Mission: Scent a Mate
Jordan Alvarez knew that a promise to her best friend involved staking out the local wolf pack's scenting ceremony and recording the graphic details, but she was the writer and the only one with the balls to finish the task. No one would know that four human women had sneaked proof of their rituals, or at least, that was the plan until Aric Wolfe showed up.
Mission: Stake a Claim
Aric Wolfe knew his baby sister was up to something, and expected her best friend, Jordan, to be in on the chaos. He finally had an opportunity to lay claim to a mate that had been under his nose for years. Jordan's scent called to both the man and the animal, and he was done fighting the call of the beast. It was time to mark his mate.
Mission: Survive an Alpha
When a good intention creates a problem for the Wolfe family, Jordan finds herself being stalked by a woman intent on claiming Aric as her own. Battle lines will be drawn, love will be put to the test, andAric will have to fight Jordan's strong personality to keep her alive. Two alpha hearts seeking control will either find the balance or risk losing their love forever.
Chapter One
“Please?” Jordan leaned forward on the sofa and gave her best imitation of what Ellie called “puppy eyes.” A soft squeaking protested Jordan’s wiggling on the leather. She knew her enthusiasm probably rivaled that of a four year old at Christmas, but she was so close to cracking Ellie, she didn’t care.
“No.” Ellie’s voice didn’t sound as sure as it had the first five times Jordan had asked the same question.
“I thought you wanted me to write this book on shifter mating rituals? Don’t you think I need to watch it? I mean, I can’t just write a book on your history, for your family’s records, based solely on what you tell me. I have to see it.” Not really, but she was not telling Ellie that and messing up her chance of watching something so cool.
Ellie frowned. “Well—”
“Come on.” Jordan huddled closer to the edge of her seat, almost falling off in the process, once again rubbing the leather and making it whine. “Look, I swear to you, I will be on my best behavior. I won’t do anything to call attention to myself. I will just observe from the sidelines. Heck, I’ll observe from the distance with binoculars.”
Ellie rolled her gorgeous blue eyes and ran her fingers through her short blonde bob, making the strands glimmer under the light of her sitting room’s lamp. “I don’t remember a single time you have ever been on your best behavior.”
That was true. Jordan’s mouth always got her into some kind of trouble, especially with the other faculty at the school where she taught.
“Okay. I pinky promise.” She lifted her hand, curlingall her fingers until only her wiggling pinky stood.
Ellie bit her lip and groaned, still unsure.
“I know shifters are not exactly common knowledge with most of the world. But you have to admit that with more human-shifter interaction, it’s only a matter of time before you guys lose a lot of your history. I promise to write a specific detailed account. Nothing but the history behind this event.” Her heart pounded so hard. She wanted to shake Ellie and order her to agree already.
“Jorda-a-an!” With the way Ellie said her name, in that soft sigh of defeat, Jordan knew she had her. “If I agree to this insanity, you have to swear not to do anything to let anyone know you guys are there! You will get me in so much trouble.”
Jordan struggled and failed to stop the smile from splitting her lips. “I promise! I promise! You know I am dying to see this whole scenting ritual.” She rushed to say. “Now why is it such a big deal to keep this all quiet?”
“Because,” Ellie leaned back on her sofa and stared at the ceiling, “this is an old tradition. Males and females from all over will come together to meet each other, somefor the first time. Kelly and Marco are going to see if they are compatible.”
“But they’ve met once, right?”
“Yes, at a family gathering some months back. They didn’t even get a chance to talk. From what Mom said, their eyes did the talking for them. Apparently, it was instant. It’s why we’re having this ceremony. Tradition dictates we have it yearly, and the family is hoping it works out for Kelly and Marco.”
Jordan frowned remembering Ellie’s cousin Kelly and the guy they’d kept referring to as her potential mate. She tucked a long strand of dark hair behind her ear. “I still don’t understand. How can you guys just allow some tradition to tell you who your mate is?”
