“There’s never been a female human in our pack. Have you ever heard any tales about it?” Regretfully, I hadn’t heard anything about such a thing, but at this point, I wouldn’t care. As a Northwest American clan, we weren’t as informed about our past as we would have liked to have been. In the late 1740s, a massive brush fire ripped through our lands burning every in its path, including most of our historical records. The surviving members of the packs moved further north settle along the Cascade Mountains. The remaining records were kept secure with pack historians for safekeeping.
Rumors spread that the great fire had been set intentionally by one of our own in an attempt to end the lives of the Alpha’s family, my family, and destroy our pack history so that they could create a new one.
“No, but we can call the elder in Redding to see if he has any idea if it’s even possible,” Chloe suggested. She did have a point. Creed and his family had some old books, none of which were very detailed or if they were, they had been singed too severely to even be interpreted.
Gossip about our past floated through our village just like any other. There were claims that there was a human mate, but it was just a myth to give some of the pack hope when a member took too long to find their mate. But with all the searching for my mate and no luck, I was starting to believe in that tale.
“I need to find her. She’s mine. I’m thirty-two already. I should have found my mate many years ago,” I growled, the pain of never finding her ripping through my chest. Erotic dreams weren’t a thing for our species. Once our mate was found, we smelled each other and mated within the day. I’d been dreaming of her for six months, reliving night after night of overwhelming, heart-pounding passion that defied belief. Maybe it was no different for other shifters in that area, not that I would know or would ask, but I felt her soul as we mated in my sleep.
“We’ll find her,” she promised. The determination and conviction in her voice made me believe her. Brushing off her skirt and laying her tablet on my desk, she said, “Let’s try to take your mind off the mating hunger and talk shop.”
I sighed. “That’s probably for the best.” She was right, as always. I wished I could have made her my Beta, but unfortunately it was passed down from generation to generation from another pack family. It was our own way of checks and balances. One family couldn’t possess total control.
“We only have a month before we open, and we haven’t even started the hiring process. I know there are several locals that need jobs, but we need more than them,” she remarked. I knew where she was going with this, but I was too riled up with mating hunger that I ignored it. She’d been pestering me for weeks about hiring not only shifters but humans as well.
“I’d say in the next two weeks, we can start hiring the local community to run the resort,” I added.
Immediately her eyes opened wide and she snapped her fingers, a little quirk of hers when she had a brilliant idea or remembered something. “Oh, yes, we’ve already received a call about a job from a woman in Oregon named Catherine. She sounded desperate. I feel terrible that we can’t hire her.” Chloe was truly soft at heart unless you fucked with her family. It was in her personality to care about a kitten, something laughable to our kind.
“Is she a shifter?” I asked, knowing that was probably not the case because Chloe had the power to hire shifters without permission A human on the other hand would be a bad idea.
“No, she’s a human, but she sounds like she’s about to break if we don’t hire her. Gage thinks we should. It would help if we hired a few humans.” I gave her the warning glare. We talked about this before and I wasn’t totally against it, but I wanted to be super selective if we did hire one of them. And pity wasn’t a reason to hire a human. It’s one thing to see them in passing as guests, but daily contact could risk everything for our kind. “Don’t look at me like that. I know the danger of daily interaction with the same people, but just…well, just listen to her message.” Chloe got up and leaned over my desk, then dialed the number for the company mailbox and her voicemail access code and put it on speaker.
“Um. Hello, this is Catherine Kinney…I know you didn’t have an application for employment up, but I really need a job…” she sighed. I hit the replay button, not letting her message finish. Chloe looked at me in disbelief. I didn’t answer her stare. I listened to the same part again. My body coursing with electricity as a cascade of emotions flowed over me as I listen her desperate message.
A growl ripped through my chest and I demanded, “Bring her to me.”
I continued to listen to the plea from the warm voice I’d come to worship. I knew every inch of her body, the beat of her heart, the taste of her flesh, and the scent that drove the beast in me insane with hunger. Most of all, I knew what it was like to hear her sighs of ecstasy as I claimed her every night. It was her. My mate.
