Animal attraction, p.25
Animal Attraction, page 25
“Are you a bear shifter?” Coral asked at the top of her lungs.
Eco peered around Rafael’s legs.
Chester lowered his hand and laughed in delight. “Yes, I am. And, as you can see, I am also a man.” He turned in a circle, showing himself off with a wink at the end.
“And what of your friend?” Autumn asked. “We heard there are two of you.”
Chester nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Kohana is doing a search of the settlement to ensure there are no more threats. He is the chief of our tribe and, like me, he is unmated.”
For some reason, a blush appeared in Autumn’s cheeks. Her bloody dress was now torn and covered in dirt, but not burnt. Rafael was just glad to see Coral and Eco still had their aunt.
“We must prepare a celebration feast,” she said to the other villagers. “I lost a dear friend today”—she choked up a bit, then cleared her throat—“but I know Willow is looking down and cheering our victory. Today, justice was served. Our loved ones’ murderers have been killed. Good triumphed over evil. The monstrous beasts are dead. We are free and able to honor our loved ones at long last.”
One by one, the torches were secured to posts spaced around the settlement. Everyone began hugging and crying. A woman appeared with a group of children who saw the dead werewolves and began skipping, jumping, and clapping.
Autumn raised both hands in the air. “Before you get too carried away, we have a fire to put out. We need all available hands.”
The shifters stayed behind as Autumn led the villagers toward the smoke. Coral and Eco ran over to the group of children, following slowly behind the adults.
With a sparkle in her eyes, Hailey grabbed Rafael’s hand and tugged him over to the bear shifter Chester.
“A whole horde of vulhena?” Rafael asked as they made their way over.
“I thought we were done for when they came upon us,” Hailey said.
“Yeah, I know the feeling.”
“Chester!” she exclaimed happily, her entire face lighting up. “This is Rafael.”
The black-skinned male was tall, lean, and muscular with friendly eyes and the brightest smile. He threw out his arms and embraced Rafael in . . . well, a bear hug. “So, good to meet you, Hailey’s mate.”
Rafael didn’t correct him. Instead, he smiled at how right it sounded that he and Hailey were mates. His chest puffed a little higher knowing Hailey had informed the self-proclaimed unmated, available bear shifters that she was already taken.
“Thank you for helping our pack. Great to meet you, amigo.”
EVENTUALLY THE SMOKE cleared, uncovering the stars and a waxing moon full of promise. The villagers had roasted an animal called a “pig” over an open fire. It was one of the most mouthwatering meats Hailey had ever tasted, or perhaps she was so ravenous that anything would have tasted delicious.
Along with the feasting, the humans danced and sang and played foreign instruments late into the night.
Several of the young women who had been wielding torches earlier still eyed their group warily.
They had lent the shifters clothing. Sadly, they had a surplus after so much death. Some of the villagers weren’t ready to jubilate, choosing to pay their respects to the dead in the privacy of their cabins. Others appeared resolute on burying the past and savoring this victory.
Hailey and her pack sat on a blanket near the roasted pig, content to smell its lingering aroma long after they devoured their portions of the meat. She, Violet, and Layla had chosen short, airy dresses from among the clothing offered. Rafael, Byron, Skeet, and Hudson wore long khaki pants and off-white button up shirts. Chester and Kohana had torn and tied a couple articles of clothing, fashioning them into loincloths that made the villagers’ eyes bulge.
They were speaking to the woman named Autumn, who seemed to be in charge of the settlement. The redhead had washed up and changed into one of the drab dresses that seemed to be a favorite among the women. Her hair was now secured into one long braid.
Layla lay on her back, arms behind her head, and sighed wistfully. “What now?”
Violet reached over and tickled her under her arms. Erupting into giggles, Layla sat up and smacked her playfully. “You’re evil.”
“Just lightening the mood,” Violet said.
Skeet belched.
“Ew!” Layla glared at him.
He grinned. “Me too. Just lightening the mood.”
Their group laughed, then went quiet again. Hailey glanced at the pig, wondering if it would be greedy of her to dish up thirds.
