myself for not remembering to return the card earlier.
“Did you give any thought to Austin’s offer?” I had my fingers and toes crossed. Heck, if I could cross my arms and legs without falling over, I would do.
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s really generous of him, but it’s all still so new to me and…” Her words trailed off and she closed her mouth on a groan. “That sounds really ungrateful, doesn’t it? Shit. I don’t mean to be a cow, but—”
I squeezed her shoulder. “I get it. Why don’t you come live with us for a short while until you find your feet? Give it a try, no expectations.”
Her eyes flicked over my shoulder and returned to my face before I had chance to figure out who’d snagged her attention. “Sounds good,” she eventually said. “Are you sure that the guys won’t mind?”
I smothered a snort. “Mind? They’ll be thrilled.”
She gave me a withering look, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. “I meant about clearing out the spare cabin.”
I just smirked, eyeing the faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Sure. Austin says it’s full of junk they inherited when they moved here. They’ll start clearing it tomorrow.”
She gathered me in for another hug, letting me go and backing away. “I’ll come by and give them a hand. It’s only fair.” Then she was gone, weaving through the crowd on her way back to the infirmary.
Well, well, well…
Arms slid around my waist, startling a squeal from me. “That’s a very devious look you have on your face, mate.”
Twisting around, I looped my arms around his neck, swaying to the soft music. “I was contemplating women’s rights.”
“Really?” His eyebrows betrayed his disbelief.
“Uh huh. Yup. Julie’s a cat and she’s mated to a wolf, right?”
His face creased as he tried to figure out where I was going with this. “Yes. Why?”
“No reason.”
“Is it because Harper is the only fox shifter?”
“Maybe.” I wasn’t giving him anything; he’d only accuse me of meddling, and I hadn’t even done anything yet. I wanted my sister to be as happy as I was, so sue me.
“There might be some more fox shifters living in Heartsridge, soon.”
His light tone had my eyes narrowing. “Elucidate, please.” I tried for a haughty tone and from the look on his face, I pulled it off.
He laughed, pulling me tighter against his hard body until we had squished out all available air. “In plain English, please.”
“Which fox shifters?”
“Carter is sending a group out to find the pack responsible for Harper’s induction into shifter life.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I was trying my best not to judge the man who’d done this to my sister—especially since things had worked out fine—but it was hard, even after everything I’d said to Austin about letting go of regrets.
“Leona?” A firm hand lifted my chin, blue eyes searching my face.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, pushing away the uncertainty and diving head first back into celebration mode.
He gave me an approving smile.
“She’s moving in tomorrow,” I blurted out.
His smile widened until it was a full on shit-eating grin. “Well, shit. That’s going to annoy a few people. I know for a fact that Owen approached her and offered her a home with the wolf pack, not to mention Carter gave her free access to one of the Pride apartments in town.”
“Really?” Now, why the hell hadn’t Harper said something? And why was she choosing to come here to a ramshackle cabin rather than a snazzy apartment of her own in town? It surely wasn’t because she wanted to be close to me…
“You’re scheming again.”
“If you want to get lucky tonight you’ll ignore it,” I shot back.
“Bed privileges for turning a blind eye?” He cocked his head, pretending to consider it. “Yup. Okay. Fine by me. Do I get extra points for throwing in a sacrificial lamb?” He pretended to eye his team with a critical eye.
“I love you.” I couldn’t keep it inside, the emotion swelling up and bursting out of me.
His smirk faded. Honesty lined his face; in the firm set of his jaw to the creases edging out from his eyes. Broad and strong, he possessed more strength in his little finger than I had in my whole body, but the way he looked at me … like I was his world. He would destroy anything that threatened to harm me, I knew he would.
Like I would protect him until my last breath, from anyone who dared to try and hurt him.
He was mine; I was his.
All this passed between us, unspoken but heard, carried through the bond that linked us heart to heart.
“I love you, too,” he replied, stealing a kiss and sealing our vows.
We would build a future together, here, in Heartsridge.
Heartsridge Shifters: Cade
(South-One Bears Book #2)
Keep reading for a sneak peak!