“Hunter, are you well?” Chloe asked as she sat straight up. I was feeling a range of emotions, and it was noticeable in my eyes and the sudden release of my fangs, rattling my sister who was concerned for me. Catherine. She was real, she was mine, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from claiming her.
“It’s her. Get her to take the job,” I snarled. I stood up and paced the room, my blood pumping through my body, forcing the other me to come to the surface. I could feel the shift coming, but I fought it back.
“Wait—her? As in your mate?” she asked as she turned in her seat to look at me with a confused expression. I could only snarl at the stupid question.
“Find a picture of her. Now!” I roared as I continued to pace with building tension.
About the Author
C.M. Steele is a bestselling author on Amazon with over 100 books to read and enjoy!
C.M. Steele’s Book List:
Best Friends Series:
Always You
His Dirty Secret
Sleep Tight
A Best Friends Duet:
Picture Perfect
Instant Obsession
The Captive Series:
Luciano’s Willing Captive
The Russian's Captive
Sergei's Stubborn Captive
The Caught Series:
Caught In A Case
Caught Off Guard
Caught in A Lie
Caught Crossing the Line
Caught Breaking the Law
Caught Red Handed
Cavanaugh Security Series:
Protecting Macy
Securing Blake
The Cline Brothers of Colorado:
Whatever it Takes
Finding Paradise
The Falling Series:
Falling for the Boss
Falling for the Enemy
Falling Hard
Family & Friends:
Wanting it All
Chasing his Sunshine
Lassoing His Cowgirl
Ben's Resolve
Gimme Series:
Sugar
Luck
Rain
Cream
Heat
The James Family:
No Choice
No Way Out
No More Waiting
The Kane Family:
His Christmas Rose
Her Christmas Surprise
His Candy Kane
Christmas in July
Keepsakes:
Keeping Blossom
Keep in Mind
The Lamian Wars:
Bound
Reveal
Release
All Hallows Eve
Love Bites Series:
Love Bites
Once Bitten
The Middleton Hotels:
Built for Me
Built to Last
Built Strong
Built Over Time
Built Overnight
Nothing but Trouble Series:
Taking the Bait
The O'Connel
l Family:
Claiming Red
Burning for Claire
Claiming Abby
Reminding Red
Obsessed Alpha Series:
Stone
Cole
Graham
Theo
Maddox
Alessandro
A Rough Hands Novella:
My Miracle
Nailing my Wife
Say Something Series:
Say Uncle
Say Please
Say Uncle: Doggy Style
Sister Switch:
Testing Her Professor
Assisting Her Boss
Special Forces: Operation Alpha (Susan Stoker’s World):
Guarding Hope
Guarding Forever
A Steele Christmas:
Mason’s Winter
Perfectly Wrapped
The Company You Keep
A Steele Fairy Tale:
My Gold
My Forever
My Property
My Prince Charming
A Steele Riders Family Novella Series:
Holiday Knockout
His Siren
A Steele Riders MC Series:
Boomer
Mick
Jackson
Doc
Beast
Ghost
Wrench
Southern Hospitality:
Down South
Gone South
Sweetheart's Treats:
Sweet Surprise
Doctor's Orders, Sweetheart
Sweet Surrender
Twin Sin:
Stalk Me Please
Sinful Intent
White Wolf Ridge Series:
Turner
Wolfe Creek Series:
Wolfe's Den
Beta: Her Alpha
Raging Kane
Written in History
Others:
Buying Love
Christmas in Camden
Conquering Alexandria
Grant’s Deal
Hunting Allegra
Killer Abs
Love Discovered
Loving My Neighbor
Mrs. Valentine
My Christmas Gift
Rainy Days Stormy Nights
Red Hot Nights
Scarred
Sharp Curves
So Wrong
Standing There
Stealing Beauty
Taking the Thief
The Wedding Guest
Unexpected