Claimed by the Billionaires

Book 9 of the Mating Season series.

On the run from her stalker ex, the last place Scarlet expected to find herself was on a ranch.

Despite her rough and grumpy new bosses, the offer of refuge and a job isn’t something she can turn down.

Pax and Austin have their hands full with running their sprawling ranch and managing dozens of employees. The last thing they need is a delicate woman from Los Angeles coming to mess things up on their land. Even if she has soft emerald eyes that make their hearts pound and they scent that she’s their mate. They don’t need that distraction in their lives and the faster she gets back on her feet and leaves, the better.

When danger comes after Scarlet and intrudes on their idyllic ranch, Pax and Austin will do anything to protect her. Even kill. Can they save their mate in time, or will they lose her forever?

This is a standalone story with a HEA. Each book in the Mating Season series features a new billionaire werewolf MMC duo and new FMC. All of the Mating Series books can be read independently in any order.

Excerpt

SCARLET

“Which pump?”

I looked out the window behind the gas station attendant for any signs of Cole. The sky was already turning a purple pink shade that would have been breathtaking if I wasn’t in such a hurry to get to my destination before nightfall. The cars at the pumps outside and an occasional truck driving down lonely highway along the front of the station were all I spotted. That was a good thing. My crazy stalker ex-boyfriend wasn’t following me.

“Ma’am!”

The worker’s annoyed voice snapped me out of my paranoid vigilance. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“Which pump do you want to add money on?” He made sure to enunciate each word as he spoke to me like I was dimwitted.

“Fifty on pump five, please.” I handed over the fifty dollar bill, which I had already separated from the wad of cash I had hidden in my bra before I stepped out of my car.

It was the only money I had left after I cleared out my bank accounts and bought an old Toyota Corolla in cash off of some shady guy on Craigslist who didn’t even have the title to the car. Not that it mattered, car registrations didn’t matter where I was going. Cole had connections to law enforcement and I couldn’t take the chance that he would trace my location through my banking transactions or my vehicle registration.

I only had about three hundred dollars remaining, but that money was going to have to last for a while.

After he broke into my dorm room and the police failed to do anything, it was clear that Cole’s cop buddies were going to help him cover up his tracks.

There was nobody I could turn to except my momma. She had an old friend, Elsie, who worked on a ranch in the middle of nowhere in Northern Nevada. The ranch was located four hours away from the nearest city in every direction. It was the perfect place for me to disappear until Cole got tired of looking for me. Even though I had never been to the ranch or met Elsie before, I knew this was the only place where I was going to be safe. This time, I trusted my momma’s intuition, which was what I should have done initially when she warned me not to date Cole.

I went back out to my car and filled my tank until the gas pump stopped. The gas tank wasn’t full, but I hoped it was enough. The needle on the gauge showed three quarters full. Just what I needed to get me through this desolate stretch of highway in the desert to my final destination.

Once again, I headed out onto the lonely highway, with the fast setting sun in my rearview mirror. By the time I turned off of the paved highway and turned onto the dirt road, the sky was already turning black.

As my car bounced and rattled down the gravel road, I worried if I was heading the right way. If I was lost and going down the wrong dirt road, it was going to be hell to find the right road. Coming from the city, I had never driven in such terrifying darkness. There was absolutely no source of light out here except for the thin sliver of moonlight in the sky. Without streetlights, or even lights from nearby buildings, it was impossible to see more than ten feet in front of my car. It seemed like it took forever, but according to the navigation app on my phone, the ranch was located less than ten miles from the highway.

Finally, like a beacon of hope, my headlights illuminated a large wooden sign held up by thick wooden posts that had to be taller than a four-story building. In bold black iron letters, the sign read Flying Diamond Ranch.

This was it. The ranch where Elsie worked. Suddenly, I heard the roar of an engine and a pair of headlights approached from the other side of the gate. It was an old blue pickup truck that was aged, and dented, but obviously kept in good shape.

The truck drove up onto the patch of dirt next to my car and stopped. A short and stout woman with tanned skin, and curly salt and pepper hair that came down to her shoulders, stepped out and came up to my window.

“Scarlet, is that you?” Her voice had the rasp of someone who had smoked for decades layered over a tone that was as soothing as a cup of hot tea sweetened with honey. “You’re the spitting image of your mother when she was your age. I’m Elsie.”

“You have no idea how good it is to meet you, Elsie.”

Elsie gave me a sympathetic smile, but her expression turned solemn as she glanced behind my car toward the main highway. “Were you followed?”

I shook my head. “No. I made sure to check every time I stopped for gas.”

“Good. Come on, it’s getting late. You can tell me all about it over a nice warm bowl of beef stew. I bet you’re starving. Follow my truck. This ranch covers thousands of acres, I don’t want you to get lost on your first day here.”

