Chapter One – Danita
Danita Valdez beamed as she pushed on the door to her brand-new barn. At least, it was new to her; the door fell off as it swung open, the rusty hinges pulling clear of the frame. She jumped slightly but shrugged as she stepped through, glancing back at her former foster sister Amelia with a sheepish smile.
"I'll fix that up. New hinges and screws, no big deal. Might need to rebuild the frame, but that's easy enough to do. The place needs a little work, but all I'm missing is funds. Once I have my mortgage, I'll roll up my sleeves and with a little elbow grease, everything will be perfect."
"If you say so," Amelia replied, shaking her head as she inched through the barn door. "If you need some help, I'm sure my two Alphas will be able to find some Wolves in the pack to give you a hand. We could also give you a loan if the mortgage doesn't cover all your expenses."
Danita shook her head. "This is my place, and I'm going to get it up and running myself. When have you ever known me to shy away from hard work? Besides, the loan offer is sweet but I'll do just fine. There are only a few major repairs that need to be done before I can get my herd."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am. So I'm going to fix up the barn to store my equipment and hay, and outside I'm going to have the alpaca pasture right beside it. Three acres. I've already got Maria, but I'll need more to be successful. And I heard from some of the other farmers around here that there can be trouble with bears and cougars at night, which is to be expected with this great forest around, but I'll make sure my animals are trained to come in at night."
"Didn't you say alpacas could be aggressive towards predators?"
"Canids, mostly. Better safe than sorry. I'll start off with a small herd, but put males and females together and you know that they do!" Danita gave Amelia a saucy smile and winked at her.
Amelia smirked. "It's even better then you've got two males dedicated to pleasing you. Speaking of which…"
"No, I don't have any boyfriends. And I'm not looking for any, either. I have plenty to keep me occupied. Over there," Danita gestured towards the tree line, eager to get off the topic, "I am going to build a second barn. That's where I'll set up everything I need to clean, card and spin the wool."
Amelia smirked. "You really have your work cut out for you. A good, brawny male around—"
"I've already got half a dozen places lined up to take a look at my stuff once I’m producing." Danita folded her arms. "And—"
Amelia grabbed Danita's arm and let out a short scream. Her eyes were wide as saucers. Danita spun on her heel in time to see two huge bears emerge from the trees. Each one was about twice as tall as any regular grizzly, with paws the size of hubcaps and heads as big as a small car. One was gray, the other honey-brown.
"Oh, those two again."
Danita scowled to cover up how her heart skipped a beat on seeing them. The two strolled along the trees, grunting to each other, occasionally bumping shoulders and making chuffing noises that sounded like laughter. Which it probably was.
If Amelia hadn’t been here, Danita would be internally begging them to shift into their human forms. Maybe even indulge in her fantasy of them strolling up to the farmhouse and tossing her into a pile of hay while they took turns with her. She may be a virgin, but a prude she was not.
"Those two again?" Amelia rose a brow at her.
"They're just a couple of Bear shifters that live around here or something. They've been hanging around since I moved in. At least they're in their Bear forms this time. Sometimes they walk around naked." Danita felt heat rising in her cheeks. "Not that they aren't nice to look at, of course, but I want this to be a family-friendly farm, you know."
Amelia smirked at her. "You should see why they're hanging around. Because if they just started once you moved in, it could be that they're looking for a romp in the hay–literally!"
"Just because you got lucky and landed yourself two Wolves who are more than happy to share you doesn't mean the rest of us will be so lucky."
Danita sighed with disappointment as the Bears disappeared again. Even if she hadn't had fantasies about a threesome before, Amelia's stories about how mind-blowing sex with two men at once was would have her reconsidering her attitude.
"You might be luckier than you realize. There aren't any Bear shifter communities out here. Those two might be lonely."
Danita smiled at her foster-sister. "Maybe, but I don't have time for one boyfriend right now, let alone two."
"Just make sure you have time to come to my wedding," Amelia replied. "I'd ask you to be a bridesmaid, but Timothy, Xavier and I all decided we want something more intimate. So the wedding party is just the three of us, and only family is being invited to attend."
"Of course I'll come." Danita smiled at her foster-sister. "I can see how happy they make you. I don't think I've ever seen you beam like you do when you talk about them. I wouldn't miss your wedding for anything."
"Good. I have to go, but call me, okay?" Amelia glanced between the ramshackle barn and dilapidated house and shook her head. "You have a lot of work ahead, Dani. If the Alphas and I can help you in any way—"
"I'll let you know."
