Fighting for her Mate: Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance (Sassy Mates Book 5) Read online

  FIGHTING FOR HER MATE

  SASSY MATES BOOK 5

  NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  MILLY TAIDEN

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  Ellie Wolfe has watched her family fight for love and justice. She's watched the man she lovesbattle to get his land and his people back. Now, she's done watching.She will fight for the chance at love and a happily ever after.

  Caleb Rahound has been waiting for the right time tobring his uncle to his kneesand retake the alpha position rightly his.With his uncle's plan to hurt the mates, kidnap the babies, and take over the Wolfe pack,he's got to step up and take charge. Even if that means pushing his mate aside to ensure her safety.

  With the help of vampires, rogue wolves,and his friends, Calebwillmake astand and finallytry to remove the man destroying his pack. Only the strongest will survive. But Ellie isn't about to stand by and let her mate fight alone. When the need arises,she's willingand ready to fight for her mate.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Latin Goddess Press Inc.

  Winter Springs Florida, 32708

  http://millytaiden.com

  Unwanted Protector

  Copyright © 2016 by Milly Taiden

  Cover by Willsin Rowe

  Edited by: Tina Winograd

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Property of Milly Taiden

  May 2016

  —For my Sassy ladies

  May you raise them, know them and be them. Love you!

  Contents

  FIGHTING FOR HER MATE

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY-ONE

  EPILOGUE

  About the Author

  ONE

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  http://eepurl.com/pt9q1

  Night of the scenting ceremony

  It was about damn time her brothers got off their shy asses and claimed their mates. Not that Ellie didn’t like the wine and men bashing get-togethers with her girlfriends, but a girl could only take so much stupidity from men. She did love her brothers, but they needed a bit of a push to get them where they needed to be—mated.

  Standing on the fringe of the field for the Scenting Ritual, she looked toward the forested hills beyond, while everyone else watched Marco and Kelly center stage. If she and Emma’s plan worked as she hoped, all her friends would finally be on their way to being her brothers’ mates.

  Even Emma had a surprise coming. Emma thought she was helping Ellie with Jordan, Nicole, and Karla mating. But Ellie sent Mason out to where the girls were taping the video for a book Jordan was writing. She wasn’t waiting any longer or taking any chances of anything happening.

  The situation with the Rahound pack was getting serious. It was best for the women to be mated and for the men to watch over them. The last thing she wanted was for their human bodies to be caught up in a fight with a much stronger shifter. That was one fight her wonderful friends would not win no matter how good they were at defending themselves.

  Speaking of the Rahounds, Ellie searched the crowd for her destined mate, Caleb. He was the true alpha of the pack, but his uncle Rocco took control when Caleb’s father suddenly died while Caleb was away. Now that Caleb was of age and ready to lead his pack, Rocco refused to step down. She loved Caleb. Had since the moment she laid eyes on him when she’d been a little girl.

  But Caleb was keeping her at arm’s length, and it started to piss her off. He could do so much with her help. Together they could get his pack back and finally move forward with living as they wanted, as a couple.

  In the years under the uncle’s rule, the pack had disintegrated into a terrorized community of shifters afraid to speak out or do anything about the abuse they were taking. Now, females from the Rahound pack had been disappearing. It was rumored Rocco was giving women to those loyal to him as gifts for their support. That sick fuck. Every time she thought about how miserable he was making Caleb’s life, she wanted to claw his heart out.

  They had no proof yet, but Ellie knew in her gut Rocco was committing heinous acts against his own people. Rocco was a crazy son of a bitch willing to do whatever it took to keep power. Caleb had been planning to challenge his uncle for alpha rights, but the timing wasn’t right yet, or so he kept saying.

  Ellie didn’t know the reason for the holdup. But now that a girl was missing from the Wolfe clan, tension was rising, and she didn’t know how long her family would stay out of Rahound’s business.

  “Well, hello, my beautiful lady.” A shiver went down Ellie’s back. Rocco’s sour breath at her ear made her stomach roll. She stepped away and turned to face him.

  Steeling her spine, she tried to control the venom in her voice. “Hello, Rocco. What do you want?”

  A sleazy sneer spread across his face and his eyes raked down her body. She refused to give him the satisfaction of any fear. This self-control was more than just mental on a wolf’s part. Wolves could smell emotional reactions based on the chemicals the brain secreted. Adrenaline of any kind had to be suppressed. Even if all her animal wanted was to slash her claws across his neck and watch him bleed out.

  “I’m just stopping by to say hello and see how you are.” His eyes drifted to her chest. “My darling, you are far too beautiful to waste on my nephew. How about you come to the alpha house for dinner. I’ll make sure my enforcers are there to watch,” his tongue slid between his lips, “over you.”

  He shouldn’t even be there. This was a private ritual, but clearly someone had informed him and he’d taken it upon himself to come. The area was available to all who wanted to wander, but Rocco knew neither he nor his men were guests. Ellie put on a fake smile. “I’d see you in hell before I willingly went anywhere with you.”

