Wicked
Odd
Virginia
Nelson
A Wicked Tale
ARe Books
Genre: M/F, Werewolves, PNR
About
the Book
Best way to tame a bad wolf? Be a
little wicked yourself…
Carmen finds it hard to trust—then
again, her father went mad and had to be put down by her current Alpha. Carmen
might hold a position of power within the pack, but part of her always wonders
if they could turn on her as quickly as they did him. When she finds a man who
she’s pretty sure the current Alpha failed on a lot of levels, she decides to take
matters into her own hands and prove Dara isn’t as perfect of an Alpha as
everyone thinks.
Seth lost his mate, but he
survived. He can’t stand to watch other wolves happily carrying on with their
lives and mates after he’d failed to protect his own. Dara allows him his
privacy and ensures that he survives, even if there are days when he wishes
otherwise. When one headstrong and opinionated she-wolf decides she’s going to
end the unique hell of his isolation, Seth has to make a choice…
Kick her butt to the curb or answer
the call to claim her. But can he dare claim another mate when he knows he
failed once to be the man his mate needed?
Available at ARe
Excerpt:
The stink of
humans slathered in too much cologne and perfume competed with the smell of
open beers and possible promiscuity in a cloud of inevitable shame—at least to
Seth. He wasn’t sure why he still bothered to come down from his hill to visit
the dance hall, but it was a ritual he practiced on one specific night of every
year.
“Seth!” called
Alex Jewel. “Good to see you, man.”
Seth grunted and
nodded as he passed over the cover charge. “’Sup, buddy?”
“Not much. Haven’t
seen you in ages. How the hell have you been?”
With a shrug, Seth
headed past him and down the hall that led to the bar and dance floor. The
ritual must be completed exactly for him to feel satisfied, which meant one
beer on the outside patio, one inside, then he could go home.
Not that fulfilling
the pattern actually made him feel any better at the end of the day. Still...
He ordered the
first beer and headed outside with it. Few were out on the patio, but then
again that was typical, too, for this time of year. Only the really dedicated smokers
or secret lovers looking for a quiet dark spot would bother to brave the humid,
still summer air—filled with tiny and annoying biting bugs—to sit outside.
Watching a single
large-wing katydid perched on the fence helped him pass the time. He ignored
the humans with their clouds of smoke and lust. The katydid busily cleaned his
wings while Seth sipped the beer. It wasn’t as cold as he preferred, and he
never drank this brand any other time of the year, but that, too, was part of
the tradition.
Soon, his beer had
been emptied and the katydid had flown to do whatever important insect tasks
awaited him in the darkness.
Heading back
inside, Seth caught the scent of a wolf and scanned the dance floor to see if
he recognized whoever it might be.
He pinpointed the
direction of the aroma to be near the stage, which meant the smell must be
coming from one of two women dancing near the speakers. He couldn’t help the
half smile the sight brought him. One of the women wore silver leg braces, yet
danced with carefree abandon and a smile. Her movements might be restricted by
her obviously weak legs, yet her joy flowed as effervescent as anyone else’s in
the room, if not more. Next to her dark haired beauty, her dance partner looked
particularly mundane. The other woman had boy-short blonde hair and seemed just
as happy. Something about the pair caught his wolf’s attention, but he wasn’t
sure what other than the fact it was good to see an obviously crippled woman
having a good time with a friend.
Shrugging off the
oddity, he moved to the bar to order the second ritual beer. Once he had it in
hand, he headed for the small booth at the back of the dance hall as per
routine. From there, however, he broke the pattern a bit. Instead of staring at
the Elvis cut-out hanging on the wall below a clock with only fives—because it
was always five o’clock somewhere—he watched the girls dancing.
At one point, the
blonde went and got them both drinks, so they backed away from the dance floor
to cool off then went right back to dancing. His wolf stirred again, but he
disregarded it. But then the blonde looked in his direction, a flash of yellow
in her eyes. His wolf more than stirred at the glance, practically clawing him
from the inside. Unsettled, he stood to leave. He’d finished the beer and
therefore the dance hall portion of the ritual.
At the door,
someone caught his arm. “Hey, do I know you?”
About
the Author:
Virginia Nelson, USA Today
bestselling author, likes knights in rusted and dinged up armor, heroes that
snarl instead of croon, and heroines who can’t remember to say the right thing
even with an author writing their dialogue. Her books are full of snark, sex,
and random acts of ineptitude—not always in that order.
For more information on other books
by Virginia, visit her website: www.virg-nelson.com
Giveaway
2 ARe Imprint ebooks