“I don’t want to go back to Glenn Meadows,” Layla said. “Ever since we left, I feel fully alive. You know? Like really, really awake.”
They all nodded.
“Me too,” Hudson said. “Makes me think I should have left home sooner. I mean, it’s not as though I passed up opportunities to explore. I’m grateful you all gave me a chance to see more of the world.”
Layla pressed her lips together and smiled at him.
Byron cleared his throat. “I’m glad Hailey chose the wild unknown over the sheltered familiar.”
Taking up the thread, Hailey said, “And I’m happy Rafael agreed to join us on our grand adventure. We don’t have to return right away. We don’t have to go back ever—except to visit. I like our pack. I think we should stay together and keep going.”
Layla clapped her hands in excitement. “Yay! We were hoping you would say that.”
“What about Rafael?” Byron asked, shooting the pureblooded male a pointed look.
They all turned their heads to stare at Rafael, who smirked back at them. “Well, Hailey’s probably told you what a wretch I am.”
“She didn’t have to tell us,” Violet interjected. “It was sorta obvious from the moment we met you.”
Hailey’s eyes widened. Violet smiled cheekily. Hailey held back her scoff. She wanted to hear what Rafael had to say, not joke around.
Rafael ran a hand through his hair, seeming almost nervous. “Yes, well, it seems your alpha is willing to give me a second chance. At least, I think that’s why she showed up to save my sorry hide.” He flashed her a smile, but Hailey went still, her heart a star, suspended in the sky, waiting to either shine or implode. Rafael swallowed. “Can we take a walk, Hailey? There’s something I want to ask you.”
“Hell, no!” Violet said. “We want to hear it too.”
She looked at Layla, who smiled mischievously before joining Violet in her chant of “Claim her! Claim her! Claim her!”
Hailey felt her cheeks heat. She scrambled to her feet and cast a silent command at her friends to simmer down, but they simply changed their words to, “Mate her! Mate her! Mate her!”
Rafael stood and winked at Violet and Layla.
“Come on,” Hailey said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away.
Threading her fingers through Rafael’s, they walked hand in hand through the celebratory crowd. A young man with long dark-blond hair and a freshly bandaged arm plucked at strings on his instrument, producing a merry tune. A few of the children held reed-like musical devices to their lips and blew while their fingers moved over tiny holes. Women spun in circles, their long skirts twirling with them. It gave Hailey a warm feeling of hope that humanity wasn’t entirely doomed.
She gave Rafael’s hand a squeeze. “You said I saved you, but you rescued this entire village. I never would have led the pack here if your scent had not brought us to this human settlement, of all places.”
Rafael used his free hand to rub his hand through his stubble.
“I came across two little kids who needed help.”
“I’d say you’re their hero for life.”
Rafael did not return her smile, shaking his head with a heavy exhale. “I always thought that people were the bad guys, but it turns out our shifter cousins were the villains—heinous ones at that.”
“We all have the choice between good and bad, regardless of gender or breed,” Hailey said.
He sniffed. “Which one am I?”
“Oh, you’re a wretch, but at least you’re the good variety.”
Rafael laughed at that.
They meandered around dark cottages and entered an open space in front of a large cabin. Stars dotted the sky overhead, now clear of smoke. It felt like a fresh start.
“Hi!”
Craning their necks, they spotted a young boy in a cute little house in a tree.
“Hi,” Hailey said, offering the child a smile.
His cheeks dimpled and he ducked down, then popped back up, giggled, and waved. Hailey and Rafael waved back.
“Is it just me, or does this feel like a totally bizarre dream?” Rafael asked as they strolled across the small clearing.
A secretive smile lifted Hailey’s lips. “Definitely strange. Maybe one day we really will revisit this place in a dream, but for now, I’ve had enough of past reveries.” Releasing his hand, she stepped in front of him and put her hands on her hips. “Are you going to claim me or what?”
