Spotlight & Giveaway: Marked by the Alpha by Sherrita Bitikofer

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Sherrita Bitikofer’s new release: Marked by the Alpha

An alpha with a storied legacy. An independent woman rebuilding after grief. Forbidden desire—for only one is human….

After her mother’s death, photographer Erica Barrett, buys a home she and her mother obsessed over during her childhood in the quaintly historical town of Tolstone. Her magnetic next door neighbor intrigues and disturbs her. The sensual pull feels otherworldly.

Wolf shifter Dominic Beaumont never wanted to be the prime alpha of the sanctuary city, Tolstone, but when his father dies, he’s forced to step up as pack leader and prime alpha over all the wolf packs sheltering in his town. Erica’s arrival is dangerous. The attraction is fierce and instant, but duty comes first.

When revelations about Erica’s past and parentage create chaos, and she questions everything she thought she knew about herself, Dominic is her strength. But as tension builds in the pack, and his leadership is challenged, love becomes a risk that could cost him his authority, his people, and everything he’s sworn to protect.

Perfect for readers craving illicit wolf-shifter romance filled with fate, secrets, rebellion and an alpha willing to risk everything for love.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Marked by the Alpha 

Prologue

Dominic sank into the rocking chair and let out a contented sigh. Twilight painted the sky above Tolstone in brilliant colors. A few stars twinkled against the coming darkness. Every tense muscle slowly released as he began to rock back and forth, savoring these few quiet moments to himself. Crescent Lane may have looked calm and peaceful at this hour, but Dominic knew better. His eyes drifted shut, and senses reached out to take stock of the neighborhood.

Out of sight, he could hear families chatting at their dinner tables. In some distant backyard, he could smell grilled burgers and hot dogs and the faint, bitter aroma of beer. The wind carried scents and sounds from other nearby streets, all of it a cacophony of input that would have overwhelmed him several years ago. Now, he could pick out voices and distinct odors from half a mile away.

With controlled precision, Dominic gradually tuned it all out. He could never forget that he was irrevocably connected to Tolstone and its people, but for just a little while, he wanted to pretend. He wanted to pretend that he was so much less than he really was; so much more human, with no attachments or commitments. For a few blissful minutes, he wanted to think he could be free that way he was a year ago.

As a stiff wind barreled down the street, he heard the FOR SALE sign bang against its post. He stole a glance at the old Donaldson home beside his own and noticed the new sticker plastered to the sign. UNDER CONTRACT.

“About time,” he muttered to himself. The two-story, white and blue Victorian home had been vacant for nearly a year since the last matriarch of that family passed away. Dominic had watched the overgrown lawn bit by bit creep up the partial wraparound porch and the brilliant exterior lose some of its former luster. A number of times, he had thought of offering help to the real estate company to keep it looking nice for potential buyers. But as soon as he picked up the phone to call, an incoming emergency robbed him of the chance.

He would have to make a point of introducing himself to his new neighbor, though he wondered if it was worth the trouble. It wasn’t as if they would see him at all. Between his unavoidable obligations to Tolstone and running his antique store downtown, he had no time for social calls or popping over just to chat.

His eyes, for what felt like the millionth time, drifted toward the top step of his porch. A familiar emotion tugged at his heart, unwanted and inconvenient. Dominic couldn’t count how many times he had sat on that step in his youth, waiting for his dad to come home after receiving his own phone call about some problem in Tolstone.

This time, Dominic allowed the feeling to settle in him and relived those mornings, afternoons, and evenings. He remembered how his eyes burned with the intensity of his stare as he watched for his dad’s truck to round the corner onto Crescent Lane. Most of all, he remembered the day when it finally clicked in his head that it didn’t matter how long or how patiently he waited. Tolstone meant more to his dad than Dominic ever could, and that would never change.

With that thought, he pushed away the old hurt, leaned his head back against the chair and tried to return to his few moments of solace. As the minutes ticked by, his hand reflexively reached for the phone in his pocket, expecting it to vibrate.

When it finally did, his throat emitted a low growl, and he pulled it out to check the caller ID, then answered.

“Hey, Gwen,” he greeted. “Everything okay?”

In the background, he could hear some hurried movement.

“It’s happening. Can you make it over?” By the restrained excitement in the woman’s voice, Dominic had a good guess at what she was talking about.

“Mom! I told you I didn’t want everyone over.” Gwen’s daughter, Madison, mirrored absolutely none of her mother’s sentiment. In fact, she sounded downright agitated.

Gwen’s voice became muffled as if she had put her hand over the receiver. “Honey, this is a big deal, and we want to share it with everyone. Just think of it like a birthday party.”

Dominic smirked, remembering that Madison’s last birthday party was five years ago, and she did not have a fun time.

“It’s embarrassing!” Madison cried. “I don’t want them watching me.”

“No one will be watching you. They’ll be waiting inside until it’s all over.”

“That’s even worse!” Madison’s last protest ended in a long, agonizing groan, as if she were stricken by some great pain.

