a problem, which was often. Since his uncle had died ten years earlier, the Lunar Pack was still without an alpha. Kellan didn’t let it bother him, but he kept a close eye on pack politics. They still sent young wolves out to help him on the ranch and he wanted to keep relations good with them. Owen had recently become alpha of the Brooks Pride and now was getting help on his ranch. He was also spending more time doing stuff for the pack. It didn’t bother his wife, Erin, but it wasn’t what Kellan wanted for himself. He had enough to worry about with his ranch. He shifted down to his wolf and set off on the patrol. He always checked to make sure the animals were all where they were supposed to be and that no tools had been left out. He had ranch hands, but it set his mind at ease to see things with his own eyes. He was almost done when he spotted a cow alone off in the distance. It seemed like a lost animal until he got closer. He could smell the blood. The cow was injured and barely able to walk. There was a hunk of flesh missing from its chest and it had a badly damaged front leg. Kellan shifted back to human when he got closer. He didn’t want to startle the hurt animal. He checked it out and then quickly ran back to the barn. He shifted to wolf when he was far enough away so he could get there quicker. He came back for the cow with the truck. It was easy to get her into the truck, but Kellan was afraid she wouldn’t survive. He called the vet and set up an appointment to come out the next day. For now, he made the cow comfortable and stayed out in the barn for the night. He hadn’t had a predator problem in years. He and Owen both marked the territory around their land. Most animals weren’t brave enough to mess with the strange smell from Owen’s lion and if they were, Kellan’s wolf was enough to deter the crazy ones. He couldn’t tell from the marks what the animal was, but it had to be small and part of a pack. He hoped it was a one-off incident. He hated to see his animals in pain. He’d given the cow a sedative and she was sleeping for the night but he still stayed in the loft. He checked his phone before he transformed for the night to sleep as a wolf. To his surprise, he saw that he had a message from his match. Molly Pitt. She’d emailed him back right away, even though it was almost nine o’clock where she was. She sounded very sweet, as Olivia had promised. She’d just lost her job but she didn’t want that to change his opinion of him. Her honesty was refreshing and she sounded very mature and driven. Kellan was impressed enough to want to email her again. It didn’t hurt that she had included a link to her profile and Kellan could see pictures of the girl. His wolf sat up and took notice as much as his human did. Molly was beautiful. She had a mass of curly black hair, clear blue eyes, and a huge, toothy smile. There was only one full-body picture, but he could see that she was all curves. On her small frame, the curves were exaggerated and very feminine. Kellan had to stop himself from licking the screen of his phone. She was just perfect. He hoped her personality matched her incredible good looks.
Two “Are you out of your mind, Molly?” her mom asked, exasperated. “You can’t just show up on a stranger’s doorstep unannounced.” “He isn’t a stranger,” Molly said as she tried to zip her suitcase. “He’s my future husband.” “You’re romanticizing a very serious situation.” “You read the email and the profile. He’s perfect.” She had to sit on the suitcase to get it zipped. She was trying to take only three bags with her so she wouldn’t have to pay outrageous fees for luggage. “Anyone can write a nice email and sweet talk a naïve young girl.” Her mom paced back and forth. “Seeing a handsome face in a picture could be a trick too. Maybe he’s really a seventy-year-old man who wants to lure young women to his murder dungeon.” “You watch