As a new Guardian for the Black Mesa Wolf Pack, Jace Canagan has one shot left at creating a good life for himself. Years ago, his childhood was abruptly shattered by unspeakable violence. He let bitterness and anger chase away all those who tried to save him from himself. Ten long, soul-seeking years later, he’s now finally created both purpose and balance in his life. Although the old pain still won’t let him get close to anybody, he’s an essential part of a pack again. Nothing will keep him from blowing his last chance at a fresh start.

Nothing, that is, except meeting the mate he never expected to have…or want.

Single mother Caitlin Rendall is strong and self-assured. She had to be, when the father of her twin pups abandoned his young family. Wary of men and ferociously vigilant about her children’s safety, she doesn’t need any man’s help. Why should she, when she’s done just fine all on her own? But her entire world is shaken when she meets Jace–because the unbearably sexy, just as fiercely independent man is her mate.

He’s her one shot at having her own protector wolf…if only she can allow her heart to lead the way.

Jace Canagan knows he only has this one last chance to be part of the Black Mesa Wolves once again. He has been invited back by the Alpha but he still has to prove himself worthy.

The last thing he expects is to be attacked by two young pups, and their mother is even a bigger surprise. He recognizes she is his mate but this is not the time.

Caitlin Rendall is raising the pups alone, their father left and now she really doesn’t want to get involved with any male. Jace is a surprise and she really isn’t sure how to react other than to discipline the pups.

This is a favorite scene.

Narrowing his eyes at each pup in turn, which caused their own eyes to widen slightly as they hunkered down a little closer to the ground again, Jace placed his hands on his hips and adopted an even sterner look. “You know, your teeth do work. They’re very sharp. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have scars on my leg.”

After another moment of horrified silence, during which not even another strangled giggle from the Guardians behind him could be heard, Briana abruptly narrowed her little eyes back at Jace. “All you have to do is shift. Sir,” she hastily added at a sharp nudge from her brother. “As soon as you shift, you’ll heal, and you won’t have a scar. Sir.”

Jace almost laughed at her audacity. He wondered if she got that fire from her mother. “Is that so?” he said, pinning the young pup with his glare still in place. Yes, he was having a bit of fun with this.

“Yes, sir,” Liam bravely said, nodding his head so vigorously his entire body shook. “It’s something all wolf shifters can do. It’s just part of being a shifter.”

The earnest little voice seemed so thrilled to be teaching something to an older wolf that Jace’s heart did that bizarre little extra thump again. “That’s why if you ever see one with a scar, you know they didn’t shift back because they wanted to look bada—”

“Liam Padraig Rendall.” Mama wolf’s voice snapped out across the grounds in a well-practiced ring. “You are spending entirely too much time with the older pups at home. I won’t have you picking up bad language.”

She suddenly flicked her eyes at Jace, and only the slight tremble of her full, beautiful lips gave away the fact that she was holding in a grin. Oh, yeah. She’d heard the bad word he’d launched when one of her little hellion children sunk needly teeth into Jace’s leg. He suspected her pups already had heard a lot of bad words in their lives. Then again, he’d pretty much had a full swearing lexicon by the time he was six. Life in a close-knit pack full of playfully brawling wolves did that. Not, of course, that pups ever should be swearing around the adults. They should be keeping their knowledge of bad words to themselves if they had any sense of self-preservation.

“And what was the reason for your outrageous behavior?” Although less fire snapped out of her eyes, the tone of the mystery woman’s voice brought another distinct recollection to Jace of being tongue-lashed just the same way when he was about the same age. Oh, man. While this she-wolf had her work cut out for her with these two pups, it seemed she was more than up to the challenge.

Two fuzzy little wolf bodies stayed completely still on the ground, touching one another along their sides for comfort, both dead silent as they now gazed with sudden fascination at the bare ground under their noses. They seemed to be not even breathing.

“I’m waiting.” Pure ice.

Oh, yeah. There was definitely no mistaking who was in charge here. They might be hellions, but she was ferocious mama wolf. Jace had no doubt that while she would protect her pups with her own life if necessary, she was also the kind of mom who would pretty much strip the hide off of them if the situation warranted it.

The girl wolf looked up at Jace, her face so ridiculously darling that he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling, training or no. Then again, one of the little stinkers had assaulted him with pretty sharp teeth. Jace would damn well sit here and frown at them all day until they did indeed apologize and tell him what they’d done it for. He sharpened his gaze at the little wolf. Swallowing, she bravely began to speak.

“Liam said—”

“Hey! We both agreed!” Liam’s howl of outrage was high-pitched.

Briana lifted her lip in a little snarl at her brother. “Let me finish, dumb-dumb.”

“Your brother is not a dumb-dumb,” her mother said in a stern tone. Jace looked at her again, catching her lips in a sudden twitch. Yeah, they were cute little stinkers, all right.

Cute again. Huh. His wolf watched the pups and the woman through Jace’s eyes, seeming utterly absorbed by all three.

Briana heaved a dramatic little sigh. This time, Jace definitely caught a muffled snort from behind him, then a slight yelp. Hmm. Someone must’ve gotten his foot stomped on again.

“Liam said someone was trying to attack Aunt Lily and Uncle Kieran,” Briana said, giving her brother a look that conveyed in no uncertain terms that she still thought he was a dumb-dumb, no matter what their mother might say. “So we ran out to protect them. You always say family has to stick up for one another, mama. Isn’t that what you always say?”

Two suddenly cherubic little faces looked up at their mother. Imploring, lovable, and of course not in the least bit manipulative.

Hmph, his wolf snorted quietly at that. Despite his reckoning that the little cherubs were indeed patently manipulative, there was another note in there that almost made Jace stagger again.

Possessiveness. His wolf felt possessive of these pups. And of their mother.

Mine, came the whisper again. It was beginning to sound somewhat impatient with him.

Jace managed to keep himself composed.