Shit. Jordan had a hard time with anyone telling her what to do to begin with. It was why she loved being an independent woman.
Ellie’s smile was weak. “We are part of a pack, and my father is Alpha. As such, I need to follow rules like everyone else. You’re lucky you’re human and don’t have to worry about any of this. And we don’t allow the tradition to tell us who our mate is. This is like a first date.”
“In front of a whole bunch of people.”
“Right.”
“Who happen to watch to see if you hit it off?”
“Yes.”
“And who’ll know who she has sex with at the end of the night.”
“Correct. Wait. What?”
“Sounds like the perfect date.” She snickered andalmost choked on her wine.
“This is why I didn’t want you there. You, Emma, Nicole, and Karla are so going to get caught.”
“We won’t! We won’t. We’ll be super–spy, research ninjas. Quiet, but sexy smart.” She grinned.
“Oh brother,” Ellie groaned.
“Speaking of brothers. Are, um, your brothers going to be there?” What she really wanted to ask was if one particular brother was going to be there. God, she hoped not. The first time she’d seen Aric Wolfe, she’d been athirteen-year-old with a crush the size of Alaska. One look was all it took, and her poor teenage heart had been inpuppy-love for years. And though it’d been a crush for a long time, it had never gone away. In fact, with years, it had grown. She’d tried to date other men and rid herself of the idea that he’d ever look at a non-shifter for more than a friendship, but it was useless. With time, her attraction for him had grown deeper, into something she didn’t want to think too much about or it would make her hyperventilate.
Blue sparkles lit in Ellie’s eyes. “Yes, all my brothers will be there.”
Oh hell. “Then, yeah, I will hide off somewhere and never move a muscle. I promise.”
Ellie’s laughter, filled with unabashed delight, made her smile. “I still don’t understand why you’re so afraid of being around them.”
Yeah well, Jordan knew all about that super smelling-power shifters had. The last thing she wanted was for Aric to know how one glance at his body and those damn sexy muscles got her so turned on she’d likely start a fire. She could probably melt butter on her skin. “I think it’s best to keep my distance. I know your parents weren’t fond of their only daughter hanging with so many humans.”
Ellie shrugged. “It was either send me to regular school, or deal with packs of horny wolves hitting on their baby girl.” She grinned, grabbed her glass of wine, and sipped. “They knew humans don’t have our scenting or go into heat, so they decided to take the chance.”
Jordan drank her own wine, letting the fruity flavor slip and slide over her tongue. “Yeah, but I bet they didn’t think you’d end up bringing home an annoying, fat Latinafor your new pet.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Who’s the wolf here, you or me?”
Good point. Ellie’s parents had cared for Jordan. A lot more than Jordan herself could ever understand. Even after all those years being so close to them and Ellie, she still couldn’t make any sense of why they done so much when her parents hadn’t cared at all. What was it about them that made them different? And there had to be some resentment in there. They’d practically adopted her.
“Alright. I’ve become like a second daughter since we became friends. That has to be annoying for them. I mean if they wanted more kids, they’d have had more the old fashioned way.”
Jordan found the whole shifter community absolutely fascinating. If it were up to her, she’d be all in their business trying to figure out how the whole animal-human thing worked.
“Why would you say they’d be annoyed by you?” Ellie’s face creased in a frown. “They like you. Heck, they love you more than any of their sons’ previous girlfriends.In fact, they like you more than most family we have. You’ve grown on them.”
Jordan snorted. “Yeah like fungus or a rash.”
“No, not like that. Like an unusual but lovely woman who needs a mate.”
“What?” She spit out the wine she’d had in her mouth. “Who said I needed a mate?”
Ellie laughed, put her glass down on the coffee table, and settled into the sofa with her feet under her. “My mother. She thinks you just need a strong man to help you realize what you are missing out on.”
“And that’s a mate?” Jordan coughed, trying to stop the choking. Her tummy churned with anxiety. She held Barbara Wolfe, Ellie’s mother, in high regard. But Jordan would never think a long-term relationship would fix her. Thinking of any kind of dependence on anyone made her feel slightly sick. She didn’t really trust most people enough for that.
