The Army Beast Unit...The Men and their Mates

Last year I entered the All Romance E-books contest called Just One Bite. My piece was called Salute Your Shifter and Casey Johnson was the leaders of an elite unit called the Army Beasts. I got such a response for the little short I wrote for them, I decided to create the entire Unit. Thus the Army Beasts were born in my imagination starting with Zane Wakefield. I didn’t know that these guys would take off like they did.

There were only supposed to be two books featuring the Twins Zane and Zander. But readers kept asking to know about the rest so I’ve written shorts on each team member and slipped them into My Calendar Men series. It’s a kind of wrap up for each man and they two have been well received. Of course I’ve had the comments, oh they should be longer. LOL…But honestly I wanted to just give them all a wrap up so each team member could live happily ever after. Below I’ve given a list of the entire group of the Army Beasts and a little background on each man and his mate. There are some secrets revealed in Army Beasts 2 so don’t miss out!
Let’s start with the ones that are coming soon….

Salute Your Shifter (Casey and Nia) www.allromanceebooks.com Just One Bit Volume 2 Free read. This is when Casey finally made a move of the sexy soldier transcriber in his office named Nia. It was based around Halloween and boy it was super hot. Readers have asked for more on these two and I decided to write them another story. I believed they needed more background as well. Embrace The Beast will be the continuation of their story and you can expect that in November.

The only man in the Army Beasts who haven’t been paired up is Malachi Benson. He is the big bear shifter of the unit. The brute force that has a love of heavy weapons but he is the sweetest guy in the world. You finally hear his voice when he makes a cameo in Army Beasts 2 where you see his charm. Malachi gets his happiness with a spicy bar owner named Olivia, Liv for short who refuses to let him give her up without a fight. Meet me In November is going to be another one of the Calendar and you can expect that in October with another two hotties of the month.

You’ve met Zander and the love of his life Promyse in Army Beasts 1. Just released today was his twin brother’s story in Army Beasts 2 where he finds love with Aisha. Zander is my broken hero, who doesn’t think he deserves anything good because of past transgressions. But beneath all that angst is a powerful dominant male who would go to the mat for his friends, family and the woman who holds his heart. You see this play out in the pages of his story and you watch those rough edges smooth over when Aisha steps into his life. But Zander is still as deadly as ever to solve this mystery he has to be.

April’s Fool (My Calendar Men Shorts) is Kale’s story and the woman he loves is willing to send him away if he doesn’t make a commitment. He came ready to do just that fearing she wouldn’t accept him because of his shifter nature. But April did and now even though he has to commute to work, he is happy in with life with her.

When September Ends (My Calendar Men shorts) features Camden and Sable, the women he met through the Adopt A Hero Program. What’s sweet about this couple is that they fell in love when Camden was away on a mission in Afghanistan and she was in New York. Their first meeting was on September 30th and he knew he couldn’t go on without showing her the truth. These guys were already in love and sable accepted everything about him. The story moved me more than ever because readers contacted me to let me know they joined The Adopt a Hero Program because of this story to help soldiers stationed overseas who have no one to talk to. I am an advocate of this program and the military in general. Maybe that’s why the Army Beasts was such a great set of stories to write.

2012 is just around the corner and I have some special plans for my Dahlia Rose Unscripted line next year. I am so glad that these guys in this unit could bring such joy to my reader’s imaginations. There you have it, my guys and yours too… Of course I’ll keep you updated via my blog and video blogs on where my books are going and when they will be released. A special note is that My Calendar Men will be in print and of course Army Beasts1 and 2 as well later in October.

These books can be found on www.sugarnspicepress.com, www.allroamceebooks.com, www.pillowtalkebooks.com, www.amazon.com (kindle), and of course www.barnesandnoble.com

Hugs and Cheesecake

Observation at Prohibition (A Party In Itself)

Every couple of weeks Tressie Lockwood and I get the urge to dance it out. It is just one of the ways that we shake of the stress of our hectic writing schedules. Last night was one of those nights and while we were dancing the author in us caused us to observe the crowd. We called it the mating rituals in a club and here is what we found.

They Hunt in Packs…
Both men and women take on a pack mentality when out in a club. Women group together and dance while the men drink and watch they pack they want to hunt. After enough ego boosting from friends one male will approach the women and make at attempt while the rest watch in breathless aniticipation. He could either be accepted as a potential dance partner or be given the look of disgust and set on his way. If he is accepted the rest of the men use this as a signal that they too can approach and try their luck.

