Single daddys mate small.., p.1
Single Daddy’s Mate: Small Town Shifter Romance (Rose Valley Wolves Book 2), page 1
Single Daddy’s Mate
Small Town Shifter Romance
Rose Valley Wolves Book 2
Electra Cage
Copyright © 2023 by Electra Cage.
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of the book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, including recording, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Prologue - River
Chapter 1 - River
Chapter 2 - Finn
Chapter 3 - River
Chapter 4 - Finn
Chapter 5 - Finn
Chapter 6 - River
Chapter 7 - Finn
Chapter 8 - River
Chapter 9 - River
Chapter 10 - Finn
Chapter 11 - River
Chapter 12 - Finn
Chapter 13 - River
Chapter 14 - River
Chapter 15 - Finn
Chapter 16 - River
Chapter 17 - Finn
Chapter 18 - Finn
Chapter 19 - River
About the Author
Books by Electra Cage
Prologue - River
Thirteen years earlier
Familiar figures moved through the densely wooded area not far from the old log house. They moved between the trees, not discreet about their footsteps or the echo of each snapping twig beneath their boots.
Watching them through the screen door, River wanted desperately to know what they were up to. Her older brother Kai and his best friend Finn Windrow were a duo unlike any other, often up to no good or snooping on pack affairs.
River wasn’t one to be left behind.
Once they were far enough away, River popped the door open and slipped out silently. She was hoping to go unnoticed, moving carefully through the backyard lined by the woods and following their trail as best as she could. She passed through the trees and did her best to avoid the crunchy foliage beneath her feet.
River could still smell them faintly even after they’d moved out of sight. Though she wasn’t yet fully blessed with a shifted wolf’s keen senses as she was only fourteen and four years away from her initiation into the pack. Her gift was still enough to trail them without losing them altogether.
River took shallow breaths and weaved gingerly between the trees. The cool autumn wind tousled her dark hair and the leaves littering the ground, but the chill never reached her skin.
The back of Finn’s head disappeared behind a cluster of trees, forcing her to pick up the pace. They were farther ahead than she liked, and she was unable to hear what they were saying.
River’s heart ran faster all the while she followed them, eager to know why they had moved so far into the bush.
Finn and Kai normally went to the Windrow’s residence since Finn’s father wasn’t the alpha who had eyes and ears everywhere. River hated it when they went over there because she had no way of snooping until they emerged again.
Whatever they got up to over there, she’d never know.
River’s breath hitched when a spare stick crunched beneath her boot, and she froze. The sound reverberated off the trees and came back to her in a loud echo.
She waited for Kai and Finn to turn around and call her out, but they only continued walking. Hesitantly, she paused until she was sure they hadn’t heard her.
Another small breath passed her lips, and she continued.
River’s legs grew tired, unaware of how far they’d traveled on foot. The more they walked, the more disinterested she became, but it was too late to turn back. She’d committed to it and couldn’t head back without knowing where they were going.
“We know you’re back there, River.”
Kai’s voice wafted in her direction, and River’s feet stilled. He sounded vaguely annoyed yet not at all surprised. He was the alpha’s son with a little sister constantly in tow. Where he and Finn went, I did too.
The two boys had stopped some distance away, and Finn cast a look over his shoulder, “You’re not as sneaky as you think, rat.”
Finn’s sneer cascaded a wave of embarrassment over River, and her cheeks bloomed with color, yet she was too stubborn to turn back and head home again.
Instead, she gave up her stealth and approached them. Revealing herself once and for all.
River crinkled up her face. “I’m not a rat.”
Finn gave her a bland face and put his hands in his jacket pockets. “What are you then?”
“I’m a werewolf, and if you’re going to do werewolf things, then I want in,” River said with her chest and chin up, displaying whatever confidence she could muster.
Kai rolled his eyes. “Technically, you aren’t even a shifter yet since you haven’t stepped into your power.”
The comment made River’s cheeks burn. She hated whenever he made her feel inferior to him. She didn’t choose to be the youngest in the family.
“That’s not fair, Kai. I will be eventually, and the alpha is my dad too.”
Seemingly unwilling to stay and argue, Kai pinched the bridge of his nose and forced out a sigh. “Fine. But hurry up. Don’t stray behind.”
River’s eyes brightened at the idea, excited by the morsel of acceptance her brother offered her. They didn’t willingly bring her along often.
“Don’t tell anyone we’re letting you come with us, rat,” Finn said, lips twisted in a devilish smile. “Try not to live up to the name.”
Kai turned and continued in the same direction, which told River it was a time-sensitive matter.
Finn’s words settled against her skin, and the color never left her cheeks. Unable to say anything to him, River moved on and averted her eyes. She heard the scoff that came from him, and Finn followed Kai.
