Werekind Series :: Chasing Moonlight

It's release day for Chasing Moonlight.

About Chasing Moonlight -
Blaze Logan can't figure out why Shelby keeps avoiding him, especially since he's sure the raven-haired beauty is his mate. When she breaks one date too many, he goes to her cabin to call her out, only to find her in the throes of a painful transformation. 

Shelby's secret is out. Unable to control her inner wolf, she is at the mercy of the moon. Determined to help her gain control no matter what it takes, Blaze is going to have to act fast in order to help her. She’s chasing moonlight, and the full moon is only days away.

BUY LINK - http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/chasingmoonlight.htm#

EXCERPT - {Adult Content Warning :: Chasing Moonlight contains adult content, including graphic sexual situations and language. This work of fiction is intended for readers over the age of 18.}

Chapter One


The hot August night smelled of wolf, burn barrels, and lust. Across the ruined, century-old homestead, motorcycles revved, the rumbling engines opening to a full throttle roar that blanketed the riot of catcalls and rock music. Blaze Logan pushed through the crowd, looking for Shelby, the one woman who held his heart in her hands.

He spotted a slender woman with long, straight black hair walking along the rows of motorcycles, and his heart leapt. Was it her?

Tense and hopeful, he followed behind her a few minutes, but then the woman turned her head, and he glimpsed her angular profile—definitely not Shelby. His heart sank. Frowning, he stopped near one of the burn barrels and scanned the crowd.

The full moon was still a couple of days away, and Miller’s Landing was packed for a Thursday night. That alone might’ve driven her off. She was painfully shy and mostly stayed to herself, so it was likely a large gathering wouldn’t be her thing. Hell, it had taken some careful maneuvering on his part to get her to speak more than a few words to him. Still, he wanted to give Shelby the benefit of the doubt, even if it wasn’t the first time she’d stood him up.

He made his way back over to the row of motorcycles closest to where he’d parked. So much for that. He continued to scan the crowd, but Shelby was nowhere to be seen, and he was right back to where he started. Again. This made what? His third complete walk around the landing?

Cursing under his breath, he turned to head back to his bike when his older brother’s best friend, Chase, came walking up, his arm around his pretty, blonde mate, Betsey.

“Hey, man, what are you doing out on a school night?” Chase grabbed him in a bear hug, hard hands patting leather.

He shrugged. “Just out wandering around.” He kept an eye on the crowd, afraid that if he stopped looking for Shelby, he might miss her.
“On the prowl?” Betsey teased.

“Chasing tail is more like it.” Chase kissed his mate upside the head.

Blaze snorted. The only tail he was interested in chasing seemed to have a talent for avoiding him. “When did you guys get here?”

“About thirty minutes ago,” Chase said.

“Did you catch Drake and Libby? They’re around here somewhere.”

“Yeah, we talked to them for a minute,” Chase said. “They went for a run.”

A muscle ticked in his cheek. He tamped down the sudden stab of jealousy that came unbidden. It was tough being the last guy left unmated within his close circle of friends, but he didn’t begrudge his brother having a mate. Drake loved Libby. He’d be lost without her.

“Hey, Blaze!”

He turned toward the feminine voice, hoping to find Shelby, but it was the flirty redhead from the post office. Dread curled through him. What was her name? Amanda? Miranda? Madeline? Tonight, instead of her too-tight uniform, she wore a tiny pair of cut-off jean shorts that showed off a pair of mile-long legs and the cheeks of her ass. Dark eyes glittering with mischief, she bit her lower lip and did a slow, sexy dance in the bed of her pickup truck. A blatant attempt to lure him over.

Chase lifted a black brow. “I hope you were looking for trouble.”

“Not tonight.” And definitely not with her.

Betsey chuckled. “If nothing else, you’ve got options.”

A frown creased his forehead. Not a chance. “Look, I’ll catch you guys later.” He gave Chase a fist bump.

