Digging the Wolf: a paranormal romance (Werewolves of Crookshollow Book 1)

by Steffanie Holmes

  “I know.” I grinned, twirling around to show off my beach body in my new Italian sundress. It seemed too bright and cheery for the drab English day, but I was still riding the buzz from our honeymoon. Being with Luke made me feel bright and happy, every single day.

  “Why are you back from Italy so soon? I wasn’t expecting you two for another few weeks.” Clara jabbed a bony elbow into my ribs. “Is wolf-boy not satisfying you?”

  “Hey! She is plenty satisfied.” Luke grinned. “We had to cut our honeymoon short because someone got accepted to a postgraduate program at Yale University.”

  I grinned. I still couldn’t believe it was true. We’d been stuffing our faces at a little pizzeria after seeing the ruins of Pompeii when I checked my phone and saw the acceptance email. Yale University. I’d be starting in just a few weeks, so we needed to cut our honeymoon short so I could come home and pack.

  Clara wrapped her arms around me. “Congratulations. I knew you could do it.”

  “So did I,” Luke said. “My wife is pretty amazing.”

  I was still getting used to the concept of being Luke’s mate, and now I was his wife as well. I couldn’t believe my life had changed so much in the six months since knowing Luke. I’d been so afraid of my mother’s reaction when I introduced them. But instead she’d warmed to Luke as if he were her own son. Now, the two of them did puzzles together and teased me mercilessly about my love of Star Trek.

  My work had exploded after the news of the faked paintings came out. I’d published a paper on dating cave paintings based on animal breeds, inspired by my work on the Crookshollow cave site. With Frances’s connections, I managed to get it published in a major academic journal. That paper, coupled with my stellar grades, had earned me a full scholarship to the archaeological program at Yale. For the next two years at least, I didn’t have to worry about money – I could just study old stuff and soak up a new adventure with my amazing husband.

  And, of course, Luke and I got married. The day was wonderful – we had a small ceremony at Luke’s cabin in Sherwood Forest. Clara was our officiant. She read quotes from some of our favourite authors, and I carried a small locket containing pictures of Dad and Ben in my bouquet. We followed the ceremony with photographs in amongst the towering oaks, and a champagne picnic lunch. Both Caleb and Luke looked amazing in their crisp white shirts, grey trousers, and ties engraved with a new Lowe family crest. My mother couldn’t stop smiling all day. Even Frances came along to congratulate us. Ruth transferred to Exeter University, so I didn’t even have to invite her to the wedding. All in all, it was the perfect day.

  “We’ve just come in to stock up on a supply of Lycan pills,” I said. “Luke is coming with me to Yale, and I don’t know how long it will be before we can find a reliable USA supplier.”

  “When do you leave?” Clara asked, suddenly looking worried.

  “In three weeks’ time. We need to get settled in our apartment before the semester begins. But if that’s a problem—”

  “Oh, dear.” Clara tsked, taking my hand and rubbing it. “That’s going to be very difficult.”

  “If you can’t get the pills in on time, you could just ship them over. That is, if they can get through customs—”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about, dear.”

  “Oh, you mean leaving my mother?” I grinned. “It’s all worked out. She’s selling her flat and moving to America with us. It will be a fresh start for all of us.”

  “No,” Clara grinned. “I mean attending a rigorous academic program while being a mother. That could get very stressful.”

  “A…what are you talking about?”

  Clara pointed to my stomach. “You’re pregnant, dear.”

  “What…” I glanced down at my flat stomach. Surely Clara was kidding? “No, I’m not.”

  “I’m afraid you are.”

  “But how?”

  “I think all that smokin’ hot sex in the hotel, or on the beach, or behind the cabana might have had something to do with it.” Luke growled in my ear. He wrapped his arms around me.

  “Luke!” I swatted him away, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I mean, how do you know, Clara? Luke and I haven’t even been trying. We’re not even ready—”

  “Whether you’re ready or not,” Clara grinned. “That baby is on the way. Trust me, Anna. I have seen more than enough human mates of shifters come through this shop over the years. I know all the signs to look for.”

