The Ultimate Spicy Shifter Book Bundle

One dark night. One fatal turn. A wild passion hotter than anything she’s ever known.

College freshman, Neve Dalton is about to crash head on into something that will turn her world upside down. On her way to school, Neve hopes a fresh, new start will put the pain of losing her parents behind her. But a fatal accident on a lonely highway puts her in the path of dark, dangerous Alpha wolf, Tucker McGraw. With a single touch and a flash of silver in his eyes, Tucker stirs a passion in Neve that leaves her shaken and begging for more. This Alpha’s mark runs deep and triggers a hunger in Neve she can’t explain.

The minute he lays eyes on Neve, Tucker knows she’s his fated mate. The trouble is, a rival pack wants her dead for what happened on that rain-slick highway. But, Tucker didn’t become Alpha on his drop dead sexy looks alone. He’s fierce, ruthless and deadly. He’ll do anything to claim and protect Neve even if it means fighting the battle of his life.

CHAPTER 1

In just over ten miles of freeway, it seemed I’d gone from civilization to vast wilderness. This stretch of I-94 East took me through hilly terrain and forest on both sides.

The towering pines and thick maples should have put me at ease. I should have enjoyed the sharp, musky scent of the woods and the open sky as dusk settled in. But this was a foreign land to me, and I was hundreds of miles from the only home I’d ever known, with no plans to ever go back.

This wasn’t my place. I was just passing through. Part of me resented the cool, crisp wilderness air traced with a hint of ozone. A storm brewed from the North.

The first dusting of sprinkling rain hit the windshield of my Ford Escape. I fiddled with the instruments to set the wipers. A breeze picked up, and the tops of the tallest trees on either side of the road started to sway.

A crack of thunder made me jump in my seat. A jagged streak of lightning speared into the woods far to the east, and a faint puff of smoke curled up above the tree line.

I worked the radio dial, trying to find something local for news of a tornado. I tried to remember: is it safer to stay with your car or find a ditch if you’re caught in one? Rain pelted down in earnest.

The storm had come up so fast. A leaf plastered to my windshield and got stuck under the wiper blades. Each swipe left a thick smear across my field of vision, and I adjusted the blade speed, trying to loosen it.

I ducked down, trying to find a spare patch of clear windshield. The rain angled right toward me in thick, heavy drops. If it got much worse, I was going to have to pull over. I did not want to be stuck out here.

This wasn’t me. This wasn’t my place. I had no place anymore.

I didn’t know how much further I had to go until I reached Ann Arbor. Four hours? Maybe less, if this storm didn’t hold me up. I just wanted to get there, except I didn’t really want to be there.

Two years ago, it would have been my dream. I earned a music scholarship in voice to the University of Michigan. My Dad had been so proud of me. It would make me the first person in our family to graduate from college. I was all set to leave, and then Dad got sick.

Though he’d never smoked a day in his life, he contracted an aggressive form of lung cancer. They said it was probably caused by his years as a fireman. He fought hard and lasted longer than most with his same diagnosis. He hung on for over a year. But then, just after Christmas, he finally let go.

I’d forgone college to take care of him. It was just the two of us. He had no one else. College could wait. But now, seven months later, I’d lost him, and it was time for me to start my own life. Everyone said so.

Another crack of thunder, and a flash of lightning came even closer. I jumped in my seat again as I struggled to see out of my hopelessly smeared window. A tree limb slammed down in front of me.

I swerved to the left to get around it and almost ended up in a ditch. My heart tripped and my fingers trembled as I gripped the steering wheel. That was a close one.

The leaf dislodged from my windshield, and I could finally see again. I straightened the wheel and veered the Escape back across the median.

I crested the top of a large hill and started to coast back down, letting my foot up off the accelerator.

Two golden eyes seemed to appear out of thin air at the bottom of the hill. I blinked hard, trying to let my brain catch up. A wolf stood in the middle of the road directly in my path. It stood still and calm, with its great brown head slightly cocked to the side and its ears perked straight up, as if it were deciding what to make of me.

Why didn’t it move?

I punched the horn, but the wolf didn’t so much as blink its shining, golden eyes. I slammed on the brakes. There was no way I wouldn’t hit the thing. The back of the car fishtailed, and I lost control of it. I tried to wrench the steering wheel hard right.

The wolf stood there. Just before the moment of impact, I swore I saw it dip its head, almost as if it were acknowledging its fate.

The world became a sickening crunch of metal on bone and flesh. Blood, mixed with rain, sprayed my windshield as the car careened into the ditch just past the shoulder of the road.

