1. Earth Pack Rules: Her Alpha Lovers Part One by Michele Bardsley Page A

thin. Too blonde. Too young. Too brainless. Okay, okay. So Jack felt stupid for being here, too, but he was less vocal about it. He knew Grant was ready to go home. Damn it. They were getting desperate enough to sign-up on a shifter dating website.
    Jack shuddered. 
    Enough thinking, already. He rose and dusted sand off his legs. The swim he’d taken earlier had stretched his muscles and burned off the beer calories earned the night before. Man, he was starving. He started down the empty, fake beach, heading toward the exit. He’d get some breakfast and find Grant. They’d agreed to one more day of looking for their fiery-hearted woman. Then…hello shifter dating sites.
    “Excuse me!” cried a female voice. “Hey, you!”
    Jack looked around, trying to determine where the voice hailed from and if, in fact, she was speaking to him. He spotted the woman in a small grove of fake palm trees. When he got closer he realized:
    She wore a black bikini.
    She was tied up.
    She was gorgeous.
    And she had a tattoo just beneath her collarbone: a small red heart pierced by a sword of flames.
    Whoa.
    A fiery heart.
    Her breasts were spilling out of the bikini top and, for a moment, he was mesmerized by all that soft, beautiful flesh. She had the reddest hair he’d ever seen, and there was lots of it, wavy and long. She was all lush curves and radiated pure sex. He wanted to fill his hands with her, take her into his mouth, part her thighs, and slide into her.
    He wanted to feast on her.
    Defiant green eyes stared him down. “Can you untie me?”
    “Who did this?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”
    “Not unless you count wounded pride. I shouldn’t have been caught off-guard so easily.”
    “That sounds like a story.” Jack worked out the knots and the rope fell away. As she stepped from the tree, she rubbed at the lines in her wrists. She flashed him a grateful smile that revealed dimples. He felt as though he’d been knocked on his ass. His pulse stuttered, and his libido revved into high gear.
    “Thanks,” she said. “I appreciate the rescue.”
    “Believe me, it was my pleasure. I’m Jack.”
    “Roxie.”
    Even her name was beautiful. He wanted to … to … to lick her.
    “Thanks again, Jack. See you around.”
    “Wait! You’re leaving?”
    “Tied to a tree, remember? I don’t want to be here when my abductor shows up with her cohorts.”
    “You’re in trouble.”
    “My name should be trouble,” she said. “Trust me, Jack. You don’t want any of my drama.”
    Jack’s gaze landed on the fiery heart tattoo. Well, he couldn’t forsake Matchmaking Matilda’s words now. Roxie was his mate. Grant’s mate. She was the one who could complete their sacred triad and insure harmony for the Earth Pack. His nostrils flared as he scented her, tasting the air around her.
    Werewolf.
    She put her hands on her hips—her lovely, lovely hips—and stared at him. Her breasts jiggled enticingly, giving the impression they might fall out of the top. 
    “You want to tell me what happened?” he asked.
    “Yeah, sure. Why not? I mean, who are you, but a complete stranger?” She looked him over, her own nostrils flaring. She eyed him, her gaze scraping along his torso in a way that made him want to flex his muscles and show off. He barely resisted the urge. “Werewolf,” she said. “What pack?”
    “Earth,” he said.
    “Earth, huh?” A smile flickered. “I heard you guys are a little kinky.”
    “Kinky?”
    “Yeah. That whole two alphas sharing one mate thing you have going on.”
    “The alpha triad is an integral part of our culture, yes. It creates protection, harmony, harvest, and children.”
    “Wow. No pressure there.”
    She didn’t sound too enamored of the Earth Pack’s governing structure. Well, he’d deal with that later. “Tell me why you were tied up.”
    “Well, Jack, the short version is that I disassociated from my pack, and they weren’t too thrilled with me leaving. Let’s just say their