A Cougar Among Wolves
Read A Cougar Among Wolves Online
Authors: Kali Willows
Tags: #Decadent Publishing, #1Night Stand, #Madame Evangeline, #Madame Eve
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A Cougar AmongWolves
Copyright 2016 by Kali Willows
ISBN: 978-1-61333-994-7
Cover art by Fiona Jayde
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
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A Cougar Among Wolves
A sadistic attack leaves Klaya, a Puma Clan Cougar, critically injured and the last of her family ferociously slain. She stumbles into Black Hills Wolf territory and collapses. Now under the protection of the pack, she finds herself whisked away to hide out in a cave until her old friend the alpha returns. Potentially the last of her shifter kind, she has nothing left to lose, but her life and a chance to avenge her brother.
After a dangerous rescue, on the edge of pack territory, Seth and Rogue take a woman on the brink of death back to the pack. Her identity and why she was brutalized is a mystery.
The pieces soon fit together proving this assault was no coincidence. The Black Hills Wolves pack faces a bigger threat than they could even imagine. The trio soon find themselves on a tumultuous journey of life and death and relentless lust.
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Table of Contents
Black Hills Wolves Stories
Wolf’s Return
What a Wolf Wants
Black Hills Desperado
Wolf’s Song
Claiming His Mate
When Hell Freezes
Portrait of a Lone Wolf
Alpha in Disguise
A Wolf’s Promise
Reluctant Mate
Diamond Moon
Wolf on a Leash
Tempting the Wolf
Naming His Mate
A Wolf Awakens
The Wolf and the Butterfly
Infiltrating Her Pack
Omega’s Heart
Rebel’s Claw
Claiming the She-Wolf
Worth Fighting For
Dangerous
Uncaged
Promiscuous Wolf
Disquieted Souls
A Cougar Among Wolves
Long Road Home
A Mate’s Healing Touch
Another Chance
Broken Silence
A Wolf’s Contract
A Mate’s Redeeming Touch
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Winter Solstice Run
Wolf’s Holiday
Winter Magic
Winter Secrets
Winter Solstice Ménage
Wolf in Winter Clothing
Murder in Los Lobos
Scent of Murder
Scent of the Hunt
Scent of His Woman
Scent of Madness
Coming Soon
Pleasure Me
Secrets of the Hunt
Also by Kali Willows
Designing Passion
Damnation and Desire
Savannah’s Ghost Tale
Terminal Lust
Double Dragon Seduction
Dragon Temptation
Tantric Storm
Dragon’s Breath
Dragon’s Bond
Romancing the Author
Coming Soon
Claiming Trinity
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A Note from Kali
Thank you for choosing A Cougar Among Wolves for your reading pleasure! This story takes a dark turn with danger and the strive for survival, tempered with passion and healing for a heroine who thought there was no hope left after a devastating attack. It shows how cultures in the paranormal world can mix and mingle, and band together for continued existence and recovery in an unrelenting world of greed and brutality. It’s steamy but riveting. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
Happy Reading,
Kali Willows
A Cougar Among Wolves
A Black Hills Wolves Story
By
Kali Willows
8
Griffith yanked on the broken iron handle of the dingy wooden door and held it open for her. A blast of raunchy guitar riffs and heavy bass reverberated in her delicate ears.
Klaya skulked inside to find what she expected from the local watering hole.
The retched gust of sour beer shot up her sensitive nose and brought bile to the back of her throat.
“Really?” She whipped around and glared at her older brother. “We couldn’t find someplace less…disgusting?”
“Come on, it’s Utah. It’s not like you’ll find swanky New York nightclubs here.
Where’s your sense of adventure?” He chuckled and strolled ahead of her toward the grubby bar.
“Adventure? I don’t consider bathing in smelly filth an adventure.” She followed him as she grimaced.
A few steps in, she tripped on the uneven wooden floor and slammed into Griffith’s back. He spun around and steadied her with his hands on her shoulders. “You okay?”
“Peachy,” she retorted, eyeing the grimy rolled-copper bar.
Several patrons tittered and she glared at them. Some of the mangled wooden chairs were held together with tattered layers of silver duct tape. Most had spindles missing from the backs. Coasters tucked under the legs of the dozen or so square tables indicated an attempt to stop them from wobbling.
“Charming.” With another slow, cautious inhale, something else settled on her palate.
She leaned close to her brother’s ear. “We aren’t the only shifters in here.”
“I know,” he replied. “I smell a wolf, too, but I don’t sense any danger.”
She counted sixteen patrons throughout the bar and one tall, gangly man with greasy blond hair and a tattered yellow T-shirt filling a pitcher with beer from a hose behind the counter. From every corner, the wall-mounted speakers pumped heavy metal music, torturing her tender ears.
