Amelia Rademaker's Blog

Morning! I hope everyone is doing well this close to the end of the year! The South is finally cooling down so I am beyond happy! (It got into the 60's today!)

The end of the year is when I sit down and plan, plot, and review how the last year went. This year was different for me. In a good way! And I have a lot of you to thank for that. Thank you for the love and support and feedback. I've loved reading reviews and talking with you all. All of this support has made me rethink the plan I made last year for my publishing schedule.

As a result I will be pulling Conduit from the pre-order line up. If you were one of the ones to pre-order I apologize. No excuses. I'm sorry. It's getting bumped down one spot. The plot has been a beast to wrangle and I need to step back to give my brain some time to think up a new path. I love the beginning. I just want to love how it ends too. Hopefully the end product will be worth it for y'all.

Which leads me to my announcement. Serpheti is getting bumped up! I love this series and I love the direction that the third book has taken me. I am so excited for Cece to show the universe why you don't mess with a human. It's set to release on November 1st of next year but who knows?

Thank you for the understanding. I hope y'all are doing well and let me know what you're reading right now cause I'm in a slump hahaha

​
Pre-Order Serpheti

Have you started reading it? Have you finished it?!?!?! I'll be honest. I am more nervous about this book release than any other book or research paper I've published. So many of you had such nice things (and some great constructive feedback) to say about Susix that I am worried about how the second book will hold up. I really hope you all like it! Whether you loved it or hated it, leave a review. I read them all, and they really help get books in front of other readers. ALTHOUGH, some of you have been beating the virtual streets letting others know how much you liked Susix.


Now, I did promise results from the "Who is who?" quiz. In order it was:
-Seethur
-Huzzar
-Vesex
-Hix
​-Seph

​Happy reading!

In honor of Susurex coming out Aug 22nd I have a game. I've posted some photos that I guessed while thinking up the Susix men. 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z-index: 455555; height: 100%; width: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;} Who is your favorite singer? : DAYS : HRS : MINS SECS
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z-index: 455555; height: 100%; width: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;} Who is your favorite singer? : DAYS : HRS : MINS SECS
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z-index: 455555; height: 100%; width: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;} Who is your favorite singer? : DAYS : HRS : MINS SECS
Vote Show Stats POWERD BY BOOMTECH xx #element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .Poll_field_chekcbox,#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .Poll_field_radio { display: none;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .BoomPoll_label { line-height: 30px; display: inline-block;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f fieldset { border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 15px; max-width: 220px; display: inline-block; border-radius: 5px; position: relative;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .pollcaptchasection { position: relative; width: 100%; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 25px;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .pollchart { position: relative; margin: 0 auto;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .clockdiv { font-family: sans-serif; color: #000; display: inline-block; font-weight: 100; font-size: 30px; position: relative; width: auto; margin-top: 15px; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; display: none;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .clockdiv > div { border-radius: 3px; display: inline-block;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .clockdiv div > span { padding-right: 15px; border-radius: 3px; display: inline-block;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .otheredite { display: none; border: 1px solid !important; width: auto; height: 30px; margin-top: 10px; margin-left: 10px;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .saveOther { background-color: #f0f0f0; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-top: none; border-radius: 0 0 3px 3px; box-shadow: 0 3px 6px rgba(111,111,111,0.2); outline: none; padding: 3px; position: absolute; left: 0; z-index: 1;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .smalltext { font-size: 16px;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .Boom_overlays { background-color: #fff; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; display: none; background-size: 78px; opacity: .92; z-index: 11100;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .Boom_overlays svg { stroke: #6B7986; top: calc(40%); left: calc(30%); vertical-align: middle; stroke: #fff; width: 78px; height: 78px; -webkit-transform: translate(-50%,0); -moz-transform: translate(-50%,0); -ms-transform: translate(-50%,0); transform: translate(-50%,0); left: 50%; position: absolute;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .BOOM_POLL_form-radio-container { direction: rtl;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .BOOM_POLL_form-radio-container>input:after { left: -5px;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .circle-preloader:after,#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .circle-preloader:before { content: ''; top: 0; left: 0; right: -100%; bottom: 0; border: 7px solid currentColor; border-color: currentColor transparent transparent currentColor; border-radius: 50%; position: absolute; -webkit-transform: rotate(-45deg); transform: rotate(-45deg); -webkit-animation: inner-rotate .5s linear infinite alternate; animation: inner-rotate .5s linear infinite alternate;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .circle-preloader:before { color: #7fccf7;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .circle-preloader { width: 60px; height: 120px; position: absolute; top: 45%; left: 45%; color: #7fccf7; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; overflow: hidden; -webkit-transform-origin: 100% 50%; transform-origin: 100% 50%; -webkit-animation: semi-rotate 1s linear infinite; animation: semi-rotate 1s linear infinite;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .overlays { position: fixed; height: 100%; width: 100%; background: white; opacity: .92; z-index: 1100; top: 0; left: 0;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .Poll_main { overflow: hidden; display: none;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .Poll_field { text-align: left; display: block; height: 50px; vertical-align: middle;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group { font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap; color: #2b5672; position: relative;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group p { font-size: 14px; color: #2b5672; font-weight: 300; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0; text-align: left;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group .group-buttons-container-left { text-align: left;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group .group-buttons-container-right { text-align: right;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group .group-buttons-container-center { text-align: center;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group .info-icon { display: none; position: absolute; top: 9pt; right: 9pt;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group:hover .info-icon { display: inline-block;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group input { display: none;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group input+span { color: #3899ec; cursor: pointer; height: 60px; background-color: #edf7ff; display: inline-block; position: relative; white-space: nowrap; line-height: 36px; vertical-align: middle; font-size: 14px; padding: 0 14px; max-width: 93px; min-width: 74px; text-overflow: ellipsis; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; box-shadow: 0 2px 0 0 #d4e7fb;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group input:checked+span { color: #fff; position: relative; top: 2px; background-color: #3899ec; box-shadow: inset 0 2px 0 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.11);}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group input:disabled+span { cursor: default; background-color: #f6f6f6;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group input:disabled:checked+span { background-color: #bcbcbc;}#element-8dfc0a10-bcbe-46ea-b2b4-70f51631478f .control-buttons-group input:disabled:not(:checked)+span { color: #bcbcbc; 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z-index: 455555; height: 100%; width: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;} Who is your favorite singer? : DAYS : HRS : MINS SECS
Vote Show Stats POWERD BY BOOMTECH xx #element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .Poll_field_chekcbox,#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .Poll_field_radio { display: none;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .BoomPoll_label { line-height: 30px; display: inline-block;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 fieldset { border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 15px; max-width: 220px; display: inline-block; border-radius: 5px; position: relative;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .pollcaptchasection { position: relative; width: 100%; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 25px;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .pollchart { position: relative; margin: 0 auto;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .clockdiv { font-family: sans-serif; color: #000; display: inline-block; font-weight: 100; font-size: 30px; position: relative; width: auto; margin-top: 15px; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; display: none;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .clockdiv > div { border-radius: 3px; display: inline-block;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .clockdiv div > span { padding-right: 15px; border-radius: 3px; display: inline-block;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .otheredite { display: none; border: 1px solid !important; width: auto; height: 30px; margin-top: 10px; margin-left: 10px;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .saveOther { background-color: #f0f0f0; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-top: none; border-radius: 0 0 3px 3px; box-shadow: 0 3px 6px rgba(111,111,111,0.2); outline: none; padding: 3px; position: absolute; left: 0; z-index: 1;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .smalltext { font-size: 16px;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .Boom_overlays { background-color: #fff; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; display: none; background-size: 78px; opacity: .92; z-index: 11100;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .Boom_overlays svg { stroke: #6B7986; top: calc(40%); left: calc(30%); vertical-align: middle; stroke: #fff; width: 78px; height: 78px; -webkit-transform: translate(-50%,0); -moz-transform: translate(-50%,0); -ms-transform: translate(-50%,0); transform: translate(-50%,0); left: 50%; position: absolute;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .BOOM_POLL_form-radio-container { direction: rtl;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .BOOM_POLL_form-radio-container>input:after { left: -5px;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .circle-preloader:after,#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .circle-preloader:before { content: ''; top: 0; left: 0; right: -100%; bottom: 0; border: 7px solid currentColor; border-color: currentColor transparent transparent currentColor; border-radius: 50%; position: absolute; -webkit-transform: rotate(-45deg); transform: rotate(-45deg); -webkit-animation: inner-rotate .5s linear infinite alternate; animation: inner-rotate .5s linear infinite alternate;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .circle-preloader:before { color: #7fccf7;}#element-2443dcd6-ad6f-436a-b593-28255cb3b0d6 .circle-preloader { width: 60px; 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z-index: 455555; height: 100%; width: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;} Who is your favorite singer? : DAYS : HRS : MINS SECS
Vote Show Stats POWERD BY BOOMTECH xx They seem obvious to me but I've been staring at them fore like nine months so that's probably why. I'll give everyone the answers on Tuesday!