Goldilocks Syndrome…
As the crowd thickens mot women find they suffer from the goldilocks syndrome. The potential mate factor is slim and just like the porridge was too hot, too cold, and just right. They find the most of the guys there are too young or to old and very few are just right.

Don’t Wear Loud Golf Pants To Party
While there we saw an older man who was wearing bright yellow and blue diamond checkered golf pants. Why didn’t his friends warn him that this was a social clubbing no-no? But then I figured it out it was a way to thin the herd so to speak because while no sober woman would approach him, his friends could then have more potential mates to socialize with. In essence he was sacrificed so that they others could survive the night. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one. His butt got screwed over, I hope next week they let one of the other guys wear the ugly pants.

The Dumb and The Dumber Influenced by Alcohol
As the night progressed and the more drinks consumed, one find that the intelligence level that most people began the night with has diminished. Men start preening like peacocks and doing dumb stuff to attract women i.e. posing and showing muscles that aren’t there, slam dancing in a huge crowd. Hitting on another guys woman and almost getting punched in the face. Doing the vogue and other 80s dances while approaching obviously horrified women. The list could go on let me tell you, but the spaz attack of insane dancing eventually makes the crowd move away from said drunk fool and he finds himself alone. Poor poor pussycat.

Women approach very differently, in fact they are uncomfortably friendly and touchy feely. The hug and try to lay their head on your shoulder. They dance with you and you don’t know who the hell they are and by the end of the night you feel as if you have to sneak away in case they follow you home. But instead you find the wing woman they showed up with making out with a dude in a corner and you hand over said drunk friend and calmly exit…stage left.

Your Knee Dance Is Not Cute I Don’t Care How drunk You Are.
We’ve seen this little occurrence a few times, men who approach with one foot extended and bent while trying to shimmy their hips. Myself and Tressie has named this the Knee Dance. Do you like my knee? There it is, look at it shaking at you, yeah it’s a hot knee you know you want it. Come-on over and dance with me and my knee. While you stare with your mouth open in horror, he actually thinks this is interest and approaches while you keep backing away. No sir, your knee is not interesting and I would like you to leave me alone. Good night…I said goodnight!

Jello shots and Tongues is like Catnip
Finally there is the jello shots made in cherry, lime, orange and some blue thing. They are served in little cups and the only way to get them out if to use your tongue. Uh-huh you knew what you were doing when you created them that way Mr. Bartender. For this is the catnip of the club. When using your tongue to take a yummy jello shot from its container men flock and almost stampede to be closer to said person. The look on their faces is priceless. Ooooh expert tongue, can I...would you let me?…oh no awww man can you at least eat another one so I can watch. I think the jello shot are the culmination of the night and deserves three cheers for the taste alone. The drooling guy who needs a bib from watching you… Well he’s just a bonus that says you still got the moves.

All in all going out on Saturday night with a great friend or a girl’s night does give you some insights on the mating rituals of a club. But most of all you have so much fun dissecting it with your BFF. We laughed our butts off the entire night. Even walking back to where we started at Cosmos to catch a cab back home we literally laughed until we cried. Uptown Charlotte is packed on Friday and Saturday nights and it’s always so friendly you don’t feel any fear of being out late. I hailed a cab like an old New York Pro and we headed back to our little suburbia neighborhood. Of course we’ll be back there to dance and see more crazy antics. Each time we head out its different and we can talk about it for weeks. Grab a few girlfriends and head out for a night of fun and get in your own observations. I would love to hear about it sometime. To the Bartenders at Prohibition…you guys rock and the red headed sluts shots were off the chain good!

Hugs and Jello Shots!!

Empathy Excerpt....A taste for my readers.

