Marked by a Wolf - S.E. Lower

A human on the run. A wolf who lives by the law. One unexpected bond that could finally give them a home.

For almost a year, Mikayla Parks has been hiding in Sentinel Peak - a mountain town ruled by a dragon alpha where shifters live by their own laws. It is the only place her seven-year-old nephew Kaleb, a wolf-blooded child with uncontrollable early shifts, might be safe. She has forged papers, a quiet routine, and one rule: trust no one.

Out of everyone to stop when her Jeep dies on a back mountain road, it has to be Trace Denton. The pack's beta. The enforcer. The man whose job is to uncover exactly the kind of secrets she is carrying.

Trace's wolf says Mikayla is his fated mate. Trace says his wolf is wrong. The last time he trusted that instinct, it nearly destroyed him. He has no interest in repeating the lesson - until a shifter official delivers an impossible ultimatum. Mikayla must find a lawful mate on the mountain or leave without the child she has raised as her own.

Trace offers himself as guardian. It is the logical solution. Nothing more.

Except logic does not explain breakfasts in a warm kitchen, wolf control lessons in the backyard, or the way a small boy with serious eyes has started calling his house home. Wary distance becomes trust. Trust becomes something neither of them planned for.

But the man Mikayla fled did not stop looking. He has followed her up the mountain with dangerous magic and a cruel claim on Kaleb's blood - and even the dragon alpha is taking notice. Now Mikayla and Trace must decide what they are willing to risk for the child who holds them together, and whether they are brave enough to claim the bond that has already begun to form between them.

Perfect for readers who love:

* Fated mates & slow burn tension

* Protective beta hero - he falls first

* Found family with a child at the heart of the story

* Forced proximity & fake relationship

* Strong, wary heroine healing from trauma

* Small town paranormal with wolf packs, dragons & a hint of Fae magic

* Closed door, low heat romance

A wolf shifter romance with a hero who makes pancakes, a resilient heroine, and a happily ever after that will restore your faith in fated mates. Start reading today and escape to Sentinel Peak.