Their perfect storm, p.1
Their Perfect Storm, page 1
THEIR PERFECT STORM
WINTERVALE PACKS
MILLY TAIDEN
CONTENTS
Their Perfect Storm
About the Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Milly Taiden
THEIR PERFECT STORM
WINTERVALE PACKS
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
ABOUT THE BOOK
Growing up as a foster kid wasn’t easy, but Adrienne White was lucky enough to have a loving family to call her own. Now, she’s ready to pay their kindness forward and help a dying planet by being a surrogate. Going to Daeria will also give her the fresh start she desperately needs. What she doesn’t expect is the alien planet’s magic to wake up powers within her when she arrives.
* * *
Four men. One woman. Adrienne was definitely not expecting to find four mates. Tempers are bound to flare when such very different personalities are in love with the same woman. Adrienne isn’t having it though and puts her foot down. She wants all of them or none of them.
* * *
When an ancient creature, controlled by a madman, targets Adrienne for the magic running in her blood, Barret, Liam, Gavin, and Bala must work together to protect their mate and their pack before the evil takes their mate from them before they could claim her.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
* * *
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
Winter Springs, FL 32708
http://millytaiden.com
Their Perfect Storm
Copyright © 2020 by Milly Taiden
Edited by: Tina Winograd
Cover: Willsin Rowe
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden
March 2020
Created with Vellum
—For my readers
* * *
Thank you for picking up another of my books. You’re the best!
CHAPTER ONE
ONE MONTH AGO
“You look scared.”
Adrienne White turned at the sound of Katrina Paxton’s voice. The latter female was one of the first four surrogates to arrive on the planet Daeria months before Adrienne and her new friends. The black-haired beauty had been an FBI agent on Earth. On Daeria, Katrina was mated to two dragons and sat on the shifter council as a human liaison.
“Is it that obvious?” Adrienne laughed nervously and smoothed down her dress.
They were at the welcome party where she and the five other surrogates were officially being introduced to a select group of shifter males from each of the houses: Nightflame, Wintervale, and Silvermoon.
Kat covered Adrienne’s hand and squeezed. “Don’t be nervous. Remember you are in charge. If they get too pushy, tell them to back off. If that doesn’t work, come find me. I don’t have a problem putting them in their place.”
Another laugh escaped Adrienne. Katrina had a reputation of being a badass. She was also compassionate and one of the nicest people Adrienne had met. “Thank you. Once everything gets going, I’ll be fine.”
She hoped.
“You will.” Katrina glanced toward the back door of the community center just as Daven, the dragon enforcer and one of Katrina’s mates, stuck his head in the door. Katrina frowned and rolled her eyes at Adrienne while smiling. “I’m being paged. This pregnancy makes him anxious.”
Katrina waved as she made her way toward her mate. Adrienne watched her for a few moments. When Katrina reached Daven, the dragon placed a hand on her belly and buried his nose into the bend of her neck.
Adrienne tore her gaze from the couple and downed the rest of her wine, which they called cava on her new home planet.
“You look beautiful tonight.” A deep male voice wrapped around her like a physical hug.
Turning, she saw Barrett, the Wintervale head of security. They had met briefly earlier that day at the complex’s pool. She and some of the other surrogates were enjoying the mild, sunny weather when he and a few other males came over to introduce themselves.
“Thank you.” She felt her cheeks heat at the compliment. She wasn’t used to having men saying things like that. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”
A sensual smile lifted his lips and he held out his arm to her. “Would you like to dance?”
A slow song was playing and the idea of being wrapped in his arms, swaying to the music made her whole body tingle with desire. “Sure.”
She hoped the word didn’t sound as needy to him as it did to her. If it did, he didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he was just being nice. He led her to the dance floor and drew her into his arms. A low hum vibrated from him to her, sending hot desire straight to her core.
What was that? She shook it off and decided to enjoy herself. She got her heart broken when she thought too much into things. Just go with it, Adrienne.
“So, what do you do as the head of security of Wintervale?”
His lips twitched. “I train the enforcers and work with the tech team to keep the den secure.”
“I thought the war was over. Why would you still need to train?”
“There is always a chance of an uprising. Besides, Wintervale isn’t the only wolf village on Daeria. Most of the villages fall under Jericho’s laws, but there are a few independent villages. Jer is working on bringing them in. If they don’t follow him, then they will answer to the council.” Barrett held her close as they rocked to the music.
“That makes sense.” She watched how his eyes reflected the lights. Every so often, they seemed to brighten as if a light from within burned.
