Caleb's Mate Read online

  Elena had run off to Chicago with her degree in journalism, equally eager to take on the world and become the next famous writer. Layla knew her sister had hustled herself all over that city. She’d published a few articles in several local papers, but Layla figured there was a good chance Elena was just as disillusioned about her aspirations as Layla. Neither one of them was willing to verbally admit defeat. Thus the dwindling phone calls.

  The last time the two of them had seen each other was a year ago when Grandma Mabel died and they both went to their hometown to attend her funeral and settle her affairs. It had been a brief whirlwind visit, during which they realized, not shockingly, that Grandma Mabel hadn’t had any money to her name. Her estate came out close to even when all her bills were finally paid and everything was sold.

  Not only had Layla not been surprised, but she’d been humbled and grateful because Grandma Mabel had paid every cent of Layla’s and Elena’s college education. She and Grandpa George had saved everything they could from the moment the twins were born.

  Every time Layla thought about what her grandparents had sacrificed for the two of them, she felt overwhelming gratitude. Part of her felt sad that neither grandparent was living to see her and her sister succeed in life.

  Layla reminded herself how unsuccessful she’d been and shuddered, thanking God that neither grandparent was alive wondering where all their hard-earned money had gone.

  Layla glanced around at her silent, empty apartment as she grabbed her suitcase and purse and made her way toward the door. In six hours, Layla would once again be reunited with Elena. And once again, it would be for a funeral. This time, however, they wouldn’t be in serious mourning because this funeral was for their Great Aunt Marge whom neither of them had ever met.

  The more Layla thought about the circumstances, the more ridiculous it seemed that neither she nor her sister had ever gone to visit Aunt Marge. Granted, there was a reason. Mabel held a grudge against her sister for over fifty years, never forgiving her, and making sure everyone around knew it.

  Marge’s crime: meeting a man in a town four hours away in Canyon Springs, Colorado, and staying in that town to marry him. Through Mabel’s eyes, the offense was so much more than that. After all, Canyon Springs was well known as a place with a large population of shifters.

  In Mabel’s mind, her sister never should have stopped in that town to get gas in the mid nineteen sixties in the first place. Ironically, although Grandma Mabel never seemed particularly racist or sexist or homophobic, she truly believed so-called “regular humans” should not mix with shifters.

  The lore, according to Mabel, was that shifters had some crazy ability to lure humans into their world and somehow use mind control to convince them to stay. Unfortunately, Mabel wasn’t the only person who believed that shit. Even though this was the twenty-first century and nobody cared much who married whom with regard to race or gender, society still had a stigma against shifters.

  For that reason, many shifters lived in smaller communities, preferring to stay off the radar as much as possible and not draw attention to themselves. Layla figured half the reason anyone believed all that gibberish about shifters having weird super powers was because they kept to themselves, adding to the mystery.

  Needless to say, Grandma Mabel had never forgiven her sister for meeting a man in Canyon Springs, marrying him, and staying there for the rest of her life. As far as Layla knew, the two sisters had never spoken again.

  The thought of never speaking to Elena again made Layla’s chest tighten. It was bad enough that they’d started separate lives in different states and had seen each other only once since graduation.

  Layla had been feeling nostalgic lately, missing Elena terribly. They were identical twins, just like their grandmother and great aunt. They shouldn’t be separated like this. It was time to make a change. Lord knew Layla was not making any headway in Los Angeles.

  In the last few days, Layla had made the rash decision to get out of her lease, put what few things she cared about in storage, and not return to Los Angeles. She hoped Elena wouldn’t mind if Layla headed with her to Chicago. At least then Layla could be broke without being alone.

  It wasn’t as if she couldn’t continue trying her luck at acting in Chicago. Maybe she could try out for some off-Broadway performances. Though lately, she’d begun to lose her passion for acting. Rejection would do that to a person.

  Layla’s latest real job that paid her rent had been as a waitress at a local pub. The owner barely flinched when Layla gave him three days’ notice. Starving artists were everywhere in Los Angeles. The man probably had a line of other wannabe actors and actresses needing rent money.

  Layla felt a bit lighter as she left her apartment and made her way downstairs. This chapter of her life was over. She was about to go on an adventure in Canyon Springs. Afterward she would try her hand at something new.

  She hadn’t told Elena she didn’t intend to return to Los Angeles. Pride still kept her from admitting defeat out loud, but by the end of the week, surely, the two of them would have spent enough evenings drinking several bottles of wine, catching up, and spilling secrets.

  In addition, Layla had to admit she wouldn’t be disappointed if there was some truth to the whispered rumors that shifters were freakishly fit, large, and sexy. She didn’t believe for a moment that they could actually use some sort of brainwashing to convince people to have sex with them. That was ridiculous. But hell, it had been a damn long time since Layla had gotten laid, and she wasn’t opposed to a one-night stand with some hunky shifter. Maybe a bear or a wolf.

  She laughed as she stepped out of the building for the last time and met her Uber. The woman glanced at Layla with an odd look while Layla continued to chuckle to herself as they headed to the airport. It wasn’t as if Layla was going to inform Pam the Uber driver that she was hoping to have sex with a shifter this week.

  Seriously though, what was Layla thinking? Canyon Springs was a small town. It would be rude to arrive and immediately start scouting out the men. People would expect them to be in mourning. Their aunt just died. A bit of reverence was in order.

