Love's a Witch (27 page)

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Hart Clan Hybrids

A Love Worth Biting For

Who’s afraid of the big bad hybrid?

A Love Worth Biting For

© 2013 Roxy Mews

Hart Clan Hybrids, Book 1

Amber Paulson’s wolf has chosen a mate for her, but Amber is not amused with its pick. Jake Meyers might look amazing in a wet T-shirt and have the cheekbones and strong jaw that artists drool over. Too bad he is missing a pulse.

Jake is a vampire, well, mostly. Then a tall, curvy redhead pops up on his radar and something awakens in him. Even though he tries to stay away, Amber gets under his skin, and his vampire/werewolf heritage starts to become more bark and less bite. For the first time, he feels the call of the moon, and he knows it’s all because of Amber Paulson.

Amber’s trying to stay away, and Jake’s trying to not turn furry. They both fail miserably—and with a lot of sweaty and enjoyable property destruction.

By giving in to her mating call, Amber finds out more than she ever wanted to know about herself, her family, and the rogue wolf who took so much from her so long ago. As her past comes back to bite her, she’ll have to decide what she’s willing to give up for her mate. Her home? Her pack? Her…heartbeat?

Warning:
This book contains a snarky shifter heroine who could give Sookie a run for her money, a hot hunk of a vampire with a soft (and furry) side, and sex so sizzling that even an inter-species war can’t get in the way.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
A Love Worth Biting For:

I wasn’t prepared for it. That’s what everybody says when they meet the love of their lives. But I’m not everybody. Hell, most of the time I’m nobody, or at least I try to be. I was given the name Amber Paulson for crying out loud. A name like that does not a rock career make. Daddy always told me that the urge to mate is something you can’t control. That you would just find yourself smacked upside the head one day. If you were lucky.

I didn’t know anyone in my Pack who was mated. That’s not to say we are virgins.
Hell no!
Everybody that uses the expression “Fuck like bunnies”? Well, those people obviously haven’t met a werewolf. Me and the rest of my Pack get furry on occasion, but for the rest of the time we rocked a decidedly human form. Those forms just have libidos of epic proportions.

Anyway, I was walking through the latest campus we had moved to. It was some little rinky-dink town in Indiana of all places. Land-locked, but lots of places just outside the city for a wolf to run. Big enough to get lost in, small enough to get away from everybody when you needed to. The campus was walkable, and I took my time, because if I hurried, I could outrun an Olympic medalist. And I still had plenty of time until my next class.

Mary called and reminded me not to be late. Mary Fields was my best friend these days. I liked humans, but I loved Mary most. I met her on my first day of orientation, and somehow she puts up with me. I threw her a quick text to let her know I’d see her in class.

Did you know the average werewolf lives for four hundred years after turning? I’ve been around for fifty as my wolfy self, so the American History class was one I have repeated often. From the complete lack of effort needed this time through, either I was radically expanding my brainpower or society was expecting less and less intelligence from the general student body. Which brings me back to me not being prepared. I was walking slowly to class, when one student body in particular caught my attention.

There always seems to be an impromptu game of football being played on the practice field outside the cafeteria that involves guys taking their shirts off and trying to impress the co-eds in hopes of getting the chicks’ shirts off later. Personally, unless you’re taking down a twelve-point buck with your shirt off—while covered in hair—I am not usually impressed.

That day was different. For some reason, my feet stopped moving when they hit the spray-painted white line on the field. Guys and girls chased the pigskin in the sunshine. The temperature was a degree below fried eggs, and not a cloud was in the sky. I heard a bottle pop open, and what should have been a glance turned into full-on ogling. He still had his shirt on, but had begun pouring the open bottle of water across his chest in an effort to cool off.

My increased hearing picked up the sighs and elevated heart rates from the women around me as the thin fabric of his shirt clung to his body and drops of water cascaded down. Deep tan skin began to peek through. His chocolate-brown nipples puckered. The water must have been cold. Thank you Jesus for whoever had those puppies in a cooler.

I could see a slight smattering of chest hair sandwiched between his skin and tee. Then he pulled up the shirt to wring it out, and I caught the brief glimpse of his six-pack and a trail of body hair that drew my attention down to his black shorts. I swear it was like an arrow directing me where to go. Boy, did I want to follow it.

The healthy dose of yum shook the water from his head and hands. The shirt fell, and I pulled my jaw up off the ground just in time to not have my tongue loll out the side like a freaking German Shepherd.

He looked up and waved. My hand waved back on instinct. When his eyebrows drew together and he began jogging back toward the game, I looked around to see a petite blonde behind me with her hand also up in greeting. I gave her the “I’m an idiot, never mind me” salute and started off toward campus. What the hell was wrong with me? He wasn’t even Pack. Why was I ogling him like I was headed into my first heat?

“Hey! Wait up!” A feminine voice called from behind me.

I slowed my pace to about half my pulse rate. I had learned that to step below my pulse rate was a great way to appear more human. The fact that I was still speeding through campus told me my pulse was hammering like a hippie playing bongos.

“Sorry, I…oh. Were you talking to me?”

The blonde from the practice field jogged to catch up with me. Her little perky boobs bobbed with her ponytail, but nothing else on her jiggled. I hated her instantly.

“Yeah. Damn you’re fast.” A smile broke her face, and not even a drop of perspiration dotted her brow. I really hated her. “Do you know Jake?”

“Who?”

“Jake’s my brother. You know, the guy who put on a water show at the practice field.” She knocked her elbow into me.

