No more dating shifters—at least, that’s what I promised myself after the last one met his mate while dating me. He wasn’t the first—fate seemed to enjoy smacking me upside the head whenever I dared to cross the species line. So when a handsome wolf shifter with a few extra years of experience comes walking into my bakery, I shouldn’t agree to go on a date with him.

Especially not because he’s only in town for the biggest wedding of the year.

The one where his son is the groom. The one between my last boyfriend and his fated mate.

Did I say fate liked to smack me upside the head? Try burying me in the rubble of my past mistakes instead. Like father, like son had never been so wrong…or so right.

Try everything once. That’s my rule in life, food, and dating. I never miss the opportunity to have a new adventure, play with the right flavor profiles, or spend an evening with the perfect guy. Who needs Mr. Right when there are a thousand Mr. Right Nows running around? So, when a handsome man with heat in his eyes and a little silver in his hair comes waltzing into my bakery, I know I’m in trouble.


He’s annoying. 
He’s rude.
 He’s demanding.


And he just might be the perfect match for me.


Too bad he’s a dragon shifter, and dragons don’t do the whole fated mate thing. But maybe rules–mine and his–are meant to be broken.

I’m supposed to be the nice sister. The good one. The girl everyone can count on and who rallies the troops whenever one of us needs a little boost. I’m not supposed to be anything other than sweet. I’m not the one secretly pining for a man twice my age. A man who shifts into a bear at whim and runs the whole darn town with a calm sort of confidence never before seen in Kinship Cove. But I do pine. I pine hard.

And when I make bad decisions because of that, I become the sister with a burden bigger than she can carry.

And a secret.

What would you do if you needed money fast? What wouldn’t you do?

I won’t sell my body. So instead, I’ll sell the closest thing I can—to whoever has the right amount of cash.

And I’ll cross my fingers and hope the bear shifter who refuses to see me as anything other than sweet never finds out.

It sucks to be invisible. In the diner my family owns, I’m just the sister who gets stuff done. My entire skulk seems to forget about me on a weekly basis. So color me tickled when the fates drop my fated mate—a hunky, nerdy-hot wolf shifting professor—directly in my path. But not all matings go as planned, mine included.


He’s smart, he’s hot, and he’s decided to use our bond for research instead of actually getting to know me. And did I mention he used to buy my best friend’s worn undergarments? Thanks for that, fates.


Undies aside, my wolf shifter professor is about to learn his toughest lesson ever—never go up against a fox shifter in a battle of wit or will. We’re sneaky, smart, and not afraid to take an opponent to the mattresses to win a battle.

I have two great loves of my life—my fox shifting family (no matter how much they drive me crazy) and being on stage. True, my acting credits are relegated to the local community playhouse, but that doesn’t matter. I spend my free time learning lines and rehearsing scenes…that very few people will ever see. Dating, mating, and all that comes with it? Unimportant.

At least until a man with a sharp gaze, a little gray in his hair, and a familiar face comes walking into the diner. He’s handsome, charming, and the fates say all mine.

Except he’s also famous—an actor whose eagle shifter instincts have brought him stardom in the action-movie arena.

The fates aren’t always kind, but giving me someone who lives his life in such a public way might just be too cruel for words. I’ve never really worried about finding a mate, but now that I have him? I don’t want to be without him. And I’ve had enough sharing for one lifetime.

I haven’t spent much time thinking about dating or mating or any of that sort of stuff. I’m more of a good girl, waiting for the fates to bring me my perfect match and working hard to help my family in any way possible. That’s how I ended up in Kinship Cove in the first place—my aunt needed help at her diner, so here I am. Staying in an old bed-and-breakfast, trying to avoid being yelled at by my loving—if not constantly frazzled—auntie, and avoiding winking shifters like the plague. Men? Not on my radar.

At least not until a beast of a man comes strolling through the door. Literally. He’s not what I expected—gray hair, deep, dark eyes, and a temper known throughout the town…including by local law enforcement.

The fates definitely want us together, but when his past comes fighting its way into our present, the fates may not be enough.

Love behind bars is a thing, right?

Being from the O’Rudolph family never had saved me from ridicule or given me any extra access to those reindeer games, but I’d made it through my childhood relatively unscathed. Or so I liked to tell myself. Truth be told, one herd in particular had been awfully cruel and gone well beyond just laughing and calling me names. But that was years ago. Right? I should be over it…right? 

Over it or not, I was older. More mature. An adult. An adult with a job that took her to a shifter town named Kinship Cove, where the fates not only introduce me to a diner-owning, fox-shifting old lady who makes me the best cups of peppermint coffee ever, they also throw me a wild curve ball in the form of one Bennett Donderson. My fated mate and a man who can truly rock the white hair look. Unfortunately, he’s also a man from the herd of my nightmares. One who had been unable—or unwilling—to protect me from his very own niece. How can I trust someone whose family takes being on the naughty list to an emotionally scarring sort of extreme?

What’s a girl to do when her past slams headfirst into her present and threatens her future?