Flashback Friday - The Last Dire Wolf (Bloodlines, 1)

Their love is taboo. The crossing of wolven bloodlines is forbidden. Yet Eirik, supreme alpha and king of the wolves, is tired of hiding his love for Gunnar. The last of his kind, he’s cursed to be without a mate during his long life. He refuses his destiny and seeks solace with one of those closest to him.

King’s guard Gunnar knew he could never expect to stand at the king’s side when he let the man take him to bed, no matter how much he began to crave it over the decades. He’d given his life to be a member of the elite warriors, not a king’s consort, but he can’t stop wishing the king could be his.

Moments before Eirik can change the laws governing their world, an old enemy comes baring a unique gift. Perhaps Eirik’s not the last of his kind after all.

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“You know as well as I do that wolves are not immortal. He’s lived a long, long life and now his soul has… grown thin. I’ve never met one as old as he is and doubt I will again.”

It wasn’t the answer Eirik wanted. “How much longer do we have with him?”

The doctor shook his head. “It could be days… maybe weeks. I couldn’t say.”

It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. His hands fisted at his side as he struggled to control his emotions.

“You can go,” Eirik whispered, his voice raw.

The doctor left quickly. Eirik wanted to scream. He wanted to howl his frustrations, but he had too many eyes watching him.

He was supposed to be regal.

Unemotional.

Fuck them all!

Eirik punched the wall, his fist breaking through one of the painted cement blocks. It shattered around his hand, leaving his fist bloodied. There was no pain, not greater than the one he already felt. He stared at the hole he’d left in the wall, knowing it was just like the hole growing inside him.

“Your Majesty?” Gunnar said, his voice low and filled with worry. Eirik met Gunnar’s stare. He said nothing, just brushed past the man and went back into Uffe’s room.

The elder wolf slept.

Eirik walked back to the side of the bed and sat down. He took Uffe’s hand in his.

Something had changed.

“Uffe?” he asked, panic filling him. He shook the man’s shoulder carefully. “Uffe?” he cried, louder this time. He kept on shaking, but Uffe never awoke.

“No,” he whispered, unready to say goodbye.

Sorrow twisted his face as he sank to his knees beside the bed, Uffe’s hand still captured between his. Hot tears fell down his face as he held on for as long as he could. When there was nothing left inside him, he rose on shaking legs and placed a last kiss on Uffe’s forehead. Wiping away the tears, he collected himself as best he could.

“I want his funeral tonight,” he said to the room. He knew several of the hospital staff stood at the door, ready to prepare the body. And likely ready to share gossip about the king losing his control. “I won’t have him sitting in the morgue. Tonight.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” two of the staff members said in unison.

After grabbing the leather file, he exited the room.

He felt Gunnar fall into step behind him in the hospital corridor. The small facility was wolf-owned and operated. No humans could ever find out what they were, so they’d created the world they needed on their own. He moved his hand to the side, slapping Gunnar in the chest with the file.

“Take this and have Damien review Uffe’s notes.”

Gunnar took the folder and never lost a step. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I want him to conduct a search for other dire wolves immediately.”

“Of course, sire.”

Eirik stopped before the elevator and punched the button, harder than he needed to. Frustration filled every ounce of his body. There was nothing he could do to stop from losing Uffe. The best wolven doctors, the best of hospital care… none of it was enough.

He was now the last.

Uffe had saved him, for what? For a legacy of being the last of his bloodline? To only parlay the eventual end of his kind for another few thousand years? What had he accomplished to leave a mark—a mark for an entire race of wolves?

Nothing.

Nothing he’d done would ever be enough. The dire wolves would go out with a whimper.

The elevator arrived and he stepped inside, Gunnar on his heels. The doors wouldn’t close fast enough.

As soon as they were alone, Eirik dragged Gunnar into his arms and pressed his lips to his lover’s. Gunnar yielded easily, his mouth soft under Eirik’s. He dragged in a breath, drawing in Gunnar’s masculine scent.

