Chapter 1

Chapter

One

DEBBIE

SHIFTER RODEO - 3 MILES!

A s the motorcycles roared along the highway, their lead rider—their leader, period—flung out her hand to point at the sign. Since none of them could have missed the handsome, grinning cowboy and blazing red lettering on the billboard, they all knew Rana was pointing because she wanted to go to the rodeo.

Debbie cheered for two reasons.

First, hell, yeah—Rodeo!

Second, it was the first sign of interest Rana had shown in anything since her recent breakup—from the second asshole to claim he was her mate. She had anosmia and couldn’t actually tell for herself, so Rana had believed him… just like she’d believed the first guy. Debbie was pretty sure the next guy claiming to be her mate was going to have his arm ripped off and be beaten over the head with it.

Rana was a honey badger princess, the leader of their little pack, and her cousin, and Debbie had been worried as hell about her for the past two weeks. That Rana wanted to do something other than ride the open road or start a bar fight was a really good sign.

A shifter rodeo would be fun as hell, and if they could find Rana a cowboy to rebound-ride, even better.

Her honey badger rolled its metaphorical eyes in the back of her head. Even for a honey badger, her shifter side was a grumpy bitch. By contrast, Debbie was a wild-child and got much joy from attempting toaggravate her animal.

Come on, a rodeo will be great. Save a bull shifter, ride a cowboy! She pictured herself buck naked and straddling a muscular man’s back, waving a cowboy hat in the air while he bucked like a bronco, trying to throw her off.

Her honey badger made a rude noise.

Whatever, Grumpy-Gus. We’re going to the rodeo!

Rana was already moving toward the turnoff, the rest of the cete’s bikes lining up to follow her. Grinning, Debbie’s thoughts were already turning to sexy shifter men in chaps and cowboy hats... or less. Hmmm, maybe she should save a cowboy and ride a bull shifter instead.

Thor

Standing in front of the board, Thor refused to show nerves by fidgeting while he waited for today’s lineup. Next to him, Ajax, his best friend and beta stag for his herd, wasn’t even trying. He shifted his weight back and forth on the balls of his feet, practically bouncing.

“How can you stay so calm?” Ajax muttered.“You might be riding Maddox.”

Mad Maddox Courtland was the biggest, baddest bull shifter in the league. No one had stayed on his back for the full eight seconds ever . In human form, he was a big ole teddy bear, but his bull was a bastard and a half, powerfully strong, and surprisingly quick on its feet for its size.

He was exactly who Thor was hoping to end up with.

No guts, no glory.

Ajax was more cautious, which was exactly why Thor had chosen him as his beta. He needed someone who could keep a cool head in a crisis. Thor tended to live up to his name by treating every problem like a nail, and his solution was always a big hammer. The only time Ajax ever got riled was when someone heard his name and asked, ‘Like the guy from Deadpool?’ But Thor knew how to calm him down, just like Ajax knew how to make sure Thor kept a level head. They made a good team, which was why Thor’s herd was thriving.

“Here it comes,” Ajax muttered, tensing up beside him as the lights on the sign brightened.

A moment later, names lit up the board. There was a second of silence, followed by the slow rise of sound, whether it was groans of disappointment or cheers of happiness. Most of the cheering was from the bull and horse shifters who were competing when they saw what cowboys and girls were going to try to ride them. Thor let out a whoop, punching his fist into the air—his name was beside Maddox’s. Inside his head, his stag let out a triumphant bellow, a challenge from one male to another. His animal was just as competitive as he was.

We will be champion. His stag tossed its head in arrogant surety.

“You crazy bastard.” Ajax shook his head, but he was grinning. Thor had his own reputation; he’d only ever been thrown twice, and both times had been during his first two years of rodeo. He kept searching out bigger challenges, and Maddox was the biggest of them all.

With their stats, it was almost inevitable they’d be paired together, but it hadn’t been a certainty. No one else would have given Thor the challenge he craved, though.

As the crowd began to disperse, many of them looking more nervous than they had when they’d gathered, the roar of motorcycles filled the air, coming closer. More than one head snapped around to see the approach. While cars had been steadily filling the parking lot, the arrival of so many motorcycles at once was bound to cause interest.

Even more so as everyone realized there was a woman on the back of every single one of those bikes and not a man in sight.

“Honey badgers,” Thor murmured. He’d heard about the all-female cete traveling the states but had never actually seen them before. Next to him, Ajax groaned.

“Focus, boss.”

“I am focused,” Thor lied. He knew Ajax meant for him to be totally focused on his upcoming ride, but he could focus on two things at once, and he’d always wanted to meet a honey badger shifter.

His stag was unimpressed. Like Ajax, it was more concerned with the upcoming bull ride and the need to win.

Ignoring them both, Thor trotted closer to where the honey badgers had come to a halt, watching with interest as they pulled off their helmets. They were all beautiful women, in different ways, although some of them looked enough alike, they had to be related. Two of them were clearly twins.

His eyes caught on one in particular—possibly because she was the only one with a pink helmet. The helmet wasn’t why he stayed interested, and it definitely wasn’t what finally got his buck’s attention.

Pretty female . His stag was finally on board with Thor’s split focus, but only when it came to the one woman. It barely noticed the others.

That one, though… she stood out. Hair pulled back in a ponytail, he could still see it went down to her shoulders. Even though she’d just had her head in a helmet, her makeup was done to perfection, highlighting big brown eyes, long lashes, and turning her lips pink. Her mahogany skin practically glowed under the sunlight, especially when she unzipped her jacket to show off the low-cut, skin-tight, pink tank top she was wearing.

Go! Talk—claim! His stag urged him, which surprised Thor. While his animal certainly appreciated Thor’s way with women, it rarely cared what woman he spent a night with. The buck’s urgency actually made him hesitate for a moment, but he rallied.

Fated mates rarely happened, and there was no way to know if she was his without her scent, so his buck’s fascination with her couldn’t be that. Still…

We could find someone else. It doesn’t have to be her.

The immediate and overwhelming feeling of rejection flooded through him. His stag was not at all happy with the idea.

Want her . Don’t want others.

Apparently his stag was adamant: there could be no substitutions.

Bemused but willing, if only to find out exactly what had his buck so riled up, Thor sauntered forward. Behind him, Ajax groaned, but he could hear his beta moving to catch up. There was no way Ajax would allow him to go into a crowd of strange shifters on his own, even if they were all women.

Hell, that fact probably made them more dangerous.