Delivered to Hope — Caitlin Ricci

Since he was seventeen, Morris has been working as an escort for Critters on Call. It was the best way for him to get away from his abusive father, but going all over the world for his clients has kept him away from his brother who hasn't been the same since the last beating their father gave him. His brother, Jeremy, is in one of the best care centers in the world. But that level of care is expensive, and their uncle, who is in charge of paying for Jeremy's bills, has come for Morris. For years he was allowed to live his life with the knowledge that Jeremy was being taken care of, but now unless Morris agrees to an arranged mating to an elk in Washington, and pretends to be a virgin on top of it all, their uncle is threatening to move Jeremy out of the care center and into somewhere horrible.

Harrison isn't sure why the African shifters are seeking mates within the Washington elk herd, and he doesn't much care, either. All he wants is to make his family happy, and that means being mated to an elephant he's never met. Having his own modified version of virginity has always been fine with him, up until he realizes that being with Morris for the first time could have been great. But Morris is nothing like he expected either, and once they get the initial awkwardness out of the way, Harrison is excited to spend his life with his new mate.

But Morris has other plans. The deal he made with his uncle was to be mated for a month, and he's counting down the days. Then control over Jeremy's life will transfer to him and they can finally be free of their family's abuse. It would have been a good plan, too, and one he could have lived with, if his past as an escort hadn't come back at the worst possible time.