Wolf Tales 3.5: Chanku Fallen

by Kate Douglas

Genres: Erotic & Steamy Romance; Shifters

Synopsis

WILD AT HEART

Empowered by hidden talents that intensify their senses, master shapeshifters Mik and AJ are on the prowl in New Mexico. They're on a mission to rescue a lost kin named Tala, a woman sold into bondage and desperate to escape. Free of her captors, Tala will experience true liberation with Mik and AJ—an uninhibited ménage à trois that takes her to the heights of erotic pleasure and reveals her true Chanku nature. . .

Praise for Kate Douglas's erotic romance:

"Sexy, tense, and complex."—Romantic Times, 4 Stars on WOLF TALES 12

"The story is so thrilling and the sex is so hot."—Romantic Times, 4 Stars on WOLF TALES 11

"Kate Douglas is definitely NOT for the timid reader."—Anne McCaffrey, New York Times bestselling author

Previously published in Sexy Beast II

34,200 Words

Release date: February 1, 2013

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 128

Sample

“If he hits her again, I’m going to kill the bastard.”

“Why? So she can testify against you and send you back to Folsom? Been there, done that. Look at her. She’s not crying—she’s glaring at him. The guy’s probably her pimp, just making a point. Don’t interfere with business. Finish your beer and let’s get out of here.” AJ Temple threw a couple of five-dollar bills on the scarred surface of the bar and stood up.

Miguel Fuentes rose slowly to his feet, his attention still on the couple at the other end of the bar. The beer can he left on the counter resembled a small chunk of crushed and mangled aluminum. AJ seemed to recognize Mik was just about ready to blow, and grabbed his arm to steer him toward the door.

Unfortunately, they had to walk right by the muscle-bound jerk hanging on to the fragile-looking waif with the big, sad eyes. The lighting inside the tavern was dim, but it wasn’t dark enough to hide the distinct marks on the girl’s arm where square, meaty fingers kept a tight grip.

Mik planted his feet and refused to move beyond the mismatched pair.

“Let go of the lady.”

When AJ tugged at his arm, Mik jerked loose. “I said, let her go. Now.”

The stranger at the bar turned slowly and glared at both AJ and Mik through narrow, bloodshot eyes. Then he lumbered to his feet. As tall as he was, and as broad, he still had to look up at Mik, but that didn’t appear to bother him a bit. He curled his lip in a soundless snarl. “Who the fuck are you?”

Mik almost laughed. If only he could tell him. Even better, show him. He could shift, right here in this seedy little bar. Change into a ferocious, snarling wolf and rip the guy’s throat out, just for effect. Damn. Times like these, Mik wished the Chanku weren’t such a deeply guarded secret. Wished he could follow his true nature as a shapeshifter.

He’d go for the bastard’s throat and settle the problem, once and for all. It might make a mess of the place, but it would certainly shut the jerk up. Unfortunately, Mik knew he had to control himself no matter how badly the beast in him wanted a bite of this idiot.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t go for a little alpha-male posturing. Mik straightened his spine and puffed out his chest. His open hands hung deceptively loose at his sides.

Of course, now the die was cast, AJ seemed to think it prudent to add his bulk for emphasis. He stepped up beside Mik, not quite as big, but every bit as powerful. “My buddy asked you to let go of her arm. It’s obvious you’re hurting the lady.”

Before the jerk could answer, the woman slipped off the bar-stool and moved to one side. The big guy released his grip slowly, reluctantly, almost as if he caressed her bruised skin. She glanced nervously toward the back of the tavern, then wrapped her arms tightly around her narrow waist. Her long dark hair floated over her shoulders and down her slim back, almost to her butt. Thick bangs obscured her forehead and eyes. “It’s okay. We were having an argument. I . . .” She stepped away, a small step, but it took her farther from the man who’d hurt her and closer to Mik. “I was wrong. Jimmy here, well, he had a right to get upset.”

I told you so. She’ll side with the bastard. AJ’s silent comment, mindtalking in the way of their kind, echoed in Mik’s head.

