Only an hour earlier, I’d begged the nineteen-year-old to pay attention to the way her pack-princess vibe turned our neighbors into animals—sometimes not only metaphorically but also in the flesh. I’d asked that she at least consider her brother’s and Lia’s safety before jumping into danger with both feet joyfully extended. In response, the trouble twin had rolled her eyes and demanded to know the point of being a member of a free, young pack if I was as much of a pain in the ass as her last alpha.
I’d thought the teenager just needed to gripe and moan, so I’d shrugged off her words. But, no—as soon as my back was turned, Ginger had snuck out to prove her point.
“You win,” I yelled up at her now, not sure if she could even hear me over the din of the crowd. “But how do you plan to get Lia out of here alive?”
In response, Cinnamon lowered the sixteen-year-old into my waiting arms, then leapt down off the table to join us. “Ginger’s gonna make a diversion so you can break our cuz here free,” he yelled into my ear. “We’ll meet you around back.”
“Not much of an exit strategy,” a quiet voice drawled into my other ear. I whipped around to face a tall shifter about my age dressed up in cowboy chic—ten-gallon hat, checkered shirt, huge belt buckle, and nut-hugger jeans. Unlike the hairy-chest guy, this one was cute, but I didn’t trust my human intuition to root out his true intentions and my wolf was better off sleeping. Still, Ten-Gallon wasn’t grabbing Lia’s ass, so I figured he was a cut above the rest of the room’s inhabitants.
“Do you have a better idea?” I challenged him.
“I’ll boost you out that window,” he offered, pointing at a tiny aperture barely large enough for Ginger’s hips to wiggle through.
Okay, so the trouble twin’s hips matched her boobs—huge and comely. The rest of us would have no problem sliding out.
As long as Ten-Gallon could be trusted at our back, that was. I traded a glance with Cinnamon and my pack mate shrugged in response. Unlike his sister, the male half of the trouble team was laid back to a fault. I could never quite tell if Cinnamon obeyed me because I was his pack leader or just because it was easier to float along on the wave of even my extremely mild version of alpha dominance than to stand against the tide.
So the choice would rest on my shoulders alone, as usual. That was okay—I was used to it.
“Okay, Cinn. You go out first and we’ll toss Lia up after you. If anything goes wrong, Glen’s got the car idling out front. Get out of here, and Ginger and I will take our chances.”
The song was nearing its dramatic conclusion and the crowd was yelling commands at their entertainer so loudly I could barely hear myself think. But when Cinnamon touched his sister’s foot and jerked his chin up at the window, I could see the pack princess take in the entire plan in a moment via that ultimate in modern communication—twin speak.
“Okay,” she mouthed. Then the buxom shifter produced a diversion as promised. First, she reached forward to fiddle with the front clasp of her bra, releasing her bountiful breasts. Then she spun on high heels to show off the merchandise, a feat that I was pretty sure would have caused me to break my neck even if I wasn’t perched atop a table in a crowded bar.
Werewolves are accustomed to casual nudity, but even I had to admit that Ginger’s boobs were things of beauty. The outpack males fell silent through pure awe as they took in a show they’d never thought possible—a pack princess emulating a topless dancer. There was no pole to climb, but Ginger did just fine without props, swiveling her hips so enticingly that Cinnamon and Lia made their escape without a single shifter in the room taking notice.
Well, that wasn’t quite true. My new buddy and I noticed because we were the ones boosting our companions up toward the unconventional exit. “You next?” asked Ten-Gallon, not quite able to tear his gaze away from the table-top view.
“No, Ginger next.” Sure, the teenager seemed quite capable of taking care of herself. But I was her alpha. Which meant that I would also be the last to leave this sinking ship.
Of course, I knew the minute the metaphorical curtain came down, the crowd would turn nasty. But there was no getting around the inevitable. We’d just have to move fast and take our chances.
I sprang up on the table to join Ginger, boosting her toward our new accomplice’s waiting hands.
“No way!” “Boo!” “Hey!”
The cacophony of displeasure abruptly ceased as Ginger stepped out of her final item of apparel, allowing the tiny skirt to drift down and settle upon the table. Then she turned to blow a kiss toward her doting audience.
The pack princess was now buck naked and every male in the place—Ten-Gallon included—roared his approval.
Then Ginger was slithering out the window to join the rest of our clan, leaving me as the only pack mate still in danger. Well, me and Mr. Ten-Gallon Hat, who wasn’t looking like such a good defense against several dozen hyped up and disappointed outpack males.
This may be the time faking it isn’t quite enough, I thought inanely.
And then my stalker walked through the door.
Click here to keep reading Half Wolf...
Author’s Note
If you’re interested in learning more about the Navy’s EOD division, I highly recommend the thriller Proximity by Stephen Phillips. I drew some of the details of Hunter’s job from Phillips’ excellently researched book and others from various websites.
In addition, several beta readers were kind enough to go over an early draft to point out potential problems. In particular, Navy EOD tech Christopher George provided valuable insight into the division’s unique way of life while also cleaning up my terminology. Next, Charles Aylworth clued me in to technical dive details that would have been extremely embarrassing if they’d made it into the final draft.
Despite all of this assistance, I have to admit that the closest I’ve come to a deep dive is paddling around with a snorkel. So any errors that remain are entirely my own.
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Did you love Dark Wolf Adrift? Then you should read Half Wolf by Aimee Easterling!
Every werewolf knows the meek won't inherit the earth.
Fen Young is a half-shifter whose inner beast is more mouse than wolf. Home is her castle, the only place she's ever felt safe.
Enter Hunter Green, an uber-alpha strong enough to stop traffic with a single look. He's handsome and enticing and seems like just the ticket to broaden Fen's horizons...until the uber-alpha brushes off his admirer and summarily rejects her from her home pack.
Now treading water in the no-man's land of outpack territory, Fen must confront a missing pack mate, a tantalizing stranger, and a serial killer targeting half-werewolves. Will she be able to shore up her waning power in time to save her friend...and half-breeds everywhere...before it's too late?
USA Today bestselling author Aimee Easterling's new urban fantasy novel is chock full of adventure, romance, and danger bound to leave readers craving more.
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Half Wolf
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Wolf's Bane
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Huntress Unleashed
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Shiftless
Pack Princess
Alpha Ascendant
Standalone
Jaguar at the Portal
Moon Magic
Shifter Origins
Dark Wolf Adrift Page 14