Book Spotlight: The Cub Club by Ardy Kelly
The Cub Club
by Ardy Kelly
Date Released: October 9, 2018
About The Cub Club
What would you do if your adopted son shifted into a wolf cub before your eyes?
For single dad Steven the choice was simple—find the boy's family and hope they had the answers.
As the alpha of Lone Wolves Ranch, Mack trusted in humans as much as he trusted in love. Not at all. But he has a soft spot for the brave man searching for his son's relatives. When he discovers Steven is his fated mate, he's stuck between a soft spot and a hard place.
The Cub Club is a gay wolf shifter romance containing Mpreg and knotting. A complete 65,000-word novel—no cliffhanger!
Read my 4.5-starred review of The Cub Club.
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An Excerpt from The Cub Club
After toweling dry, Steven pulled a tank top and boxers from the pile of clothes. When he opened the bathroom door, he noticed three things. The harsh overhead light was off, a dim floor lamp was casting a warm glow, and Mack sat on the sofa.
The alpha patted the cushion next to him, inviting Steven to sit. “I want to know about you, now that we’ve moved out of top-secret territory.”
Steven was torn between skipping to the couch or running for the door. He told himself he was reading too much into this. Trying to project a casual attitude, he planted himself in the far corner of the sofa, turned toward Mack and sat cross-legged.
He could finally look the man in the face. All day, Mack had been standing behind or beside him, which only allowed fleeting glances.
Mack reminded him a lot of Gary. He had the same square jaw, perfect teeth, and dimpled grin. Yet he was also very different: larger, darker, and much more intimidating. He always felt safe around Gary. He wasn’t feeling as safe with Mack as he had at dinner. He didn’t mind that at all.
“So, what do you do?” Mack asked.
“What do I do?” Steven parroted.
“For a living,” Mack replied.
“Oh.” He gave a nervous nod. “I’m an administrator with the school district.”
“How long have you been doing that?”
Steven swallowed. He wished he could make his little life sound more interesting. He wasn’t a pack leader. He didn’t run a ranch. He filled out forms all day to keep the school district in compliance with the state.
“It’s only been two years. I used to teach science and math.”
Mack nodded, as if he had expected the answer. It just reaffirmed Steven’s belief that his life was small and boring.
He wasn’t maudlin enough to think his life was over, yet he couldn’t list anything about himself that Mack would find attractive. He was widowed, probably a decade older than the man, and with a son who was outgrowing him. The only thing he had to offer was being “fresh meat” on the ranch. If the Big Bad Wolf made a move, Steven wasn’t opposed to a quick hookup. Grandmother, what a big crotch you have.
Mack moved his left arm back, propping his elbow against the sofa, and resting his head against his hand. “Are you happy there?”
Steven blinked at the question, trying to rewind back to where the conversation started. When was the last time he had been happy? “I’m needed,” Steven replied. “Right now, that’s enough.”
Mack gave him a curious look before smiling. “I understand.” He dropped his left arm across the back of the couch, dangerously close to Steven’s shoulder.
If Mack was making a move, it was too subtle for Steven’s dusty gaydar. The problem was Mack might be just being nice, and Steven would make a fool of himself if he leaned forward and kissed him.
“Do you like teaching or administrating?”
“Teaching,” Steven said, without having to think. “I changed jobs when Gary died. I wasn’t emotionally ready to take on a class of seventh graders.”
“I don’t think anyone is.”
Steven laughed. “I thought it would be good practice for when Peter became a teenager. But it turns out his issues aren’t the normal adolescent problems I was afraid of.”
Mack put his hand on Steven’s calf. “And now the two of you don’t need to do it on your own.”
Steven longed to move closer to the large, warm man next to him. Mack already had one hand outstretched over the sofa and the other hand on his thigh. It was practically an embrace. And the desire to be held by the man was dangerously strong. Instead, he leaned back, deciding his desire was imaginary rather than instinct. “I’m not sure what it is we need to do, and what good I am.”
Mack pressed his lips together. “The thing every parent here struggles with is that being a wolf is not something to be ashamed of, but it’s something we need to hide from humans. That’s the purpose of the school. We can’t have a first grader bringing in the bones from a deer her pack ate. By the time they’re old enough to realize Santa Claus doesn’t shift into a wolf and climb down the chimney, we start introducing the concept of secrecy because it’s magical, not shameful.”
“So, they never interact with the outside world?”
“Of course they do. We make sure they spend a few years in the public school system. Usually by the third or fourth grade, depending on the kid. It helps with the socializing, as well as keeping the school district happy. They see that our students aren’t isolated, and they’re being educated properly. It makes the community less suspicious. And we make sure to pull them out before puberty hits.”
“I guess there’s a lot more to worry about for teenage boys than having an inopportune hard-on.”
Mack chuckled, and the low, deep noise sounded musical to Steven. Mack stared at him, his smile dissolving into something more intimate.
Ardy Kelly is my paranormal pen name. I work for one of the top boutique event planning companies in San Francisco, and I can't risk having our clientele (or my boss) discover my passion for aggressive, sexual, alpha men.
I started writing steamy contemporary romance in 2015 under the name Robyn Kelly. At that time, only virgins seemed to be nabbing troubled billionaires, and I thought it was time to write a book where experience counted for something. When I discovered the Omegaverse last year, I noticed a lot of stories where Omegas were weak little victims, and decided to tackle that issue as well.
Much as I love writing all types of romance I don’t mind poking fun at the genre, too. My books always have a lot of humor, and usually one character is reading or writing a particularly silly romance book.
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