by Sennah Tate
Bound to the Wolf
Palm Haven Shifters Book Three
By Sennah Tate
Copyright 2016 Sennah Tate
Copyright Sennah Tate 2016
Cover design by Sennah Tate
This book is a work of fiction. All the characters in this book are fictitious and any similarity to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidence.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Dedication
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
BONUS: Catching the Tiger Sample
About the Author
More From Sennah Tate
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Author’s Note
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Dedication
To my wonderful family and friends that never cease to support me.
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Bound to the Wolf
Chapter 1
SONYA
Sonya had no sooner closed her door to the strange witch when panic struck her. If the witches knew where she and Manuel were, the pack wouldn’t be far behind. Her on-again-off-again relationship with Manuel’s father had been brief, passionate and, ultimately, violent. She didn’t know what he was until it was too late. He’d been looking for someone powerful enough to carry his child, to continue the legacy of his pack.
She had no clue he was a shifter.
He had no idea she was a witch.
No one did.
From a very young age, Sonya managed to keep her gifts a well-hidden secret. Her mother knew about her powers, but warned her that flaunting them would only invite trouble. If there was one thing the superstitious old woman had taught her it was how to lay low. And then Estrella had gone and blabbed to some Coven witch about everything.
Now she’d have to move them again. Estrella no doubt meant well, but somehow word would get back to Diego. It always did. She touched the bruise on her neck gingerly.
Tears sprang to her eyes unbidden as she remembered that fateful night. They’d managed to stay under the radar for nearly a year when Diego came breaking down her door a few weeks ago. She wasn’t proud of the things she did to get away from him and she certainly didn’t want to do it again.
After a harrowing night with Diego, Sonya had packed up a few necessities, scooped up her young son and fled for her mother’s. She wouldn’t risk any harm coming to her son. If it were just Diego, Sonya might try to confront him, but the fact was, he had an entire pack behind him. Unwaveringly loyal to their leader -- her ex. She would not let the clan get their hands on Manuel even if it meant outing herself as a witch. She wouldn’t have her sweet baby boy turned into a slobbering rabid dog like his father.
Estrella was right about one thing though: they couldn’t stay here. She’d thought that Palm Haven was far enough from Diego’s territory, but with other shifters in town, it was only a matter of time until he paid her a visit. If Estrella had kept her big mouth shut, maybe they could have kept hiding for a while. Maybe she would have actually been able to enroll Manuel in pre-school without worrying about pulling him out just when he’d made friends. Maybe.
But now they’d never know.
Now she had to pack. She couldn’t just sit around waiting for Diego or another shifter to come by. For all she knew, the Palm Haven wolves were even more brutal than the ones she knew back home. Diego was the Alpha of the Summer Springs clan and there was no chance that she could find refuge for an Alpha’s offspring with another clan. That would just be inviting a war into their backyard.
No, if Sonya wanted her son to be safe, she was going to have to protect him herself and the only way she knew to do that was to run away.
She hastily stuffed a few necessities in a bag and started gathering snacks and toys for Manuel: his favorite rabbit plush, a blanket that he’d had since he was a baby and a few other activities to keep him occupied. Bless his heart, the kid was used to picking up and moving in the middle of the night, but that didn’t make it any easier on her. She always felt a stab of guilt every time they did this. He’d been on the run probably for as long as he could remember and he probably didn’t even know why.
It was better that way.
She scooped her sleeping four-year-old out of bed into her arms and grabbed the couple of bags containing the majority of their belongings.
“Mama?” Manuel asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes with a big yawn, “What’s wrong?”
She realized what she must look like to him: tears streaked her face, her hands shook with anxiety and her eyes had a wild panicked look like a rabbit cornered by a hungry fox. No wonder his face suddenly reflected her own fear.
“Nothing baby, nothing’s wrong, we’re just going to take a little trip, go back to sleep, sweetheart.”
The boy squirmed in her arms, turning to look her in the eyes. It was like looking into a mirror – his big hazel eyes could stare straight into her soul. The unruly mop of curly black hair that topped his head was purely Diego’s influence, though. He blinked, his long lashes making her heart melt in an instant.
“Are the wolves going to take me away?” He asked, showing far too much awareness for his own good.
Sonya’s heart stopped. She’d tried so hard to hide everything from him, but kids were smarter than adults gave them credit for.
“No, sweetheart, why would you say that?”
He yawned before slipping his tiny hand into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Sonya felt fresh tears gather in her eyes but refused to let them fall. She didn’t want to upset Manuel any more than she already had.
