Hungry for Her Wolves: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance Read online

  Table of Contents

  Hungry for Her Wolves | Hungry for Her Wolves, Book One | A Reverse-Harem Paranormal Romance | Tara West

  Dedications

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Divine and Dateless | Eternally Yours, Book One | Tara West

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Books by Tara West

  About Tara West

  Hungry for Her Wolves

  Hungry for Her Wolves, Book One

  A Reverse-Harem Paranormal Romance

  Tara West

  Copyright © 2018 by Tara West

  Published by Shifting Sands Publishing

  First edition, published July, 2018

  All rights reserved.

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Edited by Theo Fenraven.

  Artwork by Becky Frank.

  Model photography by Dean Samed of Neostock.

  ***SHE'S DESPERATE TO sate her hunger. They're determined to possess her. Is she willing to give up her freedom for a taste of passion?***

  AMARA WAS CONTENT TO live as a lone wolf, the only one of her kind—or so she’d thought. Her world was flipped on its head when a strange man with a familiar scent showed up at her work, demanding a private meeting.

  Desperate to find the mate Luc had scented from four hundred miles away, he was shocked to find her living as a lone wolf. Amaroki women were to be cherished and protected. What had happened to her family? More importantly, how was he going to convince her to return to the reservation with him? And how would his possessive brothers react when they found him with Amara?

  Amara couldn’t deny her attraction to the wolf-shifter named Luc, but she wasn’t about to give up her career to mate with him and his three brothers, no matter how hot and bothered he made her. When his brothers arrived—tall, tanned, and virile—she could no longer deny her savage hunger for these shifters.

  But how could she satisfy her desire and still maintain her independence with four overbearing wolves around? And how would she bond and adapt to their lifestyle when she couldn’t shake her dark memories? More importantly, how would her mates react when they learned of her past? Would they reject her, or would they risk their lives to seek vengeance on those who’ve dishonored her?

  Dedications

  To Ginelle, Sheri, and Suanne. Thanks for such awesome feedback!

  To Theo, God of Grammar, blessed by the Ancients. Thanks for wielding your red pen of shame and cutting my useless rambling.

  To Becky. Wowie! I can’t stop drooling over this cover art. Others may try to imitate you, but you’re a rare talent and a true original.

  To my awesome hubs, my lone wolf and fierce protector. I love you. Thanks for being my real-life hero.

  Chapter One

  “Amara, I need you to look at the Great Dane in room two.”

  Back turned, Amara jumped at the sound of her boss’s voice.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Dr. Tanner said, his voice laced with concern—too much concern. If the man showed her any more attention, she’d drown in it.

  “Nothing.” She moved aside when he tried to place a hand on her shoulder in that all-too-familiar gesture. Though she spent a good part of her workday refusing his advances, nothing worked. Even after she’d told him she was different, he seemed to want her more. Human males were so strange, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Now was the time to focus on him. The man who’d walked into the clinic moments earlier and literally turned her universe on its head. Where he’d come from, she wasn’t sure, though she swore she knew him. Something about his scent was familiar and far too feral. That’s when she knew he was not human.

  Then again, why would he stroll into the veterinary clinic and take a seat like he was here to get his pet, when all the animals scheduled to go home that day had already been picked up?

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pull his flannel sleeve down over his wrist, concealing an ugly red welt. Heat crept into her cheeks when he looked at her with penetrating golden eyes. She noticed a bruise under his right eye, a swollen upper lip, and a fresh, jagged cut on his neck. He was a native, judging by his high cheekbones and tanned skin. Possibly military, with his dark, cropped hair.

  “Who’s that guy?” Dr. Tanner whispered hot and heavy in her ear.

  She scooted away as if his breath was on fire and shuffled a stack of papers. “I don’t know.”

  Though the other girls in the office thought Dr. Tanner was attractive, with his wavy blond hair and blue eyes, he wasn’t Amara’s type. Nobody had ever been her type. At least not until now. The man staring at her from across the room, with his lean frame and wiry muscles, did things that both shocked and aroused her. She’d no idea why, but she was sorely tempted to vault the counter and crawl into his lap, kissing him senseless.

  Dr. Tanner scooted closer. “Where’s his pet?”

  She continued to shuffle, cringing. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you know?” Dr. Tanner’s tone was laced with sarcasm.

  She stiffened, glaring at him from under heavy eyelids.

  Dr. Tanner puffed up his chest, reminding her of an oblivious rooster parading before a pack of wolves. “Excuse me, sir. May we help you?”

  “I’m here to see her.”

  When Golden Eyes nodded at Amara, the glint of steel in his expression made her knees go weak. She bit her lip and clutched the counter for support, the feeling between her legs intensifying and turning into a dull, teasing throb.

  Dr. Tanner turned to her with raised brows. “What’s this about?”

  She shrugged, at a loss for words.

