When Caspian and I vowed to mate if neither of us found our fated by our thirtieth birthdays, it sounded like the best idea ever. We were best friends and deep inside I always knew he was mine. All I had to do was wait until his Arctic wolf realized it and all would be right in the world. The only thing is, his thirtieth birthday is barreling toward us, and he’s no closer to seeing my rabbit as his than he was all those years ago.

Now I’m having second thoughts. What if I’m not his fated after all? What if my wolf is wrong? I can’t picture a world without Caspian, but maybe that’s my future, after all.

The Arctic Wolf, the Snowshoe Rabbit, and their Reindeer Omega is a sweet with knotty heat MMM shifter Christmas romance taking place in the world of Lorelei M. Hart and Wendy Rathbone’s Animals of SD. It features an alpha Arctic wolf shifter who is ready to settle down and wishes Fate would hurry up already, an alpha snowshoe rabbit who is placing bets against Fate so he can mate his best friend, an omega reindeer finally ready to embrace who he is, true love, the Christmas party at Animals SD that changes everything, an adorable baby, Christmas Magic, a visit from Santa, true love, fated mates, and a guaranteed happy ever after. If you like your holiday romance with not one, but two smexy alphas, a strong omega (who can maybe fly), and your mpreg with heart.

Santa 69 makes sure he’s not the only one coming this Christmas.

When I’m transferred to the adult toy workshop, I’m in over my head. My inexperience shows on my face and in my bulging pants. I’ve never even seen a single toy like these before, much less used one. My hand was the only thing that ever ventured that low on my body before working here. It’s how I want it. I’m waiting for my true mate. It does sometimes make things awkward at work, though.

One day, I’m sitting at work, minding my own business, when a toy falls on my lap out of nowhere. It’s as if the goddess of smexy times placed it there just for me. It’s large, life-like in design, and shouts “Mine!”

That’s when I do something that changes my life forever. I steal it. While I might not be ready to use something that girth, I’m not willing to let anyone else have it either. If I get fired, so be it.

Spoiler alert: It was designed after Santa 69’s personal package and when he shows up at my door, it isn’t the toy he’s after— it’s me.

Santa’s Knotty Workshop is a sweet with lots of knotty heat MM Mpreg Christmas romance featuring an omega elf who hasn’t kissed anyone, much less lost his V-card, an alpha, who happens to be Santa, wanting so much more than to be the one to help him lose it, a very naughty workshop getting presents ready for adults on the nice list, a poorly timed heat, a magical toy that leads Santa right to his mate, true love, fated mates, a whole lot of Christmas fun, an adorable baby, and a guarenteed happy ever after. This book answers the questions: What do grown-ups on the good list get in their stockings from Santa on Christmas morning?

All I want for Christmas is a home.

Most people ask for new clothes or some fancy new tech for Christmas. Not me. The only thing on my Santa wish list is a safe space to have my baby. Being forced rogue by my birth pack is making that nearly impossible. It wasn’t my fault the pack’s late alpha forced me to be his mate.

The new alpha doesn’t see it that way, and now I am marked as unworthy.

Everything changes when I stumble upon a snowy resort that looks like it fell off a postcard. The nightly rate is much more than I can afford, but the owner takes me under his wing and gives me a cabin to stay in. Everything is going great until a sexy wolf shifter shows up thinking it is their accommodations thanks to an accidental double booking.

Now what?

Drowning. The best description of my life since my mate, Emile, died over a year ago. Struggling to run a business that he made look like child’s play, despite my degree and working side by side with him all those years.

Hiding from the world, my new specialty.

My therapist says it’s time to get out there. To reach out to friends and family. Sadly, I have no family and our friends were mutuals. Seeing them rips the delicate scabs from the wounds I’ve tried to heal. Most of our friends are co-owners of a new club called Cuffed. They call or text, but I am never in the mood to talk, and they respect that.

Emile was so excited about joining. Our lifetime memberships were among the first ones sold, Lifetime membership…his ended before the doors even opened.

I’d received an invitation to the private opening party, but at that point had barely been able to get out of bed—partly why the business was not doing well. A year later, searching through a pile of papers on our home office desk, I find the membership certificate. Emile always planned to have it framed… Suddenly, I picture his face, full lips twisted in disappointment. I told you not to die with me, mate.