He needed this touch… this taste. He needed to feel alive after witnessing the slow drift of death. He needed Gunnar to fill that hole widening inside him.

Eirik backed away and stared into Gunnar’s handsome face. “Tonight. Come to me. After the funeral… I don’t want to be alone.”

Gunnar cupped one side of Eirik’s face. “As if I’d let you be alone tonight.”

NEW RELEASE -- Hungry for His Wolf

Alpha of the Eastern Wolves, owner of McManus Security, and confidant to the king, Julian has his hands full. He doesn’t have time for love, but he’s not above enjoying a little lust from time to time, especially after meeting the new Coywolf senator he can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Jared feels an instant attraction to the alpha and willingly falls into bed with him—before misfortune threatens to change both of their lives.

When Julian stands up and takes responsibility for his actions, Jared is stripped of everything he is. Handed over to Julian as mere chattel, Jared can’t help but rebel at every turn.

But he can’t fight the growing feelings he has for the alpha…

 BUY HERE

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“Your black and white view of this world needs some gray added to it. There are ten sides to consider when making an impactful decision. Your youth only allows you to see two.”

“Perhaps you are simply overcomplicating a simple issue,” Jared said.

Julian growled. “Are you always this much of a pain in the ass?”

“Yes,” Jared said with a grin.

Julian couldn’t hold back. He grabbed the male’s head and planted his lips on Jared’s. Julian pressed Jared into the stone wall behind them and slanted his head, deepening the kiss. Jared melted against him and opened to Julian.

Julian grazed the back of his hand against Jared’s robe and felt the impression of a hard cock behind it. The coywolf wanted him as much as he wanted the male.

He broke the kiss, already hungry for more. “Do not lie and tell me you don’t want me,” Julian said. “You want me no less than I want you.”

“There are always ten sides to a decision—”

Julian forced his lips down on Jared’s, stopping the parroted response. He wouldn’t allow Jared’s stubbornness to get in the way of what they both wanted.

When he finally lifted his head, Jared’s stare was lit with lust. “Why do you have to make me burn?”
Julian chuckled, loving the tone of need in Jared’s voice.

Jared pushed from Julian’s arms and walked toward the door to the room they occupied. He stopped at the frame and looked over his shoulder, casting Julian a wanton stare. Heat flooded Julian.                 

COVER REVEAL -- Hungry for His Wolf (Bloodlines, 4)

Coming 7/27/2016 

Coming 08/10/2016

NEW RELEASE: His Wolven Warrior, Bloodlines 3

Born a mixed blood amongst the strict Hokkaido, Takeo has always been seen as an outcast. The shadow warrior has remained on the fringes, called on from time to time to do the jobs no one else would do. When he’s commanded to New York City to steal a token item from an Eastern Gray Wolf, he begrudgingly goes as bidden.

Once he arrives, he’s tempted by his mark’s twin brother. Losing focus, he’s almost caught somewhere he does not belong and hides—leading him to unwittingly play voyeur. Unable to get the male out of his mind after, he struggles with the desire beating in his heart.

Tanner McManus has a fresh face in his bed nearly every night. When he meets a sexy, mysterious male who nearly demands to be taken to that bed, Tanner willingly obliges—and has a night neither can forget. For once Tanner wants more than one night, and it ends up being with someone he shouldn’t want.

When Tanner is charged with murder—it’s up to Takeo to prove Tanner is innocent. That is, if Tanner’s willing to look past who Takeo is long enough to help him find the truth.

And maybe find themselves with each other. 

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“Have a drink with me,” the human cooed.

Tanner lifted his glass. “I have a drink.”

“I don’t,” the human said seductively, rubbing his body against Tanner’s as he pressed his tongue inside Tanner’s ear.

This was one of the problems with one-night stands. They occasionally came back and got in the way of things. Tonight was not the night for that.

“The bar is right over there,” Tanner answered, wiping the man’s saliva from his ear. “Go grab yourself something to drink if you’re thirsty.”