  Luke glared at her. “This is serious? You’re not making some kind of cruel joke?”

  “This is not my joking face, Lucas Lowe.”

  Luke threw his arms around me. He pressed his lips to mine, his tongue savouring mine. “We’re going to have a baby, Anna.” His grin stretched across his entire face. “We’re going to have a family. A new generation of the Lowe pack. A new science-fiction geek you can mould in your own perfect image.”

  I touched my stomach. I couldn’t believe that inside was growing a tiny person. Would it be a boy, or a girl? Would we have a werewolf like Luke, or would our tiny person be fully human? Either way, he or she would be amazing.

  Luke and I were going to be parents. I didn’t know how we were going to do it, and juggle my master’s degree at the same time, but I knew one thing – I couldn’t wait to find out.

  With my mate by my side, nothing was impossible.

  THE END

  Want more stories from Crookshollow? Check out Elinor and Eric’s gothic ghost romance in The Man in Black, a standalone novel from USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes.

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  Excerpt from The Man in Black

  Love so fierce it transcends even death.

  When Elinor Baxter arrives at the dilapidated Marshell House to settle the estate of her law firm's oldest client, she can't help but feel a little spooked. The creaking gothic mansion is a far cry from her life as an adventurous party girl back in London.

  Then she meets Eric Marshell, a man dressed entirely in black with a wicked smile and the ability to float through walls. Eric was the violinist in popular rock band Ghost Symphony until a hit-and-run accident claimed his life. Now he's trapped inside his mother's house for all eternity, and the only one who can see or hear him is Elinor.

  Eric and Elinor fight their attraction for each other as they dig into the mystery of Eric's death. But when they uncover a dark and sinister plot that threatens Elinor's life, their bond draws them into a world neither of them understands. Can their love transcend the boundary between life and death?

  The Man in Black is a steamy gothic romance by USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes, Set in the English village of Crookshollow, it's a standalone novel of love, redemption, and second chances. If you love clever BBW heroines, crumbling gothic mansions, and brooding rockstars who know what they want, then this book will have you shivering all over.

  Elinor moved her hand, so her palm lay flat against mine. It was so odd to see her fingers nestled right inside my body, and even odder to feel them there, not as fingers usually feel, but as a hot ball of energy, emanating heat to a steady rhythm.

  It took me a few moments to realise the rhythm was Elinor’s heartbeat.

  I stepped forward, my hand shifting against hers, her fingers dancing inside mine. I pressed my other hand against her back, my palm sinking into her flesh. If I were alive at this moment, I would push Elinor against my body, and relish the warmth of her, the shape of her, against me. But I couldn’t do that, so instead I folded myself in closer to her. The front of my jacket brushed against her chest, sending waves of pulsing heat through my whole torso.

  “This is amazing,” Elinor breathed, her bow-shaped lips parting slightly. I didn’t trust myself to reply, so I smiled back at her. I started to sway, pushing my right hip forward, moving the warmth through her leg. Elinor sensed the movement through her skin, and she m
oved backward, turning her body with me. I stepped again, and again we slid across the floor, our bodies sweeping and dipping with the music.

  With my next step, I pushed myself closer, bowing my head slightly, so that my face hovered inches above hers. My eyes locked on those bow lips, ripe and delicious like the first berries of spring. God, I want this woman—

  “I like the music,” Elinor said. Her voice wavered. She sounded nervous. I wondered if she was speaking because she sensed what I wanted to do, and she was trying to fill the space between us, to stop me from doing something I couldn’t take back.

  “Mmmm,” I shifted my fingers in her hand. The heat flickered, thrumming through my body with a quickened pace. She was nervous. Interesting.

  “I love the … distortion. The way it crackles right through my whole body.” Elinor breathed. “It’s almost as if the music is mirroring the sensation when we touch.”