I didn’t, but my half-life hardly qualifies as worth living. I have to do something to get out from under the weight of grief at least a little. If only because it was what he would want. When Alex, one of the partners, calls to check on me and suggests I come by the club just for a little socializing, I agree. I can always run home, right?

Such a Lovely Omega is the second book in His Alpha Desires, the highly anticipated M/M Mpreg shifter series by USA Today Bestselling Author Lorelei M. Hart and featuring the members and staff of the hottest new club in town. Such a Good Omega features an alpha club owner who just wants to help his late friend’s mate save his business and live again, an omega who doesn’t want a new mate but can’t stop thinking of him, sweet heat, sizzling heat, new beginnings, healing, true love, fated mates, an adorable baby (or two) and a guaranteed HEA.

Sometimes the wrong Santa is the exact one you need.

I didn’t volunteer to run the Winter Pines Community Center Christmas Spectacular. I know my limits, but when I miss a meeting thanks to a stupid flat tire, I find myself the proud owner of the position. With the event less than a week away, I have everything in place; the food, the gifts, the decorations, even the music. All that’s left is waiting for the big day.

That is until I get the one phone call that threatens to unravel the entire event. Santa quit and every person I call to try to replace him with is booked. I’m about to give up and order a Santa suit for myself. Hopefully, none of the kids will notice I’m not even thirty. But I find abusinesscard for Santa that includes his address at the North Pole. He’s probably already booked, but it’s worth a call. The kids are counting on me.

All I want for Christmas is my mate.

I love everything about my life at the North Pole from my job, to my friends, to the abundance of cookies. What more could an elf ask for? Someone to share it with. That’s what. I’ve tried dating, going as far as using the North Pole’s version of a matchmaker. But it always ends the same: me waking up alone.

This year I have a plan. Rumor has it that if you are really naughty, Santa sends you to the perfect place to find your mate and done—happy ever after. Sure, I’ll need to be a knickknack for a little bit, but for my fated? Yeah, that would be worth it.

Only try as I may, I stink at being naughty and at my worst, I’m messy and annoying. When I get called into Santa’s office I think I’ve finally done it, finally made him mad enough to send me to my true love. Instead, he asks what I want for Christmas. What do I say to that? I tell him I want to be a bad, bad elf and he laughs hysterically. At this rate, I’ll be alone forever.

Nothing says love like a basket of hot fries.

Most bears will tell you their favorite place is someplace in the woods or possibly the river. Not me. My favorite place is the Howlin’ Hearth Diner. Sure the food is great, but that’s not the draw. Patrick, their cook, is.

I’m drawn to him in a way I’ve never been drawn to another. Unfortunately, I don’t think he feels the same. That doesn’t stop me from sitting at the counter and offering fries for a chance to talk to him. Maybe someday he will see that I’m more than the flirt everyone thinks I am. Maybe he’ll see that I’m his.

Not all presents are wrapped in a bow. Some come covered in fur.

When my husband unexpectedly dies and leaves me the single father of our beautiful daughter, I vow to give her the life we’d planned for her. It isn’t easy, but I manage.

This year, she’s asked Santa for a trip to the beach for Christmas. There’s no way I can afford that. Or so I think. When my coworker mentions doing a house swap for the holidays, I’m intrigued. I might not be able to afford a fancy hotel, but switching homes for Christmas week? That’s doable.

Only the app wasn’t able to get us a swap to the beach, the only place available, an isolated cabin in the mountains. There were worse places to spend the holidays.

I love living out in the middle of the woods, far from everyone. It’s the life I choose, and I wouldn’t change anything. My brother thinks I’m throwing my chance at happiness away. What does he know? He hasn’t seen me in two years, works sixty hours a week, and just watched his third marriage crumble.

When not one, but two men (and an adorable little girl) arrive at my front door, both saying I signed up for them on an app, it had my brother’s name written all over it. A text from him telling me I hope I liked my Christmas present confirmed it.

