Wolf Mated: Blood World, #1

By Tamsin Baker and Amelia Shaw

Sadie is on the hunt for her father's killer, when two scorching hot shifters turn up on her doorstep to rock her world. The wolf and dragon take one look at her and claim she's their fated mate—but now's not the time to give into sins of the flesh!

 

On her quest to uncover the people responsible for murdering her father, Sadie soon discovers that something much more sinister is at play. The vampires appear to be searching for something, and she's determined to find out what it is.

 

As she fights the irresistible urge to give into the shifters by her side, Sadie realizes that she's gone from the hunter to the hunted. She's now prey, and just happens to have the rarest and most desirable blood in town…

 

One-click this exciting Shifter Reverse Harem packed with adventure and intrigue, today! You won't be able to resist the allure of two delicious shifter bounty hunters, an ancient vampire, and their feisty mate.

 

Author Note: This is the first in a shifter series that is best appreciated in sequential order. Book three contains sword-crossing in addition to the expected harem love scenes!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harley Romance Publishing
• Release date: Aug 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201560027

Tamsin Baker

Tamsin Baker loves everything erotic. Her books can be long, short and everything in between, but they’ll all be fast paced with snappy dialogue and lots of sex. No Tamsin Baker book is the same except there won’t be a lot of angst in as she wants her books to be everything that a fictional world can be- full of happy ever afters, dirty words and sweet love. ‘Love is love’ and she tries to show that in a range of sub genre’s, from m/m contemporary to paranormal ménage. She has a need to shock people and bring up embarrassing topics at the most inappropriate times.

Book preview

Chapter 1

SADIE

The day my father was murdered started off like any other day. No inkling of what was to come.

Metallic grating sounds of a new knife—Dad’s weapon of choice—being sharpened reached my ears as I walked into the kitchen with my briefcase in hand.

Being a corporate lawyer was fast-paced, high stress and extremely intense. But perhaps not when compared to my father’s line of work. He was a bounty hunter, feared by all. He ate bad guys for breakfast. All I did was send them emails.

I grinned at him as I set the briefcase down. Morning, Dad.

Mornin’ Sadie. He glanced up at me, his gaze running over my work attire, and sighed. All that talent with a knife, and you’d rather go to court and work for the corporate shills, huh? Wouldn’t you rather use your natural skills to catch the bad guys?

I rolled my eyes. My father had never been one to hold back on telling his truth. He’d always hated my job, but this morning the hatred seemed to come with an unusual amount of gusto.

My suit jacket was hanging over the back of one of the dining chairs. I reached for it and pulled it on. Then I picked up my briefcase again. I’m good at my job, Dad. And I like it. You know that.

The clanging slide of the large knife being sharpened echoed around the room.

Slice. Slice. Slice.

"Yeah... but you’re even better at my job," he said with a grin.

I decided to ignore that jibe and glanced at my watch. I grimaced. Damn, I’m late.

I strode over to where he sat at our kitchen counter, sharpening a beautiful new Bowie. I couldn’t help but stop and admire it before I kissed him goodbye. Oh, that’s nice.

He held the weapon up and turned it from side to side so I could see it at its best advantage. The silver blade glistened in the light of the bright kitchen, making me ache to reach out and touch it.

It’s new, he said, as if aware of the effect of the knife on my senses.

I shook my head, mentally pulling on my professional hat and tamping down my natural inclination to curve my fingers around the knife handle and feel its weight in my palm.

I am a lawyer. A good one. And my weapon of choice is the law.

I kissed the only man in my life on top of his bald head. Love you, Dad.

Love you too, sweetie. See you tonight?

Yeah... I have a pretty intense day, but if things go better in court than I expect, I’ll swing by your workshop later and take you out for dinner.

His eyebrows flicked up. Any particular occasion?

I shook my head. I never needed a reason to spend time with my dad. He was the funniest, most hard-working, most kickass and awesome person I knew. The fact that he happened to know how to kill a person in a thousand different ways just made him even cooler.

Nope. But there’s a new Italian place I want to try that just opened up.

He frowned. Is that the one on Main Street? It’s owned by vampires.

I shrugged as I grabbed my coffee off the counter, checking the lid was tight and sealed.

I glanced at the large, modern silver clock on the wall. Now I’m really late.

I slid my keys into my pants pocket and headed to the door.

The vampires own everything, Dad.

If you wanted to eat at a place that wasn’t owned by vamps, then you’d never eat. Not out at a restaurant, and not food from a supermarket.

You wouldn’t work, either.

Even my corporate law firm was owned by vampires. They were immortal, super-intelligent, and had mastered the art of day-walking decades ago.

"Not my shop they don’t," Dad threw back at me, pride evident in his tone.

Unlike practically everyone else we knew, Dad outright owned everything he had. His business, and this apartment we lived in.

