Blood Wolf, page 1
BLOOD WOLF
HELEN HARDT VINTAGE COLLECTION
HELEN HARDT
HARDT & SONS
CONTENTS
Blood Wolf
Dedication
Also By Helen Hardt
Praise For Helen Hardt
Author’s Note
Prologue
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
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
A Note From Helen
About the Author
BLOOD WOLF
HH VINTAGE COLLECTION
Helen Hardt
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This book is an original publication of Helen Hardt
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
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Copyright © 2022 Helen Hardt, LLC dba Hardt & Sons
Cover Design: Helen Hardt
Print ISBN: 978-1-952841-12-5
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic format without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
* * *
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For Dan McCune, who loved this story when he first read it ages ago.
ALSO BY HELEN HARDT
Follow Me Series:
Follow Me Darkly
Follow Me Under
Follow Me Always
Darkly
* * *
Wolfes of Manhattan
Rebel
Recluse
Runaway
Rake
Reckoning
* * *
Billionaire Island (Wolfes continuation)
Escape
* * *
Gems of Wolfe Island (Wolfes continuation)
Moonstone
Raven
Garnet
Buck (coming soon)
* * *
Steel Brothers Saga:
Trilogy One—Talon and Jade
Craving
Obsession
Possession
Trilogy Two—Jonah and Melanie
Melt
Burn
Surrender
Trilogy Three—Ryan and Ruby
Shattered
Twisted
Unraveled
Trilogy Four—Bryce and Marjorie
Breathless
Ravenous
Insatiable
Trilogy Five—Brad and Daphne
Fate
Legacy
Descent
Trilogy Six—Dale and Ashley
Awakened
Cherished
Freed
Trilogy Seven—Donny and Callie
Spark
Flame
Blaze
Trilogy Eight—Brock and Rory (coming soon)
Smolder
Flare
Scorch
Blood Bond Saga:
Unchained
Unhinged
Undaunted
Unmasked
Undefeated
Sex and the Season:
Lily and the Duke
Rose in Bloom
Lady Alexandra’s Lover
Sophie’s Voice
Temptation Saga:
Tempting Dusty
Teasing Annie
Taking Catie
Taming Angelina
Treasuring Amber
Trusting Sydney
Tantalizing Maria
Standalone Novels and Novellas
Reunited
Misadventures:
Misadventures of a Good Wife (with Meredith Wild)
Misadventures with a Rockstar
The Cougar Chronicles:
The Cowboy and the Cougar
Calendar Boy
Daughters of the Prairie:
The Outlaw’s Angel
Lessons of the Heart
Song of the Raven
Collections:
Destination Desire
Her Two Lovers
* * *
Non-Fiction:
got style?
PRAISE FOR HELEN HARDT
WOLFES OF MANHATTAN
* * *
“It's hot, it's intense, and the plot starts off thick and had me completely spellbound from page one.”
~The Sassy Nerd Blog
* * *
“Helen Hardt…is a master at her craft.”
~K. Ogburn, Amazon
* * *
“Move over Steel brothers… Rock is everything!”
~Barbara Conklin-Jaros, Amazon
* * *
“Helen has done it again. She winds you up and weaves a web of intrigue.”
~Vicki Smith, Amazon
* * *
FOLLOW ME SERIES
* * *
“Hardt spins erotic gold...”
~Publishers Weekly
* * *
“22 Best Erotic Novels to Read”
~Marie Claire Magazine
* * *
“Intensely erotic and wildly emotional...”
~New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones
* * *
“With an edgy, enigmatic hero and loads of sexual tension, Helen Hardt's fast-paced Follow Me Darkly had me turning pages late into the night!”
~New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner
* * *
“Christian, Gideon, and now...Braden Black.”
~Books, Wine, and Besties
* * *
“A tour de force where the reader will be pulled in as if they're being seduced by Braden Black, taken for a wild ride, and left wanting more.”
~USA Today Bestselling Author Julie Morgan
“Hot. Sexy. Intriguing. Page-Turner. Helen Hardt checks all the boxes with Follow Me Darkly!”
~International Bestselling Author Victoria Blue
STEEL BROTHERS SAGA
“Craving is the jaw-dropping book you need to read!”
~New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones
"Completely raw and addictive."
~#1 New York Times bestselling author Meredith Wild
“Talon has hit my top five list…up there next to Jamie Fraser and Gideon Cross.”
~USA Today bestselling author Angel Payne
“Talon and Jade’s instant chemistry heats up the pages...”
~RT Book Reviews
“Sorry Christian and Gideon, there’s a new heartthrob for you to contend with. Meet Talon. Talon Steel.”
~Booktopia
“Such a beautiful torment—the waiting, the anticipation, the relief that only comes briefly before more questions arise, and the wait begins again… Check. Mate. Ms. Hardt…”
~Bare Naked Words
“Made my heart stop in my chest. Helen has given us such a heartbreakingly beautiful series.”
~Tina, Bookalicious Babes
BLOOD BOND SAGA
“An enthralling and rousing vampire tale that will leave readers waiting for the sequel.”
~Kirkus Reviews
"Dangerous and sexy. A new favorite!"
~New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Day
“A dark, intoxicating tale.”
