The Patient Wolf
Wicked Urban Fantasy, #1
by Karen Hodges Miller
Date of Publication: May 2nd
2016
Publisher: Can’t Put it Down Books
Cover Artist: Genevieve Cosdon
Genre: Paranormal Romance
BLURB
The small town of Rivelou is
hiding secrets, and they are about to claw their way to the surface.
Ana Dugan used to enjoy her
nighttime walks through her quaint college town, but all of that changes when a
handsome stranger rescues her from an attack. She’s not sure who she should be
more afraid of the four legged beast who attacked her or the two legged one who
saved her. She narrowly escapes, but soon learns that others weren’t so lucky.
When another man enters her life
claiming he’s there to protect her she’s not sure who she should trust, the
wolf or the hunter.
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The
Patient Wolf Chapter 1
Ana breathed in the early
autumn air as she headed away from the university and onto the darker streets
of the neighboring suburb. It was an older neighborhood, built in the 1920’s
when the town of Rivelou had begun to spread from its central location on the
river across the railroad tracks to the north. This particular section of the
town had been built for the railroad workers, with tiny shotgun houses lined up
on even tinier lawns.
As Ana
crossed Roosevelt Avenue and headed into her own neighborhood, the streetlights
ended and the sidewalk became lighted only by an occasional porch light or walk
light. She loved walking home from her night classes at this time of the year.
The air, while it could not yet be called crisp, had lost its summer
sultriness, a welcome change from the blistering heat of a Midwest summer.
And these
walks home after her night classes were one of the few times during her week
when she could be truly alone. No bosses, no teachers, not even Sophie
chattering away in her ear. She’d been a mom long enough not to feel guilty at
enjoying a a little time alone without her child. Her thirteen-year-old
daughter was the light of her life, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy a
little time by herself, too.
As she
headed down Harlan Street, farther from the more heavily trafficked avenue, the
street became even darker. It was too soon for most of the leaves to have
fallen, they were just beginning to turn red on this last week in September and
they were so thick on the trees that they hid the full moon. Part of the charm
of the old neighborhood was the beautiful, large old maples and oaks, but their
roots also tore up the sidewalks. Ana tripped on one of those cracks, and shook
her head in disgust. How could she always trip in the same spot, night after
night? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t memorized the bad spots in the sidewalk after
years of walking this way.
She
smiled; only one more year of classes and, with luck, she wouldn’t be taking
this same walk anymore. She would have her teaching degree, be able to quit her
job as an admin at the university, and start a new life with her daughter,
maybe somewhere else. She would enjoy teaching, preferably high school, but
she’d take whatever grade she could get to start. Sophie would miss her
friends; they would both miss their family. They’d come back a lot to visit.
She was sure of that—her family, particularly her grandfather, would certainly
insist on it. But it would be nice to start over. Of course, Jonathan, her ex,
would probably object if she moved even to the next county. The one good thing
she could say for the man was he always fulfilled his obligations to their
daughter, even if it was only because he thought about running for political
office someday and didn’t want to ruin his reputation with the other lawyers
and judges in Rivelou.
She shook
her head as if to change the direction her daydreams had taken her and
sidestepped another large crack in the sidewalk. She wasn’t going to let
thoughts of Jonathan ruin a lovely evening. Maybe after Sophie was in bed she’d
have a chance to get outside again and enjoy the full moon and beautiful
weather. She wouldn’t indulge herself in a run; she couldn’t leave Sophie
alone, but some time out in her backyard to appreciate the full moon would be
good.
She
stopped and looked around, working to regain her pleasure in the evening, when
she heard a low growl nearby.
A dog? No
one on this block had a dog big enough to make that sort of sound. That growl
had definitely come from something larger than Mrs. Ahearn’s yappy little
Pomeranian. She began to walk more quickly. Only a half block until she turned
onto Sycamore, then another half block until she arrived at her own home.
The growl
came again. She tucked her purse more securely on her left shoulder, her
computer bag on her right, and doubled her pace. There were no lights on at any
of the houses on that part of the block, and of course, the moon took that
moment to hide behind a cloud. She took a deep breath and tried to walk at a
steady pace. She wouldn’t run, even though she could hear the animal behind her
as she rounded the corner. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her own
porch light on, as well as that of her neighbors, Joe and Lindsey, who kept
Sophie evenings when Ana had class. Only a few more steps to safety.