I’d send them all on their way, but there are a few problems with that plan:

* The two alphas are hotter than hot

* The little girl asked me if this was her new home, and there is no one on this planet who could turn down her sweet smile

* A blizzard is just about to hit

I guess I have some company for Christmas and maybe…just maybe…forever.

Not everyone deserves a chance at redemption.

Being kidnapped and taken as a mate by one of the most ruthless shifters in recent history hadn’t been on my to-do list, but that was exactly what had happened. For years, a partial bond prevented me from leaving, his cruelty making it impossible for me to make the best of a bad situation. When he was murdered, I thought I was free.

I’m not. Even in death, he doesn’t let me go.

But when the man I help kidnap is freed, he does the unthinkable and helps me on one condition: I go far away and never return. Now, I’m finally free for the first time since that fateful day, and what do I do? I head straight to the one place I promised never to go. I have no choice. My jackal insists.

Please don’t let this be a mistake.

Cedric needs a mate. A purple food truck delivers one right to his doorstep.

When I’m invited to attend the premiere food truck festival, I’m sure all of my dreams are finally coming true. After years of hard work, my business is finally taking off. Only halfway there, my truck breaks down leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere as a storm rolls in.

The sky turns black, the lightning moves closer by the second, and the rain comes down in sheets when an alpha comes to my rescue. I’m beyond relieved to be taken to shelter and if all goes well, my truck will be fixed in the morning.

A night of passion later and the last thing I want to do is leave, but that’s not how it works. The food festival awaits and I need to go.

Or do I?

Who put three cups of salt in the sugar cookies? Oh yeah, that would be me.

Being Santa’s head baker, I have one job: Make delicious cookies. And I do. Year after year. I bake the best cookies in the world…that is until someone puts the salt in the sugar bin and I accidently make the worst cookies ever. And to make matters worse, I served them to Santa after he had a rough day.

Santa is not impressed, and now instead of being part of the cookie village team, I’m being sent to Vermont where I’m stuck in a little junk store no one cares about. That is until a little boy begs his dad for me. I’m sure I’m doomed to be stuck on his shelf forever.

I moved to the up-and-coming town of Oliver Creek to make my father's dream of opening a Greek restaurant a reality. Instantly, I was attracted to the reviews and photos of the town online. Oliver Creek was the place to be. I hadn't been in the business before, but I'd done my research and had my father's recipes to back my business knowledge.

When one of my delivery employees doesn't show up for work, I decide to make the delivery myself. The alpha jackal opens the door, and I proceed to trip over a board on his porch and spill the food all over him.

Covered in chicken and hummus, he chuckles and smiles and invites me out to dinner. Dinner? After what I just did?

He's the sexiest jackal I've ever met and fifteen years is not that big a difference. But how can an omega who's been hurt before take a chance again?

Sometimes the wrong number is the exact one you need.

When I bought my house, I promised my grandfather that I would always have a landline. He might be gone, but the phone remains, just where it always was. When it rings in the middle of the night, I jump out of bed to answer it. The last time this happened, the news on the other end wasn't good. At least now it's either a scammer or a wrong number. No bad news comes from that, right?

Before I can say, “Hello,” the person on the other end starts telling me, through sobbing tears, that they need me down at the station with bail money for Grams. I try to tell him I'm not who he thinks he is, only to have the line go dead.

I could go back to bed. Nothing's stopping me, but also… Grams is going to be in that cell for a long time if someone doesn't let the man on the other end of the phone know he got the wrong number. It has nothing to do with the way his voice had my beast perking up. Nope. Nothing at all.

I'd always heard that love stinks, but this is ridiculous.

I always knew I wouldn't mate for love. I'm alpha of Windridge and my every focus has to be on doing what is best for my den. Right now, what is best for my den is finding a suitable mate. Only my bear is picky and there seem to be no agreeable omegas out there. But it leaves me right where I started… alone and in need of a mate.

With my position, I can't randomly pick any mate— requirements need to be met. And when Jayce walks into my life, he doesn't meet a single one. My bear is intrigued, but that's not enough to abandon my quest. Besides, he stinks. Sure it's the scent of a skunk and not his true scent, but I can't get past it to discover what's underneath. Maybe that's for the best. I have a feeling this omega could steal more than my attention… he could steal my heart.

I've been touring since I was seventeen.

