Lion's Crossing has released! This MM MPreg Shifter Romance is part of both the multi-author shared world of Love Sync Mates Season Two and my Shifter Towers series.

It was partially inspired by the Via Rail incident that happened at the end of August last year, where passengers were stranded on a broken down train for over 10 hours. If you want to read an more about what conditions were like for passengers on that train, check out this article from CBC. 

Also, Linc, who is the alpha in this book, was also mentioned previously in my Shifter Towers series, in His Omega on Stage. 

​“Attention passengers,” the voice came over the coach’s static-filled PA system. “There has been a brief delay in our travels, and we are working quickly to get on our way again.”
 
That didn’t tell us much. It could have meant there was a problem with one of the passengers, or there was an engine malfunction. Either way, I hoped to be moving again soon. I was supposed to arrive ahead of the check-in time at my hotel, but with the delay, I would likely arrive right on time.
 
The alpha beside me began typing furiously on his phone, so I leaned back and pressed play on my music streaming app. I had my playlist on shuffle, so I didn’t know which song would play first. “Fated For Forever” was the first random song I heard, sung by the pop group FNL about how when an alpha finds their fated mate, they will love them forever. The group had since disbanded, but I still enjoyed the music they had released. I wasn’t a huge fan of theirs, didn’t know all their names or anything, but appreciated their sound. A short clip of the group played on the app, showing the group dancing to the music. And that’s when I realized the identity of the alpha sitting beside me. He was a former member of FNL.
 
I froze for a moment, hoping he hadn’t looked over to see what music I listened to on my phone. I didn’t want him to think I was some crazed fan who would be all over him because of his celebrity status. Leaning into the corner of my seat, away from the alpha, I switched to a new song then brought up my search engine. Looking up FNL, I tried to find a list of the members to figure out which one sat beside me. After checking out a few fan pages, I learned his name was Linc, he was a lion shifter, and he lived in Shifter Crossing before heading to Saramto to become a pop star. And after leaving FNL, he’d become a music producer for Adan Records.
 
It all made sense why he hid his identity. I would have, too, if I rode on a train with all these people. Most wouldn’t care about his identity, but one fan pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable behavior would be enough to ruin the ride. And I didn’t want to witness that, either.
 
I made a mental note to only talk to him about being from Shifter Crossing. That was, if he decided to talk to me. Because, so far, he seemed engrossed in his phone. Even though we weren’t moving, I returned to looking out the window and listening to my music. It wasn’t as if I could do anything else.

I wrote Lion's Crossing after being asked again to be part of the Love Sync Mates shared world again. It is part of their Season Two collection of books as well as the eighth book in my Shifter Towers series. And Lion's Crossing releases February 16, 2025! Here's the blurb:

Small town omegas shouldn't travel to the big city on their own. Or so my parents tell me. But that doesn't stop me from taking the train to Saramto for a week's vacation.

Ever since I became an adult, my parents have urged me to find a good alpha to settle down with and tried many times to set me up with one. But there aren't any “good alphas” in Shifter Crossing. So, I live in a tiny apartment on my own and clean at the local high school to pay for my expenses. When my vacation time comes, I take the train to the metropolis of Saramto to visit museums I've only heard about, eat foods not available in a small town, and see what it's like to live in a big city.

My holidays are quickly derailed when the train breaks down on the way, leaving all the passengers stranded for hours. That's just the beginning of the ruination of my meticulously planned vacation. If not for a kind (and very famous) alpha who comes to my rescue, I doubt I would survive my first night in the big city. But I wonder if his good will comes with a cost, and will it be too much for me to repay?

Lion's Crossing is the eighth book in USA Today bestselling author Jessica E. Subject’s sweet with building heat Shifter Towers series and the seventh book in the Love Sync Mates Season Two shared world series. Lion's Crossing is a MM MPreg Shifter Romance that features a small town deer shifter omega anxious to visit the metropolis of Saramto for the first time, a lion shifter alpha and former boy band member ready to return to the big city for work after taking some time off to help his father after surgery, a broken down train, and Fate doing what they do best in bringing these two together.  If you like fated mates, true love, slow burn romance, and an unpredicted heat to fire things up a notch, Lion's Crossing is the book for you. While each book in the Shifter Towers series is set in the same world, they can be read as standalones.

​Attention book reviewers! If you like MM MPreg Shifter Romances with a surprise heat and an unexpected pregnancy, Lion’s Crossing eARCs are available at Booksprout!

Tayrym groaned at the sudden burst of light in his face. He put his arm over his eyes before turning over in bed.

“Oh no, you don’t. It’s time to get up.”

What was his best friend, Gwenodyn, doing in his room? “Go away.”

“No.” She yanked the blankets off him.

In a panic, he grabbed one of them back and covered his waist, not remembering if he’d worn anything to bed. Peeking under the blanket, he sighed with relief when he saw the elastic waist of his night shorts. Thank the universe!

“We don’t have school today.” Gwenodyn tugged on his wrist. “I thought we could hang out, since you’ll be leaving for Defender training soon.”

“How did you get in here?” His mom never would have let a girl in his room before he’d become an adult. Not that it would have mattered.

