Single Wicked Wolf
Wolves of Willow Bend
Heather Long
A Wicked Tale
ARe Books
Genre: M/F, Werewolves,
PNR
About the Book:
He’s single, wicked, and
a perfect pretend boyfriend…but exactly who is she fooling?
Murphy DeWitt enjoyed two
years touring American consulates in Europe as an assistant to a
diplomatic attaché. It was a dream come true, and a hell of a
learning experience. A master of languages, she knows how to get her
point across. Romance, however, proves to be a tongue twister.
Now en route to Willow
Bend for a friend’s wedding—without the make-believe boyfriend
she created for her family—she debates how to confess her
deception. Luckily, her flight includes a fantastically hot wolf that
leaves her breathless and contemplating all kinds of naughty things.
Giovanni Conti thrives on
protecting others. As a Centurion for the Seven Hills pack in Italy,
it’s his pleasure to serve his Alpha wherever he is needed.
Dispatched ahead in
preparation for the Alpha pair’s trip to Willow Bend, he has no
problem entertaining the sexy wolf he encounters in the airport. The
last thing the playboy wolf expects, however, is to find in Murphy
the most captivating chase of his life…
Excerpt:
“I’m in Rome, Mom,”
Murphy repeated the information for the third time. The connection
sucked, but she’d promised to let her family know prior to boarding
the flight taking her back to the United States. After two years of
hopping all over Europe, she was actually ready for a good old
fashioned burger and beer with her friends. If it were warm enough,
maybe they could have a picnic by the old swimming hole and catch up.
Navigating through the
crowded corridors, she avoided being run over by businessmen
hurrying, tourists gawking, and mothers herding. She’d already
checked her suitcase, but kept her go bag with her. After visiting
more than sixty U.S. missions and consulates throughout Europe, she
was heading home to Willow Bend. The roaming had been fantastic for
her, a dream come true. The idea of returning home—returning to her
pack—made her wolf heart sing.
“Rome,” she said again
when her mother’s voice crackled.
“I thought your last
assignment was in Zurich.” Switzerland was an appropriate place to
finish her European tour. Serving as a translator for an assistant
attaché may have landed her in boring meeting after boring meeting,
but it had also taken her to a wide variety of cities. A once in a
lifetime opportunity, especially as not all packs welcomed foreigners
in their territory. Thankfully, most had given her a pass for a day
or two with freedom to leave the consulates or embassies. Only three
times had she received a text from either her Alpha Mason or his
second, A.J. advising her to stay with the detail in the host city or
on the embassy grounds.
Some packs killed and
asked questions later. She’d been turned when she was eighteen and
at twenty-seven, she’d had nine years of being a wolf. Even after
two years of limited shifting because of location and observation,
she’d become more comfortable with her wolf. Still, she avoided
fights—and she dodged another cluster of people. The airport made
her crazy. She had to cross the entire length of it to get to her
connecting flight to the U.S.
“I was, Mom,” she told
her, weaving to avoid students from Japan who streamed past in
organized fashion. Part of the reason she’d taken the job was when
she’d asked Toman for the bite, she’d had to forgo a year of
foreign studies.
Her wolf rubbed against
the inside of her skin. Yes, totally worth it.
“Now I’m in Rome, I’ll
be boarding my flight in fifteen and I’ll be home sometime
tomorrow…and no, before you ask, don’t send anyone to pick me up.
I’m going to rent a car.”
“You’re sure?”
Alison DeWitt was the perfect mom. She baked cookies, attended all
extracurricular functions, encouraged her and didn’t hover. But she
always had to confirm everything. “The wedding is in three days,
two after you get here, and I thought we could meet your young man
before the wedding. It will be so crazy at the wedding.”
Crap. “I’m sure—I
see my gate. I need to go. I’ll see you soon. Love you.” Ending
the call before her mother could add anything else probably earned
her bad daughter karma, but she didn’t want to admit the mysterious
boyfriend stories she’d entertained them with on and off for the
last few months were complete and utter lies. Self-defense was her
only excuse. After Shiloh and Matt announced their mating, Mom began
dropping huge, nuclear bomb-sized hints about marriage or mating
prospects for Murphy. The first fabrication had been to get her
mother off the phone, and it sort of snowballed from there.
Not one to lie to her
parents, she’d come right to them at fifteen and confessed her
desire to be a wolf. Her human parents were a part of the Willow Bend
pack, and all of her siblings were human, too. Her aunt and uncle,
and by extension her cousins, however, were wolves. Her aunt had
taken the bite, and her children had been born wolves. Murphy wanted
to be like them.
No one in her family tried
to talk her out of it. Her stomach rumbled, so Murphy diverted into a
gift shop. Bottle of water, one pre-packaged turkey sandwich, and
some chips in hand, she dropped the food into her duffle bag after
paying for it. Returning to the concourse, she blew out a breath. No,
no one tried to talk her out of her desire to become a wolf. No one
pushed her to be anything other than what she was—and her mom
talked to every wolf family, including her sister, and they all took
Murphy under their wings.
Eyes watering, she held
her breath at the cloud of Chanel and sweat floating past her.
Contrary to what most women thought, bathing in their perfume did not
cover the lack of a shower. Learning to ignore her nose took
practice, and the airport was a great place to remember not to suck
in the scent of everyone in her path. A glance at her phone told her
she had another forty minutes till her plane boarded, which was good.
She would have time to eat and pee without going into the nasty
little onboard bathroom.
Plan firm, she found an
opening amongst the passengers hurrying along. Carry-on in hand, she
heard a mother call out to her child in French. The snap in the
mother’s tone jerked her attention more than the words.
Homesickness swamped her all at once and tears filled her eyes. It
had been so long since she’d seen her mother, save for the
occasional Skype call, or been around the pack. The longing left her
aching.
Distracted, she didn’t
slow until she slammed into the hard bodied male and bounced off him.
All the air whooshed out of her, and her chest actually hurt from the
blow. If not for his hands on her arms steadying her, she would have
landed on her ass. Embarrassing enough to slam into someone, worse to
fall.
Tilting her head, she met
the deep brown eyes glinting with concern and humor. The sexy brown
eyes matched the sexy, rugged features. Very Italian. Very hot. Her
nostrils flared and her heart clenched.
Oh. Crap. Very wolf.
~
About the Author
Heather Long likes long
walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who
aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines
tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal
historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might
switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her
characters drive the books.
When she’s not wrangling
her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends
she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real
you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so
likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like
them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.
Giveaway
2 ARe ebooks (ARe
Imprints)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
