by Chandra Ryan
Being comfortable while naked in public had taken several months. She’d lived with humans and followed their rules of decency for a long time, but regular runs with the pack and having a mate who loved seeing her naked won out over the false sense of modesty.
“I’m surprised Erica had time to set this up. She’s as stressed as us.” She followed him over to a blanket laid out with enough food to feed the entire wedding party.
“Yeah.” He shook his head. “I know she’s gotten into some sort of situation. She won’t talk to me about her problems, though.”
She sat down and took a deep breath to savor the delectable smell of the food. “If she hasn’t talked about anything, how do you know she’s in a situation?”
“Because she looks for trouble. Always has.” He dished up a large portion of food and held the plate out to her.
“Thank you.” She waited for him to get his own food before she took a bite. “She’s a big girl. I’m sure she can handle whatever situations she’s found herself in.”
“That’s what she keeps telling me.”
She let the subject drop. They had enough issues themselves without borrowing Erica’s troubles. After the mating ceremony was over she would have pay closer attention to the pack rumor mill.
When they finished eating, they packed up the remainder of the food then stretched out on the blanket to look up at the stars. This early in spring there weren’t any bugs to bother them, but the nights were still crisp. Before long, the hair on her arms stood on end and she shivered in his arms. She wished she could spend the night under the stars, but the chill in the night air made camping out a bad idea. For tonight at least. “Want to race home?”
She’d moved into his apartment once she announced her decision to take him as her mate. The choice made the most sense. He had the bigger place, and she’d been able to convert part of his mechanic’s bay into a workshop for both of them.
“Sure. I’ll give you a five second head start.”
She huffed at him. “I don’t need a head start.”
“So you say. One….”
Damn it. Did she want to take the advantage and have him chase her, or did she want to stand her ground and try to win fair and square?
“Two….”
Her Wolf paced inside her. She wanted to come out to play again.
“Three….”
She gave in to the need and shifted. If he was so cocky he thought he could catch her with a head start, let him prove it. She darted toward Los Lobos without looking back.
He watched her run away and smiled. Little minx. She couldn’t resist the temptation of a win. Maybe he’d let her have one some day. But today would not be the day. Even with the head start, he had no doubt he could overtake her.
As soon as he counted to ten, he shifted and took off after her scent. She craved the win, but he longed for the chase. He loved seeing her lithe blonde Wolf darting through the woods, daring him to follow. The moment he caught her always sent a jolt of pleasure through him.
Tonight wasn’t any different. Instead of tackling her, he came up next to her and ran with her. She rubbed against him occasionally as they continued to make their way to their home, but didn’t slow. She still pushed herself and him to their limit.
They’d just reached his backyard when she tackled him. The unexpected move blindsided him and sent him down on his side. The fall didn’t hurt, but it did take him a second or two to figure out what had happened. She used the second to jump free and dart toward the house.
But he wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. He pushed himself and moved at full speed until he managed to pass her. As he crossed over the threshold, he shifted into his human form. “You tried to cheat.”
She shifted and then had the decency to smile sheepishly at him as she walked the last couple of feet. “I tried to win. Tackling is not cheating.”
“I’ll remember your little trick.” He held a hand out to her, and when she took it, he pulled her to him. “But for now, I believe that to the victor go the spoils.”
She rubbed her body against his. “Am I to understand, I’m the spoils?”
“You know it.” He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder so he could carry her through the house. She squealed and wiggled, but he had a tight grip on her legs. As soon as he got her to their room, he tossed her on the bed.
She pulled him down on top of her and kissed him. “Then by all means. I surrender myself to the victor. I believe tradition calls for you to ravish me.”
“Who am I to argue with tradition?”
In the morning, they would become mated in the eyes of their pack and their families. But tonight was for them. He intended on making the most of every second of their time alone.
~A LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR~
I’m so honored and thrilled to have Reluctant Mate be part of the Black Hills Wolves series. When I first heard about the world, Aimee’s backstory immediately came to me and I knew Los Lobos would be her home. She was a Wolf who had been forced into a life she didn’t want, but she’d made the best of it.
Los Lobos is all about redemption and second chances, though. Which is why it was the perfect place for Aimee to find the life she was born to live. With the rebuilding of the city and the pack, it was also the perfect place for Jackson to find the sense of belonging he’d always craved.
I look forward to hearing what you think of Aimee and Jackson and their story.
[email protected]
Want more Black Hills Wolves?
