“Shhhh!” he hissed, his head pulling quickly to the left.
When I followed his gaze, my eyes immediately landed on a slow-moving shadow framed by the entrance to the cemetery.
A man.
In his left hand he grasped a torch, which illuminated a face more stern and frightening than any I’d ever encountered. His hair was dark and messy—wild would have been one word to describe it. But for some reason, my mind reached for the word beastly.
At first, I assumed he was a partygoer, someone who’d been invited into the Undercroft. But then more shadows appeared behind him, each of them walking in a strange, eerie procession. Some carried torches, others had smaller objects in hand, though I couldn’t tell what they were. Bottles, maybe?
Yes, they had to be. It made sense.
“Have they been drinking?” I whispered.
Trick shook his head. “Those bottles aren’t what you think,” he said. “They’re weapons.”
“What?”
But Trick shushed me again, his hand reaching for mine as if to reassure me. “Stay still,” he whispered. “There are more coming.”
Things only turned more strange when three very large dogs padded through the open gate. The thing was, they weren’t like any dogs I’d ever seen. Their eyes, like Trick’s, glowed iridescent blue. But no, they couldn’t have. It didn’t make any sense. It had to be an illusion, some kind of strange reflection from the torches their owners were carrying.
In all my years as a journalist I’d never felt so confused by what I was seeing, or so afraid.
“Who are these people?” I whispered.
Trick pulled himself to his feet and shoved me protectively behind his powerful frame. “They’re some folks I don’t like very much,” he said, “and they don’t like me much, either. Stay behind me. This isn’t going to be pretty.”
“But I don’t under—”
Trick interrupted me by turning his face towards the sky and letting out the eeriest sound I’d ever heard from a human. It was a primal howl, guttural and haunting. An announcement, a warning, and a threat rolled into a single deafening roar.
A second later, a ball of blue flame flew through the air towards us, hitting the ground mere inches from where I stood.
It seemed that the night’s weirdness had only just begun.
Coming October 17th!
The second instalment, like the first, will be approximately 15,000 words and feature some danger, some sexy times, and possibly a reptile or two. One thing’s for sure: Trick needs to get naked, and soon.
Also by Carina Wilder
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Alpha’s Hunger Series:
Wolf’s Hunger
Wolf’s Secret
Wolf’s Choice
The Dragon Guild Chronicles:
Dragon Guild Chronicles Box Set (Books 1-3)
Individual books:
Dragon Hunter
Dragon Seeker
Dragon’s Lover
Dragon’s Curse
Dragon’s Bane
Alpha’s Mate (Dire Wolves of London)
Dire Wolves of London (Dire Wolves Book 2)
Wolf’s Bane (Dire Wolves Book 3)
The Alpha Seekers Series:
Sought by the Alphas
Seeking Her Mates
Illusions
Sorceress
The Plenty of Shift Choose Your Own Sequel Shifter Dating Series begins here:
Miri: Plenty of Shift, Book One
Naomi and Tyler, Book Two
Naomi and Quinn, Book Three
The Wolf Rock Shifters Series (these are complete stories and can be read out of order):
Wolf Rock Shifter Box Set
Winning the Alpha
Bearing Up In Wolf Rock
The Right to a Bear's Arms
Alpha’s Hunt
The Single Ladies’ Travel Agency (Contemporary Romance)
Single Ladies’ Travel Agency Box Set
Gettin’ Hard
Going Hard
Loving Hard
The Billionaires and Curves Serial:
Billionaires and Curves (Taken With You) Trilogy
Taken With You
Crazy About You
The Way to You
www.carinawilder.com