Shelli Rosewarne

Hi all,

Hope you’re having a good weekend – and for all the wonderful mums in the UK hope you’re having a lovely Mother’s Day. It’s been another changeable day here in Scotland – glorious Spring sunshine in the morning, followed by snow in the afternoon 🙂 It keeps it interesting at least! Since I don’t have a guest author booked in today, I thought I would share with you a snippet from my current WIP. Niko and Katya’s story is coming along nicely. This is the first draft, so please excuse any mistakes. Hope you enjoy 🙂

The wolf howl echoed through the night and Niko gritted his teeth in frustration. He could feel his beast just beneath the surface, roaring to get out. His teeth lengthened and he could feel prickles under his skin. Damn it! He hadn’t shifted since he’d been injured and the need was becoming more and more consuming. He knew he couldn’t, the doctor had been most specific about that and he wasn’t going to risk making his injuries worse. Instead he slowly got out of bed, limped over to the window and flung it open wide. The sounds and smells of the night washed over him and a longing settled into his bones. Damn, he missed running through the wood, the scent of the pines in his nose and the soft dirt beneath his paws.

The wolf howled again, this time a second voice rising up to answer. They were close and Niko felt the growl rising up in his own throat. The soft brush of fur touched his skin and he forced it back. No, he was not some raw pup, he had more control than this. Frustrated, he swung back from the window, cursing when his hip caught the dresser, knocking several items to the floor with a loud crash. Shit! Clumsily he tried to bend down enough to pick up them, but pain shot through him and he cursed again.

A light knock on the door made him start. “Niko?” That soft voice was not what he needed to hear right now, not when he was already struggling with his control.

“What do you want?” He managed to get out.

“Erm, I heard a crash, are you okay?”

“Fine!”

He could hear her light breathing outside the door. She didn’t seem to be going. He cursed under his breath again.

“Come in if you want.”

The door swung open and she was stood there, dressed in flannel pyjamas that really ought to make her look frumpy but for some reason seemed to do the exact opposite. Her eyes shot from the open window to the items scattered across the floor and then locked onto his face.

“Do you want me to get those?” Her voice was soft.

He sighed, he sure as hell wasn’t getting too far with them on his own. He nodded slowly and managed to limp back to the bed, sitting gingerly on the edge. She moved gracefully round the room, picking up things, putting the room back to rights with a few deft touches.

“I’m sorry if I woke you,” he said gruffly.

Those bright hazel eyes shot to his. “I was up anyway. I heard howling. It’s weird, I didn’t know there’d be wolves this close to where people lived.”

A wry smile touched his lips, she had no idea. “Did it frighten you?”

Her brow scrunched. “Not frighten exactly. I’ve never seen wolves in the wild before.”

He grinned at her now. “Would you like to?”

She took a step closer. “What are you talking about? How could we do that?”

He liked the way she said ‘we’. He liked too much about her right now. The cute way her nose wrinkled when she was confused, her scent creeping around every corner of his room, the hint of curves under the ridiculous flannel. A low growl bubbled up, his wolf apparently liked her too. Her eyes widened.

“Did you just growl at me?” An incredulous note was in her voice.

“Why aren’t you running away, Katya?”

She blinked at him. “Should I be?”

“Yes.”