His hold on his jaguar's leash is iron tight-until he discovers that his mate is in danger.
In a world where paranormals live side by side with humans, everybody knows about Ordinance 7304: the Bond Laws. Or, as the Paras snidely whisper to each other, the Claws Clause -a long and detailed set of laws that bonded couples must obey if they want their union to be recognized.
Because it wasn't already damn near impossible to find a fated mate in the first place. Now the government just has to get involved.
I shudder-
Bradley Fenton has never felt comfortable in his skin. As an alpha jaguar shifter, he struggled knowing that he was second-born, but far more dominant than his older brother, Travis.
For years he's been trying to tame his wild jaguar. Finally, after a routine spat with another packmate turned him nearly feral, he realizes that something has to change. So he put his jaguar on a leash, banished himself to the outskirts of pack territory, and devoted his protective nature to the Beta and his witch mate, Shea.
When Colt decides that Brad is ready to return to the pack, he rejects the offer. Instead, he asks for another way to prove himself.
And he gets it, when Maddox Wolfe announces that the Eastern Pack is making an alliance with the Dayborns-and Bradley is tasked with keeping their precious princess safe.
A princess who just so happens to be this rough-and-tumble shifter's fated mate.
I shine-
Rose Ryhill is a Dayborn. Born into the race instead of changed like a brutal Nightwalker, she can walk in the sun, sip blood like it's the finest wine, and spin fanciful tales so long as they're true.
She's also the heir to the Blood Throne, the sole daughter of the former queen of the Dayborns.
Having grown up in the royal family, she's used to the finer things in life. Suffice to say, her mother's murder has opened her eyes to how cruel the new world can be. And the mysterious murderer who killed Queen Colette won't stop until ever last drop of Ryhill blood is spilled.
When a betrayal reveals that not even her closest allies can be trusted, Rose's cousin turns to the Alpha of the Eastern Pack for help.
Bradley was only supposed to keep her safe. But behind that tightly controlled facade is a male as wild as his beast-and Rose is discovering there is much the coddled princess of the vampires could learn from him.
The whole Dayborn community would never accept that a shifter is a worthy enough mate for their precious princess. Deep down, he agrees, and he puts his own needs aside for the moment, taking the job instead of claiming his mate. On the plus side, protecting someone important to him does help calm his jaguar and, now that he knows Rose is his mate, there isn't a single soul more important to him than she is.
She needs a bodyguard? He'll take the job to keep her safe-and when she is taken, he'll use his claws and fangs to tear the world apart to bring her back to him.
* Uptown Girl is the seventh full-length novel in the Claws Clause series. It's the story of an obsessed alpha jaguar, a protected vampire princess, and a kidnapping plot that will change the world as the Paras and the Ants know it.