Also by Olivia Arran
Recommended Reading Order
True Mates - Wolves
(Series complete - best read in order)
Found (a Prequel) HERE
Promised - HERE
Taken - HERE
Healed - HERE
Redeemed - HERE
Cherished - HERE
OUT NOW - True Mates: The Complete Series Boxed Set HERE
Alpha Protectors - Wolves
(Series complete - standalone stories)
Guardian - HERE
Sentinel - HERE
Defender - HERE
Enforcer - HERE
Watcher - HERE
The Everson Brothers - Bears
(Series complete - standalone stories)
My Curse to Bear - HERE
My Duty to Bear
- HERE
My Wound to Bear - HERE
My Heat to Bear - HERE
My Hunger to Bear - HERE
Sneak Peak: Cade (South-One Bears #2)
Heartsridge Shifters
Chapter One
Cade
“What do you mean I can’t fucking go?”
I ignored the snarling psychopath that was my team mate, leaving him for our Alpha to deal with. Not my problem. Kicking back on my chair, I waited for the volcano to erupt.
Austin—the aforementioned Alpha—unsuccessfully bit back a sigh, a pained sound escaping through clenched teeth in a strangled whistle. “Jake. You’re not the right man for—”
“I was the one who fucking found him.” Jake was shaking, green eyes flashing to silver, then back again, in a rapid succession that was giving me a headache from watching. Pacing the length of the small, beige room that served as our team’s rec room and headquarters, he shook his arms out, swinging them back and forth and flexing his fingers. Back ramrod straight and jaw clenched, he let out a low growl.
It was hilarious. Jake, trying for control. The man loved to brawl, didn’t need a reason or a clue, because he loved to fight. Fast to fly off the handle, he was the loose cannon on our team. I didn’t know why Austin put up with his shit, but he did. Every single goddamned time.
Damn. Jake must really want to come on this little outing. Then again, he had a point. He’d been the one to track the fox shifter to his home. The guy who’d bitten a human woman and changed her into one of us against her will. Plus, Austin’s head wasn’t in the game right now, and who could blame him? The woman who’d been bitten was the sister of his new mate, so he obviously had some strong feelings about the matter. And he was newly mated and, most likely, had other, more interesting things on his mind. Not to mention he probably wasn’t getting a whole lot of sleep at the moment. Yup. Austin had a whole lot going on.
“What are you smirking at?”
His snarl had my smirk widening. Uh huh. Not getting much sleep at all. Lucky bastard. “Nothing. I’ll take him with me.” And you’ll owe me one. The message passed unspoken through the air.
A sharp nod from the Alpha. “If he doesn’t behave, you have my permission to pound his ass.”
“I’m right fucking here,” Jake snarled, but he didn’t move a muscle.
Fuck me. If I hadn’t already been sitting down, I’d have fallen on my ass at the sight of Jake employing restraint. He must really want to go on this little outing.
“Right,” I swung my legs down off the table and fished my phone out of my pocket. A quick check of the details and I pushed up to standing, “We’re moving out.”
Austin caught my shoulder at the door. “Find the bastard who did this to Harper,” he growled.
I understood. Harper was now his sister-in-law, in shifter terms, and was moving into one of our cabins up at Casa del South-One. Otherwise known as, Team South-One, the name of our team of bear shifters. She was one of us now and we protected our own.
There was talk that the fox shifter might be underage, but, either way, he still needed to come here and face up to what he’d done. “On it.”
“And watch him.” Austin’s eyes flicked to Jake, who was storming down the corridor and doing a good job of scaring the staff at the municipal building.
I cracked a smile. “I not a fucking miracle worker.”
“He’s got his reasons,” my Alpha paused, as if trying to decide whether to share, but shook it off, “Like we all do.”
My story was an old one, and I didn’t use it as an excuse to hate the world. “Yeah, but some of us aren’t born assholes.”
Austin’s laughter followed me down the corridor. “Damn straight.”
It had been a long drive. The truck skidded to a stop and we piled out, the second truck nearly kissing our bumper as it shuddered to a halt, the engine dying on a splutter. Waiting for the rest of the guys, I leaned a hip against the hood, surveying the area with a critical eye. The land was all rolling hills, fields stretching out as far as the eye could see and melting into the skyline. The summer sun had scorched the ground, the crops wilted and crumbling beneath my fingers as I plucked up a stalk, twisting it around in my hand. Wheat. Or, at least, I thought it was.
The air was thick with humidity, still heavy with the heat of the long dry summer we’d had, but promising a refreshing downpour in the not too distant future. Insects buzzed and zipped in circles as the sun dipped low in the sky. They’d be gone soon, the cold snap of winter chasing them away.
“Thoughts?”
I continued canvasing the landscape instead of turning to the man who’d come up beside me. “Nowhere to hide.”
