Sacred Shift

By Theresa Hissong

Sacred Shift
By Theresa Hissong
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Previously published in the Hearts Unleashed Anthology.
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Maverick Quinn opened his pride to two new members, knowing they were in dire need of a new alpha, but what he didn’t expect was for his mate to arrive alongside her elderly grandmother. When he scents her for the first time, not only does he know she’s his mate, but it’s obvious the female was a born an alpha.
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Sora Weston had never learned to use her powers as an alpha, because of her father’s denial that she would follow in his footsteps. After an infection takes out her entire pride, she moves to Missouri with her grandmother, looking for a new home and an alpha to pledge herself. The instant connection with the pride’s alpha sets off a chain of sacred events with Sora and Maverick once they finally accept their fate.
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When the news comes from Sora’s old home that vandals have destroyed the land where she was raised, her mate sends her back to Washington with Guardians to investigate.
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What they find there will change everything.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Theresa Hissong
• Release date: Apr 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005627102

Theresa Hissong

About Theresa Hissong:Theresa Hissong is the bestselling author of the Rise of the Pride series. She writes paranormal romance, rockstar romance, and romantic suspense.She enjoys spending her days and nights creating the perfect love affair, and she takes those ideas to paper. When she’s not writing, Theresa spends her free time traveling and attending concerts all over the United States.

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Copyright © 2022 Theresa Hissong

Disclaimer:

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The names of people, places, things, songs, and bands are all created from the author's mind and are only used for entertainment. Any mention of a song or band, in the book has been given proper credit for use.

This book is for adults, 18 and older only, due to content.

Cover Designer

King Cover Creations

Editor

Heidi Ryan with Amore the Line Editing

Format Design

Imagine Ink Designs

Table of Contents

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

About the Author

Other Books

Chapter 1

Sora glanced to her right as her grandmother let out a sigh, alerting to her exhaustion. They were an hour away from the Quinn pride in Bixby, Missouri. They’d left their old home just north of Packwood, Washington, only six days ago, and Katrina Hudson was already showing signs of weakness without the blood of an alpha.

Grandmother, you shouldn’t be exhausted already, Sora groaned, clearing her throat. Maybe we should’ve flown to the nearest airport to the pride.

No, dear, Katrina denied with a small shake of her head. I’m old, honey. This affects me differently.

You’re not old, she reminded her grandmother.

I’m seventy, dear. She gave a slight chuckle. That’s ancient in shifter years.

"You’re not ancient, Gran, Sora protested after rolling her eyes. Your mind is that of a twenty-year-old."

My body disagrees, she whispered as her eyes closed. I think it’s telling me to nap.

Sora watched her from the corner of her eye, hoping Gran was just tired and it wasn’t the lack of an alpha making her too weak. If they were away from their alpha for a long period of time, the shifter would eventually die. As soon as she heard her Gran’s soft snore, Sora pressed a little harder on the gas pedal, praying she made it to the Quinn pride sooner rather than later.

Thinking of their new home, she remembered the conversation she’d had with the alpha who ran the only cougar pride she could find that would take them in. Maverick Quinn’s voice still echoed in her head. She wasn’t sure if it was his deep baritone voice or the fact he was like her…an alpha.

Regardless, she needed him for her Gran. Sora didn’t want anyone knowing she had the alpha gene herself. In her pride, women weren’t an alpha. It had been beaten into her by her father from a young age. Her father didn’t like the fact she could rule over him. If it wasn’t for her mother’s mother, Sora wasn’t sure what would’ve become of her.

She’d already resigned herself to the fact her father would’ve killed her one day. It was for the best that the small pride they’d been in had died out from a disease that only affected shifters. Her father, Paul Weston, was one of the first to go. Sora and her Gran never caught it even though they’d been the ones to care for the dying.

Their best Guardian, John Henry, was the last to go, and that was when she knew she had to make plans to join another pride. She’d found a phone number on her father’s desk with a note…

If we should all die, those left need to contact Maverick Quinn. He will take you in and help you survive.

The message wasn’t in her father’s handwriting, and she was still trying to sort out the mystery of who’d written it. There had been no hesitation when she’d picked up the phone at her old alpha’s desk and made the call, holding back tears as she explained everything to the stranger on the other end of the line.

There was something about his voice that just drew her in, and within forty-eight hours of her call, Sora and her grandmother had packed their things and left the pride. She wasn’t sure what would happen to the land and homes when she found a realtor on their way out of town, but Sora had made sure the bodies of the dead had a proper funeral pyre before leaving. She hated that her Gran had to help her make the platforms and the fire, but Gran assured her it was okay. Shifters had a lot of sacred beliefs, and if they’d just buried the bodies, they might not have been reunited with their loved ones in the afterlife.

Gran, wake up, Sora announced after another thirty minutes of driving. We’re here.

It’s beautiful here, she heard her Gran say as they pulled off the road, stopping at a gate. There was a buzzer on a post on the driver’s side. She pressed the button and a male’s voice grunted across the connection.

Can I help you?

Sora Weston and Katrina Hudson, sir, she said after clearing her throat. The alpha is expecting us.

Without any reply, the large, iron gates opened, allowing her to pass. The drive up to the house was winding, but not enough to be scary like back in Washington with their roads. Along the way, she noticed several A-frame cabins built into the forest that surrounded the land. All of them were identical; dark brown wood and green, metal roofs. There were only six before the forest opened up to a beautiful home, matching the colors of the smaller ones down the road.

Sora parked, unbuckled her seatbelt, and looked out through the windshield. The cougar that lived inside her snarled when they both noticed a large male standing on the porch of a massive house. No, it was a mansion and much, much larger than her old alpha’s home. I think that’s the alpha, Gran. Let’s get you out.

She didn’t have to walk around to the passenger side, because Maverick Quinn, or the male she thought to be him, hurried off the porch as soon as his eyes focused on the elderly woman in her sedan. Sora froze when he approached the door, because the cougar inside her wouldn’t let her move.

He yanked the door open and dropped to one knee because he was so damn tall, he wouldn’t be able to talk to her Gran while standing. His eyes were bright, icy blue, and his shoulders were broad…muscular.