His to Tame Read online

  His to Tame

  Bears of Grizzly Ridge

  Elena Aitken

  Contents

  Also by Elena Aitken

  Join Me!

  Reader Note

  His to Tame

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  About the Author

  Also by Elena Aitken

  His to Seek

  Also by Elena Aitken

  Bears of Grizzly Ridge

  His to Protect

  His to Seduce

  His to Claim

  Hers to Take

  His to Defend

  His to Tame

  His to Seek

  Bears of Grizzly Ridge: Books 1-4

  * * *

  Castle Mountain Lodge

  Unexpected Gifts

  Hidden Gifts

  Unexpected Endings - Short Story

  Mistaken Gifts

  Secret Gifts

  Goodbye Gifts

  Tempting Gifts

  Holiday Gifts

  Promised Gifts

  Accidental Gifts

  The Castle Mountain Lodge Collection: Books 1-3

  The Castle Mountain Lodge Collection: Books 4-6

  The Castle Mountain Lodge Collection: Books 7-9

  The Castle Mountain Lodge Complete Collection

  * * *

  Timber Creek

  When We Left

  When We Were Us

  When We Began

  When We Fell

  * * *

  The Springs Series

  Summer of Change

  Falling Into Forever

  Second Glances (Novella)

  Winter’s Burn

  Midnight Springs

  She’s Making A List (Holiday Novella)

  Fighting For Forever (Novella)

  The Springs Collection: Volume 1

  The Springs Collection: Volume 2

  The Springs Complete Collection - Books 1-10

  * * *

  The Springs—Stone Summit

  Summit of Desire

  Summit of Seduction

  Summit of Passion

  Stone Summit Trilogy

  * * *

  The McCormicks

  Love in the Moment

  Only for a Moment

  One more Moment

  In this Moment

  From this Moment

  * * *

  Destination Paradise

  Shelter by the Sea

  Escape to the Sun

  Hidden in the Sand - Available 2019

  * * *

  Escape Collection

  Nothing Stays in Vegas

  Return to Vegas

  Drawing Free

  Sugar Crash

  Composing Myself

  Betty & Veronica

  The Escape Collection

  * * *

  Halfway Series

  Halfway to Nowhere

  Halfway in Between

  Halfway to Christmas

  Join Me!

  Fall in love in the Rockies with me!

  * * *

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  * * *

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  Reader Note

  You might not know…this book (and the entire series) is a little different than my usual contemporary romances.

  But sometimes you have to try something a little different, and that was the case for me when it came to writing ‘the bears’.

  I had so much fun with this series at a time in my life when that’s what I needed—fun. So much fun in fact that I needed to revisit Grizzly Ridge with four more sexy stories!!

  I hope you have as much fun reading these new stories!

  AND…don’t forget to join my mailing list where you’ll be the first to hear about new stories, sales and promotions and giveaways!

  You can join me here —>

  https://elenaaitken.com/newsletter/

  His to Tame

  Fated mates. A fated family. One mistake that could shatter them all.

  * * *

  A small town cop and a single dad, Gabe Wilder already has more on his plate than he can handle. But when a routine traffic stop turns into making out with the sexiest woman he's ever laid eyes on, things get even crazier, because Zoe Karrington isn't any ordinary woman—she's his fated mate.

  The last thing Zoe expects is to end up in the arms of a sexy shifter who makes her feel— and do—things she's never expected. More surprising still, is the immediate love she feels for Gabe's young son.

  But when Zoe's reckless actions put the boy at risk, can Zoe prove to Gabe and—more importantly—herself, that the love she has for his son is just as fated as their own? Or will she lose the family her heart craves more than anything?

  * * *

  Don’t forget to join my mailing list where you’ll be the first to hear about new stories, sales and promotions and giveaways!

  You can join me here —>

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  Chapter One

  Grizzly Ridge was the most beautiful place Zoe Karrington had been to in years. She could happily spend most of her day walking through the forest or sitting by the edge of the creek with her feet dangling in the cold water. She could do that, too, and more—if it weren’t for her big sister Chloe harassing her every second. She’d finally been able to get a few moments of peace by sneaking away from the main lodge they called the Den—how cute for an eco-lodge run by grizzly bear shifters—and into the woods.

  It wouldn’t be long before Chloe tracked her down and dragged her back to the lodge, demanding some sort of answers about what she was doing with her life, why she was there, and where she’d been. All questions that Zoe did not feel like answering.

  Mostly because she didn’t have any answers that could possibly satisfy Chloe, who’d never done anything wrong in her entire life. And, of course, because Chloe would probably turn around and call their parents. Not that it mattered, not really. After all, Zoe was a grown woman. She could do what she wanted.