I opened the door, smiling back at him. I’ll call if I’m going to be late, but otherwise see you for dinner!

Okay, sweetie. He waved, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking one final look at my dad before I left.

He was quite an unusual man to behold. His bald head shone beneath the fluorescent lights. He had a graying beard, and today he was wearing a tight leather vest and his muscles flexed with each movement. His shoulders and arms were covered in full-sleeve tattoos and he looked like a man you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark alley at night.

And in truth... he wasn’t. Not if you were a bad guy.

But if you were a good guy, or a good girl, this was a man you could trust and rely on. And I was the luckiest girl in the world to have him as my father.

Bye! I waved back and rushed off, really late now.

Time to use the brain I’d inherited from both my parents, and use my powers for good instead of evil.

AFTER SECURING A MULTI-billion-dollar deal for my bosses much quicker than I’d expected to, there was no question what I was doing tonight. I was definitely taking Dad out for dinner and indulging in a massive carb overload.

You going home already, Sarah? Nikki asked from her seat at her desk, just outside my office as I packed up my briefcase.

Yeah, why not? I asked. The people at work knew me by my real name, Sarah. It was only usually Dad who ever called me Sadie.

I’d barely had lunch, and I never ate breakfast, beyond coffee. And with all the extra work I’d put in to pull this deal off, I’d earned myself a huge serving of lasagna, garlic bread, and a glass of red wine.

Because you never leave early, she said, throwing her hands up like I was an idiot for not already knowing that would be her answer.

I laughed. I’d graduated from law school a few years ago and worked my ass off pretty much ever since. Going home early was definitely not my ‘normal’. She was right there.

I’m starving and I told my dad I’d take him out for dinner.

Nikki shivered, though I knew she didn’t mean to show it. I giggled to myself as I locked my briefcase and walked over to her desk, cell phone in hand.

Nikki was half-human, half-wolf shifter, just like my dad. They had an unusual connection, like most of their breed. I knew she was attracted to him. I barely had to mention him and she was instantly a shivery, hormonal mess.

But he was my dad and twice her age, and her constant blushes and defensive behavior indicated that she didn’t want to be so affected by him.

It was hilarious.

What’s wrong, Nik? Wanna come? I grinned at her. You hungry too?

For more than dinner, I’m sure!

She turned back to her computer, her cheeks coloring with a blush. You know I can’t help it.

"Yeah... because my dad’s so hot," I teased.

Nikki flipped me the bird, her long, manicured fingernail capturing my attention. I’d always wanted pretty nails like that, but the way I trained with my dad five days a week, long nails were beyond impractical. They were impossible.

I waved at my gorgeous friend and headed out the door. Most women with any wolf shifter blood lusted after my father, and he could have pretty much anyone he wanted. They apparently found all that strength in him hot. I mean, to me he was just Dad, but I guess he was still a man.

Since Mom died, he hadn’t dated anyone. Not openly, anyway. Which I was grateful for. If he was sleeping with someone, I didn’t want to know about it.

What daughter did?

I stepped through the double doors of my office building and walked along the sidewalk. It wasn’t dark yet, as the sun was only now dropping out of the sky.

I glanced down the street and assessed my choices. Cab... or walk? I glanced at my watch. Dad would probably still be doing paperwork. I had time to get some fresh air. His workshop was only six blocks away from my office, and I rarely had a moment to relax like this, where I wasn’t jumping from my office, to a meeting, to court, and  back to the office.

Why not take advantage and simply stroll for once?

As I walked, I enjoyed the loud noises of bustling traffic and the people around me. I loved this city, even with its lack of pretty parks, and overly-clogged, smoky air.

It was home. Always had been. Always would be.

I strolled all the way to Dad’s workshop, which was what he called it. Like it was some tiny garage where he tinkered with toys.

In reality, it was a huge business, housed in an impressive building, with over fifty employees and raking in millions of dollars a month.

I glanced up at the sign over the doorway. Hunters.

A shorter version of the full business name, Bounty Hunters. My dad trained killers. Thrill-seekers. Perfectly legal, of course.

They hunted bad guys.

Bad guys who had very expensive price tags on them. In this city and in many others.

He trained his guys, he booked their jobs, and basically he ran the whole show. He was a one-man juggernaut.

I glanced up at the building, admiring the beauty of the heritage-listed architecture. So much more attractive than the brand-new office building in which I worked.

I put my hand on the glass door, noticing the closed sign had already been put up, and pushed.

I inhaled sharply, my wolf shifter senses delighting in the change of scents from outside to inside the building. Outside there was smog and gas, and a strange, artificial sort of smell.

Inside Dad’s workshop there was a feast for the senses. The smell of the hardwood floors, the heady mix of cologne, sweat, and leather punching bags that had recently been oiled.

