Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate

"I’m fine, Mom," I said, balancing my phone between my shoulder and ear as I slid off my cherry-red Ducati. After hanging my helmet on the handlebars, I tucked my key into my bra and headed toward the run-down bar.The neon sign above read “OM’S.” The letters were too faded to make out, even under the full moon, so I shifted into my wolf form. It was second nature at this point. My body remained human as I read the full name: Tommy’s."Get back to New York and bite Noah," my mom snapped. "The trials start next week. You know he can save your life, and—""And probably die trying," I cut her off, smoothing the frizz in my hot pink hair.I wasn’t sure what city I was in, but I knew it was in Maine. Thick forests stretched for miles, soothing the wolf in me.After checking into a sketchy motel, I was told the bar down the street had the best food, so I made my way over to satisfy my growling stomach.I was nauseous—not from the food, but because my hot pink hair marked me as an unmated ru

There was something about Hazel Ellis’s scent that struck me unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Women generally have pleasant aromas, but hers was a unique blend of leather and citrus that made it impossible to control my instincts. It was as if the animal inside me—my bear—wanted to burst free.The moment she pinned me to the ground and I inhaled her scent fully, I lost all control. My mind snapped into grizzly mode, and I could feel pheromones I’d never been able to control flooding out, designed specifically to draw her in. Hazel was my True Mate, and I hadn’t even realized it until that moment at Tommy’s bar.For ruby shifters like me, meeting a True Mate is almost unheard of. Nature doesn’t care about fur color, and often pairs us with non-rubies, which makes it dangerous to try to turn them into one of us. So, when we find the person nature intends for us, most of us just walk away.I never thought I’d find my True Mate, so stumbling upon Hazel felt like winning the lo

With a frown, I turned my head slightly toward him and sniffed.Shit, he really did smell better than the steak. I’d officially taken a turn toward crazy-town.What the hell had he done to me?“Do your pheromones change the way things smell?” I asked, biting into a fry.“True Mate pheromones do, but it only affects the way I smell to you. I probably smell better than either of our meals, right now.” He nodded toward my food, his hands wrapped around the giant burger. “You sure as hell smell and taste better than this.”My cheeks reddened.Dammit, I was like a blushing teenager. Because of my ruby wolf status, no man had ever touched me as anything more than a friend. I knew how to charm the pants off most of them, but they tended to be either too intimidated by me or too afraid of my parents to risk touching me. I was twenty-two and still had virgin lips, of all things. Hell, even my fingers were virgins, since I’d never held a guy’s hand or anything.I took a big bite of steak so I

My eyes followed Darius and my female through the clouds. All the other bird shifters answered to him, and they were on our side in the war, but I’d never really trusted him. The claws at the tips of my fingers gave away my itch to damn the consequences and remove his head.I’d known other unmated ruby men would come after Hazel. Why wouldn’t they? The wolves were meant to lead the city, and she was damn sexy. Many of those assholes would do anything for power, and if it came with a body like hers, they would fight to the bitter end.So would I.Hazel’s friend slid off her bike, walking to my side. She leaned up against my truck’s grill, tilting her head up to the sky.“Too bad you don’t have wings. Hazel’s an adrenaline junky; if you had wings to go with your yummy scent, she’d probably mate with you right away,” Liv remarked.I scoffed, glaring at the griffin overhead. “There are better ways to get her adrenaline up.”“True. But flying is pretty cool.”My fingers twitched, claws gro

I really needed to learn his name; Merrick’s nicknames for him were degrading. It was understandable, given their history, but I wasn’t a part of that history and would see for myself before making a judgment.I stood, stepping away from the table and up beside Merrick. “Why don’t you guys pull up chairs and we can all talk over lunch,” I smoothed the conflict easily.“Sounds lovely,” the prince purred.I didn’t think I’d ever admit it, but I liked Merrick’s engine-idling sound a hell of a lot more than the cat’s soft purr. There was just something more honest about the grizzly, and I preferred honest to conniving a million times over.Merrick sat stiffly in his chair while the cat guys dragged another round table over. The lion took the chair at the head of the table, opposite Merrick instead of beside me. Clearly, his pride in his position outweighed his interest in me.When the grizzly’s hands didn’t move back to his food, falling to his thighs in tight fists, my mind went back to