Tala Ridge Alpha in Large Print!
Blurb
Wolf shifter children attend human public school for the first time. What could go wrong?
With the king’s tentative approval, Terrell, the youngest wolf shifter alpha in the world, sends the pack children to public school after Child Protection Services investigates the ranch for never registering their kids.
But Terrell’s concern over attending school with human students is overshadowed with worries for their safety when he finds other shifters attending the school.
Buck, the future alpha of the outcast pack, isn’t happy when outside wolves start attending his school.
Who are they?
How does their presence affect his pack?
When two teen-aged alphas collide, who wins? Who loses?
Two Chapter Preview:
Chapter 1
La Veta County Sheriff Cole Jameson absently picked up
his coffee cup and sipped. Cold. Making a face, he set it down, the ceramic cup
thumping on his ancient wooden desktop. Glancing at the door to the front
office, he called, “Mitch, that new pot ready?”
Deputy Mitch Vaine leaned into the sheriff’s office and
grinned. The deputy’s straight, even teeth, boyish good looks, and meticulously
combed hair paid homage to his last name. “Almost, Boss!”
Cole shook his head when Mitch disappeared back into
the front office and sighed before turning back to the BOLO he received from
the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, a warrant for a gang of three bank
robbers headed south from Denver. So far, the perpetrators hit four banks. Two
bank employees and one police officer sustained gunshot wounds in their last
robbery.
The words on the BOLO faded as his mind wandered.
Again. Since he escorted Micah Bird to the Tala Ridge Ranch for a CPS
complaint, he’d found keeping his mind on his duties difficult at best.
Werewolves! In his county! And they’d been there for
years. Even before the town was founded in 1886.
He heard the front door open and shut but left it to
his deputies to see what whoever it was wanted. “Jameson! Where’s Jameson?”
He’d never forget that thunderous voice. He winced at
the fury in Commander Terrence Bird’s roar, stood, and walked to the office
door. Deputy Lincoln Stiles’ large form blocked Bird’s path to the office.
“Sir, you need to calm down.”
“I want to see Jameson, right now!”
Tucking his thumbs in his holster belt, Cole tilted his
head and narrowed his gaze at his former CO. Dressed in fatigues, combat boots,
and a heavy jacket and black cap dusted with snow, all the SEAL commander needed
to be combat-ready were his weapons.
Realizing the commander knew he and Micah were dating,
Cole sighed. “Commander.”
Bird’s sharp eyes speared him. If looks could kill, the
sheriff would be a pile of broken bones and goo. Refusing to be cowed by the
man’s obvious anger, he jerked his head toward his office. Cole sighed. “Why
don’t we take this somewhere more private?”
Lips pressed tight, shoulders bunched, Bird slapped aside
the short gate separating the front office desks from the waiting area and
walked past Deputy Stiles, brushing the man’s shoulder. Cole raised an eyebrow.
There weren’t many men as big as Commander Bird, but Stiles matched him inch
for inch, with one or two to spare. The dispatcher and the rest of Cole’s deputies
watched wide-eyed. His former CO stopped a foot in front of Jameson, hands on
his hips. Cole met his gaze, then jerked his head toward his office door.
“Have a seat, Commander. I’ll get us some coffee.”
Wordless, Bird shoved past him and walked to the
visitor’s chair. Now that the commander wasn’t glaring at him, Cole took a
quiet, deep breath, then blew it out. He glanced at Vaine. “Coffee ready, yet?”
“No, Sir. It’ll be another five minutes or so.”
Cole nodded. “Bring us two cups, black, when it’s done.
Otherwise, y’all get busy.”
Ignoring the scamper to find something to do, he turned
his back on his deputies, took another deep breath, and blew it out. Closing
the door behind him, he walked to his desk and sat. “Morning, Commander.”
Bird leaned forward, askew elbows resting on the arms
of his old-fashioned wooden chair. “What the blazes do you think you’re doing,
Jameson?”
“You spoke with Micah?”
“Nah, Mom told me. Said you’ve been keeping company with
Micah since before Christmas.”
“Yeah, well, that’s true.” Jameson fixed Bird in a
level stare. “I won’t hurt her, Sir. I’m serious about our relationship.”
Bird tensed. “If you’re just...”
“I’m not.” Cole opened his top desk drawer and pulled
out a small box. “If she’ll have me, I plan to marry her.”
Taking a deep breath, Bird visibly forced himself to
relax. He glanced at the midnight blue ring box, then raised his gaze to his
Navy friend. “Tell me.”
“I accompanied her to a CPS visitation before Christmas.
She was pretty shook up by everything that happened. Afterwards, we had a meal
and started talking. We had coffee the next day, and since then we’ve met for
coffee or a meal almost every day.”
Cole shrugged. “I know it’s quick, but I love her,
Terry. I’ll never purposely do anything to hurt her.”
