Snippet Saturday – Winter
Today's theme is winter so I'm pulling a scene from Coyote Wild where El finds herself in a little bit of trouble. 
Book two in the Coyote Hunger series.
Brogan Wilder knows all about animal urges. As a coyote shifter, he's lived with them all his life but he's never experienced the bone-deep hunger Eloise Crawford elicits. Claiming a mate is one thing. Claiming one who's human and has no idea shifters exist is another matter altogether. In El, he's found his destiny. Now he just has to convince her they are meant to be together.
A visit to help her best friend with wedding plans seems like just the kind of relaxation El is after. But once she arrives, there's nothing relaxing about the reaction she has to her friend's brother. Suddenly her senses are on high alert and she's drawn to him in a way she finds nothing short of terrifying. But there's more to this man than his golden eyes and magical touch. There's something else. Something not exactly human.
Accepting her fate should have been the difficult part, but when El finds herself the target of an outraged pack member, the true struggle begins.
Snippet:
If Brogan found out she'd gone outside he'd flip but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, or in this case, hurt her. The man might be an "I'm in charge type" but El wasn't about to let him tell her what she could and couldn't do. She marched down the hallway to the front door, building up steam as she went.
Just because he was used to giving orders and people taking them didn't mean she had to. They'd only just met for God's sake. But what really got her mad was that even when he told her what to do or made her angry she was still attracted to him. Her brain might want to argue and tell him to go to hell but her treacherous body wanted to jump his bones.
How could her body betray her like that? And what happened to her spine? Had that bastard Ken done so much damage to her self-esteem? Well, no more. She wasn't about to let any man choose what she could and couldn't do. Or tell her where to go and not go.
El stormed through the front door, breathing hard and mumbling under her breath about tyrants and giving orders. At the last second she swung back, palm out and caught the solid oak panel before it slammed closed. Heaven forbid Mr. High and Mighty hear her disobeying one of his rules.
Who did he think he was? Standing there dictating what they could and couldn't do like some maniac despot ruling his subjects with an iron fist. She wasn't even all that pissed off that he'd given the orders. No, she was pissed because both Rowan and Quinn had gone along with him like he should be obeyed in every way.
Don't do this! Don't do that! Christ, he'd be telling her when to come next.
El stumbled. One foot hit an icy patch of snow and she slipped, her legs separated and wobbled beneath her. Her arms flailed about until she got her feet back under her and caught her balance. Braced with her legs apart and her arms out wide like someone doing jumping jacks, she stood perfectly still and sucked in a breath of frigid air.
Was that what had her so agitated? He aroused her beyond belief and she wanted to do what he said. Wanted to please him.
She squeezed her eyes closed, breathed slow and deep and tried to steady her pounding heart and jittery nerves. He'd had her all riled up from the second they met, her body at once screaming for her to get away and get closer. El opened her eyes and continued to walk, taking care not to step on any more slippery patches of snow even though she wanted to stomp about to release the frustration bubbling inside.
A drop of moisture landed on her cheek, distracting her from her troubled thoughts. It was starting to snow. El tilted her face up to let the cold flakes bathe her skin.
It was such a magical scene. The view of the forest and mountains covered in a white blanket that shimmered as more snow fell from the sky was spectacular. The cold didn't just cool her body, it cooled her temper too. Taking the edge off enough for her to think rationally about what Brogan had asked and to see it from his point of view.
She couldn't blame him for being worried about her out here in unfamiliar territory. She'd never been here before and he had a right to be concerned she might get lost or hurt. But she wasn't stupid or incapable and wouldn't put herself at risk.
A sigh exploded from her chest. This was so unlike her, so completely out of character. She prided herself on her level-headed approach to life. Had the last few months done far more damage than she'd believed? Sure, she'd known her pride was dented, and her self-confidence had taken a blow, but this irrational attraction and anger coupled with confusion just wasn't her at all.
The snow sparkled as it floated to the ground, landing on the path and trees, on El. She shuddered and wrapped her arms across her chest. She rubbed her hands from elbow to shoulder, trying to ease the chill and wished she'd grabbed her coat before leaving the house. The storm was getting worse.
Time to head back inside.
She turned and slipped, her hands flying out to stop herself from landing face first. Her fingers sank into the powdery cold slush. Pushing up, El stood and stared at the forest in front of her. The stumble must have turned her around. Gingerly, she spun around. More forest. Sucking in a breath, she twisted back again. Forest.
Oh God!
Slowly she rotated a full three hundred-sixty degree turn.
"Where's the house?" Her whispered words the only sound in the silence of the snowfall.
Oh God! Oh God! Where is it?
She stood still and turned her head to look over her shoulder. She stared straight ahead again, at where she thought the house should be. Was that gray shadow between the trees the house? With her eyes squinted it didn't get any clearer and the curtain of falling snow had grown heavier, causing the scenery to blur further. The shiver that went through her had nothing to do with the cold. Panic lodged in her throat. Fear clutched her heart.
Brogan was going to kill her. She'd done the one thing he'd told her not to and instead of proving she was capable of looking after herself, she'd proven him right.
Her body shook violently. This time it had everything to do with the cold. Her thin sweater was drenched on the shoulders and the sleeves weren't far behind. Her short hair stuck to her scalp, wet with snow that dripped onto her face. Her running shoes were soaking through and her toes had gone numb.
Her teeth chattered sending a jarring rattle through her head. Her fingers and hands were stiff with cold and the knuckles ached. Wrapping her arms around her body, El tucked her hands under her armpits, trying to ease the throb. Now that she stood still and took stock of her body she realized her jeans were wet and getting wetter and she was halfway to frozen.
If she didn't work out which way to go soon Brogan would be the least of her worries. If she couldn't find the house, she'd freeze to death before he got to her.
****
More details for Coyote Wild can be found HERE!
And don't forget to check out all the other authors participating this week:
Lauren Dane
Rhian Cahill
Eliza Gayle
Selena Blake
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