She’s scared out of her fucking skull. What else is she gonna say?

C’mon, Mik. Out of here. Now. This guy’s not alone. For emphasis, AJ nodded to his left, in the direction the woman had glanced. Mik turned slightly, but it was enough to see the half dozen rednecks lounging near the pool table, just waiting for a fight.

He felt his hackles rise in response. Natural in a wolf but damned uncomfortable in a human. The bully was a local. AJ and Mik were fair game. Cursing under his breath, Mik turned away from the hopeless expression on the woman’s face and followed AJ out of the bar. He couldn’t help taking one final glance back at her, though. She looked frightened but still defiant next to the muscular bully. Her gaze lingered on Mik and AJ. Then her face twisted with pain as the man wrapped his fist in her long dark hair.

Mik’s gut twisted, as if the bastard had reached inside and grabbed him as well. It almost killed him to turn away, but he followed AJ. He had no choice. Years of experience had taught Mik to trust his partner.

It didn’t mean he always had to like it.

Once outside the tavern, Mik took a deep breath of hot, dry air before he turned on AJ. “We could have taken them. There were only seven of ’em counting that sonofabitch.”

AJ laughed and headed down the dusty street. His shadow stretched straight out in front of him, long and thin as the setting sun dropped lower in the sky. “That’s almost word for word what you said when you beat that last guy half to death. She is not worth seven to ten years in prison. Didn’t your first incarceration teach you anything?”

Mik shook his head, trying unsuccessfully to erase the waif’s lost look from his mind. “Same thing your five years in Folsom taught you—not to get caught. Poor kid. She looks like she’s used to getting beat up.”

AJ stopped and stared at Mik for a long, uncomfortable minute. “She probably is. Get over it. You cannot right every wrong. You can’t rescue every stray. Face it, you can’t save the world. You can only do what you’re able to do, then move on to the next job.”

Mik stared into the eyes of the man he loved more than anyone else in the world and realized he’d never yet won an argument with AJ. He felt the anger flow out of him, leaving only disappointment, and he sighed. “I know you’re right. Unfortunately, being right doesn’t make it any easier to walk away.” Mik shoved his hands in his pockets, took another deep breath and let it out. “Let’s get dinner and get moving. I can’t stay here in this dump, not knowing that little girl is hurting.”

AJ slapped Mik’s shoulder. “She’s not a little girl and she’s not hurting. She’s probably just getting ready to go to work. Like I said, that guy’s most likely her pimp. She’s a whore, Mik. She’s probably a lot tougher than she looks, but if she’s broken, it’s too damned late for you to fix her, okay? C’mon. I’m with you . . . let’s find a bite to eat and get out of this dump.”

Mik looked around the squalid town square, at the scattered papers and trash blown into filthy piles in corners and up against fences, at the broken benches and dry grass in what might, at some point, have been a park. Now the area reeked of decay and misuse, and the few men standing on the corner opposite them were obviously there for reasons that would get them arrested in any other town.

This place was ugly clear through, but they hadn’t come here for the scenery. Mik stared at AJ, looking into eyes so much like his own it would have been eerie if the similarity weren’t so comforting. “I really thought we’d find her. Baylor was so certain she’d still be hanging around here.”

AJ shrugged. “Not if she’s smart. She’s probably long gone.” He stopped at their car, an oversized SUV parked under a gnarled, leafless tree, and tossed his jacket inside. Then he and Mik walked across the street toward the only restaurant in sight. “Bay said he hadn’t heard from his sister in years, and as good as Luc is at finding folks on the Internet, he’s not had any luck. No one around here even blinked when we asked about Mary Ellen Quinn. Without a picture or any real identification other than short, round, and blonde, I think finding her is a lost cause.”

Mik felt a lump in his throat and swallowed it back. Lost cause. Just like the girl they’d abandoned back there in that seedy bar. He didn’t want to abandon Mary Ellen, either. Not with Chanku females so few and far between.

Not that he and AJ needed a woman. . . .