What the Wolf Dragged In: Angel's Rest Wolfpack

By Westin Gray and Mason Winters

Will their hearts finally find a home?

Luke Redwood’s memory is full of terrifying blank spots. Though he longs to put down roots, he’s spent a decade moving from one town to the next, running betting games for a traveling carnival. One night, after some unhappy locals jump him, Luke comes to in the company of two handsome men: dark, cheerful Levi and compelling but inscrutable Gabe.

Ever since Gabriel Malone’s first pack was slaughtered by hunters, he’s been on the move, with only his cousin and fellow alpha Levi for company. They’ve settled down in Angel’s Rest, Oregon, but Gabe has no intention of starting another pack. Still, when he and Levi come across a young wolf being beaten, they intervene and take him back to their cabin.

When Luke wakes up, his hosts' shock is twofold. First, the young man seems to have no inkling of his lupine identity, let alone how to shift. Second, he’s Gabe’s fated mate. Gabriel's alpha nature needs an omega, but can these two wounded men overcome their scars and shadows to heal and start again? Or will the past block their chance at a happy future?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heart Candies Publishing
• Release date: Jan 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9780995805057

Book preview

One

Same shit, different town, Jack said, tugging down the brim of his ball cap over his grey eyes as Luke pulled their truck and trailer up to a stop.

Don't swear, the older man said, rolling his eyes when Jack snickered and slouched down into his seat. Nineteen and already world-weary, Jack Lewis had been Luke's bunk buddy for the last six months. Luke didn't like to see the younger kids out on the road, but Jack had shown up at the edge of the carnival bruised, pale, looking hungry and desperate for work. Luke hadn't been able to turn him down. Jack didn't talk much about his past, and Luke wasn't about to press the younger man. He knew what it was like to be a stray on the road, not wanting to put a name to whatever it was that chased you. C'mon, he said, giving Jack's shoulder a light whack as he opened up the cabin door. The show won't set itself up.

Jack grumbled at him but was out of the truck cab without having to be asked twice. It was one of the reasons Luke kept the kid around. Jack worked hard and did a minimum of complaining. Also, Jack rarely asked questions about Luke's history.

Angel's Rest. Pretty name, pretty place. Dominique ambled up beside their trailer. A slight woman with a head of sandy blonde hair that matched Luke's own so much they were mistaken for siblings sometimes, she smiled up at him and then gave a stretch. You ready to take the local citizens for every penny they're worth?

Mmm, Luke said, eyeing the field that the carnival would set up. Warren and Sidlesham's Caravan of Delights was an old-school style carnival. It was made up of Cirque dropouts like Dominique, a few weirdoes that liked the hermit lifestyle of traveling, and people on the run like Jack and Luke who had few skills but the ability to lift heavy things and maybe trick a local fellow out of his paycheck.

Luke had gotten excellent at the former over the ten years he'd been with W&S. It was why he had the nicest trailer, and Jack as a helper. The more time Luke spent getting people to lay down their money and gamble, the more he made the carnival.

Whatever, Oregon's no nicer than anywhere else, Jack said as he breezed by, a load of the wooden slats that made up the base of their booth on his shoulder. Luke partially agreed with him. The switchback road to get up to the cliffs and reach Angel's Rest hadn't been fun with the trailer hooked onto the back of the truck. There'd been a few moments that Luke felt like he'd mainlined a pot of coffee as adrenaline rushed through his veins.

Kids, Dominique said, shaking her head. Too much attitude, too much energy. I don't know how you put up with him. She leaned in and gave Luke a quick squeeze around the waist. I'm going to help with the tent raising. Dinner's going to be at six. Don't forget to eat tonight.

Luke sighed and watched her walk off. She was forever reminding him to eat, to sleep more, to take care of himself. She was like the mother he didn't want, and she was two years younger than him. When Jack dropped a piece of booth siding and cursed, Luke jerked himself out of his thoughts and went to help the younger man.

Half an hour later, the booth was upright and just needing all of the small pieces brought into it, along with the prizes to be hung. Luke stared into a box of pink and blue stuffed lions for long minutes until Jack elbowed him.

