A Mate's Redeeming Touch (Black Hills Wolves #44)

By Merryn Dexter

Ven Thorne is a lone wolf with a bad attitude caused by his difficult childhood. Forced to return to pack life, he is tasked with rebuilding the gas station on the outskirts of Los Lobos. Ven works for Ryker, the pack enforcer, and will act as sentinel and lookout when the station reopens.

Caitlyn Burrows has recently returned to Los Lobos with her family. A victim of Magnum Tao, the pack’s evil ex-Alpha, she is terrified of men and her natural omega nature is making it hard for her to make friends. Her family is determined to see Caitlyn happy.

A chance encounter between Ven and Caitlyn reveals they are mates, something that neither of them is happy about! He’s mean and angry; she’s timid and shy. Can two such opposites find common ground?

Caitlyn decides it is past time to take control of her life and is determined to prove to Ven that she is the mate that he needs. Can she make him see that the Fates are right and that their only chance of happiness is together or will the ghosts from the past keep them apart forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decadent Publishing
• Release date: Feb 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781613339909

Book preview

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Mate’s Redeeming Touch

Copyright  2016 by Merryn Dexter

ISBN: 978-1-61333-990-9

Cover art by Fiona Jayde

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

Look for us online at:

www.decadentpublishing.com

Table of Contents

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for joining me once again as I explore the wonderful world that is the Tao Pack.

I must say thank you to my pack-mates who are the authors of the Black Hills Wolves Series. Their friendship and support is a gift I will treasure always.

I hope you enjoyed reading Ven and Caitlyn’s story and like the little snippets you get of Hannah and Caleb’s life since they mated in A Mate’s Healing Touch. The extended Burrows-Saunders family is going from strength to strength and I will be working hard to find a happy ever after for Connor now that his brother and sister are mated. I also have a secret project which will involve another member of the Burrows clan you haven’t yet met so keep your eyes peeled for more stories from me!

As a military spouse it can be hard to maintain contact and I have found that the friendships that endure are the ones that don’t keep score. They don’t care if you spoke to each other yesterday or last year. They open their arms, their homes, their hearts whenever you need them. I strive hard to be this type of friend.

I’d love to hear what you think of the book so please drop me a line at [e-mail] or find me on Facebook or Twitter @merryndexter. I also have a blog http://merryndexter.blogspot.com/ where I talk about my work, my life and my love of travel.

Thanks again for reading

Black Hills Wolves Stories

Wolf’s Return

What a Wolf Wants

Black Hills Desperado

Wolf’s Song

Claiming His Mate

When Hell Freezes

Portrait of a Lone Wolf

Alpha in Disguise

A Wolf’s Promise

Reluctant Mate

Diamond Moon

Wolf on a Leash

Tempting the Wolf

Naming His Mate

A Wolf Awakens

The Wolf and the Butterfly

Infiltrating Her Pack

Omega’s Heart

Rebel’s Claw

Claiming the She-Wolf

Worth Fighting For

Dangerous

Uncaged

Promiscuous Wolf

Disquieted Souls

A Cougar Among Wolves

Long Road Home

A Mate’s Healing Touch

Another Chance

Broken Silence

A Wolf’s Contract

A Mate’s Redeeming Touch

Winter Solstice Run

Wolf’s Holiday

Winter Magic

Winter Secrets

Winter Solstice Ménage

Wolf in Winter Clothing

Murder in Los Lobos

Scent of Murder

Scent of the Hunt

Scent of His Woman

Scent of Madness

Coming Soon

A Wolf’s Contract

A Mate’s Redeeming Touch

A Cougar Among Wolves

Pleasure Me

Secrets of the Hunt

Craving His Love

Also by Merryn Dexter

A Mate’s Healing Touch

A Mate’s Redeeming Touch

Ven Thorne is a lone wolf with a bad attitude caused by his difficult childhood. Forced to return to pack life, he is tasked with rebuilding the gas station on the outskirts of Los Lobos. Ven works for Ryker, the pack enforcer and will act as sentinel and lookout when the station reopens.

Caitlyn Burrows has recently returned to Los Lobos with her family. A victim of Magnum Tao, the pack’s evil ex-Alpha, she is terrified of men and her natural omega nature is making it hard for her to make friends. Her family is determined to see Caitlyn happy.

A chance encounter between Ven and Caitlyn reveals they are mates, something that neither of them is happy about! He’s mean and angry; she’s timid and shy. Can two such opposites find common ground?

Unable to stay away from his Little Red, Ven comforts, protects, and, at her urging, shows Caitlyn how the touch of a man should feel. Madly in love with her, Ven fears he cannot be the mate Caitlyn deserves. He’s too messed up from the past, ostracized from the pack and poor to boot. He can’t see the Burrows Princess slumming it in his rundown trailer.

Caitlyn decides it is past time to take control of her life and is determined to prove to Ven that she is the mate that he needs.

Can she make him see that the Fates are right and that their only chance of happiness is together or will the ghosts from the past keep them apart forever?

Dedication

To M. Thank you for supporting me as I follow my dreams.

A Mate’s Redeeming Touch

A Black Hills Wolves Story

By

Merryn Dexter

Chapter One

A force of nature, more power than grace, the gray wolf pounded through the trees. His scent overlaid the familiar route, providing a territorial marker and guiding his passage. He twisted through the towering pines, sending a shower of pebbles flying as he loped up an incline and down toward a clearing in the trees.

The click of his claws on the stones, the whisper of the breeze through the trees, and the splash of water in the nearby river were the only sounds. Birds and other forest dwellers fell silent in his path, and his tongue lolled out in a grin as he barreled along. Top of the food chain, predator elite, no creature in the vicinity could offer him challenge. He was magnificent, a dominant in his prime, the undisputed master of his surroundings, king of all he survey….

Hey, kiddo.

The wolf drew up so sharply, his rear paws collapsed beneath him, leaving him sitting like a fucking lapdog at the feet of Gee Rivermoon, bear shifter, enigma, and one huge burr in his fur. At six foot seven, Gee was one of the very few men associated with the Tao pack who over-topped him in his two-legged form.

The wolf had very little time for two-legs these days. He could patrol more efficiently as a wolf. Two-legs had an annoying habit of talking, something he preferred to avoid in either of his forms. The bear gave him a look he recognized all too well from his wayward youth. Gee had something to say, and he’d better damn well listen.

We need to talk, Ven.

Being right sucked ass. The wolf growled and retreated a few steps from the huge shifter.

Shift. Gee spoke softly, but his thick arms were folded in a take-no-nonsense stance. The wolf curled a lip and growled his defiance again, making sure to be out of swiping range first in case the bear decided he’d pushed his luck. A sharp scent caught his attention, and his head whipped around to face the new threat. A large reddish wolf paced from beneath the pines, the flecks of gold in his thick fur catching the sun as he prowled closer. Ven shifted his position until he could watch both the bear and the approaching wolf. The Enforcer had come for him.

He was royally fucked. Wolf burger with a side order of those nasty fried pickles Gee loved to dish up in his bar.

Lowering his massive bulk, he adopted a stance close enough to deferential to get away with it. Tension vibrated through him as he braced for the first sign of attack. A shimmer in the air caught him off guard as the reddish wolf transformed into his human form. Why would he shift to a weaker form if he’s come to kill me?

Ryker rose to his feet, long black hair drifting gently in the breeze doing nothing to soften the stark planes of his face. The blunt features and black eyes spoke of their shared Native American heritage, but the Enforcer was no brother to Ven. Angling his body to mirror Gee’s, face expressionless,