Lust filled the human’s face. “I’m incredibly thirsty.”

“I’m not,” Tanner said, pinning the man with a glance.

A hint of understanding crossed the human’s face, but then it was gone and a lusty smile returned to his lips.

“I’ll go get myself that drink.”

Tanner watched the man leave before moving to his table. He didn’t want to be in the same spot if the human made another attempt. Tanner searched the club, his strong eyesight still not picking up the man he was looking for. It didn’t take long for the human he’d been avoiding to find Tanner and slip into the half-booth.

“There you are,” the human said, grinning. The man rubbed the side of his body against Tanner’s. “So where were we?”

“You’re in my seat.”

Tanner glanced up and saw his friend from downstairs leaning over the edge of the table, glaring at the man beside him. A smile played over Tanner’s lips as the man beside him stiffened.

“Excuse me?” the human said indignantly.

“You’re. In. My. Seat.”

The man beside him turned to Tanner.

“You’re in his seat,” Tanner parroted, slightly amused.

The human slid out, anger crossing his face. “Asshole.”

Tanner’s new companion slid into the newly vacant spot and glared up at the man. “Goodnight.” He turned to Tanner, one eyebrow lifted, as if Tanner should feel ashamed for having another at his table. A chuckle rumbled through him at the hint of jealousy coming from the man.

“Hello,” Tanner purred against the man’s ear. He drew in a breath… and froze.

The man had no scent.

That was impossible. A frown crossed Tanner’s face. He drew in another breath as he brushed his lips along the man’s neck.

Nothing.

Red flags went up, yet it didn’t stop his intrigue. If anything, it only made Tanner all the more curious. Curious, but cautious, too. The man was hot as hell, and Tanner couldn’t pull away.

Yet it wouldn’t stop him from reacting if and when the time came.

“What’s your name?” Tanner asked against the man’s ear.

“Tak-e-o,” the man said, stretching out the syllables, his warm voice spreading across Tanner’s body like the bourbon he’d been nursing.

COVER REVEAL -- His Wolven Warrior, Bloodlines, 3

Coming 6/1/2016

OUT NOW -- CRYING WOLF

As alpha to the coywolves, Lucas has done everything in his power to keep his struggling bloodline from failing. His entire focus has always been the betterment of his people, often putting them before himself. When he finally achieves legitimacy and a place for the coywolves in the senate, he also makes a demand for himself—the one and only male who’s made him burn.

Duty has always been Jakob’s focus. He’s been captain of the king’s guard for centuries. His oath is all, but the temptation that Lucas presents makes him doubt everything. He refuses Lucas, unwilling to break the pledge he made to his king.

When King Eirik grants Lucas’ claim on Jakob, a war begins between the two. Without his duty and service, Jakob loses sight of who he is and he refuses to surrender to the dominant alpha forcing him down a new path.

Can the two find a way to have a future together, or will the human who enters their lives tear them apart?

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A month ago, Lucas had agreed to lead the coywolves into battle for their would-be king. The senate had refused their bloodline for many decades, calling it unclean because of the mixing of coyote and wolf, yet who had Eirik turned to when he’d needed help reclaiming his throne from the Hokkaido?

The king had needed an army, and the coywolves had needed legitimacy.

And Lucas had needed something more.

That something more stood at the end of the castle’s hallway, the low light keeping much of his body in shadow. That didn’t impede Lucas’ ability to see all he wanted to, light or no. Like the others of his kind, his eyesight was beyond human.

Lucas let his gaze wander from the top of Jakob’s short dark locks, down his strong chest, and then down farther to the part of Jakob he wanted to learn most. The strong captain of the king’s guard stood tall and proud. Jakob ordered his men about, appearing to be unaware of Lucas’ attentions, so Lucas looked his fill.

After a few more moments, Jakob’s head swung in Lucas’ direction.

He wouldn’t hide back in the shadows any longer, stealing a glance here and there. It was time Jakob faced the inevitable. Lucas strolled out of the doorway and leaned on the cool stone wall and stared. He dared Jakob to look away.

