Wolf Heart - excerpt
Paramedic Con Albury loves nothing more than spending his time off either as a wolf or at night clubs. He’s always looking for a good time, and he usually finds it. While he has aligned himself with the Outcast Pack for protection, he tells himself he prefers to be alone.
Zach Ellis has spent his life preparing to take over the pack just like everyone expects. Pack and family come first. But he needs more than duty and giving into temptation and falling into Con’s bed is easier than it should be.
But the fallout will threaten everything the Outcast Pack stands for: freedom and found family.
The Outcast Pack is part of the Familiar Mates world but stands alone. For readers who enjoy steamy gay wolf shifter romance.
Zach Ellis has spent his life preparing to take over the pack just like everyone expects. Pack and family come first. But he needs more than duty and giving into temptation and falling into Con’s bed is easier than it should be.
But the fallout will threaten everything the Outcast Pack stands for: freedom and found family.
The Outcast Pack is part of the Familiar Mates world but stands alone. For readers who enjoy steamy gay wolf shifter romance.
Zach watched as the wolf—nothing else it could be from the size and shape—belted along the beach like it had the devil on its tail. The moonlight caught its silver fur and made the animal seem like an illusion.
Zach sat motionless on the rock and let the breeze carry the scent of the animal to him. He knew it wasn’t an actual wolf, which meant it was a shifter.
This was the wolf that had marked the signpost. Zach smiled. In all the time they’d both been coming here, they’d never bumped into each other. And they shouldn’t tonight even though curiosity to find out who he was burned in his veins.
They were both here for the same reason—to run and enjoy the feeling of freedom, no matter how fleeting—though Zach was still a man. Just sitting and listening to the waves break over the rocks and let the salt spray coast his skin was almost enough. His skin prickled with anticipation.
He tipped his face to the moonlight. There was something in the air that had drawn them both here and urged them to run wild.
Usually, Zach would run on pack lands, but his family and extended family would be there, and he didn’t want to deal with them and their kindly worded prying questions. He was going to become the pack leader soon, and they wanted to know when he was going to find a mate.
A mate.
By that, they meant woman.
In his pack, there was no consideration that he might want something different. And he knew better than to say anything. His pack fell on the traditional side of things. They followed the old rules. Pack first, and anyone who put it at risk was kicked out.
Given that the rules were made during the witch hunts, that meant people like him—people who wanted more than the life planned out from the moment he was born. He was raised a leader from his first breath, and all he had to do was obey.
He would conform, and he’d marry someone they thought suitable. If he didn’t indulge the urge, then maybe it would go away. He’d been hoping that for the last ten years. He’d dated girls in high school and done all the right things. For a while, he’d even convinced himself. Almost.
The wolf enjoying the beach ran into the water and then raced back onto the sand, dancing with the water and the moonlight. Zach wanted to be part of that fun and to shed the responsibilities that consumed his life, so it was no longer his to live. He could feel the wolf’s enjoyment as if it were his own.
Before he could gather his human doubts and fears, he stripped and shifted, leaving his clothes on the rock. In wolf form, he paused as animal concerns took over. The other wolf may not welcome him. What if it wasn’t friendly or didn’t want company? If he was injured in a fight, what would his father say?
He’d probably only worry if Zach lost. He’d want to know where it had happened; then he’d want to find the other wolf and make him pay. And that would mean giving up the location of his beach. He needed this place.Joining in was a bad idea.
He sat back down, the need to run thrumming in his blood. His blood was the rush of the ocean lapping at the sand. The other wolf darted and leapt, playing a game with the waves licking the shore like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Zach huffed out a breath that whined out of his nose. He froze, but it was too late. The gray wolf stopped and cocked its head. He knew he wasn’t alone. Zach gritted his teeth; he’d ruined the moment with a careless noise. He could’ve watched a bit longer, and now he had to get up and do the right thing.
He padded out of the shadows and into the moonlight.
He wasn’t sleek and silver; he was the color of dirty snow. An unattractive mix of gray and brown. His footsteps hesitated. What if this other wolf didn’t want him here, or worse, didn’t want to know him at all? For a moment, Zach considered lowering his head and approaching submissively, but this was as much his beach as it was the other wolf’s, and there was more than enough for them to share tonight.
The silver wolf cocked his head as if to ask who he was and what he wanted.
Zach opened his mouth in a wolfy grin, hoping that the other wolf recognized his scent from the other post. He wasn’t claiming territory. He just wanted someone to run with. To play with.
While they couldn’t speak like this, the micro-movements of ears and tails and everything in between more than filled the vocal gaps. Zach wagged his tail in greeting, then changed direction and walked to the ocean, deliberately putting his foot on a little wave.
Fuck, the sea was cold.
He pranced back.
The silver wolf was closer now and still as wary.
Zach wanted to explain that he hadn’t meant to interrupt his run, but it had looked fun, and he’d wanted to be a part of that. When his pack ran, it was serious. Only teens played as they learned to fight like a wolf.
This was something else.
The silver wolf pounced on a wave, but his attention was on Zach. Zach put his front paws out and stuck his butt in the air, the universal dog language for play. He might be a wolf, but he was more like an oversized dog. When the silver wolf didn’t respond straight away, Zach bounced up, glad he wasn’t human or he’d be blushing. He’d come on too strong, like he was desperate for a friend or something. He turned and raced along the water’s edge like he didn’t care what the silver wolf thought. The waves lapped at his feet and splashed up his side. He didn’t get far before the other wolf joined him and then overtook him. The silver wolf shoulder checked him, and he stumbled into the water before getting his feet under him. But only for a heartbeat.
The other wolf knocked him into the waves and bounded away.
Asshole!
Then the silver wolf spun and dropped down, stretching out his front paws, tail wagging, inviting Zach to join the game.
Zach raced over and crashed into him before sprinting away and prancing along the shoreline to dance in the star-lit waves. Why had he never done this before? He came here to shift and sit and run. But never play. Together, they darted in and out of the water and took turns in chasing each other up the beach. Overhead, the moon slid over the sky.
Chest heaving, he bumped the silver wolf. He should be thinking about going home instead of continuing the game.
The silver wolf didn’t pull away. Instead, he leaned into Zach. For a bit, they walked along the beach, shoulder to shoulder, tails swishing against each other.
Zach breathed in the wolf's scent. He didn’t know him as a man, but if they ever crossed paths, he’d recognize him by smell alone. There was a warmth and a tang that settled pleasantly at the back of his throat. He glanced at the silver wolf with the blue eyes, and his heartbeat quickened.
He stumbled in the soft sand, breaking the moment.
He shouldn’t be feeling that. Like this with him.
The other wolf looked at him, and Zach swore there was a hot gleam in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Then the silver wolf leaned over and licked the end of Zach’s nose.