Also by Kate Douglas:
Wolf Tales
“Chanku Rising” in Sexy Beast
Wolf Tales II
“Camille’s Dawn” in Wild Nights
Wolf Tales III
“Chanku Fallen” in Sexy Beast II
Wolf Tales IV
“Chanku Journey” in Sexy Beast III
Wolf Tales V
“Chanku Destiny” in Sexy Beast IV
Wolf Tales VI
“Chanku Wild” in Sexy Beast V
Wolf Tales VII
KATE DOUGLAS
APHRODISIA
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
One thing I never expected when the first Wolf Tales was released was the amount of contact I would have with readers. Now, three years after the series debut I can honestly say I have the best readers in the world—wonderfully generous individuals who are so supportive and open that they continue to amaze me with their kindness. This one’s dedicated to you, for taking the time to drop me a note, for your encouraging words and, when needed, for your prayers and kind, supportive thoughts. You restore my faith in the basic goodness of the human race and make this sometimes frustrating career more fun and more emotionally rewarding than I ever expected.
Thanks again to my terrific beta readers: Karen Woods, Ann Jacobs, Devin Quinn, and Sheri Fogarty. You truly help me see the forest in spite of all the trees. As I’ve said before, this wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without you.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Rocky Mountains, Montana
Night was all around him, and the darkness complete, but he sensed he wasn’t alone. It was unbelievably dark, considering his terrific night vision. He wondered, for a moment only, if he might be in one of the many limestone caverns nearby, but that didn’t feel right. He thought of turning around, to see if he could see who or what waited behind him, but he couldn’t move.
He tried to scream. His lungs expanded and his vocal chords strained, but he made no sound.
Why?
Impossible.
The voice in his head sounded smug. His own voice. Well, of course. Anton Cheval knows everything.
Bastard.
Well, crap. Was it possible to curse oneself?
Okay…so if I know it all, why the fuck are my arms trapped? Why is my heart pounding? Why can’t I move. Why?
He fought whatever held him but fear exploded. Alive, a twisting, clutching thing, and it made its own horrible sound. His sounds. Heart pounding, blood rushing in his ears, the loud whoosh, whoosh, whoosh drowning everything.
Telling him nothing.
Keisha screamed.
My love! I can’t move! His heart thundered, muscles strained. Nothing. Not a damned thing. I’m sorry…so damned sorry. I can’t help you….
Scalding tears filled his eyes. They slid down his face. Hot, wet trails of frustration.
Lily cried. The terrifying sound ripped through him. The heartrending cries of an infant, of his child! He fought harder, battled through the cloying darkness, struggled to reach out with arms like lead, tried to run with feet trapped in thick, grasping mud.
The screams grew louder, more frantic. He ran blindly, free now, but the very air surrounding him was impenetrable. Gelatinous, thick, clinging stuff. Someone had his family. Someone was stealing his mate, taking his child, taking everything that mattered.
Everyone he loved.
Gasping, Anton struggled harder, cried frantically for Keisha. Called out to Lily, but he couldn’t run and he couldn’t see and his world was ending.
It…was…all…ending….
“Anton? Wake up! You’re dreaming. You’re having a nightmare.”
He blinked, shocked into awareness, surprised out of cloying madness by the gentle glow of sunlight filtering through the window blinds. It seemed so much at odds with the frantic pounding of his heart. He took a deep breath, relieved yet unbelieving, to see the lovely face of his mate peering down at him.
He reached for her, ran trembling fingers along her silken cheek. “You’re okay? Lily’s okay?”
Keisha laughed. “We’re fine. I was already awake or you would have scared me half to death, shouting like that. What were you dreaming?”
He shook his head. His body sagged back against the mattress as he realized his loved ones were safe. For now.
“It was nothing. I don’t remember what it was.”
But he did remember and he blocked his thoughts, hiding them away from Keisha. He remembered all too clearly the dream that had awakened him, and it was much too threatening.
It was the same dream he’d had, in one form or another, all this past week.
Someone wanted his mate and his child. Someone evil.
He was used to being a target. As the most powerful of the Chanku shapeshifters of the three known packs in existence, Anton was well aware of the risk of capture. There were those in the medical world who wanted his kind for study. Others in the government had hoped to create a secret army, breeding more Chanku to train and use for some unknown yet nefarious purpose. His race maintained secrecy as best they could, but enough humans knew the Chanku existed to make the threat of disclosure all too real.
It was one thing to worry about his own safety. Another altogether to worry about those he loved. He’d been entirely alone for so long. Then, in such a short span of time he, Stefan, and Alexandra had formed a pack. His life mate, Keisha Rialto, had joined them, and Keisha had given him the ultimate gift of love, their daughter Lily Milina. Just as Stefan and Xandi had produced little Alex.
Anton had never understood the strength of the family bond. Now he knew it all too well. Knew how powerful it was, how all consuming.
Finally, he understood the meaning of unconditional love. Even more, he understood the fear of losing what he’d not had before—that deep, immeasurable love of family. It weakened him, made him vulnerable. At the same time, the love of his packmates, of his child and his one true mate, made him more powerful than he’d ever been.
His abilities as a wizard had grown exponentially. He’d developed skills over the past couple of years beyond anything he’d dreamed of, among them a more powerful sense of foreknowledge, an ability