Mates (Claws Clause #0.5)

By Jessica Lynch

Paranormals exist.

More than fifty years ago, the community of supernatural races—shifters, vampires, ghosts, witches, and more—revealed themselves to the humans. With the rise of technology, they couldn’t stay hidden in the shadows like they had for centuries. And, while rumors of their existence go back even further than that, the announcement sent shockwaves throughout the rest of the world.

After the shock wore off, the humans reacted. Knowing that Paras had the strength, the humans struggled to keep the power. And what better way than to grab a Para by the balls?

Ordinance 7304: the Bond Laws. A set of mandates hurriedly put in place that Paras had to follow, especially when it came to their "fated" unions.

The laws kept the peace. When the penalty for breaking one was being thrown in a magic-free prison, they had to. Ordinance 7304—also known as the Claws Clause—keeps the Paras in line and gives the human population an illusion of safety. And why not? With the power of the entire government behind the laws, even an alpha wolf loses some of his strength.

Because one of the biggies? When a shifter finds his fated mate, it doesn’t matter what his nose—or his body—says. His instincts might scream mine, but that doesn’t mean he can run off with his woman and claim her. To the humans, that’s kidnapping, and it’s a big no-no.

Maddox Wolfe understood that... until the day he stumbled upon Evangeline Lewis and knew in an instant that this was the woman he’d spent twenty-six years waiting for. And while his wolf says take her, he knows he can’t woo his mate from inside of the Cage. She’s human, so he has to think like a human. Act like a human. Pretend he’s a human.

Whatever it takes to make her his mate. And since he is and alpha wolf shifter, there’s gonna be a little stalking involved. It’s okay. His human will eventually understand.

Mates is a prequel novella (~20k words) that is set directly before the first Claws Clause book, Hungry Like a Wolf. It is the story of how Maddox and Evangeline became mates, and is an introduction to a brand new paranormal series where Paras exist and live alongside humans. There's some heat to it (and some closed-door action), some profanity, and is intended for adult readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jessica Lynch
• Release date: Jul 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463631683

Jessica Lynch

Jessica Lynch loves to write! She's been writing ever since she was a child, and spent years writing fan fiction before deciding at the end of 2017 to begin focusing on her original works of fiction. A 14-time winner of NaNoWriMo, Jessica has tons of manuscripts waiting to be formed and shaped and introduced to the world -- plus countless more milling around in her brain. She just wishes she could type fast enough to get them all out!When she's not writing or working, she's either reading, playing with her family of cats in Central New Jersey, rooting for her beloved Mets, or working on her graphic arts skills to bring her characters and cover art to life.Interested in learning more about Jessica and her writing?Join Jessica's mailing list for two free books: bit.ly/JLWrites

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PROLOGUE

Paranormal unions (also referred to colloquially as matings, claimings, blood-bondings, soul mates, etc.) will be accorded the same rights as a common law marriage (see state laws for more information).

In order for any union involving a Paranormal (either Paranormal/Paranormal or Paranormal/Human) to be recognized by the city state, it must be formalized with a notarized certificate, also referred to as a Bonding License. Once the certificate is issued, the Paranormal will be accorded all rights and privileges as outlined in this ordinance.

Also, any individual who, regardless of their instincts, absconds with another individual, Paranormal or Human, with the aim of forcing a union, will face the same penalty as if there was no perceived tie between them, ie. kidnapping, assault, etc.

— Ordinance 7304

Section II

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CHAPTER 1

SNAP

Maddox Wolfe liked to live on the wild side—when he thought he could get away with it. Which, to his frustration and annoyance, wasn’t anywhere near often enough as he liked.

Still. It made sense. As a shifter, and second-in-command in his father’s pack, he knew he was born to roam, even if he couldn’t go too far; as a man, he was both reckless yet constantly aware of his responsibilities. It was a contradiction, sure, but one he enjoyed. When the day finally came that his Alpha actually stepped down—because hell would freeze over before anyone forcibly stole control from Terrence Wolfe’s claws—Maddox knew that he would have to settle down, take over the pack. Lead them.

Thank Alpha that wasn’t today, though. Or even tomorrow.

He was the firstborn son, a true alpha, and the obvious heir to the Eastern Pack, the largest pack on the east coast of the United States. Made up of a strong blend of wolf, bear, and large cat shifters, a predatory pack like theirs could only be led by a beast as powerful as his, with a mate who could temper his lusts and help him rule.

His mother, Sarah, had always done that for Terrence, and their mating was one Maddox had looked up to since he was a pup. He refused to settle for less and, since he was old enough to know what a mate was, Mad had earnestly searched for the one woman who was meant to be his.