Rafael’s face lit up when he chuckled. “Stubborn, bossy, and all alpha . . . how can I refuse?” He stepped closer until only cloth and skin separated their beating hearts. Hand cupping one side of her face, Rafael stared into her eyes. “How do you want to do this, Hailey of Glenn Meadows?”
Her lips twitched, even as her heart sped up. “It’s Hailey of the woods.”
Rafael just chuckled and kissed her on the mouth, dragging the moment out in languid strokes of lips moving together and pressing hard.
He broke contact to say, “Hailey of the woods, I claim you as my one and only mate now and forever.” Rafael moved back in, only to end up kissing air when Hailey drew back.
“I want pups—lots of them.”
Rafael ran his hand through his hair. “Dios mío. What have I gotten myself into?”
Shoulders shaking with mirth, Hailey threw her arms around his neck and gave herself over to Rafael’s kisses and the knowledge that theirs would be a happy bond filled with passion, respect, friendship, and cute little purebloods to continue the line until it was time to do it all over again.
“Bite me,” she demanded.
Canines elongating, Rafael did as she commanded, sinking his fangs into her neck.
It was about time the male obeyed his alpha female.
Epilogue
GOLDEN SUNLIGHT EDGED the green leaves beneath which the small group of adult wolves dozed. Birds chittered and cooed from the branches while another pair were intent on a whistling contest.
Rafael and Hailey lay side by side in Wolf Hollow’s open glade, watching their six pups chase butterflies.
When his mate had demanded pups, she hadn’t been kidding around. All six were from one litter.
A bear cub ambled through the grass to see what the pups found so entertaining and didn’t seem too impressed with the winged insects flitting about. He made a soft bellowing sound, wanting to play.
Three of the pups were more than eager for a romp, especially with the adults more inclined to rest than roughhouse. Soon, the yipping started and Taryn’s poor cub was up against six wolves. She stood on four legs and watched, as protective as any mama bear, despite being a wolf shifter. The pups would never hurt the cub, nor would the cub ever harm the pups. They were friends, though they made a ruckus and butted against one another.
Hailey didn’t so much as growl when the cub batted one of their pups with enough force to knock him on his back. He rolled around and right onto four legs, wagging his tail as though he had performed a neat trick he could not wait to try again.
It was a strange and beautiful world they lived in.
To think Rafael might have missed out on so much happiness. He couldn’t imagine.
Thank the moon above—no, thank Hailey, his sensible pureblooded mate, for not giving up on him.
He looked over at her, and she gave him a knowing flick of her tail.
They had not spoken in almost five years. Their wolves had communicated and mated plenty, but Hailey had chosen to remain in her wolf form so as not to confuse their pups. They had another five years, give or take, until they would be ready to shift.
Their pack had grown a little, and they continued to roam the wilds. They also returned to Wolf Hollow and Glenn Meadows at least once a year to visit family and friends, as they were doing now.
Diego and Lacy had two sons, but they would not be able to play with Rafael and Hailey’s pups in one of their shared forms until their nephews could shift to wolf form or their pups into children. Rafael was betting on his offspring to be the first to pull it off.
He lifted his head high with pride, barely noticing the one ear that remained half-torn and hanging beside his eye.
That night, while their pups slept, Hailey shifted to her human form and crept away from the spot they had taken outside the cave of Hudson’s sister and her mate.
Rafael followed Hailey to the hollow’s pond. While she waded up to her knees in the moonlit waters, he shifted.
“¡Mierda! I nearly forgot how sexy you are on two legs.”
Splashing water as she spun around, Hailey looked him over with a wicked grin.
“You wretch.”
His shoulders shook with laughter. “We haven’t spoken in nearly five years and the first thing you have to say to me is ‘you wretch’?”
Hailey shrugged. “It was the first thing that came to mind.”
Wading into the water to join his mate, Rafael said, “Mi amor, I am going to give you better things to think about.”
###
Taryn and Brutus are up next! Return to Wolf Hollow in book six, Bear Claimed. But first, turn the page for a link to Primal Bonds (Wolf Hollow Shifters, book 5.5). After everything Autumn’s been through she deserves her happily ever after!