 
In honor of Susurex coming out this summer, here is a little teaser from the book. Hopefully, it makes it into the final edition. Click "Read More" to get the full snippet. "I went to the cargo bay after first meal the next day. Seph had pulled me aside in the kitchen to let me know that Vesex would be there once he traded shifts with Hix. He also said that Seethur and Huzzar would be helping to train me. I almost groaned when he told me.
I’d caught something from that kiss. A lethal case of shame and embarrassment. What in the hell had happened yesterday?
You don’t kiss guys who are in relationships, Cecelia! You also don’t kiss one of your only allies on an alien space ship. It was a recipe for disaster.
And what in the hell was that little speech afterwards? Just thinking about it made me want to pull out my hair. It was obvious from X’s expression that he had not meant to kiss me. We’d both been caught up in an emotional moment. X was a good man- uh Susix, he worked hard to care for his nest. He was probably broken up about the kiss. Just for different reasons than I was. I’d been trying to draw a clear boundary while letting him know that we were good. Instead, I probably sounded like a wishy-washy lunatic."

That's all I'm giving you. I hope you're as excited for Susurex to come out as I am!

Pre-Order here

My pink llama has been keeping track of Susurex's word count and things are moving along!

"The churning feeling in my stomach was familiar. I'd felt this before. Hell, I'd had crushes since elementary school. Somehow, the familiarity only highlighted how different this situation was." -Cece

Susurex is coming along. It's looking like it will be released earlier than expected. No word on how soon! One of the stranger parts of writing is how some of the best scenes get cut because they end up not fitting with the rest of the story. It's good for you because it means you get teasers! So here's one of my favorite scenes that ended up being chopped. Its from Seethur's POV. That's all you need to know. Enjoy!
​Seethur’s cut scene

​“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked one more time.
Cece was standing outside of the cleaning closet. I had converted it into a hatchery. Egg sacs were hanging from every scale on the ceiling.
I needed to detach each sac, move it to a tank, and slice it open. It was not for the faint of heart.
Cece was determined to help. She had puffed her body up as big as she could, trying to appear brave. It was adorable.
“Think of me as your practice subject,” she assured me. “You’ll need to teach this stuff to your clients if you want to start a bug food conglomerate.”
I watched her face when the door opened. Her eyes got massive. She opened her mouth. She didn’t say anything. The longer she stared, the stranger her expression got. Creases appeared along her forehead. They spread to her mouth.
Before her body could implode on itself, I grabbed a strand of silk and cut. I handed it back to her, “Place this in one of the tanks gently.”
Cece took it in both hands. She kept it as far away from her as possible. Then, she started inching her way to the tanks. The egg swung. Cece shrieked.
Once she was distracted, I gathered a fistful of silk and cut the whole thing in one swing. I raced to put all of the sacs into individual terrariums while her back was turned. I rushed back to the closet just as Cece was maneuvering hers into a tank.
When she returned, I gave her another one, “This one is larger than the others. Would you mind putting it in the tank near the entrance?” I pointed to a row of tanks on the other side of the room.
“Which one?” Cece craned her neck, trying to see which tank I was pointing at.
“That one,” I gestured wildly, pointing to at least four tanks at once.
Cece smiled at me suddenly, “I see it.” Clearly, she was lying.
She shuffled between tanks trying to decide which one I was talking about. They were identical. The sac wasn’t bigger than the others, either. I just needed her back turned to place as many eggs as possible.
I managed to clear out the closet while Cece followed my inane instructions. By the time she returned, I was leaning against the doorway casually.
“There isn’t much left to do. With the eggs placed, I only need to encourage them to hatch. I can take care of the rest myself. How about you help Huzzar with the final meal?” I suggested.
Cece looked skeptical. When I nodded, she copied me. “If you’re sure you don’t need me,” she sounded hesitant to leave.
I nodded even harder. “I’ll be done by mealtime.”
“Alright, thanks for showing me how to take care of the bugs, Seethur.” She raised her hand as the door opened.
I waved back. Once the door was closed, I went over to the first tank. If Cece had a hard time holding the egg sacs, there was no way she would be able to slice them open and place the larvae into the substrate.

Chapter Four 
 
Ezekiel parked the Pack sedan outside one of the quaintest houses Ivy had ever seen.
It would have been more natural in the English countryside then Black Bird. It was a single story, farmhouse style home. The grey brick exterior contrasted beautifully with lush greenery planted around the clearing of redwoods. Ivy could see a single window at the peak of the roof’s arch. She wondered if there was a loft up there. A small cobblestone path connected the house to a matching detached garage.
Ivy loved it.
She cooed when she saw a trellis that had roses at its base. It was winter so there weren’t any blooms but she could imagine what it looked like in the summer. She wondered what color the rhododendrons were.
Ivy didn’t know much about the Black Bird Coven but she liked their style.
From what she gathered from Anne the Black Bird Coven wasn’t originally from Black Bird. A few years ago, the boundary lines between Black Bird and its northern neighbor, Pinebrook, had been redrawn. Pinebrook was much more witch friendly.

