Her Wild Defender

By Amber Cross

Bodyguard Cole Grayson is assigned to protect archaeologist Brynn Connor from an unknown assassin. The only problem? The prickly woman has an issue with her "personal space" and doing his job puts him directly in it. But this werewolf isn't about to quit. Sparks, and fur, are guaranteed to fly!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amber Cross
• Release date: Mar 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798218170660

Amber Cross

Amber Cross was raised on a family farm in New England, one of a dozen siblings, each one inspiring my writing in some way. I still live in that same small town with my husband and the youngest of our five children. I love spending time in the woods, in the water, and watching people because every one of them has a unique and fascinating story to tell.

Book preview

Her Wild Defender

by

Amber Cross

Copyright © 2023 Amber Cross.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

ISBN: 979-8-218-17067-7 (Paperback)

ISBN: 979-8-218-17066-0 (ebook)

Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.

Front cover image by Ashlyn Chase

Printed by IngramSpark in the United States of America.

First printing edition 2023.

www.amber-cross.com

Table of Contents

Chapter                                                            Page Number

1      Grayson      4

2      Brynn      8

3      Grayson      12

4      Brynn      17

5      Grayson      20

6      Brynn      23

7      Grayson      27

8      Brynn      31

9      Grayson      35

10      Brynn      39

11      Grayson      42

12      Brynn      45

13      Grayson      48

14      Brynn      52

15      Grayson      56

16      Brynn      59

17      Grayson      63

18      Brynn      66

19      Grayson      71

Links to Newsletter, Related Works      72

Excerpt from LEVI: A Wardens of the Wild novel      73

Chapter One

Grayson

Cole Grayson extended his legs beneath the seat in front of him and tried cracking his spine, but it was no use. Stuffing a six-and-a-half-foot man into coach on a small plane was like cramming Jack back into the box after he popped out.

At least he had the porthole view to distract him from his discomfort.

Wooded highlands rolled toward the horizon, green and blue and violet hues with a hint of gold on the westernmost peaks. Unlike the jagged Beartooth Mountains back home in Montana, these were small and round, but so densely forested he couldn’t see any trails or bare spots from this elevation.

He could run for miles in this forest. Anyone who caught sight of him would doubt their eyes, since gray wolves were supposed to be extinct in North Carolina, and that disbelief would keep him safe.

Thank God.

Or maybe he should be thanking Dario and Rachel. After months working in D.C., he couldn’t wait to leave those crowded ten square miles sweltering beneath a haze of early summer humidity. He still wouldn’t be using his unique skills, but at least he was in the backwoods. If his trainers had sent him to yet another suburban maze, he might have quit.

The fasten-seatbelt light came on. He snapped the latch into the buckle and gave the webbed strap an extra tug for good measure, adjusting it around the badge at his waistline.

That gleaming metal shield identified him as agent 20497. Dario said POTUS suggested the high numbers, multiple digits giving the illusion they were a large force rather than a small band and, since the man in the oval office had personally sanctioned their program through a lesser-known agency in the Justice Department, he got to write the rules.

The rules for this assignment were simple. Find the scientist and stay as close to her as possible until they could discover who put a contract on her head then neutralize that threat.

Oh, and don’t fall in love with the asset.

No problem.

Three and a half years ago, he’d left the pack in search of a mate. A late dispersal by any wolf’s standards, but first his father was injured and then his twin sister became ill. No way could he leave his mother to mourn one and nurse the other with his younger siblings approaching that difficult age, so he stayed until things were under control again.

When it was finally time to go, he chose the Big Apple. Eight million people in a city that never sleeps. What could be more perfect for a night-loving beast like himself? Despite those odds, he left New York still single.

By then he had heard about PDA—Personal Defense Agency to the public, Paranormal Defense Agency to those in the know. He joined a handful of other recruits for training, swore allegiance to their cause, and went out on his first assignment.

Beautiful, isn’t it? The air hostess paused in the aisle beside him with a plastic trash bag in her gloved hands, her gaze on the mountains surrounding Asheville Regional Airport.

Cole nodded his agreement. His vomeronasal organ, active in wolves and useless to humans, could smell the pheromones coming from her, but he didn’t have time to take her up on her unspoken offer. Too bad because she was pretty and he wouldn’t mind a carefree romp, but he was on a mission, so when he returned his attention to the view, she sighed and added his empty cup to the bag before moving on to the next row of passengers.

Minutes later the pilot announced their impending arrival time and cautioned everyone to remain seated while they waited for another plane to clear the runway. Cole hoped for a smooth landing and a smoother assignment.

That would be a welcome change.

His first asset was heir to a Midwestern beer empire. Someone had attempted to kidnap the college freshman, but after just two days in his company, any sane kidnapper would have paid the parents to take him back. Cole spent eight miserable weeks babysitting the entitled, ungrateful whelp before the would-be kidnappers were finally apprehended—upperclassmen from his university thinking they could make a quick buck only to earn themselves a different type of education from a radically different institution for a minimum of five years.

Job over, he escaped the crowded Chicago campus for a round of debriefing with Dario and Rachel followed by specialized training to prepare him for the next assignment. Six months in Washington, D.C. protecting the House Majority Whip after she received threatening letters filled with suspicious white powder. Undercover work, this time. He’d shaved his beard, cut his hair, and popped in colored contacts. Stuck to her like the lovesick fiancé he pretended to be while better known agencies provided public protection and investigated the threat.

The operation started out well enough. Then the congresswoman got it into her head they should stop playacting and take their relationship to the next level. Her words. Since she was a political ally to the president, he did his best to fend her off until the organization targeting her was uncovered. Then he left her crying at the office, convincing everyone their relationship and breakup were real.

Dario and Rachel said that proved he was good at undercover work.

The plane banked and made its descent.

Half an hour later he was heading west toward Gorges State Park when his phone rang, and a familiar number flashed across the dashboard screen of his rental car. Accept call, he commanded, then, Hi, Mom.

Hey, honey. I take it you’re on the ground?

My tires are.

A sigh of relief gusted across the wireless waves. His mother hated flying and worried any time one of her kids was in the