Grumpy Alpha Wolf (Shifter Nation: Montana Mates #1)

Chapter 1

Nia Patel’s fingers fumbled across the moving truck’s dashboard as a call came in. She hit a button, but accidentally skipped to the next song in the queue. She tried again, and this time, the call came through the speakers. “Hello?”

“Hey, there you are!” The volume of Colette’s voice made Nia jump in her seat, and she had to turn it down. “You took long enough to answer that I was starting to wonder if you had any signal out there.”

“The signal is fine. It’s just that, even after over thirty hours in this moving truck, I haven’t figured out where the buttons are. It’s so different from my car.”

“How’s it going?” Colette asked, knowing that towing Nia’s little red coupe across the country was one of the biggest hangups she had about leaving Salem.

Nia checked the sideview mirror. She could still see it back there, following right along with the moving truck. “As long as I don’t have to back up at all, it’s fine!”

“Good. I just thought I’d check in to see how you're doing. Staying awake okay?”

Nia smiled, her hands steady on the wheel.

She felt like hell after driving steadily for three days, stopping only when necessary.

She’d planned her trip out as much as possible, staying at decent hotels with well-lit parking lots, and she always took advantage of the free continental breakfasts.

Still, Nia felt rumpled around the edges and groggy.

All of her sisters back at the covenstead knew that was a risk, though, so she’d been getting a steady stream of phone calls all the way from Massachusetts to Montana. “For the most part. I’ve had a lot of bad coffee along the way.”

“How much longer?” Colette asked.

Nia glanced down at the GPS. She felt incredibly lucky to get a rental truck that actually had backup cameras, Bluetooth, and a touchscreen display. For some reason, she’d imagined they were all still as basic as could be. “Actually, I’m only about twenty minutes from Brianna’s place.”

“Oh, that’s great! I’ll have to tell everyone else. We’re all so excited for you,” Colette gushed.

“I’m pretty damn excited, myself.” Though the trip had been ridiculously long, Nia could feel excitement inflating her chest and igniting her bones.

As soon as her former college roommate had extended the invitation, Nia had felt this was what she was meant to be doing with her life.

Her personal tarot readings had confirmed it time and again as she packed and prepared, and now, she was finally doing it.

“How is it out there?”

“It’s gorgeous. I’ve been getting little glimpses of the mountains here and there. The land just goes on forever all around you, and the sunsets just beg you to keep on driving into them.”

Colette laughed. “Sounds like you’re already in love with the place.”

“There’s definitely something about it.” Her inner lynx had been getting more and more restless the closer she came to Red Lodge. It twisted and turned, impatient at being cooped up inside a vehicle when there was so much land for it to explore.

But Nia felt there was so much more to it than its beautiful scenery.

Maybe she was just fooling herself into believing that because she’d left everything she’d ever known back in Salem.

She’d traded it all to gamble on a dream that’d been scribbled on notebook paper in a college dorm years ago, a dream that she’d thought about every now and then, but had never believed would come true.

The only way to know if it would work out was to try.

“Shit.” All her happy thoughts about the future and destiny got shoved aside as she noticed the road ahead.

“Are you okay?” Colette asked anxiously.

“Yeah, there’s just a traffic circle up ahead.” Nia pressed her lips together and carefully eyed the other drivers going through the loop of asphalt.

“You’ve been on some pretty major highways and through big cities,” her friend encouraged over the phone. “You’ll be all right.”

“I will,” Nia agreed tentatively. “It’s just that this truck is kind of bulky, and the whole rig is pretty long.”

She winced as she drove around the tight curve, glancing at her wheels in the mirrors, worried she’d take out a sign before even becoming a resident of the town. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic in the middle of the day, and she squeezed through the other side of the circle.

“You good?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Oh, wow.” She hardly even remembered she was driving as the view ahead opened up.

Nia could see straight down Broadway, and the mountains rose in the distance.

The quaint little town pressed into the foothills of such majestic wilderness sent another surge of excitement through her chest. “This. Is. Incredible.”

“You’ll have to send me some pics!”

“Trust me. You’ll be getting a ton of them,” Nia promised as she passed through the historic district.

Brick buildings greeted her from either side of the street, each of them slightly different, all boasting signs for unique businesses.

She noticed plenty of stone and wood, too.

Salem had an old-fashioned, historic feel.

So did this, but in a completely different way.

“I love it already. I absolutely love it.”

She turned off the main road, following the navigation directions out to Brianna’s place.

The businesses became more spaced out along the side streets until she was back in the countryside.

It was all thick grass, pine trees, blue sky, and split-rail fencing.

“I feel like I’m in an old movie,” she breathed, eyeing the ranches and cabins she saw along the way.

Finally, she turned onto a narrow gravel driveway, her rig kicking up dust. “I’m here!” she announced. “You can tell everyone that I actually made it!”

“I will. Have fun, Nia, and good luck!”

“Thanks!” Now that the drive was over, though, Nia didn’t think she’d need it. She opened the truck door and slowly slid to the gravel, stretching her legs, knees, and lower back.

“Stop waddling around like an old lady!” a familiar voice called. “We’re not even thirty yet!”

Brianna burst out the front door of the small house Nia had pulled up in front of. She raced down the driveway and wrapped her arms around Nia, nearly knocking her over. “You made it! You made it!”

Nia hugged her back. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

Brianna looped her arm through Nia’s. “You might’ve won the canoe race on campus every year, but that’s not the same as driving all the way out here with all your stuff in a truck.”

“Fair enough, but both leave me equally hungry.”