  Golden Eyes folded his arms and leaned back. “Hurry up and finish with your patient so we can talk.”

  She swayed toward him like a reed bending in the breeze, drawn to him in an inexplicable way.

  Dr. Tanner cleared his throat, drumming his fingers on the counter. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Golden Eyes flashed a feral smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Her boss stood his ground. “She has things to do. I must insist.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “That’s it!” Dr. Tanner pounded the counter and then opened the waist-high pony door, foolishly marching up to the stranger.

  When Golden Eyes unfolded himself from the chair and stood, hovering at least a head above Dr. Tanner, Amara swore she saw his nose lengthening for just a heartbeat before he balled his hands into fists.

  Holy shit! Was he a shifter? Was he like her?

  Looking down at Dr. Tanner, he let out a low, powerful growl that made her hair stand on end.

  Holy fuck! He was a shifter. Other than the man who’d sired her, and his brothers, she had thought she was alone in the world, amid a mistrustful and un
sympathetic species.

  Dr. Tanner wisely took several steps back. “Did you just growl at me?” He fished a phone out of his lab coat with a trembling hand. “I’m calling the cops.”

  “No, don’t,” she blurted, rushing around the counter and latching onto Golden Eyes’s arm. “Come on.” She dragged him toward the door.

  “Amara,” Dr. Tanner whined. “You have one more patient.”

  “It’s parasites,” she said over her shoulder.

  “Parasites?” he said as she pushed open the door. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m always sure,” she grumbled, pulling the stranger outside and relishing the feel of the mild Alaskan summer air.

  As soon as the door shut behind them, she turned to Golden Eyes, nearly losing her nerve as she looked up at him. His bruises appeared worse in the glare of the sunlight. What had happened to him? “Okay, so talk.”

  “Not here.” He nodded at a newer model, extended cab truck parked in the drive.

  Her jaw dropped when she noticed the rims, which would’ve easily cost her three-month’s salary. Her rusty hunk of junk had sputtered and died behind the veterinary clinic two weeks ago. Dr. Tanner had been bugging Amara to dispose of it, but the tow cost more than the scrapyard commission.

  “I’m not getting in your truck.” The thought of being alone in a cramped space with this man both excited and terrified her. In the end terror won. She had no idea who he was or what he planned to do to her.

  “I won’t drive anywhere. You have my word.” He coursed a bruised and battered hand through his cropped hair.

  Holy crap. Had this guy been in an accident or had something far more sinister caused his injuries? She could tell by the rigidity of his movements, and the lines framing his eyes, that he was in pain. Most likely suffering from exhaustion, too. She fought the urge to touch him and sense his injuries. She suspected the empathy she used with her animals would work on him, too.

  She jumped at a sound behind her; Dr. Tanner was staring at them from behind the window blinds. Though the doctor’s presence brought her a small measure of comfort, she was also annoyed that he’d chosen to remain behind the safety of the window. If Golden Eyes shifted, she had the feeling her boss would run screaming, leaving her at the wolf’s mercy.

  She heard a low growl. Golden Eyes was looking at Dr. Tanner like a wolf guarding a bone.

  “I don’t know you. How am I supposed to take your word on anything?” she asked.

  The steel in his eyes vanished, replaced with a weariness that made her heart ache. “Because your instinct tells you I’m not lying.”

  She stepped back, hating how her limbs trembled. “What do you know of my instinct?” Had he picked up on her scent, as she had with him? He must have. Why else would he be here?

  A black, nondescript truck with tinted windows parked by the horse corral. With her superior eyesight, she saw two men inside the vehicle, both wearing suits and sunglasses. One was an older black guy with graying hair and the other a bald, middle-aged white dude. An uneasy feeling made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

  “Who are those men?” she whispered.

  Golden Eyes swore under his breath. “They’re watching me to make sure I don’t cause trouble.”

  “They look like government agents.”

  “They are. They won’t hurt you, I promise. They’re just keeping an eye on me until my family gets here.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Your family?”

  He grimaced. “They think I’ve gone lone wolf.”

  She gaped at him. Had he said wolf? She already knew he was a shifter, but him voicing it aloud made this situation more real, more terrifying. More enticing.

  His thick brows dipped over his eyes. “Your family never explained lone wolves to you?”

  “I don’t have any family,” she blurted. Damn, why’d she tell him that? She didn’t want him to know she was all alone.

  “Would you get in the truck, Amara? Please.” He motioned to the big, shiny hunk of steel. “We need to talk.”

  Her heart clenched at his pleading tone and the desperation in his eyes. Warning sirens in her head were overruled by her heart, and her legs propelled her forward. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  He opened the door and steadied her while she climbed inside. She sat and quickly pulled away from his touch, which seared her skin and sent warm pulses through her, liquefying that spot between her legs. Holy shit! No human man’s touch had made her feel anything except annoyance.