The pups kept their adoring little faces turned up to their mother, eyes bright and hopeful. Even though Jace was about the most manly guy’s guy he’d ever met in his life, that bizarre something squeezed in his heart yet again as he looked at them.

Their mother took a deep breath, making Jace’s glance snap back toward her. What? Hell, no. He wasn’t looking at her chest when she took that deep breath that made her breasts swell temptingly beneath her shirt. Of course not. He wasn’t a caveman.

Wolf, his wolf harrumphed at him. Not caveman. Caveman, he muttered again, clearly disgusted with his human.

Whatever, Jace thought from behind what suddenly seemed like a foggy curtain that smothered his intelligent thought. I was looking at her eyes.

Her eyes really were as stunning as the rest of her. Crystalline green, they still brimmed with temper and a razor-sharp intelligence, along with a slight wariness. As if she held herself back slightly. A light smattering of freckles across her fair nose and cheeks simply accentuated her cheekbones and full, beautiful lips. A fall of dark, silky hair slid over one eye. Coupled with an arched eyebrow as she still gazed with severe serenity down at her children, she was the picture of a wolf mama in charge.

The sexiest wolf mama Jace had ever seen. The most intriguing wolf mama he had ever seen. The most indefinably—something wolf mama he had ever seen.

Mine, his wolf murmured firmly.

Jace let the shock of that growing truth whip through him again without betraying any of it in either his expression or his scent. His world, however, was beginning to tilt. Hard.
Harper, J.K.. Protector Wolf: Wolf Shifter Romance Series (Black Mesa Wolves Book 6). Kindle Locations (195-246). Sable Moon Books. Kindle Edition.

There is quite a bit of fun between Jace and the pups as this book goes on. However, both he and Caitlyn avoid each other. They both have their reasons, but really when it comes to mating is there really a choice?

A light-hearted fun read with just the right amount of sizzle.

5 Contented Purrs for J.K.!

USA TODAY bestselling author J.K. Harper lives in the gorgeous southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild.

She is the author of Black Mesa Wolves, Dragon Mates, Wicked Wolf Shifters, and Silvertip Shifters.

Caleb Bardou has a quick answer for anything that comes at him: his fists. Barreling through life, damn the consequences, has always worked for him. With dangerous rogue wolves threatening his Pack, he must be a ruthless hunter. But when a delicate little she-wolf gets in his steamroller way, he has to find a different strategy to win the unexpected battle for her body and her heart.

Each time civilized Rielle Amoux thinks about caveman Caleb, she gets all tingly inside. Yet she refuses to be flustered by a hot-headed, chest-thumping, he-man of a wolf. Except Caleb is sexier than sin, and he arouses her on a primal level—the part of her she’s always denied from fear she won’t be able to control it. But if she doesn’t free her wild side soon, she risks losing her wolf forever….

Between vicious rogues and sweetly seductive Rielle, Caleb has his hands full. Just when he thinks he has everything under control, his trigger temper erupts again. This time, the fallout could be disastrous for his Pack—as well as for any chance he has with the sexy little wolf who might be his destiny.

Caleb has a real hard time controlling his anger and he usually deals with it with his fists. Now a lot of the time that works just fine, but there are times when it just gets him in more trouble. With rogues still a worry and of course the fact that he can’t confront the ones his father the Alpha has decided will be able to start their own pack just irks him.

He’s barreling down the street in Durango, thinking about said rogues when he slammed into a woman. It’s not just any woman though, it’s a pack member.

Rielle mostly lives in the city and runs an upscale clothing store. She prefers to spend more time as a human than wolf and since she’s the pack historian she can research anywhere.

Caleb gets a bit confused while arguing with her as his wolf searches for her wolf. Apparently, his wolf senses something he doesn’t. That and even as they argue they both sort of notice an attraction. Caleb really is concerned about her lack of attention since they don’t know where the rogues are. He also realizes when he needs to back off, but not before he sticks his foot in it…again.

This is a favorite scene.

Rielle’s heart rabbited in her chest. Caleb thought she had a date? Reflexively, she looked down at her outfit. Fairly typical for a day in the store, it was a dress from a new designer who’d sent it just for Rielle as an enticement to carry her line. It was a cute dress, but she wore clothes like this every day.

Oh. But she didn’t see Caleb every day. Right. Because he was never in town, and he certainly never came into her store. Obviously, he didn’t have a girlfriend for whom he needed to buy gifts.

For some reason, the thought of Caleb having a girlfriend made her flush a bit. Well, if he did have a girlfriend, she would pity the poor woman who had to put up with his ways. Not like she was one to talk. Dating wasn’t something Rielle did. Like, ever. But she wanted to. Really, really wanted to. Sometimes she forgot how much she wanted that. Right now, being reminded of her dateless status really stung.

“I don’t have a date.” Which was such a brilliant way to tell him she had no life. She kept her voice slightly cool. “This is how I dress for work. If customers see me wearing the clothes we carry in the store, it helps sell them. Simple advertising.”

Caleb’s wolf still lurked in his eyes. She’d seen it flash there earlier—probably when she’d insulted him with that horrible comment about his diction. She still could hardly believe she’d said that. Rielle was never mean or rude. Her parents had always emphasized good manners, and in general she didn’t have the stomach for cruelty.

It was probably just Caleb’s natural barbarian nature that brought it out in her. Case in point, she was thinking about him in unflattering terms. He was a little barbaric, though, with those huge muscles and that little scar on his chin. He must have gotten raked hard in the face by a claw, then not shifted soon or often enough right afterward to let it heal over. In fact, he probably did it on purpose, so he’d have that bad boy look forever to remind others how tough he was.

Even so, she had to admit seeing the fire of his wolf light his eyes was a little—interestingly intense.

Kind. Her wolf’s word drifted through her mind, shocking her a bit. She’d been ignoring her wolf for so long now she’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to have that side of her rise up. Odder still, her wolf thought Caleb was kind?