“Gwen, is Jaime there?” Dominic spoke softly and firmly, knowing that the mother’s excitement likely equaled her anxiety over this big milestone.

“Yes, yes. He’s here. Hang on.”

Dominic waited through a bit of shuffling and more muffled voices before Gwen handed Madison’s father the phone and greeted him in his slow, Southern drawl. “Hey, Dominic.”

“Hi. When did it start?”

Jaime let out a tired sigh. “Maybe an hour ago.”

“Her eyes?”

“Completely gold now. They filled out maybe ten minutes ago. If she wasn’t struggling through it, I probably wouldn’t have bothered you, but you know Gwen.”

“Yeah, I know. Just keep her calm.”

“Which one?”

“Both,” he replied, cracking a smile. “I know Madison can be pretty sensitive, so everyone who comes into the house needs to keep a level head.”

“Got it.” Jaime paused, as if carefully picking his words. “I know this isn’t your first rodeo, but it’s mine … Is she going to be all right?”

Dominic couldn’t lie, but he knew the full truth was not what a worried father needed to hear. “We will take care of her the best that we can. Just keep in mind what it was like for you and try to be sympathetic. She’s going through a lot right now.”

Jaime gave a huff of a laugh. “When it was my time, my dad just threw me out into the woods and came to get me in the morning. I didn’t exactly have help.”

“Then be the help to Madison that you wish you had. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Dominic ended the call and pushed himself out of the rocker. Madison may have been seventeen, but he hadn’t expected her to mature this early. Coming from mixed parentage often meant young wolf shifters didn’t experience their first shift until well into their college years. He knew of a few who refused to leave their hometown until their first shift, specifically so they would not shift alone in a strange place with no help. Madison should have counted herself lucky that she shifted in Tolstone, though it was unlikely she’d feel lucky at all that night.

He hopped in his truck, safely sped down Crescent Lane and toward the Gabors residence on the other side of town. They, unlike Dominic and some of the other shifters of Tolstone, lived in a newer subdivision where the houses had similar floor plans and automatic irrigation systems. While most homes boasted privacy fences, the Gabors’ fence was incomplete. The entire back of their property was open to a stretch of woods that, if followed, led to Larson Caves Park. The nature preserve was ideal for their kind, and the Gabors strategically planned their home on the edge of the neighborhood to have access to the park. Jaime could come and go and run as he pleased. And now, so could Madison.

He turned down his radio as he approached the Gabors. Familiar cars and trucks lined the curb along their block and Dominic shook his head. Gwen must have invited the entire pack, and then some. He spotted a few cars that belonged to shifters of packs who took up temporary residence in Tolstone, those who may not have known Madison but may have been acquainted with Jaime. A big crowd was the last thing Madison needed, and the other wolves should have known that.

A small group had gathered on the front lawn and casually shared stories of their first shift. From inside the home came more chatter, and he could just barely make out the flustered tones of Madison and her mother. The moment Dominic slid out of his truck and made his way toward the Gabors’ driveway, all heads swiveled in his direction.

Some threw up a hand in a respectful salute, while others dipped their chins out of respect for his position. He should have been used to the attention, being Prime Alpha of Tolstone for some time now, but Dominic still felt that pang of awkwardness each time wolves decades older than himself regarded him as a superior. He returned their greeting and hurried up the walk to the front door. Dominic let himself in and slipped past the other house guests, following his ears to Madison’s bedroom.

Gwen stood just outside her daughter’s door, exasperation written on her face. “Sweetheart, you can’t shift in there. You’ll tear everything up.”

“I don’t care! I’m not coming out!”

As Dominic approached, Gwen turned and let out a breath of relief. “Thank God you’re here. Please talk some sense into her. I just bought her a new mattress and I’m scared she’s going to ruin it if she stays in there through this whole thing.”

Though the wolf side of a shifter was fairly tame, with the human consciousness intact, the first shift could be dramatic as both human and wolf settled into their new life together.

Dominic came to the door and gave a casual rap of his knuckles. “Madison, it’s Dominic. Can we talk?”

About this time, Jaime made his way down the hall to join his family. All three held their breaths as another pain gripped Madison. It passed in a few moments, and she panted for air. “Tell everyone to go away, Dominic! I don’t want them to see me like this.”

Dominic passed a pointed glance at Gwen. “I know exactly how you feel. My dad invited every alpha in the state to see me shift for the first time. That was a lot of pressure from a bunch of strangers, but everyone here cares about you. We’re here to show our support and to help you.”

A long stretch of silence settled over that part of the house.

“I don’t know how you can help.” Madison’s voice came out so softly that only Dominic and Jaime could hear her.

“Would it help if we shifted with you? Me and your dad?”

Dominic checked Jaime for any sign of disapproval but found none. It was a lot to ask of any wolf to shift on command, but the father appeared ready to do anything to comfort his daughter.

“Gross! I don’t want to see my dad naked like that.”

“You don’t have to look,” Dominic assured her. “And we won’t look at you. Do you have a robe you can wear?”