Jakob didn’t.

Heat flooded Lucas’ body as he met that challenging stare.

Mine.

A swirl of light circled in Jakob’s eyes, proving he felt… something. As the last of Jakob’s men exited, Lucas approached his prey and almost willed the man to run.

A chase would be so much fun.

His coywolf howled within, obviously agreeing.

“Lurking in the halls for a reason?” Jakob asked as Lucas approached.

Lucas drew in a deep breath, fighting for control. That breath didn’t help much as all he smelled was Jakob’s scent. Lucas’ heart beat all the faster for it, his inner beast demanding satisfaction. “I think you know the reason,” Lucas answered.

The swirl of light returned, only to be hidden as Jakob looked away.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” Lucas asked.

“I haven’t,” Jakob lied, staring at the wall across from him.

The low light washed half of Jakob’s handsome face. The other was bathed in shadow, but for the glow of his eyes cast on his cheeks. No matter how Jakob tried to hide his emotions, he couldn’t hide that illumination. Lucas stared at the sharp contours of Jakob’s face, learning each one intimately.

He only wished it could be his fingers… or his tongue… to glide over the lines and tempt that glow to burn in Jakob’s eyes.

Lucas caught his breath, trying to remember what they’d been discussing.

“You haven’t? It’s felt as if you’ve done everything in your power to avoid me, Jakob.”

“I’ve been busy… with the king back in power, we’ve had to improve our security measures. The Hokkaido made a joke of us. We can’t let history repeat itself. Wolf’s Chance won’t fall again.”

“It’s been a month. You couldn’t give me a moment in all that time?”

Jakob’s head spun, the light in his eyes telling. He met Lucas’ stare before he quickly looked away again. “You’ve been busy as well, have you not? Forcing the senate to accept the coywolves as equals must not be easy.”

It hadn’t been. Centuries of bigotry and ignorance wouldn’t be changed in a matter of weeks. They still had an uphill battle, but at least they had a place at the table.

And Lucas had the opportunity to be more than a warm body in Jakob’s bed.

“Having someone close at night might have made all the hard work easier,” Lucas drawled, trying to hide his smile as Jakob’s jaw clenched.

Jakob glanced his way for a moment, but kept it too brief. “I’m sure there are plenty of males willing to find their way into your bed.”

“Yet the one I want ignores me.”

“I am no courtesan,” Jakob answered, his jaw tightening.

Lucas reached out and brushed a few dark locks behind Jakob’s ear. Jakob stiffened and took a step back, his eyes bright with illumination.

“Don’t,” Jakob whispered.

Lucas frowned and tilted his head. “Were we not growing close when you came to Sanctuary?”

Sanctuary was as close to a kingdom as the coywolves had. Built as a wolf preserve to hide their shifter nature to humans, the thousands of acres held a clinic where Lucas and his team of doctors and techs offered medical treatment to the coywolf nation, as well as any natural wolves humans occasionally brought his way. It gave them a place to be free and run away from prying eyes, a place to heal from any wounds. Wolf shifters regenerated quickly, but in severe cases, a shifter needed help to survive. A broken bone could heal wrong if not reset properly. A gunshot wound could heal around the bullet or fragments, potentially making it painful or impossible to shift if they were not removed.

Eirik had needed him to perform surgery on his blood mate—removing the technology the Hokkaido had implanted inside the male. Jakob had come along to protect his king, and while there, Lucas had felt a bond grow with the captain of the guard.

Or maybe… maybe Jakob had been there to tempt Lucas into doing Eirik’s bidding. Now that the king no longer had a need for Lucas, neither did Jakob.

Lucas couldn’t breathe for a moment. Could that be true?

He stared along the profile of Jakob’s face, his stare drawn to the glow. If Jakob felt nothing, that glow wouldn’t be there, would it? Or perhaps it was shame—for having been made to play the whore for the king.

Lucas pushed the thought aside, refusing to think it. What he’d sensed had felt too real for it not to be.

