Copyright © 2024 Heather K. Carson

  www.heatherkcarson.com

  Courtesy of Blue Tuesday Books

  Cover Design by Fay Lane at faylane.com

  ISBN: 9798302544148

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except for the use of brief quotations.

  Please do not encourage or participate in the piracy of copyrighted materials. Piracy is theft.

  Table of Contents

  Recap

  Prologue – Fallon

  Chapter One – Fallon

  Chapter Two – John

  Chapter Three – Fallon

  Chapter Four – John

  Chapter Five – Fallon

  Chapter Six – John

  Chapter Seven – Fallon

  Chapter Eight – John

  Chapter Nine – Fallon

  Chapter Ten – John

  Chapter Eleven – Fallon

  Epilogue – John

  Author’s Note

  This one is for the readers in my Facebook group. Your wish is my command.

  Thanks for putting up with my random thoughts and being the best motivators ever.

  I love it when you yell at me.

  Last book recap:

  Aspen and Ranger finally got together for the finale of Mating Season. At the end of their story, Aspen was awarded financial compensation for her suffering during the show. Jesse stood as a witness and gave insider information about the production team. The three of them, along with Aspen’s Papa and her coyote shifter friend Clara, were just getting settled in McCaw territory to begin their new lives during the spicy conclusion of the trilogy.

  But readers requested the side story of Fallon and John’s match during the 7th annual Mating Season.

  The book begins in this year’s mating season, so you’ll get a few scenes from Fallon and John’s perspective during moments you’ve already read before they head out on their own romantic adventure. It is a complete stand-alone novella, but it doesn’t involve the Mating Season show the way the previous trilogy did because Fallon and John’s love story is unique to them.

  Keep reading to find out why…

  Prologue

  Fallon

  “We stay until the day of the hunt and then move out.” My brother’s voice held the threat of an alpha bark. He’d always had it, even before he became Alpha, and even though he never intended to use it. The commanding tone echoed through the chilly night. But it was the pack’s howls of war and revenge around the fire that made shivers dance on my skin.

  They were all idiots.

  I took another pull off the whiskey bottle, letting the burn wash the sour taste from my mouth.

  This is good. It gives us more time.

  Time is the last thing I want to give you, I scolded my internal beast. She’d been distracted and worked up the last few days, ever since the Luna Trials ended. We’d gotten a stronger whiff of the faint trace that lingered in the stands after the nesting trial elimination round. That scent was delicious and masculine and called to a primal part of my being.

  And I wasn’t going near it with a ten-foot pole.

  Mating season was riding everyone hard. I shuddered to think of what catching a particular scent right now meant to my wolf. It was not the time to play around with nature or hormones.

  It’s not like we’re committing. She rolled her eyes. I just want to see who it is.

  Morbid curiosity was going to screw us over.

  It’ll be fine.

  I’ve heard that before. And I’d also lived long enough to know it was no good to argue with my beast.

  With any luck, he’d be some production crew member and that’s why we hadn’t scented the male until now. We could find him while Ranger tried to sweep Aspen off her feet. A quickie might be enough to scratch the itch and get him out of our system.

  But we needed to move fast because I wasn’t boning anyone this mating season except for Poe, my trusty vibrator with the swelling base.

  It’s not strong enough, my wolf complained.

  I’ll charge the batteries once we get home. I handed the bottle of whiskey to Jones and stood. He gave me a side eye but said nothing.

  I shoved him anyway.

  “What was that for?” he growled.

  “Looking at me wrong.” I pulled the shirt over my head.

  He averted his gaze. “Come on, Fallon.”

  “They’re just tits, dude.” I knew he wasn’t a fan of breasts unless his mate Foster could somehow grow them, but I had a decent rack. Plus, we’d seen each other naked since we were young and scrawny pups.

  “How many sets of magic nipple rings do you own?” Jones raised the bottle to his lips.

  I glanced down at my starred bars and shrugged. Guess I hadn’t worn this pair yet. “Want me to hook Foster up with my piercer?”

  Jones seemed to think about it before shaking his head. “I’d never hear the end of that one.”

  “Too late,” I said as my beast took over. “I’m getting your mate’s dick pierced now if it’s the last thing I do.”

  The rest of the pack hooted and hollered as I finished shifting into my wolf. They were used to our teasing. Most of the time, they’d be egging us on and I’d stick around to make Jones uncomfortable, especially once he’d given me an opening like that. After thirteen years of us fighting with each other, it was second nature to bite back.

  But my wolf pulled us away.

  He’s out there.

  In the woods?

  My heart started to beat faster.

  Technically, we weren’t supposed to shift into our wolves during filming. It was against the contract we’d signed for the show. As long as we weren’t on resort property though, they couldn’t enforce it.

  We were getting closer to the resort grounds, but still in the forest where the trees were thick. My thoughts raced as my wolf picked up her speed. If the male was this close to the building, maybe he wasn’t under contract as an Alpha on the show.

  A fling with a crew member might be fun.

