He’s got a billion dollars, but he wants priceless love to last a lifetime. It’s not impossible to have love and money, right?
Dixon Meade made his fortune buying and selling property to create a haven for his pack. He doesn’t let many in on his secret. He’d give his riches to have the one man who makes him whole, but that man has no idea Dixon isn’t just another brilliant businessman—he’s a wolf shifter. He’s also got less than forty-eight hours to claim his mate and accept his role as the alpha of his pack. The question is, will Sidney accept the various sides of Dixon?
Sidney Ayers has worked alongside Dixon Meade for the last ten years. He’s been secretly in love with him since he hired on at the brokerage firm. All he wants is to be with Dixon. When Dixon proposes marriage, Sidney can’t turn him down. There’s just the tiny matter of Dixon being a wolf.
What’s a guy to do when the man of his dreams sprouts fur and has fangs? Run the other way…or accept a forever love?
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence.
General Release Date: 4th April 2023
“Why am I getting signatures on a Saturday? Mr. Meade never does business on the weekend, and he always does this at his office.”
Muttering to himself, Sidney Ayers strode up to the porch of his boss Dixon Meade’s woodland retreat. He’d only been to the cabin a few times, but he loved the view of the trees. The peacefulness of the space and the woodland air cleared his lungs. He felt free here. The first time he’d stepped foot on the property, he understood why Mr. Meade would want to live here—it was idyllic. The gigantic fence was hidden by trees and incorporated into the landscape.
He knocked on the pink-ivory-wood door and waited for the butler to answer. While he waited, he admired the porch. He’d always had a thing for wraparound porches and this one was a beauty. It stretched around the entirety of the home, leaving plenty of room for a swing, chairs and making the outside another room for the house. If he had endless streams of money like his boss, he’d live in a place like this. He might never leave. Such was life as a billionaire, he supposed. The man could outfit a home in pink ivory wood—one of the most expensive types of wood on the planet.
William, the butler, opened the door. “Mr. Meade is expecting you.” He stepped aside and gestured to Sidney. “Come in.”
“Thanks.” He ventured into the house and drank in the view. So much pink ivory wood…even the overhead beams were exposed, giving the feeling of a woodland canopy. The dark green carpets cushioned his step and dulled the clunk of his shoes on the floor. He followed William to the living room and waited at the sofa. A gigantic painting of a wolf decorated the space above the fireplace. He could swear the sculptures of the wolves to match the one above the fireplace could’ve been real animals. And did he have a Monet on the wall? Christ. How much had all this luxury and rich decoration cost?
“He’ll be right out.” William nodded once. “Can I get you anything?”
“No.” He spied Mr. Meade’s dog stretched out in the sunshine. This one had to be real. He could see the fur moving as the animal breathed. “I forgot he has a dog.” He knelt to pet the dog, giving the animal a moment to sniff his fingers. “What kind of dog is this? Husky?” He’d never seen one with so much brown. Then again, the only huskies he’d ever seen were black and white. He loved the lushness of the dog’s fur and the soulfulness in his eyes. He stroked the dog’s fur. “Hi, buddy.”
“That’s a wolf,” William answered.
“You’re kidding?” he asked. “Aren’t they protected?”
“They are,” William said. “And this one was procured legally. Mr. Meade will be here shortly.” He left Sidney alone with the lupine.
“At least you’re nice company.” He continued to pet the animal. “Of course he’d have a wolf. He wouldn’t have just any dog.”
He settled on the floor and sighed. He placed his folder of papers on the table and paid the wolf his full attention. He’d never had a dog. His parents weren’t the type to have a mess in the house and pets of any kind were considered messy. Having two boys was a disaster enough. He shivered.
His parents weren’t the type of people who should’ve had kids, either. They didn’t know how to raise children and hated disorder. They didn’t understand why their boys hadn’t conformed to their desires and why Sidney had ‘turned out gay’. He hadn’t turned out. He’d been born that way—not that his parents accepted him. He could still hear his mother grumbling about not having the privilege of being a grandmother. His brother had married and had two children. Apparently that wasn’t enough.
The wolf stood, then shook before trotting over to the window and snorting. The animal then returned to Sidney and sat before him where it stared at him, unblinking.
He scratched the wolf behind the ears. “I know you don’t talk, but you’ve got the most expressive eyes. I wonder what you’re thinking about.”
The wolf stretched, then lowered its head. The fur melted away, revealing skin. The limbs shifted from lupine to human and his claws switched to fingers. The shoulders broadened into that of a man and the fur on his head shifted into human ears. A moment later, the wolf had completely shifted into a male human form. The man tipped his head and met Sidney’s gaze. “Hello, Sidney.”
“No.” Sidney shook his head. “You didn’t…it’s not possible.” No fucking way that wolf had just fucking shifted into his boss. Shifters weren’t a thing. They didn’t exist. He backed away from the man. “I’m dreaming.” He tried to find the exit. He’d come to a madhouse and was being shown parlor tricks. That had to be it. No, Mr. Meade wasn’t the type for parlor tricks or silliness. He’d seen the wolf shift into a man, but it wasn’t possible. Nope. Couldn’t be. Mr. Meade wouldn’t do that to him.
