Kaje Harper's Blog - Posts Tagged "hidden-wolves"

I'm delighted to have Unjustified Claims back out for readers, with what may be my favorite cover for the Hidden Wolves series so far. I hope you enjoy meeting Brandt, a young man driven from his werewolf pack for his kinks and desires, who meets up with a man he could care about. If only he didn't have to hide half his own nature, and face threats from human vandals and his homophobic pack.

You can find Unjustified Claims at:
Amazon US
Universal link

This series needs to be read in order, so if you haven't met my Hidden Wolves yet, start with Unacceptable Risk - Book 1. (Universal Link for Unacceptable Risk) The new release is Book 4 (was 3 in the old series numbering.) I hope to have Book 5 out by the end of the month, and then the fun of releasing the all-new Book 6 - Undeniable Bonds. I hope you enjoy following the wolves through their coming out journey.

Here's an Excerpt from Unjustified Claims:

Ethan Sjulstad had been in scary situations before. But lying on the forest floor, miles from the nearest doctor, with a skewered, bleeding, throbbing, messed-up leg was definitely top of the list. Ex-skewered leg, at least, thanks to the gorgeous naked guy crouching ten feet away. If that was really what was happening, because despite the pain in his thigh and the nausea and the smell of mud and blood and pine needles, Ethan was half-convinced he was dreaming. Or maybe hallucinating.

He’d only had a second’s warning, a hint of instability, before the edge of the ridge gave way under him. He’d plunged into a jumble of falling, a vicious pain in his leg and his head, dizziness and fear. And then giant wolves and naked dark-haired men, which was where the probably hallucinating part came in.

He slid his hand down his thigh and pressed there, slightly reassured of reality by the intense pain that arrowed through his leg. The unlikely vision in front of him didn’t change, though.

The guy who called himself Brandt was tall and fit, his skin golden and unblemished, his shoulders wide, his arms as strong looking as they’d felt. His features were regular, but not extraordinary; his mouth was a little big, his dark eyes shadowed by heavy brows. And he was definitely naked, in the middle of the BWCA wilderness, and amazingly unselfconscious about it.

For a moment, Ethan let himself imagine Brandt as some kind of woodland god, naked in the primordial forest. Then Brandt swore under his breath and bent to pull a thorny twig from the sole of one foot, and the illusion was broken. Woodland gods didn’t usually say fuck. Unless they were talking to a dryad or… Ethan blinked, wondering if maybe he’d done more damage to his head than he realized. Brandt flicked the thorn aside and gave him an embarrassed look. “Hate pricker-bushes.”

“Yeah. Me too.” The air of unreality hovered. The throbbing of his leg combined with the pounding in his head to make it difficult to think. Ethan searched fuzzily for something else to say. Godling, madman, or hallucination, he still didn’t want to be left alone out here. “Come here often?”

Brandt laughed. The man had a good laugh, warm and sane. It sounded real. “No. And definitely not naked.”

###

I'm delighted to get this NEW 6th book in the Hidden Wolves series out to readers. Undeniable Bonds is now available. And I'm grateful for all the readers who started with my Hidden Wolves many years ago, and who are following me into this new, delayed, final installment to the journey. There's no bigger compliment to an author than people coming back to a series after years away, eager to read a new story. (You can find buy links here - https://books2read.com/u/3LRQy0)



It was fun getting back into Aaron's head again, and watching Zach snark at him and stand up to him, pushing limits but not crossing them. And with the lifespan of my wolves, I got to write a pair of men - Rory and Nikolai - who met in WWII and were pushed apart by war and circumstances, meeting again at long last. As various human factions threaten wolves around the world, my guys fight to make a safe place for their packs and their loved ones. And to find room in the homophobic wolf world for change and acceptance, and love.

I hope readers will enjoy spending time once again with my Hidden Wolves in this conclusion to the series.

I wasn't going to write more wolves, but when I started a little prequel flash fiction as an Advent story, Sawyer and James hijacked my heart and mind and I ended up with a novel. Unseen Past is now available on all vendors.

Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mgPkpD
Amazon US : https://www.amazon.com/Unseen-Past-Hidden-Wolves-Prequel-ebook/dp/B0BX9WTY5H/

excerpt:
Sawyer stared down at the unconscious man. If the guy’d been hit on the head and needed any care more complicated than rest and warmth, he was shit out of luck. Still, wolves were tough. If they didn’t die right away, they usually healed. Sawyer knelt and ran his hands through the wet, black hair, feeling the man’s scalp. As his fingers brushed a slight roughness in the skin, the man’s eyes snapped open.

Gray. Yeah. For an instant, their gazes met and held. The man took a sharp breath, which Sawyer echoed.

Then the stranger scrambled to get off the couch, naked long legs and arms flailing inelegantly. Sawyer could’ve pinned him in place, but he could read fear in the man’s posture and scent. Sawyer rose and backed off, hands raised, palms out. “Hey, chill out. You’re fine. James, right?”

“Who’re you?” James’s voice came out deeper than Sawyer expected, with a hint of Southern drawl.

Still baritone to Sawyer’s bass, of course. “This is my cabin.” For the week, anyhow. “I get to ask the questions.”

“I’m naked on your couch. The hell you do!” That angry flash of gray eyes was a good effort, but Sawyer figured he could put James in his place with one hand tied behind his back.

Sawyer narrowed his gaze. “What was that, pup?”

James scrambled to his feet, put his hands on his hips, then hissed in pain. “Ouch, dern it, my fingers.” He swayed on his feet. “And toes.” Shaking his hands gingerly, he eyed Sawyer. “I’m not a pup. I’m a full pack member. Are you…” He glanced around the small cabin. “Are you a lone wolf? Are you Sawyer Holt?”

Sawyer leaped and shoved James back two steps, pinning him against the log wall of the cabin, a hand on his throat. “Where’d you hear that name?” He got up in James’s face, leaning heavily on him, using his size and weight to dominate.

For a scrawny youngster, James didn’t flinch or drop his eyes the way he should’ve. “I was sent to look for you. Let go of me, you lunkhead. My feet are killing me.”

“Boohoo.” Sawyer didn’t back off an inch. “Who sent you?”

“Rick Brown, the Chicago Alpha. You ever heard of him?”

Heard of him? Hell, yeah. I know Rick Brown… Memories cascaded, jolting Sawyer into loosening his grip on the pup’s throat. “How do you know Rick Brown? Why’s he giving you orders?”

“He’s not my Alpha.” James pushed Sawyer’s hand away with a forearm and Sawyer let him go. “My Alpha’s in Roanoke, but he sent me and—” He shook his head. “The details don’t matter. Alpha told me to make myself useful to Chicago’s Alpha while I was there. Rick Brown looked me over like he knew the color of my underwear, said, ‘I have an errand for you,’ and here I am.”

“But how?” The cabin was well off the beaten path. Sawyer didn’t think even Rick was that psychic.

“He sent me to a man named Bill Stoltz in Minot with a freaking code word. Stoltz looked at me, said, ‘Oh, you’re the kid,’ and told me how to find this place. I’ve been driving twenty-four hours to deliver the Chicago Alpha’s message.”

At least that made sense. “What message, precisely?”

“He said to tell you—” James’s eyes unfocused. “Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. Oscar isn’t dead, and he’s good friends with Leon now. It’s time for you to move on.”

“Fuck.” Sawyer whirled away, restraining his impulse to sweep every loose item within reach to the floor, make everything smash. His boss would take the damages out of his paycheck, and apparently he was going to need all his money. “Fuck!”

“What does the message mean?” James stepped toward him, then hissed in pain. “I’m gonna sit down. My toes feel like they’re fixin’ to fall off.”

“Because you’re the idiot out in a snowstorm dressed like a Sunday picnic.”