  Rocco chuckled as if she’d said something cute. “You’re so like your mother. She was a spitfire, too. Definitely a nice piece of ass in her time.”

  Ellie gasped then hauled back and slapped him. Fury tensed her muscles. “Don’t you speak of my mother or anyone in my family.” Her voice lowered to a growl and she fought hard to keep the wolf in check. “Just because yours is fucked up doesn’t invite you into ours. We have something you never will, Rocco.”

  He stretched his jaw, a red splotch forming on hi
s cheek. “And what is that, my nephew’s whore?”

  She narrowed her eyes. Then she smiled and spoke slowly. “Respect and love from our pack.”

  His eyes darkened. Ellie smelled his hate as the breeze swept it away.

  “Ellie?” her mother called out. A second later, her parents and Caleb joined her. Caleb wrapped his arms around her from behind, staring at his uncle over her head. “Rocco,” he said with steel in his voice. “I didn’t think we’d see you here.” He hugged Ellie a little tighter and kissed the top of her head. “Is everything okay, Ellie?”

  She relaxed in his hold. “Everything is fine. Your uncle and I were discussing our packs’ loyalties to their alphas. Or lack of.” He gave her a little squeeze. She wasn’t sure if it was his way of cheering her on or warning her off. Probably warning her off, knowing him. He didn’t want her getting involved in anything to do with his uncle or the pack war. Too fucking bad. She was his mate and she wasn’t sitting by, letting him deal with it alone. Not when he wasn’t alone, he had her.

  Ellie’s dad and mom stopped beside them. Her dad shook hands with the piece of shit. “Rocco.”

  He looked her dad in the eye and gave a short nod. “Tristan.” Then he grabbed up her mother’s hand and brought it to his lips. The nerve of that sick bastard to touch her mother. “Barbara. It’s always nice to see you.” His snake eyes focused on her. She took her hand back quickly, a frown marring her face.

  Ellie was shocked her dad wasn’t all over Rocco, beating him into the ground. On second thought, Dad was sure in Mom’s love for only him. As she glanced at her father’s face, he seemed a bit smug. What was that all about?

  Her father wrapped an arm around her mom’s shoulders and cleared his throat. “So, Rocco. Have you noticed an increasing amount of rogue wolves in the area lately?”

  Rocco pursed his lips and drew down his brows; a fake contemplation expression if ever she saw one. Whatever came out of his mouth would be a lie. They all knew it.

  “Now that you mention it, one of my enforcers may have mentioned seeing a strange face, but nothing other than that. Are these rogues perhaps only in your territory?” His disinterested tone went against the spark of revulsion in his eyes.

  Her dad’s brow lifted. “Could be. We should all be watchful. We don’t want them straying into your area either. With you being the interim alpha until Caleb takes over, we wouldn’t want you to have to deal with an issue as touchy as this.”

  Caleb’s body stiffened around Ellie. She had to stop her jaw from dropping open. She couldn’t believe her father egged Rocco like this. Rocco shoved his hands into his pockets. The stench of hate escaped into the air. Being this close together, it could’ve come from any of them.

  Within the crowd, someone called out Rocco’s name. He excused himself and headed away. Ellie readied to burst. As much as she loved how strong and tough her family was, she didn’t want anyone inciting the asshole further. “Dad, oh my god. You were intentionally goading him.”

  Her mother chuffed. “He’s lucky that’s all your father did. Arrogant bastard.”

  Her dad wrapped her mom close and kissed her forehead. “Don’t waste mind space on him.” He looked around. “Where are your brothers? They need to be front and center to represent the pack.”

  Both Ellie and her mom reacted too quickly, each starting to talk then stopped when realizing how they just blew the cover to Operation Get the Brothers Mated. They giggled at each other. Her dad lowered his head against his mate’s. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know, do I?”

  Ellie reached for her mom’s hand. “It’s a girl thing, Dad. But we promise, you’ll be an even happier father soon.”

  Caleb and her father groaned.

  TWO

  Caleb downed his bottled beer in two long gulps, then slammed it against the scratched but clean table at Aric’s club, the Wolf Den. Tristan had gathered him along with all his sons for a pre-dinner meeting, men only.

  “Hey, go lightly there, Caleb,” Aric said. “The tables aren’t new, but they’re in pretty good shape for as many brawls as they’ve seen.”

  Caleb let out a frustrated sigh. “Sorry, man. I’m just so…” A thousand thoughts jumbled in his head, each vying for dominance.

  “Let me guess,” Mason said, sitting to Caleb’s side, “you’re worried your mate, our sister, will do something dumb like sisters tend to do.”

  Aric immediately laughed. “Remember that time she filled a straw with mayonnaise, then stuck it in a vanilla milkshake and gave it to Nate?” Among loud laughs, Nate scowled.

