The Witch and the Wolf

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Lord Jeremy North's curse is to become a werewolf during every full moon, turning into a bloodthirsty monster that kills with no remorse. When he finds a woman nearly frozen upon his doorstep, his sense of honor compels him to help her, even at the risk he might kill her himself. Lillian Merriweather hadn't planned to get caught in a blizzard whiletraveling the English countryside. Nor had she planned on finding refugein a house full of secrets. But Lillian has secrets of her own. Andwhat she's running from is not far behind... Excerpt: There were several moments Jeremy North suspected he sufferedhallucinations. Most of those times had been when he had first begun tochange into the beast during the full moon. And now, as he answered theknocking he had at first imagined to be the pounding in his skull, hewondered if the brandy he had been drinking this evening was perhapstainted. He could not quite believe his eyes. A woman stood on his doorstep, covered in a layer of snow, her brightblue eyes silently pleading to him just before her eyelids flutteredclosed, and she crumpled at his feet. He managed to set the candle downsafely on a table in time to catch her before she cracked her head onthe stone beneath her. He lifted her effortlessly into his arms, broughther into the house, slamming the door closed with his foot. He hurriedinto the library with his unexpected guest. North had returned earlierseeking the warm oblivion of yet another glass of brandy. He grimaced atthe memory of countless other sleep-deprived nights spent in much thesame way. Sans an unconscious woman, however. He placed the bundled woman onto the sofa, ignoring the fact that thesnow was bound to create a water stain on the fabric once it melted. Heleaned over her, pushing the curly brown strands of wet hair off herface and checked to see if she still breathed. Satisfied when he felther breath on his hand, he went back to the corridor. "Amery!" He roared. Turning back to the woman on his sofa, he again felt the necessity toblink his eyes, wondering if they played a trick with his senses. He litmore candles to brighten the room and added more wood to the fire. Thenhe walked back to the woman and knelt at her side. He found her handdangling over the edge of the sofa and took it gently in his, the digitsfrozen stiff. He inhaled a gasp. He cupped both of his handsinstinctively around hers, hoping to lend her his warmth. He heard the shuffle from the hallway and Amery's muttering, then a noisy yawn. "Bloody hell! What is this?" Amery bellowed from the doorway. North ignored the query. "We need blankets," he said, instead. "She's frozen through." Amery nodded and left. A muffled groan from behind drew his attention, and he turned to see thewoman's eyelids flutter open. He inhaled sharply as her bright bluegaze fell upon him. She studied him for a moment. And then, she smiled.About the AuthorTricia Schneider worked for 12 years in a bookstore as Assistant Manager and bookseller. Now she writes full-time while raising her three young children. She lives with her WWII re-enactor husband in the coal country of Pennsylvania.