James dropped onto the couch and felt carefully around his reddened nose. “Wolves can handle cold better’n humans. Don’t need much protection. Everyone knows that.”

“Cold, yeah, up to a point. But below freezing, a blizzard? Have you ever even seen snow?”

“Hey, it snows in Norfolk. Some.”

“Yeah, right.” Sawyer strode over and tapped on the frost-edged front window where the thermometer hung against the glass. “It’s five below out there and dropping, and there’s at least ten inches on the ground by now. You get that in your precious Norfolk?”

James blew on his fingers without answering.

“Thought not.” Seeing the guy flinch and then shiver, Sawyer backed off his attitude a bit. He snatched the throw blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over James’s naked shoulders. “Let me see those fingers.”

The look in James’s eyes wasn’t friendly, but he held up his hand. Sawyer caught his wrist and peered at the skin. He held back a whistle, seeing the ends of each pale finger red, swollen and shiny. Not blue or black, at least, but… “Gonna lose some skin, I’d bet. Let me check the rest of you.”

James growled under his breath but didn’t push Sawyer away as he checked James’s extremities. Toes… might lose a couple of tips there. Gonna be a mess. Ears and nose, just a little damage. He restrained himself from checking the man’s dick. That would be bad.

“Frostbite, for sure. You’d be best off shifting if you can. Get some healing started.”

“You aren’t afraid of me being wolf while you’re in skin?”

Sawyer let himself laugh because he had a feeling humor was going to be hard to come by. “You planning to challenge me, boy?”

James flushed and shrugged. “Just wanted to ask. But before I shift, I need to know. What did that message mean, and why’d it make you cuss like that?”

Saying none of your business would be true, but it might be best to warn James, at least a little. “Leon’s an old enemy of mine in the Chicago pack. Oscar was a friend. When I left the pack and came here, Oscar was one of the few who knew where I’d gone.” Or that I survived. Rick made my death look good.

“And Rick Brown thinks that Leon guy might come after you? All the way out here? Jeez, it must be five hundred miles. What did you do to him?”

Humiliated him after stealing our father’s affection, if you were to ask Leon. And then escaped my punishment. After fifteen years, he’d hoped Leon would’ve cooled off and given up, but since Rick had sent that warning, then clearly not. “Why is none of your business. You just need to know, if some other wolf shows up here looking for me, it won’t be a friendly reunion…”

Read more about Sawyer and James in Unseen Past - Universal Link

Today is release day for Once an Alpha - this 45K prequel novella is set a year before Unacceptable Risk - book 1 and is designed to be an alternate intro to the Hidden Wolves world (and also hopefully fun for those who already know my wolves.) I'm delighted to see early reviewers are enjoying meeting David and Rob.
Forbidden love, found family, hurt-comfort, coming out

Once an Alpha universal link - https://books2read.com/OnceAnAlphaKaje

Can I be both Alpha and the man Rob needs me to be?

I spent nineteen years rebuilding the pack I took from our abusive Alpha, with my bondmate Melody as my wife, and my best friend Rob at my side as Second. Then I lost Melody and the child we hoped to have, and my world crashed down on me. I holed up, grieving and fighting conflicting impulses, until my Third, Sherman, got tired of my apathy and Challenged me for pack Alpha.

I could've taken Sherman down, no sweat. Rob could've wiped the dirt with him. What held us back was the memory of one night when we were both seventeen, and three decades of not giving in to impossible dreams. If we were free, away from the violent homophobia of the packs, maybe we could finally be more than Alpha and Second. So I suppressed my Alpha instincts and walked away. Rob, as always, came with me.

Now we're in my truck, heading west into the mountains. Just David and Rob, two men trying to figure out what we can be to each other. Until we stop in a small town for a meal, and someone who smells like a wolf steals my truck. Trouble's afoot, the local lone wolves need help, and I'm discovering that once an Alpha, always an Alpha. But if we get entangled with a new pack, does that mean any relationship Rob and I might've found has to be lost again to werewolf laws?