Released at Sugar and Spice Press Today
www.sugarnspicepress.com

So what do I do now? It was the question that Dominique asked herself while lying across the bed in Andrew’s master bedroom. She was lying on her belly looking out the glass wall to the river. In the summer she knew the blue skies would change the water to a kind of blue. Right now the middle of winter the color was dark and murky. Just looking at it made her shiver knowing that the frigid temperature would make it icy cold to the skin. For some reason it was the only thing that soothed her with all the upheaval and swirling thoughts in her head. At the forefront there was Andrew and the kiss he planted on her only days earlier. Since then she’d kept her distance as much as she could. But with a killer looming in the darkness unknown, there were things to discuss.
He dissected her movements from the beginning when she had the first attack. He was looking for different movements in her pattern, trying to see if she had interacted with the killers without even knowing. He asked her about the people in the coffee shop where she worked. They staked it out, and she pointed out the regulars and the new customers. He took pictures and asked more questions. He was like a pit-bull and was tenacious in his task. They went everywhere, from the pharmacy to the supermarket looking for a link. Then he’d poured over everything at night while they ate. The looks he gave her was another thing filled with blatant desire and want. She honestly didn’t know how to react to that.
The only boyfriend she ever had was not the kind who cared about her. He was a taker and in sex he took and never really worried about her needs. When she kicked him to the curb he told her that she would come back because no one else wanted her. She made sure that if she was alone, he would never be a part of her life again. Dominique built another wall around her heart, and thinking about it she was as fortified as a castle in the old day. Nothing got in except the pain of a killer’s lust for blood.
She wondered how it would feel to let Andrew in, to trust him like he asked her to. His kiss excited her, and she wanted to feel his hands on her skin stroking and eliciting excitement in her body. To feel something other than wrenching pain tearing at her every time a new woman was taken and tortured. It was a risk and one she didn’t know if she was willing to take. It was all so much, and the urge to scream became so fierce she opened her mouth and funneled all her frustration into the one yell. She winced when she heard a crash from downstairs and the loud foot falls of Andrew bolting up the stairs. Note to self don’t yellow when there’s a cop around. He busted in the door with a wild look on his face.
“Is it happening again? Goddamnit, there wasn’t any news of another girl getting picked up,” he said.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! No, there’s nothing happening. I was just frustrated with I guess everything,” Dominique said.
“So you thought it best to scream whilst you have this whole issue going and a guy who carries a loaded weapon downstairs?” Andrew stepped inside the room. It was the closest they’d been in the bedroom since he kissed her.
She shrugged embarrassed. “I wasn’t thinking. I’m just so over everything. It feels like we’re sitting here spinning our wheels waiting for these bastards to take another woman. I can’t work or go home, and then you kissed the socks of me, and I wondered if it was a fluke to feel like that….”
Oh drat blast it. Dominique shut her mouth tight knowing that she revealed more than she wanted to. One raised eyebrow, it was the only movement before he strode across the room and in an instant pinned her on the bed. She closed her eyes as his lips met hers, and damn it wasn’t a fluke. She moaned softly as his hardness was pressed against her and his tongue penetrated her mouth. It was instinct, reflex to raise her hips to feel more of that delicious hardness in his pants. The kiss assaulted her senses, made her wet and bold. She grabbed his head and angled her mouth over his taking from him as he did from her. It caused him to groan. The temperature in the room seemed to skyrocket, and for the minutes that they tasted and tempted each other, Dominique forgot her troubles.
Andrew lifted his head. “Does that feel like it was a coincidence?”

Things That Make You Go Ooh!!

You know as an erotica author I always want my sex scenes to be hot. Of course I want my hero and heroine to connect and find that emotional tie that will bind them together. The firstt kiss has to sizzle, the reader has to feel the will she, won’t he, oh come on kiss factor so that when the time comes it jumps off the pages. I like to hear when my readers email and say oh my god I was a guy just like…But after so many book I always get asked, what do I use to keep that fire burning in me to write fiery hot sex.


There are a few things and while the hubster still can make me go mmmm. One needs some outside sources of entertainment, to keep the juices flowing. I mean the creative ones. Keep your minds out of the gutter. No wait… put them back in because that’s where mine is now. Hot smoking abs, smooth skin over a taunt hard muscled arms and of course an erect… body. Yes good posture is key. (Laugh) We all know our mind went other places. Anyway I have a few pictures that I call The Stimulation File. Yes its actually named that on my computer where the hotties are mighty fine and when you need to think about licking… Well I’ll let you see for yourself what I’m talking about.

Alexander Skarsguard Number one in scruptiousness! He light the fire quite nicely on a regular basis!

Thor...If you haven;t watched that moive well you need to go see Chris Helmsworth. The man puts the super in superhero.

Salute the Military!! I go to him on occasions when I need a soldier!

Let's Talk about Erect...ummm bodies. Thats it.. bodies.

And he's just magnificent to look at, everything about him in perfection.