“Your mom was leaving for the market. She let me in and told me to wake you up.”

Market? It was that close to full sun already? “Cosmos! I’m late!” He scrambled off his bed and searched for a pair of pants and shirt to wear.

“Late?” She rushed out of his path and stood in the doorway. “For what?”

“My morning run.” He pulled the clothing over his night shorts, not wanting to waste any more time.

“Since when do you run?” Gwenodyn glared at him with her hands on her hips.

“I started two weeks ago.” He hoped that was enough of an explanation to get her out of the way so he could leave. Sure, she was his best friend, but there were some aspects of his life he kept secret even from her.

“Oh, to get ready for your Defender training?” Her lower lip stuck out as she moved to the side.

“Sure.” He didn’t want to tell her the true reason or listen to her whine about how much she’d miss him when he left. Not this morning.

She jumped in front of him. “You lie.”

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “Stay out of my head, Gwen. Isn’t it unethical for Mingots to read minds without permission?”

“I don’t have to read your mind to know you’re lying.” She poked him in the chest. “You won’t look at me when you’re fibbing. Plus, you’re flinging your thoughts at me, so it’s hard not to know what you’re thinking. I can’t block you.”

Tayrym sat on his bed and cupped his face in his hands. He’d hoped to get off planet before telling anyone his secret, to go somewhere where he’d be accepted as normal rather than an outcast.

Gwenodyn sat next to him. She wrapped an arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. “C’mon, Scrym. You know you can tell me anything.”

Scrym, the nickname she’d come up with when they were both much younger. One only she was allowed to call him. They’d known each other for so long. Yet, he still kept part of him from her.

“I was going for a run.” He rested his head on hers, hoping she wouldn’t leave when he told her the truth. “To the Defender barracks. There’re a few guys who play kickball there.”

“And you play with them?” She turned and scrunched her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t play.” He ran his palms across his lap. “I go to watch.”

“Oh, I get it.” She nudged him, a weird smile plastered on her face. “Is there one you think is cute?”

His insides seemed to disappear, leaving him empty, hollow. She knew? How? “Uh....”

She rubbed his back. “I’ve known for over a Galactic year. It’s why I stopped insisting we were going to get married someday.”

That long? She’d known for over one rotation and was still his friend? He released a heavy breath. Why had he doubted their friendship? Why hadn’t he told her earlier? “Yes. There’s a guy I like to watch. But he probably isn’t like me, in that he likes women, not guys. I’m probably wasting my time admiring him from a distance.” Those who’d admitted to being attracted to someone of the same sex on Hemera were shunned, forced out of the kingdom and never seen again.

“Only one way to find out.” Gwenodyn jumped to her feet and tugged on his hand. “I’ll go with you and read his mind.”

He froze. “But you can’t.” Did he really want these two parts of his life to collide? His mind said no, but his gut, unlike every other time he’d gone to watch, gave no objection. Yet, he couldn’t ask her to do something unethical just for him. “It’s not right.”

“If he’s blasting his thoughts around the way you sometimes do, I won’t be doing anything wrong.” She tugged on him again. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

“Okay.” He stood and gave his best friend a shy smile. “Thank you. For this. And for not leaving me when you realized we’d never get married.”

She cupped his cheek. “I was sad at first, but I can’t make you someone you’re not.”

“But you’re royalty now.” He leaned into her palm. “What would your new parents say if they learned I’m attracted to guys?”

She grinned and shook her head. “Hemera’s changed from when we were little kids. Lalia lived on Terra for many years. And Bryce was a Defender. Your homosexuality is not a big deal to them.”

Tayrym drew back. “You told them?”

“No.” She pushed him out of his room then shoved some naip into his hand. “They know one of my friends is a homosexual, but not which one. And they don’t care.”

“Oh. Okay.” Though Gwenodyn didn’t have any really close friends other than him. He still couldn’t believe she knew, the royal family knew, and yet he hadn’t been sent away. He doubted his own mother would be so understanding. She kept telling him he needed to find a good girl to settle down with instead of chasing his dreams of becoming a Defender.

“Let’s go, already.” Gwenodyn waited for him at the front door with his boots in her hands. “You don’t want to miss him, do you?”

He didn’t talk on the way to the barracks, and she didn’t ask any questions. But once the playing field came into view, Tayrym slowed down. “Let’s watch from over here.” He guided her to a patch of trees near the end of the field where his crush played. The spot he normally watched from.

There were five players again, the sixth guy only showing up occasionally. The missing player and another on the field were both teachers at his school. The guy he had a crush on, Guri, played on the same team as the teachers. He used to go to school with Tayrym, but within days of Tayrym admitting to himself he had a crush on Guri, his classmate stopped attending school. It wasn’t until two weeks ago, when he’d wandered around the Defender barracks that he saw him again.

“This isn’t going to work.” Gwenodyn left the trees and headed toward benches at the edge of the field.

“No.”

She didn’t respond to his whispered objection. He stumbled after her, hoping she didn’t embarrass him, make it impossible for him to ever come back and watch. Though he hadn’t yet told her which guy he liked.
​
She sat on the very front bench and leaned forward, examining all the players. “So, let me figure out which one you have the hots for.”