My world was a cloud of white and the taste of metal as my airbag deployed and blood filled my mouth. I might have blacked out. What had been noise, chaos, and panic became calm and quiet, except for the steady rhythm of the pelting rain.

I don’t know how long I sat there. It was at least a moment or two. Maybe more. I finally reached over and unlatched my seat belt. My right shoulder blossomed in pain. I wiggled my fingers and toes. I pushed the airbag down and pulled down the visor mirror.

A small line of blood trickled out of my nose, and my lip was split, but I seemed to be more or less whole.

The car door protested with a creak when I pushed it open. The Escape had landed on an angle, resting mostly on the passenger side, so I had to crawl up and out. I had the presence of mind to grab my backpack. I made it two steps up toward the shoulder of the road when my phone buzzed to life.

“911. What is your emergency?” said a female voice.

My fingers shook as I slid the screen open. The car was equipped with 911 Assist. My father had insisted on it. The minute the airbag deployed, the car’s computer sent the call through.

“I’ve crashed,” I said. I wiped the blood and rain out of my face as I pressed the phone to my ear.

“Are you injured, ma’am?” the dispatcher said.

“I don’t think so. I’m a little banged up, but I’ve gotten out of the car. I’m not sure where I am, though.”

“We’ll be able to find you,” she said. “But it will go a lot faster if you can help me out.”

I looked around. When the rain started, I hadn’t thought to pay attention to any mile markers.

“I just crossed over into Michigan from South Bend. I think Kalamazoo is the next biggest city. I haven’t seen another car in miles, though. It’s really wooded here.”

“Okay, I think I’ve got you, more or less. We’re sending someone to you,” the dispatcher said. “Can you stay with your vehicle?”

“Yeah,” I said. My head started to throb and I felt a little woozy. Maybe I had hit it harder than I thought. “Yeah. Can you tell them to hurry, though? It’s getting dark out here, and I think there are wolves in the area. I hit one.”

“Wolves? Did you say wolves? Probably not, ma’am. You probably saw a coyote.”

The call started to break up. I climbed out of the ditch and stood on the gravel shoulder. I looked to my left and right. I was completely alone out here, with the woods all around me.

Icy fingers of panic started to snake their way through my belly, and I concentrated on breathing.

My phone gave one last dying beep, and the 911 operator was gone for good. It was okay, though. Help was on the way. I’d given them plenty of information to find me.

Mercifully, the rain let up as I stepped up to the road. There had to be a town no more than ten or fifteen miles to the east. Had to be. They ought to be able to get someone out here in fifteen minutes or less.

I became aware of a keening cry to my left. It was the sound of an animal in pain, and probably dying. I don’t know what compelled me to walk toward it, but I did.

She lay on her left side, her shoulders heaving with the effort of breathing. It was a she. Somehow, I knew this even before I got to her. This was ludicrous. Insanity. Never mind it was growing dark as I stood in the middle of an Interstate highway. Never mind this was a wild animal fighting to live. But, I went to her.

Something in me pulled me to her, and I crouched in front of her.

She panted from the strain of her last breaths, and she craned her neck backward to get a look at me. I meant to keep a few feet of distance between us, but when her haunting golden eyes met mine, I reached out and laid my hand on the top of her head.

Her thick, brown fur was coarse and lush under my fingertips. I smoothed it back, rubbing behind her ears. She laid them flat, her gaze flicking over me, taking me in.

“I’m so sorry,” I heard myself say. “It’s almost over.”

And it was. With each gasping breath this magnificent creature took, life slowly drained away. I could feel it. Her eyes dimmed, though she kept them locked on mine. She seemed to need me.

My presence calmed her as I smoothed my hand over her head with a slow, soothing rhythm.

“It’s okay,” I said. “You can let go now. No one can hurt you anymore.”

She whined and let out a chuff through her moist, black nose, then curled her lips back, panting. She nuzzled her head against my hand as her eyelids fluttered. She had thick, black lashes. There was something so intelligent about her eyes. She knew who I was. It was like she could understand what I was saying.

“I’ll stay with you,” I said. “It won’t be long now.” Tears welled behind my own eyes and a lump knotted in my throat. “You can rest. It’s all right. You can be finished.” My voice quivered.

God, I’d said those same words. I’d held his hand until he took his last breath and his clear eyes went dark.

This great, beautiful wolf’s chest rose and fell for the last time as I held her head in my hands. “Goodbye, great lady,” I said.

She opened her eyes one last time. They narrowed, with what I could swear was understanding. And there was something else as well. As her pulse slowed under my touch and finally ceased, she seemed at peace.

She lifted her chin one last time and closed her eyes. Then she died in my arms.

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