Wolfen Secrets (The Western Werewolf Legend #3)

Wolfen Secrets

(The Western Werewolf Legend #3)

By Catherine Wolffe

Copyright 2013 Catherine Wolffe

All Rights Reserved

Discover other titles by Catherine Wolffe at
www.catherinewolffe.com
.

Cover design by
Ally Thomas

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com
and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work
of this author.

Adult Content

In order to protect minors from viewing
inappropriate material, please know that this book may contain
language, situations or images inappropriate for children under 18
years of age.

Other Books by Catherine Wolffe

Comanche Haven – Free Sample

Comanche Haven (The Loflin Legacy: # 1)

The Lady in the Mist (A Werewolf’s Tale) –
Free Sample

The Lady in the Mist (The Western Werewolf
Legend #1)

The Lady in the Mist (The Western Werewolf
Legend #2)

A Dance in Time (J.T. Leighton, Time Traveler
#1)

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter
1 - Solitaire

Chapter
2 - Realizations

Chapter
3 - Wanted

Chapter
4 - A Night to Remember

Chapter
5 - Clandestine Meetings

Chapter
6 - For a Werewolf's Love

Chapter
7 - Tomacha

Chapter
8 - Rescue

Chapter
9 - Wolfen Defense

Chapter 10 - Truth or Fantasy

Epilogue

Books by Catherine Wolffe

About the Author

Wolfen Secrets

(The Western Werewolf Legend # 3)

By Catherine Wolffe

Prologue

Sonja Brooks’ body jerked, waking
with a jolt. She’d been dreaming again. Running trembling fingers
through her hair, she released an unsteady breath. The darkness was
always filled with hands clawing at her flesh, moans of anguish or
sharp stabs of pain. Being a werewolf had brought all kinds of
changes to her life. This latest plague was the worst. Depending on
an ordered, tidy existence was a thing of the past. Would she ever
be able to sleep without nightmares or rest peacefully
again?

Her mentor, the witch, Hortence, had given
her potion after potion to relieve the restless nights of dream
after unsettling dream. None had helped. So, the night sweats and
visions continued like premonitions from a horror play.

Her hands came down, punching the quilt on
either side of her thighs in an act of frustration.

Immediately, Ty’s arm came around her. Her
lover, Tyler Loflin, wrapped her close.

“Easy, Sonja! Baby, I’m right here.”

His strength – so solid and dependable along
with his words – so warm and gentle enveloped her. Nothing could
penetrate his protection, nothing, she mused. Sonja wrapped her
arms around his solid strength, languishing in his hold.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… the dream…I had it again.” Seeking the
crook of his neck as a haven, Sonja released a shaky breath. Ty’s
heart beat in solid, rhythmic cadence. His long, dark hair skimmed
her cheek in a soft caress.

“Here, now, let me hold you. You can tell me
what happened.” With big, bronzed hands, he adjusted the covers,
arranging a nest of sorts for her comfort. "Shamans say it makes a
bad dream better when you talk about the fool thing.” Ty punched up
the pillows. Easing her back, he made sure she was comfortable
before joining her against the cool cotton. In a gesture as old as
time, he reached out, brushing her curls back from her face. “Now,
that’s better?”

She let out a slow breath. It was worth a
try. Nodding, she frowned, trying to recall the details.

“It’s the same one I keep having. We are
fighting the vampires. There are so many!” Her voice cracked with
the last words. She swallowed hard. The tears couldn’t break
free.

“I got you, Nymph. You’re safe. Nothing will
hurt you, now. Keep going.”

Sonja sniffed before sending him a trembling
smile. She loved it when he used the pet name he’d given her right
after they’d met over three months before. “All right.” Shoving at
her hair, she tried again. “This time, the bloodsuckers are
everywhere. They’re coming out of the woodwork, Ty.” She glanced at
him, the fingers of unease showing again. “There’s so many, I don’t
think we will stop them.”

He patted her back gentle like, rocking her
slightly in his hold. “Just a dream, it’s okay, I got you.”

“We’re separated.” She slid her hand between
their bodies, wiping at the tears. “I can’t see you, yet I hear
you. You’re swarmed by vampires.”

Panic clawed at her chest. She clutched at
her breast, the pressure there cutting off her air. On a strangled
cry, Sonja shoved away. Suddenly, his comfort had turned into a
vice-like sensation. “I…I can’t breathe, Ty!”

He released her, rolling from the bed,
before, reaching for her to follow. Sonja went immediately into his
hold. “Watch me, Nymph – breathe,” he commanded. “Breathe…that’s
it. Now again…deep. Let it out slow. That’s a girl.” He raised her
arms up over her head, standing with her until her chest eased its
rapid constriction. With his big hand, Ty gently rubbed between her
breasts. “Feel better?”

She nodded. Soon, the feeling of security
his hold invoked returned. The anxiety attack eased. Threading her
arms around him, she smiled when his sturdy embrace encircled her
once more.

“I’ll speak to Hortence again about the damn
nightmares. There has to be a better way to handle them.”

“Do you suppose they’re more than figments
of my imagination?” A frown crossed her brow. Was it possible for
someone or something else to hold control over her nightmares?
“Like a vampire spell or perhaps black magic?” She leaned back in
his hold, gazing steadily into his eyes. “We may not be considering
all the possibilities, Ty.”

“It’s not off to consider the vampires have
powers too - maybe even access to magic.” Ty shook his head before
resting his brow against hers. “We know so little about these damn
creatures of the night. It frustrates the hell out of me. So,
somehow they get inside your head, conjuring up a wicked dream.”
Gathering her close again, he tried to reassure. “Tomorrow we’ll
talk to Hortence. She’s got to have something that will block the
dreams. I won’t give up until I find one. I promise, Nymph.”

