by Vivian Arend
Clumsy TJ grows up in time to court his very human mate, Pam—although kidnapping her might not have been the best idea. WOLF TRACKS
WOLF LINE brings you a wolf with a secret, a cruise ship, and a case of mistaken identity. Kari is sure Jared is her mate, so why is he avoiding her?
In WOLF NIP, Mark straight-out announces to Tessa that they're mates, but she's a cat, and cats don't do instant-mates.
Want to try a bit of WOLF SIGNS? Read on for an excerpt.
* * *
Talk about getting your signals crossed…
Robyn Maxwell doesn’t care that her brother has to cancel out on their backcountry ski trip. She can do it alone. The fact she’s deaf doesn’t make her survival skills any weaker. The chance to get away from it all and relax in the Yukon wilderness is just what she’s been craving.
Meeting wilderness guide Keil at the cabin starts cravings of another kind. Keil’s one hot hunk of ripped, tasty male. Now she has to deal with raging hormones as well as strange questions about wolves and mates and challenges to the death. Keil was trying for a nice reflective retreat before challenging for the Alpha position of his Alaskan pack. He wasn’t planning on meeting the woman destined to be his mate, or finding out she’s not aware she has the genes of a wolf.
Between dealing with his accident-prone younger brother, a deaf mate with an attitude and an impending duel to the death, his week—and his bed—is suddenly full.
Far from the relaxing getaway any of them had in mind…
Warning: Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘talking with your hands.’ Includes dangerous use of sarcasm and hot nookie in a remote wilderness sauna.
* * *
Robyn came back into his line of vision and Keil's brother stopped her. “Good morning, Robyn. How do you say that in sign?”
She paused. She flipped him a thumbs up, and placing her left hand by her right elbow, lifted her right hand in an arc.
TJ copied her. “Oh, cool, like the sun rising. Hey, Keil, look,” and TJ signed good morning to him.
A chuckle from Robyn made them both turn and regard her with amazement.
“You can laugh?” TJ asked.
Her smile fell away and Keil swore inside. She wrote a fast note and disappeared out the door. He checked to make sure she was just headed for the outhouse before reading the message.
I’m deaf, not mute. Lost hearing as a child. Virus. I have an ugly voice. Two sugars, please.
TJ gave a soft whistle. “Man, oh man, is she going to be a handful. I’m glad she’s your mate and not mine. Did you two fuck—?”
Keil hit him. Not hard enough to do permanent damage but hard enough to make his eyes register the shock of it. After picking himself up off the floor, TJ carefully exposed his neck to his brother.
“You will use that brain of yours to remember to be polite when you speak to and of my mate. Understood?” Keil drawled the words as he poured the coffee and prepared Robyn’s cup for her. “Even though it’s none of your damn business if you were thinking straight you’d already know the answer. Use your bloody nose. No, we have not mated yet. Yet for some insane reason she let me kiss her and hold her, and while I’m pleased to report that yes, she’s officially my mate, I have no idea why she doesn’t seem to know a thing about wolves.”
He sat at the table. “So I don’t want you making any stupid remarks until we figure this out. Got it?”
TJ shrugged. “I’ll behave. I figured it might be kinda freaky to be told something like ‘Hey, didn’t you know you’re a werewolf and, oh, by the way, you’re my mate. Oh, and there’s going to be a challenge to the death next weekend for the leadership of our pack and I’m one of the headliners for the match.’ I think telling it all upfront might be the easiest way.” He turned back and flipped the ham. “Besides, there’s nowhere for her to run while we’re here. Gives you two time to work it out.”
For the second time in as many days, the door behind them slammed open and Robyn charged in, her face red and her eyes blazing. She glared back forth between the two of them, her nostrils flaring slightly.
For not knowing she was a wolf, she had the evil-eye thing down pretty good, Keil thought as a shiver ran down his spine. He watched TJ struggle to keep his feet.
She surprised them by speaking. Her voice was gravelly and harsh but very powerful. Keil had heard a few Alphas over the years and she ranked up there with the best of them.
“Who is my mate?”
Like a flash TJ pointed to Keil. “Crap, has she got my number. I hope she doesn’t tell me to go jump off a bridge or something because I—”
Robyn stormed up and grabbed the pad of paper. Keil read over her shoulder as she wrote.
If you don’t want to be overheard don’t talk where a lip reader can see you.
Werewolf?
Mate.
Challenge. To the death.
What the HELL are you talking about?
She pulled away from the table but stopped to add, Where is my coffee? And it had better be strong.
WOLF SIGNS is available now
Biography
Vivian Arend has been around North America, through parts of Europe, and into Central and South America, often with no running water. When challenged to write a book, she gave it a shot, and discovered creating worlds to play in was nearly as addictive as traveling the real one.
Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of both contemporary and paranormal stories, Vivian continues to explore, write and otherwise keep herself well entertained.