​
​When the new boundary lines had been drawn all of the inhabitants from both towns kept their addresses. Except one small house out in the woods. They had been cut off. And thus, Black Bird gained a Coven. The town, and the witches, were still furious about it but Black Bird wasn’t about to give back the land they had gained and it wasn’t like the witches could move their house. So everyone just had to deal with it.
“This is not the house I imagined when you said we would be visiting a Coven of witches.” Ezekiel shook his head at the immaculate little yard.
Ivy stiffened at his words. “What did you think? That is would be covered in candy?”
Ezekiel ducked his head as if suddenly realizing how stupid that was. “I was picturing something more sinister.”
Ivy rolled her eyes as she started towards the front door. “Cause all witches are sinister.” She would have thought that shifters wouldn’t be susceptible to urban legends what with the whole werewolf trope in Hollywood. Guess she was wrong. “Witches aren’t inherently bad,” Ivy didn’t feel like she should have to explain this to a man who had dated her for a year.
The thought made her stop in her tracks. Ezekiel obviously had very little hands on experience with witches. Or if he did, it was limited to, “Witches are bad.” That sentiment would only get them into trouble. She would need to lay some groundwork if she wanted this to go in her favor.
Ivy turned around to face Ezekiel. He stopped short.
“There are a few things we should get straight before we walk in there.” She waited until Ezekiel nodded.
She blew out a breath and tried to condense a lifetime of knowledge into a few simple rules.
“The first rule is not to talk. These witches do not like werewolves so don’t draw attention to yourself by opening your mouth.”
Ezekiel lifted an eyebrow. That wasn’t going to be a problem for him.
“Rule number two is to not touch anything. I don’t want you picking something up and getting cursed.”
“Why would they curse their own stuff? What if they touch it?”
Ivy couldn’t tell if Ezekiel actually wanted to know or if he was just being a smartass. “You can curse things so they only activate if someone else touches it.” They hadn’t even made it to the door and Ivy already wanted to pull out her hair. She had to rethink these rules.
“Rule number three, the most important rule, is to let me take the lead on this. I don’t have time to teach you Coven etiquette so just do what I say okay?”
Reluctantly, Ezekiel nodded. Ivy plastered on her brightest smile and walked to the front door. “Now, let’s go bargain.”
She knocked three times then took a step back. Loud muttering broke out behind the door. It went on long enough that Ivy almost turned the doorknob to speed things up.
Suddenly, the door flew open.
A rotund woman with short grey hair scowled at them. She could have been anyone’s grandma. Her skin sagged. She was slightly hunched over. Standing at maybe five feet, the curve was very noticeable.
A blue cable knit sweater stretched over her leopard print blouse. Inexplicably, she wore a purple flowing skirt. Orthopedic shoes topped the outfit off.
She gave a put out huff and rolled her eyes. Ivy’s mouth dropped open. The woman looked behind her and yelled, “Maggie, you were way off. It wasn’t a pair of men here to sweep us off our feet.” She took in Ivy head to toe before leaning around her to check out Ezekiel. “It’s a stray and her dog.”
A tiny withered hand grabbed the door opening it wider. The owner of the hand was a thin, reedy woman. Her grey curls were set perfectly. She too could have been anyone’s grandma. With her perfectly matching pink sweater set and sensible slacks the woman looked like she’d stepped out of an assisted living commercial.
She lifted a pair of glasses hanging around her neck on a chain and repeated the same once over the other woman had. She looked Ivy up and down then leaned to the side to get a good look at Ezekiel.
“Oh dear,” she said sounding profoundly disappointed, “I really thought I got it right this time.” She let the glasses drop, giving Ivy a warm smile. “Good morning dear, won’t you come in?”
The other woman smacked Maggie. “You can’t just invite her in.”
Maggie rubbed her arm frowning. “I’m trying to be polite so we can get to know her, Patricia.”
Patricia pointed a bony finger at Maggie. “Are you inviting strangers into the house again, Maggie? I will have Stella call her grandson to change the password to the internet. No online cards for a week.”
Maggie’s face molted red. “I am over two hundred years old, little missy. If I want to invite the mailman in for tea, I will.” Her tiny hands clenched into fists.
“You are the reason he won’t deliver the mail anymore.” Patricia started to yell.
“Ladies,” Ivy shouted trying to cut into the middle of, what looked like, an old argument. Both women gasped having clearly forgotten that they had visitors. “I’m Ivy Stevens,” Ivy tried again with a smile on her face.
“We know who you are,” Patricia waved away Ivy’s introduction. She laughed harshly. “The wolves have been tripping over themselves to tell us all about you.” She practically sang. Her soft cheeks molded up into a smile. “You’ve got a worse reputation than us.”
Maggie’s head canted to the side. “It’s true,” she said apologetically.
Ivy didn’t know how to feel about that. Luckily, Patricia didn’t miss a beat. She shooed Maggie away from the door gesturing for Ivy to come in. “I’d tell you to keep your dog on the porch but I’m sure you’ll be worried he’ll run off.”
Ivy nodded slowly. As soon as the older women started shuffling down the hall, Ivy gave Ezekiel a sheepish smile. Obviously, there were prejudices on both sides.
The women led them to the kitchen. Pots hung from hooks on the ceiling. A beautiful antique hutch was wedged into the corner. Inside were delicate tea cups. Small ornamental crystals were scattered between them.
English roses accented the room. They were on the curtains hanging over the sink window. There were half a dozen soft tea towels with pink roses on cabinet doors. Small ceramic tiles sat on the countertop painted with roses.
At the center of the kitchen was a large island. A massive stove top took up half of the countertop. Scattered across the rest of the counter space were herbs, a mortar, and some jars. Ivy glanced around but didn’t see a pestle.
Cooking on the stove was an honest to gods’ cauldron. It was bubbling the foulest smelling liquid Ivy had ever smelled. Ezekiel gagged behind her.
The woman stirring the vile mix did not seem affected by the smell. She hunched over the cauldron examining it with a critical eye. Ivy didn’t know how her eyebrows weren’t sizzling off of her face.
The third woman was slightly younger than the rest of the Coven. Her hair still had streaks of brown amongst the grey. She was wearing jeans and a cotton top. She was almost out of place in her normality. Until she opened her mouth.
“Was that the studs Maggie saw? I’ve almost got the potion ready. It should give us four hours of youth.” She paused stirring and murmured to herself, “Is that enough time?” Turning around she grabbed a bottle off the counter and dumped all of it into the cauldron. “Scratch that, it’ll give us seven hours of youth. That should be enough time for us to get a few rounds of wild…”
“Scrape it, Stella,” Patricia bit, “Maggie misinterpreted her vision. Again.” From the glare Patricia sent Maggie, this must be a common occurrence.
Stella threw the spoon across the room. “Are you kidding me?”
“Now, Stella” Maggie chided, “that is no way to act around guests.”
Stella untied her apron before turning to Ivy and Ezekiel. Her brows raised. She recognized Ivy too. “Well, if we aren’t going to be ravished by gorgeous men at least we will be entertained. Please, have a seat.”
