Desert Wolf (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch) by Anna Lowe

CHAPTER ONE
    Waking up in someone else’s bed felt strange to Lana. Waking up on the East Coast felt strange too, even though she’d only been away two years. But two years could be a lifetime. Two years could change everything.
    She lay under the heavy blanket, listening to the sounds of a New England forest waking up. A chickadee called—once, twice—outside the window. Funny how her ear had come to expect the hectic flutter of a hummingbird instead of the whistle of the forest dweller.
    What used to be her norm—crisp mountain mornings, the quiet swish of pine needles over a cabin roof, and the hollow feeling of waking up alone—had all become distant memories. Coming back to the Berkshires was nice, but part of her was already impatient to head home. To Arizona, where she’d found a mate who gave her more than she had ever dared wish for. Love, as vast and truthful as the desert. A new life, a renewed sense of purpose. A future. Lana sighed and snuggled closer to her mate.
    A pair of soft lips brushed over hers, and she mumbled in reply. As always, her body came alive at Ty’s touch. She extended her limbs in an irrepressible stretch then folded herself around him. Two years hadn’t dimmed the passion that reared up like a force of nature every time they touched.
    “Mmmm. Mate,” was all she got out before Ty surged in with another kiss. A deep, possessive kiss that promised her the day was about to start in the very best way. His hands slid upward along her rib cage, making her body sing like a bird on the first day of spring.
    “Hmmm. Mate,” he mumbled back, catching her lower lip between his.
    The minute they walked out of this cabin, those lips of his would be set in a hard, thin line. But for now, they were soft and full and eager to explore. She worked her hands over the sculpted planes of his chest and wound a leg over his hip as desire pooled deep inside her. Ty could get her high with just the rumble of his voice.
    “Good morning, my love,” she hummed right into his lips.
    “Yes, it is,” he agreed, nosing his way down her neck.
    Anticipation rippled through her. This had the makings of a very good morning, indeed. Then she remembered his injuries and ran a cautious hand over his ribs. “How’s the bruising?”
    “Theirs is worse than mine,” Ty growled.
    Lana laughed and even her mate had to crack a wry smile. When she and Ty had arrived in her hometown the previous day, her siblings had welcomed their new brother-in-law with a game of lacrosse—and it hadn’t been pretty.
    She’d been right to worry about the reception Ty would get from her home pack. At least the wooded slopes of the Berkshires had done their best to greet him, radiating that sense of promise of New England in early spring. The pack, on the other hand, was less gracious in its welcome.
    Her hometown was a hamlet tucked into a remote valley far from the ski fields, the summer festivals, and the quaint B&Bs of the mainstream. Lana’s father, Nate Dixon, was alpha to three hundred shifters who called the village of Miscoe home, even though the majority of them lived and worked in more densely populated parts of the state. They congregated on the village green on full moons and special occasions—like yesterday. Because everyone, it seemed, had flocked home to check out Lana and her new mate. The desert wolf, they called him in not-too-quiet whispers.
    “You good?” Lana had mumbled out of the side of her mouth when they’d first arrived and faced the wary reception.
    “Fine,” Ty had grumbled back, scratching his ear.
    She’d pulled his hand down and laced her fingers through his, then reached up to soothe his ear with her lips. “It’ll be fine.”
    He’d given her a callused look that said
Of course it’ll be fine
. But she saw through the facade. Ty had proven himself a thousand times over at home, but this was his first time venturing farther east than Texas. Out here, he’d have to prove himself all over