Get Lost in a Story: The Wolves of Willow Bend

GHOST WOLF

Most Lone Wolves have a story—a pack they left behind, a love they lost, or worse, one they buried. Some leave their packs to roam because they crave freedom, and independence. Some leave because in their hearts, they can’t bear to stay. Some leave because they see no way to go back…

Packs attacked. Humans forced to turn. Enforcers murdered. Following near miss assassination attempts on several prominent wolves. The packs are furious, out for blood and ready for war. Julian has been juggling the conflict without a real target for months, they always seem to be just one step behind the Volchitsa and even the wolves they’ve captured can’t tell them enough. With the fate of the packs resting squarely on his shoulders, Julian, the Chief Enforcer, will swallow his pride to seek out the one wolf he knows can help them all, the one who seems to know all the players, who can think like them…if anyone can find the Volchitsa it’s the ghost he’s hunted for decades…

Dallas Dalton has lived on the run so long, she doesn’t really remember any other way of life. For an all too brief time, she had her daughter with her and the feeling of family until Julian got to too close once again. The damn wolf wouldn’t leave her be, no matter how much she’d sacrificed for him. Seeing him in Russia had been both a blessing and a curse, because no matter what she did, she couldn’t get him out of her system. Then he asked her for help…

Now side-by-side, the Enforcer and the Rogue will have to work together to deal with the Volchitsa once and for all, but can they keep from killing each other in the process?

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“Miss Dalton, there’s a procedure to these things…a custom.”

“Of course there is,” she replied, whirling to walk backwards and look at him. “There’s protocol to every interaction we have. Boring, staid, mired in way too many years of history because some overactive dominants need to have their asses kissed.”

“Are you finished?” He halted, and though his expression didn’t change, she knew she’d reached the end of the little path so she stopped, too. They were a safe distance from the pier and alone with the rocks and the sea.

Tilting her head, she considered whether she was done. “No,” she said after waiting a beat. “I think it’s important to establish where we both stand. You bark orders to total strangers and think it’s okay. I don’t listen to orders from people I don’t know, much less respect, and I definitely never kiss an ass.”

Folding his arms, Julian released a sigh. Impatience seemed to thread through his posture. Satisfied she’d found a chink in his armor, Dallas smiled.

“There, I’m done. We understand each other.”

The wolf shook his head slowly. “You are a piece of work, Dalton.”

“Maybe, but I bet you think I’m groovy now…” The tease elicited the first hint of a smile on his stone cool face.

The man had a gorgeous smile, and her tummy did a little flip. Would he play with her?

“You are something,” he said, conceding, and she resisted the urge to cheer. “Now, you’re going to listen to me or I’ll put your smart mouth on a bus back to New York with a note to your pack to keep you caged until you learn some manners.”

Dammit. So much for playing. “Boring,” she sighed. “Fine, do your worst. Give me the lecture.”

There should be a rule about stone cold foxes being stone cold meanies. Folding her arms, she met him glare for glare.

“How the hell did they let you out of your pack?”

“Because no one can keep me where I don’t want to be.” Not anymore.

It would be her mantra. She was free.

She planned to stay that way.

USA Today bestselling author, HEATHER LONG, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime.

From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family.

She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

Heather is best known for her 18-book paranormal romance series Wolves of Willow Bend, which begins:

Prequel: Wolf at Law

1: Wolf Bite

2: Caged Wolf

3: Wolf Claim

3.5: Wolf Next Door

4: Rogue Wolf

5: Bayou Wolf

6: Untamed Wolf

Heather's other fantasy romance series include the paranormal westerns Fevered Hearts starting with Marshal of Hel Dorado, Black Hill Wolves which start with What a Wolf Wants, Witches of Mane Street, Mongrels, and the forthcoming Bravo Team WOLF series.

Her contemporary romance series include: Always a Marine, Going Royal, Elite Warriors, The Love Thieves, beginning with Catch Me and Lone Star Leathernecks, beginning with Semper Fi Cowboy.

Heather is well-represented in fantasy with her superhero series Boomers, a sci-fi western called Space Cowboy Survival Guide, an urban fantasy series called the Chance Monroe Adventures, and a stand-alone ghost novel titled Haunt Me.

Website | Facebook | Amazon | Twitter: @HVLong

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Blogs | Previous GLIAS interviews

GHOST WOLF CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Enforcer Hadley Sexton has a lot of questions for Rogue Dallas Dalton – and this is her chance to get a few answers.

HADLEY: Thanks for grabbing a drink with me.

DALLAS: I’d say you’re welcome but you didn’t offer me a choice.

HADLEY: It’s always better to apologize than ask for permission.

DALLAS: A woman after my own heart.

HADLEY: Actually, I’m just here to pick your brain. You agreed to eight questions, correct?

DALLAS: I did, and now you have seven left. *lifting her drink, she took a long pull* Use them wisely.

HADLEY: You’re a smartass. I knew there was a reason I liked you. Let’s start with the simple things. Julian’s ass or his eyes?

DALLAS: *still chuckling* The man has an ass you could bounce a quarter off of—but his eyes remind me of the sea.

HADLEY: Not really a straight answer.

DALLAS: Only answer you’re going to get. *winks*

HADLEY: What was he to you first? Friend or lover?

DALLAS: Pain in the ass—though to be fair, we weren’t the best suited to friendship.

HADLEY: What made you two work?

DALLAS: We didn’t work or did you not notice that?

HADLEY:You two were tight—you have your own language—you know things about him no one else does. So what made that work?