“I appreciate what you did for my king,” Jakob said. “Perhaps I allowed you to become too familiar and that was a mistake.”

A mistake?

Doubt filled Lucas for another split second, but he refused for it to take hold.

This isn’t me. I know what I want. I simply need to take it.

Lucas grabbed Jakob and forced him against the wall. Jakob stared up at him, his eyes widening for a moment… until they quickly grew hooded. The look of lust on the man’s face only fueled Lucas all the more. He lowered his head and captured Jakob’s lips, intent on showing Jakob there was no mistake.

No mistake at all.

Jakob fought him at first. Lucas could feel the man’s hands clawing at his chest, pushing him away, but Lucas refused to give in. He would have what he wanted. One way or another, he would have this male as his. Lucas forced the kiss, seeking entry into Jakob’s mouth, sensing the need for Jakob to give in swirling around them like a cloud.

After a few moments, he won the battle. Jakob opened to him, and Lucas swept his tongue inside. His body shook from the need that had built all these weeks.

The need to claim was strong.

Jakob melting into him only made the need stronger. As his lover yielded, Lucas felt his body harden all the more. Rubbing his denim-covered cock against Jakob’s hip, he knew he was close to coming from just that sensation alone. A kiss and a rub was enough to do him in?

Jakob moaned, his hands sliding up Lucas’ chest. Lucas lowered a hand and cupped Jakob’s cock, approving of the hard flesh he found under the leather there. Jakob wanted him, it was apparent.

So why had the male run from him all these weeks?

Jakob suddenly pushed him away, knocking him into the opposite wall. An instinctive growl came from Lucas’ lips on impact, and he rushed back to his prey and pinned the male against the wall.

“Why do you deny me?”

Jakob’s face contorted in what looked like pain. “I can’t be what you want me to be.”

Lucas frowned. “And what is it you think I want?”

“I have given my life over to my king. It’s not mine to give to you,” Jakob whispered. “And I won’t be just a warm body in your bed for a night or two.”

“And who said I wanted more than that?”

Lucas regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

The wounded look in Jakob’s eyes twisted at Lucas’ gut. It also showed Lucas the male had felt their bond. They both knew a handful of screws would never be enough.

An eternity would scarcely suffice.

UPDATE on the update on Crying Wolf

After a severe reaction to antibiotic #2, I ended up back in the ER with an infection and had to go on antibiotic #3.

So, I will be pushing back Crying Wolf one more week.

I NEVER want to disappoint my fans, but having the time to make the book RIGHT is more important to me.

I am extremely excited about this series and I want it good versus forced.

I hope you all understand.  Look for Crying Wolf to release 04/06/2016.

UPDATE: Crying Wolf, Bloodlines 2

UPDATED!!

Hi all -- I hope you're having an amazing Sunday.

I have some news about the release of Crying Wolf...

I'm pushing back the date a week.  I've been ill for about a month or so and have developed pneumonia.  I've been trying to push through the edits and get it all done (I'm a little behind because of the illness) and I just can't push anymore.

I hope you all understand and look for Crying Wolf to release on 3/30/2016. 04/06/2016.

COVER REVEAL -- Crying Wolf (Bloodlines, 2)

COMING 3/23/2016

UPDATE:  3/30/2016

Sorry for the push back -- I have pneumonia and need to take a little time to heal up

NEW RELEASE -- New Series!! THE LAST DIRE WOLF, Bloodlines Book 1

My new series BLOODLINES is finally here.  

Their love is taboo.  The crossing of wolven bloodlines is forbidden.  Yet Eirik, supreme alpha and king of the wolves, is tired of hiding his love for Gunnar.  The last of his kind, he’s cursed to be without a mate during his long life. He refuses his destiny and seeks solace with one of those closest to him.

King’s guard Gunnar knew he could never expect to stand at the king’s side when he let the man take him to bed, no matter how much he began to crave it over the decades.  He’d given his life to be a member of the elite warriors, not a king’s consort, but he can’t stop wishing the king could be his.