The wash of shame came quickly, yet River wouldn’t let it stop her fun. She was given express—albeit reluctant—permission to follow, and that was a sacred opportunity.
River swallowed back the sheepish blush and navigated through the woods. They walked in silence, seemingly due to her presence, but once the quiet between them became too much, she couldn’t hold back the unsolicited words.
“I read a book the other day about a type of fungus that only grows in the presence of rotten flesh. It grows in the woods where animal carcasses are, and only there. Some say it feeds on the skin and fluid left behind,” River murmured happily, watching out for protruding roots.
Kai said nothing as he continued, but Finn’s voice reached her in a muffled tone. He didn’t even look back at her. “Do they grow near human bodies?”
River pondered the question for a minute. “I don’t see why not. It didn’t say anything about being exclusive to animals.”
“Then you better watch out for some around here. You never know what bodies may be littering these woods,” Finn returned with an almost condescending tone.
The realization hit River, and a shiver went down her spine. “Are there really dead bodies here?”
Before Finn could speak, Kai’s voice cut in. “No, River. Finn’s being an ass.”
While she was relieved by the admission, she bristled at Finn’s words and tried to shake them off, almost falling for it.
River could feel the smirk on Finn’s face. “These woods are big, and it’s not like every square inch is checked for cadavers. You never know.”
Kai threw an irritated look in Finn’s direction, and he put his hands up in mock surrender.
River didn’t like the idea of possibly finding someone, so she chose to ignore it. It wasn’t uncommon for Finn to mess with her, and she’d learned to let it wash off her back.
“Where are we going?” River asked, losing her patience with every step.
“It’s a surprise.”
Kai’s short response was less than satisfying, and River grumbled under her breath.
The small group pressed on until they reached the edge of the woods that sloped down to the ground below. They were some distance away, but River recognized the building nestled between the trees. It was the old gym used by the pack for training.
River’s brows came together in question, but she noticed as Finn and Kai leaned against the trees next to them. Their eyes were already settled on the scene in front of them, with Finn crossing his arms and wearing a focused expression.
She swallowed hard at the sight of him. Even though Finn wasn’t the warmest to her, she always found him beautiful to look at. He was only three years older than her, and she couldn’t help but think it wasn’t that drastic of an age difference.
Something about his grey-blue eyes turned stormy whenever his brows furrowed in question or if he grew angry. His skin was freshly tanned as if the sun blessed him wherever he walked.
River only wished he would be nicer to her.
When River detected movement below, she watched as several men walked out of the woods and met outside the old gym. She recognized some of the men from her father’s pack, but she didn’t know the others.
Two of the men, one from the pack and one of the strangers, faced one another while the others formed a circle around them both. They barred their teeth and growled, claws down at their sides.
“What’s going on—”
River’s words w
River swallowed hard and nodded, yet more questions moved around in her mind. Finn glanced at her and sighed.
“A wolf from your father’s pack challenged a rival to a fight. Maxim doesn’t let this kind of thing happen often, so it’s under wraps. He doesn’t want any kids involved.”
“Since Finn is still seventeen and hasn’t been initiated yet, he isn’t allowed to watch either,” Kai added lowly, looking away from the scene below long enough to cast Finn a warning glare.
Kai had been initiated for a few years, and River had been surprised that he didn’t turn away from Finn once he’d turned eighteen. It wasn’t optimal to be seen hanging around with young shifters after being accepted into the pack since recruits were meant to figure out their place in the pack and find their maturity.
A small gasp came from River’s mouth the second she heard the echoing crack of a fist against bone. Snapping her head in the direction of the fight, she noticed as the rival member staggered back and clutched at his face before he shook it off and charged at their man.
It wasn’t long before they both shifted and collided with one another, teeth first.
The sheer anger and horror from their sounds sent a shiver down River’s spine, and she found it difficult to watch. She didn’t like the idea of fighting to settle a score. She understood why her dad didn’t want the kids to see.
They bit and scratched one another, shaking their heads each time they clamped down on skin to put on additional pressure.
Their snarls made River uneasy, and she wondered if there were any rules to the fight. From what she could tell, there weren’t any, and the wolves were left to fight alone.
She wasn’t used to seeing such aggressive behavior among the wolves, and River didn’t like it at all.
River took a step back, hoping the distance would help calm her nerves. She noticed how Finn glanced over his shoulder at her with a smirk.
“This is what happens in packs. You need to get used to it.”
While River often found herself taking Finn’s words to heart often, she wouldn’t allow herself to sit with that thought for too long. She didn’t want to be used to bloodshed and violence until she was ready.
Averting her eyes, River couldn’t look at the fight any longer.
However, a change in their animalistic sounds made her curious. “What’s happening?”
“Our guy won,” Kai said, attention firmly on the action below. “The other pack doesn’t look happy about it.”
