Excerpt
Garrett’s pulse raced by the time Rayna looked away from him. She hadn’t looked at him like that in longer than he cared to remember. His body tightened almost painfully and he wanted her gaze back on him, wanted to see her look at him as if she still wanted him.
Inhaling deeply, he scented her on the air. His wolf slid under his flesh like liquid through his veins when he caught the scent of her. The delicate aroma of flowers was gone, now… the heady musk of her arousal filled the air mixed with his own scent. She was wearing his clothes, his scent lingering on her skin. The wolf howled in his head and a growl worked it way up his chest, vibrating against his ribs and firing off every nerve in his body.
The wolf had wanted her from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her over a year ago. Now that she was in his old house, surrounded by the things he’d left to Jacob and wrapped in his scent, he knew the beast wouldn’t rest until it possessed her. If he could just find a way to do it without infecting her, he would put himself out of misery and claim her.
She looked back over at him, the light from the window shining off her hair and throwing shimmers of copper and gold across the strands. She lifted a hand, pulling the edge of the robe she wore shut before pushing her hair away from her face.
He straightened, sat the water bottle in his hand on the counter and cleared his throat, forcing his beast down and trying to keep his voice soft. “It’s probably not a good idea to stand next to the windows.”
Her eyes widened before she glanced back out. “They’re really going to come for me, aren’t they?” She looked back over at him. “Jacob said they would.”
“More than likely they will, and they could have you snatched out of that window before I could get to you.”
Taking a few steps away from the window, she turned and put her back to the wall. She said nothing for long minutes, just stood there staring at him. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet with a soft tremble. “I guess I owe you my gratitude,” she said. “It’s hard to tell what they would have done to me if you hadn’t been there.”
“You don’t need to thank me, and I don’t think their intention is to kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Maybe not, but the alternative doesn’t sound too pleasant either.”
He smiled and tilted his head to one side. “Being a wolf isn’t all that bad,” he said. “It has its advantages.”
“Well, you can live longer than the average human for one.”
“Being immortal isn’t worth turning into a…” She cut her words off but he could tell by the look on her face what she was about to say. He was a monster in her eyes. Something vile and disgusting. His chest ached at the revelation and his face must have reflected his pain.
She ducked her head and said, “I’m sorry.”
He forced a smile onto his face and shrugged one shoulder. “It’s fine.”
“No,” she said, looking back up. “It’s not. I should be thanking you for saving my life, not insulting you.”
He looked her in the eye and said, “You don’t have to thank me, Rayna… there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
The Calling
by Lily Graison
Book 1 in the Night Breeds Series
In a world where the supernatural isn’t supposed to exist, one woman comes face to face with the monsters and fights to survive their call.
Investigative reporter Rayna Ford is sent to the small community of Wolf’s Creek to write an expose on a town supposedly over run with werewolves. Assuming the inhabitants to be under a mass delusion, she learns quickly that all isn’t as it seems. Their plans involve more than a newspaper article and her life hangs in the balance as their motive for luring her to them is revealed.
Garrett Kincaid knows a thing or two about werewolves. He is one. After leaving his pack, he’s spent the last twelve years pretending to be something he isn’t. His closely guarded secret threatens to destroy him when he meets Rayna Ford, the woman his wolf has claimed as his own. When he learns the pack has lured Rayna to them in order to get to him, he races to Wolf’s Creek to protect her from the very thing he fears the most. Himself.
The power struggle within the pack becomes clear once Garrett reaches his old home and learns of the packs plans for Rayna. The beast lurking beneath his skin is torn between protecting the woman he wants to call mate and keeping the balance within the pack on neutral ground. When choosing a side no longer matters, he does what he must to save his mate, even if that means making one of the most difficult decisions of his life. When the stakes are high, and lives hang in the balance, can you ignore life as you know it to answer… The Calling.
