A Wolf’s Deception (Novella)

by Sherilee Gray

  ‘Sleep, baby,’ he whispered and pulled her in close, holding her like the most precious thing in the world. She closed her eyes, but knew he wouldn’t do the same, his earlier words ringing in her ears. He was afraid she’d disappear. It would take time, but eventually he would relax, would know deep in his heart that she wasn’t going anywhere.

  ‘Hold me tight,’ she said against his chest.

  ‘Always,’ he said back.

  The word repeated over and over as she drifted off to sleep wrapped in her mate’s arms.

  Always.

  Epilogue

  Tressa came through the front door after her visit with her mother. They were getting along a lot better. She was trying and that was something Tressa couldn’t ignore, no matter how much anger she’d held over the years.

  The cabin was silent when she walked to the kitchen to put away the cake she’d brought back for afternoon tea.

  Her boys must be out for a run. Gabe was teaching their son how to stalk, how to hunt, how to sense danger. All the things Sawyer needed to know. The pair of them loved every minute of it.

  She poured herself a drink and walked out the back door, leaning against the porch railing and looked out over the fields and forest beyond. It was beautiful. She’d never been happier in her entire life.

  The change in Gabe had been a gradual thing, beautiful to watch. But finally, after a lot of pestering from Fletch, he’d taken up the alpha’s offer, and he’d become pack. It was amazing to see her big, strong mate lower his guard. The disbelief when he’d been welcomed, accepted by the pack still made her heart squeeze and put a silly smile on her face. There were still moments, every now and then, when he was taken off-guard by a pack mate’s kindness or affection, but those moments didn’t happen as often anymore.

  Yeah, there were a few older members that didn’t want change, but they were the minority, and Fletch made sure they understood where the pack was headed. They could either accept the changes or find another pack.

  The afternoon sun beat down, the lush green fields almost shimmering. Two forms broke from the forest—one large, moving with an easy loping gait and the other small, full to bursting with energy. Her son bounded alongside his father then raced ahead only to double back, running around Gabe, circling him and nipping at his tail. They were almost identical, from the colour of their fur to the shape of their noses.

  Both beautiful. Both unique.

  By the time they reached the yard, Sawyer was hanging of his father’s tail, making little growling sounds. Gabe’s eyes met hers, shining with warmth and humour—with love.

  He walked up to her, and Sawyer let go of his father so he could nudge her leg.

  Gabe made a chuffing sound and shifted, wrapped her in his arms, naked and utterly delicious. That magnificent smile beamed down at her.

  ‘You wanna run with us?’

  ‘Are you telling me I’m invited to join this boy’s club of yours?’

  ‘Yeah, we’ll allow it. We’re feeling generous, right Sawyer?’

  Their son looked up at them and made a sound that was a mix between a growl and a roar.

  ‘See? We both want you to come.’

  ‘Okay you’ve twisted my arm. I’ll play with you.’

  He leaned in, kissed the side of her neck, lips moving to her ear. ‘We’ll run now, but you and I can play later, after Sawyer’s tucked up in bed.’

  He cupped her face and brushed his lips across hers.

  ‘Come on, Daddy,’ Sawyer called. He’d shifted, watching them with his little face screwed up. ‘There’s no time for kissing.’

  Gabe laughed and swatted her ass before he shifted back to his beast, and trotted off to wait with Sawyer who had already shifted back. She did the same and ran out to join them in the field. Gabe bumped her shoulder with his own in welcome and Sawyer sprang out of nowhere, giving her a nudge as well before pouncing on his father’s tail again then tearing off ahead.

  They didn’t need the ability to speak, didn’t need trivial words, they just needed to look at each other and they knew. Nothing could ever come between them again. Their love was absolute, unbreakable.

  Gabe stayed by her side as they watched their son chase after butterflies. And with one last affectionate rub of his head, they walked side by side into the green fields, to run with their son.

  The End

  Thanks for reading A Wolf’s Deception. I hope you enjoyed it. You’ve just read a book in my Black Hills Pack series. The other book in this series is Lone Wolf’s Captive—there’s more info over the page.

  If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage www.sherileegray.com, follow me on twitter @Sherilee_Gray or like my Facebook page Sherilee Gray.

  You can also follow me through my publisher’s page here www.escapepublishing.com.au

  Reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you’ve read, and what you thought.

  This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.

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  ISBN: 9780857992635

  Title: A Wolf’s Deception

  Copyright © 2015 by Sherilee Gray

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Limited, Level 4/132 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2060.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and are used under license to the Publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in Australia, New Zealand, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

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