Grant chuffed in agreement. As an enforcer for the wolf shifter pack in Heartsridge, one of the few shifter-only towns where registered shifters could choose to live, and the place I called home, he was a good man to have at my back. Running a hand through his hair, he tugged at the short, silver tipped spikes as if trying to force his brain down a certain path. “Something doesn’t feel right,” he muttered.
“Agreed,” a deep voice murmured from behind us.
Damn. It was a day for surprises. “Tiny, you talk!”
The huge form of a wolf shifter stared at me, his face set in impassive lines. With boulders for fists and tree trunks for legs, he was a giant, and I wasn’t a small guy at six foot four.
This was the first time I’d heard him speak. I had a sneaking suspicion it would be the last.
The rest of the group crowded around us, scuffling for space and position in our makeshift team. It wasn’t often that a multi-shifter operation was put together, and I was being painfully reminded why. We didn’t play well together.
“Enough!” I wanted to roar, but I didn’t want to give away our position, so I kept it to a low snarl. We were like Noah’s fucking arc. Two bears, two wolves, and two cats. “The target is over there,” I pointed across the south field, at a low slung farmhouse, framed by a large barn that towered over it. “I want three to change and three to stay as human. Volunteers?” Nobody questioned my right to run point on this operation; they all knew our team had a personal interest in how this played out.
The two cat shifters exchanged glances, then the one called Tio backed away and began shrugging out of his clothes. Within seconds, a huge leopard stood in his place, tail twitching back and forth as he eyed our group.
Harry, a tiger shifter, shrugged. “We flipped a coin in the truck.”
Surprisingly, Grant was the one who changed, his wolf coat tipped with silver and flashing in the waning sunlight. Tiny crossed his arms and gave me a look, as if to say what?
Whatever. That just left Jake. I had a bad feeling about this. Did I leave Jake as human and let him do the talking, or risk having him roam free as a bear? Fuck.
Harry met my gaze and shook his head. He wasn’t changing.
I scrubbed a hand over my face. Okay. “We’ll go like this.” I would have to work with what I’d got.
The door swung open silently, revealing a woman stooped with age. Wrinkles dug grooves into her skin, creeping out like spider webs from the corner of her eyes and tugging her mouth down into a frown. Or she could just be frowning. Who knew? Her silver hair was piled up on top of her head, stretching her height up to an impressive five foot nothing.
“Ma’am,” I began.
“We don’t want any,” she snapped out in a clear voice. Her eyes locked with mine for a brief second before she slammed the door in my face, and in that instant I knew. She was scared. She knew why we were here.
At my low whistle, Tio and Grant stalked around the house, their furry bodies disappearing out of sight.
“What next?” Harry sounded like he was trying not to laugh.
Taking a deep breath and reaching for the self-control I was famous for, I knocked again. I could hear her shuffling around behind the door, hear her breathing. “Ma’am. It would be better if you opened the door. We promise we’re no
t here to hurt anyone.”
“If you say so,” Jake muttered.
I shot him a look that promised to separate his balls from his body if he uttered another word.
“We’re not going to hurt you.” If she really listened, as a shifter, she’d be able to hear the truth in my words.
The door swung open. The stoop was gone, but the wrinkles remained. “Promise you’re not going to hurt my grandkids, either.” She jabbed a bony finger into my chest. “Say it; I want to hear you.”
“I promise we won’t hurt your grandkids.” I hadn’t promised we wouldn’t take one of them with us, but the omission sat heavy in my gut.
She shuffled out of the way. “Well, come on in then. What are you all waiting for? And tell the cat and the wolf to get their nosy snouts away from the windows and use the front door.” With a huff, she turned her back on us and disappeared into the house, skirts twitching and silver topknot bobbing.
“You heard the lady,” I muttered, filing in behind her. Grant and Tio appeared and shouldered me out of the way with their huge bodies, their fur sweeping the sides of the small entrance hall as they padded into the depths of the house.
I rounded the corner and came face to face with the business end of a rifle.
Heartsridge Shifters: Cade
(South-One Bears Book #2)
From the Author
Thank you for purchasing Heartsridge Shifters: Austin. It's your support that allows me to continue doing something that I love every day. If you liked the story, please consider leaving a review so more people can find and enjoy my books.
Love,
Olivia
About Olivia Arran
Olivia Arran is a USA Today bestselling author. She has been an avid reader since childhood, forgoing sleep to devour page after page by torchlight. As an adult she still reads voraciously, but also enjoys penning her own tales of romance. Steamy paranormal romance with strong alpha heroes and feisty heroines - Olivia writes what she likes to read and hopes you like it too!
