FORBIDDEN HEAT release date, synopsis, ARC info, and sneak peek!

Have I been saved? Or am I in more danger?

She tried to get a better read on who held her, but she was in a fireman’s hold, moving fast. All the bouncing made the pain in her side and head sharper, and she had to concentrate on not passing out.

They stopped, and she heard a vehicle door open, stuff being moved around, and then something hit the ground. She was laid down on the seat. The upholstery carried the aroma of the male shifter, and her alertness increased. At that moment, she knew why his scent was off.

He wasn’t a cat-shifter like her.

He was a wolf-shifter.

Cat-shifters and wolf-shifters weren’t friends—not in Minnesota, not anymore. The Minnesota Pride hadn’t been on good terms with the Minnesota Pack for almost ten years.

Shit.

She should really try to leave. If only she wasn’t hurt and so damn tired…

She heard one door close before the opposite side opened, and then she was pulled until her head was placed in the wolf-shifter’s lap. Her left hip ached, and she rolled over to ease some of the pain, curling into the stranger.

He gently stroked his hand over her hair, moving it out of her face as he spoke, but the buzzing in her ears prevented her from making out the words.

Is he my rescuer or my captor?

Despite the unknown situation, his actions soothed her. Her adrenaline crashed, and as her fatigue settled over her like a heavy blanket, she wasn’t sure if she even cared anymore.

She should have been wary, but she was so tired. Instead, she felt surprisingly safe and protected, not afraid at all. Maybe tomorrow she’d feel differently, but she could worry about that tomorrow.

She buried her nose in his waist—breathing in the scent of wolf, rich cedar, and pure male—before she relaxed and let the blackness consume her.

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Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Damien Lowell slammed his fist against the steering wheel. What the hell had he been thinking? He was either a dumbass or crazy—or a crazy dumbass. He looked down at his lap. Only a fool would take an injured she-cat to his property, his wolf-shifter property. Oh, and he couldn’t forget, she needed medical attention.

But what else could he have done? He’d needed to get her out of there, and he didn’t know how to contact her family. Maybe that was just an excuse. He had people he could call to figure out how to get a hold of her parents.

No.

He didn’t want anybody else taking care of her, nor would he trust anyone else to keep her safe until he found her family. The smart thing was protect her himself. He snorted. If he thought that was the only reason, he was fooling himself. Thankfully, he had bigger problems than his need to have her close to him.

Damien glanced down again. Payton was passed out with her face buried in his crotch. His only intent had been to cushion her injured head. He hadn’t realized she would burrow herself in his lap. Now, he had to tell his dick that this was not the time or the place to make itself noticed. She’d been shot, for Christ’s sake, her lavender scent almost completely covered by the smell of blood. Not to mention, he should be worrying about his own injuries—after he took care of Payton.

He blindly reached behind the truck’s seat, searching for the extra clothes he kept back there, to find something to press against her wound. Something brushed against his fingertips, but he couldn’t quite reach it, so he carefully raised himself to grab it. Just as he snagged the sweatshirt, he felt Payton’s fingernails dig into his back, causing him to drop it as he swerved into the lane next to him. He quickly straightened the truck because the last thing they needed was to be picked up by the cops.

This time, prepared for her reaction and expecting the pain from her nails, he snagged the garment and lowered them both back onto the seat. Payton immediately relaxed her hold on him, and he pressed the cloth over her hip to help stop the bleeding. Putting pressure on her wound brought awareness of his own. . His shoulder ached from the gunshot wound as he used his muscles to stanch her blood flow. The movement also pulled on his back muscles where one of Payton’s potential kidnappers had cut him from neck to waist. He was better off than her but not by much.

Instead of focusing on his injuries, he told himself to be grateful he’d been at the restaurant to save her. They both might be wounded, but she was safe, and he’d get her patched up soon. Then, he’d move on to his next problem. What was he going to do with her after she was stable?

He’d been born and raised in Minneapolis—until about ten years ago. Before then, the shifters—both wolf and cat—had lived in harmony on the Minneapolis side of the Twin Cities area. The two subspecies of shifters had always gotten along. They’d each had their identifiable parts of the cities they called their own, respecting each other’s territories yet often commingling.

Before Damien was even born, his grand-pap and Payton’s grandfather had started a business together—L & L Construction. Things had gone well for years until his paternal grandfather passed away and his father, Dwyer, inherited the role of alpha and half the construction business. His father, until recently, had had good intentions, but he was somewhat of a screw-up, and everyone knew what the road to hell was paved with.