  No strings. No commitment.

  My beast caught the scent and stopped, inhaling deep as a primal thrill raced through us.

  A little hunt would be exciting.

  Just to see.

  One quick look.

  As quietly as she could, she started to track the male wolf who roamed these woods alone at night.

  *

  On a log in the distance perched a beastly wolf with brown fur so dark in the dim moonlight it looked black. He had his snout to the sky and deep breaths fogged from his nostrils creating a gray cloud of haze surrounding his massive head.

  It was the set of his shoulders, a certain kind of sad heaviness, that made this moment feel too intimate. Like we shouldn’t be intruding.

  Let’s get back to the resort, I nudged my wolf. We came. We saw. It’s not our place.

  But who is he? She took another step, drawn by the darkened silhouette in the moonlight and his intoxicating male scent. Leather and something clean like aftershave. He had no right smelling so good.

  The breeze shifted, ruffling my wolf’s fur. His snout twitched and his nostrils flared when he caught our scent.

  Big brown eyes locked with mine.

  Our heart slammed in our chest in response.

  Mate. My wolf stalked forward.

  Stomp the brakes, I demanded as panic flared.

  The massive male wolf didn’t heed my command either as he stood, shaking off his coat before prowling over to my beast.

  They weren’t hurried. Both wolves took their time admiring and sniffing each other while I was busy losing my ever-loving mind. That’s enough! Don’t let him smell you there. Have some decency, for Goddess’s sake. This is not our mate!

  He’s perfect, my beast smiled as she cocked her head to the side, exposing her neck to the male who nuzzled the sensitive area. We have a mate.

  The fuck we do. I beat my fists against the barrier that separated human and beast. Your time is up. Let me out.

  The male wolf growled a soft command as he nudged my wolf’s flank.

  She purred and lowered to the ground.

  No, no, no… I started begging. Let’s talk about this before you–

  She put her ass in the air to present.

  The big beast mounted us from behind, locking his paws around her chest in a tender, loving way despite me screaming inside.

  This is going to happen whether you fight it or not. My wolf sighed, scolding me like I was a child and she was the rational one–not a beast about to seal our fate.

  This is going to hurt. I bit down, tearing my way through the soul barrier.

  My wolf yelped in terror and it wasn’t from the pain of me forcing the shift. Something had changed. Anger charged the air.

  I stopped trying to take control of our body as she turned around, growling. A bearded, naked human man sat in the dirt. His massive cock was ramrod straight and waving in my direction, but his member’s eager response didn’t match the frustrated look in his eyes.

  “Shift into your human,” he demanded. There was an Alpha tone to his bark that had my wolf baring her fangs as she circled him. I should’ve known it when we approached. I never should’ve trusted my beast.

  He was an Alpha.

  An unmated Alpha.

  That meant he was on the show and looking for a Luna to bond with this season.

  And he’s mine. My wolf lunged, sinking her teeth into the back of his shoulder.

  What the hell did you just do? I screamed, expecting the big man to throw us as the taste of blood filled her mouth.

  But he reached for her and gently pried her jaws away, maneuvering her wolfy body with ease. His big hands spanned her midsection as he held her in front of his face. Something deep and urgent pulsed through us. It started slow. A warmth spreading through her chest and coaxing our soul out to play. I wanted to lick his cheek.

  This was not good.

  The big brute frowned under his beard, but a hint of amusement lit up his eyes. “Where have you been hiding?”

  We have to go, I cried to my wolf. Ranger needs us. This was a mistake.

  My wolf shook herself free from the male’s hold and bolted through the forest.

  It didn’t matter how fast she ran.

  The confusion and pounding of our heart didn’t abate.

  Especially not when we heard the Alpha’s voice in our head, “You can run, but I’ll find you again, mate.”

  1

  Fallon

  I was officially losing it.

  The cameras were everywhere. Hidden in the trees and positioned on the overgrown game trails. Viewers were watching my descent into madness. So I ripped every camera in the area out.

  I can’t even say I was all that panicked about waking up alone in the middle of the woods inside the nest I’d designed during the Luna Trials. It was the silence in my mind that was driving me insane.

  For the past week, I’d tried to tune John out, hoping to fix whatever mess I’d started. Now that he wasn’t close enough to communicate with telepathically, what was left of my cold, dead heart was starting to bleed out into the empty forest.

  Quit being dramatic. He’s on his way.

  And that is half the problem.

  Yep. I was going crazy.

  My body physically ached for the man. I’d never ached for anyone. My wolf loved that he was our mate, but she’d never once cared to settle down. I was a dominant female. John was an Alpha. This wasn’t going to work. All I wanted was to bone and get him out of my head so I could move on with my life. He was frustrating and getting under my skin.

  I didn’t like not being able to hear him.

  Ever since the night my wolf marked him, he’d speak in my mind at random times. Like when I’d lie in bed or when I was standing in the shower. At first, he asked questions. What I liked. What I preferred to eat. I didn’t answer.

