A Paranormal Women’s Fiction / Shifter Romance Novella
Date to be Published: November 17, 2023
Publisher: Changeling Press
Discover the power of true love in this spellbinding tale of magic and
adventure.
All Amara wants is to live a life of adventure, without being tied down.
With the dark fae relentlessly pursuing her, she needs a place to hide. Her
gram’s cottage seems like the perfect spot, but the old witch’s
words leave Amara unsettled — What you seek is in Cutter’s
Creek.
Alpha bear shifter Hale is determined to safeguard those closest to him.
His life takes an unexpected turn when he crosses paths with a captivating
witch. Enchanted by her very presence, he’s unable to banish her from
his thoughts.
As destiny ties them together, not even the dark fae will destroy their
newfound happiness.
Uncover the magic in this fast-paced, insta-love story that’s sure to
warm your heart.
Publisher’s Note: Bewitched by the Bear is based on the previously
published short story Ruby and the Bear. Bewitched has been expanded and is
now twice the length of the original story, complete with a new ending and
steamier scenes. No cheating and a guaranteed happily ever after!
Excerpt
Lunar Cycle’s dance floor cleared the moment the wolf and the bear
began circling one another. Hale Klein watched as his cousin, Duncan Hunt,
flexed his claws in his partially shifted wolf state. It took a hell of a
lot of anger to hold a partial shift, and Hale figured Duncan had to be
running on pure rage. He had to admit, he had it coming. Hale didn’t
know what had come over him since losing his father, but something inside
him had twisted. He’d taken a lucrative business of being a security
consultant and warped it. For years, he’d been a gun for hire, for the
right price, regardless of whether he was fighting on the side of good or
bad. But as his cousin faced him, fighting for the place of alpha within the
pack, he realized perhaps he’d gone too far. His hold, at first, had
been tenuous, as the adopted son of the rightful alpha.
This fight wasn’t pointless, exactly, but Hale could think of better
things to fight over — no woman was worth bloodshed. Not that’d
he’d wanted Marissa. It was more that Duncan had wanted her, and
suddenly she’d become the most attractive of women to Hale. He loved
rubbing his cousin’s nose in his alpha status, but this time,
he’d overstepped. Even he could admit it to himself at any rate.
Tricking Marissa into his bed and then tossing her aside like
yesterday’s garbage might not have been the best of plans. In his
defense, she’d been eager enough. If she’d truly loved Duncan,
she would have never strayed.
Looking back, Hale had to say that he wasn’t proud of himself. As
he’d gotten to know Marissa, he’d realized what a sweet girl she
was, and she truly hadn’t deserved what Hale had done to her. Even
still, her heart hadn’t completely belonged to Duncan. Hale had to
wonder if she’d only accepted his cousin because of his status in the
pack. Either way, was it really Hale’s fault she’d run away?
Duncan seemed to think so.
“Your reign over the Silver Crescent Pack is at an end,” Duncan
growled through his shifted snout. “It’s time for justice to
come to our lands.”
And you think you’re the wolf for the job? Hale taunted
telepathically. No one had been able to beat him in the seventy years
he’d been on this earth — what wolf could beat a bear? — and
definitely not in the twenty years he’d held the position of alpha.
What made his cousin think today would be any different?
“It’s time for a wolf to rule the wolves.” Duncan snapped
his jaws.
Bring it!
Duncan lunged at him, arms opening wide, claws brandished like the weapons
they were. Hale was bulky in his current form, but he also had power the
wolf couldn’t hope to match. Rising to his hind feet, Hale towered
over his cousin. Swiping out with a paw, he caught Duncan right across the
cheek, his claws sliding into the wolf’s skin like butter, leaving
three perfect slashes.
The wolf howled in outrage, twisting to come at Hale once more. Before the
bear could scramble out of the way, the wolf’s claws embedded in his
sides, leaving gouges in his tough hide. Hale snarled and broke free,
spinning to immediately launch another attack at his cousin. As his massive
bear paws arced through the air, his cousin charged.
Hale braced himself for the impact, claws aimed right for his
cousin’s flanks, their razor-sharp points digging into meat and
muscle. Duncan howled in outrage again, this time falling to his knees
before the bear. Hale didn’t want to kill his cousin. He only wanted
to prove a point. Opening his jaws wide, he fitted his mouth around
Duncan’s neck, forcing the other shifter to his hands and knees in
supplication. Hale growled long and low, not stopping until Duncan whimpered
in defeat.
Backing away from his whipped cousin, Hale shifted back to his human form.
Towering over the shifter now covered in wounds, Hale flexed his muscles,
ignoring the twinge in his sides from his open wounds, and kept his gaze
steady as he stared down at Duncan.
“Are we done?” he asked.
Duncan changed back to his fully human form and nodded. “We’re
done.”
“I’m sorry Marissa ran away, Duncan, and I’m sorry for
taking her from you. But there is no way that woman was your mate. If she
was, she wouldn’t have fallen into bed with me so easily. She would
have fought to be by your side, not caring whether or not the alpha was
interested in her. All she wanted was power, despite her sweet nature.
Females are all the same. They want the strongest in the pack, unless they
find their true-mate. Then no other male will do.”
“You don’t know that she wasn’t –”
“Yes, I do. And if you think about it, you’ll realize it too.
Since you’re worse off than I am, I’ll let you see the healer
first. Get your wounds tended and go home.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Shaking his head in disgust, Hale turned, grabbed his shredded clothes off
the floor, and made his way through the crowd and outside the club. It
wouldn’t be the first time he’d driven home naked, and he
doubted it would be the last. There would always be someone wanting to
challenge him, someone thinking they were bigger, tougher. It hurt that his
cousin had been the one to instigate a fight with him. They’d fought
over the years, but it had always been more like sibling rivalry, not a
to-the-death fight over being alpha.
Hale dug his keys out of his pants pocket and slid into the large truck in
the parking lot. As the door slammed shut, he tossed his clothing on the
passenger’s seat and put his key into the ignition. The engine turned
over and he backed out of the space, then pulled out of the lot. He knew he
should just head home, to the alpha’s house in town, and call it a
night, but he wanted solitude, time to think, time to regroup. Being the
alpha meant he had an open-door policy, ensuring his pack could come to him
for whatever they needed regardless of the time. Change was coming. He could
feel it in the air, and he wasn’t certain if it was the good kind or
the bad kind.
About the Author
Jessica Coulter Smith is an acclaimed romance writer with a passion for
storytelling. Her works showcase the power of love and its ability to
transcend boundaries, capturing the hearts of audiences worldwide. With a
unique writing style and perspective, Jessica continues to inspire and
entertain readers from all walks of life.
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@changelingpress