“Because, I know you’re scared of wolves and you don’t want me to know,” he answered without hesitation.
Had she really been careless enough to let Manuel see how desperate the situation was? She always tried to give him a normal childhood – birthday parties and sleepovers gave her panic attacks, but she wasn’t going to deprive her son.
“Oh honey, but that’s nothing to do with you,” she lied. “I will never ever let anything happen to you.”
“Then why did that lady want to take me away?”
Her stomach dropped through the floor. She had to tell him the truth. She couldn’t keep lying to him about what and who he was. But he was so little.
A knock on the door saved her from making the difficult decision. She gave her son a look he knew to mean he should stay put as she set him down and hurried to the door, her heart thundering.
A quick glance out the peepho
le let Sonya breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Diego. That didn’t mean much though. Diego could have any of his lackeys come in his place to avoid spooking her.
She looked back to her son and shooed him away.
“Go back to bed,” she whispered, “Don’t come out of your room for anything, okay?”
He nodded, his eyes wide with fear. She knew he heard the shakiness in his Mama’s voice. He didn’t know what she was so scared of, but she’d like to keep it that way.
Surely he saw the panic in her body language. He may not be old enough to understand all of the nuances of the situation, but he knew enough to see his Mama was upset with something and she knew he’d worry.
Sonya watched her son skitter off to his room and made sure his door was completely closed before turning her attention back to the front door. Another glance out of the peep hole gave her a better look at the stranger: straight dark hair, a confident stance that didn’t quite reveal the full extent of his physicality and dark hooded eyes, unreadable through the tiny lens. Did she dare open the door to another stranger?
Leaving someone at her front door was only going to attract attention, though.
Her hand worked deftly to unlock the myriad of locks on her front door. Paranoia was an understatement, but no amount of security was enough when it came to her child.
She opened the door a crack, the chain still on – it wasn’t much protection, but it made it clear to the person on the other side that she wasn’t about to just let him into her house.
“Hello,” he said, his voice smooth and rich like chocolate silk. The latent magic inside of her crackled to life. Her fingers twitched even as they gripped the door with white knuckles. She hadn’t felt her powers respond to someone’s presence since Diego… was he nearby?
She didn’t say anything. He was at her front door; he could do the talking.
“I have something I would like to talk to you about in private, may I come in?” He said it all so casually, like he was talking about something as mundane as the weather. She didn’t know what he was talking about, but she wasn’t in the position to be able to trust him.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she answered, closing the door as she did.
His hand shot out and stopped it.
She saw something in his eyes – a flash of light – it frightened her and made her gasp with surprise.
“You can either let me in quietly, or I can rip this door off its hinges and draw everyone’s attention. It’s your choice.”
His voice was hushed, deep and authoritative. He nearly growled the last words at her.
Sonya’s heart raced beneath her ribcage. He wasn’t giving her a choice and she hated that feeling of helplessness. Still, if she didn’t want to worry Manuel, she had no choice but to let the stranger into her home. Her eye’s darted to her son’s room, checking to make sure his door was still closed. Her fingers sparked on the knob as she closed the door, reaching for the chain.
A lump in Sonya’s throat made it difficult to swallow. Who was this man? What did he want from her? And how could one look from him make her mouth dry and her magic alive? Her powers had been dormant for so long now…
She shook her head. It had been too long. Diego was the last man she’d slept with and that had been years ago. There was no time for relationships on the run. Keeping Manuel safe was a full-time occupation.
“Thank you,” the man spoke as he entered her tiny living room. His posture changed in an instant – no longer was he the scary intruder on the other side of her door. Now he was comfortable, at ease, and radiating silent authority that made Sonya tongue-tied.
“Am I right in thinking that I am not the first visitor you’ve had this evening?”
Sonya’s hands went to her hips defiantly and her jaw set into a hard line.
“What is this about?” she snapped, praying the answer wouldn’t be her son.
She already knew his answer before the man spoke. She was just deluding herself. He was a wolf; there was no doubt about it. Her eyes traced his face, noticing the faint red lines that seemed to be healing wounds and the bits of dried blood still in his hair. This was a dangerous man. Why did it excite her powers so? Why did she find herself wondering what his kiss tasted like?
His eyebrows raised and a sly smile quirked the corner of his mouth upwards.
He was smiling. Why was he smiling? How could this man muster the energy to smile when her entire life was crumbling around her?
