April Kelley by April L Ott

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An Excerpt from Bad Mate, the tenth book in the Saint Lakes series

The next Saint Lakes book is almost here!

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I know it's been a while since we visited Saint Lakes together...

But the next book in the series is almost here!

Coming February 15th!

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What do you do when your life changes in the blink of an eye?

 

Keaton finally has a family. Nothing good has happened in his life until he’s able to call Saint Lakes home. Meeting his fated mate should be good as well, but the shadows of his past come back to haunt him.

 

Tim Pyke has turned over a new leaf. Since his son mated with a Somerset, it’s not like he has much of a choice. He’s part of the family, after all. He still doesn’t intend to mate with anyone who isn’t a cougar shifter like himself. When he meets the prettiest vampire he’s ever seen, his instincts toward his fated mate are too strong to ignore.

 

Keaton is the only one who can save the clan from a dangerous human, but he must get past his fated mate to do it.


Here's an Excerpt (for your eyes only):

Tim sucked in a breath when he saw his mate sitting in the passenger seat. Ladon drove.


Ladon parked beside Kristin’s car and got out. He waited for Keaton, who held onto Ladon’s shirt in a way that made Tim green with jealousy. He still didn’t come out of the shadows of the barn though. He’d rather watch his mate for a bit longer.


Keaton looked even smaller next to someone as big as the alpha, but dragon shifters were big people. Tim was about average. Six-foot-one the last time he’d gone for a checkup and the doctor measured him. That had been a long time ago when he was still a teenager, though. But he hadn’t grown much since. He wasn’t old enough yet to shrink with age, either.


The age difference between them was clear, even from a distance. It made Tim wonder if he could keep up with someone as young as Keaton. How much energy did he have?


By the gods, he was gorgeous. He wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt with rainbow colors painted across it, as if he were the beginning of a work of art. The gods couldn’t have made Keaton more beautiful if they’d tried.


Josh, sucking in a breath and saying “by the gods”, drew his attention away from Keaton.


Tim sighed and came out of hiding. With Josh knowing where he was, it was only a matter of a few seconds before the others saw him. His mate being the most important one.


As soon as he came out of the shadows, his mate’s eyes glowed blue. When he spoke, his fangs poked out. “You!”


Tim’s eyes shifted. He stopped when he realized his mate stalked toward him with his fists clenched and his hands on his hips. Never in Tim’s life had he thought an angry person was sexy until seeing Keaton.


He raised his eyebrows when his mate stood in front of him. “You were the asshole who yelled at me.”


“You can’t drive, mate.” Maybe he should have finessed the situation, but he didn’t know how. He’d never been good at sugar-coating his words.


Keaton’s pretty lips thinned into a fine line. “I’d never driven before.”


“Guess that explains things, then.” Tim stepped into him and breathed in Keaton’s scent. It calmed him. He didn’t know he’d had tension until some of it disappeared. And he felt lighter, less stressed. His mind was clear, but also focused just on Keaton as he had almost from the moment of seeing him. He forgot about all the problems having a much younger vampire mate would bring, not that he’d been worried about them that much. Instead, he thought about how smooth Keaton’s skin looked and how he wanted to hold him.


Gods, Tim had never been attracted to anyone as much as Keaton. He wasn’t used to it and didn’t know where to put it all because Keaton eyed him with just enough wariness to make Tim protective, even from himself.


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