But I didn't hit it big until I was twenty. And ever since then I've been on the road two thirds of the year and in the studio the rest of the time, I need a break. So, I've moved to my mountain cabin for a whole year. No touring, no recording, only writing if anything comes to me. I need the rest. And the peace and quiet. Having to guess whether people were interested in me for myself or my star power was just too hard.

Six months in, I'm so bored, I don't know what to do with myself. My songwriting has dried up, my friends are all busy on the road, and I am considering what to do when the letter arrives inviting me to a weekend at the Bearclaw Inn. I can use my real name and stay under the radar. It sounds fun…and maybe will give me a little time to decide what I want to do with the next six months.

The Bearclaw Inn is known for one thing. Franklin, the owner, has a gift for putting together fated mates, and when I walk in and meet the other guest who is there for the weekend, I know he's the one. But later, after a very special and intimate moment, I realize that he's not just good looking, smart, funny, and right for me. He's a superstar traveling incognito. But, if so, how can he be my mate? Did Franklin goof this time? Or has Fate done me a solid. Superstar or not, this male is my mate.

I've always connected with Ryan. He is brave, puts others' needs ahead of his own, is easy to talk to, and brings a ray of sunshine wherever he goes. He would be everything I want in a mate, if only he were older and I weren't… me. A monster. A killer. A beast.

Not long ago, I thought I'd gotten out, that I was free to be an alpha worthy of a mate—that we were all free. I was wrong. We're stuck and, when the opportunity comes for me to keep those I love out of it, I seize it. Taking over the dark side of our missions is easy. I'm the one without a family and a beast who can instill fear in all. It makes sense.

If only fate didn't pick this moment to show me what I dared not dream about: Ryan was mine.

Sometimes the wrong number is the exact one you need.

Who is the fool who left their phone on vibrate during the most important presentation of their career? Yep, that's right. Me. And it would be fine if the blasted thing wasn't blowing up during the QA. Whoever is calling me better have a true emergency on their hands, because if they don't, they're going to the land of the blocked.

The room finally clears, and I discover my phone is filled with picture after picture of adorable kittens in a box. WTH? And then I scroll back far enough to see the initial message. Some guy got this number from an answering service and thought he was calling a rescue. I'm no rescue, but I know a thing about abandoned kittens, and something tells me this wrong number isn't an accident at all… it's fate.

I need to protect my daughter. If that means mating a stranger… or two, so be it.

When I lost my mate, leaving me a single father, my heart broke into a thousand pieces. The only thing keeping me going was our beautiful daughter, Thia I vowed to do whatever it took to keep her safe and give her the life she deserves. And I have. But now the fluffle alpha has decided my mourning period is over and it's time to mate another.

Alpha bunnies have one job…to sire more bunnies, after all. Now that I no longer have a mate, my fluffle alpha has decided I need to “help” the unmated omegas have more children. Unless I find myself a mate in the next month, I'll be forced to follow my fluffle alpha's orders. The Male-Order Mates app is my last hope to find an omega I want and not one forced upon me.

When an omega wolf shows interest in me, I grab my daughter and take the first train out. Life with this wolf has to be better than what awaits me at the fluffle.

Spoiler alert: I'm not the only one waiting for my wolf at the train station. There's also a smexy panther and my bunny is calling him mate. Now what?

I thought I was protecting my mate when I let him begin his new life at the safe house. I only destroyed it— just like I do everything I touch.

Letting my mate go is the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's for the best. Being part of my life would bring him nothing but danger and unlike me, he'd never know what could've been. My dragon disagrees and is ready to burn the world to ash. If I don't get him under control soon, I'm going to need to take drastic measures. I can't risk the lives of those I love—my family, the Protectors.

Ha! What a joke. Turns out we aren't protecting shifter kind at all, we're working for the largest organized crime circuit in the world. The more I scratch the surface, the more that's revealed. If I only have a short time before I lose control of my beast, I'm going to use it taking them down. Which is how I end up accepting a hit I'd normally have turned down. The deeper inside I get, the better chance I have to take them down.

Only when I reach my target, they're nothing like what I'd been told, and one of their crew is my mate. Now what?