Ivy moved to the round kitchen table. Ezekiel didn’t bother taking a seat. He leaned against the wall behind Ivy.
Patricia and Maggie sat down while Stella went about getting tea ready.
“Stella would you be a dear and take a look at the calendar for us? I do believe we have a bet to settle.” Maggie pointed to a cat calendar hanging on the side of the fridge.
Stella paused and began scanning the calendar.
“I said she’d be here last week. Maggie, you put down next month and,” Stella drew out as she picked up a note taped to the calendar, “Patricia said she would hitch the first ride out of town.” Stella flashed a brilliant smile. “I was closest. I win.”
The other two ladies groaned.
“Now we have to watch her awful T.V show,” Patricia griped.
“It’s not awful,” Stella argued as she set a tea the tray on the kitchen table. “I’m just trying to bring us into this decade. And this decade is all about superheroes.”
I love it here. Watching the three old witches bicker like cats was the most fun Ivy had had since moving to Black Bird.
“You two are being beyond rude,” Maggie gave Patricia and Stella a stern look. She turned to Ivy offering her a shortbread cookie. “Now my dear, why have you come to us?”
Ivy glanced around before asking, “I thought there were four members in the Coven. Should we wait for the last member? This pertains to all of you.”
Patricia huffed while settling back into her chair with her tea and cookie. “Murielle moved in with her daughter. She lives in Maine with a big, old Coven. The lucky bitch,” she added
Maggie didn’t chide Patricia. She nodded in agreement.
Ivy cleared her throat, not sure what to say. “Well, before we talk business, I wanted to ask what breed of rose you have woven around your trellis. It’s such a pretty design.” Ivy couldn’t help herself. After years of working at a plant nursery, she was obsessed with flowers. It was practically a professional tick of Ivy’s.
The women shared a sly look. Patricia held her head back, proudly saying, “Do you know what a Juliet rose is?”
Ivy practically felt her pupils dilate. “Yes,” she breathed, her pulse quickening.
The Juliet rose was mythical. A sweet apricot color, the center of the bud overflowed with petals. It was cherubic. It was delightful. It was the most sought-after rose in the world.
It was also currently under patent. No one was allowed to own it.
“How do you have that?” She whispered.
Patricia lifted a shoulder, “I have a green thumb.”
Ivy nodded, suddenly getting it. Patricia was a green witch. She had an affinity for earth magic. She had magically recreated the Juliette rose. Ivy was impressed.
Ezekiel cleared his throat, bringing Ivy back to her senses. They weren’t here to chat about the flowers.
Ivy flushed and straightened. “We came here to see if you could perform a tracking spell for the Alpha of Black Bird.”
All three sets of eyebrows furrowed as the women looked back forth at each other.
“You’re kidding, right?” Patricia asked. “There’s nothing else you want to talk about?”
“No.” Ivy was startled by their reaction. She had expected a fight. Not a complete dismissal.
The women shared another look. This time Maggie spoke up. “It’s just that we thought you were here to talk about your magic, dear.”
“My magic?” Ivy repeated like a parrot. “Why would we be here for my magic?”
“We thought you wanted training,” Stella said it in a flat tone, like it was obvious.
Ivy was genuinely confused. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re a witchling?” Now Stella sounded confused.
“What? I’m not a witchling! Why would you think that?”
Young magic users who had no training were called witchlings. They had magic but they didn’t know how to use it. When said to a chubby toddler it was cute. Being called a witchling as an adult was insulting.
“Oh, I don’t know maybe it has something to do with all the little mishaps that keep happening around you.” Patricia said sarcastically. “Don’t think we haven’t heard all about the exploding street lights outside of your apartment.” She muttered something to herself before she pointed at Ivy. “Your magic is a liability. If you don’t get that under control, you’re going to start a fire.”
I’ve already done that Ivy thought. She hoped she didn’t look guilty. “Well, we’re not here to talk about my magic.”
Patricia rolled her eyes. Maggie looked concerned. Stella frowned at Ivy letting her know how stupid she thought Ivy was being.
Ivy ignored them and went on. “The Alpha of Black Bird wants to contract you to perform a locating spell.” She hoped that if she used Ben’s official title that they would be more inclined to say yes. Or at least take it more seriously.
Stella chuckled. “What a bunch of hypocrites.”
“They’ve got a lot of nerve to ask us to use our magic. They are all asses to us because of our magic,” Patricia folded her arms.
Ivy looked at Maggie hoping to see a more favorable opinion. Maggie shook her head. “Sorry dear, they’ve been awful.”
Ivy sighed. This was the response she had been expecting. Anne had told her that until recently, the Black Bird Coven couldn’t go to the post office without someone drawing a salt circle around their car. Ivy had hoped she might be able to convince them to help easily. It looked like that wasn’t going to happen.
“It’s a single locating spell. We,” Ivy gestured between her and Ezekiel, “will provide the personal item. I’m just asking for an hour of your time.”
“And our magic,” Stella added.
“And your magic,” Ivy conceded.
Patricia slapped her hands on the table. “And she’s asking us to paint huge targets on our backs. That McDowell boy is crazy. Who knows what he’ll do when he finds out we helped the wolves track him down?”
“Don’t be daft, dear. If the locating spell even works.” Maggie mumbled.
A shock went through Ivy’s body. She heard Ezekiel move behind her. “Why would you assume that was who we are looking for?” Ivy tried to keep the curiosity and apprehension from her voice.
“It’s the only thing this territory has been talking about,” Patricia said.
Maggie raised a finger, “And about the new witch in town.”
The other two nodded.
“I’m glad you all are up to date on the latest gossip but I want to know why Maggie assumed the locating spell won’t work”
Subtly, the three women tensed. Stella’s fingers pat the top of the table. Maggie stirred her tea avoiding eye contact. The playful atmosphere from earlier is gone.
Ivy’s heartbeat spiked.
Patricia gestured to her Coven sisters, “We aren’t very powerful casters. Very few of our spells work. You saw the vision debacle.” Her fingers continued to dance in exaggerated movements. “Really, you’re asking for a disaster if you want us to use our magic.” She smiled almost apologetically.
Suddenly, the crotchety one was suddenly smiling and apologizing? Because that wasn’t suspicious.
“Nonsense,” Ivy said playing along, “I can’t believe that a Coven able to recreate a Juliette rose could mess up a simple locating spell.”
Patricia’s eyes narrowed for a split second before she covered it up. “If it’s so simple, then why can’t you do it?”
Ivy forced a laugh she hoped sounded amused. “I’ve already made my deal with the Alpha. He doesn’t have anything more that I want and I don’t work for free.” She smiled as she leaned across the table. She hoped this worked. “Is there something you want from the Alpha of Black Bird?”
Ivy did her best to keep an air of calm as silence filled the room. The ladies didn’t move. They didn’t take their eyes off of Ivy. She bit her tongue to keep from opening her mouth.
Maggie gave the other two women a look before she stood from the table. “Excuse us a moment, please.”
Stella stood and turned to give Patricia a hand. As a cluster, the Coven shuffled out of the kitchen.