Watch for…
Diamond Moon by Celia Breslin
Chapter One
Darci hurried along the gravel edging the worn pavement masquerading as a road leading into Los Lobos, population unknown, exact location not even listed on her Rand McNally map. Her boots kicked up enough dust in the growing wind to make her sneeze, even as the hairs on her nape rose from the incessant sensation of being watched.
For the millionth time since she’d abandoned her little VW Beetle a few miles back—where the road devolved into a post-apocalyptic joke of a highway—she palmed the pink SABRE mini taser in her jacket pocket, comforted by the hard plastic deliverance of doom her aunt had insisted she take with her on her journey to the middle of nowhere.
Rolling hills, rocky cliffs peeking out from the densely packed pine trees, meadows encouraging a Sound of Music gallop with arms stretched wide. America’s Heartland. Beautiful and remote Black Hills, South Dakota. Too bad the pretty place had goose bumps tracking up her arms and chills scurrying down her spine.
The wind kicked up, and she grabbed the bill of her baseball cap, holding tight. If those cranky black clouds started spitting rain, she’d need this little protection. She hadn’t packed an umbrella. Rain rarely happened at home this time of the year. Too bad she’d neglected to Google the weather for South Dakota in June. Judging from the swirling cloud cover, a world of oh, hell no might unleash on her head before she managed to make it to town.
If the town really existed.
Unease tingled along her arms. “Come out, come out, little spy.”
She scanned the pine trees surrounding her on both sides like a thick green blanket and smelling of Christmas. Having grown up in southern Oregon amidst hills and trees not unlike where she currently traipsed, she’d expected the forest here to comfort her. Instead, she couldn’t shake her wariness. She saw nothing staring at her from the depths of the forest, but her gut urged her to run home to her aunt’s cozy cottage in quaint—and safe—Ashland.
Maybe she should’ve listened to her aunt’s arguments against this adventure. Maybe the hand-drawn map her dead parents had left behind—the map she clutched as if it would magically make this mythical town appear before her—was a joke.
She shook her head. No. Her father had never joked. And he reserved his smiles for her or Mama. His green eyes, matching her own, would light up with love for them alone. She had been six when they both died in a plane crash, but she remembered h
im. Big and tall, strong and silent, and so serious and on alert, as if danger had lurked everywhere in their idyllic, little Oregon town.
True to his protective nature, he’d left behind instructions for her in case of his death. A note he’d clearly crafted in his state of perpetual wariness, outlining every possible if-then situation Darci might encounter given her half-human, half-Wolf nature, and what to do in the event he was unavailable to help her sort it out.
Her aunt had kept the note from Darci until her twenty-third birthday and, coincidentally, her graduation day from Southern Oregon University with an M.S. in Computer Science, thank you very much. Darci had been so angry at her for withholding the info but had understood her reasoning. She’d wanted to provide Darci with a stable, normal, human life. As a single parent of her sister’s child, she’d done a great job, too. But keeping Darci’s secret had been hard on both of them. Her aunt had one trusted friend/lover while Darci had a few casual friends but no one close. No one she trusted enough to let them know she grew fangs, four legs, and fur at every full moon. Closeness meant sharing, and sharing could lead to discovery of her hidden, horrible truth. I’m not like everyone else.
But, maybe she could be. Maybe the South Dakota Wolves in this mystery town where her father had been born and raised knew a way to help her stop shifting for good. Maybe then she’d be free. God, she hoped her dad was right, and someone could help her here.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and a gust of wind pushed Darci from behind. She stumbled then hustled forward. Time to seek shelter, preferably a nice, cozy room in a quaint little bed and breakfast that would magically appear any second.
No such luck. The trees gave way to yet another meadow and, not surprising, another dilapidated, abandoned building. How many of these meadows had she passed? A half dozen? All with ramshackle buildings, the skeletal remains of barns, stables, neglected homes.
None of them looked capable of housing her in this storm. Another shot of unease stomped over her spine. She diverted her gaze from the road to the remains of the ranch set away from the road in the meadow. A graying, rotted, wood fence zigzagged in front of what was once probably a small ranch house, now an assortment of broken windows, half-ripped roof, and weather-weary walls. A door hung open and flapped against the side of the ranch, the banging sound audible to her keen Wolf hearing over the ever-increasing screech of the wind.
Then she saw it—movement in the tall green grass. Something as gray as the fence it slunk under. Something big. Darci froze, heart hammering in her chest. A Wolf padded directly for her.
