The Beast Daddy’s Mate

The Beast Daddy’s Mate Single Dad Shifter Romance Silverbay Wolves Book 3 Sansa Moon Copyright © 2023 by Sansa Moon. All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of the book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, including recording, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in a book review. Contents Chapter 1 - Marcia Chapter 2 - Blake Chapter 3 - Marcia Chapter 4 - Blake Chapter 5 - Marcia Chapter 6 - Blake Chapter 7 - Marcia Chapter 8 - Blake Chapter 9 - Marcia Chapter 10 - Blake Chapter 11 - Marcia Chapter 12 - Blake Epilogue - Marcia About the Author Books by Sansa Moon Chapter 1 - Marcia The heel on Marcia’s left shoe was bothering her as she hurried across the street. She’d snagged it in a pothole a few hours earlier and, since she’d been heading out straight from work, she hadn’t gotten the chance to go home and change into something more comfortable. And less broken as the heel felt as though it was going to fall off at any minute. It seemed a typical ending to twenty-four hours that had, all-and-all, been pretty awful. As a car passed and she narrowly avoided getting sprayed head to toe with puddle water, she heaved a soft sigh, conceding that it had, indeed, been one of those days. Her class of seven-year-olds had been particularly rambunctious, questioning every word out of her mouth. Typically, she encouraged it, but because she’d had a restless night’s sleep, she’d felt her patience begin to wear thin by midday. Not that she’d let it show. She’d just ended up distracting herself by drinking too much coffee, which had been entirely counterproductive as it only brought her restlessness up a notch or two; she’d agreed to a date that evening and she knew she shouldn’t have. It had rained for most of the afternoon, which had gone so perfectly with her gloomy mood that it had been difficult not to take it as a sign. It hadn’t let up once school finished. She’d forgotten her umbrella and the stash that usually sat in the corner of the teacher’s lounge had been glaringly empty. Another sign. She’d stepped in that pothole leaving the school; her askew heel making her shoes uncomfortable—a third sign. Yet, she’d refused to give up and cancel. She’d not been on a date for over a year and to say that there were slim pickings in the small town of Brandon, Colorado, was an understatement. She’d arrived at the restaurant looking like a half-drenched stray. Her date had taken his sweet time showing up, so her hair had managed to dry into an unruly frizz. She’d downed two glasses of wine and had been about to order in a big bowl of cheesy pasta when he walked through the door. His name was Luca. The name suited him. He had a blindingly white smile and perfectly arranged, thick locks of raven black hair that seemed to deepen the blue of his eyes. He had large hands that were a little too warm for her liking, his kiss was a little too wet even on her cheek and that smile was a little too broad. And yet, she had stubbornly told herself to be agreeable, if not charming. Not that she really trusted that she knew how to be charming, but if there had ever been a time for it then that time was now. Charm Luca and, perhaps more importantly, allow Luca to charm her. Because she had to stop fantasizing about Blake Novak. The local handyman. The way he was at everyone’s beck and call contrasted nicely with how he was the town’s all-around upstanding recluse and lived a few miles outside of town in a mountain cottage that rarely saw any visitors. He also happened to be the father of the adorable and clever Diana whom Marcia had taught at Brandon Elementary School for the better part of three years. And because it had been for the better part of three whole years, she had gotten to know Blake well enough to grow curious to learn more. It had been fine at first. He had been no more than another parent. But lately… For the past few months. Six. For the past six months. Or maybe eight. It could be closer to a year, if she was honest. She had felt this… need to learn more. But every single time she had built up her courage to suggest a coffee, something had happened to stop her. They’d been interrupted, or he’d been in a rush, or she’d been distracted by another kid just as he arrived to pick up Diana. A handful of lost opportunities that had begun to grate. Then again, when something didn’t happen it probably wasn’t meant to be anyway. And so—Luca. He had spent most of the dinner checking his phone, excusing the behavior with how he was expecting an important call from new investors. She could barely grasp exactly what it was he did—something to do with music equipment. By the time the dessert was placed in front of her, she was so done that she wolfed it down, paid the check without questioning it, and left with a ‘thank you for a lovely evening’. Her smile had been so plastered on it was cracking at the edges. Luca had smiled, nodded, eyes leaving hers to glance down at his phone. What an absolute dickhead. Thankfully, the rain had stopped an hour into the disaster of a date, so her trench coat had dried. Her shoe was another story, though. She headed down the sidewalk but paused her step to put a hand against the brick wall of the nearest building, taking the shoe off to inspect it. “Fuck,” she muttered. The heel was coming off big time. “You in