I followed behind her as she drove deeper down the bumpy dirt road. Finally, I saw a couple of lit up windows in the distance. It was hard to make out in the dark, but there was a big wooden lodge that looked like the historic hotel in Yellowstone National Park. Surrounding the big lodge, there were smaller cabins that dotted the grounds, the warm glow of lights from their windows like fireflies in the inky darkness.

Elsie’s truck pulled up to the side of the big building before stopping on a patch of dirt next to a heavy metal door. I parked next to her just as she killed the engine.

Even before she opened the door, I could already smell the aromas of freshly baked bread over the scent of horses and grass in the air. I followed Elsie into the bright and modern kitchen full of stainless steel work tables, restaurant sized stoves, and walk-in fridges. No wonder Elsie needed an assistant. Not even a young, able-bodied man could manage a kitchen this size by themselves, much less an old woman like Elsie. How had she handled it by herself for so long?

“Let me get a good look at you.” Elsie placed her hands on my arms and held me in place as she studied me in the light. She cocked her head. “Just like your mother. You make me feel like I’m in my twenties again.”

Elsie pulled out a kitchen stool and set it by one of the work benches.

I sat down and watched as she puttered around the kitchen with familiarity and the confidence of someone who ran the place. She pulled a loaf of bread from a multi-tiered cooling rack and placed it in a basket lined with a cloth napkin.

“The last time I saw you, you were the size of this loaf,” she said as she placed the bread basket and a ramekin of whipped butter in front of me. “Such a shame your mother had to move away before she finished school.” Her voice trailed off.

Her unspoken words sank into my heart. My mother never finished college because of my father, and now it looked like I was following her footsteps because of Cole. It was the Sullivan women’s generational curse, to have their lives derailed because of their shitty choices in men.

I sliced off a hunk of warm crusty bread and slathered it with the butter. The explosion of flavors on my tongue was a soothing balm. It was almost good enough to make me forget about the fucked up situation I was in.

Elsie placed a bowl of hearty stew, studded with large chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, and onions, in front of me. It was too inviting to resist. My stomach growled at the sight of real food for the first time in days. After existing on gas station snacks over the past several days, I was past caring that I had an audience. I dug into the stew with my spoon like a starving animal.

With my belly full, surrounded by the warmth of the kitchen, and under Elsie’s care, I was finally able to focus.

“What are your bosses going to say about hiring someone with zero restaurant experience to work in your kitchen?” I asked.

Elsie was already sticking her neck out enough for me. I didn’t want her to get in trouble and jeopardize her job too.

She tutted as she pulled out what looked like a large buffet warming pan and scooped out a large spoonful of tiramisu onto a plate. “Don’t you worry that pretty head of yours. Austin and Pax may write my paychecks, but they know better than to tell me what goes on in my kitchen. I am the captain of this ship.” She pulled out a fork and pushed the plate over to me. Despite my already full belly, I couldn’t refuse her offering.

“They know I’m getting older, and I need a helping hand.” Elsie put the tiramisu back into the fridge and slammed the door shut. She faced me and crossed her arms over her chest. “That being said, I’m not going to go easy on you. This is a real job and I don’t tolerate lollygaggers in my kitchen.”

I swallowed and nodded. “I understand. I’ll give it my all and learn whatever you’re willing to teach me.”

“You say that now, but I want you to be prepared. We’ll be responsible for cooking for almost a hundred people with the guests and ranch workers all added up, three meals a day. We may serve cozy home cooked meals at the lodge, but the kitchen is run like a busy restaurant. You’ll be on your feet from dawn to dusk. Breakfast prep work begins at four in the morning and dinner service doesn’t end until nine in the evening. Can you handle that?”

I straightened my back. “Yes ma’am. I won’t let you down. I promise.”

“Good. It’s a tough job, but it comes with free room and board, and most importantly, you’ll be safe here on the ranch with so many of us watching over you.”

After the five star dining experience in Elsie’s kitchen, she walked me over to one of the cabins near the kitchen that served as employee housing. The interior was spartan, but it was clean, with freshly starched sheets, a dresser, and my own private bathroom with a shower. Kicking off my boots, I fell onto the bed and breathed in the clean linens as I savored the cool feeling of the sheets against my cheeks.

It was almost perfect. I wished my mother was here, but no matter how much I wanted to call her and hear her voice, I knew I couldn’t contact her. Cole was going to figure out that my mother had something to do with my disappearance, and he was going to use the law to keep an eye on her.

I had to trust that Elsie and my mother would figure out a way to stay in contact without leaving a trace back to me.

The effects of being on the run for so many days caught up with me. My eyes grew heavy, and I finally succumbed to exhaustion.