Finding Forgiveness

To forgive is divine…if he can pin his lover down long enough to beg for it.

Ben Malone’s role as Marshall attunes him to every nuance of the pack’s well being—which means he’s forced to feel
every one of his mate’s hangovers. It’s the one reason Ben will never claim Dave Maldonado. Being alone is better than
being with someone who lives in a bottle.

Dave was destined to be a pack Alpha until his first migraine hit at age fifteen, the day he caught his future mate
holding hands with another boy. In the nine agonizing years since, he’s contented himself as Beta, but never learned to
live with the pain and confusion of Ben’s rejection.

Dave’s worst attack yet sends him to the hospital—and brings them both face to face with the misunderstanding that’s
kept them apart all these years. It’s too late, though. Dave is headed for Gay Pride Week at Disney World with one goal in
mind. Forget Ben Malone.

Ben’s got a problem with that. Only one man is destined to hold his David. And he’ll give anything, even his last shred of
pride, to win forgiveness—and the right to finally claim his mate.

Read an Excerpt from Finding Forgiveness

Benjamin Malone shivered in the dark, praying no one would find him. If they did, they might “help” him, and the last
thing Ben needed was the Pack’s form of help. Because if they found him, the first thing they’d do would be to return
him to his father.

“Benny?”

He held still, praying, hoping Steve would just go away. Steven Hoode was his best friend. He knew all about Ben’s father,
knew about the drinking binges, the fights, the emotional blackmail. The fists that left behind bruises no one else could
see.

He always wondered why the Alpha didn’t do something about his father. He had to know what was going on! Or the
Marshall, the Alpha’s enforcer, the one who felt the physical well-being of the entire Pack; how could the man feel what
was going on and not do something? The Omega felt the emotional state of the Pack members; why didn’t he make it
stop?

But no one helped him. No one cared except a few friends his own age. The entire Pack turned a blind eye to his father’s
blows, the drunken rampages. Walter Malone was careful to keep his drinking to himself, hiding it from others, but there
was no way in hell he was hiding it from the Pack leaders. Which, to Ben, meant they didn’t give a shit about the
teenager hiding in the trees.

He thanked God every day that his parents only had one child. He couldn’t even imagine what it would have been like if
his father had someone younger than him to hurt. Someone weaker. Someone Ben couldn’t protect. Hell, up until her
death his mother hadn’t been able to protect herself. If the cancer hadn’t taken her, his father would have. Trying to
protect someone when he could barely protect himself would have been a nightmare.

“C’mon, Benny. They’re headed this way.”

Shit. If his father found him cowering in the trees like a little girl he’d beat the shit out of him again. He might be a drunk,
but his father was damn strong and still a lot bigger than Ben. Ben dropped to the ground, close to where he knew Steve
was hiding.

“Let’s go.”

Steve. The full-human boy who lived not too far down the mountain, the one he wasn’t supposed to be friends with. The
one who knew nothing of Packs and Alphas and men who turned into Wolves. If the Alpha found out he’d let a human
onto Pack lands his father would be the least of his worries. The Alpha might even go so far as to Outcast him, turn him
out into the world without his Pack.

He’d rather suffer the beatings than that. To be Outcast was the worst form of punishment, forever cut off from the voice
of the Alpha, the warmth of the Pack. Forever alone. He’d be a target for anyone from the shifter world who wanted a toy
to play with or something to beat on just for the hell of it.

At least here he had hope that someday, when a new Alpha took over the Pack, he’d be safe.

Ben grabbed Steve’s hand and started running. Ben was even more terrified now that Steve was here. The Alpha could
do serious damage to both of them if he caught them, and if he did catch them Steve probably wouldn’t survive. The
Alpha firmly believed that humans and shifters should remain separated at all times no matter the circumstances.
Anyone caught infringing on his rule would suffer the consequences. They’d probably never even find Steve’s body.

If Rick were here he’d help Ben hide the boy. Rick didn’t share his grandfather’s views on Pack life, but Rick wasn’t
here. He was housebound, grounded for a week for trying to stand up to his grandfather. Ben had been proud of him.
Someday, that scary redhead was going to challenge the Alpha, and Ben had every intention of standing right at his side
when he did.

“Ben?”

Ben froze. Oh, God. Oh, no. He recognized that voice. He couldn’t be here if the Alpha caught them. Ben couldn’t protect
him. “Go away, Dave!”

Dave Maldonado, fifteen years old and tempting as sin, stepped out from behind a bush. His light brown hair glittered in
the moonlight like it was dusted with gold. His startling amber eyes were wide. He stared at the hand Ben had clamped
around Steve’s, his own hands clenching. When the boy grew into those hands he was going to be huge. “What’s going
on?”

Ben didn’t want to drag Dave into this. The kid wasn’t ready to face Ben’s dad, let alone the Alpha. “Go away.” He
tightened his grip on Steve’s hand, ignoring the way his gut clenched at the thought of someone hurting Dave.

Dave’s gaze rose to his, the pain in them worrying Ben. “Where are you going?”

“Far away from here,” Steve muttered. He looked behind him. “Can we chat later, ladies?”

Ben jerked. He could hear the pursuit behind them, knew they had seconds before the others caught wind of them.
“Gotta run. Listen, don’t tell anyone you saw us, okay?”

“But—”

“Dave!” Ben took a deep breath. “Don’t tell anyone.”

Dave nodded and rubbed at his forehead. “Yeah. Sure. No problem.”

And Ben took off, dragging his best friend behind him and leaving behind the boy he knew would someday be his mate.

"I have been waiting for Ben and Dave’s story for a long time. This one was worth the wait." Five Cherries, Whipped
Cream Reviews

"This was a funny and charming story. I am definitely looking forward to the other books in this series." Five Hearts, The
Romance Studio

"I liked watching (Ben) grovel almost as much as Dave did... he comes up with some very creative ways to make Ben pay."
QMOBooks