Madcap Miss
Miss Felicia Easton, holed up happily at Easton Manor, is quite content with her unchaperoned state, thank you very much. The last thing she needs is to be summarily fetched to see her ogre of a guardian, the elderly Duke of Somerset. And so she flees with her childhood friend, Scott—only to run into a highwayman! Thank heavens Glen Aston happens along when he does.
Courting Kit
High spirited and with opinions of her own, how will Kitty fit in with the haute ton of London? Will the earl find her a husband and comply with his uncle’s will? Or will the Earl and Kitty create a new cotillion all their own?
Witches, Warlocks, and Dark Magic
Dark Love
One goal consumes Chazma Donnelly: find the dark sorcerer who murdered her parents. The trail takes her Ireland and Jethro McBain, but will it take her soul?
Netherby Halls
Matters at Netherby are not what they seem, and neither is the handsome marquis. Unsure whom to trust, Sassy has to find her way through a maze of evil and magic.
Lady X
Exerilla has to run from her Dark Warlock father. Her mother sends her into the past to escape him and the marriage he plans for her. What is a modern American miss to do in nineteenth-century England?
Journey
What would you do if the man of your dreams walked into your life and you knew, absolutely knew, that one day he would leave because he was from another realm with secrets you couldn’t discern? Would you seize the moment? Riley Doogan decided to seize the moment, and it cost her all the normalcy she had ever hoped to have in her life—a life that was now fraught with terror.
Journey: The Reckoning
Riley and Finn have secrets from their past that threaten their future. Dark Magic will explode as they fight to stay in the light. How can their relationship survive the onslaught of what is to come?
Multi-book Bundles
The Complete Legend Series
Containing all eight books in the series, The Complete Legend Series will take you to a place where anything is possible, where strong and beautiful men and women—both human and Fae—must use all the skills and magic they possess to save their shared worlds, and where the path to love winds through intrigue and danger.
Through Time Series Box Set
Picking up where the Legend series leaves off, the Through Time series pits humans and Seelie Fae against the machinations of the Dark Princes. Fueled by a desire for revenge and a thirst for power, the Dark Princes have discovered how to use time itself to achieve their goals, and no realm—human, Milesian, or Fae—is safe. Contains all five books in the series.
Claudy Conn’s Bestselling Regencies
Claudy Conn’s Bestselling Regencies take you into a time of romance and passion, humor and intrigue: the time of the Regency, when England’s King George went mad and his beautiful son became Regent. Contains the full text of Wildfire Kiss, Taffeta and Hotspur, and Oh, Cherry Ripe.
Fur Ever Yours
Melanie James
Fur Ever Yours
By: Melanie James
Copyright © 2015 by Melanie James
Editing: AVC Proofreading
Proofreading: AVC Proofreading
Proofreading: Book Nook Nuts
Cover Artist: Dreams to Media
All rights reserved
Published in the United States of America
Edition License Notes
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you wish to share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should delete it from your device and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work. Illegal copies come with fine up to $250,000.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is coincidental.
Acknowledgements
Erin – You’ve done so much. I can’t possibly thank you enough.
Stephanie – It’s been a true pleasure knowing you and working with you this year on multiple projects.
Tammy – There are not enough thanks to send your way!
Tracey – I don’t know how I’ve ever lived without your services.
Alicia – As always, thank you for cleaning up my messes!
Dedication
To my readers everywhere – You are the best! I love you all!
Prologue
The boy’s hand wrapped around Bjorn’s fingers, tugging him toward the tall, granite boulder. The boy reached out to touch the weathered engraving, but quickly pulled away—not afraid, but more than a little unsure. It was unlike any other he’d seen in the forest. It stood upright, a natural pillar. To the boy, it resembled a headstone, and his father taught him objects such as these were treated with respect. “Papa, what’s so special about this big rock anyway? It looks sort of like a gravestone. Is it?”
“No, more of a monument. You see the marks?”
“The ones that look like long ribbons? It’s like someone was using it to make the shape of a snake or dragon. I don’t understand why there are so many marks on the ribbon. They look like little twigs.”
“That is a type of writing. The pillar is called a runestone, and it was placed here by our ancestors nearly a thousand years ago. Those little twigs you wonder about are from their language. Only a very few people can read them and even fewer can read beyond the words to understand the magic it holds.”
“Can you read it, Papa?”
“No, but your mother can. However, I can tell you a little bit about the story it tells us. You’ve heard the tales of our Viking ancestors. Well, back in the time of the Vikings, among the warriors, there was a special group. You might read about them someday, they were called the Berserkers. It’s well-known they were the fiercest and bravest warriors who belonged to a secret society. Now, there are a lot of things the history books won’t tell you, but I will. These Berserkers belonged to certain warrior clans. The runestone tells us that Odin singled out these clans above all others and gave them the gift of Hamask—the ability to shift into the wolf.”