Little tip from a werewolf—don’t touch us. It’s considered a confrontational act. Lucky for this chick, it was pretty obvious to my wolf that her little five-foot-nothing frame was no match for my five-feet-ten-inches of overgrowth. When my instincts settled, I noticed she smelled different. She wasn’t from the area. For some reason, everyone here smelled faintly of earth and plants. Okay, they smelled like corn, but I don’t want to sound prejudiced. This little waif smelled empty. Like, clay or wood. You know that smell you get when you open a really old box or jar? Not moldy or musty, just…empty.

“So I saw you looking at my brother.”

“What? No I wasn’t. I was watching the game.”

“They were taking a break.” Her voice shifted from upbeat to dead serious in a second.

“Yup. I noticed that. Why I left. Have a good one.” I turned and tried to pace my steps. Then an image of Jake filtered into my brain, and I found my steps increasing their tempo. I tried to slow them, with the old standby of listening to the closest pulse. My feet stopped midstride when I realized the closest pulse wasn’t inside my little cling-on. I couldn’t hear the small blonde chick’s pulse. She didn’t have one.
Fuck
. Vampires.

When the past hurts, it bites.

Moon Shine

© 2014 Vivian Arend

Takhini Wolves, Book 4

Meet Evan Stone. Laid-back, in-control Alpha of the Takhini Wolves. Life’s not perfect, but he’s got a good handle on his world. At least, he did—until the night he ends up in jail, soaking wet and wondering what the hell just happened.

The “what” is Amy Ryba, a vengeful female who’s decided it’s long past time to make Evan pay for his sins. Amy has spent years tracking him down, and the last nine months working in secret to destroy him. She’s ready for anything—except discovering the shifter she hates is her mate.

Suddenly, Evan’s not so very in control, of himself or his pack. And unless Amy can learn to forgive and forget, she’ll have to do the unthinkable: reject her mate.

With two packs watching, one thing is certain. Their personal issues won’t stay personal for long. If Amy and Evan can’t find a way to work together, there won’t be a happily-ever-after for them…or any of the wolves of Whitehorse.

Warning: Contains angsty wolves. Lots of angsty wolves causing explosions of all sorts, playing bad pranks, hacking computers, and having angry sex against a wall or two. Not all at the same time, though, because that would be silly.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Moon Shine:

Amy leaned back in her chair, annoyance rising. Well, that hadn’t gone nearly as well as she’d hoped. Evan had clammed up, and she hadn’t had a chance to set up the next sting.

Losing the ability to drop leading hints would have hurt a lot more a few weeks ago, though. Now she just about had everything in place.

She rose to stare out the window, the nearby leaves trembling in the slight breeze. Her skin itched, as if she’d been too long in a hot tub and was badly in need of cream.

Her wolf nudged her. Hard.

It wasn’t a trip to the spa she needed, but a good long run. Everything she did for the pack drained more of her energy. She loved each of them, cared for them deeply, but they were a group of individuals who required a unique kind of attention. Plus, there was the computer shop that was a real business even though she also used it to hide her presence.

Add in the extra time she’d put into planning surprises for Evan?

Screw it. A run would refresh her so she would have more to give. Amy pulled off her clothes and folded them carefully, stacking the articles to one side of her desk. She pushed open the sliding door behind her that led to the second-storey balcony, and drew in a deep breath of fresh air.

The sound of an email alert stopped her in the middle of taking advantage of her usual route to freedom. She stared longingly at the slim ramp built along the outside of the building at a narrow incline, stopping just far enough off the ground her wolf could make the leap but wild animals didn’t access her domain uninvited.

Amy took a quick glance at the email in the hopes she could blow it off, but this one needed attention ASAP. She left the door open, though, even as she sat, bare-ass naked in her computer chair and put out the pack fire.

But as soon as this was dealt with? She would take her cranky butt into the bush and work off her lingering aggression. The power of her wolf side hovered in the background as always. The beast made her strong and drove her nuts. One of the downfalls of being an Alpha female—she rarely had someone to work out her itch without them caving to her superior wolfie vibes.

The date with Colin on Monday was very much needed. He seemed strong enough to give her physical relief without her wolf becoming pissed off or bored by a weaker partner.

Solitude and frustration had become her constant companions, and she didn’t expect that to change. She’d been alone for years, and she always would be alone. Expectations of anything more had long ago been burnt away. Her heart was devoid of all but two things—love for pack.

And vengeance.

She bent her head and put her fingers to work composing a reply, the fire burning up her spine balanced evenly with the ice in her soul.

Evan stared at the computer-shop signage, every nerve in his body on high alert. This neighbourhood wasn’t his usual stomping ground, and a computer store? The last place on earth he’d ever go for shits and giggles.

But the closer he got to Bytes Unlimited, the more agitated his wolf became. He paused across the street in the shadows to scope the place out. Make sure there wasn’t a hidden assault team from the mysterious Canyon pack waiting in ambush.

Amy might have thought she was safe, but that didn’t mean her Alpha wasn’t checking up on her. Evan needed to get the woman out of danger, his sensation of uneasiness rising by the second.

Damn the risk to himself, this was happening now.

Evan strode across the road, jaywalking between moving vehicles. He was at the door in no time, jerking the glass open. Somewhere deep in the shop, a gentle buzzer sounded.

From the back of the store, two males turned to face him, welcoming smiles melting into rigid grimaces. Before Evan could say a word, the men vanished.