Shifted Plans
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Shifted Plans
Copyright © 2014 by Brandy Walker
ISBN: 978-1-61333-749-3
Cover art by Syneca Featherstone
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Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Look for us online at:
ROAR
Mischief, Mongrels & Mayhem
Sorority Wolf by Rebecca Royce
Phoenix Rising by Cara Carnes
Imperfect Mate by Lia Davis
Coming Soon
Tempting Her Tiger by Virginia Cavanaugh
Shifted Plans
By
Brandy Walker
Dear Reader,
Welcome to autumn, 2014. It’s a time for pumpkin spice lattes, cooling days, and kids
heading back to school. I swear it feels like just yesterday that we were doing this
last year. You know, I have a deep and abiding love for paranormal romance. I actually
fell in love with urban fantasy and by extension paranormals thanks to two authors:
Anne Rice and Emma Bull. If you’ve never checked them out, you should.
Fortunately, in the years since I read those the genre of paranormal romance has grown
by leaps, shifts, fangs, and fur. I’ve always had a soft spot for shifter romance,
and if you told me a book had wolves or cats or bears in it—well, I was so there.
This hasn’t changed, not one bit. I don’t think there’s enough shifter romance in
the world, but I did want to see more—what happens when young shifters leave their
packs? What if they go off to school? How do they start over? How does a young wolf
or cat or bear or any young person really make that final leap to adulthood?
I am thrilled to introduce Decadent ROAR as an answer to those questions. The line
is dedicated to featuring stories about young weres and shifters who have come of
age but now must determine the path of the rest of their lives. It's an exciting time
of making your own decisions and not having to seek permission, but freedom always
comes with a cost. Fortunately for these burgeoning adults, they have the ROAR hotline
to reach out to.
Run by the mysterious siblings Hui and Min, 555-ROAR is a line shifters can text or
call for help, whether it’s,
What’s the best spot to hunt
, or
I’m in danger. What should I do
? It’s a helpline, and a lifeline in some cases. Growing up is hard—being an adult
is harder.
So what do we have to kick you off as ROAR launches a new school year? How about a
mongrel attending college close to home who must contend with a sexy Alpha and his
pride moving into her region? That’s the problem Mischief “Missy” Jones faces in
Mischief, Mongrels & Mayhem
by Heather Long.
Pledging a sorority can be hell, but is it so bad when you have a demon on your side?
Werewolf Alexandra will have to decide when Kieran promises to turn over heaven and
hell to help her out in
Sorority Wolf
by Rebecca Royce.
Not everyone gets encouragement when they head off into the big, bad world on their
own. This couldn’t be more true for fragile and abused Riletta who’s dumped at school
with no options, no fallback, and no hope—that is until delicious Macen intervenes
in the hot ride that is
Phoenix Rising
by Cara Carnes.
Choosing college can be a grueling experience, but, then again, so can diving into
adulthood and taking responsibility for your actions. Samira faces s a lot of hard
choices, none tougher than accepting human Gavin might be her mate in Lia Davis’
Imperfect Mates
.
Life is what happens when you’re not paying attention, and the best things don’t always
occur in the order you expect. They sure don’t for Avery and Declan. Both are busy
setting up their lives but the allure of mating throws them for a loop in Brandy Walker’s
Shifted Plans
.
Attracting attention from the male species is a hard job, even more so when that male
is a shifter. Some lines, though, are hard to cross, and Jordan will fight his attraction
to his best friend’s sister, Stacia, with everything he has in
Tempting her Tiger
by Virginia Cavanaugh.
Ultimately, the question these six stories must answer is not who will they be as
adults, but who are they? How do they reconcile everything they've ever known with
what can be? It's a new type of shifter romance, with all the love and passion required
to achieve a happily ever after....
Thank you for joining us as we launch a hot new series—we’ll do our best to make every
single tale memorable.
Happy Reading!
Heather Long and
Decadent Publishing
~Dedication~
To Heather Long. Thank you for believing in my storytelling and me.
Avery Hillman pulled open the heavy wood back door to her home away from home and
breathed a sigh of relief. Tension knotting her neck and back eased. The numbness
in her ass started to dissipate.
River Rock, the home of Shifter U, may technically be two hours away from her home
in Mischief, Wyoming, but this time the trip felt like it took forever.
The summer break with her pride had been filled with bickering siblings, rambunctious
cousins, and near nonstop work at the Hillman Family Medical Clinic.
Working her butt off at the clinic, she could handle. All day, every day. It filled
her with a sense of accomplishment to help others as the behind-the-scenes girl. The
one who made sure appointments ran smoothly amidst the chaos of emergencies and various
unexpected complications. The master’s in health services management she would receive
at the end of the school year would be the last item in her toolbox, the final key
she needed to solidify her position in the family business.