Set in 2010, a year before Unacceptable Risk in the bad old days of the packs, this is a Hidden Wolves universe standalone 45,000 word novella with new characters.

Content warnings for grief, past pregnancy loss, past abuse, past captivity, and violence.

Contains the added bonus 5K short story Toby, Doyle, and the Cats.

Remember Unacceptable Risk - Hidden Wolves book 1 - is premafree on all vendors, and right now, book 2 Unexpected Demands - Hidden Wolves book 2 is also Free on Smashwords - check them out if you like shifters, or have fun with this new novella.

I can't wait to see what readers think of David and his Rob, (and Toby and Doyle in the sweet short story that follows)

Hi folks. Happy Halloween. Today and tomorrow (through Nov 1) you can download for free 7 NEW Halloween stories, including my own 20K Hidden Wolves novella - Unmasked - all you need is an email. Get it from MM Romance Books on a Budget" - https://www.mmromanceonabudget.com/sh...

If you miss this chance, I'll have this novella available for sale later. Let me know if you have any issues with the download. I hope you enjoy the story.

Unmasked: A Hidden Wolves stand-alone novella

Trent
Halloween has always been a night I take for myself. On that one night, I cut loose with a mask hiding my face, and head to the gay bars. I can dance and flirt and maybe get laid, just one guy in a crowd of guys like me. They don’t know I’m a werewolf. My pack doesn’t know I’m gay. Every year, I grab onto my night of freedom and enjoy it hard.


Until this year, when my Alpha tells me I have to shift into wolf fur and go trick-or-treating with the pack kids. I’m supposed to wag my tail and charm the humans with “Operation Werewolves Make Good Neighbors.”


This was not how I wanted to spend my Halloween, but I’m just pack Fifth. When Alpha says “Hop,” I ask “How high?” So here I am, out with the kids, playing a happy, furry Warg, when I hear a little girl crying. And in saving her, I set a chain of events in motion that will upend my entire life. When Halloween is over, I’ll have to figure out who I want to be, in a world not made for gay werewolves.


Unmasked is a stand-alone story in the Hidden Wolves universe, set thirteen years after the main series, as werewolves and humans are learning to live side by side.



Download: https://www.mmromanceonabudget.com/sh...

For those of you who missed my Halloween "Hidden Wolves" novella that was briefly available, I have now put it up for sale. You can find Unmasked: a Hidden Woves novella on AZ, Google Play, and Smashwords, with other wide locations to come. 20,000 words, $1.99 I got this great new cover for it from Jo Clement - the human MC is said to look like Clark Kent and this guy is perfect :D

If you got the freebie with the old cover, it is the same story.

https://books2read.com/UnmaskedKaje

Unmasked: a Hidden Wolves stand-alone novella

Trent
Halloween has always been a night I take for myself. On that one night, I cut loose with a mask hiding my face, and head to the gay bars. I can dance and flirt and maybe get laid, just one guy in a crowd of guys like me. They don’t know I’m a werewolf. My pack doesn’t know I’m gay. Every year, I grab onto my night of freedom and enjoy it hard.

Until this year, when my Alpha tells me I have to shift into wolf fur and go trick-or-treating with the pack kids. I’m supposed to wag my tail and charm the humans with “Operation Werewolves Make Good Neighbors.”

This was not how I wanted to spend my Halloween, but I’m just pack Fifth. When Alpha says “Hop,” I ask “How high?” So here I am, out with the kids, playing a happy, furry Warg, when I hear a little girl crying. And in saving her, I set a chain of events in motion that will upend my entire life. When Halloween is over, I’ll have to figure out who I want to be, in a world not made for gay werewolves.

Unmasked is a stand-alone story in the Hidden Wolves universe, set thirteen years after the main series, as werewolves and humans are learning to live side by side.

And don't forget the first novel in the Hidden Wolves - Unacceptable Risk is a free read - https://books2read.com/u/mgzOW7