She shoved the map in her pocket and grabbed her taser, backing away into the center of the road. “Uh, nice doggie. I’m one of you. Kinda. Sort of. Maybe.” Great, babbling at a wild animal. A predator who looked very hungry for a woman-sized snack.
Lightning flashed. Thunder cracked. The Wolf growled.
Darci whirled and ran as the sky opened and pelted her with cold rain.
Running was a stupid move. The Wolf could catch her in a blink, sink its teeth into her, and bring her to the ground. Unless I shift and show it I’m a Wolf, too. She suppressed a laugh. Her shifts were never swift or pain free. Slow, bone breaking, skin splitting. Painful. They took her to the brink of insanity—and death—at every full moon. If she didn’t get some help to stop the Wolf craziness, one full moon soon the shift would likely kill her. Of course, today she might experience death by real Wolf.
Wait. I’m still alive. The Wolf hadn’t charged. Darci slowed to a jog and glanced over her shoulder. It loped slightly behind her and to the side, watching her every move. Relief flooded her. Looked as if she’d met her first shifter. Not counting Dad.
“Um. Hi,” she offered her companion.
No reply. Fine by her. She kept up her jog, happy she’d been a runner all her life, and a good one. Daddy’s Wolf genes, no doubt. Her mood improved further when, at last, Los Lobos came into view through the sheets of freezing rain. Although the several buildings she could see fronting the road gave new meaning to the word quaint, she was still glad to see some semblance of civilization.
No people, no cars, but one sign caught her attention. Gee’s Bar. According to her father’s note, just the person she needed to see. Her picture-perfect memory brought up the last four lines of the note.
Trust only Gee and Luparell.
Stay away from Magnum.
Love you, DeeDee.
Dad
A few steps from the bar door, Darci stopped and faced her furry shadow. “Thanks for the escort, and, um, for you know, not eating me.”
The Wolf snorted and shook its head. Then, in a disturbing mood shift, her pal bared its wicked-sharp teeth and growled. Crap, maybe he wanted to eat her after all. Darci took this as her cue to bolt. She pivoted to dash into the bar but smacked into a mountain of man instead.
She landed on her ass with a shriek and looked up. And up. And up. “Ouch.”
The big bear of a man gazed down at her. The way his dark eyes assessed every inch of her made her want to crawl away and hide behind her Wolf friend. But a howl sounded in the distance, and her Wolf companion howled in response and loped away, disappearing between the buildings across the street.
The rain pelted her, sleet threatening to become hail. She shivered. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this cold in summer,” she babbled as she scrambled to get her feet under her.
He gripped her arm and hauled her up as if she weighed no more than a down-filled pillow—and wouldn’t her tired head love to rest on one right about now. A yawn punctuated her thought. “Sorry, been a long day. And walk.”
The big man stared, saying nothing.
She hugged herself. “I’m looking for Gee.”
“You found him.”
Trust only Gee and Luparell. “Great.” She scuffed her boot on the ground and looked at his chest, the sleet too much when she tried to raise her head. “My dad said you could help me, but um, can we go inside to talk?”
He didn’t seem bothered by the storm while Darci’s shivering threatened to chatter the teeth right out of her mouth.
“Go home. You don’t belong here.” Gee’s gruff tone sent disappointment darting through her.
This was the man her dad wanted her to talk to? Anger surged. So far this had been the day from hell. Walking for miles in the middle of nowhere, scared by a Wolf then by a huge, mean man….
“Look, buddy, I don’t want to be here, but my dad, Declan Diamond, told me to come here. And trust you. And some guy named Luparell.”
Gee’s nostrils flared. He narrowed his eyes and stared at her. Hard. Recognition registered in his expression. Interesting. But the cold had officially clotted her brain, and, at the moment, she craved nothing more than a warm refuge. And though her father had said to trust this ginormous Gee guy, she didn’t. Maybe she’d have better luck with the other man from her dad’s note.
“You know what? Forget it. I’m tired and freezing, so if you can just point me in the direction of the town hotel, I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Go home, little Wolf.” Gee pointed up the road at a nearby hill.
Perched halfway up amidst the trees, Darci spotted a house. A bed and breakfast? Fine by her. Gee had proved next to useless, so she would go to this bed and breakfast, get some rest, and hunt for Luparell in this weird little ghost town tomorrow.
“Thank you, Gee.” She tried to sound sincere but didn’t quite manage it if his grunt was anything to go by.
She hurried off at a brisk jog in the direction of sweet, dry shelter, backpack bouncing against her tired body.
God, she hoped the next small town spook she met would be nicer.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
~A LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR~
Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
~A LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR~
