All Chapters of Bloodmoon & Incubi Anthology: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Reflecting on my life, it’s crazy to think how much it’s changed. I was an insufferable asshole. Not saying I’m fully reformed. Ask my mate, and she’ll tell you I’m still an asshole at times. But I guess I’m not an insufferable one makes all the difference. One misstep, one wrong choice in battle, and my whole world changed. My life goals were gone, just like my left leg below my knee. Wolfsbane laced bite from a magic roided-up werewolf is no fucking joke. That moment changed everything. My dream of joining the military was gone. And at my lowest moment, as the realization that everything I’d been working towards would never happen, the least likely person gave me advice. Alpha André visited me in the hospital, a man I’ve insulted more times than I wanted to count. He didn’t have to see me, let alone talk to me. But he left me with the advice that the Goddess guides us on our paths. But we all have to put in the work to find our destinies. He told me to look within and find who I

The chapters will be for the short story Love After 40 from this point forward. Hale Shelton: I gave up on love eighteen years ago when my mate and wolf died. I only lived for my son, and I limped through that. Now that he’s grown and found his mate, they think I need to find love again. I highly doubt I’ll find it on a dating app, but here goes nothing. Erin Carlisle: I just moved across the country for my new job at Kinsley Industrial. It’s a fresh start for my kids and me. Now my kids seem to think this fresh start should include daddy shopping. I have always attracted the wrong kind of men. I doubt this dating app they signed me up for will yield results.

As fed up with life in Massachusetts and mostly how people treated my kids, I wouldn’t have dared to dream of getting a job that would give me the freedom to move and pay me to do it. Yet here I am on the other side of the country while movers unload the truck. I still can’t believe this is all real. I’d had so many phone and zoom meetings recently as I looked for a new job, but nothing seemed to stick. Then I got an interview with Kinsley Industrial for a marketing job. I was supposed to have three interviews, but the third interview was canceled as the Marketing Director would be out on leave for two weeks. Since they hired me, Mr. Shelton must trust Mrs. LaRose from HR and Mr. Andrews the marketing manager. Kinsley is already the best company I’ve worked for, and I haven’t even been in the office yet. They covered all the moving expenses and set us up in this lovely three-bedroom duplex. All I had to do was pack and then deal with surviving a cross-country drive with my kids

Okay, this guy doesn’t give me red flags and warning sirens so far. You know the stuff I’ve ignored in all my past relationships. But I won’t get ahead of myself. If we matched, there has to be something wrong with him. So far, he’s checking all the right boxes. He’s financially stable, my age, knows what it’s like to raise a kid solo, and is not only understanding but open-minded. Plus, he’s adorable with his answers. I won’t get my hopes up. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. And there it is in his last message. So maybe him saying he’s a widower isn’t show dropping, run for the hills info. I need to approach this delicately. I don’t want to be rude or intrusive as this is our first interaction. I want to know if it was recent and if he’s still hung up on his wife. I probably shouldn’t keep talking to him if he's still focused on his wife. If he’s still mourning for her, I don’t want to be that rebound, plus I don’t want to invest in a man who won’t invest in me. It took

I was ready not to like him. I was prepared to find out he’s just another inconsiderate asshole. Most men are, especially the handsome ones. So, you can imagine my surprise when he wasn’t. Are there nice guys out there? Or is this just him acting professionally? That must be it. When I’ve seen Mr. Shelton around the office, he’s being polite and friendly. Okay, all is right in the world. He’s just one of those chameleon guys who can be charming in specific settings but shows his true colors in others. And at least he wasn’t dismissive of me for no reason. I can’t believe production would do this to me…er us. I may have been responsible for preparing the campaign options, but Mr. Andrews and Mr. Shelton also have a hand in the final campaign. That’s my excuse for yelling at my director. I’m not usually so unprofessional, but I’d worked hard on this campaign and had three presentations to show Mr. Shelton. I’d walked into this meeting expecting him to pick through the ideas I had, may