Ivy exhaled leaning back in her chair. She really hoped they said yes.
“What are the chances they say yes?” Ezekiel whispered right in her ear.
Ivy squealed and bumped her tea cup. His hand shot out to catch it. She turned to glare. The big idiot was smiling at her.
“Don’t scare me,” Ivy whispered furiously.
His smile widened. Ezekiel tipped his chin towards the hall the women had disappeared down. “Are they going to say yes?”
“I have no idea. They might want to make a deal or they might say no out of spite.” Ivy turned in her chair to face Ezekiel. “What price is Ben willing to pay for the locating spell?”
They hadn’t talked about payment at the Pack house. Ivy didn’t feel comfortable negotiating on someone else’s behalf. Maybe the ladies would be willing to wait while they got the go ahead from Ben?
Ezekiel straighten and pulled his phone out. “I’ll text him.”
“We don’t have time for that.” Ivy whisper yelled. “I can hear them coming back.”
Ezekiel snorted. “With how slow they walk? I think we’ll be fine.” His phone made a noise and he turned it around to let Ivy see Ben’s answer.
Ben: No harm can be done. Spending limit is 15k
Ivy hummed. That left a lot of wiggle room.
The Coven entered the kitchen. Ezekiel put his phone away and went back to leaning against the wall. They waited for all three women to get comfortable.
Maggie cleared her throat. “There’s nothing we want from the Alpha of Black Bird.”
Ivy’s stomach dropped. For a second, she had convinced herself that this would work. Now she was back at square one.
“There is something we want from you.”
That was almost worst. Ivy leaned in at Maggie’s words. “What do I have that you want?”
Maggie cleared her throat. Ivy suddenly realized that Maggie must be the Coven’s matriarch. The other two were letting her take the lead.
“Without another member of the Coven we have been unable to renew a few of our spells,” Maggie continued.
“I see.” Ivy felt her soul sag. She knew where this was going.
Magic fed off of a person’s natural reserve, their spiritual energy. Some people had deep reserves; others had small reserves. Some people could perform large spells, others didn’t have the power for it.
There were ways for individuals to pool their energies in order to perform large spells. Those pools were only as deep as the combined magical reserves of the people involved. The Black Bird Coven didn’t have enough combined power to renew their spells.
No spell lasted forever. They needed to be fed power as time wore on. If their fourth member had moved away without a replacement, the Coven’s spells would run out of magic and lapse.
“You want me to temporarily stand in as another member of the Coven?” She clarified.
“Yes,” Maggie nodded.
“And I would only be standing in for renewal spells? No prep work or spell weaving?” Ivy clarified.
“That is correct.”
Standing in during a renewal spell was not a complicated process. It required you to speak a few words and to lend your magic to the spell. Ivy could justify that it wasn’t really doing magic. Especially if she wasn’t drawing the circle or preparing the spell’s components. She just had to show up.
“What spells?” Ivy asked.
Maggie gave Ivy a disappointed frown. “Dear, we don’t discuss Coven business around wolves.”
“Fine then, one spell. I will help with one spell,” Ivy folded her arms.
“That won’t be worthwhile to us,” Maggie countered. “We are putting ourselves on the radar of a rogue witch wolf. We need at least four spells renewed if we want to protect ourselves against him.”
“I thought we were calling him a wolf witch.” Stella whispered to Patricia’s ear.
“Witchy McWolfy face is my favorite,” Patricia added.
Everyone ignored them.
“I might not be two hundred but I’m not an idiot. You need one spell to protect a Coven.” Ivy shrugged, “If you’re only worried about protection then one spell is all you need me for.”
“We’d practically be working for free if you only stood in for one spell. We would need you to help with at least three spells for it to be worthwhile,” Maggie countered.
“And I don’t have the time to perform that many spells. Two spells conducted before the end of the year. That’s the most power I am willing to lend.”
That gave the ladies a little over a month. It was more than enough time to perform two spells. It also meant that Ivy wouldn’t be on their leash for very long.
Maggie’s chin tipped as she thought. “Two spells and twenty-five percent off at Chic Chick.”
Ivy’s eyebrows hit her hairline. She had not expected that. “I don’t have the ability to make that happen.”
Maggie shook her head. “You work there and the proprietress is dating the Alpha. I’m sure this is the easier part of the bargain to. They’ll be eager to lend with help.”
Ivy went over the numbers in her head. She thought about Ben’s text too. “Two spells to be performed before the end of the year and thirty percent off at Chic Chick until January 31st. In exchange, you will help perform one locating spell.”
Maggie smiled and held out her hand. They shook on it.
“So, mote it be,” both said in unison to seal the agreement. A tingle of magic washed up Ivy’s arm.
“Yes,” Stella cried, the instant Ivy and Maggie let go of each other. “I’ve wanted to buy that blue dress since it went up in the window.”
“Oh yeah,” Patricia rolled her eyes, “because the safety of the Coven comes second to a new dress.”
“Some of us still get asked on dates, Patricia,” Stella barked.
“This has been lovely,” Ivy cut in before the two women started really get into it. “I will contact you once we have a personal item for the tracking spell.”
Maggie stood with Ivy and led their group to the door. “We will be in contact before then. I would prefer we take care of the first spell before we perform the locating spell.”
Ivy stepped onto the porch. The sun was breaking through the cloud cover. “Of course,” Ivy smiled at Maggie. “This was a delightful interlude.” Ivy looked around suddenly realizing that Ezekiel wasn’t with her.
There was a crash inside the house. All four women turned to look down the hall. Ezekiel popped out of the kitchen looking shell shocked, shaking one hand frantically. When he saw them staring at him, he smiled and hid his hand behind his back.
Maggie turned back to Ivy and smiled softly. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ivy. When you come back be sure to leave the wolf behind.”
Ivy snickered as she waited for Ezekiel to catch up to her. They both waved and walked off the porch.
“You jut couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Ivy shook her head in disbelief. “What did you touch?”
He looked over his injured hand. Ivy couldn’t see any marks. She hoped he hadn’t gotten himself hexed. “One of their picture frames was crooked. I was just trying to straighten it.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “And that’s why you don’t touch anything.”
“Yeah, I’m not doing that again.”
Ezekiel unlocked the truck. Ivy sank into the cold leather seats. She’d done it. The Black Bird Coven would perform the locating spell and all Ivy needed to do was lend them her presence for two spells. Not a bad deal.
“Tell Ben that they will do it and that he needs to split that fifteen thousand dollars. Ten goes into my account. Five goes into Anne’s.”
“How do you figure that?” Ezekiel asks clearly amused.
“We’re the ones the Coven made deals with. Ben still needs to compensate us for helping him out.”
Hopefully, the five grand would cover Anne’s cost. How much money could three old ladies spend at a small-town boutique?
More importantly, now Ivy could afford to move once this business was finished.
“No one works for free.” Ezekiel said, rephrasing Ivy’s words from earlier.
“Damn straight.”