“Perfect!” Brianna brought her into the house. The pale blue walls and the numerous windows made the cozy place feel much larger on the inside. It also smelled delicious. “I just finished a batch of croissant bread that I wanted you to try. Up for a sandwich?”

“Hell, yes.” Once Nia had washed up, she returned to the kitchen.

A sandwich was waiting for her, but it wasn’t just a bit of meat slapped between two slices of bread.

It was an architectural creation of ham, turkey, and melted Jarlsberg on gloriously buttery, fluffy bread with a ruffle of lettuce peeking out.

When Nia bit into it, she discovered the mustard and mayonnaise hidden among the other goodness, along with crisp dill pickle slices.

“This bread is to die for!” she exclaimed, her mouth still full. “You couldn’t have made this!”

Brianna beamed and grabbed another loaf off a cooling rack. She sliced it and began making a sandwich for herself. “I sure did! Think it’s good enough for our little place?”

Nia was in heaven as she chewed. “It’s perfect! I can’t wait to start brainstorming all the names for our drinks and sandwiches!”

“And for the place itself,” Brianna reminded her. “My pack is getting ready to go for a run in a bit. We can join them if you want to stretch your legs, and we can talk on the way to our meeting spot.”

Her lynx perked up at the idea of running through all that lush grass outside.

When they’d finished eating, Brianna led her out the back door and down a path.

They chatted just like they had in the old days, easy and free with no judgment as they moved further into the mountains.

The woods sprang up around them, reaching for that huge sky.

In a small clearing, a few wolves were already waiting.

“Looks like most of the gang is already here. The rest will be along in a bit, but they’ll catch up,” Brianna said with a wink as she melted into her wolf.

Nia felt her stomach clench as she brought her inner cat forward.

Her coven was composed of a multitude of shifters.

She was used to being the sole lynx among wolves, bears, panthers, a bobcat, and even an owl.

But it felt odd to know she was alone amongst these wolves, even if they were Brianna’s pack.

Nia felt distinctly feline as her ears stretched into long, pointy tufts of fur.

Her legs were strong and compact, and the breeze riffled through her thick coat.

Her tail was short, hardly a tail at all.

She took a deep breath, pulling in all the new scents around her.

The pack took off, and she followed Brianna’s lupine form.

As they headed further into the mountains, swiftly covering ground, Nia understood why the Montclair pack had lived there for so long.

The mountains loomed above them, towering and imposing, yet entirely reachable when on four legs.

The air around them was electric, and she felt that gripping feeling in her stomach that’d been growing with every mile as she’d approached Red Lodge.

When her paws hit the ground and sprang forward again, her lynx form felt light and easy.

There was a freedom that simply couldn’t be found in the more congested areas of New England.

A large shape darted in from the right, coming in through the trees. It leaped onto the path, its paws pounding, but the rest of the pack simply made room for the massive wolf.

Sorry I’m late, a deep voice echoed.

Startled, Nia nearly tripped over a tree root. Whoever this was, she shouldn’t have been able to hear him in her head. She wasn’t part of the pack. She hadn’t gone through an induction ceremony that would allow her to tap into their telepathic link. Could that seriously mean…?

Surely not. She’d had a long drive, and the newcomer had simply surprised her. It was entirely possible that she’d just imagined him apologizing for being late. Right.

The pack turned as the path did, flowing like silvery water down an incline and then rising swiftly back up again.

Oh, sure, the voice came again. The one time I’m late, and you have to give me hell for it.

Now, Nia knew she wasn’t imagining things.

She’d absolutely heard that, and it wasn’t like she didn’t know what it was like to have the rest of her coven in her head.

She sped up her stride a bit, bringing herself up alongside the wolf.

He was tall and powerful, full of lean muscle.

He moved with ease, his paws pounding into the hard-packed earth as they turned.

Really, he was quite impressive for a wolf.

For a moment, she considered saying something. A tentative hello to let him know she was there, to make sure he didn’t say anything embarrassing while she was accidentally eavesdropping.

But she didn’t even know the guy’s name!

Hell, she didn’t know anyone there. How would Brianna feel if Nia just pulled up and introduced herself to one of her friends as their mate?

It was all too awkward to contemplate. As intrigued as she was, as much as she was desperate to know about this person whose soul was bonded to hers, it would have to wait.

The trail curved around, bringing them all back to the original meeting spot. The wolf in the lead crashed through the trees and skidded to a stop, his tongue lolling as he nearly slid into another tree on the other side of the clearing.

Brianna and Nia rushed in after him. Brianna shifted on the fly, laughing as she pushed herself upright onto two legs. “Scott, you’re such a goober.”

“Hey, I’m just having fun!” Scott protested with a grin.

Nia searched around for the big wolf that’d been in her head.

Though there had to be at least a dozen wolves there, and they were all new to her, she found him instantly.

She felt as if she were watching something she shouldn’t be as he morphed back into his human form, revealing a tall, broad figure.

He was just as fit in his human body as his wolf had been, making his jeans and flannel fit him exceptionally well.

His skin was slightly tanned—she guessed from spending so much time outdoors—and she admired his strong jawline.

The light caught a flash of silver. For a second, Nia thought he hadn’t completely shifted, since a few hairs on the man’s head retained his wolf’s color, but then she understood.

Whoever this guy was, he was definitely older than her.

That surprised Nia a bit, and she looked closer as she took a deep breath and let her lynx fall away.

Small lines radiated from the corners of his eyes.

It wasn’t like he was old, but he sure wasn’t in his twenties—or even his thirties.

His green eyes glanced her way curiously, but then he turned away as Brianna ran up to him.

She threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey, Dad! You made it! I want you to meet Nia. She finally arrived today.”

This wolf was…Brianna’s dad?