  Why didn’t I answer?

  A part of me thought it was some sort of mistake. Mating marks weren’t supposed to work that way. We shouldn’t have been able to communicate telepathically until we completed the bond. My wolf claimed him when she’d sunk her teeth into his shoulder and started the mating process, but we hadn’t actually mated. There was still a chance to break it. Unless we were…

  It was impossible.

  Two fated pairs in one season?

  This was reality TV, not some fantasy drama.

  Not funny. And you need to face the facts.

  John didn’t seem to care either way.

  And he was perfectly fine with our arrangement. He’d started commenting on the silence, saying he didn’t mind if I was quiet. He didn’t like to talk much either. Yet his deep and grumbly voice haunted my dreams and coaxed a yearning from me I’d never known. The way he said my name, calling to me at random times, made my knees weak and my core clench with need.

  Because he’s our intended mate.

  I was screwed.

  And I had no one to turn to.

  The boys already suspected something, but I didn’t want to hear any of their teasing. My brother was losing his own mind as he chased Aspen around. I’d asked for advice from Jenna, but she’d gotten that faraway look in her eyes all mated dams had when they spoke of the “early days” and basically confirmed my fears.

  Poor Aspen was the one who’d gotten all the dirty details as I word-vomited once I’d found her in the woods. Dealing with the drama from the other Lunas wasn’t a strong enough distraction. I couldn’t shake the worry drawing my thoughts back to him. It was like a tether pulling at my chest. A constant reminder that he was far away.

  But he was coming.

  And now that he was finally here, I blamed the impending heat for making my heart race this chaotically. My body was reacting to the hormones. That was it. Nothing a good romp wouldn’t cure.

  Standing there, across from the fire where John stood in all his naked, beastly glory, was almost more than I could take.

  And I thrived on self-torture.

  Delicious. My wolf licked her chops.

  “I told you I’d find you.” That stupid smirk on John’s face made my belly swoop.

  “Get out of my head.” I bared my teeth.

  His easy-going white grin showed beneath his beard. “We’re leaving. Get your things.”

  I was not, under any circumstances, about to go anywhere with this brute of a male. So what if his nieces–who were currently panicked and inching away from the fire–bragged about what an upstanding Alpha he was?

  It wasn’t like a man in uniform did anything to me. I hung out with Alphas all the time. His charm, or lack thereof, was all in his massive strength, which was not my normal partner type. And I eyed the length of his cock. My cheeks heated as I forced my gaze back up. That definitely did nothing for me.

  Nothing.

  “See something you like?” He wouldn’t stop smiling. There wasn’t a damn thing funny about this situation. “The sooner we leave, the sooner you can test it out.”

  Anger had me clenching my fists at my sides as my brother and Aspen came walking up to the fire.

  “Does anyone want to explain what’s going on now?” Ranger asked.

  “Ask her,” John said.

  I growled, wanting to smack the goofy smirk off his face. He had no damn right to be this insufferable.

  Ranger turned to Aspen and they shared lovers’ whispers as Sarah spoke to the girls and Trenton crept into the clearing.

  All these people were surrounding us.

  Too many people. My wolf was pacing, not liking the focus taken away from her mate.

  Which was crazy.

  But I’d already established that.

  “We’re staying here, Uncle John.” Danielle took a small step forward.

  His eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at me, but I was the one who answered.

  “It’s best if we all go.” The words just slipped out of my mouth. Yes, I wanted off this mountain. But I didn’t mean ‘we all,’ did I?

  “You can’t make us leave,” Amber cried.

  Oh no.

  I did this.

  Helping Aspen to help these girls gave them all the confidence they needed to make it their season. The problem? I didn’t want it to be my season.

  Too late for that, my beast reminded me.

  This was all a fucking mess.

  John’s expression softened, but a war played across his eyes. Even as a wolf, those warm brown eyes of his held a depth I knew I’d drown in if I wasn’t careful.

  “Screw it.” I turned and ran, pulling the shirt off my head as fur broke out along my skin.

  “Where are you going now?” he called after me.

  “You found me once,” I said as my bones rearranged and my beast took over. She let out an excited howl and headed to our nest, leading him there. “Come find me again.”

  2

  John

  Amber and Danielle shifted together before racing down the mountainside. If I hadn’t been so proud of my nieces for coming out of their shells and speaking up for themselves, I would’ve dragged them straight back to Michigan. I could picture Bryant laughing at me–calling me a pushover for letting them go. The elders were sure to have something to say, not that I cared. But I didn’t welcome the coming headache. The whole thing was a disaster.

  I’m sure the producers expected to send us Alphas into an early rut by kidnapping the females and causing all this stress. Ranger thought we’d made it here with enough time to spare. Watching him protectively herd Aspen toward her nest made me realize how dumb that hope seemed now.

  He was a goner.

  And I wasn’t foolish enough to think these urges forcing my wolf to follow a certain dark-haired female weren’t fueled by our biological needs.

 

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