The Beta's Second Chance

By Ezra Dawn

(This series is tied directly into the Asphalt Bay books. It is recommended that you read the Asphalt Bay books and the other two Venetian Hills books before reading this one as this story takes place in the timeline of Asphalt Bay Book Six.)

Negan Verona is a wolf shifter and the beta of the Venetian Hills Pack. He’s been Joel McCray’s second in command since before the alpha moved his pack to Venetian Hills. While Negan loves the pack and doing his job to aid in the rescue of captive shifters, something is missing. Something important. Something Negan will never have again. Or so he thinks. After an incident in a lab has Negan taking a step back from the front lines and focusing more on the planning side of things, Joel’s mate calls in reinforcements.

Leland Voss is a vampire who works as an enforcer for the council. When he hears of the threat his home coven is facing from Master Alistair, he jumps at the chance to go home and see if he can lend a hand. He doesn’t expect to be thrust into the middle of the fight as soon as he arrives, but he welcomes it because one thing is obvious about Leland, he loves the thrill of a good fight. What he doesn’t expect when he returns home, is to find his beloved in the form of a beautiful wolf with haunted eyes.

Negan is thrilled he’s getting a second chance to have a fated mate of his own and is determined not to let anything get in the way of his claiming. But, sometimes, life just gets in the way, or in this case, war. Still reeling from his last incident, Negan is hesitant about setting foot inside of a lab again, but with his mate putting his life on the line, Negan will do just about anything to keep from losing Leland. Even if it means facing his fears.
(Warning: Contains sexual content, and explicit language. Not recommended for those under the age of 18.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ezra Dawn
• Release date: Feb 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463591567

Ezra Dawn

Well Ezra isn't my real name obviously but I liked the name so I decided to use it. I live at home with my five dogs and one cat. I started out writing hetero romance novels but it wasn't where my heart lied. I adore all things paranormal and M/M is by far my favorite genre so I decided to start writing Paranormal Romances. There's a guaranteed happy ending with each of my books even if it may take some time for my guys to get there. I love each and every character on the page as if they were my own children. It sounds weird but that’s how I feel about them. ? I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember but only started actively pursuing it as a career three years ago when I decided to stop working in a salon and pursue writing full time. Since I published my first book in 2014 I have written and released nine other books with many more to come. My current list of projects is longer than my arm so I look forward to writing and creating new stories for my readers to enjoy ?

Book preview

The Beta’s Second Chance

Ezra Dawn

Cover art created by JeB Designs

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The Beta’s Second Chance © 2019 Ezra Dawn

eBook ISBN: 9780463591567

ISBN-13: 9781795456463

All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced in any form or by any means without express permission from the copyright holder. This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature adults.

Character Name Pronunciation

Foreign Terms

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Playlists

About the Author

Other Titles by Ezra Dawn

Negan Verona (Knee-gan, Ver-oh-na)

Leland Voss (Lee-land, Voss)

Mon tendre: My sweet (French)

Minun kaikkeni: My everything (Finnish)

I met my fated mate in the form of a human woman in the year 1845. I was twenty years old and our families lived next door to each other. Her dad was a nobleman like mine and were good friends. We grew up together and while her father knew of our kind, the rest of the family didn’t. When I realized we were mates, I got permission from her family to court her. However, it wasn’t meant to be. On the day I planned to reveal my furry side before asking her to marry me, she fell ill and died two days later.

Because I never claimed her, I was able to survive her death, but I was left with the prospect that I’d spend my long life alone. For a short time, I contemplated taking my own life, but I realized that was the coward’s way out and not something she would want for me. Leaving Europe and meeting Joel McCray saved my life. Becoming his beta has given me a new lease on life. Seeing those around me gaining fated mates of their own makes my heart hurt which is why I’ve buried myself in work. If I don’t give myself any free time, then my thoughts won’t wander, and I won’t find myself longing for another chance at love.

Hope is a cruel thing and when that hope is crushed, so is the heart. I can’t allow myself to hope. Hell, I can hardly allow myself to feel because falling for someone who probably has a mate of their own out there somewhere isn’t an option. I had my heart broken once and I don’t plan to let it happen again even if it means spending the rest of my life alone.

I wake up, panting for breath. My sheets cling to my sweaty skin and the scent of fear in the room is overwhelming. Another nightmare. It’s something I’ve been experiencing often. Ever since that night. I led a team on a raid in a lab and ended up getting us all caught in a trap. Our animals took over because of the gas and there was nothing we could do to stop it. For days, we stayed trapped in a room, rage driving our animals. I remember staying in the corner and snapping at anyone who came close, wanting nothing more than for one of them to give me the opportunity to go in for the kill. It’s a miracle we didn’t completely tear each other apart. Had it not been for Belial and the vampires, as well as the doctor from Asphalt Bay, we’d all likely be dead right now.

I haven’t been inside another lab since. Instead, I’ve taken a step back, focusing more on the planning side of things. While I do accompany a team to the raids, I stay outside at our makeshift command center, taking information from those who have been rescued as well as instructing the team on what to do through com links. Fear has kept me from ever stepping foot inside a lab again but I’m one of the few who returned to the fight. Most of the shifters who had been trapped in that room, haven’t been on another raid since. I have a feeling they’re going through the same thing I am which is why I’ve suggested to Joel that he bring in a psychiatrist for the pack. Someone who can help us work through what happened. He’s currently looking but hasn’t found anyone yet.

The one good thing that came out of that whole ordeal was learning that demons and vampires were immune to the drug, so we send them in first just in case. Also, recent events led us to vital information about Carmine’s operation and who is working with him.

Glancing at the clock, I see that it’s still early. Way too early to start the day but I have no other option since I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to sleep. Hmm…maybe I’ll go for a run, let my wolf out for a bit. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Climbing out of bed, I strip out of my boxers and shift, padding into the kitchen where I have a doggy door installed in the backdoor. I really should’ve put in one of those doors that had a button I could press with my paw to unlock or wear a necklace that doesn’t choke me when I shift so the sensor on it could open the door.

Honestly, I can’t count the number of times I walked into my kitchen in the morning and found a skunk or a raccoon just chilling there. Once they sensed my wolf though, they’d scamper off. One time though, the skunk actually sprayed, and it took me three months just to get the stink out of my kitchen. I had to survive off other people’s cooking and takeout