Alpha wolf shifter, Chief, has just suffered a surprising loss at the shifter pack battles, which sucks because the prize was a mate. Any hope of a she-wolf taming Chief’s out-of-control inner wolf is gone. Worse, the cost of his loss is a year stint at the Skin Walker compound, StoneCrow Estates. Being in Monroe StoneCrow’s employee isn’t someplace any wolf shifter wants to be. Alessandra (Alise) Crane is at StoneCrow to attend the wedding of her best friend... moreAlpha wolf shifter, Chief, has just suffered a surprising loss at the shifter pack battles, which sucks because the prize was a mate. Any hope of a she-wolf taming Chief’s out-of-control inner wolf is gone. Worse, the cost of his loss is a year stint at the Skin Walker compound, StoneCrow Estates. Being in Monroe StoneCrow’s employee isn’t someplace any wolf shifter wants to be. Alessandra (Alise) Crane is at StoneCrow to attend the wedding of her best friend. All through the reception, she feels eyes on her. A tatted up beast in the shadows has been watching her, but she’s too busy playing bride’s maid to pay much attention. When she finally locks eyes with the beast, something happens. Alise suffers some sort of attack, and the only thing that eases the agony tearing through her is the touch of the man who’s been stalking her. Chief and Alise have been stricken! Finding a mate had been Chief’s goal but Alise is a lowly human, not what we wanted. Can he overcome his prejudice? Or will his stubborn pride chase off the one woman who could give both he and his wolf the peace they’ve been seeking? *This book is part of the Skin Walkers series. Since each book in this series focuses on a different couple, they can be read as stand-alones. *** Three shots of whiskey and two beers deep, Chief set up camp at one of the stone picnic tables just outside of the patio area. Distanced from the lit-up pergola and candle strew tables, he sat in darkness—now that the sun had fully set. The darkness suited him just fine. It made it easier to watch her! The woman was a beautiful little thing. She was wearing a pretty green dress and had her long, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail that showed of the graceful arc off her neck. Her lips were bright red and kept drawing Chief’s attention, almost as much as the one shoulder that was exposed by her dress. There was a tattoo on it of a large blackbird whose wing swept down just beneath her collarbone and across what he could see of her chest. Elbows on his knees, he leaned a little closer to study her more intently and almost fell off where he was seated with his ass on the table and his booted feet on the bench seat. “Goddamn it,” he snarled quietly and righted himself before his eyes found the woman again. He couldn’t stop staring at her, and he knew she could feel his eyes on her because she kept looking around trying to find the source of her discomfort. That was revealing too because her eyes kept tracking back to James. He knew the Skin Walker Sentry from previous meetings. The guy was okay, a jokester, which Chief never understood, but still okay. Still, his familiarity with the Sentry didn’t stop Chief from shooting James a dark look. It didn’t last long though because his wolf dragged his attention back to her. Watching her wasn’t enough though. Both beast and man wanted a closer look, so Chief shoved up off the table and made his way to one of the empty tables near the bar. Taking a seat, he kicked one leg out in front of him in a relaxed pose that belied the tumultuous emotions roiling inside him. “Chieftain.” James greeted. Turning to face Chief with a cold beer in his hand he asked, “What’s up, man?” The greeting was irksome. Chief didn’t even bother tearing his eyes from the woman as he asked, “The woman in green, who is she?” “Green?” James asked. “Would we call that green? Seems more like turquoise or no, wait! Amanda calls it teal. It’s her favorite color. less
