by Vivian Wood
“Stop right there,” came a too-familiar voice. Cool metal touched the back of Brooke’s neck, raising every hair on her whole body. Lynne Marchand chuckled as she pressed the tip of a gun against Brooke’s bare skin.
“What are you doing here, Lynne?” Brooke asked, her whole body trembling. Careful to remain still, Brooke turned her gaze to Lynne. The attorney was dressed head to toe in black hunting gear, which in itself was shocking. Then there was the look on Lynne’s face, steely determination mixed with a sneer. That in itself was almost scarier than the weapon she held.
“You’re very stupid, you know that?” Lynne asked.
“You don’t have to do this,” Brooke said. “You can have whatever you want, you don’t need the gun.”
“Hah! I know what you are now, Brooke. You think I’m going to wrangle a werewolf without a weapon? I’m not the stupid one here.”
A werewolf who’s never shifted… Brooke thought. Lynne didn’t need to know that, though. Brooke’s wolf stirred within her, the sensation still jarring for its newness. Her wolf didn’t like Lynne’s presence, didn’t like the scent of gun oil filling the air. Right there with you, buddy.
“What do you want, Lynne?” Brooke asked, trying for the same no-nonsense tone Lynne normally used. Lynne gave another amused huff, which wasn’t a very good sign in Brooke’s eyes.
“Lots of things, Brooke. I want my son’s heart not to be broken. I want him to have everything he deserves, which you’ve so rudely denied him.”
“I didn’t do anything to him,” Brooke pointed out, shifting the boxes in her hands.
“Put the damn boxes down,” Lynne ordered. “Slowly.”
Brooke took a step away from Lynne and her gun. She set the boxes down, then stood up again and turned to face Lynne.
“He doesn’t even love me, you know,” Brooke told her.
Lynne’s sneer reappeared.
“What does love have to do with anything? Do you think I loved Travis’s father? No. I needed his position and power, and I needed his seed. Once I had Travis, I didn’t need anything else from that bastard. So I got rid of him, just like I planned to do to you. Once you gave Travis children, of course.”
Brooke blinked, surprised that Lynne would just lay out her crazy plan like that.
“You’re going to kill me?” was all Brooke could think to ask.
“I said planned, past tense. Keep up, dear.” Lynne paused, then shook her head. “No, I’m afraid you interrupted all of that. I was going to wait it out, get you to sign over the rights to Winter Pass Lodge and your parents’ offshore accounts to Travis, let you give me some grandchildren first. But now, you’ve ruined that. Now I have to speed up the process.”
Brooke wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond to that. Lynne reached into the pocket of her black windbreaker, pulling out a sheaf of papers and waving them meaningfully.
“Time for Plan B. My car’s this way,” Lynne said, waving the gun toward a path that led south, away from the main house and cabins. “Start walking.”
“Lynne… really, you don’t need to do this,” Brooke said again. “If it’s money, we can work something out.”
“You don’t know anything, stupid girl. Of course I have to do this. Do you think securing my position as district attorney was cheap? And Travis, getting him a job in the state house, that was very costly. These things cost money, Brooke, and campaign donations would never have been enough. Now I need to repay my debts, and it’s more than you could possibly work out.”
“Killing me isn’t going to get you anything,” Brooke said. Lynne’s white SUV came into view, parked at the end of a freshly-made dirt path through the woods. Brooke started thinking of those abduction PSAs she’d seen in college. Never let an assailant take you to a second location. “I’m not getting in the car with you, Lynne.”
“No, you’re not,” Lynne said, stopping by the SUV’s flat hood and tossing the papers down. “You’re going to sign these, to start.”
Brooke picked them up, accepting the pen that Lynne shoved at her. She leafed through the documents, which contained dozens of bank accounts and the deed to Winter Pass.
“I don’t understand,” she said, looking up at Lynne. “You can’t think I’ll sign these. I don’t even have the… I don’t, the authority to sign these.”
“You do, actually. I’ve made sure that you’re the sole signatory on everything,” Lynne said, her lips thinning.
“Why would I do this? If I sign these, you’ll just kill me,” Brooke said, her heart pounding against her ribs.
“Actually, I won’t. Like I said, even though I keep finding more and more money that your parents stashed away, it’s not going to be enough to pay my creditors and still give me the life I want.” Lynne licked her lips, her greed and uncertainty showing for the briefest moment. “Ah, there’s the second part of the plan, pulling up now.”
A black Humvee trundled up the path, pulling to a stop behind her. No doubt, the same Humvee that Harlan had spotted previously… filled with what the guys called Hunters.
“Oh god…” Brooke said, goosebumps breaking out over her skin.
“Doubt that’s going to help you now,” Lynne said, looking amused. “These guys are paying a huge amount of money for you, did you know? I’m not sure if they want to vivisect you, or make you pop out wolf babies for them to hunt… honestly, I don’t really care. They’re going to make me rich and give Travis the connections he needs to fulfill his political aspirations.”
“You’re doing business with men who would gladly hang your son’s skin on a wall?” Brooke asked, horrified.