Bird sighed away some of his anger. “I wanted her to
find a safe guy, you know. Someone not likely to leave in the morning and die
before coming home. Not a soldier.” He glared at Cole. “And not a cop!”
“I know.” Cole fisted his coffee cup and stared at the
cold coffee. “I didn’t plan it, Terry, it just happened.”
“Because she got upset about that CPS visit? What
happened?”
Cole hesitated. The pack alpha had decided the command
to keep them secret placed on him years ago in Oregon was good enough. He thought
he could talk about the local pack, but he wasn’t sure he should. Chewing the
right corner of his bottom lip, he glanced out the only window in his office.
“You know I can’t talk about that, Terry.”
“Yeah. That’s what Micah said. But she’s hiding
something from me, Cole. Something that scares her. What is it?”
Rubbing an itch above his left eye, Cole opened his
mouth, then snapped it shut when a sharp tap sounded on the door. “Sheriff? Coffee
got done quicker than I expected.”
“Hold that thought.” Cole stood and walked to the door,
opened it, then took both cups from his deputy. “Shut the door, Vaine.”
With a nod, the deputy pulled the door shut. Cole
carried the coffee to the desk and set a cup in front of Micah’s brother. “Here
you go. Black and strong enough to float horseshoes, since Deputy Vaine made
it.”
The commander’s large hand lifted the cup. He
sipped, then winced and nodded. “I think you could walk on that.”
Cole grinned. “Boy’s talented when it comes to coffee.”
Bird snickered, then his face settled back into a tight
expression. “Just tell me if there’s something I need to be worried about,
Cole.”
The automatic denial refused to leave Cole’s lips. He
sighed and moved aside the first, cold cup of coffee to make room for the
second hot one. “Terry, I can’t tell you anything, but I promise I’ll do
everything in my power to make sure she
stays safe.”
“Meaning there’s something to worry about.”
Cole studied Terry’s worried eyes. “You remember Nate
Rollins? Lieutenant-Colonel, Marines, Brighton’s Elite Unit?”
Bird blinked. “Sure. What about him?”
“He says everything is cool. He’ll keep everything
safe.”
“Marines are involved in one of Micah’s cases?”
“No.” Cole tried a different direction. “You ever meet
Captain Waylon Rickles?”
All expressions left Terry’s face. “I did. What’s he
have to do with this?”
“You ever see him...” Cole grimaced at the pain
erupting in his head. Pain warning him to stop talking. Aware of his former CO’s
tense consideration, Cole sighed. “Never mind.”
“You know.”
“What?”
“You know about Rickles.”
Cole’s gaze snapped to Terry. “Rickles is a...” He
couldn’t force out the word.
Soundlessly, Bird mouthed, “Shifter.”
Face pale, Cole stood and swayed for a moment. Walking to
the door, he turned and glanced at Terry. “I’ll be right back.”
Closing the door behind him, he marched across the
outer office, ignoring Stiles’ heavy frown and the questioning looks from the
other officers. Stepping out on the sidewalk, he pulled the door shut, then
walked to the alley. With shaking fingers, he pressed the Tala Ridge Ranch
button on his cell.
“Tala Ridge Ranch, Dusty speaking.”
“This is Sheriff Jameson. I need to see Nate and Terrell right
away.”
Chapter 2
The alpha of the Tala Ridge Wolf Pack, twelve-year-old Terrell
Pace, thirteen next week, he reminded everyone, tossed a baseball to his beta,
Josh Tatlow. Mind busy considering the ramifications of King Nathaniel being
called back to the ranch, he almost missed Josh’s return throw. His lightweight
denim jacket more than enough to keep him warm, he took a deep, snow- and
pine-scented breath and tossed the ball back to Josh. Most of his pack was
still indoors, kids enjoying the warmth of the fireplace while playing games or
reading, and the women preparing a communal meal for the evening.
The men and teens worked in the fields, feeding cows
and horses, or chopping wood for the fireplace. Terrell found himself in the
unenviable position of having nothing to do. Every time he decided to do
something productive, one of the adults swooped in to do it for him. Ainle
whined in the back of his mind, sympathetic but not knowing what to do to
change things. “Ugh!”
“What’s wrong?” When Terrell didn’t throw the ball and
didn’t answer, Josh walked to him. “Want to talk about it?”
“They won’t let me do anything!”
Surprise flashed on Josh’s face. “Like what?”
“Anything! Chores!”
Josh laughed and sauntered over to an old stump. Wiping
the snow off, he sat and studied his alpha.
“You know you’re like the king of
your kingdom, right?”
Terrell dropped his glove and ball next to his boot and
kicked a snowdrift. Shoulders hunched, he shoved his hands in his front jeans
pockets. “So?”
“Well, it was before my time here, but I’ve heard talk.
What would have happened if your father started doing something and someone
didn’t jump to take it over?”
Understanding washed over Terrell and he looked up.
“They were punished for making him do it.”
