Winter Craving
Marisa Chenery
Edited by Marisa Chenery
Cover design by April Martinez
Copyright 2014 Marisa Chenery. Published by Forever More Publishing, 31 Wycliffe Place, Kitchener, Ontario, N2M 5J6, Canada. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.
ISBN: 978-1-92785-933-9
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 purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Blurb
Mate branded and in need of finding his mate, Cyrus had no clue the woman lost in a winter storm he’d volunteered to look for would be his one and only. He’d planned to go wolf and use her scent to locate her, but one sniff and his body came to life, declaring her as his mate. Now he must find her before the snow claims her and she’s lost to him.
Shyla knew she’d messed up after becoming hopelessly lost in the storm raging around her. Though waking up naked in the arms of her hunky rescuer as he tried to warm her up, suddenly turned her bad luck into good. Craving more than his body heat, she can’t help acting on the feelings he stirs inside her.
As a wolf shifter, Cyrus only has so long to claim Shyla as his or lose the human half of himself. As their new relationship spirals out of control, he may yet face the ultimate price.
Chapter One
Cyrus looked at the dryer that held his clothes to see they were still spinning. He was in the general store slash Laundromat slash coffee shop in the very small town of Canyon Creek, Montana. His log cabin, which he called home, was located inside the one hundred acres of land his family owned and was a touch wilder with a forest and mountain part of its landscape.
He hiked himself up to sit on the counter he’d been leaning against. Cyrus lifted his hand and absentmindedly touched where the mating brand had appeared the day before on the left side of his neck where it met his shoulder. Every male wolf shifter, once they hit the age of thirty, became marked. Being the second oldest of a litter of six boys, he’d known his turn hadn’t been long in coming. Especially since his older brother, Kiel, had already gone through it.
The mate brand had appeared on his skin without any warning. For now, the mark was in black. It had intricate Celtic-styled knot work in a circular design that surrounded a pair of wolves who stood and faced each other with their heads thrown back on a howl. It actually had woken him from a sound sleep in the very early hours of the morning. A surge of need, the urge and craving to mate, slammed into him like a freight train. At first, it’d taken some seconds for him to figure out what in the hell was going on. It wasn’t until the burning sensation on his neck had made itself known had he clued in. It’d been downright painful.
Then there was the fact that even though his libido had skyrocketed in an instant, his cock had remained limp as a noodle. And it would remain so until he found the one woman meant for him, his mate. Only the scent of that female would have him getting an instant hard-on. Once he claimed her, the black knot work would change color, taking on the jewel tones of reds, blues and greens. The same marking would appear on his mate in the exact same place on her body.
The kicker, he was born a wolf with the ability to shift to human form. Marked with the mate brand, he had three weeks to find and claim his mate or he’d lose his humanity forever. He’d then be no different than the wild gray wolves that roamed free in this part of Montana.
Cyrus forced himself to drop his hand. Since he only had a limited time to find his mate, he should be out actively looking for her. There were three other wolf shifter packs in the area, much larger than his, which only consisted of his family, but he was reluctant to start his search with those of his kind. Kiel’s mate, Neha, was human, the first to be mated to a wolf shifter. A big part of Cyrus wished the woman meant for him would be human as well, even though it’d be harder to claim her since she wouldn’t know anything about what he was or what would happen once he did.
He pushed those thoughts away and watched his clothes tumble around and around. Doing his laundry was boring as hell, but it beat having to hand-wash it all on a washboard inside a tub as his mother did. The only one who’d recently had electricity put into his log cabin had been Kiel. Neha had kind of insisted. She was originally from New York City and was used to modern conveniences. She was a model, and still went on modelling jobs with Kiel accompanying her, even though his brother hated the big city.
The sound of a small group of men coming into the general store drew Cyrus’ attention. They stomped the snow off their boots on the mat in front of the door and brushed it from their shoulders and heads. Obviously, the snow storm had picked up. He followed them with his gaze as they headed over to the woman who stood behind the front counter. With his sensitive hearing, he had no problem hearing everything that was said, even though he was at the other end of the store and washers and dryers were running.
One of the men stepped up to the counter. “Hey, Trish.”
“Hi, John. What can I do for you?”
“I have a bit of a situation going on. We think my wife’s cousin has gotten herself lost in the bush somewhere. She took one of my snowmobiles out late this afternoon and has yet to come back. She recently moved here and doesn’t know the area as well as she should. We’ve tried calling her on her cell phone, but she isn’t picking up. Could you call your brothers and see if they’d come help us look for her? The snow storm is picking up and it’ll be dark soon. We need to find her.”
Trish nodded. “No problem. My brothers would be more than happy to help. I’ll call them now.”
As Trish picked up a cordless phone, Cyrus jumped off the counter and headed over to the men. Once he reached them, he came to stand beside John. He wanted to help. The thought of someone out in the bush, unprepared for staying all night in blizzard conditions, had him unable to sit there and not offer to join in the search.
