Today, I’m turning over my blog to my super Sassy Siren Sister, Barbara Hightower and allowing her to post her press releases of some great new authors. Next on the list is Silke Juppenlatz.
When life hands you wolves, howl.
The alpha wolf in Zalin's pack is slowing going insane, which is tough enough to contend with, but the guy is gunning for the woman Zalin loves--the rancher's daughter who saved his hide. He's torn between taking off to avoid a confrontation with the Alpha, and sticking around to protect Lucia. Opening his heart to her is not an option-- he's had enough rejection to last a lifetime.
Lucia is fascinated by the "wolf" she saved--at the time unaware he was more than a canine. Zalin seems out to save her from his Alpha, but she wants more than protection from him. When spilled family secrets make her doubt everything she knows, she turns to Zalin for stability, only to learn he's planning to leave.
Will Zalin desert the one he loves when she needs him most, or will he howl a challenge on her behalf?
EXCERPT:
Lucia went around the bend in the road, driving automatically while pondering the encounter in town. Luckily she could drive this road blindfolded. She turned off to head down the long lane to the ranch and had no idea how she’d got here. Something was on the road up ahead, some animal, so she slowed down to give it a chance to get out of the way. It looked like a dog and she wondered why it was standing there.
As she got closer, she realized it wasn’t a dog, but a wolf.
The same brown wolf her father had shot two weeks ago, the very animal she’d never thought she’d see again--yet there it was, in the middle of the road.
He didn’t budge.
Lucia stopped the car a short distance away, watching her wolf. While she was happy to see he seemed to have recovered, she wasn’t sure what he was doing here. If her father came up this way, he’d definitely shoot him this time. Even she thought he was too close to their cattle, and she didn’t relish the idea of wolves hunting their cows. Especially if this wolf chose to wreak havoc, showing her father the error of his decision to let him live.
“Go away.” Lucia edged the car forward, hoping the animal would take off.
No such luck. Instead of running away, her wolf sat and cocked his head to the side, watching her. For long moments he stared at her, then lowered himself to lie on the icy surface, his head resting on his paws. Paws crossed at the wrist.
“Oh, sure. Be cute. I don’t think so.” Still, she had to grin, seeing him eye her up. It would be safer to stay in the car, but then...he hadn’t hurt her last time. Maybe he was friendly? Had someone taken a wolf pup and tamed it, only to have him run away later? It was possible, though highly unlikely. She’d have heard about a tame wolf around these parts.
The wolf didn’t move an inch. She couldn’t get past him without running him over, and if he didn’t move, she had no way to get home. “Come on wolf, I’m really not in the mood for games right now.”
Lucia turned off the engine to conserve fuel, since the beast apparently had no intention of leaving. Fine. For long minutes they just stared at each other. She’d sit here until he moved, even if it was getting rather cold in the car with the heating off. Lucia rubbed her hands and breathed on them, seeing the wolf lift his head. He got up, but she’d never seen an animal look so...heartbroken. He was all sad puppy eyes, his tail low and his head slightly bent. When that didn’t work on her either, he slunk off the road to stand in the snow, still watching her.
“Thank you.” Lucia started the car again, the icy blast from the heater making her shudder. At least it wasn’t far now, she doubted the engine would warm up enough to provide heat before she got to the ranch.
She kept her eye on the wolf and, to her surprise, he trotted alongside the car for a while. Half a mile from the ranch he stopped and watched her drive away, then turned and disappeared between the trees in the distance.
Strange. She knew wolves were highly intelligent, but this one displayed more than just canine smarts. He’d acted as if he knew exactly who she was, and he’d definitely tried to lure her out of the car.
Lucia pulled into the yard and unloaded the groceries she’d picked up in town. Her arms full, she headed into the house, still pondering the encounter with the wolf--and the man in town, who’d most definitely attracted her attention.
AUTHOR BIO:
Silke grew up in Germany and is used to things going bump in the night -- and it wasn't always the acrophobic cat, or someone hitting their head on a low beam on the ceiling.
She writes paranormal romance, usually at night, and blames Anne Stuart to this day for all her ambitions and strange stories, after reading one of her books.
These days the only thing going bump at "oh-dark-thirty" is her -- usually when she smacks into the sofa while creeping to the kitchen for another cup of coffee.
When she is not writing, you can usually find her somewhere in the Surrey countryside on the back of her Paso Fino gelding Oscuro.
Silke likes to hear from her readers.
Feel free to contact her via HER BLOG
Follow her on Twitter
This book sounds good.
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