“So…”
Sighing, Terrell gazed down the dirt road that led to
the ranch gate. “So, they still don’t know me well enough to know if I’ll do
the same thing.”
“Right.” Scooping up a handful of snow, Josh molded it
into a ball, then tossed it into the air. “And since Nate gave you your dad’s
power, you’re more powerful than any wolf here, including Dusty.”
Terrell huffed. He wasn’t at all sure he was more
powerful than Dusty, his regent. Nate assigned Dusty as pack regent and
guardian to Terrell until he reached eighteen. It hadn’t taken Terrell long to
realize that power wasn’t everything. Courage, skill, and cunning played a huge
role in almost every aspect of pack governance. Abilities Terrell hoped to
learn from his guardian, someday.
He stared at his feet, his too-short jeans leaving too
much sock showing. Receiving his father’s alpha power, then facing vampires in
the attack on the King’s pack had forced early puberty on Terrell. The challenge
battle to keep his position and title intensified his growth spurt. In the past
two weeks, he’d grown at least four inches in height. The growth spurt had him
tripping over his own feet at times. And his bones ached most of the time. He’d
be glad when the growing stopped for a while. His feet were shod in Dusty’s
extra, too-long shoes because his own no longer fit, and unlike his jeans, he
couldn’t just pull them up higher. He
didn’t recognize himself in the mirror either, his face longer and narrower
than he remembered it being. Even his shoulders were wider, enough that he had
to wear some of Dusty’s shirts.
He looked older than his years, too. Samantha and Larissa,
the only two teen girls on the ranch started following him around, whispering
and giggling. He sighed. His fated mate already found, their whispers and
giggles did little more than annoy him. And since he couldn’t tell anyone yet
about her, there was little he could do to dissuade them. But when school
started, the giggles and whispers would be more about his unfitting clothing
than the new maturity he showed.
“Know what? I’m going to have Nettie or Dusty take me
shopping for new clothes tomorrow. Want to come?”
“Sure. It’s my job to go where you go.” When Terrell
rolled his eyes and huffed, Josh laughed.
“Anyway, I need some new clothes,
too. Gramma said I don’t have enough for school.”
“Hmm. She’s probably right. I don’t think any of the
kids have enough. Maybe we all should go and get some new clothes.” The young
alpha pushed his hair off his forehead. “And maybe haircuts, too.”
Thunder rolled through the mountains and blue lightning
flashed, washing out the late December sunlight shining down on the ranch yard.
When it cleared, a white, twenty-six-passenger StarCraft Allstar bus sat in the
driveway. The door opened and Nate, King of all Werekind, stepped out, followed
by Magnus, the king's guard. “Hey, Terrell. I brought the bus you asked for.”
“Hi, Nate.” Terrell walked around the bus, examining
it. He climbed the steps and surveyed the individual seats, each with a
seatbelt buckled across the seat. “It’s a bit big, isn’t it? We only have
sixteen kids.”
From outside the bus, Nate answered. “Choices were
fifteen passengers or twenty-six passengers, so I got this one.”
Terrell turned, jumped over the steps and out the door,
then scratched his cheek and winced. “I’m not sure when I can pay you for it,
Sire.”
Nate clapped a hand on Terrell’s shoulder. “Don’t worry
about it. Consider it a gift. After all, you’re going to be our test case for
sending the kids to human schools.”
Heat suffused Terrell’s face and he ducked his head.
“Thank you, Sire.”
“None of that. Where’s Dusty?”
Behind them, the door on the main lodge opened. “Hey,
Nate! Wow! That’s a bus.”
“For the kids. When Ms. Bird mentioned the school
didn’t have the funds to send a bus to the ranch, Terrell requested a bus.”
Nate raised an eyebrow. “I’ll assume someone here has the proper license to
drive it.”
“Someone will have a license before school starts in
January,” inserted Terrell.
“Good enough.” Nate flashed him a grin before looking
at Dusty. “You said the sheriff needs to see me?”
The silver-burn scars on his neck mostly covered by a
turtleneck sweater, Dusty shrugged and nodded. “Yeah. He’s bringing someone to
the ranch. He wouldn’t tell me what he wants, but he insisted you be here.”
Nettie, Dusty’s mate, told Terrell that Dusty received
the silver-burn scars on his neck and wrists when an evil alpha kept him in
silver chains because Dusty wouldn’t tell him how to find Nate, the boy who
grew to become their king. As far as Terrell was concerned, the scars were a
testament to Dusty’s unwavering courage and loyalty. His musings were cut short
by Josh’s comment.
“Looks like they’re here.”
Terrell
followed Josh’s pointing finger to see a La Veta County Sheriff’s car driving
toward them.
In Other News
In the next book, Tala Ridge Storm, Alpha Terrell and Alpha Buck must work together to save a bus full of children. So far, I have nearly 3,000 words written. Back to work!
Take care,
 |
| Texas Ranch Wolf Pack Series |
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