The Alpha's Forbidden Mate

By DJ Bryce

Mateo was raised to be Alpha of his pack. Taught how to lead, learned about mates, and when he was old enough, given the freedom to make changes he saw fit. The one thing he never imagined, was that his mate would be a man.

Brick has known that Mateo was the one for him since he’d watched Mateo start dating his sister in high school. Younger than the Alpha, Brick always assumed Mateo would realize they were mates and come out to the pack, he left for college to give him time, but nothing has changed. Mateo is still living life with blinders on, but when Brick is involved in a horrible accident, will Mateo finally realize his true feelings?

The Alpha’s Forbidden Mate is the third in an all new series about men who may not be brothers by blood, but are brothers of the heart. And the realization that, regardless of how the Matthews siblings have been raised, sometimes you have to follow your heart, even if it's leading you down the hardest path.

This is an M/M novella.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bethany Lopez
• Release date: Mar 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463983843

DJ Bryce

Author DJ Bryce loves her men tall, dark, and Alpha. She can often be found relaxing with a cup of coffee, a handful of RedVines, and a good book, with her two dogs snoozing happily at her feet.She's a lover of The Walking Dead, Romantic Comedies, and writing sexy shifters.DJ Bryce is a pen name for USA Today Bestselling author, Bethany Lopez.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

MATEO

I always knew I was different.

I knew I was a shifter. I knew I was destined to be Alpha of my pack one day. And, I knew I was gay.

I also knew, I could never come out. No, I’d have to suppress that side of me. Because, Alpha’s couldn’t be gay. Hell, no one in our pack had ever come out, and I knew they’d have a hard time following a gay Alpha.

And, as Alpha, my pack had to come first in all things.

I thought everything would be perfect, when I met Gillian. She was a girl raised to be an Alpha’s mate, but she didn’t want to leave our pack and be wed to a stranger. So, we’d made a pact when we were kids, to pretend to be each other’s mates, so we could both get what we wanted.

Neither of us had ever expected her to find her mate in my Bravo, Maximus, but that’s exactly what happened. And, since they were my best friends, I couldn’t stand in their way of happiness, so Gilly and I had to come clean about our lie.

The problem? Now that I was eligible and supposedly looking for my mate, all of the available women in the pack were now coming up with reasons to interact with me, in hopes that one of them would be my mate.

Only I knew that would never happen.

Well, me and one other… Brick, the man who was my mate.

Brick was the youngest sibling of Gilly and Natasha. Apparently, Brick was also intended to be the mate to an Alpha, just like his sisters, his family just didn’t realize it.

The first time Gillian had brought me home to meet her family, after we’d agreed to announce to the pack that she was my mate, I’d met Brick.

I’m just going to run to my room really quick and change, Gilly had told me.

Sounds good, I’d said, then proceeded to wander around her living room and look at the photos along the mantel while I waited.

Hey. I turned to see a guy a couple years younger, with black hair and blue eyes that matched Gillian’s. Hi, you must be Gilly’s brother, I’m Mateo.

I’d walked toward him, my hand outstretched. He’d looked at it for a moment, like no one had ever offered to shake his hand before, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Then, he took my offered hand and said, Brick.

That’s when it happened.

Like an electric shock, followed by a current that ran up my arm, straight to my heart. It was like a meeting of souls, a recognition, and I’d know instinctively that he was my mate.

I’d snatched my hand back like I’d been singed, which, I guess I had, while Brick watched me carefully with those striking eyes.

Oh, hey, Brick, you met Mateo? He’s my boyfriend, Gilly announced as she came back into the room.

Brick just raised an eyebrow at me and asked, Oh, yeah?

Yes, I’d replied somewhat forcefully, and had vowed to stay as far away from Brick as possible.

As it turned out, that hadn’t been too hard. For the most part, Gilly and I hung out together, and didn’t spend a lot of time at her house, because she didn’t have the best relationship with her parents.

Then, once we were older, Brick came out to his parents and they’d kicked him out.

I’d been amazed at how brave he was, and had felt guilty knowing that he’d gone through that on his own. Sure, his sisters stood by him, but even though I denied what was between us, and kept my distance, there was an invisible string holding us together, and a constant ache within me because we were apart.

He’d left to go away to school, and although it was easier not to have to bump into him, I felt a loss at his absence.

I’d grown used to it, filling the void with my pack, but now that Max and Gilly were together, and we’d made the announcement to the pack, Brick was back.

Gilly had left to go stay with him after I’d accidentally found out about her and Max, and we’d figured it would be easiest for us to explain things first to the council, then to the pack, and give Gilly distance just in case there was any backlash.

Of course, Gilly being Gilly, had changed her mind and decided to face the reckoning alongside of us, and had brought her brother back with her. Apparently, they’d made a pit stop at their parents, to inform them that she would no longer be with me, but with Max, and had been disowned along with her brother.

The meeting with the pack had gone better than I’d expected, which made my not only relieved, but proud of their reaction. One look at Max and Gilly together and it had been obvious to everyone that they belonged together.

Now, we were heading to my house for an impromptu barbecue, which I knew Brick would be attending. This would be our first time in close quarters together in years, and the first time ever that I was not in a fake relationship with his sister, and I was worried about what might happen.

I didn’t have to wait long to find out, because when I stepped into my house, Brick was sitting on the couch, watching me with those eyes, which seemed to look into my very soul and find me lacking.

We need to talk, he said, rising and stepping toward me. Max and Logan are in the backyard, Logan, a friend, bear shifter and Chief of his Clan, was here to learn about growing crops and sustainable living, But they have beer and are in the middle of a conversation, so we have time.

I nodded, moving toward him without realizing it, like we were being controlled by a magnetic force.

Having him that near, closer than I’d allowed us to be since that first meeting, I felt my wolf stir and my body’s answering response. The need to touch him was great, almost impossible to deny.

As if of its own volition, my hand reached out to grab him by the shoulder, then I pulled him in close. Without a word, or thought, I touched my lips to his, needing to see how it felt. An explosion of lust and longing hit, and when he parted his lips beneath mine, I accepted the invitation and delved inside.

I’d only ever kissed Gilly in my life, and we’d done