  As long as what she was doing didn’t ruffle any feathers.

  She couldn’t help but laugh at herself and her messed-up life. After all, if you couldn’t laugh at yourself, who could you laugh at?

  Zoe gave herself a few more minutes with her bare feet dangling in the cold water, pulling them out right before they went numb. It was already October, which meant that even if the sun was still shining, fall had definitely arrived. She tugged her socks and boots on and jumped to her feet. It was the perfect place to go for a run. To let her bear out and stretch her muscles. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, especially to Chloe, from the little she’d seen so far, Grizzly Ridge was the perfect place for bear shifters.

  Even for a black bear like herself, it might be a good place to settle down and make a life.

  If making a life was what she wanted.

  “Zoe!”

  Right on cue.

  There was no point running—again; her big sister would just find her. Especially considering Zoe had left her motorbike there. And there was no way she was running away fr
om her brand-new Indian Chief Dark Horse motorbike. Not when she’d worked so hard to save up the money to have it custom built, with the sexy matte black paint job. It was everything. At least, it was everything she owned in the world.

  If it meant having a sit-down with Chloe, she’d do it. Besides, she was the one who arrived unannounced at Grizzly Ridge. Maybe she, at the very least, owed Chloe some sort of explanation.

  She pulled her long thick hair back to the crown of her head before letting it fall around her shoulders and took a moment to squeeze her eyes shut and take a deep breath before she turned to face her big sister, who had joined her at the bank of the stream.

  “Hi, Chloe.” Her voice dripped with syrupy sweetness, but Chloe only rolled her eyes.

  “Where have you been?”

  She was taller than her sister, but not by much, and although they were actually very similar in physical stature, Zoe tended to take up a lot more space than her older sister. She always had. As the youngest girl in their family—with two older sisters who got a lot of their parents’ attention—Zoe had learned at an early age that if she wanted anyone to pay attention to her, she better stand out.

  So she did.

  When she was younger, that attention seeking had taken the form of being her parents’ favorite. She was always seeking ways to please them and make them smile or laugh. She frequently put on small performances where she’d sing or play the piano or occasionally act out a play she’d written. In high school, she’d taken her talents to a larger stage and had shone in the spotlight. Zoe had thrived with the attention, but she’d always used her attention for good. She’d been popular and got good grades. She spent her days dreaming of the day she’d fall in love, find her mate, and settle down to raise a house full of babies.

  Unlike most of her friends, or her big sister, Zoe had always looked forward to settling down. It had been her lifelong dream.

  Until lately.

  It had been a slow shift for Officer Gabe Wilder. Just the way he liked them. A lot of police officers thrived on the adrenaline of their shifts, craving some type of crime to take place so they could jump into action. Gabe liked it quiet. He was no stranger to conflict, and had no problem chasing down a perp, breaking up a domestic dispute, taking a drunk and disorderly into custody, or drawing his weapon if the situation called for it. But all that meant was that there was trouble in the valley—his home—and that was the last thing he wanted.

  The quiet Montana mountain valley had become his home just a few years ago and despite the fact that his clan was from the West Coast, the local grizzly shifter community had embraced him as one of their own. It had taken awhile, but he was finally starting to feel at home there, and he didn’t want anything to mess that up. Which was why he’d sworn to serve and protect the small town of Boulder Creek and the larger area of Jackson Valley, and of course Grizzly Ridge where a lot of his friends lived and ran the area’s most popular, new eco-lodge travel destination.

  But the area was growing, not in small part because of Grizzly Ridge. Their quiet valley was starting to become a more popular tourist destination, and with an increased population came an increase in crime. The days of Gabe’s slow shifts were becoming fewer and further between. Especially considering there were only a handful of officers in the area. No doubt that would be another change.

  Gabe ran his hand over his face and shook his head.

  Change was inevitable.

  But it didn’t mean he had to like it.

  Just then, a call came over the radio that reminded him exactly how much his small town was changing.

  “Officer Wilder? Reports of a domestic disturbance on Fourth.”

  “I’m on it.” Gabe spoke into the radio as he flipped the lights on the top of his cruiser. No point messing with a siren; he was only a few blocks away and given the address, he knew exactly what was going on.

  Sure enough, as Gabe pulled up to the blue and white bungalow with the paint chipping off the porch, and more than one shutter either falling from its hinges or already on the ground, the scene on the front lawn was exactly what he expected.

