About Packmate for Hire
Author: Julia Talbot
Word Count: 20000
Page Count (pdf):
ISBN: 978-1-942831-47-1
Price: $2.99
Pairing: MM
Series: Alpha Tales
Genre: paranormal
Date Published: 04/18/2017
Publisher: Turtlehat Creatives
Heat Rating: 
File Types available: pdf, mobi, epub
Summary:
Brendan Gray has no idea why he stopped in at a tiny Colorado mountain town to have lunch. He’s supposed to be in Wyoming, tracking wolves. The place called to him, though, and he figures out why when he realizes his old pack mate, Rand, is now an Alpha in the cutest little wolf pack ever. Then he meets Shon, who’s also just passing through, and decides he might need to stay for a bit. especially since Rand seems willing to pay him to be a pack guardian.
Shon has a history of making bad decisions and is on the run from his most recent one when he meets Brendan. They’re smoking hot together, but Shon wants to go slowly so they can get to know each other. He decides to hang around in Nowheresville for a while. and he hopes Brendan is staying for his benefit. Trouble follows Shon everywhere, though, and between that and Brendan’s uncertainty about their relationship, they might just lose each other before they know what they have.
Excerpt:
Brendan Gray had no idea why he stopped at this tiny fucking town in Nowhere, Colorado. He didn’t even see a city limit sign with a name on it. The place looked like an Alpine village in like, Switzerland or something. Cute. Lots of window boxes with petunias.
Christ. He was a wildlife researcher. He needed to be in Wyoming, tracking reintroduced wolves, so why was his ass in a tiny general store/post office/ coffee shop-cum-diner, having an early morning piece of quiche, hopefully followed by as Cinnabon knockoff?
“You’re new.” The lady with the fiery red hair stopped by to refill his coffee.
“Just passing through,” Brendan murmured.
She snorted, her green eyes dancing. “That was what Rand said.”
Bren narrowed his eyes at her. He had an old packmate named Rand, and that might have called him here… Surely not. “Rand?”
“Our new alpha. Going on six months.” She smiled in a fond sort of way.
He shook his head slowly. “Big? Hairy? Brown hair and kinda gold eyes?”
Now she was the one squinting at him. “Uh-huh. You sound as if you know him.”
“If it’s the same guy, we were packmates as kids.” Bren sighed. “No wonder I was drawn here.” Old pack ties tended to call a man, even when he had no idea what was going on.
“No shit? Well, good on you. I can call him if you want to see him.”
Bren looked at her with new eyes. She could just call up the Alpha? Impressive. “Are you mated?”
“No, but he did mate with my brother Tate.”
“Now, that sounds more like Rand.” He winked, and she snorted.
“Want me to call?” she asked.
“Might as well see him. Sure.” Some kind of pack pull had brought him here. Bren might as well figure out why.
“Okay. More cream?”
“Please.” Bren sat back to wait, his coffee piping hot, the place really laid back and quiet. Quaint, like the town.
Less annoying than it had been when Bren couldn’t figure out why he was here. Now it took on a kind of weird, satisfying glow.
“Hey. Brendan?” An older gent stepped into the coffee shop, smiling easily.
“Yep.” Who the hell was this?
“Junior. Alpha asked me to take you out to his place. You got a vehicle or you need a ride?”
“I can follow you if I can get my coffee to go. And a cinnamon roll.”
Rand. An alpha. His old friend hated drama, had become a lone wolf. Why was he suddenly leading this obviously tiny pack in Colorado?
“Mairi, can I get this feller a coffee to go and a bag of pastry for Rand and Tate? Oh, and he wants a cinnamon roll.”
“Of course.” Mairi bustled about, bells chiming when she moved. She was such a pretty hippie lady with her wild red hair and long skirt and peasant blouse. She appealed to his mother earth love.
Or earth mother. Whatever.
She came back and handed him a cup with a lid, then gave Junior a big paper bag filled with pastry. “Tell Tate I want to see him soon. I miss his face.”
“You could just go up to the house,” Junior pointed out.
Mairi wrinkled her nose. “And take a chance on interrupting? Hell, no. See you.” She waved, and that was that.
Bren hopped in his truck after they made their way outside, ready to follow Junior to Rand’s. This whole situation was bizarre; what if that wasn’t his old packmate Rand? What if he showed up and it was someone else? Maybe they were all ax murderers here and this was all just an elaborate ploy.
Of course, Rand was a weird enough name it would be hard to pick it randomly.
The road they followed wound up past a stand of trees with cabins on the left and a guardrail on the right, overlooking a steep drop. Nice. The view from Rand’s place must be amazing.
Junior pulled a U-turn at the top of the last turn, waving him on up the road. So, only one house up here must be for the Alpha. Good deal.
He pulled off the main road when he spotted the mailbox and followed the drive back to a spotless A frame cabin with a couple of outbuildings. The place looked like a storybook home in the woods. He expected to see Hansel and Gretel pop out, covered in sticky candy residue.
Instead, the door opened to reveal Rand, an older version of the friend he hadn’t seen in years.