Rielle shook her head. Caleb stood there, simply looking at her.

“Why are you staring at me?” she asked. Her throat felt a little tight, which meant she was flustered. Language was something Rielle had down pat, what with her love of reading and her position as the Pack’s historian. Despite that, whenever she felt put on the spot, her throat seized up a bit, as if words lodged in there, trapped.

Caleb grinned. It lifted his face from warrior-tough to genuinely open and almost inviting. The barest hint of crinkles surrounded his blue eyes, and he looked suddenly relaxed.

“You were staring at me, shaking your head.” That bass voice rumbled into her ears. “I was trying to figure you out, but I thought I’d better keep my mouth shut this time. Safer option.”

Rielle let out an apologetic breath. “I’m not usually rude—” she began. He cut her off again with the slightest movement of his head and a “mm-mm” sound. He’d forgiven her and moved on already.

“So, Ree.”

That smile really changed his whole demeanor, made him seem much more approachable, somehow. She smiled back at him, softening a bit.

“Can I walk you somewhere?” he said. “Since you don’t have a date, are you just heading home?”

What? She blinked. It wasn’t like her life was so pathetic and boring. Well, fine. Caleb Bardou might be one good-looking wolf, and he had been trying to smooth over her tactless gaffe earlier, but clearly he was still a big dumb ox.

“I may not have a date,” she said, voice rigid, “and yes, I’m going home, but for your information that’s exactly where I want to be. There’s nothing wrong with that!”

She shoved past his imposing, ox-like bulk—and why did he have to smell so good, all sort of woodsy-sweaty and manly, and why did that even smell good to her?—and clicked down the sidewalk. Heels were fun to wear, but they lacked a bit in the angry-stamping-away department.

“Ree! What the hell!”

Caleb caught up to her in about a quarter of a stride and planted himself in front of her. The blue eyes were darker, edgier, and had no traces left of the laughter. Ah, yes. Caleb the fighter, in full pugnacious mode.

“Excuse me. I’m trying to go to my very dull home, but there’s a rather large guy blocking my way. Could you please move?”

She glared up at him. It was a good thing she hardly ever saw him. Since every encounter seemed to go like this, Caleb was likely to tip her right over the edge into an apparently more crass, graceless self.

Thundercloud face back, arms waving around, he leaned down to her as he spoke. “I did not say your house was boring! Or dull! I just offered to walk you home because of the very reasons I said about two minutes earlier. It’s not as safe out here anymore. You shouldn’t be walking around alone, anyway. Alpha should put a stop to it.”

Rielle’s wolf pushed at her mind a bit, startling her even more. A faint whine tinged with an even fainter growl whispered through the edges of her mind before dissipating.

“Alpha has no problems with me living in town.” Why did Caleb have to be so darn big? “I’m not the only wolf who does, and I got his permission to do so, anyway. Until and unless he says I can’t walk around alone any longer, I’m going to keep doing it. I’m not totally helpless, Caleb.”

It was almost fascinating, the way she could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. He really needed to get a handle on his anger.

“Well, for shit’s sake, Rielle.” She flinched the tiniest bit at his phrasing, which he caught. His eyes narrowed at her a bit. “If you’re so big and bad, fine. You just flounce on home in those heels and that cute, fluffy little dress you have on all by yourself.”

“My dress isn’t fluffy! These are chiffon panels, they float—”

Caleb actually groaned and dropped his face into his palms for a moment, effectively halting her outraged words.

“You know what, Ree?” he said to his hands. “I was trying to be a gentleman. Which I admit my sister says I suck at. But I tried.”

Caleb lifted his head and looked at her again. His expression hovered between slightly disgusted and long-suffering. Rielle caught her lip between her teeth, which immediately drew his eyes to her mouth for a split second. She almost missed it.

“You just go ahead and float on home in your chiffon panels, then.”

What a big—doofus. Rielle felt her mouth open a bit, but her throat tightened up. Darn it.

“I’ve got other things to take care of. Good night, Rielle. Have a nice evening.”

With that, Caleb turned on one foot in a graceful move she instinctively recognized as a predator’s, and strode across the street. He turned down the next one and disappeared.

She stood on the sidewalk for a moment longer, feeling confused and oddly alone.

“Well,” she finally said, more to her own jumble of thoughts than anyone else. Okay, then. She and her dress would just float on home. The streets were perfectly safe, and she could take care of herself.
Harper, J.K.. Hunting Wolf: Wolf Shifter Romance Series (Black Mesa Wolves Book 3). Kindle Locations (250-302). Sable Moon Books. Kindle Edition.

Rielle’s freedom in town does get curtailed however, and there is another stunning revelation. She and Caleb are mates. How that’s going to work out is both fun and intriguing.

Rogues, fights, scares, new and very interesting people and just the right amount of sizzle.

I am already reading the next  book of this series.

5 Contented Purrs for J.K.!

USA TODAY bestselling author J.K. Harper lives in the gorgeous southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild.

She is the author of Black Mesa Wolves, Dragon Mates, Wicked Wolf Shifters, and Silvertip Shifters.

As a Guardian climbing the ranks in the Black Mesa Wolf Pack, Sara Kenyon’s life is ideal. A sexy firecracker, she’s never regretted her carefree love-’em-and-leave-’em attitude. But when her one-time fling, smokin’ hot Rafe Bardou, wants the only thing she can’t give him—commitment—she starts to question if freedom is everything she desires.

Rafe’s patience is legendary. Yet for all his strength and control, Rafe craves something he can’t have: free-spirited Sara as his mate. Her red-hot kisses have eluded him for over a year, but he can’t stop thinking about how they once tangled the sheets together. Now he’s out of time. Her commitment to him is essential—not only for his own happiness, but for the future of the Pack.

Losing control isn’t an option. But it may be the only way to convince this sweet vixen he’s her alpha wolf.