  Gah. The only reason why Layla knew what the woman looked like was because Mabel was her identical twin. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to pick her aunt out of a lineup. Grandma Mabel hadn’t even kept childhood pictures of the two of them. At least not out for anyone to see.

  When Mabel passed away, Layla and Elena hadn’t been able to stay in their hometown of Hyde Park, Colorado, more than a few days. They’d given Mabel’s lawyer permission to hire someone to hold an estate sale. Layla knew there was a small storage unit in town, which held mementos and keepsakes, including old photo albums, but neither she nor Elena had gone back to pick anything up or even visit. They really should someday soon. It was only a few hours from Canyon Springs. If only life weren’t so darn complicated.

  Layla closed her eyes during the drive and took several cleansing breaths. No matter what, this was going to be an adventure, and she hoped to make the most out of it.

  She also hoped Elena would agree. They needed to reconnect. Have some fun. Laugh. Eat. Drink. And hey, if they also managed to meet some sexy hunks, Layla wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity.

  Please click here to continue reading Hunter’s Mate.

  Also by Becca Jameson

  Open Skies:

  Layover

  Redeye

  Emergency Exit

  First Class

  * * *

  Canyon Springs:

  Caleb’s Mate

  Hunter’s Mate

  * * *

  Corked and Tapped:

  Volume One: Friday Night

  Volume Two: Company Party

  Volume Three: The Holidays

  * * *

  Surrender:

  Raising Lucy

  Teaching Abby

  Leaving Roman

  Choosing Kellen

  Pleasing Josie

&nb
sp; * * *

  Project DEEP:

  Reviving Emily

  Reviving Trish

  Reviving Dade

  Reviving Zeke

  Reviving Graham

  Reviving Bianca

  Reviving Olivia

  Project DEEP Box Set One

  Project DEEP Box Set Two

  * * *

  SEALs in Paradise:

  Hot SEAL, Red Wine

  Hot SEAL, Australian Nights

  Hot SEAL, Cold Feet

  * * *

  Dark Falls:

  Dark Nightmares

  * * *

  Club Zodiac:

  Training Sasha

  Obeying Rowen

  Collaring Brooke

  Mastering Rayne

  Trusting Aaron

  Claiming London

  Sharing Charlotte

  Taming Rex

  Tempting Elizabeth

  Club Zodiac Box Set One

  Club Zodiac Box Set Two

  * * *

  The Art of Kink:

  Pose

  Paint

  Sculpt

  * * *

  Arcadian Bears:

  Grizzly Mountain

  Grizzly Beginning

  Grizzly Secret

  Grizzly Promise

  Grizzly Survival

  Grizzly Perfection

  Arcadian Bears Box Set One

  Arcadian Bears Box Set Two

  * * *

  Sleeper SEALs:

  Saving Zola

  * * *

  Spring Training:

  Catching Zia

  Catching Lily

  Catching Ava

  Spring Training Box Set

  * * *

  The Underground series:

  Force

  Clinch

  Guard

  Submit

  Thrust

  Torque

  The Underground Box Set One

  The Underground Box Set Two

  Saving Sofia (Special Forces: Operations Alpha)

  * * *

  Wolf Masters series:

  Kara’s Wolves

  Lindsey’s Wolves

  Jessica’s Wolves

  Alyssa’s Wolves

  Tessa’s Wolf

  Rebecca’s Wolves

  Melinda’s Wolves

  Laurie’s Wolves

  Amanda’s Wolves

  Sharon’s Wolves

  Wolf Masters Box Set One

  Wolf Masters Box Set Two

  * * *

  Claiming Her series:

  The Rules

  The Game

  The Prize

  * * *

  Emergence series:

  Bound to be Taken

  Bound to be Tamed

  Bound to be Tested

  Bound to be Tempted

  Emergence Box Set

  * * *

  The Fight Club series:

  Come

  Perv

  Need

  Hers

  Want

  Lust

  The Fight Club Box Set One

  The Fight Club Box Set Two

  * * *

  Wolf Gatherings series:

  Tarnished

  Dominated

  Completed

  Redeemed

  Abandoned

  Betrayed

  Wolf Gatherings Box Set One

  Wolf Gathering Box Set Two

  * * *

  Durham Wolves series:

  Rescue in the Smokies

  Fire in the Smokies

  Freedom in the Smokies

  * * *

  Stand Alone Books:

  Blind with Love

  Guarding the Truth

  Out of the Smoke

  Abducting His Mate

  Three’s a Cruise

  Wolf Trinity

  Frostbitten

  A Princess for Cale/A Princess for Cain

  About the Author

  Becca Jameson is a USA Today best-selling author of over 100 books. She is well-known for her Wolf Masters series, her Fight Club series, and her Club Zodiac series. She currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and her Goldendoodle. Two grown kids pop in every once in a while too! She is loving this journey and has dabbled in a variety of genres, including paranormal, sports romance, military, and BDSM.

  A total night owl, Becca writes late at night, sequestering herself in her office with a glass of red wine and a bar of dark chocolate, her fingers flying across the keyboard as her characters weave their own stories.

  During the day--which never starts before ten in the morning!--she can be found jogging, running errands, or reading in her favorite hammock chair!

  …where Alphas dominate…

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  Join my Facebook fan group, Becca’s Bibliomaniacs, for the most up-to-date information, random excerpts while I work, giveaways, and fun release parties!

  * * *

  Facebook Fan Group:

  Becca’s Bibliomaniacs

  Contact Becca:

  www.beccajameson.com

  [email protected]