They kissed cheeks, and Amelia left. Danita glanced at the tree line, but the Bears were good and gone. Without changing and giving her a good look at their tightly-muscled asses. How rude. If they were going to invade her property the least they could do was give her something to look at!
She headed to the house to take a look at a burnt-out light fixture, but before she got to the porch, another car pulled into her driveway. A blue Mercedes.
Danita's jaw dropped. What a beautiful car! She struggled to put her eyes back in her head as a man dressed in a sharp navy blue suit–and for some reason, black leather gloves–stepped out of the car. He clearly wasn't from around here. He had all the polish of a Harvard lawyer, unlike the rough farmers she had come to know as her neighbors.
"Danita Valdez?"
"Yes. May I help you?"
The man smiled. His skin had that perfect sun-tanned glow that came with people who spent their time in tanning beds rather than actually in the sun. His hair was salt-and-pepper gray. There was something graceful about the way he walked that reminded her of a cat stalking its prey. She shivered as he drew closer.
"Dean McGrath." He held out his hand, and Danita shook it. "I was sorry to hear about your uncle's passing. Tragic, that a man would take his own life like that."
Danita made herself smile, though the man’s voice made her skin crawl. "Thank you. I didn't really know him very well. Still, he gave me what I always wanted. My own land to establish myself as a farmer."
"Yes…" His gaze swept over her freshly inherited farm. "The thing is, your uncle owed me quite a bit of money. In the general vicinity of five hundred thousand dollars. And since he owed me that money, this land technically belongs to me."
Danita's brows rose. "Excuse me? I assure you, I went over his finances very carefully with a lawyer and—"
"We don't want to involve lawyers now, do we?" McGrath flashed her a smile with distinctive fangs.
Danita stared at them.
"Oh, silly me." He made a big show of pushing the fangs until they were even with his other teeth. "Leopard shifter, you know. Sometimes my teeth just lust for something to tear into. But as I was saying, I'm sure you and I can figure this out just fine without involving any unnecessary middlemen."
A loan shark. Danita repressed yet another shiver, the hairs prickling on the back of her neck. She longed to run into the house and slam the door but somehow knew that it would only make him pounce and do something she didn't want to think out.
"For all I know you could be making this up to try to extort money from me," she said and hated that there was a tremble in her voice. "Besides, I don't have anything to give you. Look at the condition of this place. It's going to take a lot of funds to make it productive. So you can take your veiled threats and just leave me alone."
McGrath's eyes narrowed. "Miss Valdez, you do not want to get on my bad side. You've suffered from your uncle's death, and so I'll give you time to rethink what you’re saying to me. I will require a show of good faith, a down payment if you will, in three months' time. I'll go easy on you. Fifty thousand. We'll talk about further monthly payments then."
"How am I supposed to give you money I don't have?" Danita's voice was clearly shaking by this time, no matter how hard she tried to control it.
"Well, perhaps we'll have to find alternative ways for you to pay your debt, then." His gaze slowly ran down her body.
Danita wanted to slap him for daring to look at her that way. She knew she carried extra weight on her belly and thighs, but she had the misfortune of being extremely top-heavy. Not enough for her insurance to cover having breast reduction for health reasons, but enough for disgusting men like Dean McGrath to undress her with their eyes. She backed up a step, heart in her mouth, throat dry.
No. I am not letting some creep cow me.
"Forget that!" Her hands clenched as she shifted her feet into a fighting stance. If he dared come any closer he'd get a palm to the nose and a knee to the groin. "I am going right to the police and then we'll see what happens!"
"Funny… that’s what your uncle said before he sadly took his own life."
Danita froze.
"There won't be any more of that silliness, will there, Miss Valdez? You will pay back your debt, one way or another." He inhaled, leaning forward as though smelling her. It made her skin prickle with disgust. "You are quite the beauty, with those exotic amber-brown eyes, your smooth, supple skin, long, silky brown hair, and that figure… you shouldn't cover it up with those baggy flannel shirts. Hispanic girls like you fetch a high price at auction… especially if they're virgins. Are you a virgin, Miss Valdez?"
McGrath smiled as Danita felt the blood drain from her face. She clutched the step railings. He pulled a card from his pocket and tucked it into her hand before he walked away, not looking back.
This had to be a bad dream. There was no way a loan shark had just come to her farm threatening to pimp her out if she didn't give him money that she didn't have.
She looked down at her hand. Dean McGrath's name and business number were clearly written on it. Her hand clenched around it.
No. No way was this man taking her dreams from her. She was going to find a way out of this, and it would not include selling her body!