Now there are a few more of the more risque nature that I must keep to myself. But when you want to find things to make you go mmmm. Visit these guys and stimulate your senses. The can be as good as coffee with a shot of red bull to the system.

Look out for my next blog where I flip the dial to talk about my new release Empathy. If you want to the menthod to my madness and creating my not so nice killer. This blog will give you inside secrets.

Ciao ladies and Gents

Dahlia ( you can now follow my blog by simply adding your email addressin the little box at the top and clicking SUBMIT!)

Writers Retreat ..2011 in Savannah Creative Rejuvination At It's Best!!

Finally!! That was my first thought when I threw my suitcase in the back of the SUV I was travelling in. The date May 20th and the place, an author’s retreat in Savannah. We planned this tip since December of last year and the road crew was Eliza Gayle, Jessica Lee, Tressie Lockwood and me your friendly neighborhood Dahlia Rose. The trip down we laughed and talked and freaked out over a spider in the car for a minute. Buts when we drove into this amazingly historic town that our muses began to scream in delight. Historic buildings, steamboats, and the riverfront oh my!





We dropped our bags in the room and began our tour taking pictures and enjoying the sweet smell of the magnolias close our hotel. How could one city be so rich and full of life! The trolley cars dinged and the old historic church bells sounded the time as we walked. We picked up ever sightseeing flyer from the visitor center we could find and bought some of the sweetest honey you could ever have. Who know that they could make honey taste like orange blossoms in the spring! I found my new favorite quote at a seafood raw bar we ate at, Shuck me, Suck me, Drink it down! (Laugh) While they were talking about their delicious oysters, I pictured something different in my mind. As an author of the erotic nature I guess I tend to see the naughty in thing. Savannah gives so much of that, from the secret alcoves shaded by moss trees and as the sun set it cast shadows where lovers could meet. Or a vampire could seduce a new paramour into his arms taking her blood while giving her pleasure. See… the city just creates an atmosphere that begs to be written. Each picture can be a new story set in a city with so much life even after death.

We toured the oldest graveyard where they were only six hundred grave markers. We found out that they were more than ten thousand buried there. By far my favorite part was the ghost tour we took at ten o clock at night. Out tour guide filled out heads with tales of death and the macabre that happened in year gone by. From the iron house at Keystone with its frugal owner, to the children killed in an orphanage fire that still knock at the window at the rebuilt house where they lived. We listed with rapt attention as t she filled our heads with information while the muses screamed… More! More! More! The imprinted fingertips of slaves who built wall of stone can still be seen in places and some pictures came out with shadows where they should be none. The tour guide left us in an old shack and we screamed in fright and laughed with nervous tension when the lights went out. Then regaled with stories of pirates and witches as a storm was recreated and unknown things tickled our legs. We heard actual recoded EVP from a hung maid name Molly begging for her life. At the end of the tour we were thoroughly enraptured with everything we had learned and filled with new stories we wanted to create.

The final night was dinner at one of the most authentic Irish Pubs I have ever seen. Kevin and Barry’s featured a folk singer (Danny Quinn) who immediately pulled us into the Irish drinking ditties while we dined on Shepherd’s pie and some of the best shrimp and coleslaw ever! Not to mention the Bailey’s Irish cream Cheesecake…Yes I said it cheesecake, you know how I feel about that dessert. And Jessica shared her treat that I can only call an edible orgasm.

Savannah is a stunning city, from the chocolatiers to candy store and home made ice-cream, we wanted to taste it all and experience it all. By far a weekend was all we had to explore this marvelous city and we fit as much in as we could. The day is hot and the nights are humid and hold the sweet musky smell of nightshade as you walk. You feel the mystery and the magic as you caress and old headstone or watch a beautiful bride join with her groom in the square. A griffin watches over the center of the city and somehow you feel honored to be in the presence of something created even before your parents, parents were born. I feel completely in love with Savannah, vowing to return again and again to immerse myself it he history. Once is never enough there is to much to see and explore to say you have seen it all. Even when you do well it wouldn’t be a hardship to see it a second or third time.

