The only changes made were edits.After a long night at work, all pastry chef Declan Morgan wants to do is have a run before he heads home to bed. His peaceful lope through the forest turns into a nightmare when he witnesses his Alpha kill a pack member in cold blood. Now Declan is on the run from the very people that should be protecting him.Liam Anderson has never minded all the travel that comes with his position as a Beta to the Pennaeth Alpha. He's used the time to search far and wide for his mate. He never expected to find the man naked and scared on his back porch.Liam's overjoyed at finally finding the one man fated for him, now if only he can get Declan to open up and trust him with the secrets he carries.

    Being a shifter keeps me from becoming a part of society, but it seems that society is beginning to infringe on my territory. They, the humans, are all so full of themselves and think they are entitled to my land. But there is one man, who stands up to the others, who stands on his own… he draws my attention. Why?Photo Description: The picture is a close-up of a gorgeous Native American man. His long, black hair moves with the wind and flows against his right shoulder. His dark eyes are looking straight at you, and you can almost feel them on your skin. His arms are crossed on his hairless chest, and there’s a barbed wire tattoo wrapped around his upper right arm. His plump, pink lips are highlighted by the dark stubble on his cheeks.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

     Omega penguin shifters aren’t allowed any physical contact with an alpha until their Pebble Gifting Season, when alphas present a pebble to their desired mate. Lewis has always followed the rules. Until he meets Todd. A polar bear shifter. Everyone knows that polar bear shifters are unreliable players who don’t mate for life. But Todd is breathtakingly beautiful, with a body as big as a mountain and a head of thick, white hair. Lewis can’t manage to look away. In Anchorage Alaska where penguin shifters and polar bear shifters have been at odds for over a century, even a friendship between Todd and Lewis is forbidden. But as Lewis’s Pebble Gifting Season draws closer, their forbidden friendship turns into a passion neither of them can ignore. A Pebble for Lewis is a 37,000-word best-friends-to-lovers romance with a size difference, knotting, and MPreg of the penguin egg variety. It’s set in the same world as the Heron Manor series, but it stands alone.

    The escape gives him time to clear his head and figure out a new direction for his life. What he didn't expect was for his peaceful vacation to take a violent turn. When attacked by a wolf while he's hiking, Josh figures his luck couldn't get any worse. That is until he meets Kurt. Kurt is the alpha of the Terrin Pass Pack, and he knows that it wasn't a normal wolf that bit Josh. Defending Josh from danger is now his only concern, but in doing so, he risks losing his heart to the man he's supposed to protect. When menacing forces threaten them both, Josh must come to accept that everything in life isn't as it seems. Things do go bump in the night, and more lingers in the moonlight than he ever imagined. Emotions are high as the two fight off the evil around them, but as they lean on each other for support, they find that together they can face anything life throws their way.

    But instead of saving the world, he loses himself. After testifying against one of the biggest crime bosses in the country, Noah’s fear of retribution leads to a serious case of agoraphobia. There isn’t much in Noah’s safe zone that calms his nerves… well, except for his short interactions with his surly but hot new neighbor. Life crushed Dr. Zachary Meadows’s rose-colored glasses years ago. He makes amends for the deeds of others—and for his failure to protect those in need—by saving as many lives as he can as an ER physician. After early betrayals, he purposefully keeps his circle small. Until he meets his odd new neighbor and unwanted desires cause him to act like a jerk. When two survivors collide—one desperate for love and one afraid of it—sparks fly. But just as Zachary and Noah begin to heal one another, the past returns…with a vengeance. One. Two. I’ve decided to come for you. Three. Four. It won’t help Scaredy Cat to lock his door. Five. Six. You committed a sin you can’t fix. Seven. Eight. I’ve picked the date. Nine. Ten. No one will ever see you again.

    He also has a dark secret, one he hides and won't admit even to himself-until the night he meets Laurent.Born to one of the oldest families of his kind, Laurent Montcrieve is vampire royalty. He stands to inherit massive wealth and the title Viscount of the Blood. But he would give it all up to find the one man who can complete him-his Coeur de Sang, or Heart's Blood.Two worlds collide when Laurent and Paul meet and form an accidental blood bond. But the instant spark between them ignites a raging bonfire of conflict. Their people are enemies who would rather see them dead than together and Paul refuses to admit his attraction to another man. Now the clock is ticking as they agree to explore what lies between them. Their search may end in true love or death. But they must be careful...for if they sever the tie that binds them, the bond they share will be forever broken.