“If you’d like one more person, I can help look for her,” Cyrus said.
John turned to face him. “I appreciate that. The more people the bigger the area we can cover.”
With Canyon Creek being as small as it was, basically all the townspeople knew each other. That wasn’t the case with Cyrus and his family. They mostly kept to themselves and didn’t form relationships with the humans who lived around them. Mostly because of the fact wolf shifters didn’t age at the same rate. They lived to the ripe age of a hundred and fifty so they aged slower.
“Do you have an article of your wife’s cousin’s clothing with you?” At John’s confused look, Cyrus added, “I have dogs that’ll be able to track her by her scent.” He didn’t have any dogs. He wanted the scent for himself. He’d be able to cover the thicker area in the forest in his wolf form and be able to track the woman easier with his nose.
John smiled. “Dogs would be an asset. I don’t have anything of Shyla’s with me, but I’ll call my wife to bring something here.”
Cyrus nodded. “Let me grab my laundry and I’ll be ready to head out.”
As John used his cell phone, Cyrus returned to the dryer that held his clothes. It just finished as he reac
hed it. He opened it, then quickly shoved his clean laundry into the large duffel bag he’d brought with him. That task completed, he pulled on his winter jacket.
He met the men at the door and followed them outside. Snow was coming down in big, fluffy flakes which were blowing almost sideways because of the strong wind. The sky had started to darken. It was going to be bitterly cold tonight. If Shyla was indeed in trouble, she’d have to be found quickly. In those cold temperatures and being out with no shelter, there was always the risk of frostbite or hypothermia, which could lead to death in some cases.
A woman came trudging toward them through the snow along where the sidewalk would be under all the white stuff. She carried a plastic grocery bag. Once she reached them, she passed it to John, who then turned toward Cyrus.
“You can use this for your dogs,” John said as he held out the bag. “We’re going to set out ahead of you. We’ll exchange cell numbers. If you find her before us, call and let us know. We’ll do the same.” He told Cyrus what area of Canyon Creek Shyla was supposed to have been headed to when she’d left.
Cyrus exchanged numbers with John after he accepted the bag from him. With a promise to call if he found anything, Cyrus hurried to his crossover. Once he was behind the wheel, he heard the sound of several snowmobiles leaving the area. Luckily it wasn’t too far of a drive to reach his cabin.
He started his vehicle and turned on the heat full blast. As he waited for it to warm up, Cyrus pulled the plastic bag toward him, then opened it. There was a sweat shirt inside it. He dragged in a deep breath. He moaned as his flaccid cock became erect and throbbing in a matter of seconds. He took another deep breath, filtering out any other scents, except for the one that belonged to his mate, the woman who was out there somewhere lost in the middle of a snow storm.
Cyrus threw the bag onto the passenger seat before he put his crossover into gear and left the general store’s parking lot a little faster than was prudent for slippery, snow-covered roads. Thankful he had four-wheel drive, he made the trip to his cabin in record time. The gravel roads on this family’s lands were still passable, but they wouldn’t be for long with the rate the snow came down.
He parked inside the large shed he used as a garage, then hurried into his cabin. Cyrus dumped his clean laundry onto the floor. He pulled the sweat shirt out of the plastic bag and held it to his face as he inhaled his mate’s scent. His cock finally come back to life, it twitched, pressing up against the zipper in his jeans. With one last sniff, he tossed the shirt onto the duffel bag before he went back outside. As he ran down the porch steps, he shifted to his wolf form on the fly. The only thing going through his mind was he had to find Shyla before he lost her.
* * * *
Shyla knew she was in trouble. In big, fucking, “there-is-a-chance-you-can-die” trouble. She’d thought going out on the snowmobile she’d enjoy an afternoon alone and allow her to see some of the area she’d picked as her new home without having to walk through knee-high snow. She’d driven snowmobiles in the past, so it wasn’t as if this was her first time on the machine.
The plan had been to spend a few hours touring around, then return to her cousin’s place before it became dark, just in time for dinner. Shyla hadn’t taken into account she’d dump the snowmobile and be unable to right the damn thing. Nor had she been smart enough to check what the weather was going to be like.
Shyla tugged the hood of her winter jacket up higher and ducked her head to keep the snow from blowing directly onto her face. She’d been walking what seemed like hours. There was no question she’d gotten herself turned around because of the storm and was now completely lost. She’d dressed warm with snow pants, thick jacket, hat and waterproof mitts, but it didn’t do much against this kind of cold and biting wind.
It was growing darker and Shyla still hadn’t found the track toward home that her snowmobile would have made. With the rate the flakes were coming down, it was more than likely already covered. Her foot sank through the deep soft snow almost over her knee, giving her a hard jolt. She pulled herself out of it, then took a few seconds to catch her breath. As she panted, she removed one of her mitts before she fished her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. A glance at the screen showed she still had no signal. It had to be because of the bad weather. She returned it to its place and replaced her mitt.