“Like us!”
“Exactly, son. Like us. As time passed, things changed and the Vikings left their old ways. The Berserkers were no longer needed. People feared them and so the Jarl of Norway banned them. After that, they were considered outlaws.”
“Is that why they came here?”
“Yes. Entire clans sailed west. They knew of places that few people had found. In time, they came here to this place. They didn’t fight with the native tribes. Instead, they lived peacefully for centuries in the northern forests. That’s why so many of the native people have legends about wolf shifters.”
“That’s us!”
“Yes, that’s us. And this runestone contains the whole story. It also has magic, prophecies, and the code our people live and die by. Someday, you will be the Alpha and this runestone will help you understand your power, but more importantly, your responsibility to your pack. It’s a sacred thing, Rafe. Remember that.”
Chapter One
Mina sucked in a deep breath, nearly stumbling. Her lungs burned from exertion. I can’t stop, I have to get away. If they catch me, I’m as good as dead. Her ribs ached from the fractures her body refused to heal.
“There she is! Get her!”
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw two enforcers shift with lightning speed. Ignoring a multitude of injuries, she pushed herself harder, dodging trees and ducking branches. Her survival depended upon her escape. If they caught her, she’d be lucky if all they did was kill her. Her true fear was being forced to mate with a slime ball like Griffin Engle. It would be a fate far worse tha
n death.
His last mate’s body was found in a ravine in human form, stark naked save for a lone silver necklace and bracelet. It was an adornment Clara would never have willingly placed upon her body. Doing so would have meant weakness and lethargy. Not to mention the fact that silver prevented her from shifting out of her human form.
Mina would never forget the sight of Clara’s body. She had been stabbed over fifty times, practically every bone in her body broken or crushed. An average human would have assumed the fall was what killed her. But for Mina and many others in the pack, they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt the fall wasn’t the cause of her death, neither was the brutal stabbing. The official coroner’s report confirmed their suspicions when he stated her death was a result of asphyxiation. The stabbings came post mortem, as did the rest of her injuries.
The pack looked the other way. They had no one to make sure Griffin was brought to justice for the death of his mate. No one was brave enough to stand up to him or challenge him for the role of Alpha. If anyone dared to sow discord in the pack, they swiftly met their end. So many feared for their lives and the lives of their pups. Never had her pack been in such peril.
“Stop right there, you bitch!”
Mina’s first instinct was to come to a screeching halt, obeying the command of the human in front of her. His pistol pointed directly at her. She would bet her furry ass the gun was filled with silver bullets. Griffin’s human thugs relished each opportunity they had to take down a pack member with a silver bullet, often for the smallest of infractions. Why should she expect anything different?
I hope this works. Mina twisted to the left, forcing the assailant’s shot to go wide as she barreled closer to where he stood. He swung to the left, firing another quick shot as she zagged to the right before lunging for his throat, leaving a gashing hole. His gurgling grunts filled the air as he collapsed to his knees.
She mouthed a silent prayer, begging for the energy she needed to make it through this ordeal alive. Changing directions once again, Mina ran as hard and as fast as she could, knowing every second counted. Enforcers were quick, and she was slowed by the effects of the silver against her skin.
Mina began to slow even more, her starved body running on empty. Her gait was uneven as her body trembled with growing weakness. If I can just find a way to get this blasted silver collar off my neck. As it was, she was stuck in her wolf form, bleeding like a stuck pig all because she refused to be mated to an Alpha who was not her true mate.
Panic struck as she thought of the horrors she was sure to face. Rumors of Griffin’s hard handed ways with his mates bounded through the pack quicker than bunnies could reproduce. She had little doubt of their truth after seeing the once beautiful Clara bruised and beaten over the few short years Griffin called her his mate. Come hell or high water, she would not meet the same fate.
Crisscrossing through the forest, with less than stellar skills, she stumbled over rocks and branches. The tiniest of twigs seemed to trip her up as her vision began to blur. Focus. Just a little further and I’ll be home free. Mina paused to rub her scent against a tall Elm tree, then another and another before circling back, hoping to throw the pair of enforcers following her off her track.
Howls filled the brisk night air as Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb, the names she had taken to calling the two who tracked her, lost her scent. It was a plan she had counted on working. While the enforcers were scary as hell, they were not known for their cunning intellect. Needless to say, she found out long ago that her followers were a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
Mina did however find out first hand just how ruthless and coldhearted the SOBs were. They didn’t think twice about kicking a woman in the ribs, punching her in the face, or leaving her shackled for days on end without food. Unfortunately, she could personally attest to their lack of chivalry and grace when it came to dealing with the opposite sex.
Feeling like she had run a marathon, Mina slowed to a limping walk. Her ears twitched reflexively at the sound of crunching leaves. She sniffed, trying to scent the threat, but her broken nose made it impossible for her to tell who or what was approaching.