I was hit by a train and woke up in another world—one where I was famous!

Carving out a place in a brand-new world hasn't been easy, not even with my mate Dante by my side. But I did it… we did it. My life's better now than it's ever been, especially since discovering I'm having a baby! A small part of me worries that I'm going to wake up and have it be a dream. No one deserves to be this ridiculously happy.

When I run into Gideon, my life flips upside down. I have a wolf mate I love and cherish and who was there for me when no one else was. That should be enough. Only it isn't. I want them both and fear it means I deserve neither of them.

My two alphas disagree. They tell me I don't have to choose… that I can have both. What am I supposed to do with that?

I started the Oliver Creek Brew five years ago before Oliver Creek went from sleepy and dying to a bustling, trendy town. I wait daily for my omega to walk right in and order a coffee. Perhaps I've been reading too many romance novels. I long for him, whoever he is.

Everyone loves coffee and pastries, and I even offer a selection of superior loose-leaf teas. I've almost given up on meeting my fated when a handyman traveling through town offers to help with my disaster of a plumbing issue. Problem is, he's a wandering spirit and mine loves to stay right here at home.

I walked into the wilderness one day, needing more space and air than this world could offer. Few bears survive the loss of a mate, and I couldn't see why anyone would want to..

Eventually, I started a wilderness and survival experience to teach people what to do in case of disaster or a life-or-death situation. I'd only been armed with limited knowledge and a pen in my pocket. Without my bear, I'd have died within a week —not that I would have minded at the time —but now that sanity had returned, I needed a job and wanted to help others. The groups I work with are great, but they can't ease the loneliness of a bear without a mate.

On one of my monthly supply runs to pick up supplies, I check my PO Box and find a letter from somewhere called the Bearclaw Inn. Even I've heard of it…nobody leaves without a mate. Is there truly a possibility I can live more than a half-life?

Lennon

Two weeks ago, I had a hard conversation with my parents that left us in a silent standoff. I quit halfway through a business degree because sitting in a cafe and pouring over boring marketing studies confirmed that I hated everything about the subject. I did not want to make my life about money and power. Like my father.

But I can't stay at home like a child, with no point to my existence. I need a fresh start. A new way to live. Maybe even a mate.

When I get a letter from the Bearclaw Inn, inviting me for the weekend, I jump at the chance to not only have some time to think but a shot at finding an alpha who will want a wayward wolf like me.

Dragons don't always lay eggs. Sometimes their sugar glider mate does.

Alpha dragon shifter Rome is the failure of all dragons. His hoard is useless, he no longer has a flight, and he's working not one, but two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. He dreams of life with a mate and a family, but who would want a loser like him?

Omega sugar glider shifter Clayborne is adorable. Everyone says so. But the second they find out he's a trust fund billionaire, all they care about is his money and he's fed up. He leaves the East coast to find a new place to live, someplace where he is just Clay. He even gets a “real” job working at Animals, the hot shifter club.

Alpha bear shifter Armel loves San Diego, but his bear has been getting antsy. He longs for a mate, one to grow old with. When the hot new server at Animals shows an interest, he reluctantly turns him down. Sure, the sugar glider is hot and has both he and his beast's full attention, but he's not their mate. Why bother starting something when your future is already doomed?

Then the night of Animal's Anniversary party, Armel scents the air and everything changes. Clay wasn't his mate, he was one of two mates and now the two of them need to find their third. If only he wasn't playing hard to get.

I knew I was going to mate for politics… I didn't expect to meet him on our wedding day.

Cole

My father taught me from a young age that marriage is a human convention, designed for fiscal and political gain. When he tells me at ten that my role as his son would include such a “convention,” it doesn't surprise me. It isn't as if he ever pretends to have made a love match with my dad. It was strictly business, just like it will be for me. Sometimes I hate being the prince. No, that's not true. It's most of the time.

Henri

Growing up, I had no idea my parents had signed me away to the neighboring kingdom. None. I lived this happy little life dreaming of finding my one true love, getting mated, and having a cabin full of pups. That dream came to a crashing halt on the day of my first shift. From that day on, my fathers kept me locked away with tutors, an “assistant”—AKA a babysitter—and the knowledge that in a year I would become the Bear Prince's mate. Suck.