“Yes. She was highly upset when I told her you broke up with your last boyfriend. She thinks you just haven’t been chased by the right one.”
Jordan continued to cough while Ellie giggled. “Mrs. Wolfe thinks I need to be chased?”
Well hell, maybe she was on to something. Chasing sounded fun. Usually Jordan was too prickly for men to make a move, unless they were sure of themselves. But even then, most of them turned out to be full of shit.
Ellie nodded, flipped on her back and stretched, rubbing her bare feet on the leather. “Of course, dad thinks you’re too independent and need a man to rein you in.”
Rein her in? What the hell was she, cattle? Tristan, Ellie’s dad, was so old school. “Yeah, that sounds like your dad.”
“Although, Aric—”
Jordan’s gaze jerked to Ellie’s face. The bemused smile on her was one Jordan had often seen when Ellie was up to no good. “Aric was present during these conversations?”
Ellie knew Jordan liked Aric to some degree. It’s not like she could hide it from her. The woman was a wolf. She could smell Jordan getting all kinds of turned on whenAric’s name popped up. But what she never told Ellie was how deep her feelings ran. That was something Jordan had trouble even thinking about.
Ellie’s eyes widened, filled with innocence. “Oh, yes.”
Fuck. Sweat gathered in her palms. Now her nerves were getting the best of her. Her stomach did all kinds of acrobatic flips. She’d have to ask or die wondering. And she was too curious not to know. “And what did he say?”
“It doesn’t matter. We both know you’re not looking for long term anyway. You like your independence.” She shut her eyes and sighed.
“Ellie!”
Ellie jerked her eyes open with a chuckle. “Fine, if you want to know, Aric thinks you are fine just the way you are.”
“Which means what?” She asked before she could stop herself. She’d always tried to control her interest in Ellie’s older brother, but sometimes Jordan’s hormones just ran away from her.
Aric. With his piercing dark eyes, eyes she swore begged her to strip every time he glanced her way. And that tall slightly tanned hard body filled with boundless muscles. So many muscles.
She cleared her throat. Visuals of running her nails down his six packs and nibbling on his belly button made her reach for her wine again. But it was the strong jaw and “I’ll eat your pussy really good” smile she couldn’t stop thinking about.
Ellie’s smile dimmed. “Aric said, in time, you’d find your mate and for everyone to leave you alone to decide your life yourself.”
Her hope deflated. It was what she’d always told everyone. Somehow, hearing that he’d said the same made her want to run to the liquor store and buy a barrel of wine.
A sharp pain pierced her heart, deeper and deeper until she wanted to cry. Though Jordan would rather dance around naked in public than admit her feelings for Aric, she had secretly continued to hope. Now, that hope was dead.
Author Bio
Want to know about me? Milly Taiden (aka April Angel) was born in the prettiest part of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. She grew up between New York, Florida and Massachusetts. Currently, she resides in New York City with her husband, bossy young son and their little dog Speedy.
A bookworm when she can get her hands on a good story, she loves reading romance, thrillers and suspense.
Find out more about Milly Taiden here:
Email: millytaidenauthor@gmail.com
Website: http://www.millytaiden.com
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~ Look for these titles from Milly Taiden ~
Now Available
Wolf Fever Alpha Project Book One
Wolf Protector Federal Paranormal Unit Book One
Sharp Change Black Meadows Pack Book One
Caged Heat Black Meadows Pack Book Two
“Mate Event” Halloween Heat III
Fate’s Wish
Wynter’s Captive
Coming Soon
Scent of a Mate
Dangerous Protector Federal Paranormal Unit Book 2
Caught by the Alpha
As April Angel
Stranded Temptation
Party Crasher
A Hero’s Pride
The Sizzling Encounters Series
Mr. Buff
Wicked Valentine
Lucky Break
Coming Soon
A Hero Scarred
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