A letter written in her handwriting.
“I’ve been having some pain in my chest, doc.” A smooth, familiar baritone sounded from behind her. Belle gripped the counter in front of her to steady herself.
“You see, ever since I spent one night with this woman, I can’t stop thinking about her. It was supposed to be a fling, but it turned into something more. She recognized that before I did, tried to tell me she loved me, but I made a mistake.”
Tears welled in Belle’s eyes, and she choked down a sob.
“I was too scared to tell her the full truth.”
Belle spun to face him. Colt stood before her, his Stetson dipping low on his head as he eased toward her. The low tilt of the cowboy hat highlighted the handsome lines of his face and the chiseled shape of his jaw. And those steely-gray eyes, somehow full of strength yet feral. Wild and free. There was a spark of hope there that she hadn’t seen before. As if the weight of his secrets had been lifted off his shoulders.
Belle shook her head. “Didn’t you read the letter? You don’t have to say it now. The baby’s gone. There’s no reason for you to be here.”
“I know you’re still hurting from the loss, and I want you to know I felt that that pain, too.” He continued toward her, approaching slowly and steadily in the way a cowboy might saunter toward a scared and skittish horse. “But I don’t need a reason to choose you,” he said. “No other reason than that I love you, Belle Beaumont. I’ve loved you from the first night I spent with you.”
She started to protest, but he wasn’t having it for a second.
“I was too scared of losing my pack to see it, but I need you to know that I choose you, baby or no baby. I choose you, Belle, and I’ll make that same choice again every day for the rest of my life if you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” He pulled her in to him. Colt claimed her lips, kissing her with everything he had. It was a kiss that held the full weight of his apology. A kiss that said I love you, and I can’t stand the thought of life without you.
When he finally released her, she was panting and blushing and warm all over. The things this wolf could do to her with only a simple kiss.
“I’m glad you choose me, but I never wanted you to have to choose in the first place. I didn’t want you to resent me for taking your pack away from you, and that hasn’t changed. I thought leaving would prevent that from happening.”
He gestured to the manila folder with a tilt of his chin. “Read it.”
Belle flipped the file open, past her crumpled letter to a crisp, clean page with the official Grey Wolf letterhead. The top read “Letter of Appointment.” Belle quirked a brow as she scanned the letter. “What’s this?”
“The Grey Wolves need a physician to head up our new clinic. Maverick seemed to think you’d be a perfect fit for the position.”
Belle gaped at him. “But…Maeve said they were only filling this position with Grey Wolves. If that’s still the case, then—”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re a Grey Wolf,” he said.
Belle was shaking her head. “You said yourself you can’t expect me to keep up the lie with your packmates, Colt. Before I left, I told them the truth, and they—”
“Turn to the next page, Belle.” It was a command, not a request.
She shrugged her shoulders, used to his take-charge demeanor by now. In some ways, she’d even come to appreciate it. She flipped past the Letter of Appointment to find an old photo. It was a black-and-white picture of her mother, Caroline, with several other werewolves who all bore a strong family resemblance.
“I…I don’t understand.”
Colt rubbed her arm in reassuring, gentle strokes. “I saw how you blended in among the Grey Wolves, how much they took to you, and I knew it was more than the fact that you’re charming as all get-out. Then when you told me your mother was a pack wolf, I knew I had to do some digging.” He released a long sigh. “They were all pissed at me when they found out I was Wild Eight, but I figured they’d have no choice but to keep me around when they found out my soon-to-be-mate was a long-lost blood relative of theirs.”
It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. But as she stared down at the photo of her mother, she knew it without a doubt.
“I’d guess that’s why Silver was so taken with you, too. Persnickety bastard likely sensed all along that you were the real Grey Wolf.” Colt pointed to a man in the photo who stood next to her mother. “You see that wolf right there?” he asked. “Standing next to Caroline?”
Belle nodded. Her mother would have loved the way her name sounded on Colt’s lips. She’d stayed single Belle’s whole life, but Belle had always known her mother had been a sucker for gorgeous men, particularly a gorgeous cowboy. “Who is he?”
“You remember that aunt of Maverick’s I told you about who ran away?” Colt smiled. “Well…that woman was none other than one Caroline Grey, who changed her name to her grandmother’s maiden name, Beaumont, shortly after she left, so that man standing beside her is her brother. None other than Maverick Grey Senior himself.”
Belle’s breath caught. The photograph was shaking in her hands.
“Belle,” Colt said, “you’re not just any Grey Wolf. You’re one of the Grey Wolves. Maverick and Maeve, they’re your cousins.”
Belle stared down at the photo, her heart overflowing with joy. He’d given her everything she’d ever wanted, not just him and his love but a pack, a family to call her own.
He wrapped his arms around her, but this time she initiated the kiss, and what started as slow and soothing quickly gathered fevered heat. When they both finally came up for air, Belle’s tears had dried and she was smiling like a fool.
“You know I’ve always had a thing for cowboys,” she said, gesturing to the room. “Some might even say I enjoy seeing them naked.” It was far from his level of dirty talk, but it was still enough to cause a growl to tear from his lips.
From the kisses he started to pepper across her neck, he’d caught her line of thinking. Briefly, he flashed her that wry grin of his before he growled against her lips. “Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. I have plenty of that planned, if you’ll allow it.”
His grin widened. Without warning, he hoisted her up onto the countertop, parting her legs with his knees until the hardened length of him pressed against her center. His words were a delicious purr against her ears. “What do you say to maybe being a bit reckless tonight? Consequences be damned.”