I always felt like something was missing in my life… I never guessed it would be two brothers.

I am the lucky one. Everyone says so. My otter bevy took me in when no one else would, I have two adopted parents who love me, and a degree that allows me to work from anywhere. And maybe they are right and I should be grateful, but I can't quite let go of the feeling that something is missing…something important.

On my 25th birthday, my dragon emerges for the first time, and everything changes. He senses my brothers and demands we find them. My bevy's reaction to my scales and wings makes the decision easy. Now I'm traveling across the country with nothing but my dragon sense to guide me. That is until Arvin offers me shelter…and his heart.

They say dreams really do come true. I didn't know they included nightmares.

I didn't enjoy being a killer. It isn't in my nature, but when I am offered a job that would help people avoid a fate like my omega twin faced, I jump at the opportunity. I refuse to sit around coding in an office building when I could be making a difference.

When I discover that I'm working for the wrong side and that they've been using me all along, my gut reaction is to burn it all to the ground. That's when the dreams started and everything changed.

Once upon a time, my brother and I used to share dreams. I thought it was a twin thing, but he's gone, and my dreams have become my only connection to the omegas who need us most. Please let my gift be enough. Time is running out for the omegas and the cubs in their care, and I refuse to let them down.

Sometimes the wrong number is the exact one you need.

I never answer my phone, especially not when the caller's number is “private.” Today is no exception, only unlike normal, they leave me a message, and for the first time, I'm kicking myself for not answering. The man on the other end is choking up, telling me there's been a terrible accident and his son is in surgery, begging the person they thought they reached to come to the hospital waiting room so he isn't alone.

If I could call the man and tell him about the wrong number, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I can't. So I do the only thing I can think of. I rush to the hospital. Only when I walk into the emergency department waiting room, my dragon doesn't want me to find the mystery man. He scents our mate, and that becomes his only mission in life.

My beast discovers we're both there for the same man. The one who left me the voicemail is the father of the injured child, and there's no one by his side.

I never dreamed of being a florist. That's such a stereotype for omegas. Lots of alphas thought omegas could only do jobs that were not too physical, some even thinking we should quit and become stay-at-home dads the moment we mated and gave birth. My former alpha had been one of those and when my uncle died and left me this business in in the booming small town of Oliver Creek, he laughed and said it would be a nice little thing for me to do until he “put a hoglet in me.” That comment was the final straw that ended things between me and someone who thought I should be grateful he chose me. I un-chose him.

Now I live in Oliver Creek, running the business my uncle put his heart and soul into. And I don't need anyone putting any hoglets in me. Alphas are highly overrated pushy people. Including the bear who runs the charcuterie place next door. If he thinks he can win me over with delicious salami and cheese, he's wrong. I'll be his friend, but no more than that. It's me against the world…me and the hoglet I've just realized my ex managed to get started before I dumped him. He can never find out..

I'm too busy for an omega. That's what everyone tells me. My passion is my work and my work is my passion. When those two things collide, there is no such thing as a day off.

I'm a strongman, and that means my days are structured from the time I wake up until the time I collapse into bed, when I'm prepping for a competition. My meals. My workouts. Even my free time, all of it is consumed by my work. But my mountain lion craves an omega to care for. Someone to be by my side. A loving fave to seek out in the crowd. If I had my mate, my life would be whole. No scheduled time for dating for this alpha. So, when I receive a letter from Franklin at the Bearclaw Inn, I take things into my own hands and get on the plane.

They say that a match is guaranteed if you go, and I'm not wasting a second of this weekend.

Sometimes the mate you've been looking for is only an app away… times two.

Human Alpha Jackson needs a date for his brother's wedding. He refuses to prove his parents right, that he will be alone forever because he's too picky to take a chance on love. Even if they are right. Jackson invites a co-worker, who declines, citing other plans. They hook him up with a dating app. It should be easy enough to find a date on Love　Hate. Who doesn't love an open bar?

Alpha dragon shifter, Brooklyn, spent his college years sure he'd met his one and only mate. At his first shift, he instantly scented his error. Just as well, since he came home to discover his omega in bed and not alone the next day. He planned to stay single, forever. But lately? Lately he's been thinking it might be time to try again. At least there's a shifter dating app to help.