Moments before Eirik can change the laws governing their world, an old enemy comes baring a unique gift.  Perhaps Eirik’s not the last of his kind after all.

BUY HERE

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“You know as well as I do that wolves are not immortal.  He’s lived a long, long life and now his soul has… grown thin.  I’ve never met one as old as he is and doubt I will again.”

It wasn’t the answer Eirik wanted.  “How much longer do we have with him?”

The doctor shook his head.  “It could be days… maybe weeks. I couldn’t say.”

It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear.  His hands fisted at his side as he struggled to control his emotions.

“You can go,” Eirik whispered, his voice raw.

The doctor left quickly.  Eirik wanted to scream.  He wanted to howl his frustrations, but he had too many eyes watching him.

He was supposed to be regal.

Unemotional.

Fuck them all!

Eirik punched the wall, his fist breaking through one of the painted cement blocks.  It shattered around his hand, leaving his fist bloodied.  There was no pain, not greater than the one he already felt.  He stared at the hole he’d left in the wall, knowing it was just like the hole growing inside him.

“Your Majesty?” Gunnar said, his voice low and filled with worry.

Eirik met Gunnar’s stare.  He said nothing, just brushed past the man and went back into Uffe’s room.

The elder wolf slept.

Eirik walked back to the side of the bed and sat down.  He took Uffe’s hand in his.

Something had changed.

“Uffe?” he asked, panic filling him.  He shook the man’s shoulder carefully.  “Uffe?” he cried, louder this time.  He kept on shaking, but Uffe never awoke.

“No,” he whispered, unready to say goodbye.

Sorrow twisted his face as he sank to his knees beside the bed, Uffe’s hand still captured between his.  Hot tears fell down his face as he held on for as long as he could.  When there was nothing left inside him, he rose on shaking legs and placed a last kiss on Uffe’s forehead.  Wiping away the tears, he collected himself as best he could.

“I want his funeral tonight,” he said to the room.  He knew several of the hospital staff stood at the door, ready to prepare the body.  And likely ready to share gossip about the king losing his control.  “I won’t have him sitting in the morgue.  Tonight.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” two of the staff members said in unison.

After grabbing the leather file, he exited the room.

He felt Gunnar fall into step behind him in the hospital corridor.  The small facility was wolf-owned and operated.  No humans could ever find out what they were, so they’d created the world they needed on their own.  He moved his hand to the side, slapping Gunnar in the chest with the file. 

“Take this and have Damien review Uffe’s notes.” 

Gunnar took the folder and never lost a step.  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I want him to conduct a search for other dire wolves immediately.”

“Of course, sire.”

Eirik stopped before the elevator and punched the button, harder than he needed to.  Frustration filled every ounce of his body.  There was nothing he could do to stop from losing Uffe.  The best wolven doctors, the best of hospital care… none of it was enough.

He was now the last.

Uffe had saved him, for what?  For a legacy of being the last of his bloodline?  To only parlay the eventual end of his kind for another few thousand years?  What had he accomplished to leave a mark—a mark for an entire race of wolves?

Nothing.

Nothing he’d done would ever be enough.  The dire wolves would go out with a whimper.

The elevator arrived and he stepped inside, Gunnar on his heels.  The doors wouldn’t close fast enough.

As soon as they were alone, Eirik dragged Gunnar into his arms and pressed his lips to his lover’s.  Gunnar yielded easily, his mouth soft under Eirik’s.  He dragged in a breath, drawing in Gunnar’s masculine scent.

He needed this touch… this taste.  He needed to feel alive after witnessing the slow drift of death.  He needed Gunnar to fill that hole widening inside him.

Eirik backed away and stared into Gunnar’s handsome face.  “Tonight.  Come to me.  After the funeral… I don’t want to be alone.”

Gunnar cupped one side of Eirik’s face.  “As if I’d let you be alone tonight.”

Coming in 2016! BLOODLINES -- COVER REVEAL

COMING EARLY 2016