by Liza Street
Corona Pride Book Three
Seeking sanctuary amidst a ragtag clan of shifters has never been so dangerous…or so fun.
Famous in the book-blogging world for her honestly hilarious romance reviews, mountain lion shapeshifter Nina Vidal detests the irony of her life—she makes a living off of analyzing happily-ever-afters, but her own HEA is sadly out of reach. To escape the heartache of staying in her pride and watching all her friends pair up, she seeks refuge in another clan of shifters, not caring that the grumpy alphahole, Jameson, doesn’t want her there.
Grizzly shifter Jameson Cooper has enough on his mind without worrying about the sexy lion girl who’s taking over his clan. He’s alpha of the Rock Creek Clan, and he’s still mourning the loss of his mate. But there’s something about Nina—she’s the one person who won’t tolerate his bossiness or his angst, and he finds himself drawn to her again and again. When it turns out that vampire trouble has followed her from the Corona Pride and Jameson’s clan wants to turn Nina away, Jameson must fight to keep her safe and close by his side.
Content Warning: Although it is part of a series and best read in order, this shapeshifter novella stands alone and contains liberal usage of naughty language and sexytimes.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Content/Theme(s): Shifters, Vampires, Bears, Suspense
Release Date: May 3, 2017
Publisher: Indie
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As she cranked the steering wheel of her old Chevy pickup to make it around curves in the mountain road, Nina thought about happily-ever-afters. The HEA, a fundamental aspect of any good romance novel, could be achieved through many methods and plot twists. There would be trouble before it happened, obviously, because nothing was satisfying about the two main characters hooking up and declaring their forevers if they didn’t have to work for it. Usually there was a big misunderstanding involved, or maybe the guy was an alphahole and did something unforgivable to the heroine. Then he’d have to grovel, which Nina, especially, liked reading about. Then, finally, they’d overcome whatever obstacles stood in their way and achieve their HEA and kiss into the sunset.
Bullshit.
It didn’t happen that way in real life. Nina had endured multiple obstacles in the way of the HEA she had been expecting with Rafe Corona. They’d hooked up once in high school, and when nothing came of it, she thought, Okay, so this is a second chance romance. Then he’d put her firmly in the friend-zone, and she thought, Okay, it’s more of a friends-to-lovers plot.
And then he’d started seeing someone else—his fated mate—and Nina had to admit defeat. She’d become the “other woman” in that story, and as the “other woman,” she didn’t get to find love. Nope, she’d been cast as an antagonist in her own love story, and hell if she was going to stick around and watch some other heroine take her place.
Which meant here she was, looking for somewhere to stay. For how long, she didn’t know—all she knew was that she couldn’t stay there in the Corona territory any longer. Nina was free and wild, and her alpha, Marlana, could suck a big one, because Nina wasn’t going to answer any of her texts.
As if someone out there could hear her thoughts, Nina’s phone chirped with a new text. She’d check it at the next gas station.
Nina was going to be in a shitload of trouble when she returned to the Corona Pride. If she returned to the Corona Pride.
As she rounded a curve in the highway, a gas station came into view. Dilapidated little roadside place, but it was tidy at least. Maybe the restroom wouldn’t suck.
She pulled up to one of the pumps and parked, checked her phone. Another message from Laura.
Babe, please. Rethink this. You’re unprotected out there. Why not go on an Exchange?
Nina closed her eyes. She hated disappointing her big sister. Two years older than Nina, Laura had recently found her own HEA with fellow pride member Dristan Rhees.
Brother to Fraze Rhees…another mistake Nina had made in the past couple of weeks. She’d hooked up with him, trying to forget Rafe. Fraze hadn’t minded—he didn’t seem ready to settle down with anyone, anyway, so that was fine with Nina. But it wasn’t…right. Not right for her, anyway. She wanted to find her happily-ever-after, not use other guys to dull her heartache.
Nina’s phone chirped again.
Laura: We don’t know another pride in Montana. This is dangerous. Where are you going to stay?
Nina smirked. She wasn’t even in Montana anymore. Crossing the state line into Idaho had felt good, like she’d really left everything behind. At the same time, she was tired of living out of her truck.
She closed the text app and opened the app that would bring up her blog. Nina’s Romance Spectacular. She had numerous comments she’d need to deal with tonight. Lately she’d been thinking of hiring a part-time assistant to help with the everyday business stuff. Now, though, she couldn’t afford it because she was depending on all her income to keep her afloat while she traveled.
She pumped fuel into her gas-guzzling Chevy, which she’d named Phil. She imagined she could hear Phil burp his satisfaction when she replaced the cap.
It was time to stop running. She needed to catch her breath and make some decisions. She’d find herself a nice little hotel or campsite and park it for a few days. She’d have to make sure wherever she was, there was wifi, so maybe a campsite was out. But a little cabin or hotel near town, wifi, and solitude. It would be great.
As she walked toward the little convenience store to pay, though, a strange scent came to her on the breeze. She sniffed again, trying not to be too obvious. The old man behind the counter was staring.
She sniffed once more. Something wild, something animal. Something shifter.
Bear.
Nina grinned to herself. Maybe this was what she needed—to hide out for a few days with some other shifters. If they had a place for her to stay, she’d pay rent and be around her own kind.
She marched into the convenience store. The scent of bear was stronger than ever.
As she picked out a candy bar and a bag of chips, she watched the old man’s nostrils flare. She stalked up to the counter, some dollar bills already in her hand.
“How’s it going?” she asked. Voice casual, innocent, as nonthreatening as possible.
His nostrils flared again. “That’ll be two fifty.”
She passed over the money. “How far is it to Idaho Falls?”
“Not far enough,” he grumbled. “Big city folk always passing through, disturbin’ the peace.”
“Wow, you’re grumpy,” she said. After looking around the service station to make sure they were alone, she leaned her elbows on the counter and said, “All right. Where’s the clan?”
He eyed her. “You don’t know what you’re getting into, kitty.”
“I know exactly what I’m getting into. I mean to stay for a few days. You can either tell me, or I’ll be hunting the clan down on my own. And I’m tired, mister.”
Against his will, it seemed, his mouth quirked up in a smile. “I’m tired, too. Tired of mouthy young things.”
She laughed. “Are you a rogue?”
His smile disappeared. “It suits me.”
“It would suit me, too.” But even as she said the words, she doubted them; it was as if she were trying out the statement.
He laughed, slapping his knee. “That’s a lie—you want a place to belong. We should all have a group of people to call our own, no matter how introverted our animals. Being a rogue can be dangerous, and it’s lonely to boot.” He sighed, spread his giant, wrinkled hands out on the counter, and seemed to make up his mind. “Fine, missy. The clan’s just down the highway a bit, then turn south on Osprey Road. Go for a ways and you’ll see a set of cabins in a little neighborhood. They call it the Ring of Fire. Don’t say who told you where to find them, though. I don’t need Jameson coming back here and beating my tail.”
She nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep quiet.”
“And be careful. There’s at least a couple of bad apples in that barrel.”
~~~~~~
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Special Offer:
Book One, Savage Yearning,
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Click on the photo to download your copy.
Savage Heartache Purchase link(s): Amazon
Other titles by Liza Street:
Yearning | Loss | Pride Bundle |
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Wanderer | Heartbreaker | Protector | Player |
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Dancer | Informer | Survivor | Lover |
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Be on the lookout for Liza Street's future release(s): Savage Thirst coming June 2017, Savage Bliss coming July 2017, and The Corona Pride: The Complete Series coming Aug 2017
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Excellent post!!!
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