All Chapters of Island Stripe Pride: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Alex blinked against the bright light, his head still pounded from the Christmas party and he had no idea what to make of what his Neta was saying.“I said, I found her, my mate. We were married this morning and will be returning to the penthouse this afternoon. Have it cleaned and make sure everyone is ready to meet their new Nari,” Dean commanded from the satellite phone Alex had snuck into the trunk of his Valkyrie.“Yes, Neta,” Alex wasn’t too hungover from the night before to not recognize that tone of voice.“Is she hot?” he asked and pulled the phone away from his ear as his Neta roared ferociously into the phone.“Mine!” growled Dean.“Holy hell! She is your fated mate! All will be made ready, Neta,” Alex said and grinned from ear to ear.Once he hung up on his Beta, Dean turned to his beautiful Christmas bride. She was smiling happily, resplendent in a white gown they’d picked up from her boss, Sherry McAllister, who happened to be a Witch

It was dark out, but Alex could see perfectly fine in the silvery light coming from the three-quarter filled moon directly overhead.“The Sunset Inn. The perfect beach getaway where you’ll leave with only the fondest memories and a killer tan. My ass. Probably leave with bedbugs and the need for a week’s worth of antibiotics,” he growled his displeasure, tossing the cheesy brochure aside.What the actual fuck was his Neta thinking sending him to some flea ridden roach motel in the Jersey shore? Alex had stayed in actual palaces. He’d dined with kings and queens. Had homes in London, Paris, Rome, the Isle of Sky, and his own personal island in the Caribbean. Not to mention his usual residence, a condo with an unparalleled view of Central Park West.He wasn’t a snob exactly. But his life was nothing to scoff at. The neon pink stucco nightmare of a hotel with the hideous blue roof seemed to be mocking him from its place on the corner of Ocean Boulevard.He looked down at the crumbled

Earlier that same day…Maggie was exhausted. There was no other word for it. The day had been a total fucking disaster, and that was putting it mildly.She replayed the events in her head. Uncertain how to break the news to her younger sister, Joelle. But she couldn’t keep it from her. Honesty was the one promise she’d made after their father had died a year ago, that she intended to keep. Joelle was being put on warning at Maccon City High. One more foot out of line and she was looking at a suspension.Shit.“Margaret Flint?”“That’s me,” Maggie stood up and forced a smile.She hated being called by her full name, but that was the name on the mortgage the bank held in her name. The hotel she’d inherited from her father came complete with a mountainous loan that an unemployed software developer could never pay back without a miracle.And she’d been working on one. There simply were not enough hours in a day. How could one woman run a hotel, or try to, raise a teenager, or try to

“Who are you again?”The gorgeous woman with honey-brown hair and flashing hazel eyes inquired. But he was too tongue-tied to speak. He mopped up his hair and face with the towel she’d given him, best he could.Shit. He wished he could have showered and dressed properly. That’s what he got for going out to drink first.Smooth, Alex. Very smooth.“He’s the cat burglar,” whispered the teenager, whom without the stink of oil and paint clogging up his senses, he easily discerned as a young she-Wolf.And that wasn’t the only thing that became apparent with his new proximity to the females. Alex sucked in a breath, and his tiger chuffed impatiently. Yes, he’d been right. The golden-haired beauty was his fated mate.Mine.“Excuse me?” he asked, surprised at the ridiculous notion that he was a thief.Cat? His inner beast scoffed at the poor description. Try Tiger. Sniff. Alex had never stolen a thing in his life, except maybe a kiss or two. Right then, he only wanted one female’s lips

Okay. So, Alex may have freaked out a little bit when the Wolf fucker touched his mate. His unclaimed mate, but mate, nonetheless. And that SOB had tugged on her ponytail, leaned right in, invading her space, and then he smiled at her, as if he had the fucking right.Should’ve killed him, snarled his Cat. Okay, that was taking it a bit far.Should’ve maimed him then, the Tiger insisted. He could live with that. Next time, he told the beast.Alex exhaled and closed his eyes. He felt as if he’d just run a fucking marathon in seconds. Like he’d gone ten rounds on the Tilt-a-Whirl after scoffing down a shit ton of cotton candy.No. Not cotton candy. Salted caramels. Oh damn, her taste was still on his lips. Kissing Maggie, feeling her come apart in his arms, was better than anything he could have ever dreamed about. Like every other sexual experience in his life had simply vanished under the innocent submission of his mate’s seductive kiss.Her plump lips had welcomed his invasion,