A poster board graces my office with the pictures we took, the places we saw and hopefully a ghost or two caught by our cameras. It will be my vision quest as I start new stories built around a place that truly cannot be described as anything else but magnificent. I see soldiers from the pat and future in my head living in this city, vampires, shifters, modern day gypsies and so much more. Each will be a story in itself and each one will fill my memory of my time in Savannah. The first story will be You’re The One That I Love featuring Sasha Caroway. T found her home here in Savannah and this book will be released in July with Sugar and Spice Press. As with my other stories I invited you to see it though my eyes, I’ll try to show you the world in the pages of my books. I hope you enjoyed the pictures that littered my blog post. It doesn’t do justice to a place that simply…. indescribable. To see more join me on Facebook.

Hugs and Cheesecake
Dahlia Rose
www.authordahliarose.com
www.amazon.com (Search Dahlia Rose in Kindle or Paperbacks)
www.facebook.com/author.dahliarose (Friend me or Like my fan page)

Sneak Peak First Chapter Read... "Army Beasts"

Army Beasts Out now!!

http://www.sugarnspicepress.com/

As a treat to my readers I'm giving you the first Chapter of Army Beast to tenpt and tease you!!

ENJOY!!

Chapter One

With every stroke of the feather her skin felt flushed and heated. It was trailed down her neck across her chest and around her nipples leaving her gasping in pleasure. Her hands and legs were bound with silk scarves, and she was spread eagled on the ornate four poster bed. She felt the feather tease her torso with small swirls and circles. It barely touched the top of her pussy, and the circles got bigger. She ached to feel it between her legs. She lifted her hips in anticipation but only to have the soft caress of the feather pulled away. She moaned her disappointment, and a husky laugh came to her ears
“Ah you want me to touch you there,” the deep voice said knowingly.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Please.”
“I love it when you ask nicely.” He chuckled. “You are such a good girl.”
The feather began its slow movement across her body again and went to the core of her desire. She bit her lip when she felt the soft flick against the lips of her pussy. He spread the moist sexy fold of her snatch and passed the feather over her clit, and she cried out.
“I can’t resist,” he murmured slipping his finger inside her. “I love to watch my how you squirm beneath my touch. How your body accepts it and clings to it before letting go. Your juice is already coating my fingers and dripping down. Your body is so responsive, and it drives me crazy.”
She moaned and lifted her hips to meet the insertion of his digit. Each time he sent it deeper inside her until she could feel her orgasm begin to build. Her head thrashed on the pillow, and when he whispered “Come for me, sweetheart,” she let herself go reaching for the pinnacle of her release….The sound of her alarm woke her from her dream. Promyse groaned and rolled over to press the button on the clock and lay back with her forearm over her eyes.
“Stupid alarm, you could’ve at least let me get to the good part,” she grumbled and swung her feet out of the bed.
Six a.m. in Wyoming and she could feel the cold of the floor against her feet before she burrowed them into her soft bedroom slippers. She went over to the thermostat and turned it up to high hoping to ward off the chill of the night before. Promyse walked down the hallway and through her living room heading to the adjoining kitchen. She stopped and looked at the big stone fireplace longingly wishing she could light a large fire and sit down with a hot cup of coffee and relax for a leisurely morning. But there was no time for that. She had to be at work in Carter County municipal building promptly at eight. And in Wyoming in November, she could wake up to ten feet of snow on the ground so she chose to head into town early.
