Once in a Blue Moon: Beaux Rêve Coven, Book 1 (9 page)

When this wolf comes knocking, there’s no turning him away

Wolf at the Door

© 2014 N.J. Walters

Salvation Pack, Book 1

When Gwendolyn Jones inherits a Tennessee cabin from a great aunt she never knew, she quits her job and follows her dream to write full time. Meeting a stranger in a local cemetery isn’t a risk she normally takes, but she needs the information on his flash drive for an article she’s writing on werewolves. Later that night, when two honest-to-god werewolves come knocking on her cabin door, they’re definitely
not
Photoshopped.

Jacque LaForge is on a mission to retrieve a flash drive before it endangers his pack. He never thought he’d find a mate, but the chemistry between him and Gwen is unmistakably off the charts. Now to convince her he’s only trying to protect her from his vengeful former pack—led by his own father.

Gwen’s first instinct to flee only gets her a smashed car and a concussion. She wakes up in a dangerous new world she never thought existed—and in the arms of the one man who stands between her and certain death.

Warning
: Contains a sexy werewolf and his small pack of friends, a paranormal writer who really didn’t believe such things existed—until now—and completely dysfunctional family who are out to kill them both.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Wolf at the Door:

“Don’t be afraid,
chère
.” Louis stepped into her path, stopping her from moving past him.

Gwen almost snorted at him. Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one being threatened by two gigantic men, or werewolves or whatever the hell they were.

She took a really good look at them, studying them intently. On the off chance she survived this encounter, she wanted to have a good description to give the police. Jacque was well over six feet tall. Both men were. She estimated around six-three or six-four. They both had incredibly wide shoulders and huge biceps. In spite of the cool weather outside, they were both wearing black T-shirts and no jackets.

Jacque’s shaggy brown hair fell around his shoulders, while Louis’s hair was cropped short. They both had brown eyes—Louis’s eyes were dark and Jacque’s were golden—and they gave her the shivers with their intensity. Jacque’s lips were slightly thinner than his brother’s, while Louis’s nose wasn’t quite as prominent, even though it was slightly swollen from the whack she’d given it with the back of her head. They certainly looked like brothers.

They were hot. No other way to put it. If she weren’t scared to death, she’d probably be attracted to both of them. Any red-blooded woman would be. The jeans they wore clung to thick thighs and firm butts and at any other time she might have admired the bulges in the front of their pants.

She shook her head. Okay, the fear was obviously making her loopy. What did it matter that the LaForge brothers were gorgeous in a dark and deadly way? They were going to kill her. They had to. She’d seen their faces, knew who they were, knew too much about them.

All the blood drained from her face. Oh God, they were going to kill her.

Reality sank in and she began to shake. Not with fear, but with anger. She wasn’t done living yet. She had so much she wanted to do. She hadn’t asked for this. Damn Hector Canton and damn Jacque and Louis LaForge.

Jacque unplugged her laptop and set it aside before he began riffling through her desk.

“Stop that. There is nothing else.” The order was automatic, but she swallowed the rest of her demands when he glared at her with those scary golden-brown eyes. She was quiet for about thirty seconds. “That’s my stuff. Stop it.” He was pawing through the drawer with the notes for her book.

He shot her another deadly glare and continued to search. Obviously, he didn’t believe her, which proved he wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t believe her either. She had Hector’s phone number and some observations in a little notebook in her purse.

Louis walked over to the desk and began to help his brother rummage through the piles of files and notes she had stacked on her desk. Gwen couldn’t believe her luck. In their search for evidence about their existence, they’d forgotten about her. They probably thought she was too scared to try to run. She inched slowly toward the open front door, desperately trying not to make a sound.

She barely dared to breathe. Freedom was only feet away. If she could get outside, she could run and hide in the woods and maybe make her way to town. No, she didn’t have to run and hide. Her car keys were still in the front pocket of her jeans.

She licked her dry lips, keeping one eye on the door and the other on the men in the corner of her dining room. This could work. Had she locked the driver’s door when she’d arrived home? She couldn’t remember, but she didn’t think so. She’d been so scared all she’d wanted to do was get inside.

That could work to her advantage. With all the other doors locked, if she made it inside her car she should be safe. This had to work.

She was almost to the door when Jacque’s head came up and started to turn in her direction. Gwen reacted immediately and flung herself through the front door. Her feet flew down the three steps and she raced to her car. Her fingers scrambled for the door handle, grasped its cool metal and popped it open. She threw herself into the front seat, slammed the door shut and hit the lock.

Her fingers were shaking as she dug out the keys and jammed them into the ignition. It took her two tries before they finally slid home.

Something heavy hit the car. Gwen cried out and her gaze flew to the front windshield. Jacque was perched in front of her like some giant hood ornament. He was crouched low with one hand resting on the hood. “Unlock the door, Gwen.”

Like that was going to happen. She turned the key and the engine sprang to life. Louis stood beside the car, shaking his head at her. She prayed they didn’t have any guns, although they could easily use her shotgun against her.

Gwen slammed the vehicle into reverse and hit the gas. Louis managed to jump out of the way before she ran him over. She flew backward down the narrow driveway with Jacque riding on the hood. She turned the wheel hard to the left and he flew off, landing with a heavy thud on the ground.

She almost stopped to see if he was hurt then reminded herself that he and his brother were going to kill her. What did it matter if he was hurt? Still, she was glad when she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw him climb to his feet.

“Stop being stupid.” She pressed down on the gas and headed toward town. If she could get to the sheriff’s office she’d be okay. Those guys had guns—lots of them—and they knew how to use them.

She’d only gone a few yards when something heavy hit the roof of the car with a thump. The metal buckled slightly and Gwen yelped, ducking low in her seat. She jerked the steering wheel and the car skidded to one side and then the other. She prayed she didn’t have a wreck. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.

“Gwen, stop the car.”

Oh God, Jacque was on the roof. Not that she’d really had any doubt who it was. How the hell had he gotten there?

“He’s a werewolf, stupid. He probably has all kinds of tricks,” she muttered.

“More than you know,” came the wry male reply.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Once in a Blue Moon

Copyright © 2014 by Delilah Devlin

ISBN: 978-1-61921-769-0

Edited by Heidi Moore

Cover by Gabrielle Prendergast

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: July 2014

www.samhainpublishing.com