Rogue Wolf, page 1
part #7 of Aspen Valley Wolf Pack Series
Rogue Wolf
Aspen Valley Wolf Pack
Amber Ella Monroe
Contents
Author’s Note
Newsletter
Other Paranormal Romance Titles
Story Summary
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Message from Amber Ella Monroe
Aspen Valley Wolf Pack
Wolf Unbound
Outlaw Unleashed
Preview: Shifter Untamed
Preview: Mountain Wolf
Aspen Valley Wolf Pack
Newsletter
About the Author
Rogue Wolf (Aspen Valley Wolf Pack)
Copyright © May 2017 by Amber Ella Monroe
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, places, incidents, and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or person, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Author’s Note
Thank you for purchasing a copy of ROGUE WOLF After enjoying the story, I’ve add a couple of extras and sneak peeks that you might also enjoy.
Included in this edition are two bonus books after the end of the story, Rogue Wolf.
Visit Amber Ella Monroe on the web at amberellabooks.com for more paranormal romance stories!
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If you enjoy romance with an edgier side, subscribe to Amber Ella’s newsletter HERE, and be one of the first to be notified of new releases, current contests, giveaways, and book-related news.
For paranormal romance novels, visit Amber Ella Monroe on the web at http://amberellabooks.com
For contemporary romance novels, visit Ambrielle Kirk on the web at http://booksbyambrielle.com
Other Paranormal Romance Titles
CAEDMON WOLVES
Wolf’s Haven
Wolf’s Promise
Wolf’s Touch
Wolf’s Desire
Wolf’s Strength
Wolf’s Honor
Wolf’s Temptation
DRESDAN COVEN
Prelude
Donor
Requiem
The Dresdan Coven Trilogy
WOLF IN EXILE
Captured
Unchained
Ascend
Reclaimed
Bound
Wolf in Exile: The Complete Edition
ASPEN VALLEY WOLF PACK
Shifter Untamed
Wolf Unbound
Outlaw Unleashed
Omega Unmasked
Rebel Unveiled
Mountain Wolf
Rogue Wolf
If you enjoy romance with an edgier side, subscribe to Amber Ella’s newsletter, http://smarturl.it/amberellas-list, and be one of the first to be notified of new releases, current contests, giveaways, and book-related news.
For paranormal romance novels, visit Amber Ella Monroe on the web at http://amberellabooks.com
For contemporary romance novels, visit Ambrielle Kirk on the web at http://booksbyambrielle.com
Story Summary
ROGUE WOLF (ASPEN VALLEY WOLF PACK)
A dominant rogue wolf meets his match in a wealthy but tempting pediatric nurse. What do they have in common? An attraction so invincible that nothing they do will extinguish the fire between them.
Deacon Remy left Aspen Valley over a year ago believing there was nothing left for him. He gave up on his Pack. He gave up on finding his true mate. He sought solitude. He became a rogue. It took him some time to gather the strength to face his fears. Now he’s back in Aspen Valley and he’s determined to make amends. What he doesn’t expect to find is the woman who wears his mate mark. Without a doubt, he wants to claim her, but he’ll have to let go of the demons holding him down in the past before they can truly bond.
Monica Collins is so over nonsense relationships that seem to lead nowhere. But as the daughter of a rich doctor, she’s expected to marry into a family with money. She’s running out of options and she’s not one to throw herself at any man’s feet. But then a bad boy rogue shifter shows up in town. Being near him fuels an intense attraction she only thought possible in fairytales. Deacon may not be a rich playboy, but he most certainly knows how to fulfill all her needs. Monica is willing to risk everything by choosing to do what she knows feels right over what she’s expected to do.
Opposites attract in this sexy shifter story of falling in love despite the odds.
1
Deacon Remy sped down the long stretch of highway trusting his motorcycle to get him across county lines before the storm hit. Over the past several days, he had traveled straight through the state of Tennessee, only stopping to get in a couple hours of rest here and there. He was more than ready to reach his final destination of Aspen Valley where he had some unfinished business to tend to. After over a year away, he was eager to find out if his old hometown had changed at all.
With the threat of bad weather on the horizon, there were no cars or stray pedestrians in sight. Not one cop car strolled along the deserted highway. That was a good thing. Deacon had a lengthy record with the Tellevue County police department. The number of speeding tickets he'd gotten while living in the Valley had surpassed the number of fingers on each hand. But he hadn't come back to Aspen Valley to cause trouble or anything of that sort.
Rain pellets splashed against the visor of his helmet. When he looked back and up into the sky, the dark clouds seemed to gain up on him like a bad omen. He revved the engine and increased his speed by a few more digits.
