Howl of the Wolf hc-4

by N. J. Walters

  Oh God, what was she going to do? Nothing in her past had prepared her for such an event. She wasn’t an adrenaline junkie, a thrill-seeker. She was a homebody, living a staid, quiet life.

  When she stopped trying to escape him, he released her and dragged his tongue over her arm as if in silent apology.

  “This is unbelievable.”

  He growled and shook his head as if to refute her words.

  She licked her dry lips and tried to think logically. He hadn’t eaten her, hadn’t even done anything to harm her. That probably meant he wasn’t going to. Or at least that’s what she hoped it meant.

  Tentatively, she reached out and touched his head. He gave a low purr of encouragement and she carefully scratched behind one of his ears. His fur was short and bristly and felt a lot like Percy’s.

  “Okay, what if I agree that you are a shapeshifter and an ancient immortal warrior?” He gave a rumble of approval and she kept going. “What does that mean? And why am I suddenly living my book?” That was the weirdest thing of all. If he was real, did the people from the two books she’d already written exist? It was all very confusing. Could a dream be this real? She didn’t think so.

  He suddenly pulled away from her and began to change again, this time going from animal to man. Skin replaced fur and hands and feet appeared, but the heavy muscle remained constant. The fur around his face receded until only his incredible hair hung to his shoulders. The tail seemed to be absorbed by his body.

  She grabbed for the slightly tattered sheet, but he yanked it out of her grasp. Leander leaned over her, his knees on the floor in front of her, his hands pressed against the mattress on either side of her hips, effectively caging her in. He was so tall he was looking in her eyes even though he was kneeling on the floor and she was seated on the bed.

  “You are the special woman who has broken my curse. Five of my brethren have been freed already. Mordecai, the serpent, joined Hades without a fight after slaying the woman who freed him. Phoenix and Stavros, the jaguar, disappeared with their women, never to be heard from again.” He paused and she felt his pain like it was a living, breathing entity. “Roric and Marko, the tiger and the bear, have found their freedom, and now it is my turn to do the same.”

  Araminta wanted to touch him but was half-afraid to now that she knew he was more than a dream. “I don’t understand. Why did I dream about them? Why am I writing books about them?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe it is a gift from the Lady. Maybe it is part of Hades’ plan.”

  The mere thought that Hades might have been in her dreams gave Araminta the heebie-jeebies, and a shiver raced down her spine. If she believed that Leander was the real deal, Hades was also real.

  “Please tell me you drugged me.” She was on the verge of hysterical laughter. This couldn’t be happening to her. She was a former librarian turned writer, for heaven’s sake. Not some sexy female adventurer from some movie or video game.

  She reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “Tell me you drugged me. Tell me none of this is real.”

  He shook his head and sadness filled his gaze. “I cannot.”

  He offered no more than that, didn’t try to convince her it was real. That’s when she knew he was telling the truth.

  “Oh, crap.” She tried to calm her galloping heart and her chaotic thoughts. She knew what the heroines in her books had gone through. She also knew that some of the earlier women, ones she hadn’t written about, hadn’t made it. This was truly a life-or-death situation.

  “What do we do? I have to go home. Mary Jo said someone had broken into my house. Percy is okay, but I don’t know what might be missing.” Her mind clicked into gear. “Oh my God, do you think the break-in might have something to do with this?” She motioned to him and back to herself. “You know, the whole thing with Hades?”

  Leander growled and leaned in until their noses were touching. “Who is Percy?”

  “What? What does that matter?”

  He growled again.

  “He’s my cat.” The look on Leander’s face made her laugh. Her nerves were strung so tight, once she started laughing, she couldn’t stop. “You’re not my first cat,” she blurted out before going off into peals of laughter again. She really had to stop. The situation wasn’t the least bit funny.

  Leander sat back on his heels with a slight frown on his face. He pounced faster than she could see, grabbed her legs and lifted them, causing her to fall back onto the bed. He parted her legs, shoved them over his shoulders and leaned inward. His massive shoulders pushed her thighs farther apart, opening her for him to see.

  “What are you doing?” She swatted at his shoulders, but he wouldn’t be deterred. “Stop that.” She tried to close her legs, but it was impossible with his shoulders blocking her. Was it possible to die of embarrassment? Unfortunately, she didn’t think so.

  “What am I doing?” he repeated. “I’m claiming what’s mine.”

  Legacy, Book 4

  Kidnapped and held in a crazy doctor’s underground laboratory, Bethany Morris only manages to escape because Chrissten, one of her fellow abductees, creates an opportunity—by shifting into a werewolf.

  Bethany’s desperate for help, but who’ll believe her story? The police? That’ll just buy her a one-way ticket to a padded room—because here’s the kicker: she’s discovered she’s a half-breed werewolf. Her only hope is to find Chrissten’s brother.

