SHADOW OF THE WOLF (HEARTS DESIRE #1)

Lana banged her head repeatedly against the steering wheel of her car, muttering under her breath. She turned the key for the umpteenth time with a swift prayer to the Lady. Again, nothing happened, not even the grinding sound of the starter. Her poor little Beetle had up and died in the middle of the night on a deserted highway, with a thunderstorm threatening to break over her head.

Wonderful. I get to be a cliché. It wouldn’t be the first time her car had broken down, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, although she could honestly say this was probably the worst time her car had ever chosen to stop running. I really should just give up and get a new car. Kerry, her best friend, had mentioned it that night at the bridal shower, but she’d once again brushed off Kerry’s concerns over the clunker Lana drove. Usually when the Bug died on her she was able to get it up and running again with a quick call to Triple-A and a stop at the mechanics, not an option in East Bumblefuck, PA at two o’clock in the morning. Keeping the Bug running was usually a labor of love.

Nothing quite like unrequited love, is there? She knew she wasn’t out of gas; she’d filled up just before leaving the small town the Naughty Nights Club had been in. It couldn’t be the alternator. She’d just replaced that. And the starter was only six months old. The car had died while running, so it couldn’t be the battery. Could it?

Lana wasted a moment wishing Kerry had followed her, but her friend had been flirting with a very hot male stripper, and Lana hadn’t wanted to interrupt. If she’d known that the small spike of unease she’d felt just before heading out would lead to a broken-down car in the middle of freaking nowhere, she would have plastered herself to Kerry’s side. And no matter how badly she wanted to, she couldn’t just “zap” the Beetle no matter how much she might want to. She stood a good chance of doing even more damage that way. “Fixing” anything mechanical usually ended in a disaster of epic proportions, especially since she had a bad tendency to get angry when it didn’t work. Anger and witchcraft just didn’t mix well.

And why the fuck had Kelly, Kerry’s twin, picked some place so far off the beaten path to have her bachelorette party anyway? Who heard of a

male strip club so far out in the boondocks? Kelly the Crazy, that’s who. She just hoped Kelly’s fiancé didn’t get wind of the lap dance Kerry had bought for her, because odds were good it wouldn’t be Kelly who got into trouble. Dennis and Kerry got along about as well as dogs and fleas. Kerry lived to annoy the straight-arrow Dennis, and Dennis tolerated Kerry only for Kelly’s sake.

One thing she could say about the man, he did love Kelly more than anyone or anything. That, and the happiness she saw in her twin’s eyes, made Kerry much more pleasant than she could be towards the man. The last guy Kelly had dated hadn’t fared nearly so well. She’d put an entire fifteen ounce bottle of Jean Naté after bath splash into the man’s Listerine.

It had gone downhill from there. Kerry had the pictures to prove it.

A shock of thunder caused her to jump. With a sigh, she pulled out her cell phone. Hopefully she’d be able to get a tow truck despite the storm and the late hour. Hell, if Kerry was still available, maybe Lana could pry her away from the prime beef she’d been plastered to long enough to lend a hand.

She flipped the phone open and stared at the distinct lack of phonage.

How could the battery be dead? The stupid thing was plugged in! Lana made sure to keep it in the car charger… She fumbled around, finally finding the end of the cord in the pitch black car. Well, shit. The plug was loose in the outlet. It may have been in the charger, but it sure hadn’t been charging.

Isn’t this the part where the spooky music is supposed to start?

With a weary groan, Lana opened her door. The heavens opened up above her, pouring rain down on her outstretched arm, soaking it in seconds. Oh yeah. Cue the music. All the night needed was a scary black figure at the end of the road.

She glanced back, unable to help herself. Road clear.

Reaching into her back seat, she pulled out her umbrella. It refused to open. When she finally forced it open, the wind plucked it right out of her hands and sent it flying into the dark, wet night.

Lana glared up into the storm. “Are you trying to tell me something? I mean, you’ve got my attention!”

Lightning, quickly followed by thunder, answered her.

No car, no phone, no umbrella, and a nice long walk back to the strip joint in the pouring rain. Maybe I should stay put and wait for a cop. Isn’t

that what they say to do if your car breaks down? And isn’t that what I’d be yelling at the screen right now?

Of course, I’d also be thinking that the poor girl was pretty much toast either way. Especially if this was the beginning of the movie, cause that would mean I wasn’t the heroine. She wasn’t the heroine. Whatever.