As Deacon turned the curve, he caught a flash of something shiny and red up ahead at the bend in the road. He hadn't expected the need to stop, but when he saw a woman bent over the hood of a red Corvette, he acted on impulse by applying the brakes. His bike skidded to a screeching halt in the center of the barren highway. It took everything in him to hold his balance on the bike. Although his drag racing days were over, he had remembered enough to prevent a serious accident.
With his heart racing and head spinning, he tugged off his helmet and directed his gaze to the woman on the side of the road. She'd seen him stop and stood by her car, waving her hand back and forth in the air. She was desperate for help just like anyone with a broken down vehicle on the side of the highway would be. Not only that, the storm was catching up with both their asses. What the hell was she doing out here anyway? Did she not heed the radio warnings to vacate the roads and seek shelter?
Deacon wheeled his bike over to help her.
"Thank God you drove by!" she said. "I don't know what happened. I heard these strange sounds coming from the hood and then the check engine light popped on."
She was panicked as evidenced by the look in her pearl gray eyes and from hearing her labored breathing. Her long auburn hair was pulled up high into a ponytail. The spandex, exercise-type gear she wore clung to her like a second skin, showing off a trim form and long, tanned legs. She looked innocent. Beautiful. Perfect. And well-manicured. Based on his knowledge of luxury cars, Deacon could tell that the little red Corvette had been customized, changing his earlier observation that she was the typical girl-next-door type into possibly being a spoiled rich kid. It didn't matter who she was. He was going to help her anyway.
"Are you okay?" he asked, jumping off his bike and then propping it up on the kickstand.
"Yeah, I think so, but my car isn't. I was just trying to get to my dad's house before the storm." She gestured toward the bundle of nasty clouds. "I couldn't even get a cell phone reception."
"Everything will be okay. Let me take a look. Keys?" He held out his hand.
When she dropped the keys inside of his palm, her fingers grazed his skin and a heated vibe passed between them. He blamed the reaction on the sudden need to reach cover before the storm hit and not a need for something else.
Deacon turned the key in the engine, mentally ticking off the list of possibilities for her car breaking down. He even checked the inner workings and wirings under the hood. He ruled out a bad battery and almost anything else visible to him. This wasn't something he could diagnose or fix on the side of the road. Not with the threat of lightning flashing in the distance.
"Kind of hard to tell," he told her. "I'll need more time to diagnose her. Or you could just get her dragged into a shop once the storm passes."
"Okay, but I've tried calling roadside assistance and the lines are all busy."
"Your best bet is to wait until after that storm passes. Why were you on the road again?"
"I was at a friend's gym in Cross City. I thought I could make it across town in time, but I miscalculated. I should’ve waited it out."
“Don’t worry. Where were you headed?"
"I'm staying in As
"I'm riding out that way. I can give you a lift."
She swallowed visibly and then looked him up and down. She also looked to the left of them where the storm was folding in over what looked like all of Aspen Valley.
"I…uh…"
"You don't want to get stuck out here in that storm. I promise I won't bite you," he said with a grin.
A smile crossed her face. "I appreciate your help." She looked at his motorcycle. "But I don't want to slow you down or anything like that. I'll stay behind in my car. You go."
"I'm not gonna leave you out here alone. My grandmama taught me better than that. Either you want the lift or you want us both to stay out here and wait out the storm. Which one will it be?"
She still looked hesitant, but Deacon didn't blame her. He was a complete stranger offering her a lift. By this time, she could probably tell he was a shifter. He had never hidden that he wasn't a human. He'd had no reason to.
He peeled off his right riding glove and held out his hand. "I'm Deacon Remy. I was raised in Aspen Valley. I was on my way there to visit old friends. If you need to check my ID or something, better do it now. If we wait here any longer, both you and I will be caught up in this mess. Now I don't know about you, but I don't want to be cooped up in a car in the middle of a storm."
She sighed reluctantly, and then her cool gray eyes assessed almost every inch of his top half, with her attention lingering on the band of tattoos covering both his arms. For a moment, he thought she would turn him down and take her chances in the storm, but then she extended her own hand.
"Hi Deacon. If it's not too much to ask, can you drop me off near my dad's subdivision? I can walk the rest of the way in."
"I can do better than that. By the time we get into town, it'll be raining wolves and bears outside. Type your address in and I'll get you to your front door."
Deacon directed her to his motorcycle and she pushed her address into the GPS unit. He lifted his trunk bag and pulled out a spare helmet.
"Slip this on and then hop on," he told her. "You're not afraid of riding, are you?"
"No, I've ridden one before. Not solo…but no, I'm not afraid.”
She took the helmet and secured it to her head.
When her softness connected with his back, soldering heat coursed through Deacon, reminding him that he desired something out of his reach. He tried his damnedest to subdue those feelings before starting the engine, but his second half fought him every step of the way.