She smiled to herself while she made a pot of coffee. She poured one hot cup for herself and put the rest in her thermos for her drive in. It took at least forty-five minutes for her to drive into town, and she had learned from her residence of Carter County early on—don’t be caught outside without a survival bag in your car and some hot coffee in your thermos. The weather got tricky, and you had to be able to survive until someone could come to your rescue. She felt like a survivalist woman. Promyse grinned. No one from her old hometown would believe she lived in a place where it got so cold. But that was her old life. She moved here for a reason, and she did not regret her decision in the least.
Her smile turned to a frown when her thoughts went back to her dream. Her hot, spicy, sexy dream. When will I be ever free of him? she thought sullenly, even though she knew it would never happen. Zane Wakefield had as much hold on her heart as the day she fell in love with him. But that didn’t mean happiness. Loving Zane meant secrets, lies, and half truths. He was in the military, but in what part she never had a clue. She only knew when he came home everything was intense, down to their lovemaking. She began to feel overwhelmed with his life while she faded away. Every time she tried to talk to him, it was the same promise, We’ll talk later, honey, and he was gone. Until one day those words were the last thing he got to say to her before she packed up and headed to a new uncharted life.
She put him out of her mind for the moment and got ready for work. Soon she was shoving her arms through her thick parka and heading out to her truck. Damn, its cold! The external thermostat read twenty-five degrees. She assumed it meant twenty-five below zero because her face felt frozen over in minutes. Instead of the compact car she owned in Fayetteville she drove a big Dodge Ram fifteen hundred. She threw her bag in the back seat and used the chrome foot rest to climb in the front. The hemi engine started up with a growl instead of a purr when she stuck in the keys. Promyse could see why men loved trucks so much. You felt powerful with it under your hands.
She sang along with the radio while she drove and pulled her truck into the usual spot in front of the municipal building. She grabbed her stuff out and looked at the time. She had half an hour to spare when she went through the security check at the front door and headed up to her office in vital statistics. She worked with marriage licenses, and she loved seeing the young couples coming in with love in their eyes and a fresh outlook on life. She wished she could be a fly on the wall to see them live their lives, to have families, and to grow as a couple together. It was something she always wanted, love and a white picket fence. Promyse sat at her small desk with her assortment of knick knacks and got ready to begin her day.
“Don’t forget, Ms. Promyse Fitzgerald, birthday cupcakes in the lunchroom at one.” The smiling cherub face of her friend Emily looked over her cubicle wall.
“I thought I told you guys I didn’t want anything for my birthday?” Promyse smiled.
“Don’t you go thinking you can get away with having a secret birthday around here.” Emily smiled. “You’ve been hear for a year now, and you see how we do it. Cupcakes at one and presents. Don’t you forget.”
Promyse grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What plans do you have tonight?” Emily asked.
“Doug is picking me up and we’re going to head into Mosely’s for dinner and a movie,” Promyse said.
Doug Lowell was the local bookstore owner and he was safe. He stared at her with open admiration and often commented about how he never understood why someone as beautiful as her went out with him. It was because she knew she would never feel for him the way she felt for Zane, and he would never push.
“You’re going to end up filling out one of those marriage licenses for yourself one of these days if you keep up with him,” Emily teased.
That would never happen, Promyse knew that. Her life was good, simple, and uncomplicated. While she pretended there wasn’t a hallow place in her heart.