Warning:
Hot springs and a dark alley are both defiled in this story. Read at your own risk.

Sara believes she’s only seen as a fun-loving party girl. She wants, no needs to be seen as a serious Guardian of the pack.

With the Rogues possibly getting their own pack, Rafe, the Alpha’s oldest son is about to get an opportunity he didn’t see coming. Before that can happen, he needs to convince Sara to finally accept him. He knows she’s ready, but she seems to think she has something to prove to the pack.

After the Alpha announce the decision about the rogues, Sara decides she needs a run and maybe a soak in the hot springs. The last person she expected to see is Rafe and she certainly didn’t expect him to join her on her run.

This is a favorite scene.

A shaky laugh slipped past her lips. If only the rest of the pack could see her now. This was so unlike the playful, heel-nipping, flirtatious, seemingly confident Sara she seemed to be to all of them. This Sara was getting unnerved by a guy. It was almost as if she didn’t know what to do with one. Now, that was a silly thought.

Her wolf gave the equivalent of a quiet laugh.

“Sara?”

At least she didn’t jump. Instead, she turned around as if half surprised.

“Rafe! Hi! What are you doing here?”

Smooth.

His slow smile told her he knew she was pretending to be surprised. He knew perfectly well she’d scented him just before he spoke. Completely unprepared for his presence here, she hadn’t heard him come up behind her—even in human form, shifters could move startlingly fast and silent. But her nose could catch things before her brain had time to figure out what they were.

“I thought it was a nice night for a soak. Had to work on a report all day. My muscles are screaming at me.”

“Me, too.” Her voice came out kind of breathy. She pitched it lower and went on. “I actually wanted to go for a run. But I thought a little dip first would be nice.”

She looked around the parking lot. Theirs were the last cars. Rafe’s big silver truck was a dark shadow several spaces away.

“What do you say?”

She looked back at him. Even without a moon and no artificial lights in the lot, she could see Rafe’s face and his eyes. The intensity that usually underlined his manner, the strong work ethic, the loyalty to pack, was there. Yet his particular expression hinted at something deeper.

Whatever it was, it sent a shiver down her spine. When she answered, though, she tried to keep her tone playful.

“What do I say to what, wolf?”

He didn’t crack even a grin. The moonlight silvered the chiseling of his features, shadowed his cheeks and forehead, made his blond hair shine where it snared the light. He looked like a stern pack leader, with an edge of contained wildness underneath. Sara shivered again. Caught in his gaze, she felt her wolf rise close to the surface. Pacing the corners corners of Sara’s mind, her wolf whined softly. She, for one, was very clear on Rafe’s half-hidden promise.

Silly human thinking, her wolf whispered.

Sara knew her wolf looked out of her eyes. She spoke quickly to stave off the invitation most likely beckoning there.

“Okay. Let’s go. I came here for a dip, and I’m going in.”

Without blinking, her nose telling her no humans were nearby, Sara shed her clothes and let them drop to an untidy pile at her feet. Rafe’s lake-blue eyes grew darker as he watched her.

“Race ya,” she said. She whirled, dropped to the ground, and shifted in the space between one heartbeat and the next.

“Sara,” she heard him say behind her. But the light breeze felt so good in her dark silvery-gray pelt, tickling its way through the individual furs, that she ignored his voice and flew over the ground, paws hitting then instantly leaping away again. She headed for the back of the main building, toward the hottest spring located at the rear of the property.

Sara’s breath came easily as she loped along. With each inhale she took in the scents of the pine trees, the junipers farther west in the desert, the hot waters bubbling from the earth just in front of her. She flicked back an ear and heard Rafe’s steps padding swiftly behind her, his wolf running light and sure over the ground. He ran close enough to encourage her to go faster.

The thrill of the chase, Sara’s human whispered. Sara grinned and did a half-spin to the side so Rafe could see her tongue hanging out. She didn’t slow down. He smiled back at her before leaping ahead, his larger frame overcoming her speed. Sara’s night vision still allowed her to see him as he wove in and out of the pines.

“Hey!” she called out. “Not fair.”

At his provocative tone, Sara put on the speed as well. As usual, she couldn’t keep up with him merely by speed, fast as she was. Her bag of tricks included thinking fast and plotting a new course as needed, even in a split second. Quicker than thought, her paws veered to the right. She cut straight across a patch of ground just sprouting new grass. The delicate scent rose up as she crushed some blades in two bounding steps before landing back on pine needle carpeting.

Running felt good. The earlier restlessness urged a spurt of energy that took her racing away from the hot springs, over the back fence, and into the darkening woods behind.

“Sara!” Rafe said, his voice a mix between a bark of surprise and—pleasure? Ears flicked back, she could hear him pause for the briefest moment. Then a light whoosh disrupted the air behind her, followed by a thump as he hit the ground after vaulting over the fence.

Faster, Sara’s human urged. She wasted no time stretching out, lengthening her body to the maximum speeds it could reach. Her muscles flexed and worked, eliciting a happy mental groan at how good it felt.

Sara raced through the dusk-covered forest. She leapt over downed logs, dodged a low-hanging branch or three, whipped around trunks bristling with new piney growth, and absorbed a beautiful maelstrom of scents from millimeters to miles away. When she rounded a small yet thick stand of Douglas firs, she almost collided with a sudden ponderosa. Her shoulder and fur scraped by and released an intoxicating scent of vanilla and butterscotch from the tree.

Smells like baking cookies, her human thought. Sara wrinkled her nose a bit and shrugged mentally. Sometimes, her human mentioned things that had little place in the mountain forests or the desert cliffs and buttes. Sara found it best to simply continue racing and leaping and hunting and running, letting her human giggle quietly somewhere in the back of her mind.