River glanced in Kai’s direction and recognized how his face fell. “What is it?”
“They shifted back, but now another rival wants a piece of them. There’s a new fight,” Finn uttered, eyes locked on the scuffle.
River peered down at the mention of it, and as Finn said, the defeated wolf stood behind his pack while another was in front, swinging at Maxim’s man. The others tried to hold the two wolves back, yet they both looked prepared for more blood.
They seemed to struggle, but one of the Rose Valley wolves yelled over his shoulder. “Kai! Lend a hand!”
Kai swallowed hard and looked back at Finn, face hardened by the more serious turn of events. “Get River back home safe. Got it?”
Finn stumbled over an answer but couldn’t say anything else, not while he was uninitiated and somewhere he shouldn’t have been. Before he could object, Kai tore away from them and barreled down the slope.
River’s heart raced all the while, not only because she was left alone with Finn but because the fight had escalated beyond what anyone had anticipated.
She heard the deep sigh from Finn, yet he turned to begin in the direction they came. He paused once he realized she hadn’t moved.
“Are you coming or what? You heard Kai.”
River shivered at his terse tone, and she bit back her nerves for the sake of doing what she was told. She hoped Kai and the others would be all right.
Finn’s expression softened a touch, but not enough to seem overly caring. “It’ll be fine. They’ll figure it out.”
“What if things get worse and dad is too far away to help?” River questioned, following him at last through the ferns and trees.
“Your dad is a smart guy. He has his way of taking care of things,” Finn started, eyes fixed on his feet while he walked. “I’d help if I was initiated.”
“You don’t have much longer to wait,” River added, hoping to sound optimistic for him.
Finn scoffed. “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever. What use am I while I’m underage?”
River stepped over a stump and walked carefully through the woods. “It seems dangerous, don’t you think?”
The blush overcame her cheeks when she caught up with Finn and noticed his amused look. He snickered.
“That’s what it means to be a werewolf. You can’t have the gift without danger.”
The fluid sound of his voice weakened River, and she did everything in her power not to let it show. It hardly worked.
When River said nothing, Finn reached over and yanked one of River’s braids just enough to pull her head back.
River gasped as the air was stolen from her chest at the sudden contact. She couldn’t believe what he’d done.
“You’ll need to toughen up before you’re initiated, rat.”
River scowled coldly at him, yet it didn’t last long enough to be threatening. His attractive features were enough to dispel her irritation. Something that often let him off the hook with her. She could never stay mad at him.
Finn was cute, and she couldn’t deny it. She couldn’t ignore how excited she felt just from looking at him and being near one another.
His eyes remained on hers for a beat longer than she had thought possible, and her cheeks flared. His brow raised as if picking up on her reaction.
“I’m not stupid, you know.”
“What?” River returned as a slight, meek sound.
“I know you like me.”
It was almost cruel how easily Finn spoke about the matter while River wanted nothing more than to be eaten up by the ground beneath her feet so she could finally hide how easily he affected her.
River tried to swallow back the lump in her throat, to no avail.
That devilish smirk remained on his lips. Meanwhile, Finn moved forward and pulled a branch out of the way for River to continue.
Her heart thrummed in her chest, pondering why he even brought it up in the first place.
She had always liked him, which was certainly no secret, but she couldn’t be sure how he felt. River assumed she knew everything about him, from what made him laugh to what made him snap with anger. Finn came across as mean and arrogant, but she knew deep down there was good in him.
While she had certainly seen him with his fair share of girlfriends and often overheard him talking with Kai about the girls he found attractive, she wondered if he would change for her. If there was any shred of possibility that Finn liked her back.
A blurry object swung back into River’s vision and smacked her face. The whip-like sensation stung her skin, and River winced immediately. She swatted at the branch, realizing it was the one Finn had been holding.
Her face burned under his intense stare.
Their gaze met, and River couldn’t predict what he was thinking, no matter how much she wanted to.
She wanted to yell and scream at him for being an ass, yet she desperately longed for him to admit his antics all came from a place of love and juvenile feelings.
River wanted to know if there was hope for them. If Finn could see her as more than his best friend’s little sister. A rat.
However, the actual sting came from his words and the way his grey eyes narrowed.
“Just so you know, I don’t feel the same about you. I never will.”
Chapter 1 - River
Afternoon light splayed across the highway as the sun began its descent, yet River felt in no rush as she drove her car down the road.
With the top down, she cruised into Rose Valley, warmed as she passed the welcome sign. Rose Valley was all she had ever known before going to college, and River was grateful to be back.
While school came with its ups and downs, she was glad to return with a degree and a vision for what was to come. Leaving for higher education was the first thing River ever did for herself, and she didn’t regret it for a second.