Her teeth chattered as she set off once again. Shyla didn’t know how much energy she had left. The walking was slow going, taking a lot of effort just to keep moving forward at a slow rate. All she wanted to do was sit and take a rest, but she couldn’t. That was a good way to die. She could fall asleep and never wake up.
She pressed on for about ten minutes before she hit another patch of deep soft snow. Only this time she didn’t catch herself and fell over. Shyla lay there with no energy to pick herself up. She hadn’t ever been this cold in her life. It seemed to suck all the moisture out of her body. She had to stop. She had to rest. Even though it was a bad thing to do, she curled up into a ball and closed her eyes. After a couple minutes, she’d get up and go.
* * * *
In wolf form, Cyrus easily ran through the deep snow, his large paws acting like snowshoes, as he worked his way toward where Shyla was supposed to have been. His thick fur kept him protected from the snow and cold. As he ran, he constantly sniffed the air, praying he’d pick up his mate’s scent. The storm was showing no sign of letting up. If anything, it seemed to be intensifying, and with it his worry for Shyla.
Knowing the forest on his family’s lands and the areas surrounding it like the back of his hand since he’d spent many hours running through it in wolf form, Cyrus decided to take a short cut through some thick bush. It’d be harder going, but it’d cut down on the amount of ground he’d have to cover.
He was about to enter the thickest part of the forest when the wind changed direction and he caught his first hint of Shyla’s scent. With the snow swirling around, it wasn’t as distinct as it would be on a clear day, but it was there. He changed his course and picked up speed, his legs stretching to the max and his paws seeming to barely touch the ground.
It wasn’t long before Cyrus spotted something lying in the snow up ahead. A chill ran down his spine after he realized it was person. The closer he came the stronger Shyla’s scent was. No, no, no, he chanted in his mind.
As soon as he reached her, he shifted to human form, willing everything he’d worn when he’d left the cabin back onto his body. His gut clenched as he went down on his knees and rolled Shyla over. Her eyes were closed. He shook her and she didn’t awaken. Cyrus quickly found the pulse point in her neck and pressed against it. A sigh of relief left him in a whoosh as it moved under his fingertips. She wasn’t dead, only asleep, which didn’t mean she was out of danger yet. Given how cold her skin was to the touch, she was well on her way to hypothermia.
Feeling the cold himself, Cyrus shifted to wolf. He had to think of a way to get Shyla to his cabin. It was closer than taking her to where the others searched. She had to have really gotten turned around since she was quite far in the opposite direction from the point she’d started. He couldn’t carry her out as a man. He’d sink into the snow with each step. Plus, he wasn’t dressed warm enough for a trek like that.
The only thing that came to mind was for him to carry her out on his back in the form he was now in. For a wolf, his kind was much larger than the wild gray wolves. On an average-sized human if they stood side by side, his back would be level with their hip or waist. Plus, he was stronger, even in his animal form.
Decision made, Cyrus shifted again. The change complete, he shucked out of his winter jacket and hurriedly put it on Shyla over hers. He zipped it up to her chin. He shivered as the icy wind blew through his long-sleeved t-shirt.
Cyrus maneuvered Shyla onto his back with her arms draped over his shoulders. He held on to her as he went down on all fours and then shifted to wolf form. He slowly took a few steps and was happy his precious cargo stayed right where she was.
He wouldn’t be able to run to his cabin while he carried her, which would make the trip longer, but he didn’t have any other options open to him.
His steps steady and even, he pushed through the storm. Unbelievably, the wind picked up, causing whiteouts as the falling snow gusted around him. It was a good thing he didn’t need to be able to see his surroundings to find his way home. His nose would take the place of his eyes.
Cyrus was more relieved than he’d ever been to see his cabin looming in the distance. Not once did Shyla stir while he brought them to shelter. Only the feel of her breath against his furred neck had reassured him that she was indeed still alive. Normally, his body would be demanding he claim his mate, his scent changing to lure her to him, but his worry for her survival had negated that response.
Once he reached his porch, he got down on his belly and gently rolled Shyla off him. Cyrus quickly shifted to human form, picked her up and carried her inside. With no electricity, he relied on his woodstove for heating. He’d banked the fire before going to the Laundromat. He eased her onto the floor close to it before he opened the door on the stove and threw more wood into it. He stirred the coals around with a poker until he had the fire roaring.
He picked Shyla up again. There was a fireplace in his bedroom. He carried her there, then got the fire going. Once the flames licked at the logs, he took out his cell phone to call John to let him know he’d found Shyla. Cyrus cursed. It flashed between one bar and none. He doubted a call would go through. His only hope was a text message. Not a fast typist, and still fairly new to owning a cell, he painstakingly tapped out what he wanted to say. He made sure to tell John not to come for Shyla since it wasn’t safe for him to be out on snowmobiles in the storm. They didn’t need to be searching for someone else come morning.
Winter Craving Page 1