Thanksgiving Excerpt: Enforcer preview
As a special Thanksgiving treat, I’m posting a preview from my upcoming work-in-progress, Enforcer.
I posted a different snippet on Halloween, but didn’t really say what the story was. In that post, we were introduced to a new character, Buzz Hinske, who plays a very important part in the story.
As some of you guessed, Enforcer is book 2 of Timber Pack Chronicles.
It’s still very much a work-in-progress and I don’t have an estimated release schedule yet, but I’m working hard on finishing it up.
This has been a great year for me and I have all of you to thank. Thank you so much for your support. It means a great deal.
Happy Thanksgiving and Enjoy!
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Chapter 1
The massive auburn-brown colored wolf stopped and scented the air. Nearly twice the size of a natural gray wolf, he was a born and bred predator. He was in his element, stalking through the forest, hunting for his prey.
Nostrils flared and ears twitched as he patiently waited for instruction. His eyes scanned the trees, searching. The hint of a scent followed by the tiniest of sounds drew his attention to the left.
Another large wolf, black as pitch, slowly, stealthily, emerged from the trees. He was strong and powerful, the king of this forest.
Alpha.
The alpha wolf’s eyes caught the moonlight, glowing a bright amber in the dark. Behind him, a small wolf with fur as white as snow stepped from the trees to stand by his side. The black wolf moved in a step, instinctively taking a protective stance in front of his little mate.
Alpha turned and met the auburn wolf’s eyes, and tipped his head and motioned with his snout, drawing a circle.
Jed nodded in acknowledgment at the order, then scented the air again. The other pack members were close.
And so was their prey.
With the alpha’s blessing, Jed took off, his auburn fur just a blur as he ran through the woods, darting amongst the trees. He scented the pack beta nearby and closing in, but he ignored him. Trey would catch up, or he would miss out.
Swinging around the frightened buck, Jed steered the animal towards the middle of his pack-mates, attempting to box it in. As he turned on his paws, a sharp stab of pain bit through Jed’s back, reminding him of that fight from months passed. And his failure.
Anger and frustration tore through Jed and he leapt without thinking, funneling all of those feelings into the kill. He took down the buck, cleanly snapping its neck with his powerful jaws and massive teeth.
His stood over his kill and snarled triumphantly.
Only when Colton’s black wolf approached did Jed realize his error. The alpha always made the kill and the alpha-mate was always the first to eat.
As soon as he caught Colton’s narrowed gaze and lip curled in a snarl, Jed dropped his eyes and tilted his head, baring his neck in deference. He slowly retreated away from the deer, moving backwards until he stood in the shadow of a large tree.
He watched as Colton grabbed the buck in his powerful jaws and dragged it to his mate as an offering.
Parker’s white wolf sniffed at the carcass, and once he found just right spot, tore off a chunk of meat with his jaws. Once he swallowed down a couple of bites, he moved to allow Colton to eat. After Colton got his fill, Parker then dragged the deer as best as he could to the center, signaling the others to join in.
Jed knew that it was now his turn to enjoy the kill, but he stayed back and watched. Trey, Curtis, and Stan all moved in. Stan’s mate, the Kodiak bear shifter named Buck, watched with interest as he usually did, but he never joined in the feast. As a bear, he wasn’t much interested in animal meat, though you could often find him snagging fish from the river when he was in this form.
A sharp twinge in his back made the anger surge in Jed again. His failure with the rogue wolf had left him damaged. Scarred. Broken.
Now he carried the scar on his back between his shoulder blades where that crazy fucker Ethan had stabbed him with a silver knife, poisoning his blood. When he shifted to wolf, the scar became a white patch of fur, where it currently throbbed and itched like a motherfucker.
Jed threw his furred back against the nearest tree and rubbed against the bark, bringing temporary relief. Aware he was now being watched by the others, Jed turned and ran deep into the woods.
He needed to be alone right now. A good run would help. It was the only thing that did.
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Jed Stone emerged from the trees naked and dirty, his muscles tired and aching. The muscles surrounding the scar on his back throbbed with every movement. It was always the worst after a shift, which was infuriating. Usually an injury felt better after a shift, when the body reconfigured and repaired itself. Unfortunately, a shift couldn’t repair extensive silver damage.
Despite the scar in the middle of his back, Jed’s nude human shape was a sight to see: well-muscled and well-hung. His hard muscles were covered in a dark auburn fur in all of the right places. Standing at six feet plus six inches tall, wide as a tank, his body was built for the job he was bred for. He may have been only nineteen years old, but he had the body of a fully-developed man.
Jed was the enforcer for Timber Pack. He acted as the pack’s lead soldier and bodyguard, as well as keeping the members in line. There wasn’t much to do with a pack of only eight, but Jed took his duty seriously.
Hell, protecting Parker, the Alpha’s mate, was how he ended up with silver poisoning in the first place. He may have saved Parker’s life by keeping the rogue busy until Colton and Trey arrived, but he couldn’t help but feel like he had failed. He should have killed that psychotic wolf.
Jed froze in his steps when he heard the unmistakable sounds coming from the first cabin… Parker’s whimpers and moans were intermingled with Colton’s rhythmic growls and grunts. Skin slapping against skin. The bed thumping against the wall.
Jed looked down between his legs. His cock hung limp, completely disinterested in the sounds of the couple fucking.
He had accidentally seen Colton and Parker fucking on more than one occasion. The odds were better than not; they were still in that newly-mated phase, and they went at it like god-damned rabbits. The hunt always seemed to push Colton’s libido into overdrive. Parker was lucky he was able to walk the next day after a hunt.
Jed had watched Parker suck Colton off in the back of a school bus once after one of their away games. He beat off to that memory on more than one occasion. Not that he would ever share that with Colton. He wanted to keep his balls and his dick right where they were, thank you very much.
Jed understood, though. A good run or hunt was a powerful aphrodisiac. Not that a young lycan needed much to get going. Hell, the wind blowing across his cock used to be enough to give Jed a hard-on. Not anymore.
Not since the stabbing.
Jed swallowed the lump in his throat and walked back to his own cabin with his head hung in shame.