  Ashley Morris, a young single mom of three, who had a reputation of making all the wrong decisions when it came to her love life, stood on her front lawn, a baseball bat overhead. A man Gabe only vaguely recognized as one of the ranch hands from Blackwood Ranch up the road was on his back, using his elbows and feet fairly unsuccessfully to scoot down the lawn away from what looked like a very pissed-off Ashley.

  “Whoa.” Gabe got out of the car and walked over to the woman. He held his hands in front of him to show he came in peace. Ashley already knew he wasn’t a threat. Gabe had done nothing but help her out when it came to getting rid of men who overstayed their welcome, or for whatever reason got the wrong idea about what it was she was looking for. Which was definitely not a deadbeat boyfriend hanging around causing more trouble than he was worth.

  “Ashley.” He took another step. “Give me the bat.”

  “I want him gone, Gabe.”

  “Officer, she’s bat-shit crazy.” The man on the ground, who clearly didn’t have a full understanding of how dangerous a woman with a bat could be, piped up. “All I said was—”

  “That she was your sister.” Ashley raised the bat higher. “From what I saw, she is definitely not your sister!”

  “She is my sister. Ash, I love you. You need to calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do!”

  “Okay, okay.” Gabe had to resist the urge to laugh. It wasn’t funny. At least it wouldn’t be if the man ended up with a smashed-in skull. Which he didn’t actually think was very likely. “Ashley, give me the bat.” He kept one eye on the woman and one eye on the man who’d managed to get to his feet. “And you, what’s your name?”

  “His name is fu—”

  “Okay, okay.” Gabe looked pointedly at the woman. “I get it. He’s no good.”

  “Hey! I—”

  “You’re not!”

  “Ashley, give me the bat.” He now stood between the couple. “Now.” She did as she was told and Gabe took the bat in hand before he turned to the man. “As for you…”

  “Ryan.”

  “Ryan,” Gabe repeated. “Why don’t you come with me and I’ll take you home.”

  “This is my—”

  “This is not your home!”

  The situation wasn’t going to be easily defused. At least not while everyone was still so heated. Gabe also knew that unless something had changed dramatically since the last time he’d visited Ashley in a somewhat similar situation, it was not Ryan’s home. At least not legally. “Is there somewhere you can stay, Ryan? At least until the two of you can talk about this with calmer heads?”

  The other man nodded. “Blackwood Ranch. I’m a friend of Brian’s. I’m doing some work for him.”

  Brian Blackwood ran a ranch just outside town. He was a nice guy, especially for a wolf shifter, but Gabe did question some of the company he kept. Or, more specifically, some of the ranch hands he hired. “Okay.” Gabe gestured to his cruiser. “Get in. I’ll run you up to the ranch.” He waited until the man did as he was told before looking back to Ashley and handing her bat back. “As for you, you really need to start making some better choices in your personal life, don’t you think?”

  For the first time, Ashley looked something other than mad. She wiped at her face in an effort not to cry. “I’m trying, Gabe. I am. I really thought Ryan was different. I actually think I might be in love with him.”

  “Well, maybe she was his sister?” Gabe shrugged. The last thing he wanted to do was get in the middle of whatever was going on, but he couldn’t help but have a soft spot for the woman. It wasn’t her fault that her taste in men was astonishingly bad.

  This was the second wolf shifter he’d escorted from her house. Not that Ashley knew that. As a human, she had no idea that so many shifters lived among her in town. But for whatever reason, she seemed to have a radar for the dogs.
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  Obviously she’d actually liked this one. Gabe gave her one last encouraging smile before he got back in his cruiser to deposit Ryan out on the ranch, where hopefully he wouldn’t cause too much more trouble. Maybe if Ashley tried dating a bear shifter, things would work out differently for her. Not that he was signing up for the job. He had enough on his plate for casual dating and nothing about Ashley was casual, even if she were his type. Which she was not.

  No, he’d stick to what he did best.

  Work.

  And home.

  Simple. Just the way he liked it.

  In the last year, everything had changed. Zoe barely recognized herself somedays, and she’d had time to get used to the new version of Zoe. No wonder Chloe was freaking out.

  And she was freaking out.

  Zoe kept her smile pasted to her face, but her eyes narrowed in challenge at her sister, who, despite her outward appearance of staying calm and collected, was no doubt losing it just beneath the surface. Zoe knew Chloe well, and she definitely knew that ever since she’d shown up on the ridge twenty-four hours ago, her sister was working double time to figure out what was going on. It also didn’t hurt that Zoe had overheard Chloe and Luke, her mate, talking earlier that morning when they thought they were alone.