* * * *

The neon light of the motel blinked on and off casting a red glare into the dingy room in a repetitive way that drove Zane crazy. He paced back and forth in the small area feeling cooped up but having no place to go. This was some crazy shit going on, and he was smack dab in the middle of it. He was the one being blamed, and he didn’t know what to do. Being the second in command in one of the army’s most elite units was the highlight of his career. Who knew he would be essentially the one to bring the Army Beasts down, even though he was innocent of the crime they said he had done. Zane was about ready to go out the door and rip the neon vacancy sign from its post outside. A knock on the door had him striding across the room and dragging it open. He already knew who was on the other side.
“It took you long enough to get here,” he snapped.
“Well hello to you too,” Casey Johnson replied as he walked in. “You don’t screen who is at the door?”
Major Casey Johnson was the head of the Army Beasts unit. He ran a tight ship, and his wife Nia was their unit transcriber. Only a few people knew who they really were, and she was one of them.
Zane scoffed. “Please, your scent is easy to recognize, especially with Nia all over you. What’s going on out there?”
“It’s bad. They’re saying you mauled the specialist attached to be with us on this mission,” Casey explained.
“You know that’s not me, Casey,” Zane yelled. “Come on, after all these years don’t you think by now that I know, that we all know how to control the animal in us!”
Casey held up his hands. “Of course I know this wasn’t any of us. Nia picked up something on the digitals. The death was graphic, but it wasn’t any of us who killed him. There was some background noise she is trying to clean up.”
“Then what’s this about? Why am I in hiding and on the run?” Zane asked.
“Because someone is trying to take us down from the inside, and if you get caught and court marshaled, then whoever it is can put the whole unit on the chopping block,” Casey said. “Do you think they will let us go free? They’ll cage us like animals, and we won’t ever let them take us. So we’ll end up living on the run, and I’m not about to let that happen.”
“Then what are we going to do? I can’t sit in this place for however long until we get this resolved.” Zane sat on the saggy mattress. “I’ll go crazy, Casey.”
“You can’t go back to Fort Bragg with us or be anywhere in North Carolina,” Casey said. “What about that girl you were dating last year?”
“Promyse?” Zane gave a soft laugh. “She booked a while back. Can’t blame her. I put a lot on her and never gave her anything in return.”
“I know you kept tabs on her and where she went. You have too many connections not to know,” Casey replied. “Go to her for a few weeks until we get this settled. Maybe you’ll resolve some old issues.”
“You want me to run and hide like I’m guilty,” Zane answered.
“No, I want you to go off the grid until we can clear your damn name,” Casey snapped. “I trust you, Zane, but you have that stupid knack of acting first and thinking later. We can’t do that in this situation. Where is Promyse living now?”
“In some little podunk town in Wyoming called Carter County.” He laughed. “The girl moved from Philly to North Carolina and then moved all the way to Wyoming go get away from me. I don’t think she wants to see me showing up at her door.”
“As small as it is don’t your people hunt those lands when the pack moves?”
“Maybe. I don’t know anymore,” Zane said darkly. His pack was none too happy when he set off on his own. So he never kept track of them or their habits anymore.
“It’s as off the grid as you are going to get, so suck it up and head out.” Casey flipped open his phone. “I’ll get you transport to Colorado, and then the trail will end cold there.”
“It will be good to shift and run for a few hundred miles,” he said truthfully.
“Does she know what you are?”
Casey posed a question that Zane had thought about constantly over the last year. What if he had told her what he really was? Would that have made a difference or make her run all the faster? He never stopped thinking about her. Practically every day her face would pop into his mind. Promyse and her sexy wide smile that carried to her chocolate brown eyes and her long black tresses that she pampered. She had full lips and milk chocolate skin what called him to touch her whenever she was in the room. There were a lot of maybes, but he knew the reason why she left. A bunch of unanswered questions and a man who would never stayed still long enough give her a good reason to wait around..
“She doesn’t know who I really am,” Zane answered.
“Then I suggest when you knock on her door that is the first thing you tackle.” Casey began talking on the phone, and a few minutes later he hung up. “You’re leaving out of a private airstrip here in Albuquerque. You’ll head in to Colorado and from there make your way into Wyoming on your own. Are you good on the private account to get what you need there?”
“Yup, the plan B account is good and active, and I can get everything I want.” But not the one thing I truly need, he thought.
Casey nodded. “I’ll get you to the plane and head back to the scene.”
“You know they’ll blame you for helping me?”
“Then they’ll have to prove it, won’t they?” Casey grinned.
When they left the motel a drizzle of rain had begun. Both men were silent as they drove to the small airport. Casey drove right onto the tarmac where a plane was waiting with its engines already running.
“The pilot is Hank. He is a friend of mine,” Casey explained. “He’ll probably have to stop and refuel before he gets to Albuquerque, but you don’t have to get off.”
“Cool.” Zane held out his hand, and Casey clasped it firmly. “Thanks, Major.”
“Give me your ID and wallet. I’ll let you know what we come up with. Buy a throwaway phone and call Nia’s private line.” Casey gave him a look. “Run hard and fast, Zane, until we get you home.”
Zane handed over everything that proved he was who he was. Suddenly he felt bare and naked. He nodded and stepped out into the night. By the time he looked back at the car, Casey was going through the gate and heading away from the small airport. After he quickly greeted the pilot, they took off, and he was in the skies heading toward Wyoming and Promyse. He wondered how she would react to seeing him on her doorstep.