Glancing left, the figures of three snarling wolves came into view. She tried to break right, making it only a few short steps when another four wolves came into view. Mina hung her head and let out a whimper when she realized they had her completely surrounded. There would be no escape this time.
They slowly steered her in the direction they wanted, not the direction she expected. Lifting her head, Mina glanced around to see if she recognized any of the wolves who encircled her. Outnumbered and unable to detect who they were, she had no choice but to continue on the path she was forced to take.
To her left, a large silver wolf let out a deep howl, informing their Alpha she had been captured. When no return howl was issued, Mina could only assume he waited in human form. If it was Griffin who awaited her, he was surely waiting with a gun clutched between his meaty fingers. Hopefully, his aim is good. Mina let out another whimper at the thought of him taking her life. She wasn’t afraid of dying. There were any number of noble causes she would gladly surrender her life for. The very idea of Griffin taking her life made her growl. He would string her corpse up for the whole pack to see, then mount her parents and siblings beside her.
Her heart pounded at the thought of the torture he would inflict on her baby sisters. Sorrow and regret coursed through her. I should have stayed to make sure they were safe. I should have never left.
Chapter Two
Rafe Erickson stepped off his back deck and into the light snow that dusted the ground. His senses were on high alert, even in his human form. It was time for his nightly run with the males in the pack. The plan, just like any other night, was to do a quick patrol of their grounds, ensuring everything was quiet, as it should be.
The men were gathered in his yard in nothing more than jeans, T-shirts, and boots, waiting to stretch their legs. Every male in the pack looked forward to the evening run. It gave them the time they needed to unwind and let all of their human problems take a back seat, if only for a short time.
The tension was higher than normal as Rafe looked around at his men. Normally, they stood at ease, laughing and joking with one another. Tonight was different. They stood in formation, quiet and serious as they sniffed the frozen air. They too sensed something was amiss.
Rafe sniffed the air once, twice. Ahhh, there we go. Catching an unfamiliar scent was all he needed to bark out his command.
“There’s an intruder on our lands. I want that rogue wolf found and brought to me. Now.”
“You heard him, put your noses to the ground and get moving.” Rafe’s second, Lucas Jansen, issued his own directive for those who didn’t kick into high gear immediately.
One by one, the men dropped to all fours as a shimmer of light quickly passed over each of their bodies. The chilling crack of shifting bones echoed through the quiet night. Rafe tried to contain his own shift as he watched his pack bolt off into the distance.
“So much for our nightly run. Who do you think would be stupid enough to wander this far out in the middle of the night?” Lucas cracked his knuckles, itching to join the chase.
Rafe crossed his thick arms over his chest. “I have no idea, but we’re about to find out.” He listened as howls confirmed the presence of an intruder—a female intruder. The pack had her surrounded, pushing her slowly to where Rafe and Lucas waited.
“Shit. Whatever you do, don’t shift,” Lucas warned.
“I know.” Rafe clenched his jaw as the faint scent from the female hit him, almost knocking him on his ass. Shifting was not an option. Through the centuries, many of the old wives’ tales that floated around the pack grew to be instant survival guides when the information rang true time and time again. For the last three hundred and fifty years, every Alpha in Rafe’s pack had found his mate during Yule. According to the tale, the tradition would carry for another four hundred years.
Having no desire to have his mate forced upon him, Rafe paced back and forth, his boots crunching in the snow. For the past few weeks, the females in the pack tried to tempt him with their scent, but none interested him. Fate decreed his female was not to be plucked from within his own pack. That alone pissed him off. He wasn’t fond of outsiders and finding his mate from a rival pack was a major faux paus these days. Before the territorial wars started, it was a perfectly acceptable practice. Now—not so much.
Rafe remembered the good ole days when mating with a female from another clan brought unity and survival for both packs as an alliance formed. Now, as humans and corporations scrambled to buy up more of their sacred lands, it left the remaining packs desperate to acquire new land. The territorial scramble was the catalyst for rival packs to twist the customary mating ritual into a means of advancement through a hostile takeover. He’d seen it time and time again. He’d be damned if someone tried to take his land out from under him.
“They’re getting closer, less than a mile out. You sure you can handle this?”
Rafe growled in response. Sure, he’d handle it. His limbs twitched as the female’s scent grew strong with her approach. He had to contain himself long enough to find out who the hell she was and what she was doing wandering his lands in the middle of the night. All he needed to do then was make it back inside his door before the shift happened, which was easier said than done in his present state of mind.
Whatever happened, Rafe could not be allowed to shift in front of the newcomer. Three days before Yule, the risk was too great. If he caught the scent of his mate in wolf form, it was said his mating instinct would take over, forcing him to mark her as his until the mating ceremony could be completed.
Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More Page 57