“I believed I asked you first,” he said, sitting on the couch.
He spread himself out, his arms covering the length of the couch’s back and his legs spread wide in a stance that Sonya knew to mean one thing: he was the Alpha.
Chapter 2
JOSÉ
“Let me make something very clear. I’m not here to hurt you or your son,” José said clearly. He noticed the way her eyes darted from side to side. He didn’t like the panicked look on her. It didn’t suit her. His wolf paced, unsettled by the stench of fear in the air. The boy was scared, too. He could smell them both and wanted nothing more than to protect them from their demons.
“M-my son? I think you’re mistaken, Sir, I have no son,” she lied.
“Please, don’t insult me. You think I don’t notice when a new wolf comes into my territory? Even one as young as your son.”
Tears sprang to her eyes and started streaming down her face. The look of sheer desperation on her beautiful face wiped the smirk right from José’s lips. What was she so upset about? He wondered.
“Please, please don’t tell Diego that we’re here. We’ll leave. I’ll never come back. He won’t have to know we were here, I swear,” she begged, tears still streaming down her face.
José stiffened. Diego? The mere mention of the man’s name had the hairs on José’s arms bristling.
He stood, crossing the room; suddenly everything made sense. Suddenly, he knew why the witch had been here.
“Diego Rivera is the boy’s father?”
She nodded with a soft sob.
He could see it all clearly now – how she shrunk away from him the moment he got too close, the constant fear in her eyes, the haunted look that told him how badly she’d been mistreated.
“Well, fuck. I didn’t know that,” he growled, his wolf more ready than ever to protect these strangers. The wolf already considered them pack members and an Alpha never let harm come to their pack.
“You… didn’t?” she stammered, big hazel eyes and wet lashes turned up to him, making his heart skip a beat. His wolf responded much more enthusiastically but he had to keep him at bay. First the fight with the bear and now this. His control was wearing thin. To know that Diego Rivera may be entering his territory soon certainly didn’t help things.
“No, of course not. I don’t know what that sadistic bastard did to you, but I won’t let him come near you or your son again. This is my territory.”
Her lips parted slightly in surprise and José fought the overwhelming urge to kiss them. His wolf was convinced she was his; he couldn’t give in to the beast within him. He couldn’t handle the added stress of a mate right now.
“But… he’ll fight you. He wants me dead. He wants Manuel… it will start a war if you don’t give us over,” she answered, tears spilling down her cheeks again.
“If you haven’t noticed, there’s already a war out there,” he answered. “You and your son will be safe with my pack, but not here,” he said.
The rush of color that rose in her chest made him swell with male satisfaction. She really was breath-taking, even beneath the layers of fear that years on the run had constructed. Her short stature was accentuated with curves that made his mouth water and made his wolf howl in delight. She was too fragile, though. Too vulnerable.
“I… I couldn’t live with wolves,” she said, refusing to make eye contact with him. “I’m a… I… I just couldn’t,” she said, suddenly looking alive. Fierce and determined rather than broken and meek.
That look suited her better.
He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly not buying her excuse, “It seems to me that you could do just about anything to keep your son safe,” José gestured around him to the squalid surroundings and barred windows.
“So what do you say?” He said, extending his hand out to her, “Can you trust a wolf?”
Chapter 3
SONYA
Sonya’s gaze wavered from his deep dark eyes to the hand he held out. Could she trust a wolf?
What kind of question was that, anyway? After everything Diego had done to them, after this man coming to her door and threatening to break it down…
But then the look on his face when she’d mentioned Diego’s name, like something inside of him clicked and softened all at once. He seemed to know of her ex — he even seemed to have an intense dislike for him — but did that mean she could trust him?
Her fingers twitched at her side and she wondered what would happen if she took his offer. If she and her son went into hiding with his pack. She’d be surrounded by shifters at all times, a sitting duck for their aggressive behaviors. Manuel would grow up thinking that behavior was okay…
She couldn’t do it.
Her eyes narrowed and Sonya shook her head, ignoring the sparks in her fingertips as she reached for the door again.
“No, I don’t think I can. You should leave now,” her voice sounded steadier than she felt. Her head spun with everything that had happened, with the revolving door of characters that had come into her home uninvited. Who would be next? How long until Diego himself came knocking?
Ice constricted around her heart and squeezed.
The man’s face changed. He’d been too sure of himself, with a cocky confident grin and an arrogant gleam in his eyes. Now he looked surprised, like he’d been shocked by electricity.
