Forbidden Mate

By Stacey Espino

Helen's part-time job as a tour guide brings her to a town unlike anything she has ever known. It's shrouded in secrets, legends, and things she can't explain. Despite her bad track record with the opposite sex, she quickly finds herself being pulled into an erotic web with three locals.

Wesley, Targus, and Marco are everything she's ever fantasized about. They're hard muscle, sex, and dominance—but they're also keeping something from her.

Wesley's position as a Royal Elite guard is number one in his life. Taking a mate is forbidden. Claiming a human female would be the ultimate sin. When an investigation leads him to the doorstep of two wolf shifters, his panther's control is put to the test. They both want the same little brunette making Wesley lose sleep.

With a dangerous suspect still on the loose and old traditions guiding their choices, are the three shifters willing to sacrifice everything for a forbidden mate?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: Dec 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781771306256

Stacey Espino

Stacey Espino is an international bestselling author, residing in beautiful northern Canada. She loves writing erotic romance that will have you squirming in your seat. From hardcore cowboys to alpha shifters, and everything in between, she has you covered.​Stacey also co-writes with author Sam Crescent.If you prefer alternative romance, check out Stacey's gay stories as Winona Wilder.Make sure to join Stacey and Sam's Playroom for contests, updates, and giveaways!https://www.facebook.com/groups/295030114286077/

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Published by Evernight Publishing at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2013 Stacey Espino

ISBN: 978-1-77130-625-6

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: JS Cook

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all my readers asking for more of the Pack Seduction series.

FORBIDDEN MATE

Pack Seduction, 4

Stacey Espino

Copyright © 2013

Chapter One

Wesley leaned against an oak tree and took a heavy drag from his cigarillo. He was on perimeter duty tonight, but even the furthest reaches of the royal property couldn’t muffle the sound of lovemaking from the second floor balcony. The queen was away for the week, leaving her three daughters and their mates to their own vices. Fucking was apparently at the top of their list.

An entourage of Royal Elite had joined the queen on her trip to reconnect with shifterkind. Delia insisted her mother was too disconnected from her people, so the queen was making an effort to bring the monarchy into the twenty-first century. Life at the palace had tilted off axis once the three wolven princesses returned home after years on the run. They wanted change, wanted equality, and wanted the small town surrounding the palace to stop following old-school traditions.

Old, new—it made no difference to Wesley. He was still bound to his duty, and even though the queen was off the property, the Royal Elite always had to be vigilant in protecting the palace. There had been word of a threat months earlier, a male fox claiming a wolf hired him to kidnap a princess. They could never be too overprotective.

Sitting down on the job?

Wesley already knew his friend approached from behind. In fact, he knew the minute Ulric opened one of the doors in the network of stone corridors beneath the palace.

You know I never sit. Wesley stomped out the remainder of his smoke. What are you doing out here at this hour?

Checking up on things, said Ulric. If you forgot, I’m still an Elite.

Wesley narrowed his eyes. You’re not exactly one of us anymore, Ulric. You go home to a fancy bed and ready pussy each night. Me? I look forward to my shitty apartment and blue balls.

His bear-shifting friend was no longer required to keep his vow to the Elite. He was mated to the last princess, his days of loneliness long forgotten. But Wesley and the remaining guards continued to protect the royal family, their personal lives forever second place.

Ulric gave him a firm shove in the shoulder. Stop being so dramatic. You’re worse than a damn female. You have the same rights as me now. If you want to claim a mate, no one will stop you.

I didn’t take my vows lightly. My parents raised me with the Elite calling in mind. As soon as I came of age, I pledged allegiance to the queen alone. It’s all I know.

Then do both. Who says you can’t have a woman and juggle shifts?

Wesley shook his head, not looking his friend in the eye. It wasn’t long ago that he was giving Ulric the pep talks. Now it was Wesley growing bitter and lonely.

Being an Elite is more than shifts. It’s my life, he said. I just need a quick fuck. It’s been too long. My mood should improve once my head clears of this fog.

It was hard to think straight when his panther was pacing inside him, eager to indulge in a female. On top of it all, he had to endure the satisfied moans and cries from the balcony. His mood grew more venomous by the second.

Go to town after work and get it out of your system. There’re always women ready to bed an Elite.

He knew all about it. The guards usually hit the town at least once a week. The local pub was crawling with easy women. They willingly offered one night, no questions asked. Being a Royal Elite required they keep their distance from the world beyond the grounds they were born to guard. Personal attachments were a weakness to be avoided.

Another playful squeal broke the silence.