With the release of Rejected next month and Halloween right around the corner I am pretty excited. And I want to pass along that excitement to you guys so I am putting up a chunk of the first chapter. FYI I am still waiting for edits so this might not be the same when you read Rejected on Nov 10. Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

Grace stopped what she was doing. She couldn’t help it. It was an involuntary response every time she caught his scent in the air. Grace stood still, eyes closed, in the middle of the sidewalk trying to pinpoint what made Jack Taylor smell so damn good.
It could have been his aftershave. No one else in the small town of Black Bird used his aftershave. It could have been the sawdust that was always lingering on his clothes. It could have been that wild smell that permeated under every other smell. Whatever it was, it added up to one thing in Grace’s mind. Mate.
“Hey, crazy, how about you stop daydreaming and help me with these boxes.”
“Sorry, Anne,” Grace ducked her head embarrassed that she had been caught, nose in the air.
Anne Kane, Grace’s best friend, just shook her head and walked into her boutique. Grace was helping Anne part time with her store while Anne looked for more permanent help. The two women were supposed to be bringing in new merchandise but Grace was frozen where she stood, box in hand, looking for the source of the distracting smell.
The bell over the door of Chic Chick rang as Anne walked back onto the sidewalk.
“He walked by while you were in the back. You missed him, Grace.” Anne sighed exasperated. “Now, can we get on with business? I want to get these dresses up before lunch.”
Grace picked up another box from Anne’s car and followed her inside.
Rows of clothes hung on galvanized steel pipes that serpentined through the single room store. The exposed metal, coupled with the antique white hutches, gave the store a rustic feel. Anne’s ability to pair modern and old world styles was what made her main street shop a success. Grace may have helped build the clothing racks and paint the walls but it was Anne who kept selling out of merchandise.
Without a word, the two women started opening boxes and shaking out dresses. They had done this so many times in the last four years that they had it down to an art. Anne pulled out the steamer while Grace started making room to hang the sundresses in the front window.
The weather was warming up. The sunshine peeking through the clouds would turn people’s minds to summer and the bright colors Anne had picked out would give ladies the incentive to buy new dresses. The front window was the perfect way to lure people in during their lunch breaks.
It also gave Grace an excuse to keep an eye out for Jack. In case he walked back this way again.
“I thought you had a sure fire plan to corner Jack yesterday,” Anne said breaking the silence.
Grace barely contained a growl, “I did.”
She had bribed old man Johnson at the lumber yard to call Grace when Jack arrived to pick up his shipment that week. What Grace hadn’t anticipated was that old man Johnson’s loyalty to Jack was greater than his love for butterscotch brownies. The old coot had taken the brownies but never called Grace.

​That type of solidarity was typical when it came to Jack Taylor though. Jack had only lived in Black Bird for a year and somehow he had gained more loyalty from the town than Grace ever had. And Grace had lived here her whole life. Grace may be a lifelong citizen of Black Bird but she was a second class citizen. The last twelve months had hammered that point home.
“You would not believe how cunning that man is and how much people like him.” Grace grumbled. “Hell, I’ve only managed to talk to him once and I’m already in love.”
Anne shook her head in disbelief. “How has he been able to avoid you for this long? The town is so small the school is K-12.” She leaned around the dress she was steaming to purse her lips at Grace. “Only you could you get mated to a man who can hide like a chameleon in a town of less than five thousand.” Anne cringed. “To be mated,” she amended.
And that was the problem in a nutshell. Somehow, Jack Taylor had roped the whole town into helping him avoid Grace. 
When he had moved to Black Bird last year, Grace had been a part of the welcoming committee. The instant their hands touched it felt like lightning had struck. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and Grace’s wolf howled. Grace had seen Jack’s eyes widen in surprise. She had been sure he felt it too, but he had dropped her hand like it was a snake and had gone out of his way to avoid her since.
For a while, Grace let him do his own thing. She assumed it could be stressful moving to a new place. Not that Grace had ever moved but she heard people complain about boxing up their houses often enough. Meeting your fated mate on top of that must be overwhelming. But when she started making an effort to meet with Jack, she couldn’t find him. It was only after the tenth time of “just missed him” that Grace started to suspect he was avoiding her. 
“He’s meeting with Ben and the other enforcers to talk about a group of rogues that are making their way here.” Anne finally said.
The dress in Grace’s hand slipped from her fingers as she whipped her head around to see Anne’s expression. Anne was pointedly focused on steaming the wrinkles out of a white sundress but Grace could see the tension around her friend’s eyes. Anne was worried.
“Are they here for us?” The question dropped to a whisper on the last word.
In the last few years the American Packs had become volatile. There was no central leadership to police interactions between Packs and some groups were taking advantage of that. There were territory wars going on all along the West Coast. There were rumors of roaming groups of rogue wolves who swept into small towns and decimated the population. 
None of the surrounding Packs had said anything about escalating violence or strange wolves. The pockets of wars weren’t far away from Black Bird though. No one outright said it but the town was nervous.
“No,” Anne’s voice was clear, definitive, “they’re just a group of rogue that a few Alphas have seen passing through. They haven’t approached anyone and they haven’t been violent. Ben’s just,” Anne let out a breath, “being cautious. You can’t be too cautious.”
Grace nodded. No argument there.
Attempting to lighten the mood Grace bumped Anne’s shoulder as she went to grab the next stack of pressed dresses. “How would our illustrious Alpha feel if he knew you were giving out his schedule to strangers?” Grace teased. “Word might get around that you have loose lips.”
Anne snorted. “I would rather have the town calling me loose lips than a loose woman. Also, considering you were planning on hunting Ben down to ask him if he knew where Jack was, I am sure he will thank me later.” Anne cocked her eyebrows tempting Grace to deny it. 
Grace huffed at being found out but to be fair she had pulled that move often enough that it wasn’t as subtle as it used to be. And Anne had reason to get upset about it. Grace had crashed a few dinner dates between Anne and Ben trying to find Jack. Grace couldn’t be too upset at the bite in Anne’s tone.
“You just have trouble sharing Ben’s time.” Not that Grace could blame her. Ben was a hunk. He was tall and built with thick black hair. And having known him her entire life, Grace could safely say that he was one of the best men on the planet.
Grace punched a price tag into a dress with too much force and the gun jammed. Throwing it down in frustration Grace snarled, “I’m so pathetic, Anne.”
“I know, honey.” Anne stopped steaming clothes and gave Grace a sad look,” but if you can’t be pathetic about your mate, what’s the point?”
Grace knew she was being pathetic but it hurt that Anne was agreeing with her so quickly. She sank down into a chair.
“Being pathetic is one thing but I’m turning into a creep. That man doesn’t want anything to do with me and I’m stalking him all around town.” Grace sniffed. 
It was time to throw in the towel. If the man had wanted to get to know Grace, he would have by now. He had had ample opportunity. Jack acted like he didn’t even want to be around Grace. If Grace walked into the diner, Jack walked out the back. If Grace turned down the same grocery aisle, he would drop his basket and hightail it out of the store. 
She didn’t even know why he was doing it. Which is what had started her militaristic campaign to corner him and call him out. In the last few weeks, she had started gathering intelligence and planning her ambushes. Here Grace was going crazy just trying to get a minute of her mate’s time and he was doing his best to deny her.
She sniffled louder. 
“Oh sweetheart,” Anne walked over. “Don’t even go there. It’s not you.” Anne wrapped an arm around Grace’s shoulder. “The man probably has some rare brain tumor. He’s trying to save you the grief of having to be mated to an invalid. Or more plausible is that his penis is tiny.” Anne wiped a tear off Grace’s cheek. “He’s a hero for not subjecting you to his tiny dick. We should throw him a parade.” Anne jumped back throwing her arms wide. “We could put banners in every storefront and we could make a float depicting his miniscule package. Mrs. Henderson’s Pomeranian could pull it through Main Street.” Anne winked.
Grace laughed weakly.  “Based on what I overheard Becky Jameson say at the bar last night, we might need Clydesdales to pull a parade float of that man’s junk.”
Anne pulled her lips back in disgust. Anne hated Becky Jameson. It all began when they had worn the same dress to junior prom.
“Well that girl dated Cory Tate for years. I’m sure in comparison Jack’s mini weenie looked like the Rock of Gibraltar.” 
Cory Tate had landed himself on Anne’s bad side after he “accidentally” mistook Becky for Anne at the junior prom and had gone home with her. Anne couldn’t take a breath to insult Becky Jameson without throwing a barb at Cory Tate too. It was as sure as an Amen after a prayer. 
“I don’t know why he doesn’t want to be my mate. That’s the problem. The man is involved in everyone’s life in this town. He helps with Pack security, he visits the old folk’s home, he found Mark Boone a job but I can’t even have a single conversation with him.” Grace threw her hands up. “I can’t even make a good excuse for the man because I haven’t ever talked to him!” A tear fell down Grace’s cheeks. “Why doesn’t he want me?”
This was the final blow to Grace’s self-esteem. Growing up in Black Bird was hard for a wolf with a human parent. Grace’s mom loved her dad so much that she had broken up with her high school sweetheart, who also happened to be her mate, and married Grace’s dad. They had been madly in love. Grace’s mom called her dad, “My heart’s mate.” And after her dad passed away suddenly a few years ago, her mom had passed on quietly only a month later. They just couldn’t live without each other.
While Grace loved her parents, the town felt otherwise. They could not forgive June Harding for not mating with Richard Pierce and they certainly could not forget that she had done it all for a human. The prejudice lot of them were barely tolerate of the humans who didn’t steal their sons’ mates. There was no mercy for a human who lured their town’s daughters away.
Grace wasn't known for being melancholy. She tried to be upbeat about life but her wolf was confused why they weren't mated and Grace couldn’t stop thinking that it was her fault. It was the recipe for a very emotional reaction.
“Let’s go,” Anne declared getting up from the chair.
Grace wiped the tear stains off her face and put her shirt in order. Without saying a word, Grace followed Anne out the front door. Anne didn’t bother locking up, so Grace knew where they were headed.
Dale Markman’s bakery was only busy two times a day: before dawn and before school. The sun was already up and the kids were in school, so the bakery was empty. Dale was bent behind the glass display counter restocking from the early morning rush. 
Dale was a thin man, thinner than would be expected from a person who made donuts all day. He was just starting to show his age too. There were crow’s feet appearing at the corners of each eye and a smattering of grey in his hair. 
Hearing the bell overhead ring, Dale arched back trying to work out a knot.
“Morning ladies, getting some work in before the day starts?” Dale smiled, his eyes wrinkling even more at the corners. Grace liked Dale. He was kind and he worked hard. Everyone else in Black Bird might obsess over gossip but Dale didn’t pay any mind to it. He hadn’t shown favorites when Grace’s mom had married her dad instead of her high school sweetheart and he hadn’t gotten involved in the Jack Taylor fiasco.
“We sure are and I don’t know about Grace, but I could use a pick me up.” Anne rubbed her hands together excitedly. Anne didn’t even like donuts. She was here purely to drag Grace out of the dumps. 
“I just put out some huckleberry filled ones.” Dale pointed to a line of fat fried dough leaking purple jam. Anne ordered two.
Grace was looking over the display, waiting for Anne to finish paying, when she heard the door open. Glancing over her shoulder, she barely bit back a groan. If Dale Markman was a saint then Pearl Pierce was the devil. She was in her eighties and always up in arms about something. 
Last year, she had tried to get the community center shut down when they threw a Halloween carnival. Everyone rolled their eyes at the irony of a werewolf thinking Halloween was going to corrupt the children but it had put a damper on the town’s celebration. If Pearl liked a person, she was vocal about it but nowhere near as vocal as if she didn’t like a person. Grace just happened to be a person Pearl didn’t like.
Pearl was also the mother of Richard Pierce. Her mom’s almost mate. From the moment Grace was born, she had been on Pearl’s shit list. And that meant that Pearl Pierce worshipped the ground that Jack Taylor walked on.
“Oh dear, they are letting all kinds of folks in here,” Pearl gasp, theatrically sniffing her nose. 
Anne looked back and rolled her eyes. It wasn’t a surprise that Anne was someone Pearl disliked. Ever since Anne and Ben had started dating, Pearl had been going on and on about the sanctity of mates and how only loose women kept company with men who weren’t fated for them. Grace had the speech memorized since it was the same one Pearl howled at the Copeland family whenever the opportunity presented itself.
“Yeah, Dale, aren’t you worried about having bags of bones around the food?” Anne said deadpan.
Dale covered a laugh with a cough. Grace smiled but kept her head down not wanting to draw the old woman’s wrath.
“A home wrecker with bad manners, what a surprise,” Pearl cooed. “It’s to be expected from the town’s mutts.” Pearl smiled, obviously proud of her insult. 
Grace didn’t react to the bait but she could see Anne’s hackles rise. Anne wasn’t the calmest wolf in the best situation but throw her into a closed room with Pearl and things could get out of hand. Grace stepped forward to pull Anne outside before things escalated. 
“Oh my goodness,” Pearl exclaimed, clutching her hand to her heart. “I only smelled two wolves when I walked in here. I thought we were alone.”
Grace nodded politely but didn’t say anything as she ushered Anne towards the door. Pearl stepped aside to let them pass. They were almost outside when Pearl threw back her final spear. 
“The town is doing Mr. Taylor a favor by keeping you away from him.”
“Pearl,” Dale warned.
Grace felt Anne tense under her hand.
“She says things to cause problems. No one pays attention. Let’s just go.” Grace whispered, trying to push Anne out the door. 
“Listen to what she’s telling you, Ms. Kane. Grace is the town expert when it comes to no one paying attention.” Pearl cackled.
Grace’s heart froze and she felt her cheeks get hot. She tugged Anne harder knowing it was only a matter of time before she started crying and she wanted to be out of sight when it happened. 
Anne jerked free, fire blazing in her eyes. For a second, they shifted yellow. She took a menacing step towards Pearl. The woman had the smarts to hurry back.
“This town is full of fools too old or too dumb to do anything but ruffle feathers.” Anne pointed a clawed finger at Pearl. “Watch your mouth you old bitch because I’m gunning for you.” With a snap of teeth, Anne turned to walk away.
Grace hurried to catch up to Anne. There was practically steam coming out of Anne’s ears. When they walked past Chic Chick Grace asked Anne where she was going. 
“This has gone on long enough. We are confronting that son of a bitch right now and settling this once and for all.” Anne’s voice dropped an octave while she raged.
“What are you doing?” The shock of Anne’s anger dried Grace’s tears. Anne had a short fuse but she rarely acted on it.
“Ben asked me not to interfere. ‘This is between mates.’” Anne imitated Ben’s voice. “But this is bullshit. We can’t have cowards in this Pack. It’s time for that man to face the music and talk to you.”
Anne’s hand shot out forcing Grace to keep up with her march down Main Street towards the diner. It was just after the breakfast rush but as they got closer, Grace could see a few people still sitting at the booths. One group in particular drew Grace’s eye.
Ben had commandeered the entire back portion of the diner. He was surrounded by his enforcers. Grace could see him pointing at something on the table. But it was the dusty blonde hair of the man across from him that got Grace’s heart beating.
His back was to her but she could see the collar of his plaid shirt under his shoulder length hair. He must be planning on going straight to his woodshop after the meeting. He only wore his thick plaid shirts if he was going to be working. Just seeing the back of his head filled Grace with a nauseating combination of dread and excitement. 
“Anne, he is going to sprint out the backdoor the second he smells me,” Grace wheezed. Her heart was beating so hard, she could barely breathe.
“I know.” Anne’s eyes narrowed. “And that’s how we are going to catch him.”    


“South Creek’s Alpha said they were skating his territory when they passed by last week.” Jack looked where Ben was pointing on the map. It was a good fifty miles away from Black Bird land but that was still too close to have a group of rogues sniffing around.
Ben had called this meeting late last night after getting information from the Pack to the south. All of Black Bird’s enforcers were there: Dave Pierce, Derek Johnson, Mark Warner, Evan and Eric Tate, Paul Carlson and Jack. It was early enough in the morning that most of the town’s inhabitants were either busy getting ready for the day or still asleep. That meant they had the diner nearly to themselves. Which was good since none of the men present wanted to cause mass hysteria with the news Ben was sharing with them.
“Did he say how many there were?” Paul Carlson asked around the waffle he was eating. 
Paul was Ben’s right hand man. Jack originally thought that the man was incompetent after speaking to him the first time. Paul was obnoxiously playful. He joked with everyone, flirted with everything and it was impossible to take the man seriously. Until it was too late. Late one night the first month Jack moved to Black Bird he had watched as Paul handed three drunk enforcers from the Pack south their asses. The whole exchange lasted fifteen seconds and Jack had never questioned Paul’s place as second since.
“Ethan said his security team picked up eight but that there could be closer to fifteen.” Ben shook his head. 
“Does that man not know how to count? That’s a big difference.” Dave shook his head in disgust. “Eight males blowing through a town could be bad but fifteen spelled chaos. And South Creek said they steered clear of the town?”
Dave Pierce was born and bred to be Pack security. He was meticulous and expected everyone else to be just as vigilant as he was. There was no room for inaccurate reports in Dave’s world.
“He didn’t hear a peep from them. They didn’t ask permission to pass through but they didn’t raise hell.” Ben looked off in thought chewing slowly. “They seemed to be just making tracks but having that many unannounced wolves roaming through my territory makes my hackles rise.”
Jack nodded in agreement. Black Bird might be bigger than the other towns rogues were targeting but they were also isolated. South Creek was the only Alpha along their borders who seemed willing to get off his ass to help. And he was a shitty ally at that. The others would probably wait until the smoke cleared and snatch up what land they could. Vultures. Black Bird was on its own if anything happened.
“Did South Creek say anything else about them? Any noticeable traits? Did they smell anything when they passed through?” Jack asked speaking up for the first time this morning.
Ben sighed shaking his head. “He didn’t mention anything. The man is nearly seventy and his wolves are either too old to be efficient or too young to be properly trained. I doubt they were looking too hard.”
All eight men around the table shook their heads. That level of incompetence was inexcusable and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Black Bird would end up paying for it.
Jack barely kept his mouth shut. If the West Coast was controlled by Alphas like Ethan Summerland, then it was no wonder that things were going to shit. With no strong leadership, everyone disregarded the laws. People either became lazy or they got greedy.
Ben lifted his hand, agreeing. “You all know as well as I do that the entire area is ripe for the taking. The Alphas in this part of the country won’t give up their holdings, the young wolves are leaving for more secure locations and we’ve been abandoned to our own devices. If it wasn’t rogue now, it would have been someone more organized later.”
“Large groups of young, angry wolves are a horrible thing to contend with,” Jack murmured into his coffee mug.
“Until they pass by us, I suggest that we double our patrols. For now.” Ben took a long sip of coffee. “Long term, we need to start recruiting more enforcers. We need more people out there now that things are escalating in the west.”
“I’ll set up a schedule with everyone for the next few weeks.” Dave looked around at everyone for their agreement. 
Jack caught Dave’s eye. “I’ll take this weekend.” He had just finished making a dining room set for a client and a few days in the woods, even if he was patrolling, sounded like vacation to him. He would finally be able to relax without having to look over his shoulder for Grace Copeland.
Jack groaned at the thought of her.
The woman was never far from his mind. She haunted him. Thankfully, she no longer showed up at his workshop. Jack was sure that after he had gone off the handle when she had scared him while he was using a table saw, she had realized that Jack’s workshop was off limits. Nothing else seemed off limits to her though. 
She had taken to following him while he ran errands in town. Jack had gotten to know Black Bird like the back of his hand after having to duck into every alleyway to escape Grace. He chuckled quietly to himself while he picture Grace knocking on the door of his empty house this week.
“You only laugh like that when you think you’ve thwarted Grace. What are you planning now?” Mark wagged his eyebrows.
Jack threw down his fork.
“We were having a perfectly good meal and you had to ruin it by bringing her up.” Jack wiped his mouth. He didn’t want to admit that he had been thinking about Grace. “It’s bad enough that everyone in town dogs me about Grace, don’t you start too.”
Mark just shrugged. 
Without another word, the Tate twins got up and left. The meeting was officially over now that Mark had brought up Grace and the twins were not the type of people who sat around and shot the breeze. They were the textbook definition of lone wolves. They never stuck around longer than necessary.
“You can’t avoid her forever. If you really want to stop the gossiping then you should just tell her she is wrong, that you’re not her mate.” Ben’s eyes narrowed. “That is the case isn’t it?”
Jack growled quietly to himself.
“Grace is a good woman. She’s a little eccentric and she gets excited about things but she’s kept the town functioning with all of that energy. It also gets her in trouble. I could see her mistaking intense feelings for a mate bond.” Derek shrugged. “I love the woman like family but I will be the first to admit she comes on strong.”
Jack stared at the table. His wolf growled. He did not like anyone speaking negatively about Grace. It didn’t matter that Derek had gone to kindergarten with her. But Jack got irrationally angry when people brought up Grace because she wasn’t wrong. She was his mate. The only problem was that Jack didn’t want a mate.
Grace hadn’t mistaken the mate bond, Jack couldn’t figure anyone could mistake the electric bolt that shot up his arm the first time he had touched Grace. It was just that mating wasn’t for Jack. His parents had ruined each other’s lives because they refused to give up on the idea that they were fated mates. 
Just because Jack never wanted to be mated didn’t mean he took kindly to hearing Derek speak about Grace like that. She was a good person, from what Jack knew of her. She just wasn’t for him. 
“You know me. Can you see a man like me being with a woman like Grace?” Jack asked Ben.
Ben was intelligent. He was also strong enough to kick Jack’s ass if needed. He also knew Jack inside and out.
“I think you won’t know how you’ll be together until you actually get together.”
Jack narrowed his eyes at Ben’s answer. He leaned back in his chair trying to get a sense of what Ben was up to. “Why the sudden change? You’ve never said anything before.”
“I haven’t gotten involved because the second I do, the whole town will want me to get involved in their love lives.” Ben shuddered. “I have enough problems sorting myself out; I don’t want to deal with everyone else’s shit.” Ben sighed putting his coffee cup down. “But I have been getting chewed out by Anne and it is driving me crazy.”
The bell over the diner’s door chimed. Awareness pricked along Jack’s spine. He turned around just as Anne stomped towards them. She radiated pure rage as she made her way across the diner. People eating paused as she passed by them, stopping to watch what was promising to be a classic Anne Blow Up. 
Jack turned to Ben and smirked. “Looks like you’re about to get chewed out again.”
“Jack Taylor, you son of a bitch,” Anne roared. Ben smiled at Jack obviously delighted that he wasn’t on the receiving end of this tantrum. “Grace is in my store crying her eyes out!” Anne stood, hands on hips, yelling at him. Her face was flushed red, her anger making the air smell like ozone. Jack leaned away from her. 
The pure rage coming off of the woman in front of him had the hairs on the back of Jack’s neck stood up. He’d never been on the receiving end of an Anne Blow Up. Her eyes were flashing yellow and elongated nails were clawing the air as if she couldn’t wait to tear into Jack. It made him want to tuck tail and hide. He squared his shoulders self-consciously. 
“Come on Anne,” Ben reached for her, “you promised you wouldn’t get involved. I already brought it up.”
Anne slapped Ben’s hand away. Jack’s eyes went wide. The entire diner went silent. Anne must really be pissed if she hadn’t registered that she just hit the Alpha. Even if she was Ben’s girlfriend, that was out of line. Jack shot a look to Ben but he just shook his head telling him to let it go.
Paul’s face split into a huge grin. He started shaking his head and laughing quietly. If Jack wasn’t entirely focused on Anne he would have asked Paul what was so funny.
“The whole town is involved and it is exhausting.” She threw her hands up. “They are just going to have to talk things over so that the rest of us can move on with our lives. Grace is heading here right now to get this over with.”
Suddenly, the diner felt like a bear trap about to snap shut. His eyes darted down Main Street looking for Grace. He started to stand up from the booth.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Anne went to push Jack back into his seat but Ben quickly pulled her into his lap.
“Leave them alone, Anne,” Ben reprimanded, “it’s no one’s business but their own.” Ben looked around the room making eye contact with everyone there to get his point across. 
Jack stood up and said thank you to Ben while he made his way to the kitchen. Carol Johnson had gotten so use to Jack slipping out the back door over the last year that she didn’t even look up from the grill. She just raised her hand in acknowledgement. Jack glanced behind him to make sure that Grace wasn’t following as he stepped outside. And ran right into someone.
Out of reflex, Jack’s arm shot out to steady whoever he had bumped into. Lightening zinged up his hand whipping his head around. 
Standing there, blue eyes wide, was Grace. Jack felt her fingers flex against his biceps anchoring him to her. They both stood in shock for a moment.
It had been a long time since he had felt that initial mate bond. There were nights that Jack almost convinced himself that Grace had made it up. But the flush of heat Jack felt just looking into her eyes reminded him of how his mother had described the mate bond “all consuming”. It could catch hold of your soul and burn you up. Jack’s mother had been right. It felt like Jack’s whole being was being burned up with need. It terrified him.
Pushing Grace back, Jack broke her hold on him. She stumbled back a step. Jack took the opening and rushed towards the sidewalk.
“Wait.”
The airy word made Jack’s whole body tremble. Unwanted, he turned to face her.
Grace’s hand was outstretched, reaching towards him. Her eyes were still wide with shock, her face pale. Jack could see her body shaking with tension.