“What?” Lynne asked, frowning. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Travis is a shifter. He’s never going to be president, or anything close to it. Not if guys like these have anything to do with it,” Brooke said, looking at the camo-suited guys climbing out of the Humvee.
“Lies aren’t going to save you now, you stupid bitch,” Lynne snarled. “Sign the damn papers or I’m going to shoot you right here, right now. I’ll wound you and drive you out into the woods and let them hunt you down.”
“You’re crazy,” Brooke said, shaking her head. “You really didn’t think this plan through. I’m not going to help you!”
“Of course you are,” Lynne said, her nostrils flaring. She took the safety off the gun with an audible click, pointing the gun straight at Brooke’s heart. In that moment, Brooke saw Lynne with such clarity: her desperation, her willingness to do absolutely anything to get what she wanted, the fact that she’d dug herself in so deep that she would likely never escape…
“Lower your weapon,” barked one of the Hunters, approaching with a rifle aimed at Lynne. “That’s our property you’re endangering.”
“Not until she signs these papers, she isn’t,” Lynne said, the whites of her eyes showing as she stared Brooke down.
Out of the corner of Brooke’s eye, she glimpsed movement. A hint of coppery red, just the color of Penny’s hair. Squeezing her eyes shut, Brooke prayed that Penny wouldn’t give herself away and end up caught, too. Maybe she could run for help.
“Shoot her,” one of the guys said. Brooke’s stomach dropped, sure that it was a death sentence. Then the man with the rifle fired straight into Lynne’s chest, dropping her like a sack of stones.
Brooke went utterly still. Lynne lay in a heap on the ground, gun still in her hands, mouth open in shock. It was only a matter of moments before she went slack, the life drained out of her just that fast.
Run, her wolf urged.
Too late, Brooke turned to flee. One of the Hunters caught her around the waist, jabbing something sharp into her neck, something that made her tingly, made her vision blur…
Her eyelids slid closed with a definitive slam, leaving Brooke in utter darkness.
Chapter Nine
“Pax, man, you have to calm down,” Chase said, but Pax just paced in his wolf form, snarling. “Brooke wouldn’t want you killing
random people to try to find her. You know that. Don’t make me tranq you again, dude.”
Standing on the lodge’s front porch, Chase watched his friend agonize, knowing exactly how angry and scared Pax was feeling. After all, Brooke was his sister. Paxton was losing his shit, clearly; when Penny broke the news of Brooke’s abduction, Pax had grabbed a gun and stalked toward the front drive, like he was going to go into town and just…
What? Kill until he got the answers he needed?
It wouldn’t work, obviously, though Chase could see the temptation. Chase wanted to rage and rampage too; he could almost taste the blood of the Hunters on his tongue. Someone had to be cool, though, and Harlan was too busy comforting Penny to help much with keeping Pax from going postal on the whole town of Winter Pass.
“Hey,” Harlan said, walking out onto the porch to join Chase.
“Penny okay?” Chase asked.
“Yeah. I had to give her something to sleep, but she’s resting now. Damn, that could have been her instead of Brooke.” Harlan’s hands were bunched into fists, clenched so hard they were turning white.
Chase just blew out a sigh. He didn’t know what it was like to lose a mate, but Brooke’s absence was tearing him up inside. His baby sister, snatched right from under his nose, taken for god knew what purpose.
“Chase…” Harlan began.
“Don’t say it,” Chase insisted, folding his arms across his chest.
“You know what has to be done,” Harlan sighed.
“I’m not even sure she’ll help,” Chase said, closing his eyes for a moment.
“Bullshit,” Harlan growled. “Stop being such a pussy. They took your sister, man. You can make one phone call to save your own sister, can’t you?”
That hung in the air between them for several long beats. Seconds ticked by as Chase watched Pax pace with increasing agitation, a low whine escaping his chest every few seconds.
“She might kill me,” Chase said at last.
“Hmm?” Harlan asked, glancing over.
“Avery. She tried to kill me, but she couldn’t do it. I’m not sure that will be the case this time.”
Harlan hesitated.
“You’re going to do it, though,” he concluded.
“Call the one woman I genuinely hoped never to encounter again?” Chase gave a humorless huff of laughter. “Yeah, I’m going to do it. I’m going to call Avery Burke.”
Chase felt a sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach. Something else, too… something he shouldn’t feel at all.
The tiniest speck of excitement.
Shaking his head, he pulled out his phone and dialed, holding his breath.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring…
“…hello?” came that sleepy, seductive voice.
“Avery… it’s Chase. Don’t hang up,” he commanded.
“Son of a bitch.”
Chase swallowed. This was his only hope…
Protection
Vivian Wood’s new bad boy romance Protection is available now on Amazon — and FREE on Kindle Unlimited! Click here to grab it now!!!
Ready For More?
The Hunt isn’t over, not by a long shot. The next book in Vivian’s Winter Pass Wolves is Prowl. It’s the story of Chase and Avery, and their journey to find happily ever after…
An Excerpt From Prowl…
“Is there any chance we can just not talk about this right now?” Brooke asked, pulling a face. “I haven’t exactly been my best self tonight.”