DALLAS: I’m not afraid of him and I know how to listen.

HADLEY: Huh, nice…now for the question I have to know the answer to—what was up with all the sitting rooms?

DALLAS: *laughing* Options…options for a gilded cage.

HADLEY: And the set miniatures? Yours or his?

DALLAS: Between us girls—?

HADLEY: Of course. I’m dying to know.

DALLAS: Strip Risk. *she waggled her eyebrows*

HADLEY: No. Shit. Seriously?

DALLAS: No. You’ll be wondering won’t you.

HADLEY:You’re killing me.

DALLAS: Last question…make it worth this.

HADLEY: If you could go back, and get a do-over—would you?

DALLAS: Nope. I wouldn’t change a single thing. Our lives are a product of our choices—change even one and it could change everything.

HADLEY’S GOTTA ASK: What’s on your bucket list?

DALLAS GOTTA ANSWER: *smiling* Everything…

UP NEXT for HEATHER

WHEN DANGER BITES

Bravo Team Wolf, Book One

Buttoned-up Corporal Kaitlyn Amador is dangerous on every level. As a human, she poses a threat to Marine Captain Jax Raymond’s special Force Recon unit. Though the team has a reputation among the other recon units, only their commanding officer knows their secret. As a woman, the danger posed is entirely different. Jax can survive the temptation for only so long before his wolf takes over and pursues what it wants.

Military intelligence specialist Corporal Kaitlyn Amador is the first woman in the Marines to be assigned to a recon team. And everyone’s watching her. Her mission? Not only prove herself worthy of her place in the group, but uncover the mystery of why Bravo Team is so successful. A mission that gets more difficult every time she’s near Jax…

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A laughing couple escaped out the doors as they continued their dancing. Then the male picked his companion up and kissed her. The scent of their passion twined and Lesley-Anne allowed herself a smile. The couple didn’t carry the promise of mating in their scent, but they were young and having fun. That was all that mattered.

Another couple slipped out the doors, both laughing and giggling like children. They hesitated when they saw her, but the male gave her a self-conscious grin followed by an incongruous wink before tugging the woman away. Lesley-Anne smiled again—not all wolves wanted to know if they were possibly mates, so she tended to keep what she knew to herself.

She had been known in the past to warn a wolf who seemed to be getting too attached, if only to prevent them from heartbreak later. The desire for a mate didn’t always result in a happily ever after for all parties, particularly if they wanted it too badly.

She lifted her mask and wiped away some of the sweat from around her eyes. Fortunately, she didn’t favor a lot of heavy cosmetics or this weather would’ve already eaten half her makeup. She’d just got it back into place when the doors opened again. A rush of sound and light and scent lashed out. Every nerve in her body electrified. Not only did she scent mate potential…

She scented hers.

Not possible.

Pivoting, she found a tall, lean wolf studying her as he made his way outside, drink in hand. Like so many of the men at the party, he was dressed in a full tux and tails. It might surprise some to know that when Delta Crescent dressed up, they did it right. Even the alpha’s mate cut a dashing figure in his suit, and his vest and tie had been designed to match the alpha’s stunning red dress. They made such a striking couple.

The male continued to approach, and Lesley-Anne lowered her gaze a fraction. Her wolf rose within her, unexpected in her interest. The last thing she wanted was to leap on the unsuspecting approaching wolf. A matchmaker was a tracker with a finely attuned sense of smell—one which detected certain notes in body chemistry. Although, in Lesley-Anne’s case, it also had something to do with her degree in psychology.

“Running away already?” The husky masculine voice wrapped around her like a leash seeking purchase.

“Hardly.” She lifted her drink. “I came out to cool off and have a drink. You?”

“I came looking for you.” What a pity he delivered the hope-inspiring-line with such practiced ease. Even knowing he possessed all the right scent markers, declaring him her potential, the smoothness with which he declared he’d come in search of her suggested his goal was more a warm body for the night rather than a heart seeking shelter.

“I see. It doesn’t seem as though you have to look very hard.” She didn’t bother to disguise the challenge in her voice. She didn’t want an operator, and while wolves might be highly charged and very sexual creatures, it didn’t mean she had to accept whatever life had to offer. Mate potential didn’t mean mate acceptance.

“How do you know I haven’t searched the whole of the bayou for you?” Playful flirtation seemed to shimmer within every syllable.

“Because there’s not a speck of dirt on your very shiny shoes.” He was lucky she didn’t snort in his face.

He chuckled then tugged off his filigreed mask. Oh, she could have wished he hadn’t done that. Hugo Ferrar. Really? She wanted to take her wolf out back and shake it. Hugo Ferrar was a Hound, second only to Jerome, and exceptionally well known in the pack—both for his reputation as a fighter as well as a lover.

PREVIOUS RELEASES by HEATHER

SPACE COWBOY SURVIVAL GUIDE

First in the series

Rule #42 – Don’t be a hero. Heroes do shit for free and get themselves killed. It’s a lose-lose proposition.

From his leather Stetson to his long coat and choice of weapons, Shaw Sullivan is just a space cowboy who lives by his own code. A loner by choice, he accepted the contract to conduct a stellar census under duress…it was the only way to save his family’s ranch.

Sullivan has four years to complete the mission, and he has zero intentions of letting anything get in his way least of all a desperate woman who wants to hire him to be a hero.

Warning: This novel is not a romance. It’s a wild, space romp with some rough and tumble characters who aren’t all that likable most days.

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