A note from Zoe Chant
Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please to be added to my mailing list. You can also visit, or follow me on or.
Please consider reviewing A Mate for the Christmas Dragon, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
Page down to read a special sneak preview of The Griffin’s Mate.
The cover of A Mate for the Christmas Dragon was designed by Olivia Grey.
More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant
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(Bears of Pinerock County #6). At Christmastime, anything is possible...
. A curvy businesswoman who’s new in town + a lonely griffin shifter searching for someone to share his nest + a small town with a big secret = a hot and heartwarming story of love and family.
A curvy artist struggling with self-doubt + a panther shifter who's out of touch with his panther + a kidnapper with deadly plans = one dangerous romantic adventure!
(Fire & Rescue Shifters # 1). A curvy archaeologist with the find of a lifetime + a firefighter dragon shifter battling his instincts + a priceless artifact coveted by a ruthless rival = one blazing hot romance!
A lonely bookkeeper in search of Christmas + a mysterious dragon shifter with a past full of pain + a beautiful snow castle hiding a ruthless enemy = one glittering Christmas romance!
. (Gray’s Hollow Dragon Shifters # 1) A BBW in search of adventure + a dragon shifter in search of a mate + a mishap on a mountainside = one sparkling and sexy story!
A lonely BBW who can't shift, on vacation with her shifter family + a billionaire tiger shifter looking for a family + a kidnapping plot that threatens to rip them apart = one sexy and dangerous weekend getaway!
A lonely bear shifter + a workaholic conservationist + a sudden storm = one wet and wild mountain adventure!
Zoe on Audio
- A single dad from the city + his daughter's BBW teacher + a surprise snow storm = a steamy story that will melt your heart.
- A workaholic wildlife photographer + a loner bear shifter + Alaskan wilderness = one warming and sensual story.
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If you love Zoe Chant, you’ll also love these books!
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(Shifter Agents # 2), by Lauren Esker. Avery is a lone werewolf with no pack; Nicole is a social worker trying to put her life back together. When he comes to her door with a box of orphan werewolf puppies and danger in pursuit, can two lonely people find the family they've been missing? A full-length novel.
(Shifter Agents # 3) by Lauren Esker. Gecko shifter and infiltration expert Jen Cho teams up with sexy dragon-shifter gambler "Lucky" Lucado to win a high-stakes poker game. Now they're trapped on a cruise ship full of mobsters, mysterious enemy agents, and evil dragons! A full-length novel.
(Shifter Agents # 4) by Lauren Esker. In her search for the truth about shifters, tell-all blogger Peri Moreland has been clashing with tiger shifter and SCB agent Noah Easton for years. Now she and Noah are on the run with an unstoppable assassin after them and a custom-made plague threatening the entire shifter world! A full-length novel.
, by Lauren Esker. Down-and-out lioness shifter Debi Fallon never meant to fall in love with a human. Sexy architect and single dad Fletcher Briggs has his hands full with his adorable 4-year-old… who turns into a tiny, deadly snake. Can two ambitious people overcome their pride and prejudice enough to realize the only thing missing from their lives is each other?
, by Rosie Lynne. Bear shifter Willis Barnett meets his fated match in Charlotte Caldwell when she hopes to earn extra money as Santa Helper’s on Willis’ family farm turned Christmas Tree Town for the holidays. A romantic comedy novella.
, by Sofia Stone. When reporter Chloe Martin investigates Lancaster Gold, she finds herself tangled up with the oldest son—Isaac Lancaster, billionaire dragon shifter. A novelette.
The Griffin’s Mate
by Zoe Chant
Special Sneak Preview
CHAPTER ONE
LAINIE
“Oh, no, no, no.” Lainie groaned as the car engine whined to a halt. “Please don’t die, car. I seriously don’t need this today. Not on top of everything else.”
The car’s engine, deaf to her pleas, gave one final croak and fell silent.
“Shit.”
Lainie coasted to the side of the road, coming to a stop under a worn wooden sign. In faded red script, the sign read: Hideaway Cove: Population---
The sign was so old that the number was completely worn away. Lainie sighed.
Population, one less family than there should be, she thought. Her grandparents had been the last Eaves to live in Hideaway Cove, and after her grandmother’s death one month before, that wasn’t likely to change.
Lainie tried to feel angry about it, but what was the point? She’d resigned herself to her situation years ago. Her problems weren’t going to change just because circumstances were finally forcing her to face them head-on.
Just one night, she told herself. One afternoon, one night, one morning. And then I can leave again.
She shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun and looked down the hill toward the cluster of buildings that made up Hideaway Cove.
The small coastal town in the bay below her was almost cartoonishly cute. Old Victorian-era buildings lined the wide main street, and a shallow sandy beach swept down into the sheltered cove. A small marina at the end of town nearest the highway held a handful of small fishing and leisure boats, and at the other end of the crescent-shaped bay, a hill jutted up from the waves, protecting the town from the northerly winds.
And from the top of the hill, a house built at the base of an old lighthouse stared back down at the town.
Lainie looked straight across at it. Her grandparents’ house.
Her stomach twisted.
It had been fifteen years since Lainie last stepped foot in Hideaway Cove. Fifteen years since the last long, dream-like summer holiday she’d spent at her paternal grandparents’ rambling old house on the hill. A month of fishing, and swimming, and gorging herself on ice cream.
Fifteen years since the late-night fights she’d had to pretend she couldn’t hear. Since her grandparents started to sigh and purse their lips when they looked at her. Since the vacation that had ended with her grandparents telling Lainie and her mom and dad never to come back. That they were no longer welcome in Hideaway, and never would be.
Fourteen-and-a-half years since her father walked out on Lainie and her mother forever. Anywhere between fourteen and nine years ago that Lainie’s granddad had died. She didn’t know exactly, because no one had bothered to notify her or her mother, who were by then living in a small apartment in the city.
Eight years since Lainie’s grandmother had gone into a care home. And four weeks since she’d died.
Lainie groaned. Counting down like this usually helped. Separating a problem into little squares, and looking them one at a time made her feel more in control. But breaking up her life like this just left Lainie with more questions.
The biggest question of all was the one she’d never dared speak. Not to her Mom, not to her Dad before he left, not even in her own diary.
What did I do wrong?
She gripped the steering wheel. It’s too late to worry about that now, she told herself sternly. Granddad’s dead. Grandma’s dead. Dad’s gone—who knows whether he’s alive or not, but he disappeared so completely he’s been declared legally dead. Whatever reasons they had for what they did have gone with them.
Her grandmother’s will had come as a shock. The news had been delivered by a neat little lawyer in a fussy suit and shiny shoes, who’d clearly spent some time preparing his explanation of the situation.
Mrs. Iris Eaves had left her entire estate to her only son, Mr. Anton Eaves. As Mr. Anton Eaves had been declared dead in absentia, the inheritance fell to his only child, Ms. Lainie Eaves.
After fifteen years of being completely stonewalled by her father’s side of the family, suddenly, Lainie had inherited everything they had owned.
Which was what had brought her back to Hideaway Cove.
Lainie took a deep breath. You can do this, she told herself, mouthing the words. You’re a grown woman now. And this is business. You’re good at business.
“And as for you,” Lainie said out loud, glaring at the steering wheel, “I did not pay through the nose for a rental just to have it die on me! Come on…”
Holding her breath, Lainie turned the key in the ignition. The engine revved—and revved—and turned over. She sighed with relief.
“One night, and then you can leave all of this behind you,” she promised herself. “A fresh start without Hideaway Cove.”