Pax’s lips twitched, and Brooke could tell that she’d been forgiven.
“I guess I’m okay with any self you want to be, as long as it’s wearing this dress,” he said, reaching out and running his fingertips down her hip, tugging at the hem of the ridiculously short garment.
“Yeah?” Brooke asked, catching his hand and pulling him toward the packed dance floor. “Come see it in action.”
Pax let her tow him into the crush of gyrating bodies, surprisingly unresistant. She could tell from the look on his face that the bar wasn’t playing his kind of music. At the moment a sultry remix of a Nine Inch Nails song was playing. The bass was low and persistent, the song’s lyrics were more than a little suggestive, and the crowd was writhing enthusiastically along.
Pax took the lead, pulling Brooke up against his body as they swayed to the beat. He pressed one muscular thigh between hers, his hand splayed against her lower back to hold her close. Brooke bit her lip and stared up at him, their gazes connecting and holding, tension building between them.
It was like stoking a banked fire, flames leaping to life again like no time had passed. Like the last six years never happened, like she and Paxton hadn’t missed a single moment together. Even now, past and present blurred, the memory of Pax’s lips on hers so fresh in her mind that she wasn’t sure where they were, what they were doing.
The song shifted and Pax turned her around, pulling her ass back against his body as he swayed his hips. He was hard, and the feel of him made Brooke’s mouth go dry. Pax’s hands guided the movement of her hips, squeezing her flesh, reminding her of how dominant and confident he was in bed.
Damn, the man was pure sex.
Grab Prowl Right Now!
Amelie Hunt Presents Series Listing
Ophelia Bell’s Black Mountain Bears
Clawed
Bitten
Nailed
Vivian Wood’s Winter Pass Wolves
Howl
Growl
Prowl
Sennah Tate’s Sunset Glade Panthers
Spark
Ember
Blaze
Maeve Morrick’s Arctic Station Bears
Snowbound
Snowman
Snowfall
Cass Reynold’s Emerald Isle Tigers
Scoundrel
Soldier
Scholar
Introducing The New Alpha Guardians Series Listing!
If you’ve enjoyed these books, we think you are going to be blown away by Vivian’s Alpha Guardians. Click on the cover to begin this pulse-pounding series, set in the heart of New Orleans, absolutely free. We are pretty darned sure you will LOVE Rhys, Aeric, Gabriel, and Asher as much as we do!
What would you sacrifice to save what you love most? Three rugged, dominant bear shifters are about to find out...
Dark powers stir the shadows in New Orleans' paranormal underworld. A sociopathic Voodoo king launches a quest for power that may bring the world to its knees. Rather than watch her proud city crumble, ancient priestess Mere Marie forms a plan.
There's just one catch: not just any group of men can defend New Orleans. She needs the fiercest, most valiant bear shifters she can find. Mere Marie will have to bend the laws of time, going back in history to find her warriors.
A Highland Laird, desperate to save his struggling clan. A powerful young sorcerer whose magic brings tragedy into his life. A mysterious champion, betrayed and left to die in a dark cave. Mere Marie offers a single chance at redemption, but at what price?
Witness the beginning of the Alpha Guardians, three mighty shifters sworn to protect and serve. Pulse-pounding action, steamy romance, and sultry bayou nights await...
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Evil Abounds - Alpha Guardians Book One
See No Evil - Alpha Guardians Book two
Hear No Evil - Alpha Guardians Book three
Speak No Evil - Alpha Guardians Book four
Bear Risen - Alpha Guardians Book five (oct 2015)
Bear razed - Alpha Guardians Book six (nov 2015)
bear reign - Alpha Guardians Book seven (dec 2015)
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About Vivian Wood
Vivian is an erotic romance writer, author of the Alpha Guardians, Winter Pass Wolves, Red Lodge Bears, Werewolf’s Harem, and Louisiana Shifters series.
Vivian has been an autodidact from a young age, and to this day she'll read anything she can get her hands on - back of the cereal box, billboards, whatever. When she's not reading or writing romantic stories, Vivian likes making drinks from her Trader Vic's cocktail recipe book, snuggling her badly behaved dog, and drinking great coffee on rainy wraparound porches in New Orleans.
Vivian really enjoys her work, and is always excited to see what's in store next for her beloved characters.
Vivian’s Bad Boy Romances
Standalone novels
Protection
Bad Boy Prince (February 5th, 2016)
Vivian’s Paranormal Romances
Alpha Guardians Series
Evil Abounds - Alpha Guardians Book One
See No Evil - Alpha Guardians Book Two
Hear No Evil - Alpha Guardians Book Three
Speak No Evil - Alpha Guardians Book Four
Bear Risen - Alpha Guardians Book Five
Bear razed - Alpha Guardians Book Six
bear reign - Alpha Guardians Book Seven
Amelie Hunt Presents: Vivian Wood’s Winter Pass Wolves Series
Howl
Growl
Prowl
Red Lodge Bears Series
Josiah’s Command: A Red Lodge Bears Prequel
Luke’s Obsession: Red Lodge Bears Book One
Noah’s Revelation: Red Lodge Bears Book Two
