Desert Rangers Fallout

(Fourth book in the Her Wolves series) Teagan van der Merwe knew at least one thing in this life, you couldn't trust anyone. Not even your own flesh and blood. Exiled from her pack at the tender age of nineteen by her parents, all because she loved the wrong person. Harland. Her mate. They were cast out. Left to fend for themselves. As if they had any say in who the goddess chose for them. Mates were forever, another lesson she had learned. Harland was the only one who saw her for her. Now, nine years later, she was forced to go back to that hell hole of a place. Forced to face the demons she had left behind. Alone. What she comes to discover would shake her to the very core. Teagan would find a second mate. The last person on this earth she had ever thought would be hers. Bellamy Johanness. The heir of Desert Sun. And the man she had been betrothed to. *** “For you? For you I would slaughter them all. Every last person that has ever made you cry. I would burn this world to the fucking ground if it meant you were happy. Maybe I am exactly the kind of person you thought I was. But maybe, just maybe, that’s the kind of person you need in your corner,” His fingertips reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. Beheld me with crystal clear vision. Saw through me. “Fuck all of them. So long as I have you.” I couldn’t stop myself. Felt my body moving forward, all on its own. The distance between us closed. Our eyes remained locked on each other. Everything stopped. Then his lips touched mine and everything fell right into place.

Christmas Eve was meant to be the culmination of seven years of long-distance longing—the day Lorenzo finally slid an engagement ring onto my finger. Instead, a sudden emergency surgery chained me to the operating table. The patient wasn't just suffering from a premature delivery and catastrophic hemorrhaging; she was riddled with infections, the biological fallout of a reckless, hedonistic lifestyle. The girl on the table spat out orders with a venomous entitlement that made my blood run cold. "My husband is the head of the Corleone family. He’s second to none, and this entire city bows to him. If you can’t save my baby, you’re all dead." My mind went blank. There was only one head of the Corleone family: Lorenzo. "You’ve got the wrong man," I said, my voice wavering despite my frown. "The news said he’s already engaged to a woman from a rival family for a strategic alliance." The girl looked at me as if I’d just told a pathetic joke. She surveyed me with a mocking sneer. "Oh, he’s mentioned that woman. He said she’s like a cold corpse—that even touching her makes him sick to his stomach. She doesn't provide him a fraction of the pleasure I do." She smirked. "He heard something happened to the baby. He’s en route from Sicily right now with his personal detail." She flicked her phone screen open. There it was: a photo of her and Lorenzo, locked in a suffocatingly intimate embrace. I froze. A second later, a notification from Lorenzo vibrated against my palm. “Darlin’, something urgent came up tonight. I’m skipping the engagement dinner. I’ll make it up to you later.” Since they were so utterly in love, I decided to give them exactly what they wanted. I dialed a number that had been silent for three years—the number of the true mastermind of the underworld, Don Sebastian. "Does your proposal from three years ago still stand?"