When omega dragon shifter Marcelo downloaded Love　Hate months ago, but never set it up. In theory, he wanted to find a mate, but taking that next step wasn't so easy. Not after the last app he tried, where he was ghosted four times… in a row. His friends told him, it wasn't him, but it's hard to believe when it keeps happening. Maybe he'll give this app a try. It couldn't be worse than last time.

Nobody wants a single father as a mate…and by nobody, I mean my fated mate.

Not everyone meets their fated mate on the day they give birth in a van while escaping a breeding farm. But that's apparently how I roll. It should be my happy ever after, only it isn't. Aziz takes one look at me, and pity fills his eyes.

Aziz is everything I want in a mate, and I'm nothing he wants in return.

I don't get it. Fate doesn't make mistakes, right?

Only, in this case, I think maybe they did.

In this spinoff series to the Alpha For Hire series, Lorelei M. Hart and Aria Grace combine worlds with their Rivers Edge shifter series.

Shifter For Hire is more than a side gig.

Human alpha Trig is in love. So completely in love that it hurts. Too bad the person he's in love with has no idea. He thinks of him as his “roommate,” which he is. But that doesn't stop him from wanting more.

Alpha wolf shifter Garin is bored with his job. Sitting at a desk all day makes buckets of money, sure. But where's the fun? When his roommate tells him about Alpha For Hire, he checks it out only to discover there is a sister company, Shifter For Hire, and they are actively seeking out bodyguards. He's never done it before, but it sounds like fun. How hard could it be?

Oliver Creek is a paradise, a town with a large shifter population rapidly becoming a foodie and artists' mecca, but I've lived here my whole life. As an artist, I find the quiet atmosphere of my home and studio a bit outside of town perfect for my work and my peace of mind. I have an upcoming show in the city, but I need one more piece to make it perfect. So I place an ad for a model on the community web page. I had no idea there were any professional models locally, much less the one who walks in my door and turns my world upside down.

I saved for years to buy my shaved ice cart. Modeling let me put away the necessary funds, but it's not the job I want for the rest of my life. When I go to make the final payment and pick up my cart, my account has been emptied by my ex who I'd been foolish enough to have as a signer. So it's not theft, technically. I can sue him, but that will take time. I need some quick money, or they will sell my cart to someone else. And there's not a lot of modeling in the small, charming town of Oliver Creek. Or, rather, there's only one job available, and it's a whole lot less clothed than I've done in the past. It might be easier if my polar bear wasn't chanting Mate from the moment I walk into the studio.

I'm a freak of nature. I've known that my entire life and always keep it hidden. It's safer that way. It isn't until I become friends with my co-worker that I discover that I'm not the only one. There are others who can shift from one animal to another.

That's also when I learn Im nothing more than a lab experiment.

I'm left with more questions than answers and decide to do some experiments of my own, going so far as to “borrow” some equipment from work—equipment that turns out to be faulty. At least the repair guy, a human omega, is cute. Wait, that's bad. I'm not supposed to be getting up close and personal with him. I need to stay under the radar.

That would be so much easier if every beast inside me wasn't shouting that he was our mate.

Fate might not make mistakes, but they sure do have bad timing.

I'm a people pleaser and a fixer. When a problem pops up in the den and I have the solution, I don't think twice before suggesting it. It's who I am. Usually it's no big deal— I have an extra spreadsheet to run, or a new chore to add to my list. This time it's different… this time I offered my freedom.

Now I'm going to mate an Alpha who will be joining our den to strengthen our numbers. His reputation isn't the best, but my brother would never put me in danger. What's the worst that can happen?

Walking in and discovering that my brother's right hand bear, Zane, is my fated. That's what.

Time is running out before it's too late and I am bound forever to an aIpha who isn't mine. I need to figure out how to get out of the agreement without endangering the safety of my den. Where are my fixer skills now?

Sometimes it's more than love that sparkles.

Omega unicorn shifter Brett wants a new start, one where he can be Brett and not “that unicorn”. He appreciates that his foster parents took him into their wolf pack and loves them very much. But growing up a herbivore in a pack of predators sucks. He's ready for a change and when a job opens up at a small community hospital hundreds of miles away, he jumps at the opportunity.