  Quinn Lawton’s long, grinding search for his missing twin has turned up nothing…until Bethany rekindles his hope. Something else catches flame too—her heat cycle and a searing attraction branded with the word mate. Yet with so much blood on his hands, any future he might offer is already tainted beyond redemption.

  Desperate for Quinn’s touch alone, Bethany has no choice but to take Quinn up on his offer to quell her terrifying need, no strings attached. And hope that as the search for Chrissten intensifies, the battle with their personal demons doesn’t destroy their razor-thin chance at forever.

  Warning: This book contains heartbreak and love found, a crazy scientist and his werewolf flunky and a tortured werewolf hero. Plus lots and lots of steamy hot sex!

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Quinn’s Quest:

  The phone rang twice before it occurred to Bethany that the middle of the night might not be the best time to call anyone asking for help, especially not with the crazy story she had to tell. “Damn.” She thought about hanging up but she was committed now. She tightened her hand around the receiver.

  “Yeah.” The voice was male and hoarse with sleep.

  She cleared her throat. “Is this Quinn Lawton?” She prayed she’d remembered the number right. She didn’t know what she’d do next if this wasn’t Chrissten’s brother.

  There was some rustling in the background and the voice was more alert this time. “No.” Bethany’s heart sunk. Maybe she’d dialed the number wrong. Before she could apologize and hang up, the man was speaking again. “Just give me a second and I’ll get him.”

  Hope surged inside her. She hadn’t failed. The phone number was the right one. Her knees threatened to buckle so she sank into the chair that Margaret had vacated. Her stomach felt queasy and she was still very weak. She could still hang up the phone and let the police handle this. All she’d have to do is tell them she was kidnapped. No need to tell them about the rest of it. Quinn Lawton would never be able to find her. There was no way to trace the call back to the shelter.

  She clutched the receiver in her hand and took a deep breath, knowing she could never do that. She was committed now. No turning back. Footsteps sounded through the receiver and she knew the man who’d answered was taking the phone to Chrissten’s brother, who was a half-breed werewolf just like Chrissten. Just like she was.

  Bethany still couldn’t quite wrap her head around that one, but she was trying to understand it. She hoped Quinn had answers for her.

  “Yeah.” The voice was low and gruff and mascu
line. Every cell in Bethany’s body reacted to the sound. The fine hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Her nipples contracted. Her breath caught in her throat.

  “Who is this?” The voice was more demanding now, all trace of sleepiness gone.

  Bethany forced herself to speak. “Is this Quinn Lawton?”

  “Who wants to know?” She almost hung up on him. His impatience and arrogance bled through the phone line. But she’d promised her friend.

  “Do you have a sister named Chrissten?”

  “Where is she? Who are you? Where are you?”

  Bethany was so startled by the angry outburst she dropped the receiver. She could hear Quinn yelling at her through the line. She grabbed the phone and hung up, panting hard for breath. He was one scary man.

  She sat there for about thirty seconds before she grabbed the phone and punched in the number again.

  “Hello. Are you there?” he demanded.

  “I’m here.” This was for Chrissten, she reminded herself. And for yourself, a little voice in the back of her head said. You want to know more about who you are. What you are.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” His low tones made her shiver and she wasn’t sure she believed him. Even his apology was short. A voice in the background was urging him to stay calm. She recognized it as the man who’d originally answered the phone. She was beginning to wish she’d talked to him instead.

  “Umm, I need to talk to you about your sister.” She had to do this face-to-face. This wasn’t something you talked about over the phone. “Where are you?”

  “I’m in Chicago. Where are you?”

  Bethany was shocked to find out that help was close at hand. She hadn’t expected that, but would take it as a good sign that maybe her luck was changing. “Where in Chicago? I want to meet you.”

  “Tell me about my sister.” His frustration was palpable and she almost blurted out everything she knew. But she had to meet him in person. She’d promised Chrissten she’d get help and that meant more than simply making a phone call. Plus, she was curious about him, about what he was. What she was.

  “Where shall I meet you?” Bethany could be just as stubborn as he was.

  “There’s a bar in Wicker Park. It’s called Haven. Meet me there.”

  “When?” Bethany glanced at the clock over Margaret’s desk. It was half past four in the morning.

  “Now. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  “I don’t have any money to pay for a cab.” It was demoralizing to admit she needed him to pay for her to get there. She couldn’t walk, as she had no idea where she was going. Even if she wanted to take public transit she still had no idea where to find this particular bar.

  “Just get here. I’ll take care of the cab fare.”

  She sucked in a breath and said, “Okay,” as she exhaled. The quicker she did this the better for her peace of mind.

  “What’s your name?” The urgency in his tone brought home just how desperate he was for news of his sister.

  “Bethany. My name is Bethany. As of less than a day ago your sister was alive. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

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