Crossing Borders [Werekind Series Book 1] by Cora Zane

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A lonely howl in the night draws Laney Parker out of her cabin. Determined to warn the rogue werewolf away from her pack's territory, she heads into the wilderness unprotected. Little does she know, old wounds are about to be opened, and she will soon be forced to revisit her heartbreaking past. Two years have passed since Cole Holbrook was exiled from his pack. Now he's back, determined to claim Laney as his mate, even if it means trespassing onto enemy territory to take her. Nothing will stop him. Not even his old rival--Laney's pack leader brother, Seth. WARNING: This title contains explicit sex, adult language, and violent themes.

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It came from deep in the woods, a low, lonely howl that tugged at Laney's soul. She heard it and her ears pricked, her body suddenly going tense. She looked up from the book she was reading in the den of her small cabin and waited, wondering if the sound would come again.

Seconds passed. A minute. The teasing notes rose higher and crested on the balmy night air, causing a slow, tingling heat to creep over her body. Laney shivered and her nipples turned into hard peaks. Hearing that sad, tormented cry made her breathing ragged and her heart quicken. What was it about that voice?

When the haunted notes finally faded, she shook herself from her sensual fog and snarled. This had to stop. For four nights now, she'd been hearing that same relentless baying. The new neighboring pack was going to start a war with her brother if they didn't back off the border and stop calling out within hearing range of the wolves under Seth's protection.

Nerves jangling, she turned her book over and got up from the couch. Anger and frustration mounted within her as she moved quickly through the house to the back porch. She'd promised to watch over things and take care of any emergency pack business while Seth was away for the week, but she had a sinking suspicion that confronting the alpha of a rival pack wasn't what he had in mind when he'd left his instructions. Be that as it may, she had to do something. Seth and the other males weren't going to return for another two days, and that persistent calling was really starting to get under her skin.

Laney stepped off the porch into the moonlight and crossed the shadow-mottled yard with determined purpose. The windrose up and swirled around her, strengthening the odors of pine and moist earth--and something else she couldn't quite identify. The combined scents filled her lungs and made her feel strangely restless as she headed toward the tree line that began a short distance from the house.

She walked straight into the woods, choosing to remain in her human form even though her jeans and bootlaces kept snagging on the briars as she moved over the rough ground. It would be faster traveling in the form of the wolf, but she preferred the slight sense of protection wearing clothes offered her.

Dressed or not, she knew going into the woods unescorted was potentially dangerous. Seth would likely strangle her if he ever found out about her going near the border alone, but it would be so much worse for everyone if he came home and discovered members of a rival pack stirring close to the border, marking their territory. She had to reach this rogue male and talk sense into him before anyone else from her pack could answer him and stir up trouble.

She walked maybe ten feet farther into the woods before the male's call rose up again. The notes struck her with the force of a silver bullet, shooting hot sensation from her head straight to her toes. Her breathing hitched. Her senses swam. A tiny tremor wracked her small body. Now that she was closer to the source of the call, the lure was more pure, more potent. Alluring.

Laney stopped in her tracks and clamped her eyes shut tight as heat pooled thick and wet between her thighs, soaking her panties. A tender ache started inside her and she gritted her teeth to hold it at bay. Still, the notes played over her skin like the brush of velvet fingers. The sound beckoned her, called to her inner beast until she shook with pent-up desire.

A desperate, cloying need to return the male's call had her pussy clenching in anticipation. Unaware of what she was doing, she ran trembling hands over her small, firm breasts and squeezed, shuddering as a bolt of erotic energy zipped through her veins. Her bones creaked and shifted. She closed her eyes and fought the urge to embrace the change...

The wind shifted, and the fragrant scent of male lust wafted to her from somewhere deep within the woods. Laney's eyes snapped open in an instant as realization crept in on her. This wasn't just some lonely cry she was hearing. It was a mating call.

A burst of black fury surged through her. Damn males! No wonder she felt so strung out and needy. Some horny male had been calling out to her for nights on end!

Her lips compressed in a thin line, Laney tilted her chin and gazed up at the moon. It hung at three-quarters. It would be another day or two before the full moon held sway. Even so, the night was clear. The moon loomed large and bright overhead. No wonder she felt like a bitch in heat.

A heated blush stole into her face at that unspoken admission. Her lip lifted into a silent snarl. One thing for certain, she had to get this howling situation under control before her brother came back and discovered what was going on.