Semi-Rejected life - Signed Paperback

River

I coast into town on fumes with nothing but my surfboard and the clothes on my back. A free-spirited Alpha wolf isn’t the norm, but my father gave me one last summer to goof off before I take over the pack, and Shifter Grove is my last stop. However, I didn’t expect to literally collide with Vincent going over my first wave.

The moment I set eyes on all that tanned skin and his infectious smile, I’m hooked. He’s sweet and hot, just the way I like my summer flings, and we’re in bed before I know anything about him. But I never expected to be spilling my secrets to him. Before I know it, he’s making me feel things I’ve never felt before, and my time in Shifter Grove is quickly coming to an end. My father has arranged a mate for me back home, and both of them are expecting me.

Vincent

A dip in the lake nearly turns into a hospital trip as River literally runs me over with his surfboard. But somehow, I find myself unbothered by this charming Alpha wolf. He’s got a wonderful laugh, and the way he looks at me makes my skin tingle with excitement. It’s almost too easy to fall into bed with him.

River and I agree that this is just a fling. He has a pack to lead back home. Even if I’m convinced he’s my mate, he can’t stay, and I can’t go with him. I do everything I can to resist falling for this perfect wolf. But one thing is certain. When River leaves, he’ll take my heart with him.


Tropes: standalone, arranged marriage, gay for you, fated mate, rejected mate, small town, possessive/jealousy, free spirit, alpha wolf, found family, strict roles, and HEA.

