All Chapters of The Banished Beta's Saving Grace: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

**This is Book Three of the Guardians Trilogy. This book contains references to events that occurred in the first two books and spoilers for those books. It is recommended that you read The Broken Warrior’s Daughter and Alpha’s Guardian Angel before reading this, the final book in the trilogy. Eli I never expected to find my mate, much less in a small town in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains where I was just passing through. Even more surprising than her being under eighteen and nearly half my age, was the fact that she was human. I had been on a bus, with a ticket paid for by an old foe, turned…not exactly friend, but no longer a foe. I had stuffed the envelope of money he’d given me deep into my backpack underneath the new clothes he’d also bought for me. All of them still had the price tags on. When the bus had stopped for a two-hour layover, I had gotten off to find a place to eat. There was only one little mom and pop diner in the small town and when I walked into the

I dread the morning of my 12th birthday. I know my father is getting more and more angry and if I don’t have my wolf on my birthday, it will set him off. Over the last two years, his anger and aggression have increased and the pack is suffering for it. Everyone walks on eggshells with my father now. No one comes to the packhouse any longer and I’m thankful because I don’t want anyone to see what he does to my mother. His abuse of her has gotten worse over the past year. I’m terrified that one day he will kill her. The door to my room slams open, and I jerk up out of bed. “Well?” My father says without any preamble. I just shake my head, no. He stalks toward me. “You worthless excuse for a daughter. You are nothing to me.” He raises his hand to hit me and my mother comes flying in, out of nowhere, putting herself between me and him. His backhands her, his hand slamming into her cheek. Her head whips around, spit and blood flying from her mouth. He sneers down at my mother as she tur

The irony of this situation is not lost on me, proving that the Moon Goddess does, indeed, have a sense of humor. I kidnapped a Guardian nearly a year ago to forcibly take her as my mate. She ended up being underage, so me trying to mark her didn’t work.While I’ve seen the error of my ways and realize what I did was a terrible thing, here I am, looking into the eyes of my mate, who is also a Guardian.She walks over to me, eyeing me cautiously. “What can I get you to drink?” She asks me.“I’d like a water, your name and what time you get off work. I think we have some things to discuss, don’t you?”“Water. Coming right up.” Before she can turn away from me, I grab her hand. “And your name?”I hear someone standing up behind me. She looks past me. “It’s okay, Benny.”She turns back to me. “My name is Grace and I don’t think we have anything to talk about. Are you going to leave before you order food, or should I really bring your water this time?”Okay, the sass is turning me on. Well

I’m pleasantly surprised when Grace pushes forward and kisses me. I don’t waste any time taking what she is offering. It becomes apparent to me quickly that she is inexperienced, but her tentative exploration only excites me more.When she pushes away from me, I can see that her wolf and the mate bond overwhelmed her. I’m fine with that. Louis keeps pushing me to mark her and make her ours. But I made that mistake before, trying to push someone into a mate bond they didn’t want. I refuse to do it again.It was one of the first questions that Rik asked me when I called him last night, if I had forced the mate bond on Grace. After letting him know that she’s my fated mate and no, I have not yet marked her, he and I both agreed that this situation is not ideal. Her being a young, Alpha female who is also a Guardian, alone in the world, puts her at risk. I also told him that there is something going on with her past and I plan to find out what it is. I let him know that she may not be as

I hadn’t intended to tell Grace my history, or at least not yet, but it seems to have opened her up. Maybe our similar stories will help her see that I’m not all bad and can possibly be trusted, if not as her mate, maybe as her friend. I’m thrilled that she asks me to run with her. I would have anyway, since I need to protect her, especially with the nearby packs. I didn’t like how close to their boundaries she ran last night. It puts her at too much risk. All they have to do is see her eyes to know what she is. Only Guardians have golden eyes. Louis is beside himself in his happiness playing with Maia. She’s definitely all in with the mate bond. He’s enjoying the chase, periodically nipping at her heels when we smell them. I hadn’t realized how close we’d gotten to the pack’s border, but there are three standing at the border, almost as if they are waiting for Maia to show up, and they probably are. If this is her pattern, they would have picked up her scent and would be waiting to