It wasn’t Delia. Ulric said it like an apology. Wesley didn’t know how his friend could stand sharing his mate with two other men. It was the curse of mating a princess. They were born to mate multiple males, so Ulric had no choice if he wanted Delia as his woman.

That would never be him.

Wesley now realized that he hadn’t felt the same about Ulric since he was approved as a royal mate. It seemed one day they were on the same page, both wanting more but knowing there were no options. They both rented rooms over the rundown stores in town, trying to pass the time between shifts with as little reflection as possible. Now Ulric knew what love was. He was accepted at the queen’s table, quickly learning a life of luxury.

Wesley had been left behind.

He tried to remember that the bear shifter wasn’t his enemy or any different than him. Surely he was the same man on the inside even though his status in life had drastically changed. So, what’s it like…

What? asked Ulric.

Wesley leaned against one of the large decorative columns surrounding the palace. The stars decorated the blackened sky, giving him something to focus on during the long nights. Having one woman, and knowing she’ll be the last.

You know I’ve always loved Delia. She’s the reason I became an Elite, so I have no regrets.

And the sharing?

Ulric shrugged. Alexander and Caleb aren’t so bad. They come with the territory. I’m just thankful the queen allowed Delia to choose me when there’s already another bear in the palace.

Yeah, that’s something else, he scoffed. A Royal Elite breaking their vow. Never thought I’d see the day.

Don’t start busting my balls again, Wes. It was always about her, and you know it. Do you think I wanted the same sleep, eat, and guard cycle for the rest of my life? I wanted more. I wanted the love of my mate.

What about me? There aren’t exactly any princesses left unmated, and you’re comparing my life to a steaming pile of shit. My every breath has been for the monarchy. Without it, who the hell am I?

The princesses were breaking down the old ways piece by piece, a great wall crumbling into rubble. What happened when there came a time the queen no longer required the services of her guards? She’d already granted them the new freedom to take a mate, something they were strictly taught never to pursue. Wesley was born to be a warrior, trained as a killing machine with only one goal. Now he felt lost, like this entire existence would soon be irrelevant.

You’re no different from the good friend I’ve known for years. You should be thankful for your new freedom. It’s the beginning of better things to come.

The rules were bent so you could be with Delia. If you weren’t an Elite to start with, nothing would have changed for us. I doubt our newfound ‘freedom’ will last long. Fuck, he was just feeling sorry for himself again. Wesley looked up to the moon. It was nearly full. Soon his sexual urges and desire to mark a female would make every waking hour intolerable. He’d been trained to deny himself, to meditate and focus on anything but the mating call. It was harder now that his panther knew it had a choice. The queen will realize it was a mistake to loosen her grip on the Royal Elite once danger shows up on her doorstep.

Ulric looked at him with narrowed eyes. Things are different now, Wes. All the princesses have capable mates to watch out for them.

Ulric didn’t have to say Wesley wasn’t needed anymore when it was obvious what he thought. Wesley could go on for hours about his hatred for the new regime, but he didn’t want to argue with his friend. The royal sisters’ plan to bring peace and unity to shifterkind left him powerless. Once a man felt inconsequential, what did he have left?

He nodded to the treeline. Ronan had just finished his perimeter check and was coming to take Wesley’s place at one of the watch posts. There were only a few guards left behind to protect the palace during the queen’s absence. It meant less free time and long, tedious shifts.

Looks like my replacement just showed up.

He didn’t think twice before shifting into his black panther. He’d already said too much to Ulric, opening up something that needed to remain tightly sealed. Wesley had to remember his training—no emotion, no fear, no weakness. It was better that way.

Darkness enveloped him like a silky caress once on all fours. He owned the night, easily traveling unseen and unheard. Right now he wanted to forget his brief conversation with Ulric, forget his insecurities, and lose himself in the scent of a female.

Behave, Ulric called out, his voice already drowning out as Wesley put miles between them.

He was heading to one of the few places that remained the same. Their little town was still barely touched by technology and modern conveniences. It was a piece of heaven, a slice of life untainted by humans and urban development. When Wesley entered the bar, it was like stepping back in time to simpler days. He met the friends he’d grown up with, some of his Royal Elite brothers, and enough females to keep him satisfied. Hopefully the royal sisters would keep their paws off the town and confine their uprising to the castle.

It felt revitalizing to run off his energy and push his doubts aside. Wesley finally slowed his speed, coming to a walk when he emerged from the forest. The air was sweet with the scent of baking bread. He could hear the laughter from the local bar once he neared the heart of the town. His panther continually tested the air