Rafe’s scent whipped into her nostrils: sharp and wild, he also smelled like crushed fern and a whiff of aspen bark where he must have rubbed too close to one. She imagined sensible Rafe having an unexpectedly close encounter with a tree and twisting madly to avoid crashing into it. Her tongue lolled out for a moment even as she ran, a grin splitting her jaw. Her canines must have gleamed for a moment, because a short huffing noise somewhere to her left let her know Rafe was nearby and quite aware of her presence.

Sara always found running an activity that cleared her mind, whether as woman or wolf. Everything else fell away. Worries, thoughts, fears all melted off when she ran, when she exercised her muscles hard. Her mind soothed to a simple mechanism of action and movement.

Even Rafe briefly left her mind. Air sucked into her lungs, rich spring earth and a mingling of smells both wild and human from the trees and mountains and scattered homes zipped by as scents detected in mere seconds. The promise of renewed life about to burst from the ground invigorated Sara’s legs even more. She flowed over the earth in that state of singularity between thought and doing, losing herself for joyous moments as merely a creature peacefully and completely at one with her surroundings and her own simple being.

This Sara had nothing to prove. This Sara simply lived to run and exist and enjoy this moment.

Although the hot springs would feel very nice after such a great run, her human thought somewhere deep inside. Her voice sounded a little wistful yet teasing. I wonder how long this run has been?

Sara snorted softly. Time had no meaning to wolves. Only to humans.

Someone has to get up in the mornings and show up for duty. Running isn’t everything. Her human shrugged, then started picturing the hot springs.

Soothing billows of steam rising, deliciously hot water to sink into, Rafe naked and willing in the spring with her….

Sara took a misstep at the fierce longing in her human’s mind. Finally, she was showing some sense.

A cocked ear and sharp inhale let her know Rafe easily kept up about ten yards away, now to her right and just behind her tail. Slipping through the trees with her, enjoying the run as much as she did. She wondered if he, too, forgot about everything else when he ran.

Never, her human whispered. He’s going to be an alpha. Alphas never forget anything.

Sara looped around the next tree and began loping back to the hot springs. The lights of people’s houses glinted through branches here and there. Sara ignored them and let the smell of the hot water guide her back. All she needed was her nose and her sure feet.

And maybe a certain wolf.
Harper, J.K.. Alpha Wolf (Black Mesa Wolves Book 2). Kindle Location(447-514). Sable Moon Books. Kindle Edition.

To me it seems that Sara is her own worst enemy when it comes to Rafe. She knows they’re mates but she won’t back down on her stance that she has to prove herself worthy of the respect of the pack.

Rafe seems to be up to the challenge, but he is giving her time to realize she already has that.

A fun read with lots of ups and downs and plenty of sizzle.

5 Contented Purrs for J.K.!

USA TODAY bestselling author J.K. Harper lives in the gorgeous southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild.

She is the author of Black Mesa Wolves, Dragon Mates, Wicked Wolf Shifters, and Silvertip Shifters.

Being a Guardian for the Black Mesa Wolf Pack meant everything to Lily Bardou. Until the night she made a fatal mistake. Since then, she’s kept her wild side tightly leashed, denying her responsibilities to both her pack and her own sensual needs.

Until Kieran Rendall stalks into her life.

Kieran’s wanted Lily for two long years, and he’s finally done waiting. Convinced she’s part of his destiny, he’s back in town with a plan: to help Lily let go of the past—and to unlock her caged passions.

Doing a re-read and actually reviewing this time. I have so many books that I’ve never reviewed and I was in the mood for some shifters so the Black Mesa Wolves are the beginning of fixing that.

Lily is the only daughter of the Alpha and a strong Guardian Wolf. She made a huge mistake that she paid for in a way that sort of broke her. Now she’s ready to move on, she hopes.

Kieran is from the Silver Mountain pack and he had witnessed Lily’s punishment and the aftermath. He’s hoping she will recognize him for what he is, her mate.

This is a favorite scene.

Kieran Rendall watched with hidden bemusement as the Black Mesa guardian came toward him with the deliberate, sinuous motion of a hunter. An enticingly kissable package of nerves, predatory hunger, and a touch of wariness, heading straight for him.

Long dark red hair tumbled down her back. A fierce red wolf, this one. He’d known that since the first time he’d ever seen her. He could also sense her deep hunger for sex.

He could smell it, sizzling off her in waves that tempted and tormented him. Her wolf was hungry, and so was the woman.

Finally. He’d been waiting for Lily for a long time. Ever since the night she’d put to death the human she’d turned with her own unthinking lust, Kieran had been watching her. An emissary from the Silver Mountain Pack to the north, he’d been sent down by his father to observe the Black Mesa Pack’s adherence to ancient law. Tradition demanded all regional Packs sent official observers when an errant wolf broke a law, to be certain justice was still served accordingly. It was an excellent method of checks and balances. Besides which, without laws, shifters eventually went totally wild.

He could still recall that cold night. Lily’s eyes had gleamed with unshed tears, her back ramrod straight, as the punishment was read in front of the entire Pack and all attending regional members. The turned wolf, like Lily just barely into his twenties, had been in the center of the circle, naked and shivering in human form. He’d refused to become wolf even though told he could fight for his life. He refused to harm Lily.

Kieran remembered the suddenness with which Lily changed, her lithe red wolf gliding along the edges of the circle before she leapt onto her silent, unmoving prey. The naked human looked right at her the entire time, unflinching. With one terrible snap, it was over. She broke his neck with ease. The death blow was clean, immediate, and as humane a kill as a wolf could do. Kieran was impressed at the sight, and thoughtful. It had been planned. She likely had told her doomed one-time lover he had two choices: become wolf and fight her to the death, or accept as easy a passing as she could deliver. Kieran understood that. He would never have fought her either, if he’d had a chance to love a woman like Lily.

He couldn’t have borne the thought of killing such a beautiful wolf.