  “This piece is originally written by the composer Niccolò Paganini, a Greek violinist in the early nineteenth century.” I murmured. If she wanted to talk, I could at least impress her. “He was known for making liberal use of the diabolus en musica, the devil’s tritone, which creates that haunting dissonance you hear in the piece. Of course, Paganini’s composition has been sped up and updated, and accompanied by the electric guitar, bass guitar, double bass, and drums, it’s quite the feat of modern gothic rock.”

  “Who is playing the violin in this piece?” Elinor asked, her lips barely moving, struggling to form the words.

  “I am, on Isolde. Ghost Symphony is my band.”

  “Eric …” Elinor’s face turned up to me.

  I leaned closer, I could practically taste the sweetness of those berry-red lips, feel the warmth of her mouth against mine. The air between us crackled with electricity. Elinor shifted her weight against mine, falling into me as she leaned forward, her lips pursed, waiting.

  I brushed my lips against hers. It was like no other kiss I’d ever experienced before. The heat leapt through my body, twisting from my mouth right through my core. I felt as though I’d swallowed a hot coal, and though it burned me deeply, it was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. I leaned forward, my weightless body pressed against hers, my lips parting to devour her heat as our bodies hummed with pulsing energy.

  READ NOW: The Man in Black

  Read the latest love story from the world of Crookshollow

  Can love truly set you free?

  Belinda Wu is in trouble. She's just one bad day away from losing Bewitching Bites bakery, the business she built from scratch. The 80-hour weeks, the assistant who can't bake, and the constant stress are taking a toll on her health. And on top of it all, Belinda is nursing a broken heart. When she rescues an injured raven in the park one evening, she has no idea he could be the answer to her prayers, or the final nail in her coffin.

  Cole Erikson is a prisoner. Bound to his human master by a centuries-old spell, Cole refuses to let anyone get close to him until he is a free man. But when his escape plans turn dangerous and he ends up being rescued by a beautiful but impossibly sad woman, he can't help but be drawn to her.

  But love between a raven shapeshifter and a human girl is doomed to fail. Powerful forces are gathering in Crookshollow, determined to keep Cole and Belinda apart forever.

  Watcher is a full-length paranormal romance novel by USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes. It is the first of a two part series exploring the idea that love truly can set you free.

  READ WATCHER NOW

  Support me on Patreon!

  You can support Steffanie’s writing via her Patreon page – it’s like an ongoing crowdfunding campaign where you get free books, deleted scenes, random fun stuff, and the chance to name characters and decide plots.

  Check out Steffanie’s patron page at: www.patreon.com/steffmetal.

  About the Author

  Steffanie Holmes is the author of steamy historical and paranormal romance. Her books feature clever, witty heroines, wild shifters, cunning witches and alpha males who always get what they want.

  Before becoming a writer, Steffanie worked as an archaeologist and museum curator. She loves to explore historical settings and ancient conceptions of love and possession. From Dark Age Europe to crumbling gothic estates, Steffanie is fascinated with how love can blossom between the most unlikely characters. She also writes dark fantasy / science fiction under S. C. Green.

  Steffanie lives in New Zealand with her husband and a horde of cantankerous cats.

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  Other Books By Steffanie Holmes

  Crookshollow Foxes

  Art of Cunning - READ NOW

  Art of the Hunt - READ NOW

  Art of Temptation - READ NOW

  Crookshollow Ghosts

  The Man in Black - READ NOW

  Crookshollow Ravens

  Watcher - READ NOW

  Reaper - READ NOW

  Crookshollow Wolves

  Digging the Wolf

  Writing the Wolf – (coming soon)

  Witches of the Woods

  Witch Hunter - READ NOW

  Coven - READ NOW

  The Curse – (coming in 2017)

  The Engine Ward Series (as S C Green)

  The Sunken - READ NOW

  The Gauge War - READ NOW

  Thorn - READ NOW

  Chronicles of the Wraith (as S C Green)

  Petrified City – READ NOW

  Ossified State – (coming in 2017)

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