Once Rejected, Twice Shy


 
 
 
 
 Once Rejected, Twice Shy
 REJECTED MATES COLLECTION
 
 FAERELL BOOK 1
 
 
 
 
 TJ BELL
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ONCE REJECTED, TWICE SHY
 Rejected Mates Collection
 Faerell Book 1
 
 
 
 
 
 by TJ BELL
 
 
 
 
 
 Cover Design: McKayla Schutt
 Editor: Julie Sturgeon
 Copyright: 2023 by Tami Lund LLC
 
 
 
 
 
 License Notes
 All rights reserved. This book is copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes without express, written permission from the author or publisher. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer.
 Thank you for your support.
 
 
 
 
 
 All entities, locations, businesses, etc. in this book are strictly figments of the author’s overactive imagination and are not to be construed as real.
 
 
 
 
 
 Questions, comments, or desires to seek permission to use any part of this book for your own purposes should be directed to [email protected].
 
 
 Created with Vellum
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 About the book
 
 
 Rejected Mates Collection
 
 
 
 
 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
 
 
 Chapter 21
 
 
 Chapter 22
 
 
 Chapter 23
 
 
 Chapter 24
 
 
 Chapter 25
 
 
 Chapter 26
 
 
 Chapter 27
 
 
 Chapter 28
 
 
 Lyall: Dark Moon Falls
 
 
 Chapter One
 
 
 
 
 About the author
 
 
 More books by TJ Bell
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 About the book
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Once Rejected, Twice Shy
 
 
 
 
 
 Faith Calhoun was almost forty when she walked in on her husband screwing someone else.
 
 
 
 Talk about a terrible way to end what had admittedly not been an iconic decade of her life.
 
 
 
 After serving him divorce papers—on her birthday—she heads straight to her favorite bar, where the ultra-hot bartender plies her with drinks to take the edge off.
 
 
 
 They end up tumbling into bed together.
 
 
 
 That part’s not bad—in fact, it’s really, really good—except in the morning, he rejects her too, and somehow, that rejection is even worse than the first one. Especially when he insists he needs to remain in her life to ensure she’s protected.
 
 
 
 From what? Her gossipy neighbors?
 
 
 
 Oh, and let’s not forget all the strange occurrences that are getting harder and harder to explain away.
 
 
 
 First, there’s a wolf in her house. A real, live, massive wolf. Then the house is attacked and nearly destroyed by some unknown—and unseen—enemy, and, get this, the wolf saves her. Then the bartender tells her he’s a wolf too. It’s like something out of her favorite shifter romance novel—except she’s living it!
 
 
 
 And then there’s the icing on the cake: Mikail, the bartender-slash-wolf, tells her she’s a faery princess.
 
 
 
 Maybe this week isn’t so bad after all. If you overlook the reason he kept her identity a secret: the enemies she didn’t know she had want to kill her, and now that she’s been outed…
 
 
 
 Her bad week is about to get a whole lot worse.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rejected Mates Collection
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dragons, wolves, and mates…oh my!
 
 
 
 
 
 These authors have written a collection of Rejected Mates stories for you to devour that will keep you up all night long.
 
 
 
 
 
 Rejected Mates Collection features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors. Each month expect new releases filled with magic, mates, and more.
 
 
 
 
 
 Check out our website at rejectedmates.com for our release schedule and more about our fabulous authors.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter One
 
 
 
 
 
 “The deed is done,” Faith Calhoun informed the bartender-slash-owner at her favorite neighborhood hole-in-the-wall bar, Shift Happens. The name implied the hours it was open, of course, but Faith liked to pretend the owner was also a fan of shapeshifter romance books.
 “On my birthday,” she added, slumping over her mojito. She only ever drank mojitos at this bar because Mikail was the only bartender who had ever made one she actually liked.
 “Happy birthday. What deed are we talking about?” Mikail asked, his voice, as ever, smooth-as-whiskey. She loved listening to him talk, not that he was particularly chatty on the regular.
 “I had him served with divorce papers,” she announced. Hopefully, she sounded far more brave and confident than she felt at the moment. Defeated was probably a better description of her mood, but she didn’t want to feel defeated on her birthday, so she was trying to live the whole fake it ’til you make it motto.
 These mojitos would definitely help in that respect.
 “Who?” Mikail asked dumbly.
 Really, it was a dumb question. “Who else would I serve divorce papers to?”
 “You’re divorcing your husband?” He made it sound like she was chopping the man’s head off. Truth be told, she had fantasized a few dozen times a day over the course of