It’s Mia.
Going home for Christmas can be stressful, especially if you've never met your pack before.
My parents left Sawtooth Forest before I was born. The pack had a policy of auctioning off their she-wolves to the highest bidder, and my folks wanted better for me. So we went no contact.
Now they’re gone, and the pack I’ve never met just invited me home for the holidays.
They didn’t want me spending my first Christmas without my parents alone.
And honestly? Neither did I.
But it’s not that simple. Am I walking into a pack that still thinks mates are merchandise? I’m one of the most in-demand tattoo artists in Minneapolis, not some prize to be claimed.
So I did something reckless.
When Bates—my best client, a gorgeous guitarist whose body is covered in my art—comes in for his regular appointment, I ask him to come to Sawtooth Forest with me.
To pretend to be my mate.
There’s no way he’ll say yes.
Except he does.
We’ve always kept things professional. Now we've just arrived at our hotel in Granger Falls, right before a massive snowstorm.
And there's been a mix-up.
My reservation was for two rooms. But they only have one, and it only has one bed.
Deep breath. We can do this.
That's when Bates says,“I don’t plan on faking anything.”
And I'm not prepared for what happens next.