“What about you? Do you have family on Earth?”
She shrugged. “Not really. My parents died when I was very young. I spent most of my childhood in foster care. I got lucky when I was thirteen and was placed with a couple that had two other fosters. They were brothers and accepted me as their sister from day one. We stayed there until we were able to support ourselves and start our own lives.”
“I’m sorry about your parents.” A darkness settled into his golden depths, and he frowned.
“Don’t be. I was too young and don’t really remember them.” She looked away and scanned the crowd. That was when she noticed another man watching them.
“What is it?” Barrett asked, then glanced in the direction her attention had gone. “Ah. That’s Liam. He and I have been best friends since we were kids. We agreed to share a surrogate.”
“Oh.” She turned her attention back to Barrett, not knowing what else to say. She knew that was a possibility. The four surrogates that arrived before her all had two mates each. “Does that bother you?”
She jerked her gaze back to his and shook her head. “No. Not at all. It’s just different from what I’m used to on Earth. There, you’d be shunned by the church for having more than one husband, or mate, as you call them.”
Barrett let out a soft growling sound. “We don’t hold such prejudices. Besides, with the surrogate program, we agreed the best plan for now would be to share a mate.”
Mate? Had he just referred to her as his mate? Not his surrogate?
Just go with it, she reminded herself.
The song ended and Barrett stopped. “Would you like to meet Liam?”
“Sure.”
Liam sat at a table and had ordered each of them cava. Adrienne didn’t usually have more than a couple of glasses of wine. Actually, she tried to refrain from having any alcohol as a rule. She was a recovering drug addict. Pain pills, mostly. She didn’t need to add to her addiction, so she created safety limits for herself.
So far that night, she’d only had one. One more wouldn’t hurt.
When she reached the table, she held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Adrienne.”
Liam smiled and took her hand, kissing her knuckles. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
Barrett pulled out a chair and she sat. “Thank you.”
Liam stared at her for a few moments before he scooted his chair closer to her. “How is your stay so far?”
“It’s good. Great, actually.” She sipped her cava. Her nerves were starting to make her anxious because she had the attention of two gorgeous males.
Barrett spoke, drawing her attention to him. “Liam is on the council. He knows all your deep, dark secrets.”
Frowning, she set her glass down and pushed it to the middle of the table. Was she being tested?
Liam covered her hand, drawing her attention to him. “Enjoy yourself. Our healers can help, if needed.”
His words sank in and she relaxed. He was telling her it was okay while not revealing anything to Barrett. But she wasn’t naïve enough to think the best friends wouldn’t share information. Barrett was the head of security, after all.
Barrett sipped his cava then asked, “Why did you want to join the program?”
That was easy. “I want to help. Like I said, I don’t have a real family. While my foster parents were nice and gave me and my brothers everything we needed, I never felt like I belonged. Being a surrogate, I’m doing something to help a race and a planet rebuild.”
Everything she had read about shifters had only helped her with that decision. They mated for life and the connection was soul deep. She may have fairy tale illusions about mating a shifter or two, but she was sticking with that. She was secretly hoping she’d find a true mate like Katrina and the others.
“What do you guys do for fun here on Daeria?”
The guys looked at each other and smiled. “Anything you want.”
Desire flared to life inside her. She took another sip of her cava. She was in so much trouble with these two. And she was going to enjoy every moment.
CHAPTER TWO
PRESENT DAY
“It was a lovely ceremony.” Adrienne pulled her friend into a tight hug. Heart full of joy for Blake, Adrienne couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit envious. Blake had mated four hot shifters, one of them the alpha of the Wintervale Pack.
“Thank you.” Blake radiated with love and her newfound power. She was the descendant of the Daerian sun god, Xalo. Blake laughed. “I told Jericho that we didn’t need to make it a big deal. But he’s the alpha and our people wouldn’t let us scale it down.”
“Why should they? You are their alpha female now. Plus, it is a big deal to them because they lost their females. We bring them new hope for a better future.”
A warm smile spread across Blake’s face. “You’re right. I just don’t like to be the center of attention. Then again, I did sign up for this.” She sighed, her features still holding that newly mated glow. “I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”
Blake glanced over her shoulder, then her cheeks tinted pink. When she faced Adrienne again, she said, “I’m being summoned.” Blake laughed and leaned in to kiss Adrienne on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Go, be with your mates.”