Christ. He was freaking out. His hands shook and he swore there wasn’t a door in the damn house. The wolf was now a man. His brain had to be messing with him.
Had to.
People didn’t turn into wolves or vice-versa.
He scrambled to the door, barely registering his surroundings. All he knew was he had to get out.
“Stop,” Dixon Meade thundered. “Just stop.”
Sidney froze. He’d heard his boss use that tone a few times, but never directed at him. “I’m sorry, sir.”
Mr. Meade grabbed a cashmere blanket from the sofa and covered his lower half with the dark blue accent piece. He tied the blanket around his midsection. “Now you know my secret.”
“I do.” He’d seen it, but still didn’t believe it. “It didn’t happen.” Couldn’t have.
“Sidney, stop.”
He hated disobeying Mr. Meade, but his brain refused to accept that a man had just shifted from a lupine form. His boss owned thousands of acres of woodlands and worked to preserve the forests. He had five homes, cars most people could only dream of owning and more money than God. He didn’t like jokes and wasn’t one for laughing. Magic wasn’t his style. That was how Sidney, who’d worked for Mr. Meade for ten years, knew his boss hadn’t truly shifted. “It’s a trick, right?”
“No.”
“Illusion?” Had to be.
“No.”
Irritation swept through him. “What did you do?”
Mr. Meade laughed. “Only three people may question me like that. My father, my brother and you.”
He’d never questioned his boss before, but the words had slipped right from his lips before he could take them back. “I’m sorry.”
“I see so much potential in you. I see a young man who is in need of an escape, but also in need of something more.” Mr. Meade’s gaze heated. “You want freedom and to be respected.”
He wasn’t sure what Mr. Meade meant. Yes, he’d worked Sidney hard, but he’d been told good work did a body good. He frowned. “Maybe I do.” He shouldn’t have such an attitude, but he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t like being lied to or having to deal with silliness.
“You do.” Mr. Meade gestured to the sofa. “Sit. I need to speak with you.”
“I was told to bring paperwork for you to sign. Do you still need to do that?” Sidney perched on the cushion. “Or was that a joke?”
“You’re harsh.” Mr. Meade sat across from him. “I let you in on my secret for a reason and it has nothing to do with signatures. I need you.”
He stared at his boss. For a split second, he’d felt an undercurrent of sex in Mr. Meade’s request. But why? Mr. Meade wasn’t attracted to him. He couldn’t be. Mr. Meade was calculating and plus, he wasn’t gay. Besides that, Mr. Meade wouldn’t come to his staffers for sex. It wasn’t his style. He’d find a lovely lady to decorate his arm and the men he’d kept company with jet-setted around the world with him. They were handsome, sexy and closer to his age, too. Sidney wasn’t any of those things. He was too skinny for his own good, never traveled except with his boss and was fifteen years younger than Mr. Meade.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I need you? Why I’m sitting here in a blanket at my vacation home instead of at the office? Or why I just shifted from a wolf form to this one?” Mr. Meade asked.
“It’s all occurred to me, sir.”
Mr. Meade held up his hand. “Call me Dixon. I insist.”
Right. “Dixon.” It didn’t sound right. “I don’t believe what I saw, plain and simple. None of it seems right. Did you really need those papers?”
“I do.” Dixon rested his elbows on his knees. “Sidney?”
“You’ve thrown me for a loop.” He sighed. “What do you need from me?”
“Marriage.”
He must’ve heard that wrong. “Marriage?” Dixon had to be kidding. “Why?”
“You’re not still shocked by my abilities?” Dixon chuckled. “Sid?”
“I’m overwhelmed, yes, but I don’t also see why you need to get married. And if you do, why not choose someone you love instead of rushing this?”
And picking me. There was no way Dixon loved him. They’d worked closely together for the last three years, so it made sense they’d have a bond, but not enough to get married. Beyond that, he wasn’t sure what to think about his boss shifting.
“You could buy a husband. I bet you could have a reality show find you a husband.” It’d kill him to see Dixon with someone else, but he knew his place and it wasn’t with Dixon.
“I need to hold on to my land and because marriage shows I have more power.”
“Ah, so it’s a convenience. That’s why you should get a reality show. You could buy one. You could buy a husband. I bet there’s a hundred men out there who’d dump everything to be your faux-husband.”
“It’s not that easy, nor do I want a reality show. I didn’t make my money to throw it away on something so trivial.”
“So I’m the closest available.”
“Sort of.”
“I’m not sure this is a good idea.” He had too much to wrap his head around. Jesus. He hadn’t known people could shift into animals or whatever. Craziness.
“Maybe if I explain,” Dixon said. “And wasn’t clad in a blanket.”
“That might help.” Sidney needed time to process everything that had happened, everything he’d been told. His world had changed in an instant. Shifters were real and he knew one.
Holy shit.
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