Unicorn Mates: Mountain Shifters, #1

By Laura Greenwood and Lainie Anderson

A chance encounter with a trio of mountain lions changes Leola's life for good...

Leola has always known she was different, but even she didn't realize how much. Discovering the shifter community for the first time, Leola finally finds somewhere she can belong. All she needs to do is accept the mating bond with the shifters who want her.

Can she submit to the desires building inside her?

-

Unicorn Mates is the first book in a steamy paranormal reverse harem romance featuring three hot mountain lion shifters and one rare brown unicorn.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mountain Shifters Universe
• Release date: Apr 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393778875

Laura Greenwood

Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy romance. When she's not writing, she drinks a lot of tea, tries to resist French macarons, and works towards a diploma in Egyptology. She lives in the UK, where most of her books are set. Laura specialises in quick reads, with healthy relationships and consent positive moments regardless of if she's writing light-hearted romance, mythology-heavy urban fantasy, or anything in between. You can find a full book list and more information on her website, or in The Paranormal Council Facebook Group. Happy Reading!

Book preview

1

I’m bringing bug spray next time, I grumbled as I swatted another mosquito. As much as I felt at home in the woods and had vowed to spend as much time as possible there, the mosquitoes loved my blood and drove me crazy.

Nature usually soothes me, but not today. I was on edge, looking around and tense. Like someone was watching or even filming me.

I’d recently discovered how much I loved to hike. Once I left corporate America behind, I found myself with time on my hands. Time to actually pursue activities just for the heck of it. I’d tried several things, but knitting made me crazy, and the picture I’d painted at the class in the local rec center looked like a three-year-old had done it, no matter how many times the hot instructor tried to help me.

He’d finally given up, and so had I. Lesson learned.

My attention snapped back to the trail when a rabbit bounded across the path in front of me with absolutely no regard for the human traipsing through the woods. Whatever it was running from truly scared it. I stopped and stared into the trees in the direction it had come from, apprehensive. What if it was being stalked by a bear or something?

I should’ve brought my revolver. My dad had insisted I learn how to shoot, and he’d been an avid gun collector. I didn’t dislike guns, exactly, it was more that I disliked violence. It was part of the reason I was a vegan, though the main reason was that I couldn’t stomach any meat.

From as far back as I could remember, I’d been allergic. I’d eaten some things like milk and eggs as a child, but even they didn’t sit well in my stomach, so my parents had me go vegan, and then I flourished.

A revolver might not take down a bear. It would’ve been more protection than I could offer myself with my hiking boots and flannel shirt, though. Maybe I could irritate it to death by talking about vegan cooking.

It had worked on every man I’d ever dated. I snickered to myself and walked on, keeping my eyes wide and searching. The sunlight reached the forest floor in patches, and every time I walked under one I stopped to let my face soak it up.

Slowly making my way up the mountain, I consulted my map frequently. It was less a traditional map and more a set of specific instructions with a drawing of where to go. The trail inclined steeply, and halfway up I plopped down on an overturned log to take a drink out of my canteen and wipe the boob sweat out from under my honkers.

I’d been blessed with large breasts. I sighed and trickled a little water onto my shirt tail to dab underneath my ponytail, but froze with my hand halfway to my neck when a twig snapped behind me.

All my senses went on alert and I had to fight the urge to shift. Fight or flight took over, and flight screamed at me to move. I whirled around to find an enormous man standing about ten feet away from me, arms in the air. I’m not going to hurt you, he said. I believed him even though I shouldn’t have.

Rustling in the forest behind me caused me to whirl again. Two more men stood behind me, spread out as if they were boxing me in. The urge to shift hit me again, and I fought it back. I hadn’t had an uncontrolled shift since I was a teenager, and shifting in front of strange human men was a death sentence.

They threw their hands up as well, and the one on the right, with black hair and sharp cheekbones, made a shushing sound. We mean you no harm.

Who are you? I asked, circling to try to keep them all in my sight. I felt it deep inside, in my bones as my grandmother would’ve said, that they didn’t want to hurt me. Excitement and relief bubbled up my throat like I was seeing my long lost best friend. I also felt the need to shift and flee, but it lessened every time one of them stepped forward.

We live in this forest. You’re sort of on our land, the huge blonde said.

I was just hiking. I usually hike on the other side of the mountains, in the national park, but I— I didn’t know how to explain that I was searching for the spot my biological parents had been murdered.

It’s okay, the third said. He had messy brown hair, sticking in all different directions.

It hadn’t escaped me that all three of them, in their own distinctive ways, were gorgeous.

I’m Kerry, he said. You’ve stumbled on private property. We noticed you, and came to investigate.

---

Y ou’re lucky we found you, the big blonde said. There are a lot of wild animals in this part of the woods. I’m Casimir. Call me Cas.

He looked too severe to be a Cas, but whatever. I’ve been feeling like I was being watched. Was that you? I asked. They stepped closer, and my urge to shift lessened significantly. Something else woke up, though. Hello, libido.

They shook their heads. No, we only pegged you about a half hour ago. You’ve probably been walking for at least what, two hours?

I nodded. About. They didn’t need to know how slow I’d gone, and that it had been more like three.

The one with black hair and high cheekbones stepped forward. I’m Levon. Are you okay? Just out for a stroll?

The wind had been dead for a while, but a breeze suddenly picked up through the trees, kicking up leaves—and their scents. Predators! My mind screamed at me, but my body didn’t move. I wasn’t scared. What are you? I asked. Why are you trying to box me in? Why wasn’t I scared?

Sorry, Levon said and shuffled around so that they stood closer to side by side, and leaving the path down the mountain open for