Chapter One: River
Shifter Grove at last.
The small wooden sign passed by as I drove my van into that small town for the first and the last time. A town full of rogue wolves wasn’t exactly the place a soon-to-be Alpha with a pack ended up, but at least I was there by choice. Others in the town didn’t have that luxury. It was one of the reasons I wanted to stop there. If I wanted to be a good Alpha for my pack back home, I wanted to hear about other wolf’s experiences. But I didn’t want to hear about the good stuff, that was easy. I wanted to hear about the hard things that sent them packing. Only by correcting things like that could I be a better leader.
At least that’s what I told myself, because I felt bad about the real reason that I was in Shifter Grove.
The surfing.
Yeah, I know. Not exactly an altruistic reason to visit a place full of wolves down on their luck. But it just happened to be one of the best surfing places on Lake Huron and I’d already spent the entire summer traveling everywhere else. This was my last stop before I went home to take over the pack from my father. It was the last bit of freedom I’d ever have. I doubted once I became Alpha that I’d have time to fuck off to random beaches to surf whenever the weather was right.
No, my life would be one of service to others. I liked helping people, don’t get me wrong. And being Alpha meant I didn’t have to get an office job or pay for a house. Not to mention it also meant I got my sizable inheritance, contingent on my becoming the Alpha. But it also meant I had to give up my freedom, which was what I was struggling with the most. I’d always been what some would call a free spirit. But being the next in line to run the pack made that difficult. From childhood, I’d been trained to be a leader. My father found me desperately annoying because I’d run off all the time to go exploring or hiking or surfing. He didn’t understand any of it.
He especially didn’t understand it when he found me in bed with another guy in high school. That was an uncomfortable period of time, to say the least. But, to his credit, he didn’t disown me or send me to live in a place like Shifter Grove forever. Instead, he let me spend most of my twenties fucking off to surf and banging whoever I wanted. However, that came with a price.
When I came home to be Alpha, I had to take a female bride to be my Luna. That’s the way things were done. In fact, he’d already picked her out for me. As soon as my final summer of freedom was over, I had to go back home to my father and my new wife, the latter of which I was expected to produce pups with. Hopefully, whoever she was didn’t mind dick pills and cock rings, because that’s what it was going to take to get that job done.
I sighed, shaking my head as I drove into town. I didn’t want to think about that right now. The wind was coming out of the east, the sun was bright, and it was a warm August day. It was the perfect condition for my favorite thing in the entire world.
Surfing.
And that’s just what I was gonna do.
Passing through town didn’t take long. It was a quaint little place with a pizzeria, a cafe, a restaurant, a few small businesses, and a hotel I had a reservation at later. I took note of the pizza place, committing its location to memory. Even if I was only going to be in town for a month, I knew I’d be frequenting that place quite a bit. And, thanks to the pack credit card, I didn’t have to worry about going over my spending limit. Another perk of being the Alpha’s son.
However, when I spotted the brown park signage, I slammed on the brakes and turned right, following their guidance to the lake. It wasn’t long before I ended up on a long, winding dirt road that led to the parking lot of the park. There was a pavilion and lots of fresh cut grass, but I barely noticed that. What enticed me were the large crashing waves on the beach, driven in my direction by the wind. They were huge. I knew it was a good day for surfing!
I pulled the van into a spot and hopped out. I didn’t bother with a wetsuit since it was high summer. The water would be plenty warm enough, especially with wide open blue skies. I locked my phone in the van and tossed the keys up under the fender. After that it was a couple straps to get my surfboard down, a quick check of the wax, and I was off jogging across the park toward the water.
I’m not really sure why surfers jog with their boards. I’d always seen them do it in movies, so I did it too. But considering I was running through sand most of the time, it definitely didn’t get me there any faster. Oh well, though. At least I looked cool doing it.
The parking lot had been easily half full when I arrived, but I was glad to find the majority of people keeping to the beach. The waves were too big to let anyone smaller than adult sized into the lake, lest they be swept out by the undercurrents. However, I could see a couple people in the distance that were there for the same reason I was. There were even one or two brave people out windsurfing. It was something I always wanted to try, but watching them launch off a wave and fly twenty feet in the air made my stomach turn over. I couldn’t imagine actually doing it myself.
I picked a clear section of water in the distance, jogged right past all the families crowding the sand, and dove into the waves. It took a bit of doing to get past the first sand bar where the waves crashed against the shallows. But once I was past that, getting out further was easier. With deeper water and rolling waves, I could dive under the surface and cut through them with ease. In fact, it didn’t take me long before I’d paddled out into twenty to thirty feet of water. There, I turned to face the shore and perched on my board, waiting for the perfect wave to come along.
And I didn’t have to wait long.
There was a rush of exhilaration as I began to paddle away from the wave, building up speed as it threatened to run me down. The water swelled up behind me and with one last push, I caught the front of it, my board gliding faster and faster as the wave grew. I hopped up to my feet, widened my stance, and pushed down on my back foot. Digging into the water, I curved back and forth, riding it as far as it would take me.
A wide smile filled my face and I couldn’t help but laugh as I picked up more speed. There was nothing quite like surfing to make you forget all your troubles. For just a moment, I was one with the water and the wind. Nothing else existed.
And then I saw him.
The wave pulled a lone swimmer up into my path. He was low in the water and I didn’t see him until the last possible second. Without even a second to redirect, I kicked down hard on the back of the board and threw myself to the side. The leash snapped hard against my ankle, but not enough to really hurt. The wave had carried me far enough that I could kick off the bottom, bring myself back to the surface in a rush.
I gasped as I broke through the water. Turning from side to side, I searched for the person I’d practically run over. I didn’t know if he was an adult or a teenager, but I didn’t want him to drown because of me. When I saw nothing, I dove back under, opening my eyes underwater to search for him. The moment I turned around, I saw him hovering near the bottom.
Kicking as hard as I could, I dove to him, wrapped my arms around him, and kicked off the bottom once more. We both came to the surface, and I pulled him over to my surfboard. I was happy to hear him coughing, but he still wasn’t completely conscious. Dragging him over to my board, I pushed his chest up onto it and began to paddle toward shore. Thankfully the water shallowed up quickly and I was able to get him up on a sand bar. After that, it was easy enough to scoop him up in my arms and take him to shore.
I laid him down in the sand and leaned my ear down to his mouth. He was still breathing. There was a small cut on his forehead that bled freely, but he didn’t look to be in any real danger from that. I’d just clocked him pretty good with my board. I reached down, patting the side of his face. Around me, several other people started to take notice.
“Hey,” I said, patting him a few times. “Can you hear me?”
He coughed again, water spilling from his mouth. I turned him onto his side to stop him from inhaling it again.
“Ugh… fuck…” he groaned, lifting a hand to his forehead. He coughed again. “What happened?”
“I uh… hit you with my surfboard,” I cringed. “Sorry about that. You surprised me.”
“Is he alright?” a woman called, heading in our direction. “Do I need to call an ambulance?”
“No ambulance,” the stranger said.
“He’s okay,” I called back to her. “I’ll take care of him.” She began to walk away and I turned back to him. “Come on, I should at least take you to the urgent care or something. Inhaling water is a good way to get pneumonia.”
“I’ll be okay,” he replied, sitting up at last. He coughed a few more times, but it sounded much better already.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m fine.”
I glanced up at the cut on his forehead and let out a small gasp. A moment ago, it had been freely bleeding. But now it was already scabbed over and quickly knitting itself shut. As the sun warmed his skin, I finally noticed the scent of wolf rolling off him. Not to mention something else, a sort of licorice-like floral smell that I’d never come across before.
“Oh…” I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re a wolf.”
He looked up at me suddenly, his nose flexing as he inhaled. There was a look of recognition on his face, then something else as he leaned closer, breathing me in deeply. I thought he was about to kiss me when he suddenly collapsed against my chest.
“Take it easy,” I said. “You tried to swallow half the lake.” I reached down and unstrapped my ankle from the surfboard before I scooped my arms under him. “Put your arms around my neck and hold on. I’m gonna get you out of the sun.”
He nodded silently, doing as he was instructed. I lifted him easily, surprised by how light he was. His scent washed over me again and I couldn’t help a stirring in the pit of my stomach. He smelled damn good. But right now wasn’t the time. He needed some time to rest. Being a wolf would mean he’d recover without needing to go to a hospital. But he was still gonna be a bit rough for a couple of hours. At the very least, I could help with that. The van had a bed in the back, in case I was somewhere without a hotel.
Nearly killing a fellow werewolf wasn’t what I had in mind for my first day in Shifter Grove. However, having a cute wolf in my arms that smelled heavenly definitely wasn’t a bad way to finish it.