Lily had stood for a moment over the unmoving body of her lover, utterly still herself. Then she turned and leapt in a graceful arc right through the circle of spectators, her brothers howling after her, her father silent yet watching with an outstretched arm as if to stop her. Lily bounded into the winter-cold high desert, the flash of her red fur disappearing into the moonlight-silvered branches of the junipers and the shadows of the canyon walls.

No one saw her again until the following spring.

Kieran gave himself a mental shake. The woman was here, now, and she was ready. Oh, was she ready.

The sway in her walk as she approached told him a fire banked between her legs. He knew exactly how to answer it. His wolf simmered beneath the surface, as eager as he to stir the qualities in this she-wolf that would catapult her back to her rightful place. She was a born leader.

He fingered the glass in his hand as Lily drew near. With a tremble of her lip, she stopped before him. He let his nostrils flare, taking in her scent. No fear. Sheer anticipation made her skin shiver, her mouth quake as if she could already taste him.

Practiced at the art of concealing his emotions, Kieran gave an internal snort at his arrogant fancy. Lily wanted him, of that he was sure. Her arousal was being broadcast loud and clear to any wolf within a few miles. But he highly doubted she was already playing every move in her head. He knew she hadn’t touched a man in two years. With this one, he would have to go very, very slowly. He already knew she was more than worth it.

Lily parted her lips as if to speak, then wet them with her tongue instead. Kieran’s hand tightened on the glass and almost broke it. Holy… He internally shook himself back to a semblance of respectability. Well, hell. She was going to test his control indeed.

“You’ve been looking at me.” Her voice came out pitched low but clearly audible to his heightened hearing in the loud bar. She paused as if to gauge his reaction—or censor herself—then plunged on. “And you like what you see.”

She tilted up her chin and gave him a bold stare with her green eyes. This close, he could see the purity of their color. He imagined them smoky with desire, and finally let a grin tug up his lip again. Let her see a bit of his very male appreciation.

“I do. Have a seat. Please,” he added with soft insistence when she still regarded him with just a touch of that wariness she wore like a cape.

Never once looking away, she slid onto the barstool beside him. Obvious from her naturally confident bearing, as a one-time Pack Guardian she simply oozed alpha female. Despite her tight self-control and refusal to be a formal part of Pack hierarchy since that night, she couldn’t conceal her true nature. And Lily was meant to be a leader. She was meant to mate with an alpha male for life and help guide the Pack, keep it strong. Whether she knew it or not, her innate talents were recognized by other wolves. Even ones not in her Pack. Especially ones not in her Pack. The wolves outside the Black Mesa Pack stood the most to gain by winning Lily as a mate. Her status as the only daughter of Alpha of the most powerful pack in the region just about guaranteed another strong offshoot pack one day. And those outside wolves had been sniffing around recently, which was why Kieran decided it was time to make his move. He would never let this woman—this wolf—belong to another. She was far too precious in many ways. His only goal now was to convince her of that truth.

“Can I get the lady a drink?”

Lily still looked directly at him. It was a light challenge, one she was unaware she made, and it was hot as hell. Kieran’s balls tightened in response, and he curbed his wolf as it practically sat up and salivated. Not yet. Slowly.

“Only if it tastes as good as you look,” she said. Her saucy words were matched by her tone and stance. One hip cocked, head tilted, those eyes arrowing right through him.

Kieran almost swallowed his own tongue. He instantly felt his wolf leap into his eyes, smelled his own pheromones charging off of him as if they were warriors vaulting into battle. Maybe slow wasn’t what she wanted?

Lily suddenly laughed, an infectious and even more hormone-inducing sound. The smile that cracked wide across her features was genuine, and all for him.

“I can’t believe I just said that.” She glanced away and shook her head, sending red waves of hair undulating across her cheeks. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me tonight.” She raised her eyes to Kieran’s again, her expression slightly self-deprecating. “My friend had to practically push me over here, and then I just said to hell with it. That sexy cowboy’s been looking at me, he’s Pack, and I deserve to say hello to him.”

With each honest word, Lily’s voice deepened with instinctual need. Kieran’s entire body stiffened from the effort to keep from grabbing her, leading her out of the bar and across the lobby to the attached hotel, into his room. He could still go slowly.

Sure.

“But I’m being rude. My name is Lily. I’m from the Black Mesa Pack.” She reached a hand out to him.

Kieran steeled himself for the electric snap he knew would happen when he let her touch him. Even so, when their palms met in an oddly formal yet insanely intimate handshake, the shock of it ran up his arm and exploded into every nerve ending. Lily felt it too, judging from her sharp inhale and widening of those amazingly clear eyes.

“Kieran. Silver Mountain Pack Guardian. It’s very nice to meet you, Lily.” He was ridiculously proud of his steady voice despite the hungry wolf clamoring to growl through it.
Harper, J.K.. Guardian Wolf (Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Black Mesa Wolves #1). Kindle Locations (85-144) Sable Moon Books. Kindle Edition.

Of course nothing goes quite as planned, as Rogue wolves interrupt them before they can take anything further. It’s her brothers, all three of them showing up that saves the entire evening form being ruined.

Even though this is a short book there is much that happens. Plenty of sizzle, some action, laughter and tears too.

5 Contented Purrs for J.K.!

USA TODAY bestselling author J.K. Harper lives in the gorgeous southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild.

She is the author of Black Mesa Wolves, Dragon Mates, Wicked Wolf Shifters, and Silvertip Shifters.

A reindeer shifter fleeing her past…

Brynna Darby can’t help that she’s a reindeer shifter. But she sure can do her darned best to ignore that part of her life, and has done so for years. Until she abruptly lands back in her tiny shifter hometown. Expectations there are suffocating her—but one sexy bear shifter might open up her guarded heart and show her how to find joy again.

A bear shifter searching for home…

Wyatt Webber returned to his hometown of Deep Hollow right before Christmas, his favorite time of year. Then he runs into the onetime love of his life, Brynna, and everything threatens to turn into a lump of coal. She’s the mate who broke his heart…but she also might be the only one who can put it back together again.