He was twenty-six years into that search, though, and despite sniffing around everywhere his roaming travels took him in between his job and his pack duties, he’d yet to catch a whiff of his one true mate.

So, for now, he ran. As itchy and as restless as he’d been feeling lately, that was all he could do. He wanted to run, and he did so while skirting the line between should and shouldn’t, safe and, well, a really bad idea.

If his father knew what he was doing, he’d have his hide. If his brother knew, he’d remind Mad that he was the Beta. And if Dodge knew…

Ah. Who was he kidding? That ghost knew everything and probably thought it was hysterical how, at Maddox’s age, he was still a virgin.

Couldn’t be helped. And, at any rate, no one could stop him from breaking free whenever he could. He was big enough, strong enough, with a beast that could take down creatures twice its size.

A beast that would stop at nothing to find its mate.

Finding her, claiming her… it was his main motivation. Sure, he worked hard as a construction foreman, and he’d been groomed to take over the pack since he was a pup, but that didn’t change who Maddox was on the inside.

And what he was, apart from being a big, growly, determined wolf, was a bit of an oddity among other Paras.

While his loyalty belonged to his pack, he’d never had a problem mingling with the other races. One of his oldest friends was a witch, he managed to almost always tolerate Colt’s ghost pal, and he did all of the interacting with humans on the pack’s behalf that needed to be done. Despite the dominating nature of his wolf, Maddox was at ease among all types, human or Para.

Well, except for Nightwalkers. But no one liked Nightwalkers—not even other Nightwalkers.

His father gave up arguing over Maddox’s open attitude years ago. Colton had never been able to figure out his older brother’s fascination with the humans—or as he so often sneered, the Ants. Derisive and angry when it came to non-shifters, Colt never thought of the humans as anything other than ants: far too many, admittedly hardworking, even if they were annoying and way, way too easily squished.

Maddox was different. He didn’t give a shit who knew it, either. If they were strong enough to challenge him, fine. That was a good thing about being an alpha wolf shifter. There weren’t many out there—paranormal or human—who could challenge him.

Which was precisely why it didn’t matter to him where he went to break out into his fur for a while. Laws said that shifters could have free rein of any park—even if most stayed away from the humans—and he was confident that, wherever he roamed, he’d be the biggest, baddest beast around.

So, instead of running on pack land, or even taking to the hundreds of acres that bordered the Bumptown where his brother built his home, Maddox drove to the border of Woodbridge.

It was a mixed town, with mostly humans, a few stray shifters, and more than a couple of witches. He chose it on purpose. Not only was it surrounded by dense forests, hiking trails, and large parks, but if anyone gave him shit for being a paranormal, he could always tell them he was visiting Cilla.

Maddox had known Priscilla Winters for most of his life. Like him, she was a Para who found herself trapped between both worlds. A witch who chose not to live with her coven in Coventry, she rented a small house on a secluded human street and worked for a private buyer, performing spells, chanting incantations, crafting wards, and dabbling in a bit of divination for a client who paid her in more diamonds than her witchy little heart could ever want.

Because her employer kept her so busy, and working under his father—as second in the pack and lead foreman for their construction company—left Maddox with little free time, he hadn’t seen Cilla in ages. Taking this run was as good an excuse as any to check if she was in, maybe grab a bite to eat and catch up with her, see how she had been.

If he remembered correctly, there was this great hole in the wall down the street from Cilla’s neighborhood that served two-inch thick steaks. His wolf lifted its muzzle, breathing in deeply, tasting all of the scents on the air. Thanks to the late afternoon breeze, he could just about pick up on a hint of meat cooking in the distance.

He started to salivate.

Hmm… even if Cilla was unavailable, maybe he could still cap off his run with a delicious meal before heading back to Wolf’s Creek.

Sounded like a plan to him—

—until the wind shifted.

Another scent blew past him. Soft. Sweet. Whatever it was had an undertone of vanilla, but that wasn’t all. There was a depth to it that had his wolf snuffling before it sniffed deeply—

Its fur stood on end. His wolf dug its claws into the dirt, tearing at the grass as it pawed anxiously—

Snap.

In a daze, Maddox landed bare-assed naked in a heap on the dirt. Falling onto his belly, a shooting pain coursed through his body when he crushed something long and hard and super sensitive beneath him; it felt like he landed on a steel bar that had only the smallest amount of give to it. The pain was sudden and fierce, enough to tear a howl out of his human throat.

He flopped like a fish, going from belly to back, his chest heaving as he tried to get a grip on what