If you're looking for the meaning of life, it's not in there, Jack said with a grin, hauling out an armful of the sloe-eyed creatures. He stepped up onto a ladder and began hanging them onto the ceiling, where they dangled sadly from hooks. Luke felt like he could emphasize with their state, feeling a bit like he was twisting on a hook himself. There was a stale feeling inside of him that had been growing over the last few months. Every week was the same. Drive, set up, chat up locals, smile way too much until his face hurt, go back to his trailer and sleep, tear down, drive. That wasn't what he'd wanted for his life. But then, did he deserve what he wanted? Wasn't it enough that every so often he happened across a good-looking young guy who didn't mind kissing him in the shadows and giving him a little bit of comfort at night? Wasn't it enough that his carnival family didn't care about his sexual preferences, and never blinked twice at who might come stumbling out of his trailer in the morning?

Even Jack was a decent roommate and usually bunked in with somebody else on those nights, and never said a word about it afterward. Speaking of Jack...

Don't you want to go to school? Luke asked as he passed up another handful of depressed stuffed animals. Upon the top of the ladder, surrounded by fake fur, Jack laughed.

Nah. I'm good. Give me a beer, ladies, and the open road, and I'm happy, Jack said, holding his hand down for a lion. Luke gave it to him.

I thought you said you wouldn't drink until you were twenty-one, Luke couldn't keep the nagging tone out of his voice and he hated himself for it. He wasn't even close to thirty yet. He shouldn't be using that tone on anybody.

Whatever, Mom. Just goes to prove my point. Guys like me, people like us? We don't go to school and follow the regular life rules that everyone else does. Jack jumped off the ladder, landing with a thud. He snapped it closed and hauled it under one arm. Why are you asking the profound questions? Missed your calling as a guidance counsellor?

Luke shook his head and looked out over where the rest of the carnival was coming together, the bright painted booths being set up by the people he'd come to call his family for the last decade. Just wondering if this is it for me, I guess. Stupid thoughts are rattling around in my brain.

Jack laughed and punched Luke in the shoulder gently.

This is it for you, Luke, but that's a good thing. Just us and the road, for the rest of our lives. Jack gave him a quick salute, tugging his ball cap down again over his brown curls, and bounced out of the booth. Luke sighed and let his gaze wander over the field again.

If only he deserved to have more, for the rest of his life, than this.

Two

The wind picking up off the lake was doing nothing to calm Gabriel Malone's temper. He was pacing along the dock, his blue eyes tracing the shoreline. His broad shoulders were tense, and if Levi Wilson had twenty bucks in his pocket, he'd bet every dollar that Gabe's wolf was fighting him for dominance.

Not for the first time did he wish his cousin had a mate that would settle him down. They'd just landed the job looking after a large estate a month back, finally a place out in the wilds of Oregon where they could live in relative peace and quiet. Gabe didn't do too well living in the city, any city, and he wasn't friendly enough for even a small town.

Nope, Angel's Rest was the perfect place for them because of the mass amounts of farmlands and forested area, and in this case, the comfy digs they'd scored when Levi had found them the job. Some wealthy man from England had recently bought up a 'country retreat' for himself and had needed a gamekeeper. Levi had seen the ad go up and had jumped at the chance for a place to settle down and get comfortable. They'd been roaming for far too long.

The job had come complete with a comfortable log cabin, as the ad had said, but in reality, it was a six-bedroom executive chalet of some sort that the previous owner had built for as a base for hunting. Given the mirrors installed above the bed in the master bedroom, Levi privately thought this had been a cabin for 'hunting' the opposite sex rather than animals, but who was he to judge? Besides, Gabe had claimed the biggest room as alpha of their two-wolf pack.

If Gabe wanted to stare at himself mournfully while he fell asleep, that was Gabe's problem. Lord knew that the other wolf had enough woes weighing him down that he'd earned a little sulking in the dark.

The percolator hissed, and Levi turned, ready to pour himself a mug with gratitude. After a moment of hesitation, he poured a second cup, black, just the way Gabe liked it. Maybe coffee would put the man in a better mood.

Not bothering with shoes, even as