NOTE:
A previous version of this story, then titled The Reindeer Shifter’s Christmas Gift, originally appeared in a group box set. The story has been lengthened, re-written, and re-edited.

Brynna has been home in Deep Hollow for six months, she’s itching to leave the closer to Christmas it gets. She is running with her soon to be brother-in-law and Physical Therapist, Thor and is celebrating how good she feels, when Wyatt, one of the town’s deputies almost runs into them. When he stops he pretty much attacks Thor. His reasoning is that Brynna is his mate, even if she won’t accept it, and no other male should be touching her.

That Christmas is almost here, is a sore spot for Wyatt, even though he loves the holiday, Five years ago he had accepted a job in Montana and he was going to propose to Brynna and take her with him. Instead Brynna broke up with him and moved to Florida to take a job as an international tour guide.

Brynna stops him from doing too much damage to Thor and in spite of her longing to be with him, tells him she’s leaving.

This is a favorite scene.

So he’d left for Snowhaven all by his lonesome, made himself lose touch with her, and didn’t keep up on news about her from her family and friends still in Deep Hollow. He just sucked it up like the big bear shifter he was and forced himself to focus on his new life. He’d worked damn hard over the past several years to forget Brynna, and he’d practically succeeded, even though his bear had never been quite the same.

But then the other night happened. Oh, yeah. The other night.

Sexy, sexy little Brynna that night. Running into her all unexpectedly had brought back every single memory he had of all the time they’d ever spent together, which was basically their entire lives. Then the kiss. Hell, yeah. His whole body tingled right now just remembering it. It was just a kiss, but it had lit something between them again. And that was saying a lot, considering how many times he’d been privileged enough to kiss Brynna in the past. But hell. He couldn’t focus on that too much right now, or he’d get a freaking boner for sure. Just like damned teenager again.

Quickly, before the moment could get any more stupid awkward, Wyatt went in the other direction. Caveman style, all the way. He looked square at Brynna and said, “So what do you say, Bryn? Dinner? Tonight.” He shoved as much bold assurance into his voice as he could. He was still pushing her buttons a bit, yeah. But he also meant it. He’d pissed her off the other night, and again now. He honestly wanted a chance to make it good between them again. The holiday season was giving him confidence.

Brynna stayed quiet for a moment, then dragged her eyes to his. Her irritation was gone, and something else flared in her expression.

After she paused too long, Thor nudged her. “Come on, Bryn, tell him what’s up.” The guy flashed a quick glance at Wyatt before he looked away. An almost sympathetic glance.

Shit.

Taking a breath, the sexiest little reindeer shifter in the world opened her mouth and once again rocked Wyatt’s world. Badly. “I’m sorry, Wyatt, I can’t have dinner with you. I’m all healed up as of today. So I’m ready to go back to where I live now. In Florida,” she added, as if he might have forgotten. “I’m packing my stuff tonight and hitting the road soon. I’m leaving Deep Hollow, Wyatt,” she finished in what was almost a whisper.

Another fucking awkward silence landed like a dirty bomb. Wyatt could sense both Thor and Slade itching to just turn and bolt away.

He looked right at Brynna. “It’s almost Christmas, Bryn.” His voice was soft, but there was a sharp edge under it that he couldn’t quite control.

She swallowed hard, nodding. “Yes.” A very faint wobble stuttered through her voice. But her gaze stayed firm.

The world narrowed in on Wyatt. Brynna kept her gaze locked on his. Something flickered in her pretty eyes that he couldn’t quite read, but she didn’t say anything more. She didn’t need to.

Right. The other night with her, brief as it had been, had given him hope again. Stupid, idiotic hope. Because Wyatt’s burning, nearly unstoppable desire to protect this woman, and his bear’s fierce, nearly overwhelming urge to claim her, told him something he couldn’t deny.

Sexy, fiery, amazing Brynna was still his mate. Always had been, and always would be.

But even so, even though he knew it and she knew it and everyone in town probably knew it, that still didn’t seem to matter to her. She was still leaving both Deep Hollow and him. Again.

Fuck his life, and fuck Christmas.
Harper, J.K.. Christmas Night Bear (Silvertip Shifters Book 7). Kindle Locations (329-351). Sable Moon Books. Kindle Edition.

As Brynna is packing, she realizes a lot of things from the past. She wanted Wyatt to stop her, to follow her. To maybe ask her to stay with him, he did none of those things. Her parents and sister would be disappointed if she didn’t stay for Christmas Eve. It was a special and fun time for the reindeer shifters although Brynna never really enjoyed it. She didn’t ask to be a reindeer shifter, they were very rare. She did like flying though, it was a perk.

When Wyatt realizes she hasn’t left town, it makes it his business to win her over again.

This is a fun Christmas read with laughter, tears and some heat.

5 Contented Purrs for J.K.!

J.K. Harper

J.K. Harper writes about paranormal romance because despite a lifetime of wishing, all the cool supernatural book characters of her childhood just don’t seem to be real. Besides, it’s just really fun to make stuff up and play around in her imagination. She lives in the Southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild. If you are interested in finding out more about J.K. Harper, including news on future books in the Black Mesa Wolves series, please surf around her online homes.

A Black Mesa Wolves Holiday Short Story

With devoted mate Rielle still his most ardent champion, down and out wolf shifter Caleb Bardou is slowly piecing back together his busted up life. He’s a fighter at heart—but when he was justifiably stripped of his Pack Guardian status, it about knocked him out cold.

Now he gives his all to a hot new business training other shifters for the fight ring. He’s back in the game and looking for a big win, his sexy mate at his side all the way. Then an old enemy shows up in the final round and threatens to sucker punch Caleb and Rielle’s future. It might finally be time for Caleb to show the world what he’s really made of…and make it a happy new year after all.