Her jaw dropped. “Colt Cavanaugh doing something wild and unplanned? Now that’s a first.”
The purr he released against the skin of her neck caused her nipples to tighten. “Who said I wasn’t planning it?”
Her body responded eagerly. She was already wet and ready for him. “No way, mister. Before we go that route, there are a few rules you need to agree to.”
“Rules?” He raised a brow, but she saw the amusement in his eyes at the reference to his old antics.
“Two.” She nodded, holding up two fingers. “Rule number one: you’re not allowed to have any more ridiculous rules.” She ticked off one finger.
“But you are?” He chuckled. “All right, and what’s rule number two?”
She grinned. “You have to admit I was never trying to steal your horse.”
At that, Colt’s smile grew wide, and he gifted her with a wholehearted, full-toothed smile of the kind that could light up a whole room in an instant. And Belle was thankful she was sitting, because she knew if she hadn’t been, she would have been weak in the knees.
“Sweetheart, you have yourself a deal.” Lifting her with ease, he tossed her onto the examination table, and she squealed.
About the Author
Kait Ballenger hated reading when she was a child because she was horrible at it. Then by chance, she picked up the Harry Potter series, magically fell in love with reading, and never looked back. Whe
n she realized shortly after that she could tell her own stories and they could be about falling in love, her fate was sealed.
She earned her BA in English from Stetson University—like the Stetson cowboy hat—followed by an MFA in writing from Spalding University. After stints working as a real vampire—a.k.a. a phlebotomist—a bingo caller, a professional belly dancer, and an adjunct English professor (which she still dabbles in on occasion), Kait finally decided that her eight-year-old self knew best: she was meant to be a romance writer.
When Kait’s not preoccupied with writing captivating paranormal romance, page-turning suspense, or love scenes that make even seasoned romance readers blush, she can usually be found spending time with her family, being an accidental crazy cat lady (she has four now—don’t ask), or with her nose buried in a good book. She loves to travel—especially abroad—and experience new places. She lives in Florida with her doting librarian husband, her two adorable sons, a lovable, mangy mutt of a dog, and four conniving felines.
And yes, she can still belly dance with the best of them…
Cowboy Wolf Trouble
A new evil will stop at nothing to tear their world apart
For centuries, the shifters that roam Big Sky Country have honored a pact to keep the peace. Even bad-boy rancher Wes Calhoun, former leader of a renegade pack, has given up his violent ways and sworn loyalty to the Grey Wolves. But his dark past keeps catching up with him…
Human rancher Naomi Evans cares only about saving the ranch that was her father’s legacy. Until a clash with Wes opens up a whole new world—a supernatural world on the verge of war—and Naomi, her ranch, and the sexy cowboy wolf stealing her heart are smack-dab in the middle of it.
“Kait Ballenger is a treasure you don’t want to miss.”
—Gena Showalter, New York Times and USA Today bestseller
For more info about Sourcebooks’s books and authors, visit:
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You Had Me at Jaguar
First in the new Heart of the Shifter series from USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear
They’re not the only ones on the prowl…but they’re the most dangerous…
The United Shifter Force gives jaguar agent Howard Armstrong an impossible task—to protect fierce she-jaguar Valerie Chambers, when the last thing she wants is protecting. They’re going international to take down a killer, and he can guard Valerie all day long. But guard his heart? He doesn’t stand a chance.
“Packed with adventure…magnificently entertaining.”
—RT Book Reviews Top Pick for Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing
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Wolf Instinct
New York Times bestselling author Paige Tyler delivers more action-packed paranormal romantic suspense from SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team
SWAT werewolf Zane Kendrick will do whatever necessary to take down the man who attacked his pack. His search leads him to Los Angeles, but when he meets Alyssa Carson, the smart, sexy agent who comes to his aid, he’s immediately interested in pursuing more than just the next lead. All his wolf instincts tell him that she’s The One…
“Paige Tyler has a fan in me!”
—Larissa Ione, New York Times bestselling author
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SEAL Wolf Surrender
The stakes are high in USA Today bestseller Terry Spear’s sixth SEAL Wolf romance
She-wolf Natalie Silverton has inadvertently crossed a group of dangerous criminals, and she’s in dire need of a bodyguard. Wolf shifter and former Navy SEAL Brock Greystoke has been tasked with the job. At every turn, their work—and play—brings them closer to catching the criminals and to each other, but Brock will have to get them out of this alive if he has any hope of winning Natalie’s heart.
“Great paranormal romance with depth and dimension.”
—Night Owl Reviews for A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas
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The Legend of All Wolves
For three days out of thirty, when the moon is full and her law is iron, the Great North Pack must be wild…
Don’t miss this extraordinary series from Maria Vale
The Last Wolf
Silver Nilsdottir is at the bottom of her Pack’s social order, with little chance for a decent mate and a better life. Until the day a stranger stumbles into their territory and Silver decides to risk everything on Tiberius Leveraux…
A Wolf Apart
Thea Villalobos has long since given up trying to be what others expect of her. So she can see that Elijah Sorensson is Alpha of his generation of the Great North Pack, and the wolf inside him will no longer be restrained…
Forever Wolf
With old and new enemies threatening the Great North, Varya knows that she must keep Eyulf hidden away from the superstitious wolves who would doom them both. Until the day they must fight to the death for the Pack’s survival, side by side and heart to heart…
“Wonderfully unique and imaginative. I was enthralled!”
—Jeaniene Frost, New York Times bestselling author
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Also by Kait Ballenger
Cowboy Wolf Trouble
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