Once again, lightning and thunder answered her. There was a definite Move! vibe to the air that had her instincts howling at her much like the wind was. And one thing Lana almost always did was listen to her instincts.

She glanced around the dark interior of the car. Because this is what happens when I don’t. Thunder rumbled overhead, ominous, the air heavy with the threat of the next lightning strike.

Okay, okay, I get the message!

Lana grabbed her purse and keys and got out of her car. She started walking, heading away from the night club. Why she was being prodded in the opposite direction she had no clue, but she was done ignoring the fates tonight. With any luck the powers that be would eventually let her know where she was going, but she wasn’t about to hold her breath. Apparently she’d done something to piss off the Karma police. She just hoped her punishment was nothing worse than a bad cold.

* * * *

Christopher returned from an early evening run, refreshed and oddly jubilant. He loved running in the woods, but tonight somehow felt different.

He felt his familiar’s tug when he crossed the boundaries of his property. He stepped, naked and human, onto the back porch. Reaching for the jeans he’d left on the glass topped patio table, he stopped at Alasdair’s meow. The heavens opened up and drenched him before he could even finish unfolding them. Shivering in the cooler air, he quickly abandoned the damp jeans and stepped into the house.

Alasdair appeared, his tail quivering high in the air. He rubbed himself against Christopher’s calf before running towards the crystal Christopher used for scrying. A quick peek into his workroom showed that the two candles were finally touching.

After a month of waiting, his mate was finally here.

Christopher sat at his desk, swallowing to calm himself. She was here, within his reach. For the first time in his life his hands were shaking from nerves. He stared at the crystal ball, eager to finally see his mate. All of the

preparation spells for scrying where already long in place, just requiring an activation spell. With a wave of his hand, he muttered,

“By the power earth and fire, Show to me my heart’s desire. By the power of air and sea, As I will so mote it be.”

Mist swirled briefly within the ball, clearing abruptly. Christopher’s eyes widened when he saw his chosen mate for the first time.

Goddess, she’s beautiful.

But the more he watched, the more he knew something was very, very wrong.

*

Lana slogged through the woods, grumpy as hell. She’d followed the road for about half a mile before the urge to leave it had overcome her.

Following her instincts she’d gone to the right, into the woods, rather than to the left, where the ground was more open. Something felt very wrong about being in the open right now, something that would leave her … vulnerable. Enough so that she was willing to go into a wooded area during a thunderstorm.

Not your brightest move to date. If the lightning didn’t get her, whatever was hunting her would.

She was thoroughly soaked, her shoes squished when she walked, her hair was a bedraggled mess, and she knew her mascara was running down her face. She wiped the moisture away, not that it did any good. With any luck she’d strike just the right note of pathetic to get some help. Hopefully, someone was nearby who would take pity on such a sucky night and give her a hand. Or a phone. Or a hand holding a phone.

Hell, while we’re wishing for miracles, a cup of hot chocolate would be nice, too.

Lana shivered, her teeth chattering in the cold autumn rain. Her booted feet kept slipping on the wet leaves, the three inch heels definitely not meant for hiking in rain-drenched forests. She was lucky she hadn’t broken her ankle yet, but she had to keep moving. Her internal trouble radar was pinging like mad, urging her forward, her fear spiking until all she wanted to do was run.

She was being hunted.

She didn’t hear, or see, a thing, but she knew something was behind her.

Something that meant to hurt her.

Why didn’t I hear the spooky music, damn it?

She picked up her pace, but running was out of the question. It was black as pitch, and her night vision was bad on the brightest nights. Tonight she couldn’t see a thing except during those brief flashes of lightning. The rain, wind and thunder muffled any sounds she might have heard, so tracking her stalker that way was impossible.

Whatever chased her kept pace. She considered throwing up a witchlight but the damn thing would be a beacon to whoever was behind her.

When the fifth branch in fifteen minutes smacked her in the face, Lana started to mutter under her breath. She clutched her purse to her, her eyes wide and afraid. She searched the darkness around her even more certain she was being hunted.

And then she felt it. A second presence. There was someone nearby, someone who could help. Her instincts were never wrong. Two people stalked her in the night; one meant safety, the other did not. Now she just had to figure out which one was which.

Guessing wrong would be very, very bad.

*

Christopher watched his mate pick up speed, her face full of fear. He felt the sense she had of being stalked, and it worried him.

Could Cole be out there? Would Cole have sensed Christopher’s call for his mate?

Would Cole hurt Christopher’s mate just to challenge him?