Resting against his chest, the vibration of
his voice next to her ear as a welcome balm, Sonja closed her eyes.
Could the dreams be her anxiety manifested or the future about to
play out in reality? God, she hoped not! Unable to stop her body’s
cringe, the memory of the screams came back to her. In the dream,
Ty needed her help, yet she wasn’t able to reach him in time.

Chapter 1 - Solitaire

The fire
sprang up unexpected. A lone, extended note of pain erupted from
somewhere in the haze of smoke and flames. Ty’s anxious search of
the smoldering blaze didn’t go unnoticed.

“She’ll be all right, Lieutenant.”

Ty whipped around to glare into the eyes of
the Guardian. “How in the bloody hell can you be sure? You stand
here in the safety of the cool glade, while Sonja is out there in
the flames somewhere searching for a lost child.” Unable to stand
in the wolf god’s presence any longer, Ty huffed out a breath
before wheeling away to stare at the flames once more. “Your
audacity astounds me.” He whipped back around, punching out a
finger in the direction of the flames. “I want you to tell me she
is here with me, you overgrown bag of bones, not “
she is all
right”
.” He wheeled from the Guardian toward the fire again.
Sparks burned his eyes. The change to a werewolf came on him like a
refuge for his anger. He embraced the shift. With the glow of a
shifter’s essence still fresh on his wolf’s coat, Ty growled low,
leaping into the firestorm, leaving the Guardian standing
there.

He could hear the fire moan as another gust
of wind fed the blaze. Hortence’s voice came to him on the
wind-swept smoke. In his mind’s eye, she appeared next to the
Guardian. Now, she showed up. Unbelievable!

“He seeks his mate.” Hortence’s words rang
flat.

“Yes, he is having a hard time with the
responsibilities she faces. His nature is to protect a woman. This
woman is different,” the Guardian added.

Hortence nodded absently at the flames. A
great ball of fire erupted, spewing sparks into the darkness. “He
will find his way. Compromise is the great mediator.”

Guardian flicked a glance her way. “Sonja was
correct. You are full of riddles and conundrums, Witch.”

The old woman glared in return at the great
hulking beast. “And you smell. What’s your point, wolf god?”
Without waiting for an answer, she turned to go. “Soon, you’ll have
your hands full.” She flung the jab over her shoulder as she walked
away. “I’ll be taking my leave of this place now, along with its
company.”

How’d the two ever get anything done? Arguing
was their only means of communication. Still Ty remembered the
Guardian’s words. Was it true? Sonja would have to face the demons
on her own. Surely not - they were wolf mates. If anything, he’d be
the one to face the bastards, not her.

She was in the damn fire alone, right now.
Struggling with something akin to panic, Ty swore low, before
scanning the flames again. Where was she? Suddenly, the ground
trembled as a great fireball erupted into the sky. Searing heat
washed over him in waves. The fire was getting worse. He had to
find her! Noting the girth and depth of the inferno, Ty sprinted
forward. The fire breathed as a living thing. The flames continued
to consume everything in their path. “Sonja! Where are you?” No
reply! A sensation of helplessness washed over him, promising to
engulf him in its grip if he wasn’t careful.

Stumbling, he covered his muzzle with his
paw. The smoke choked the oxygen out of the air, making it hard to
breathe, not to mention think. Something akin to terror gripped his
chest. Recalling the night she’d been bitten by her undead husband,
Robert, he had to fight the notion she may be lost. “Sonja!” Ty’s
howl echoed in the thick smoke. No answer! His chest tightened
again as his vision raced in every direction at once. “Sonja!”

Suddenly up ahead came a whimper. His keen
ears went on alert.

The fire moaned and yawed with another gust
of wind. The flames shifted toward him. The whimpering stopped.
Scanning a few feet ahead, Ty bent low on all fours, forcing his
way through with the fire licking at his fur. He kept going.
Scorched and singed, he paid no attention as he struggled to clear
the downed timber and burning treetops. There she was, a smoldering
figure staggering toward him. Her fur, matted and burned in places,
resembled a half-charred piece of white paper someone had crumpled
before throwing into the flames. Yet she lived. Blinking, Sonja’s
werewolf stared blankly up at her mate. Those golden eyes of hers
bore misery mingled with defeat. She belched a plume of smoke from
her muzzle.

“She’s gone.” With those two words, she
slumped against him. The retched ache of her mind’s words wrapped
around his heart and squeezed.

Still his mind cried out with relief. Ty’s
one and only wolf had made it back to him. She reeked of smoke, yet
she lived. Gone was the pristine white of her mane, in its place a
molten gray and black body swayed precariously in front of him. He
noted the large raw patches of scorched flesh and oozing wounds
scattered along her back. Still, she lived. He gathered her in his
front paws, licking her muzzle. “Don’t do this to yourself, Nymph.”
His wolf’s mind tried to comfort. The nudge he gave her with his
snout didn’t rouse her from her misery. “Were it in my power, I’d
take this from you. I’d make everything right. You should expect
nothing more when dealing with the vampires. For all we know, this
was a vision, like another of your hellish dreams. Take heart in
the fact, you gave it your best shot.” Ty’s limited connection to
her grieved him almost as much as the sadness in her eyes. “Come,
let’s get you back. You’re injured.” He ran a paw over the gash in
her hind leg. “A major part of my loving you lies in your courage,
Nymph. I’d never question your attempt at saving a life.”