With her father’s promise, she would take over the management and running of their
clinic completely upon her return. Six grueling years of schooling and she would travel
home one last time to start her new life. A small thrill skittered through her at
the idea of settling down on her own. The comfort of familiarity mixing with the prospect
of doing things how she wanted, when she wanted, and with whomever she wanted. She
would be a bona fide adult, able to make decisions, whether good or bad, that would
dictate her future.
Clearing the visions of life after college from her head, she sucked in a deep breath,
allowing the scents and warmth of the house to calm her, bringing her back to the
present.
“This is it. My last year,” she announced to the empty townhome as she closed the
back door.
She knew there wouldn’t be anyone else in the house. Her roommates from the previous
year had either graduated or found their mates, leaving her the last woman standing.
Mate
.
The word whispered across her subconscious as she moved through the kitchen. She had
yet to find the guy who called to the lioness within. And trust her, she had looked.
At home. At school. At bars and parties. Well, the few she had gone to when not studying.
She even checked the patients coming into her father’s practice over the summer. Nothing.
Not a twitch or a nudge. Her lioness lazed about not caring whenever presented with
someone new.
She wasn’t in a hurry to find her mate. At least she tried to tell herself that each
time disappointment spiraled through her when it didn’t happen. At twenty-five, she
felt like an on-the-shelf spinster, destined to live a life of solitude with only
her nieces and nephews to keep her young.
I might need to cut back on the historical romances. That’s a bit dramatic even for
me.
She couldn’t deny she wanted what her friends had. They juggled mating ceremonies,
completing college, and finding a home or place to be closer to each other. She welcomed
the stress most would cringe and shy away from. Finding her mate would be a dream
come true.
For as long as she could remember, she’d woven fairy tales of meeting her mate, falling
in love, and having the perfect family and life.
Their eyes would meet across a crowded room, the glow of the mating connection reflected
in their stares. Drawn toward each other, they would come together in the middle of
the room, their scents mingling, weaving into one, and start the bonding process.
He would be reluctant to leave her side, insisting he couldn’t be away from her for
any length of time. He would woo her, tempt her with his words and actions. Then he
would beg her to mate with him, do anything to be with her.
A soft, dreamy sigh escaped her lips, startling her from her musings, as she pulled
her bags behind her through the living room.
Mating wasn’t all hearts, sparkles, and rainbows. She knew that. Not all mates were
lucky enough to fall in love. With the mating connection the couple generally got
together regardless, the pull from their beasts too much to resist, but nothing guaranteed
they would be perfect mates. For mating to turn into love, to become perfect mates,
hard work and dedication were required. There would be arguments and compromise followed
by passionate nights filled with apologies and forgiveness.
Days when you questioned your sanity about agreeing to become someone’s mate for all
eternity. Nights when you wondered how the two of you could make it work when it felt
as if your path was littered with every obstacle known to man.
The negatives didn’t dissuade her from the romantic, heart-thumping, breath-stealing
ideas floating through her head. She had lived with them for so long she didn’t want
her mating to go any other way. Didn’t know what she would do if it did.
Her mom told her she would find the
One
when she was supposed to. Probably when she least expected it. Avery wrinkled her
nose at the thought. She could admit to not being a fan of surprises, not when it
came to something as important as this. Then again, it could be her inability to let
nature take its course as to why she hadn’t found the elusive
One
. She anticipated his arrival around every corner, in every room she entered. She
was constantly on the lookout for this mysterious mate destined to be her perfect
match, her perfect mate.
“Not this year, Av,” she murmured as a reminder. She promised herself she would try
to let it happen as the Fates intended. Live in the moment and not actively look for
him. She wanted to enjoy her time with her friends, not stress over finding a man
to complicate her life. She needed to embrace this last year of being responsible
for nothing other than graduating.
“And I shouldn’t have to keep reminding myself either,” she muttered.
The urge to drop her bags at the foot of the stairs tugged at her when she looked
up. Two flights of steps. One steeper than the other. She knew once she set them down,
she wouldn’t want to pick them up. Trudging up the well-worn wooden stairs, her footsteps
echoed throughout the house. She passed the second floor and continued to the third.
Being the residential manager of the townhouse meant she had the coup of living in
the top floor loft, basically a studio apartment.
She had a bedroom separated from the small but functional living room and a nice little
kitchen with all of the amenities, including a bar and two tall-backed stools, creating
the perfect eating area. Her bathroom was bigger than all of the others in the house—garden
tub; shower; a pretty, single-sink vanity with under-cabinet storage. If she could
find something similar in Mischief, she would be one happy woman. No way did she plan
to move in with her parents and obnoxious siblings like her mother hoped. The promise
of the finished basement not nearly alluring enough to put up with that madhouse.