“Sure thing, dog. See you at work tomorrow.”

Blaze headed toward his bike before the redhead could get any new ideas. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her feelings, but his mood was officially shot to shit. It sucked, but he had no one to blame but himself. Shelby hadn’t exactly promised to show up. She’d told him she might, so it wasn’t technically a date. What made it worse; she’d pulled this same dodge on him when he’d asked her to meet him for coffee. Next time, he’d make double damn sure to get her phone number.

Snarling in frustration, he stepped through the break in the trees where he’d parked his Harley and shed his leather jacket, tossing it over seat. His shirt was the next to go, then his boots, which he dropped on the ground beside his bike before he stripped out of his jeans.

The moonlight kissed his naked skin. He closed his eyes a moment and willed it to give him peace, despite the instinct that told him only his mate could ease his soul. He raked his hands through his hair then rolled his tense shoulders. Ready to run, he shifted into a large gray wolf and loped into the woods.

The trails were familiar to him, and he navigated them easily, a specific destination in his mind. The night winds rustled his thick fur, and he stopped a moment to lift his nose and sniff for signs that someone else might have walked along this particular deer trail. Wood smells pervaded, filling his nose with the pungent tang of pinesap, rocky soil, and prey. The only predator, man or wolf, he scented was himself. A good thing, because he’d become territorial about this patch of land and the woman who lived nearby.
Shelby.

Ahead, the trees thinned away, revealing a flat rock outcropping along a grassy ledge overlooking curvy, Lodge Pine Road. The wolf stood near the drop point and looked down the hillside, which sloped away in a carpet of meadow grass and wild flowers to a tiny cabin nestled securely in a pocket of fir trees on the opposite side of the valley.

Hunger burned in him, a knot of anxious fire that gnawed at him no matter what form he took. He had called to her many nights, and still she hadn’t come to him.

Wolf shifted back into man, and Blaze stood naked on the ledge. His beast wrested inside, and he narrowed his eyes, searching the homestead below for signs of his woman.

Her ghost white ’67 Mustang sat in the driveway. The cabin lights were out, even the single porch light that sometimes burned well into the day. No telling flicker of color from the TV through the gauze drapes covering her living room window, but she was there. No doubt about that. Her very nearness called to him, urged him to go to her, present himself as her mate and claim her.

Gruff laughter rumbled in his chest. What would she say if he did just that? She’d probably call him crazy and run like a frightened rabbit. No. He couldn’t risk scaring her away. She avoided him well enough already.

He rolled his neck to ease the taut muscles there. Never had he wanted a woman so much. Desire for her skirted a fine edge between torment and arousal, but his interest in her covered far more than just sex. He wanted to hear her voice and breathe in her scent. He wanted to know her secrets, her dreams.

He needed to be close to her. Hell, he needed her. She was on his mind every waking moment. He fantasized about running with her, kissing her, making love to her in the moonlight while her soft black hair spilled through his fingers like so much silk. Just imaging her looking at him with love shining in her eyes was enough to make his inner wolf struggle for dominance.

“Shelby.” Her name was a whispered prayer.

Usually women flocked to him, even the human females aware of who and what he was. But Shelby was different. She stayed to herself. If she had any close friends, he didn’t know who they were. He had tried repeatedly to draw her out, to clue her in that he wanted to spend time with her and get to know her better, but still she withdrew from him.

Blaze clutched his hands in his hair and bit back the urge to shift. He’d tried his best to keep a reasonable distance, but being away from her for days at a time was becoming unbearable. How much longer could he take this separation? Frustration built inside him until finally, he lifted his chin to the moon and let out a long, sorrowful howl, a desperate plea for mercy. The silver notes shivered on the air, beckoning Shelby to come to him, to save him, to ease his body and salve his heart.

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For the full first chapter excerpt of Chasing Moonlight, visit the book page at Cobblestone Press! http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/chasingmoonlight.htm#