Bonus Novella!
LANGUAGE, CUSTOM, AND ancestry forge seemingly impassable barriers between a woman and a bear shifter, but words cannot stand in the way when it comes to the language of the heart.
Autumn’s settlement is still reeling in the wake of the werewolves’ reign. If they are to protect themselves from future attacks, they will need help from their new bear guardians. The villagers are eager to give the bear shifters a reason to stay, especially after learning there are single males in the tribe interested in human wives. But before any of the bear shifters can court the village women, they must first wait for their chief to claim a mate.
Kohana saved Autumn from a vicious werewolf attack. When he offers to claim her as his mate, she is baffled. She’s a human widow with two unruly boys. The mysterious and majestic indigenous bear shifter is chief of his tribe and the most gorgeous man she’s ever seen. Surely he wants a young bride with her maidenhood intact.
The tribe’s translator assures Autumn that she is the only female Kohana wants. He has witnessed her strength and position as a leader within her village. She has birthed two strong sons and looks out for her people.
After a passionless marriage, will Autumn make peace with the past and give in to her desires?
>>> Receive a free copy of Primal Bonds when you sign up for Nikki’s eNews.
(https://nikkijefford.com/primalbondsbonus)
Or purchase a copy and start reading Autumn and Kohana’s love story now.
Author's Note
ANIMAL ATTRACTION WAS a tale that took shape at the end of Moon Cursed… then crawled off into a cave to hibernate while the real world got a little too dystopian. It was a drive through Canada and the hypnotic stare of a wild wolf that brought me back to this series.
Seb, Cosmo, and I lived in a truck camper during the second half of 2020. The most memorable experience was what I call a “wildlife safari” through British Columbia and the Yukon. We are forever grateful that Canada allowed us to drive through and help my family out in Alaska, (and then back down to the lower 48 at the end of the summer season).
With border restrictions keeping out the usual tourist traffic, we drove for hours without glimpsing a single car, truck, or living soul along the Alaska Highway. What we did see was a vast and magnificent kaleidoscope of wildlife, wilderness, starry skies, and beauty beyond expression. I lost track of the number of black bears and cubs we passed digging out tubers along the side of the road close enough to high five. There were herds of bison, rock sheep, and reindeer; foxes, moose, eagles, and—on the way back down—that rare and majestic wolf standing upland beside the road. At first we thought it was a mountain goat. As we drove closer, the pointed ears, proud muzzle, and long tail took shape. The wolf appeared to have taken an “I’m the king of the world” stance atop the rocky outcrop. Our heads turned as we drove by. Our eyes locked. A moment of wonder and kinship passed between us, stalling my breath. Then we passed and the world and the empty road opened back up. “Did that just happen?” I asked Seb. We were both left awestruck for the rest of the afternoon.
I wish we could have spent more time on the road and in nature before Seb’s new job started. It would have been amazing to stop for a month and start writing Animal Attraction while the outdoor experience was fresh in my head. As it was, we passed most of that time inside the truck watching the landscape whiz by the windows on our way to North Carolina. We did get a chance to go wild camping during our stay in Alaska. I never enjoyed tent camping growing up but was happily surprised to discover how much I love the RV experience, which has only stoked my dream of getting back out on the open road.
We are housebound once more but writing this book transported me to a place beyond cities, suburbs, and the walls that enclose us. Wolf Hollow is a series that first howled to my soul during a time when I felt trapped in an endless drudge. I hope the hollow’s wild calling has fed your untamed spirit as it has mine, and brought a little love, beauty, and zest to your day.
Special thanks to my editors Roxanne Willis and Liz Ferry who had their hands full with this one. While working on Animal Attraction I was experiencing the worst brain fog of my life, which turned out to be advanced stages of thyroid disease. These ladies lent extra mind power where mine faded. I am so grateful for all their fixes, finds, and suggestions. Muchas gracias to my girl Deissy Hermunslie for cleaning up my Spanish!
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