“I have one she can borrow,” Gwen added before hurrying to their bedroom to fetch it.

“See. Your mom is getting you a robe. Now, it’s best that you don’t shift inside. Let’s go into the backyard. You’ll be more comfortable out there.”

Another pause, and Dominic heard the rustle of sheets as Madison stood to come to the door. It opened and Madison met their gazes with gold, wolfish eyes beneath a mass of dark, disheveled hair. She looked more like she had just woken up from a long, feverish sleep than struggling with shifting pains. Dominic gave her a sympathetic smile and stepped aside so she could lead the way.

The three of them arrived in the living room, the pack parting to let them through to the sliding doors that opened onto the back patio. They gave her hushed words of encouragement as they passed, but Madison seemed no less anxious about what was to come. Gwen scurried after them, a plush purple robe clutched between her hands. They guided Madison a short stretch into the woods beyond their backyard, not only for privacy but so that the forest might absorb the sounds of her shift. Sometimes, though not always, Dominic heard that shifting among the trees also appeased the inner wolf of the shifter, making the transformation a little smoother.

Dominic sensed the next wave of shifting pains would come over Madison soon, so he rushed through his instructions on how to ride the pain, how to breathe through it, and how best to welcome her wolf forward. With their backs turned to her, Dominic could smell her fear mounting as she deftly stripped beneath her mother’s robe.

“It’s all right to be scared,” he said. “Everyone gets scared for their first time.”

Madison gulped. “I think I already know the answer to this, but … how bad will it hurt?”

Dominic and Jaime turned to see her shaking hands gripping the closed edges of the robe against her chest and stomach. Again, Dominic didn’t want to lie but felt obligated to the Gabors and their young daughter. “It’s going to be the worst pain you’ve ever experienced in your life, but it’ll get a little easier with time.”

Madison’s wolf eyes darted to her father for confirmation, and he nodded. “It’s always the hardest in the beginning, but we’re here for you.”

Dominic pulled forward his dominance, a special aura that every shifter carried with them. It was the strongest in alphas and could be used as both a tool to make other shifters submit as well as to soothe a distressed shifter. For Madison, dominance could ease her fears. Dominance, especially coming from the Prime Alpha, told her that she was safe.

She nodded, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes just before the shifting pains made her fall to her knees. For the next several minutes, Dominic and Jaime coached her through the shift. Bones broke and mended back together. Joints dislocated and reformed at different angles. Smooth, youthful skin grew a thick pelt of brown and beige. Hands morphed into paws, and her human facial features gave way to those of a wolf. The screams that Madison had held in through the ordeal changed pitch into canine whines and whimpers.

When it was all over, Madison Gabors stood on all fours, her shift from girl to wolf complete, and the purple robe lying in a pool of fabric beneath her. Dominic almost hadn’t realized that Jaime had begun his own shift in the middle of her transformation and loped toward them as a large, chestnut brown wolf. Father and daughter greeted one another by burying their muzzles in one another’s manes, the equivalent of a human hug. From the direction of the house, the pack let out shouts of victory, all of them able to sense Madison’s completed shift. The air was no longer tense with her pain and struggle. Dominic thought he heard Gwen sniffle back tears of pride.

Dominic sat back on his heels and took a few stealing breaths, inhaling the earthy scents around him, before shedding his shirt to begin his own shift. He hadn’t lied when he told Madison that it became easier over the years. Older werewolves, like his late father, could complete the transformation within a couple of minutes, sometimes in less time, but with much more pain and effort.

When his shift was done, Dominic stood, midnight black fur with silver accents rippling in the nighttime breeze. Though he was a few inches shorter than Jaime, the subordinate wolf purposefully bent low and hunched his shoulders to appear smaller than the Prime Alpha. Jaime licked the underside of his muzzle to express his submission and appreciation for Dominic’s help that night.

Once more, Dominic felt embarrassed, but wouldn’t show it. Knowing full well that other shifters may have been watching from the house, he exuded alpha confidence to the shifted wolves. Any show of weakness would jeopardize his title, and any wolf would jump at the chance to fight him for it. To be Prime Alpha of Tolstone meant power. But it also meant responsibility. It meant having your name and reputation known across the country. There was no room for mistakes. No room for vulnerability. Regardless of his feelings about following in his father’s footsteps, Dominic was determined to maintain order, if not for himself then for his pack. Though he and his father didn’t always see eye to eye, one lesson stuck, much at his own expense. Pack was everything.

Excerpt. ©Sherrita Bitikofer. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: An ebook copy of MARKED BY THE ALPHA + one additional Tule ebook of the winner’s choice

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Meet the Author:

Sheritta Bitikofer writes paranormal romance with a particular fondness for wolf shifters and witches. Her stories are driven by one guiding belief: love inspires courage. Through fierce romances, unbreakable pack bonds, and the magic of covens and family, her characters fight for the lives—and loves—they deserve. Sheritta lives in northwest Florida, where she drinks far too much coffee and joyfully balances life as a wife and mother while crafting her next heartfelt paranormal love story.

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