Adrienne looked away from the happy woman as she sank into Serge’s arms and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. Adrienne could only hope to be that happy one day. Sure, she had met two gorgeous wolves at the welcoming party about a month before. But she hadn’t heard from them since that night. Maybe they didn’t feel the same attraction she had.
She had to stay positive, though. The first four surrogates found their happily ever afters, as did Blake. Adrienne would, too. After all, this was her fresh start.
Joining the program was her escape. She’d been clean for a year, but it hadn’t been easy to stay off the drugs. Everything around her back home reminded her of her life as an addict and she needed to get away. The only family she had was her two foster brothers and they had families of their own.
“Good evening.”
Adrienne jumped at the sound of the husky male voice behind her. She turned and was face to face with Barrett. His short brown hair was a little longer than when she last saw him. His golden eyes held the promise of passion. “Hi.”
Barrett, if she remembered correctly, was the Wintervale general. He was the leader of the enforcers and head of security for the pack. “How have you been?”
“Good.” She didn’t know what to say. Uncertainty rose within her. She was confused. At the welcoming party, he’d acted like he was interested. As had Liam—a council member that represented the Wintervale people. Yet neither male had shown her any interest since.
Yet, here was Barrett, charming and demanding her attention. Of course, he didn’t say anything to tell her he demanded her attention. He didn’t have to. It was in the power that surrounded him.
He took her hand. “I’m sorry for not calling. My schedule is busy and…”
His words died off as a small boy rushed to him and hugged his leg. Smiling, Barrett picked up the boy and kissed his cheek. “This is my son, Fynn.”
Oh! He had a kid. So many questions swirled in her mind and fueled her uncertainty. The boy looked to be about three, which told her Barrett had his hands full as a single father on top of being the head of security of Wintervale. His lack of a call back was a little more understandable.
Smiling, Adrienne said, “Hello.”
Fynn giggled and leaned into his dad, whispering loudly, “She’s pretty.”
Barrett laughed and whispered back, just as loud as Fynn did, “I know.”
Adrienne felt her cheeks heat and she averted her eyes. Another male a few yards away was staring at her. His dark stare was intense as it held hers. A spark of desire rushed through her while at the same time something warned her to stay away.
As if noticing who had gotten her attention, Barrett said, “That is Bala. He’s new to the pack.”
By the way Barrett spoke, Adrienne knew there was more he wasn’t saying. She was about to ask him for more information on Bala when Liam caught her eye. A smile lifted her lips at the sight the dark-haired male. He returned her smile and when he stopped next to her, he took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Then he held his fist up to Fynn, who balled his tiny hand into his own fist and knocked it into Liam’s. “How’s the pup today?”
Fynn leaped to Liam and hugged his neck tightly. “Uncle Liam!”
Uncle? Adrienne glanced at the two men. They didn’t look alike so she didn’t catch on that they were brothers. Or were they? “Are you brothers?”
Liam chuckled. “No. Fynn’s mom was my sister.”
Adrienne frowned. She’d noticed at the welcoming party that Barrett and Liam seemed to be close friends. Now she knew they were family. Brothers-in-law. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Barrett said as he tapped Fynn on the shoulder. When the toddler looked at his dad, he grinned, making Barrett chuckle. “It’s bed time for you.”
Fynn pouted and wiggled in his uncle’s arms. Liam set him down, then whispered something in his ear. The child’s face lit up and he grabbed his dad’s hand and pulled him toward their house. “Come on, Daddy. I have to go to sleep so we can wake up and take Adrienne on a date.”
Barrett shot Liam a look before nodded to her. “I’ll be back.”
Liam met her gaze and a brilliant, panty-wetting smile formed. “I figured the four of us could spend the day together tomorrow.”
“That would be great.” Adrienne’s insides sparked with excitement at the thought of spending time with them.
“Great. Then it’s a date.” Liam paused when his comm went off. He glanced down at it and frowned. “I’m sorry. I have to take this.”
“I’ll be here. Or around.”
Liam pressed the comm to his ear and gave her a wicked grin that told her he would be back.
When she was alone again, she glanced around for one of her travel companions.
She spotted Shaylin, Katrina, and a couple other mated surrogates. When she reached them, Katrina saw her first. The beautiful, kick-ass brunette turned to her with a wide smile. “Hi.”
Adrienne gathered the other woman into a hug. Katrina glowed and her belly was starting to show. In fact, all the females who mated with the dragons were pregnant. Well, except for Gianna, who was somewhere showing off her two bundles of joy. Adrienne had seen them briefly when they first arrived at the party, then she was whisked away by one of her two mates.