Author’s Note:
This Short Story features Caleb & Rielle, the characters from Hunting Wolf (Black Mesa Wolves #3). It is best read after Wild Wolf (Black Mesa Wolves #4), although that is not strictly necessary in order to enjoy this holiday tale!

With the New Year approaching, I find myself in a shifter mood and this book for New Year’s Eve was the perfect way to satisfy that need.

Caleb has made many mistakes, the biggest of which had him removed from being a Guardian of the Black Mesa Wolves. That ruling came down from the Alpha, his father. Now it seems Caleb has found something that helped to not only rein in his temper and impulsiveness, but also gives back. He is competing and training young wolves to fight in the somewhat controlled atmosphere of sanctioned Cage Fighting.

His mate Rielle, is steadfast in her devotion to her mate. She’s been beside him the whole way and is more than just a little proud of him.

As Caleb and his trainee Bran celebrate their wins that have them heading to regional championships, Luke Rawlins a reformed rogue wolf approaches Raille.

This is a favorite scene.

“Oh, no,” Rielle managed to murmur the second she realized Caleb saw Luke. Her mate’s face went thunderously dark. The kind of expression that usually scared his opponents so badly they tended to lose half the fight right then. Her wolf whined in agitation, circling Rielle’s mind in nervous steps.

Caleb leapt back out of the ring and steamrolled his way right through the throngs toward them. Rielle heard Lily sigh with just a touch of exasperation and felt Kieran stand more rigidly, although neither one moved an inch to prevent the black storm racing pell-mell in their direction.

Luke didn’t move either. There was exactly zero love lost between him and Caleb, although they’d never actually come to blows as far as Rielle knew. Luke was a former rogue wolf, who’d really just been trying to escape his extremely unstable home pack under circumstances that were still mysterious. He was now under the explicit protection of the Black Mesa Wolf Pack, under the direct orders of its Alpha. In fact, he’d shown such undeniable leadership qualities after he’d dropped the life of a rogue that he’d been tapped by Alpha to lead an adjunct pack.

Luke Rawlins, the former rogue wolf and avowed enemy of Caleb, would be alpha of his own pack, so appointed by the alpha of the Black Mesa Pack. And Caleb, who would never be an alpha wolf himself, had been stripped of his own pack role by the very same alpha—his own father.

Rielle and every single other wolf in the pack knew it still rankled Caleb like a weeping sore, despite his otherwise successful efforts to focus his energies and volatile temperament on his training business. She’d managed to keep the two of them apart as much as possible ever since she and Caleb had been mated. Darn it, she’d had no idea Luke was into these fights. Caleb had never once mentioned seeing him at one.

Her wolf whined in even greater nervousness as Caleb barreled down on them. Almost holding her breath, Rielle tried very hard to send soothing thoughts to Caleb through their Pack bonds.

“You will remove your paws from my mate,” Caleb said the second he neared them, his barely checked anger reaching the tense little group before he did. He didn’t even have to raise his voice above the noise of the oblivious crowd. His light blue eyes glowed with the strength of his wolf behind them, which also pulsed out of his already naturally deep voice and sent it throbbing into their heads. He looked, Rielle thought from some slightly awed place far away, like an enraged, ridiculously sexy Viking about to go all berserker. “Now,” he snapped, when Luke didn’t release his light grip on Rielle’s upper arm.

Hmm. Apparently the Pack bonds were not going to work very well at this moment. Rielle thought about reaching out her actual hand to him, but Lily’s almost imperceptible nudge against her side stopped her.

With the tiniest of bows, really just inclining his dark head, Luke easily pulled his hand away from her. He’d barely been touching her. Rielle knew in an instant he’d done it on purpose to provoke Caleb.

Really. Men. To herself, she shook her head, while her wolf gave a small huff of agreement before resuming her watchful glow out of Rielle’s eyes.

A pure wolf growl slipped from Caleb’s throat. The random shifters immediately beside them heard it and stepped away with exaggerated, slightly drunken exclamations of “Ooh, better watch out! Don’t piss off Caleb, yo!”

She felt Lily and Kieran both tense even more in the charged silence between the two wolves facing off.

“What makes you think you can ever touch my mate, rogue?” Caleb’s snarled words were almost hard to distinguish. Rielle knew how much more control he had over his wolf now than mere months ago. But as usual, any perceived threat to her made that control slip a little. Nothing like an overprotective mate to keep the instinctual wolf at the forefront rather than the more rational human.

“Because,” Luke said in that deliberate drawl he sometimes used, “I wanted to see your reaction.”

If steam could come out of Caleb’s ears, it would. Rielle swallowed against a suddenly parched throat. She could feel Lily’s tensed muscles on one side of her, Kieran’s coiled strength on the other. They were prepared, if it became absolutely necessary, to stop her mate from doing something stupid.

Again.

The winter wind outside sent in another chilly blast through the flimsy doors of the club. Rielle shivered in sheer reflex to the situation rather than the cold. Shifters could handle cold temperatures much better than humans, even when in their own human shapes. But the icy blast made the situation seem more fraught with sudden danger. Please, Caleb, relax, she begged silently, imploring him with her eyes.

Caleb’s eyes were granite, his expression murderous. Even the half-drunk shifters nearby sensed the change in the air and abruptly shut their yapping mouths, watching the scene with suddenly wide eyes.

Rielle opened her mouth to say something, anything, to lighten the situation. Before she could, though, the one sound she never expected fell from Caleb’s mouth.

Laughter.
Harper, J.K.. New Year Wolf: A Black Mesa Wolves Holiday Short Story . Sable Moon Books. Kindle Locations (169-213). Kindle Edition.

Luke’s reasoning is much more than just to find out Caleb’s reaction.

Plenty of surprises and lots of sizzle between Caleb and Rielle.

I have to go back now and re-read this series, I’d forgotten how much I like this pack.

5 Contented Purrs for JK!

J.K. Harper writes paranormal romance. She lives in the rugged, gorgeous canyon country of the southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild.