Bellann Summer

I am so far behind on everything. I'm trying to finish Rescue for Hire West 9 and get it to the publisher this week.
So, to catch up. If you are a facebook follower, you have seen my posts that I've got a secret with Stormy Glenn. If you haven't, well I've got a secret with Stormy Glenn. We also posted excerpts of our secret and the covers. Today will be another post, so I thought I'd better post the excerpts and covers here.
Sorry for the delay.

Ready to head back to the ranch, Conn took one last deep breath of fresh air, and froze. Some small difference traveled in the slight breeze.

Surveying the buildings around him, Conn searched for anything off. His gaze swept up and down the street. Across the paved road, a couple of people walking on the sidewalk, gained his attention. He dismissed them after scenting nothing unusual.

There had been times in the past when other shifters had come through town looking for trouble. Conn nipped those unacceptable ideas in the bud. Most of the shifters left on their own, or if they forced Conn to take action, they were buried.

Scanning the shadows and finding nothing, Conn again looked up the street and studied the only intersection in town with stoplights.  A young man emerged out of the darkness and passed under the corner streetlight. He crossed the street and came toward Conn.

The man kept his head down, not bothering to look where he was going. He weaved wildly, covering twice as much sidewalk as he would have walking in a straight line. If Conn’s keen eyesight hadn’t spotted the blood staining the guy’s ripped shirt and jeans, he would have thought the man was drunk off his ass.

Conn studied the stranger, using his heightened senses. A husky voice reached Conn’s sensitive ears. Whether natural or created from the man’s injuries, the tenor-over-gravel quality became a melody entwining a vine of intoxicating notes around Conn’s heart.

“Keep going, Aisley. You can do this. One step at a time. You’ve outrun them for a month now. Yes, you’re tired, but soon you’ll find a place to hide and rest for the night.”

Conn’s eyes widened when a latch of understanding opened in his brain and he saw a pure white aura surrounding the man.

“Mate,” screamed through Conn’s mind.

In the middle of the sidewalk, the man stopped, lifted his curly dark head, and looked at Conn. He swayed, caught himself, and stood trembling. Rage coursed through Conn’s veins at the sight of the bloody, crescent-shaped gash on his mate’s left cheek. Blood crusted in the corner of the man’s battered lips and he peered through swollen, bruised, eyes. Conn’s blood pressure rose several levels at the hint of bruising along the line of the man’s jaw and around the flushed skin of his throat.

Conn’s mate appeared to be dirty, beat-to-hell, way too skinny, and yet never had a more beautiful man stood before him. His mate’s nostrils flared, telling Conn the universe had gifted him a shifter whose sense of smell dominated.

“Holy hell he’s big. I think he’s some sort of cat. I’ve only smelled the pack before, so how am I supposed to know what he is? It doesn’t matter. I can’t put him in danger. But it sure would be nice to slide up close and get naked next to him.”

Conn smiled at his mate’s musings. Seeing his smile, the man stiffened, and his eyes widened the best they could. His body tensed, and Conn could see the idea of taking off form.

“Running won’t help, little wolf,” Conn called out. The man’s body jerked, and Conn knew he’d guessed his mate’s animal. “We exchanged essences when you smelled me and I heard you. Our bodies are already changing, and tiny strings of the mate bond have already formed.”

“Shit. What am I going to do? I’m in no shape to outrun him.”

“You couldn’t outrun me on any day. Now come to me. Everything will be okay.” Conn tried to keep his tone soothing. He hadn’t had a lot of practice using soft, gentle words in his long life, but he would try for his mate.

“I was talking out loud, wasn’t I?” the man asked, clearly not wanting the answer Conn was going to give him.

“Yeah.” Conn would never be anything but honest with his mate.

Conn waited. He wouldn’t go after his mate unless no other option became available. Wolves didn’t react well to be chased or trapped, and patience was second nature to his tiger. Hell, he had bided his time for almost one hundred years, waiting for Tay to realize he sucked at ranching. This should be a piece of cake.

“Walk away and forgot about me.” Misery covered his mate’s face.

“Not happening,” Conn responded.

“I have trouble following me. I’m considered rogue. I need to keep moving.”

“You are my mate, not rogue. Together, we will handle any trouble. Your running days are over.” Satisfaction filled Conn when the small man stepped toward him.

“I would love to believe you.” A shaky hand lifted before dropping back to his side.

“You will love me forever and a day,” Conn responded.

“You sure are confident.”

“That’s because I know,” Conn said.

“Why is everything starting to hurt even more than it did before?” The man rubbed his forehead. “I’m so confused.”

“It’s the bond,” Conn replied. His own skin burned, and his tiger growled in agitation. “What is your name?”

“Aisley Matthews.”

“Your father wants to see you.”
Bartholomew “Bug” Matthews winced as he looked up into the eyes of one of his father’s enforcers. He hated each and every one of them. Randal Matthews took great delight in choosing the most psychotic and ruthless men to be his enforcers. They were all sadistic monsters.
Bug set down the bowl of potatoes he had been peeling and stood. While most people would find it weird, Bug enjoyed peeling potatoes. It didn’t take a lot of brain power, which meant he could just let his mind wander and dream about how different his life would be if he weren’t under his father’s thumb.
He shot his brother, Aisely, an apprehensive look before following the enforcer. It was never a good thing if his father called for someone. It was even worse if you were the man’s son. Their father expected a certain behavior from Bug and his brother, and if they stepped out of line even a bit, there was hell to pay.
Bug swallowed hard as he stepped inside his father’s personal study. He shot the tall, blonde-haired woman sitting on the sofa with a glass of amber-colored liquid a quick look. She was dressed very stylishly in a pair of cream-colored slacks and matching silk blouse. Her blonde hair was pulled back from her face, highlighting her high cheekbones.
She was an older woman, close to his father’s age. She was also a shifter, by the smell of her. Not even the perfume she seemed to be swimming in could hide that. Bug could also tell she was a powerful wolf, maybe even more powerful than his father.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
Randal Matthews didn’t even acknowledge that Bug had spoken; he just nodded toward the blonde. “Vivian.”
The statuesque blonde stood and walked over to Bug. He tried not to frown as she walked around him, but he felt as if he was being inspected.
It was kind of creepy.
When she grabbed his jaw, Bug tried to jerk back. One low growl from his father froze him in his spot. He swallowed tightly as the woman tilted his head one way and then the other.
“He is untried?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Randal replied. “I’ve kept him on a very short leash for obvious reasons.”
What the hell?
Bug shot his father a look as a cold sinking feeling began to swamp him. His father seemed totally uninterested in what was going on here. Bug was actually kind of surprised the man wasn’t on the phone or computer.
The woman, on the other hand, seemed very interested. Bug just didn’t quite understand what she was interested in.
“He’ll do,” Vivian said before walking back over to pick up her drink.
“Very good,” Randal replied. “I’ll make arrangements to have the contract drawn up as soon as possible.”
“Sir?”
Bug wished he had kept his mouth shut when his father raised his eyes and looked at him. He hated having the man’s attention. It never ended well for him, but finding out what was going on was a burning need.
Randal stared at Bug just long enough to make him drop his eyes and shuffle his feet. He really should have kept his mouth shut.
“I’ll have his stuff packed and ready to go tomorrow,” Randal said, obviously having turned his attention to the blonde. “Will that be soon enough?”
“No need to pack anything,” Vivian replied. “I’ll provide anything he needs. In fact, I’d prefer if he came with nothing except his collar. I’ll bring it with me in the morning. Just have him ready to go after I sign the contract.”
Bug watched Vivian walk back toward him out of the corner of his eye. When she grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back, Bug gasped as pain ripped through his head where the hair pulled.
“He’ll do nicely,” she said as her eyes roamed over his face. “I imagine he’ll give me lots of pups.”
Bug’s eyes rounded before shooting to his father. “Pups?”
“Yes, Vivian is in need of a mate. She’s agreed to take you in exchange for treaty between our two packs. You’ll be going home with her tomorrow.”
“I can’t!” Bug’s cry was desperate, frightened.
“You will,” Randal snapped. “It’s already been decided.”
“I’m gay.”
Oh, Bug knew immediately he had said the wrong thing. It was a secret he had hidden from everyone except his brother since the moment he knew he preferred men to women. Being gay wasn’t allowed in his father’s pack.
Vivian’s chuckle chilled him to the bone. “I don’t need your agreement to get what I want, Bartholomew. Man or woman, it doesn’t matter what you prefer. You’ll do your duty to me one way or another.”
God, she was just as sick and twisted as his father.
“No,” Bug said. “I won’t do it.”
Vivian sighed before releasing Bug. For a moment, he thought she might have understood he couldn’t mate her.
Oh, how wrong he was.
She walked over and picked up her coat and gloves before turning to look at Randal. “I will be back in the morning to sign the contract and pick my new mate up.” She pulled on her coat and then slid her gloves onto her hands. “Try not to damage him too much. I will need to start mating him right away.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Randal replied.
When the door closed behind Vivian, Bug raised his eyes to his father. “Father, I can’t—” The rest of his words died behind his cry as his father backhanded him.
“How dare you embarrass me like that,” the man shouted. “Vivian Dumont is alpha of one of the strongest packs on the East Coast. A treaty between our packs will make us stronger than any other shifters in the States.”
“But, she’s not my ma—” Bug cried out as his father hit him again.
“I do not care!” the alpha shouted. “You will do as you are told or I will turn you over to my enforcers. They will teach you your place.”
Fear clawed its way through Bug, leaving pain in its wake. He’d seen what happened to people who had been turned over to the enforcers. They were never the same again. He didn’t want to end up like that, but he couldn’t mate with someone who wasn’t his true mate, especially not a woman.
“Father—” The word was barely out of Bug’s mouth before he was laying on the floor, cradling his aching face in his hands as he watched his father stalk to the door, fling it open, and call for his enforcers.