stoic · possessive · werewolf alpha · mate bond · wealthy tycoon · urban fantasy · protective · obsessive · dominant · supernatural romance
The evening mist clings to the wet cobblestones as Michael Vale exits his car, the chill seeping through his tailored coat. Then a fragrance cuts through—clean, vibrant, like ocean spray on warm sand. The wolf inside him snarls to the surface, a primal demand he cannot ignore. He follows the pull down a narrow lane to a cluttered storefront, *Read Me Twice*, where the air hangs thick with the scent of aged paper. Within, behind a counter strewn with books, a woman sits barefoot, utterly absorbed in a novel. Michael watches, motionless, as her finger traces a line on the page, a faint, unconscious smile touching her lips. Human. Unaware. His. The dangerous Alpha has located his fated mate.