Alpha snow leopard Anders loves being part of Snowford's sizzle. Snow leopards might not traditionally be pack animals, but his beast prefers it, and so does he. Really he does. But lately, seeing his friends with their true mates has him longing for more—for everything. Maybe the sizzle isn't where he belongs, after all.

When Anders drives a co-worker to the hospital for an appointment, he scents him immediately—his mate. But when he follows the scent, it ends in the parking lot. His mate is gone and he's left with only the mating pull. His heart is already beginning to ache.

Talon retreats to his office every night, drink in hand, scowl twisting his features. My wolf howls, wanting me to follow him. But he's my boss, and I desperately need this job. Besides, I don't think I'm ready for the kinds of games the alpha likes to play. I've heard whispers of all kinds of preferences, but Talon is a mystery and moves like a shadow through the club.

When the club opened, I put in my application immediately. Talon interviewed me in person. There were NDAs to sign. Background checks. More like an interview for employment with the FBI than to work at a club. But the job paid well, so I followed all the instructions like a good boy, ready to make a fresh start.

The black leather wristband on my left arm means I am off-limits to clients who came in but more than anything, I want Talon to ignore the rules, and take me into that private room on the second level of the club or even to a station on the main floor. I haven't seen him with anyone…yet. That doesn't mean I'll be the first. Of course, not. But I want to be the last.

This isn't the life I want for myself, but if it's a choice between me and the people I love, I'm going to step up every single time.

Growing up, I wanted to be a superhero. I was going to save the world, thwarting crime and protecting those who needed it most. Instead, I end up killing shifters for money. Sure, they're the “bad guys,” but when I am too, does that matter? I thought I got out, that I was finally on the right track. How wrong I was.

Now we have no choice. The “missions” need to be done and I refuse to let my friends carry this burden. They have growing families and huge hearts. Going back would destroy them, but the deeper I get, the more I realize it's destroying me too.

The only shining light is Clay, an omega who sees me for who I am and not what I do. I long for him to be my mate, but of course Fate has other plans.

I'm not a guy to put down roots. Most of the foxes in my den were born there, found their mate there, and will take their last breaths there. Not me. While other teens were fixing up cars, I found an old mini-school bus and turned it into a home. The second I graduate, I leave, wanting to see more of this country. And for ten years, it's the life I dreamed it to be, but now? Now I want more.

When my bus breaks down in a small town, I take it as a sign that maybe it's time to stay in one place for a while. I expect to get bored and ready to move on once it's fixed, but the longer I'm around the owners of the motel I'm staying in, the more I want what they have—a family. When they tell me about how they met, I sign up for the Male-Order App right away. It's not like I have to say yes to anyone, right?

One-night stands never become more…except when they do.

Alpha dragon shifter Magnus likes the finer things in life: designer suits, fancy watches, and real estate across the nation. He's living his best life. If only his dragon felt the same. He spends his days far too close to the surface for Magnus' liking and, if he doesn't figure out why, he's afraid he's going to lose control of his beast completely.

Alpha gazelle shifter Ayelet loves the ocean and, when a position in his company opens up near San Diego, he immediately applies. What could be better than daily trips to the beach? Having someone to go with him, that's what. Why does his mind keep wandering back to a one-night stand with a hottie dragon three years ago?

Omega unicorn shifter Harbor travels around the country in his converted van. Van life might not be for everyone, but it's working out okay for him. With no herd, it's not like he has a place to call home.

One night at Animals SD, when all three of them are in the same place for the first time, changes everything.

I was hit by a train and woke up in another world—one where I was famous!

I thought I hit the jackpot with my wolf mate. He is kind, protective, and exactly who I need in my life. And then one day—poof, I run into my bear mate, and the three of us make it work. I'm happier than I ever dreamed possible.

My life is exactly how it should be.

Fate disagrees and sends me Seymour, just in time to help deliver my baby. Now I have to balance my life as a father of a newborn while I begin my life with my new dragon mate, and keep the life I have with my wolf and bear from falling apart. Easy peasy… or more likely, the most difficult thing I've ever done.