The scent of my youth. After all, I’d grown up in this place.

Unfortunately, once I turned sixteen, I hadn’t spent much time here. I’d been too obsessed with going out with my friends, meeting boys, and trying to exert my independence by doing the opposite of everything my dad wanted me to do. But I’d missed this place.

I should come by more often.

I headed up the stairs to my dad’s office, a nostalgic smile on my face.

All the other staff had gone home from the looks of it. The lights were mostly off, and all was quiet.

Dad? You up here? I called into the silence.

Usually, when he was closing up for the day, he played some old, classic songs that floated around the hallway. The silence was unusual, and for some reason the hairs rose up on the back of my neck.

Dad? I called out again as I hit the landing and kept walking past his receptionist’s empty desk and pushed open the door to his large office.

He wasn’t there.

Huh. Weird.

I checked my cell phone. No message. No missed call.

He knew I was coming to pick him up for dinner. He wouldn’t leave me hanging like this without a good reason.

But then again, the front door had been open, not locked. So, he had to be here.

Was he doing inventory or something in the gym?

Dad?

There was a sudden noise downstairs. A squeak, then a heavy thud.

I turned, a shiver coursing down my spine.

What the hell was that?

It sounded like something heavy had been dropped. A punching bag, maybe?

Dad? Is that you?

The sound of a door swinging open followed, the metallic creak a bit freaky in the otherwise silent building.

That’s the back door.

I started forward, then thought better of it. Instead, I stepped around my dad’s desk, opened the top drawer where I knew I’d find some kind of weapon, and pulled out his new Bowie knife.

It was cold and heavy in my hand and I gripped it hard enough my knuckles turned white. I’d grown up throwing knives and could use one like this with deadly efficiency if necessary.

If someone had broken into my dad’s business, they’d regret it.

A grim smile quirked my lips. I didn’t think there’d be a person in the city stupid enough to do that. No human, shifter, or vamp.

My father had a reputation, and it wasn’t one that made him sound soft and fluffy.

I crept down the stairs, listening for any sign of movement, but there was nothing.

I made my way through the massive training hall for the bounty hunters, and headed for the back door. It was the only metal door in the whole building, and that metallic squeak had been a dead giveaway.

A smell began to permeate my nostrils and I stopped dead in my tracks as my stomach dropped through the floor. Blood!

"Dad!"

Adrenaline pumped into my legs and I raced forward, almost tripping as I reached the prone figure on the wooden floor. I knelt, dropping the knife beside me as I identified my dad. He was face down and not moving.

No. No. No. I tried to roll him over, pushing on his heavy shoulders. Dad! Wake up. Please.

Tears began to stream down my face, hot and persistent.

This couldn’t be happening.

I pushed and pushed, but he was too heavy. I had no chance of moving him. He weighed almost three hundred pounds, and he was a dead weight.

I put my fingers to his neck, feeling for a pulse.

There was nothing but slippery wetness.

I brought my hand away so I could stare at my trembling fingers.

Dark red blood.

My stomach lurched. Oh, God... it must have been a vampire.

The front door swung open then, the characteristic thunk making me jump to grab the knife.

Jimmy! You still here? a man called out from the front of the building.

Someone was looking for my dad. Probably one of his employees. Cold relief washed over me as I began to shake.

Please! I shouted. Come quickly! We’re near the back door! Dad’s hurt!

Footsteps pounded through the building and two huge men burst into the back room, looking around wildly.

I hadn’t realized I’d picked up the knife again. I was holding it in a defensive grip as the men ground to a halt in front of me, eyeing me suspiciously. I’d never seen either of them before, and they didn’t appear to recognize me. Not surprising, given how little time I’d spent here in recent years.

What’s happened? the smaller one asked, dark curls falling over his eyes.

I came to pick Dad up for dinner. He’s not breathing. There’s no pulse. I can’t... turn him over.

The two men looked at one another then bent down, grabbing my father’s arms and shoulders, and flipped him over while I jumped up and skittered back out of the way.

I gasped at the morbid sight of my father’s white, pain-filled expression, and turned away so I couldn’t see anymore. God. Was there any actual blood left in his body?

Breathe. Breathe. I had to swallow the urge to scream, tears clogging my throat.

Oh, my God.

It was definitely a vamp, one of the guys said from behind me.

I shook my arms out over and over as I gulped at the air. I had to calm down, I had to think.

Fuck!

Fuck!

What the hell was I going to do?

I turned around to face them. If two virtual strangers could help my father in this moment of need, then I could, too.

I looked down at my dad’s once handsome visage. Bile rose in my throat, but I forced it down. His face was contorted in pain, his eyes open but not seeing.

So, he’s... ah... is he? I swallowed, unable to say the word out loud.

The taller guy, a large blond man, looked up at me from