Bullied Alpha Bride

Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire #2

by Lyra Atlas

I had to endure his bullying and rejection. Now I must endure being his arranged mate…
He taunted me for years, then took my virginity and humiliated me.
Now he’s the Alpha and needs a mate for the sake of his pack. And I happen to be on the run.
The Brides-for-hire agency matches us, and to my humiliation…I’m now his arranged, knocked-up mate.

I was forced to leave my pack after his rejection. I ended up in an even more evil pack.
I’ve given up on the idea of love, but I desperately need a mate for protection.
It’s cruel to be matched with the Alpha who broke my fragile heart.
And it’s even more cruel that I don’t have a choice but to give myself to him.

I’m not the girl he used to taunt. I’ve grown up.
But he still likes to tease me until my body falls apart.
He still knows how to make me obey his commands.
He makes my belly grow until he owns all of me.

When I give myself to the Alpha this time around…will he claim me for good?

The Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire Agency arranges marriages and temporary partnerships for shifters. The matches are perfect…even if it means that enemies turn into lovers, rejected mates turn out to be fated, and broken hearts are crushed again before they’re healed forever.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 16, 2025

About the author

Lyra Atlas was born in Oakland to an English mother and Scottish dad who passed on to her their fascination with the Arthurian Legends and other tales of famous kings and queens. Unsurprisingly, Lyra developed a penchant for court love and everything that’s magical and mystical—and this seeps into her writing. Her stories often feature powerful alphas braved by quietly seductive females and other unexpected, inspiring heroines.

Lyra lives with her partner Mark in San Diego, and cherishes their daily strolls along the Strand. When looking for inspiration, she goes for a hike in the charming mountain town of Julian where she will lose herself observing the Victorian-style houses and quaint stores, envisioning stories of bygone lovers, their stolen hearts, kisses and touches.

Reviews

[kymagirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

She ran from pain. He’s the one man who could break her again.

Omega wolf shifter Lexa (h) escaped a life ruled by fear, cruelty, and control. On the run from an arranged mating and a violent past, she signs up for a bride-for-hire program with nothing left to lose. What she doesn’t expect is to be matched with the one man who broke her heart. A man she thought she’d never see again.

Wolf shifter Kit (H) never forgot the girl he pushed away to protect. Now the haunted alpha of a fractured pack, he’s desperate to make amends. Their reunion is tense, bitter, and wrapped in everything unsaid. But this time, Kit won’t let fear decide for him. This time, he’s ready to fight.

Forced to live under the same roof, Lexa and Kit navigate old wounds and new rules. She doesn’t want his promises. He doesn’t want to control her. But something fragile begins to build, until the past comes knocking with blood in its teeth. Her abuser. His guilt. Their final test.

Lexa evolves from a traumatized, guarded survivor into a strong, self-assured woman who learns to reclaim her agency and speak for herself. Kit grows from a guilt-ridden, passive alpha into a more confident and emotionally available leader who actively works to right his past wrongs. Their relationship shifts from painful distance and mistrust to mutual respect, a slow rebuilding of trust, and emotional intimacy grounded in choice.

A steamy, fated mates, second chance, enemies to lovers, wolf shifter romance, exploring love, trauma, healing, power, control, redemption, trust, betrayal, identity, self-worth, survival, forgiveness, reclaiming agency, transformation, and resistance against abuse. It's not about a woman who needs saving. It’s about a woman who saves herself, and a man who learns that love isn’t possession, it’s protection, patience, and standing beside her even when she’s at war with everything.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable shifter story that's about Lexa who ran away from her pack after years of living with her controlling and abusive father who gave her away to be married to Vince his right-hand man. On the run and leary Lexa stops at a bar and sees old friends from her pack drinking. They talk about a dating service which Lexa signs up for and goes to the meeting to meet her alpha. Kit needs a bride, so he signs up to keep his pack. His grandfather still haunts him with his cruelty, so he goes to the meeting to meet his bride. What occurs in this second chance shifter romance was an engaging story with twist and turns and with likable characters as they reconnect their relationship in the second book of this series. I'd volunteer to read and review this copy I'd received.

[Barbara Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

They need to accept their past to have a future.
Kit and Lena both have traumatic pasts that have led them to enter an arranged marriage.
Lena is running for her life when she hears about an agency that matches shifters. She applies and is matched and married to Kit.
Kit is being pushed by the elders to find a mate, when he returns with Lena, they are not amused.
This is an interesting read; Kit is a young Alpha and this comes across with his actions; both were abused by people who they should have been able to trust, he by his grandfather and her by her father.
I voluntarily received and reviewed an ARC copy of the book.

[Aina Aneanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive, h is hormonal and all bark no bite, and H is a coward for half the book, while both are frustratingly bad communicators, but the circumstances excuse them, and the groveling is sooo fiiiiine, plus he grows a pair, and what a pair!

[Karen Armes · Rating 5 out of 5]

rejected but not unloved

Two damaged individuals can conquer love with the help of their love for each other. Learning to trust is a key factor

[Lori Kays]

DNF Angry one dimensional heroine