Dangerous Mating: Haven Hollow

About Dangerous Mating

Asingle mother. A stubborn bear shifter. The deranged zealot ready to kill to separate them.

A startling discovery...

Since the birth of her child, Eliza Anderson has only had two goals: to work hard and care for her infant daughter. The love she feels for her child doesn’t dim one bit when she makes a shocking discovery about the other half of her baby’s heritage. However, the revelation leaves her scrambling to find the specialized care her daughter needs. After being turned away from one human-only establishment after another, she sets out to find assistance in the next county over, deep in the heart of shifter territory, where she discovers much more than she bargained for in bear shifter Carter Slade. 

Hope for the future...

Carter Slade wasn’t looking for love when Eliza Anderson walked into his life and turned it upside down. Excited by the discovery of his voluptuous mate, he throws his all into courting her with every intention of claiming her and her beautiful baby girl as his own. He’ll do whatever it takes to prove he’s the right man for her.

A future in jeopardy...

Just as their relationship takes off, an unexpected adversary steps in and threatens everything Eliza holds dear. Although Carter would gladly lay down his life for the woman he loves, he may not see the danger coming until it’s too late.

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Copyright © 2017 by Marlie Monroe

This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature adults.

Chapter One

T hat’ll be sixty three dollars and fifty nine cents, Eliza Anderson told the lady standing in front of her register. She looked her customer over—from her upswept hairstyle and flawless makeup to the pale pink suit that probably cost twice Eliza’s income at the grocery store—while the woman riffled through a purse the size of an overnight bag in search of her wallet.

Eliza glanced down at her own ensemble of a blood red pullover that washed out her already pale skin and the pleated khaki pants she’d bought at a thrift store to save money and sighed. By comparison, she felt like a hot mess.

Finally, the business woman pulled out a credit card and went through the motions of running it through the machine and punching the appropriate buttons. Eliza pretended to examine her ragged fingernails while she waited. A nail file would be nice. She’d have to try to remember to buy one of those. Later.

The computer returned to the main screen and the register started spitting out a mile-long receipt. She caught the narrow paper, folded it over, and handed it across the counter to the customer. Have a nice day, ma’am.

The woman looked down at the receipt and then back up at Eliza. I asked for cash back.

Oh. I’m so sorry. The register didn’t open. Can I see the receipt again, please?

The woman shook her head. I’ve already put it away.

Okay. Eliza tried hard not to roll her eyes. The woman still had her wallet in her hand. How hard would it be to reopen it and hand over the receipt? Well, just let me print out another one and I’ll have your cash to you in a jiff. She turned to do just that and heard a huff of impatience behind her.

Ignoring the woman’s impatience, Eliza hit the button on top of the printer and it spit out another receipt. She scanned down to the bottom to check the amount owed to the customer and found nothing but the original balance. With a sigh, she looked up and faked a polite smile. I’m sorry, ma’am. It appears you forgot to request cash.

What? Let me see that. The woman reached over and snatched the paper out of Eliza’s hand and glared at it. She huffed and frowned. I clearly remember requesting forty dollars back. Your machine must be malfunctioning.

Yes ma’am. I’m sure that’s what happened. Eliza dropped the paper into the trash bin under the counter. I’m afraid I can’t open my register without ringing up a purchase, but there is an ATM at the front of the store if you’d still like cash.

That ATM charges a fee for use.

Yes ma’am.

The woman frowned hard. Can’t I just run my card back through the machine?

Not without making a purchase, ma’am.

Fine. She stalked off in a huff, shoving her buggy full of groceries ahead of her, and headed straight for the customer service desk.

Eliza couldn’t wait to hear that complaint.

She waited on a few more customers, sneaked peeks at the clock on the corner of the computer screen, and tried to psychically will it to move faster. The scent of fried chicken and potato wedges from the deli teased her senses and made her stomach rumble. She’d left home without breakfast because Audrey had been fussy and demanded extra attention before going to the sitter for the day. To make matters worse, she’d been in such a hurry to get them out the door that she’d forgotten to pack lunch. Again.

Some times she wondered if pregnancy-brain stuck around for life. She was so forgetful it was beginning to be a real problem.

Her stomach growled and twisted. It was going to be a long day.

Just before her scheduled afternoon break, she spotted the general manager striding toward her and cursed under her breath. Harlon Crane was a dour, middle-aged man with thin, receding brown hair, thick coke-bottle glasses, and a rapidly expanding beer gut. Her shoulders slumped as she accepted the inevitable. He was going to give her hell over the complaint lodged earlier. As unpleasant as the lecture would be, being forced to talk to Harlon was worse. Although there was nothing outwardly threatening about the man, he gave her the creeps. There was just something off about him that set her nerves on edge. The fact that he’d subtly hit on her every chance he got didn’t help matters.

Inhaling a deep breath, she braced herself for the upcoming unpleasantness, exhaled, and forced herself to smile as Harlon drew near. Hey Harlon. How you doing today?

I’m fine, Eliza. Thank you for asking. Harlon stopped at the end of the lane. A call came through for you in the main office. Go ahead and shut down your register and turn off your light and you can take your break a few minutes early. In the future, please do try to remember that there are no personal calls allowed while on duty.

Yes, sir. It won’t happen again.

See that it doesn’t, Harlon answered before turning and heading back to the office.

Eliza hurried to comply, while worrying over who could be on the phone. After aging out of the foster care system, she didn’t have any family to speak of and she didn’t have time for close friends. Not really. She barely managed being a single mother and working full time. The only person she could think of was her child’s sitter—which didn’t bode well.

Once finished securing her work station, she rushed to the front office.

Harlon sat behind the desk. Upon seeing her, he waved at the phone. Your call is on line two.

Thanks. She picked up the receiver and hit the glowing button for the appropriate line. Hello. This is Eliza.

Thank God, the woman on the other end exclaimed. I didn’t think you were ever going to answer.

Helen? Eliza asked, recognizing her sitter’s voice. What’s going on? Is Audrey all right? You know you aren’t supposed to call me at work unless it’s an emergency.

I’ve got an emergency for you all right, Helen replied. Your child is a monster and I refuse to watch her for another minute. You need to come and get her right now.

What? Eliza strained to hear over the noise of the store and Harlon’s loud typing. Listen, I’m sorry if the baby’s been more fussy than usual, but I think she’s going through another growth spurt or something. I’m sure if you just give her an extra bottle, she’ll settle down for you.

"That’s not it. That’s not it at all! Your kid turned into a monster and bit me. I swear,