“I’ll buy the first round, your favorite.” Griffith plopped down on a wooden stool at the bar and patted the empty seat beside him.
“Fine, but I doubt they’d serve a tequila sunrise here. Shots of booze and beer are all 1
you’ll get.”
“It’s wet, and it’s booze. what’s the problem?” He snickered.
“You’re buying me more than one round.” She eased herself onto the uneven-legged barstool, the sticky grime on the surface snagging at the seat of her jeans. “For the record,” she hissed, “I hate you.”
“Barkeep,” Griffith called out over the noise. “A round of tequila shots and beers.” He gestured between the two of them. “And one for this guy at the end of the bar.”
The solitary drinker hunched over clutching a beer. Dark-haired, with a scowl marring his handsome features, the distinct presence of trouble and bitterness emanated from him.
Amid the brash vibrations of the loud music and chatter, her acute hearing honed in on other sounds, including the clanking of beer bottles on table tops and scuffing of shoes across the bar floor. The occasional grunt from the guy at the end suggested he was in a foul mood, and likely, already inebriated.
“Are you sure he needs another?” She spoke close to her brother’s ear.
“Looks like he’s had a run of bad luck.” Griffith accepted the three shot glasses from the bartender and reached for the lime wedges in a bowl on the counter along with a shaker of salt. “Hey, buddy, care for a round?” He held up a glass.
The scowl lightened, and he picked up his beer and limped toward them, favoring his left leg.
“Thanks.” The man took the glass and tossed it back, snagged a lime, and sucked on it.
“Mighty kind of you.”
He turned to leave, but her smartass brother couldn’t leave well enough alone. “The name is Griffith, and this is my little sister, Klaya.”
The man faced them and curled his lip. “Hi.”
Desperate to escape, she shifted to the edge of her barstool. “How ya doin’?”
“I’ve been better,” he slurred.
A powerful scent wafted up her nose.
I smell a wolf
. But she detected no danger from him whatsoever.
After a few more rounds of tequila, the slovenly stranger spilled his guts about being shunned from his town, explaining he was now on the run and his limp was a result of a gunshot by one of his father’s cronies. A profound sense of compassion filled Klaya, 2
along with the heated trickle of alcohol down her solar plexus. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all that, Drew.”
“Thanks.” He nodded. Now on the barstool between her and Griffith, he confided even more. “The worst is I can’t be with my Betty.”
“Hey, will you two be okay if I excuse myself for a second?” Griffith arched his brows. “Nature calls.”
“Sure.” She didn’t mind her new company. Knowing his story, she felt terrible for the guy. Klaya downed another shot of tequila and chased it with a beer. “I’m sure things will work out for you.”
“Cheers to that.” He clinked bottles with her then set his on the counter, and buried his head in his arms.
Klaya chuckled. The guy was going to hurt in the morning.
A massive man with exceptionally dirty, long, black hair and a bulky leather jacket took a seat on the stool on her other side. Based on his bone structure, dark eyes, and tanned complexion, she estimated him to be of Native American descent. His protruding forehead gave off a Cro-Magnon air, complementing his thick, undefined lips.
“Hey, Johnny boy,” he bellowed. “Gimme a beer and one for the lady.”
The bartender rushed over, popped the beer caps off with shaky hands, and slid them in front of the brute. “O-on the house, Jimmy.”
“I thought so.” The man leered at Klaya, slid a bottle in front of her, and then growled,
“Hey, gorgeous. This is for you.”
She reeled back. “Uh…thanks, but I’ve got my own.” She held up her drink. “And I’m done for the night.” She inched away, nostrils stinging from his pungent body odor.
“You’ll have another.” He chugged his beer.
“No, I won’t.” She gritted her teeth. “But thank you.”
The Neanderthal slammed his bottle on the counter. “I bought you a drink. You should be grateful.”
“No, you bullied the bartender to get it for free, and you decided to tell me what to do.
That’s not gonna happen, so disappear.” She let out a guttural growl of caution. Another unappealing whiff confirmed he was both human and grotesque. The barbarian loomed over her. “I said—”
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“The lady told you to get lost.” Her new buddy managed to pull himself out of his drunken stupor and got to his feet. “Now, walk away from my friend here, or I’ll rip you from limb to limb,” Drew roared, teetering, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened.
The gargantuan crowded over Drew and gave a vicious glower. He was no less than an entire foot taller than him with shoulders double his own width. Klaya glanced down. The tyrant’s feet were twice the size of Drew’s.
This will not end well
.
“Boys,” she grumbled and stood. Inserting herself as a barricade between the pending collision of testosterone, she glared up at her unwanted suitor. “There’s no need to cause a scene.”