  His truck was spotless inside, with a leather interior and a nice nav system. Something told her he didn’t need the navigation, that he relied solely on instinct.

  When he climbed in next to her, all common sense flew out the window, and she stared at him like a love-struck pup. He was strikingly handsome in a rugged sort of way. More moisture pooled in her panties when he looked at her with smoldering eyes, nostrils flaring. She shifted at an unfamiliar ache pulsing between her thighs. Was this what it felt like to be horny? She instinctively leaned toward him, reaching for the collar on his flannel shirt.

  To her disappointment and relief, he pulled away, clenching his hands and looking at her with a face screwed up so tight, it was almost comical. “We need to control ourselves,” he groaned, panting like a wounded animal. “I can’t take you here. My brothers would never forgive us.”

  What was he saying? She shook her head as if to shake off a fog of lust that was so thick, it permeated the air, making a bead of sweat run down her forehead.

  He held out both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Control yourself.”

  She blinked hard, a wave of embarrassment overcoming her. Could he smell her desire? Could one man turn a woman’s brain to mush and make her want to spread her legs?

  “What do you mean, you don’t have any family?” he asked.

  She rubbed shaky hands down her legs, forcing herself to regain her composure. “I’m asking questions first.” She tilted her chin, proud of herself for asserting dominance, though not sure how long her courage would last.

  “Okay.” He flashed a slanted smile, his cheeks reddening slightly. “Ask.”

  His canines were pronounced, longer than his other teeth. Just like hers. A dentist had offered to file them down, but she’d refused. They were the only trace of her wolf when she was in human form, reminding her of who she was.

  She cleared her throat. “What’s your name?”

  “Luc,” he answered. “Luc Thunderfoot.”

  She arched back, squinting at him. “Thunderfoot?”

  “It’s an old family name.” He chuckled. “If you met the alphas in my family, you’d understand.”

  “Alphas?”

  He gave her a long look. “The heads of our pack. Are you going to tell me about your family?”

  “It’s pretty straightforward.” She shrugged, turning her gaze to the window. Her boss was still looking at them through a small slit in the blinds, trying to remain inconspicuous. Didn’t he have a clinic to run? “I don’t have any family, except my dogs.” She’d left them in the run behind the clinic. She’d heard them barking before Luc arrived, warning her a stranger was approaching. She wondered why they’d gone silent. Did they know Luc was a friend?

  “What about your fathers?” he asked.

  “Fathers?” Was it a wolf thing to call more than one man dad? “I only had one, and he’s somewhere in Eastern Europe.”

  His eyes darkened. “You never met him?”

  “No.”

  Flames lit his eyes, and anger pulsed off his skin in waves. Was he angry with her or her father?

  “Do you know anything about him?” he asked, scraping his knee against hers.

  Just that one little touch was enough to make her jerk back as a bolt of lust zinged through her. She rubbed heat into her gooseflesh. “Just what my mom told me, but she was prone to exaggeration.”

  He looked her over with unwavering eyes and a tight smile. “Try me.”

&
nbsp; She released a shaky breath, recalling the ugly story of her conception as told by her mother, aka Cathi, aka Evil Bitch from Hell. “My mom had a one-night stand with him when she was traveling through Europe. Not even one night. While they were having sex in his barn, his brothers broke down the door and beat the shit out of him. She said she barely escaped with her life.” Because of that night, Cathi claimed to have been mentally scarred for life. She’d said that’s why she turned to drugs, to escape the terror of watching those demons tear down walls and throw her lover around the barn.

  The shadows over Luc’s eyes lengthened, making his bruises more pronounced. For a moment, she thought he was shifting.

  “What happened to your face?” she blurted. Why had he come to her all broken and bruised, and who’d hurt him? Was he in danger? Was she in danger?

  He waved away her concern. “My brothers and I got into a fight.”

  She looked outside. The black truck was still there, the men inside looking at them through binoculars. “Why are government agents here?”

  “Their job is to help conceal us.”

  Her hand flew to her throat. “So the government knows?”

  “Yeah,” he said casually, as if two agents on his tail was no big deal.

  All these years she’d been careful to conceal her wolf, only exposing herself when she was in danger or to save her foster family from getting killed. She’d had nightmares about the government finding out about her wolf and bringing her to a top-secret lab to test her DNA. To think, if they’d discovered her, they might have reunited her with her kind long ago.

  “And they haven’t tried to experiment on you or kill you?”

  “Are you kidding me?” He chuckled. “We’re the Army’s secret weapon.”

  “You’re all in the Army?” Would they try to force her into the Army, too? Not that she wasn’t patriotic, but she wasn’t keen on being told what to do. She’d lived independently for almost four years, and she wasn’t about to start taking orders from anyone.

  “Usually just the third son from every pack,” he said proudly. “We’re the best trackers.”