When she left she didn’t even give him a chance to say goodbye or to ask her to stay. He came home and could tell she was gone. He spent weeks trying to find her until she got a job in Carter County. He wanted to go after her and bring her back home and decided against it hoping she would come back on her own. But weeks turned to months, and then months into one year. He didn’t know how to even broach the chasm that had been formed between them. Today is her birthday. His heart gave a thump wondering who she spent it with? He wondered how he would react if he saw her with another man. I’d rip his head off. Zane felt anger rise inside and pushed it back down. It was one of the reasons he was being framed. He had a temper, and they were going to use it against him.
Through the long flight and refuel many thoughts ran through his mind. Who was trying to frame him? How he could help find the truth? Did Promyse still love him because he sure as hell never stopped loving her? Most of all he wondered if she would turn him away. He didn’t know if he would be able to take her turning her back on him again. She left when he needed her. By the time he got off the plane his body was filled with nervous energy, and the only way he could get rid of an excess of energy is to run.
The airstrip bordered a wooded area in Colorado. He bid the pilot goodbye and headed off deep into the trees. The sun was already coming up, and his natural instinct and direction took over. It would be over two day’s run to get into Wyoming even though he was so close by. He could probably make it in one if he only stopped for a small rest. He could be to where she lived by night fall. Zane knew her address, but he wouldn’t need it. He would know when he was close. He would smell her. Her scent was never far from his mind. Zane looked around knowing he was far enough into the trees not to be seen. He stripped quickly and hid the clothes in underbrush. He closed his eyes and let the feeling take over him, the excitement that crawled along his skin.
The animal inside him wanted to be free. His skin turned to fur, and his legs reformed to suit his lower powerful mass. Zane let out a powerful roar that echoed and made birds fly away in fear. He inhaled the scent of the forest, the moss, the damp wood, and he could even pick up a hint of smoke from a cabin chimney. He began to run. His heart raced, not from exertion but excitement. He picked up speed to match his new form. The pads of his paws met the cold ground, going over rocks and down valleys and across creeks. Soon he was moving so fast that even the small branches from the thickets that pulled at him did not slow his speed. It was exhilarating, and he never wanted to stop. He spent too long cooped up in human form sitting in his uniform on base in North Carolina. This was the longest he had run in months unless he was on a mission. He stopped to rest near a spring right over the Wyoming border. He was higher in elevation, and the air was brisk and cold. The water from the creek tasted fresh and clean, and he drank heartily before he found warm thick underbrush to rest and doze for a few hours. He lifted his head when he heard the snapping of a twig. A rabbit caught his sight and even though he could have caught it easily, he gave it a reprieve. He sent a low growl in its direction, and the animal ran away in fright.
By the time he woke up and began to move again it was early afternoon and he had made excellent time. He found her house through the forest by night fall and saw the smoke curling lazily from the chimney. There was a truck in the driveway along with a blue ford Explorer. He wondered who her visitors were. He sat to wait, and the hours passed until he saw the door open. Zane watched as a man stepped out onto her porch, and she followed him out laughing. Her dark hair was pulled high into a ponytail. And she wore white snow boots to match the form fitting sweater that hugged every curve. Zane emitted a growl from where he sat, and it was loud enough to make the man look around warily.
“You might have mountain lions close by, Promyse. Better be careful.” The man’s voice was weak in Zane’s opinion.
“I’m always careful, Doug. Thanks for caring,” she replied.
Zane blinked. He hadn’t heard her voice for a year. Doug. What kind of name is that anyway?
The man called Doug fixed his glasses and leaned in for a kiss, but instead Promyse hugged him and placed a small peck on his cheek. Zane wondered what they were doing in her home for hours and didn’t like where his mind went to find answers. He watched the SUV drive away with its snow chain cutting into the ground, and Promyse stepped inside and closed the door. Better to get this over with now. He padded out from his hiding place to the front door. He bumped it with his head in his version of a knock and waited for her to open the door.
The door swing open, and she began to speak. “Doug, did you forget your scarf again? I’m beginning to think you do it on….”
Zane watched her brows furrow because no one was there, and he swatted lightly at her leg with his paw. When she looked down her eyes widened, and she emitted a scream that could wake the dead. She tore away inside leaving the door open, and he casually padded in after her.
“Holy shit!” She threw a book in his direction and headed across the living room floor to another room He heard the door slam and walked patiently toward it in panther form before changing into his human skin.
He knocked on the door, and she screeched.
“Honey, open the door.”
“Who the hell is out there?’ she demanded to know. “There is some big damn panther out there, so I suggest you run. Wait why are you in my house? Jesus! A serial killer and a panther, just my luck right after Doug leaves! I’m calling the sheriff!”
“Promyse, it’s me, Zane,” he said calmly.
She cracked the door open, and her wide eyes wide went to slits when she saw his face. “What are you doing here? There a panther running around. It must have went out the door.” She looked at him standing nude, and her eyes became round saucers again. “Why the hell are you naked?”
“Happy birthday?” he said with a grin.
She opened the door and stalked out. “How did you find me, and again, why are you naked?”
He shifted back into panther form. It was his nature after all, and he watched her with patient yellow eyes. Her mouth opened and closed once then twice before she crumpled to the floor in a dead faint. That went well, he thought and shifted easily back to human form. He walked to the door and closed it before taking her prone form from the floor and laying her on the couch. He could have found her bedroom and lay her on the bed, but anytime he and Promyse got near each other and a bed was involved, all rational thought ceased. He would wait for the invitation back to her bed, and when that happened he was never leaving again.