His animal spirit had awakened at the very moment she touched him, lingering right on the surface of his skin. This was a strange feeling, especially since his wolf hadn't felt this alive in months. It was as if the touch of the woman had revived his spirit. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder if the reaction resulted from him returning to his hometown after being away for so long or from the effects of having a tempting but nameless woman on his bike with him.
A light misting of rain came down over them, reminding Deacon that he had no time to lose.
We need to concentrate, he reminded his wolf.
Both he and his wolf were distracted, but a distraction wouldn't help them reach shelter before the storm hit.
Deacon reached behind him, took one of her hands, and brought it to rest on his waist.
"You need to hold on tight. I won't be riding like I'm driving Miss Daisy," he told her.
She giggled. The sound of her laughter was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. When she placed the other hand on his waist, his desire intensified.
2
Monica was thankful that she didn't have to spend hours in her car waiting for a tow truck to arrive. Deacon Remy's prediction had been correct. By the time they made it across the county lines, the rainfall had gone from a light sprinkle to a steady drizzle. The streets of Aspen Valley were clear with only a few stragglers here and there rushing to get to various destinations.
When Deacon rolled up to the gate of her subdivision, he flipped his visor and looked over his shoulder at her.
"How do I get you inside?"
"I left my remote on the visor, so I'll have to type in a code. Pull the bike up to the keypad," she called out over the sound of thunder rolling in overhead.
When he parked the bike, she jumped off and rushed over to the keypad. By this point, her clothes were drenched. As she typed in the numbers, lightning cracked violently behind them, causing her to scream and jump. She didn't hear any laughter, but she was certain that Deacon was mentally laughing at her reaction. She pushed in the code and dashed back over to the motorcycle as the gates opened.
Her body trembled when a wave of cold air tumbled past them. She tugged on her helmet, jumped back on the bike, and wrapped her arms around Deacon once again. They weren't going fast or anything like that, but this stranger—Deacon—gave her a sense of security.
"You okay?" Deacon asked.
She nodded and pressed her chest against his back, realizing that his warmth had been keeping her from being cold while the rain pelted them. She only shivered against him a couple of minutes before his heat radiated into her. He was warmer than most people she touched. And with a background in nursing and pediatric care, she concluded that he was either running a fever or incredibly worked up trying to get them to safety before the brunt of the storm hit. It had to be the latter as there had been no sign when she first encountered him on the side of the road that he was ill.
Deacon rode his bike down the neighborhood streets—slower this time. In fact, he paid attention to the speed limit signs quite well here. On the open highway…not so much. But he handled his motorcycle like a pro. The ride was smooth and she never felt frightened with each tilt of the bike or every acceleration of the engine.
When a curtain of rain cascaded down on them, he put more pressure on the gas as his GPS directed him right to her doorstep. The outdoor light was on which meant her dad was still up and possibly even waiting for her to return home. He worked odd hours and rotating shifts as an ER doctor, contracting his services between two area hospitals.
Although she'd just met Deacon Remy, there was no way that she could run to the safety of her home while he waited it out in the storm.
When he rolled the bike to a stop in her courtyard, she tore off the helmet and said, "Come inside until the storm passes."
He shook his head and then helped her off the bike.
"I'm all good. Your husband must be waiting inside," he said.
“I'm not married. You're not going to ride off in the storm, are you?"
He grinned. "I've ridden in storms before. I'm an experienced driver. I'll be okay. Plus, my next stop isn't far away from here. Go on inside. It's pouring."
She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Please just come inside. I'd be worried all night if you left in this mess." She could barely see three inches in front of her as rain drained down her face. She wondered how he had seen anything at all in the mess. He must have had excellent eyesight.
Deacon looked at the front door worried. He seemed more worried about entering her home than injuring himself trying to maneuver through a storm on a motorcycle.
"I can ditch my motorcycle and take cover in the woods. It's no problem. You, on the other hand, need to get inside. You're freezing cold," he told her.
"Will you just come on inside until the rain stops?" she urged, wrapping her arms around herself and not moving from the spot.
"I'll walk you up to the door," he said, reluctantly.
He turned the engine off and they hurried up the walkway. She fished her keys out of her pocketbook, jammed it inside the lock, and pushed herself inside the foyer. Deacon, on the other hand, remained rooted on top of the rubber welcome mat. He was drenched from head to toe and she took a moment to check him out. He was breathtaking and the most striking man she'd ever seen. His t-shirt clung to his tanned skin. She could make out every ripple of muscle on him. His jeans were matted to his thick thighs. He had her heart doing flips that she never thought was possible. She wasn't even shivering anymore. She was hot and blushing for him. She realized that she hadn't even given him her name. Strangely, she now wanted to give him whatever he asked for.