She was
almost in front of her own door when she heard the rush of paws with nails
clicking on the sidewalk. With a howl, the animal knocked her down.
She held
her computer case in front of her face, “Take a bite of that, you nasty beast,”
she said, pushing the case at its huge, dark head. It was all teeth and glowing
eyes as it stood over her, growling. “What do you want?” she shouted.
Though it
had her on the ground, it didn’t make a move, just stood gazing at her. Somehow
she sensed if she did move, it would strike. She had to do something. She drew
a deep breath and prepared to scream when she heard someone running up behind
her.
“Hey,
you, get back! Get back!” She turned her head and saw a man come running toward
her and the slobbering animal. The man grabbed a stick from the ground and
waved it at the animal as he rushed forward. “Back! Get back, you ugly beast!”
he shouted again, striking the creature who turned, snarling at him. They
stared intently at each other for a moment when the dog finally dodged the
stick and lunged to take a bite out of the man.
The man
got in a couple of good blows before the dog suddenly grabbed the stick, tugged
at it, and knocked the man to the ground. Ana decided it was time to take
action. She fumbled through her purse as the dog leaned back on its haunches
preparing to strike. Just before he lunged on the fallen man Ana found her can
of mace and hit the dog in the face with the noxious spray. With howl of pain,
it ran into the darkness.
Several
more porch lights suddenly popped on to light the night, and the street was
filled with neighbors coming to check on the unusual commotion.
“Are you
all right?” her rescuer, still gasping and out of breath, asked. “It didn’t
bite you, did it?” He made his way to his feet and held his hand out to her.
“No, no.
I’m fine,” Ana replied as she was suddenly bowled over by an armful of an
anxious thirteen-year-old. “Mom, mom, are you okay?” Sophie asked.
“What
happened?” her neighbor, Joe, questioned her at the same moment.
“It was a
dog. A huge one. I’ve never seen it before. This man chased it away,” she said,
turning to the man who was wiping his face with a handkerchief and coughing.
“I think
you were the one who chased it away. Wish you’d had a little better aim with
the mace, but under the circumstances I don’t think I can complain,” he said
between coughs.
“Hey, are
you okay?” Joe asked, looking the man over. “You’d better come in and let us
take a look at you. My wife’s a nurse. She can check you out. Just a whiff of
that stuff can be torture on the eyes.”
“No, I’m
fine, I’ll …” he protested, but Ana cut him off.
“I
insist. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have been bitten by that animal.”
“I think
we’d better make a police report,” Joe said as they headed for his house. “Joe
Lessing,” he added, holding out his hand to the stranger. “And this is our
neighbor, Ana Dugan, and her daughter, Sophie.”
“Good to
meet you. Chris Spier,” the man said, shaking hands with Joe as they reached
the porch. At the top of the steps he turned to Ana, where, under the porch
light, she got her first real look at her rescuer.
He was
just shy of six feet, with the build of teddy bear, the kind you’d like to give
a big hug and take to bed with you, Ana thought, then inwardly blushed. Where
had that thought come from? She didn’t have time for men. It wasn’t that he was
soft, or fat, she added, mentally adjusting her initial teddy bear image. He
was muscular, and he had a kind face, soft brown eyes, shaggy light brown hair
and beard, both of which needed a trim. There was something about his worn
khakis and wrinkled plaid flannel shirt that said he wasn’t used to being cared
for.
“I’m so
sorry if I hurt you,” Ana said, taking his hand. Chris held onto it until Joe
said, “Come on in. You need to wash off that mace.”
He guided
Chris into a small, warm living room and back to a kitchen where Sophie was
animatedly, if with little accuracy, describing the incident to Joe’s wife and
daughter.
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Author Info
Karen Hodges Miller’s fascination
with werewolves, vampires, witches, ghosts, and all things supernatural began
with the childhood classics. She gobbled up everything from The Haunting of
Hill House to the Narnia series, from Dracula to Rebecca. As a writer, however,
she stuck to non-fiction; working as a newspaper and magazine reporter and
editor and in 2004 opening her own publishing company.
She has written several books for
authors on the subject of writing and publishing. The Patient Wolf is her first
fiction novel and of course, it features a very sexy werewolf.
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