Christopher couldn’t take that chance. With a last, lingering glance at the dark-haired female, he stalked to the back porch. He glared at the rain- drenched yard and changed shape with a shudder.

Christopher hated getting rained on.

He darted into the night, his wolf eyes much more suited to the darkness than the man’s had been. Sniffing the wind, he quickly found the scent of the female. His female, his mate. And something else, something elusive, something that stalked her. Something familiar that he hadn’t smelled in a long time.

Cole.

The wolf paused, growling, sifting through the scents and the sounds.

His woman smelled incredibly delicious. Baked apples and warm sunshine, she tugged on his senses in a way he hadn’t expected. He moved swiftly and silently through the damp forest, that wonderful scent leading him straight to his prey. He stopped in front of her, confident he was hidden in the dark trees.

Soaking wet jeans molded to one of the finest asses it had ever been his pleasure to see. High heeled black boots slipped and slid on the wet leaves, nearly landing her on said ass. He couldn’t tell what size her breasts were because of the bulky knit poncho she wore, but if it matched her ass, she’d be a truly pleasant handful. Her dark hair lay plastered to her skull, the color impossible to tell. Porcelain skin glowed even in the dark night. She blew on one strand of wet hair that flopped into her eyes with an impatient sound and a roll of dark eyes that had the man inside the wolf grinning.

There you are.

*

Lana stopped, a strange sense of both safety and vulnerability flashing through her. That way. She started to turn to her left and shrieked.

Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and the dark shape of a man stood before her. His eyes gleamed in the flash of lightning, his grin triumphant. He reached out towards her and tried to grab her arm.

Her entire being shuddered away from him. Lana stepped away from the man. “Why have you been following me?”

The man tilted his head. “Isn’t that your car broken down on the road? I thought you could use some help.”

His voice was a pleasant blend of concern and attraction. Lana’s eyes narrowed, bringing up her second sight. Usually she could conjure up a person’s aura fairly easily, but this man’s was somehow shielded.

Unfortunately she got just enough of a feel off of that shield to know what she was dealing with. Damn. A freaking wizard. Figures. No way did she want to engage in a magical dance with a wizard, especially when she couldn’t tell how strong he was. Lana took a step back, every instinct she had pushing her away from the man in front of her.

“I’d be careful, too. There are rumors of some kind of wild animal in these parts. Found a few dogs mangled in the woods.”

The concern in his voice was false. A flash of red and sickly green surrounded him, the colors murky and muddled, before he shielded himself

once more. Something was off about those colors. “Ah, thanks for the warning.” Lana backed up another step, her instincts screaming at her that her only safety lay behind her, somewhere in the shadows.

The man moved forward a step. “You really should have waited in your car for a cop or something, Miss…?”

Lana put her hands behind her, feeling for trees and branches. She continued to slowly back away from the menace she sensed in front of her. If she could reach the safe harbor she felt behind her, everything would be all right.

Only if she could reach it, though.

Then again, the Lord does help those who help themselves. Her eyes were drawn to the branch swaying dangerously above his head. And the Lady provides the means.

The stranger dropped all pretense of helpfulness. He shook his head at her, his expression annoyed. “Are you going to make this difficult? It doesn’t have to be painful, you know.”

“What doesn’t have to be painful?” “Your death.”

With those words several things happened at once. A long, menacing growl erupted out of the darkness. One of the shadows hurtled through the night, knocking the blond man onto his ass.

And the branch he’d been standing under snapped, helped along by Lana and the force of the wind, hitting the blond on the top of his head and knocking him out cold.

The shadow animal turned, its golden eyes trained on Lana. Slowly it stalked towards her, its body moving with a supple, lethal grace.

A black wolf. In rural Pennsylvania.

Lord? Lady? No freaking way that’s safe. Lana gulped, and wondered if, somewhere out there, Fate was laughing its ass off at her.

*

Christopher’s heart was still pounding in his chest. He turned towards his mate, scenting her for any injuries. He relaxed a bit when all he smelled were scratches, most likely from her flight through the woods.

When Cole had threatened her, it had been all he could do not to rip out the bastard’s throat. The only thing that had saved him had been the falling branch and his mate’s horrified gasp.

She was brave, his female. She stood there and watched him coming towards her with big, chocolate brown eyes wide with fear and…

Yes. Fascination. He could work with that.

He approached her slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. When he reached her side, he gently stroked her thigh with his massive head, unable to prevent the rough, happy grumble that leapt to his throat.

“Oh boy.”