  “Yeah, I don’t drink vanilla shakes to this day. It was gross. But I got her back. One day when she was gone, I turned all the boy-band posters on her wall upside down. She thought a poltergeist was in her room.” He joined the hilarity.

  “Mason, do you remember when she put dog food in your Cocoa Puffs?” Jake slapped the table, howling. “I thought I’d pee my pants seeing your reaction.”

  Caleb asked, “Why would she do that?”

  Jake confessed for Mason. “Ellie used to watch some cartoon every afternoon. She loved that show and would throw a fit when she couldn’t watch it. So one day, Mason took the remote control and hid behind the couch. He kept changing the channel back and forth until she ran out crying for dad to fix the TV.”

  Mason laughed. “How did she find out I did it?”

  Tristan cleared his throat. “She dragged me into the living room, then picked up the remote on the sofa cushion and sniffed it. She must’ve smelled your scent on the remote.”

  Caleb snickered. His Ellie was not just strong of mind and body, but personality and judgment. She stood up for what was right and never backed down when someone needed her help. “And if she were here, she’d kick all your asses for talking about her.” The group quieted, the music from the speakers taking over the barroom corner.

  Aric tapped his bottle on the table. “Caleb, I hate to be the one to say this, but it needs to be said.”

  Caleb’s body became rigid. Fuck, he’d been waiting for this. Trying to figure out how to get his pack back on his own wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped. “Go on.”

  “This matter with the rogues and vamps is getting out of hand. I’m not blaming you, but the next time Rocco impedes on our people, we’re taking him down.”

  He let out a frustrated growl. “We can’t wait for the perfect time, man. Our women have been attacked multiple times, but we can’t pin it directly on your uncle, so we’re staying out of it until we do have evidence.” Aric squeezed the beer bottle. “We know he’s a low life, but he’s got bigger low lives working for him. We need to catch him in the act and stop all this.”

  Caleb looked up, a questioning expression on his face. “Who else would do your family harm?”

  “First of all,” Jake started, “the pack from Las Vegas. We haven’t heard a thing from them, but that won’t last. There’s got to be some retribution for killing their alpha, even though he did attack my mate.” Jake’s lips lifted in a slow grin. “I’m not saying Nic killing him wasn’t bad, but damn, for her to take out an Alpha after being just turned…let’s just say I’m proud of my mate, big time.”

  Nate chuckled and picked up his own beer. “Don’t forget about the Central pack. We took down Lewis Cane and his men when Karla’s sister was working with them.”

  Aric nodded, a serious frown taking over his face. “That’s also the pack with the white wolves who attacked Jordan at the ceremony site. But that’s been months ago. They wouldn’t wait this long if they had issues. They knew Lewis was guilty. Still, we need to be sure.”

  Tristan looked at Nate. “Speaking of Karla, how are my grandbabies doing?”

  Nate’s face lit up. “Ah, Dad. They’re a handful. But they’re so adorable.”

  “How’s Madison doing now?”

  Nate laughed. “She can now out-cry her brothers in loudness. I think they’re competing to see who can be the squeakiest wheel. If Matthew and
Michael are smart, they’ll learn quickly to let their sister win. Females are atrocious when they feel slighted by a man for anything.”

  “If they’re like their aunt, then definitely.” Caleb gave another sigh. The room quieted again.

  Aric looked around at everybody.

  “So, Dad. Any reason you gathered us here before dinner? I’m starting to get hungry and our mates are at your house waiting for us.”

  Their dad let out a big sigh and the boys tensed.

  Aric was the first to show his concern. “What’s wrong, Dad? You’re freaking me out.”

  Tristan waved a hand and motioned for him to sit. “Yeah, all right. I didn’t want to talk about this around the mates because they may get…argumentative.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Mason said with a grin. Caleb had never seen him this happy until Emma finally mated with him and they became a team. “Emma doesn’t have a disagreeable bone in her.”

  Caleb snorted. Man, he really needed to figure his shit out already. He wanted to have his own home with Ellie. His own family and pups. “Tried talking to your sister lately?”

  “Okay, you’ve made my point.” Tristan ran a hand through his hair. He picked up a beer, drank it in two gulps and slammed the bottle down. Everyone quieted at that moment. “There comes a time in every man’s life—”

  “Whoa, Dad,” Aric lifted his hands and sat back in his chair. “This isn’t the birds and the bees talk again, is it?”

  “Yeah,” Jake agreed with a smirk. “You’re a little too late for Nate.”

  Nate threw a wadded up napkin at his brother. “I know where babies come from. I saw the stork land at the hospital with our three.”

  “Would you all please be quiet and let me talk?” Tristan winced at his unintentional harshness. Caleb watched Tristan. He’d never seemed so stressed to bring up any topic. A round of sorry, Dad mumbled around the table. “As I was saying, there comes a time in every man’s life when he has to leave home and make his own way.” The boys froze, wide eyes on all. He had their attention.