Ten years ago, when Damien was twenty, the Minnesota Pride had kicked the Minnesota Pack out of the Twin Cities, forcing them to scatter around the rest of the state. Damien had been working on his college degree at the time, and he hadn’t noticed what his father was doing to the pack and L & L Construction, not that he could have done anything to stop his father. He was the second son, and no one had wanted his opinion, but he could have tried.

The biggest blow had been losing their half of the business and a major source of income. They had survived, and life had been acceptable for the last ten years until about twenty months ago when Damien’s older brother, Donovan, died. Dwyer had blamed Vance Llewelyn, Payton’s father, for everything.

Things had gotten worse since then, and nowDwyer wanted revenge, and things had gotten worse since then
. His father had discovered a secret ally—a mysterious cat-shifter who had contacted his father, asking for help. In exchange for Dwyer’s and the pack’s help, the cat-shifter had promised his father that he could reclaim his half of the business, and they could come back to the area. Of course, his father had jumped at the chance, but Damien thought it was too good to be true.

His father wouldn’t listen when Damien confronted him, and with the cat-shifter’s identity a secret, he didn’t have many options. He was lucky his father had even told him of the plan to get rid of the Llewelyns, which included kidnapping Vance’s children.

Vaughn, two years older than Damien, was one of Vance Llewelyn sentinels, ensuring Vaughn could take care of himself. Plus, his new mate was a vampire with her own exceptional strength. But Payton was small, alone, and without a mate to help protect her. Damien knew he had to do everything he could to prevent her from being kidnapped.

Damien understood what drove his father. Damien wanted, more than anything, to return home, to his place of birth, to the place he grew up. But he also knew this was not the way.

He vowed to himself they would return someday when he was an alpha—and he would be alpha. His father and he both knew that Damien was stronger and smarter. Damien knew his father’s plans would only end in failure even if his father was too blind to see it.

Until then, he planned to do everything he could, in an honest and trustworthy way, to salvage what was left of the pack’s chances to make their way back to the place where they belonged.

He looked at his lap and sighed. He only hoped he was doing the right thing.

                                                                    #####

The cat-shifter sat back in his favorite chair, put his feet up, and sipped his drink.

Tonight was the night, the night his whole life was about to change.

The famous proclamation, “The King is dead, long live the King!” rang through his head

Technically, his king was an alpha, but that was just semantics. And he wasn’t exactly dead yet, but he would be soon.

The cat-shifter glanced at his watch. By now, the first step in his plan—getting rid of the alpha’s children—was already taking place. He laughed out loud to the empty room. He had manipulated that stupid Dwyer Lowell into helping him. When he’d found out about Dwyer’s oldest son and successor had died, he’d known Dwyer would be vulnerable, and he was right.

He’d told Dwyer if he helped execute the Minnesota Pride’s alpha and helped him replace Vance, he would let Dwyer and the Minnesota Pack come back to Minneapolis. Stupid wolf. He had Dwyer right where he wanted him.

He’d paid Dwyer to kidnap and kill Vance’s son, Vaughn, his new daughter-in-law, and his daughter, Payton. Vance’s heirs had to be out of the way before he stood any chance of becoming the next alpha of the cat-shifters. He was smart, and he’d made sure the money trail led straight to Dwyer. The wolf wouldn’t know what had hit him.

He’d handled Dwyer pretty easily, and the only part they’d argued on was killing Vance. They both wanted the privilege. Dwyer held a strong grudge because of his pack’s exile, but the cat-shifter held a stronger grudge. His went way back before any feuding between the Pride and the Pack, and the right to take out Vance belonged to him. Dwyer could go fuck himself.

He took a sip of his drink and smiled. Once he found out about Vance’s children, the alpha would be vulnerable. That was when he would strike. Not only would he be rid of Vance, but Vance’s mate, Lilith, would be his—as she should have been from the beginning. It was just another reason for him to send Vance to hell.

The cat-shifter went over all the steps in his head. After Vance was gone, his sentinels would have to go, too. They were too loyal to Vance. Yes, there would be a lot of changes in the Pride before long. Soon, he would be alpha with Lilith at his side, and her belly would be full with his child. No one would dare question his authority.

The cat-shifter finished his drink with a gulp, glanced one last time at his phone, and relaxed. Yes, life was going to be good.