Her soft whisper sent shivers down his spine. His tail curled in pleasure, waving back and forth. Her hand came to rest tentatively on his broad back, her fingers digging into his fur.

With a yip he turned. Gently he gathered her hand in his mouth, careful of his sharp teeth, and gently tugged her towards his home.

“Um, okay. Go with the big doggie. Got it.”

He rolled his eyes but did his best to ignore her words. The breathy, scared tone of voice matched her scent, frightened, wary, and brave.

Christopher felt pride in his mate. She followed his lead, barely sparing Cole a glance. It pleased him that she made no move to give his enemy aid.

Certain now she followed, Christopher let her hand go and stalked into the cold wet night.

*

I’m following a wolf through the woods in rural Pennsylvania after it attacked a man who told me he was going to kill me, and somehow my inner warning signal is okay with that. Lana pinched the fleshy part of her arm hard. “OW!”

The wolf stopped and looked back, its head tilted to the side. “Nope, not dreaming.” Lana rubbed at her arm, hoping it wouldn’t

bruise. She hadn’t meant to pinch quite that hard.

The wolf huffed and turned, heading off once more. Of the two strangers she’d met in the woods tonight, Lana considered the wolf less dangerous, at least to her. The way the big wolf had acted after she’d hit the man on the head with that branch had been surreal, but not very frightening at all. The sense of safety she’d been heading towards had centered itself on the wolf, and she’d felt compelled to follow wherever it led.

The big wolf led her through the woods, his footfalls silent and sure.

The few times she lost sight of the wolf it returned, tugging on her hand to lead her forward.

me.

I hope wherever we’re going I can take my boots off. My feet are killing

“Are we there yet?”

Up ahead the wolf gave a strange chuffing cough.

“And I’m sure I’d understand that if I spoke fluent woof.” The wolf stopped, staring back at her for a moment. “What?”

The wolf gave a shake of its head before moving forward once again. “Yup, you’re male.”

Once again that proud head turned towards her. She could almost sense

the question it wanted to ask.

“You haven’t once stopped for directions and you don’t make a lick of sense.”

Those golden eyes narrowed, almost as if… Nah. Not possible. Grammy had told her a long time ago that shapeshifters were a myth. Although he could be someone’s familiar. That would explain how he seems to understand me. But even familiars didn’t have the level of intelligence this wolf seemed to possess, unless it was under a compulsion spell of some kind.

And anyone who put a compulsion spell on someone else wasn’t someone she wanted to meet.

She felt the magical barriers before they passed through them, early enough that she stopped before going in. “Wait.”

The wolf, on the other side of the barrier, yipped impatiently.

“No way. I have no clue what’s on the other side. For all I know you actually work for tall, blond and dorky. That could be an evil lair you’re luring me to.” Not that she actually believed that, but for some reason her instincts were telling her that crossing that border meant nothing would ever be the same again. She wasn’t certain yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing, since her insides were currently filled with butterflies doing a crazy, half-scared, half-excited mambo.

The wolf lowered his dark head, golden eyes closed. She could almost hear the pleas for patience.

Guess that answers that question. A familiar, then. At least she knew for certain now that she was dealing with someone magical. “Besides, judging from the look and feel, whoever’s on the other side is a wizard.” The wolf’s head snapped up. “Not sure I’m so eager to meet up with another one of

those any time soon.” The wolf slowly shook his head. “Well, what would you do if you were in my,” she looked down at her feet “boots?”

The wolf snorted.

“Yes, I know, Pup in Boots, doggie drag, call it what you will. The question remains. Would you put your life into an unknown wizard’s hands?”

The image of the wolf blurred until a tall, wet, naked man stood in front of her.

“You already did.”

Lana blinked. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, other than a whimpered “Ugh.”

The man’s lips twitched. “Are you coming through or do you like getting rained on?”

Lana squeaked.

Hot, wet, naked male, with dark hair and golden eyes. Golden eyes.

Sorry, Grammy, looks like you were wrong.

The man’s mouth curved up into a sensuous smile. “Of course this would be a great deal more fun if you were also naked.”

“Guh.”

He held out his hand. “Come to me.”

Lana hesitated. There was something about his stance, about the way he phrased that command, that worried her. There was something irrevocable about it that had her wanting to take a quick step back.

The smile left his face. Determination hardened his features. “Come to me.”

The whispered seduction of his voice wrapped around her, teasing her senses, tugging her forward until she crossed the barrier, mambo dancing butterflies be damned.

Well, fuck. Looks like I get to dance with a wizard after all.