~Library Journal
“Helen dives into the paranormal world of vampires and makes it her own.”
~Tina, Bookalicious Babes
“Throw out everything you know about vampires—except for that blood thirst we all love and lust after in these stunning heroes—and expect to be swept up in a sensual story that twists and turns in so many wonderfully jaw-dropping ways.”
~Angel Payne, USA Today bestselling author
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Welcome to the Helen Hardt Vintage Collection! These are the back list of my back list—stories that I wrote at the beginning of my
Except this one was published.
Blood Wolf was published by The Wild Rose Press in an anthology called Got Wolf in 2009 as a result of my winning a wolf shifter writing contest sponsored by the publisher. After the rights reverted to me, I published it again in 2013 through the now defunct Musa Publishing.
I think it sold around five copies total.
I’m not kidding.
Reviews were excellent, except for one that stated (and I’m paraphrasing), “Damian is aggressive, domineering, and just a hair short of insane.”
Yeah, that reviewer got my wolf shifter hero. Exactly what I was going for.
I didn’t save that one, obviously, but I did save these two:
One of the best books I've read this year.
—Margo Arthur, The Romance Studio
This story was a treat, especially considering the subject matter. It’s not uncommon to hear stories of alpha men who meet “the one,” instantly glom onto their destined mates, and insist on claiming and protecting him. Ms. Hardt’s delivery of this theme, however, is quite unique—particularly the socially awkward nature of an independent woman attempting to interact with the populace as she’s chased around by an alpha male. It was both hilarious and highly believable… The side story of Isabella and Rex was intriguing as well. I hope these two have a story in the near future.
—Bitten by Books
My original plan was a four book series. The second book was to be Blood Witch and would focus on Rex and Isabella. But when Musa Publishing ceased operations in 2014 and my rights to Blood Wolf reverted once more, I put it on the back burner to focus on other projects.
Now it’s time to bring it out again. I hope you enjoy Damian and Suzanne’s story!
PROLOGUE
The wolf howled, scraping his paws against the bulwark of his prison. He hungered for food, for blood. For the hunt. His claws were dulled from pawing at the gray stone walls that surrounded him. Sometimes he scratched so hard, the sharp nails broke off and bled. Consumed by the need to escape, to hunt, to kill, he felt no pain. His rage darkened and grew stronger as his yelps became louder and more shrill.
The coppery aroma of his own blood fueled his lust for the hunt. His stomach rumbled. He bared his jagged, pointy teeth, growled again, and paced around the inside of his rock dungeon. In his head, rabbits, foxes, humans lay, all dead at his feet, their flesh ripped open by his cuspids.
He lowered his lupine snout to the ground and sniffed. Food was out there. Waiting for him. He picked up the earthy scent of the older human—the one who was kind to him. The aged man was near, somewhere close behind the animal’s cage. If the man were to open the door, the wolf would kill him without remorse.
In the barred window high above him, the full moon cast a luminous ray of light upon the floor. The wolf jumped against the stone door with a frenzied howl. He smelled the human’s iron-laced blood, heard his heart beating, his lungs expanding with air.
Muscle.
Bones.
Blood.
Meat.
The wolf turned and regarded a pile of splintered remnants, all that was left of the meager meal the human had left for him. The dead meat had sated his stomach hunger, but not his bloodlust. He wanted to hunt.
He needed to hunt.
To kill.
He licked his bleeding paws and then continued to sniff, picking up a new scent.
Musky.
Yeasty.
Female.
His cock grew hard. Harder than it had ever been. Gone was the desire to hunt, to kill, to consume the mangled raw flesh of his victim.
He wanted to copulate, spread his seed.
Now.
He threw his muscular body against the bolted stone door, yelping and howling louder than before. Again he pounded, bruising and bloodying himself, his thick black fur falling to the ground in clumps.
He continued until he collapsed from exhaustion, his body weakened, his unsated lust consuming him. He dreamed of mounting his mate, of thrusting himself into her.
Of claiming her.
1
Dumped.
Unceremoniously dumped by Wade Stallworth at the coffee shop across the street from her office.
So sorry. Someone else. Never expected this. A woman at the office. Soul mates. Still friends?
Suzanne had numbly nodded, murmured something about understanding, and walked back to her office. There she had sat, staring at the rock he had given her over a year ago. Why hadn’t he asked her to return it? She supposed the expense of such a bauble meant nothing to him.
Suzanne looked at her cousin, Isabella, who was driving the rented economy car down the dark and winding Scottish country road. Isabella was a self-proclaimed witch, but she wanted no part of black magic, as she called it. No help there. Suzanne didn’t believe in any of that stuff anyway. Still, the thought of Wade ending up with a case of blistering jock rash made her feel slightly better, if only for a second.
But the next second, the tears came again. Only a few, accompanied by quiet sobs. Isabella reached over and patted Suzanne’s thigh.
“God, I’m sorry, Bell. Here I go again.”
“It’s okay, Suzie. It’s going to take a while. You were with Wade for years.”
Suzanne nodded and wiped her nose. “You know, he never said I was beautiful. The man I marry should think I’m beautiful, shouldn’t he?”
“Of course he should,” Isabella said, “and you are.”
But Suzanne had never thought so. Instead of dark gray eyes, she had always wanted blue. And instead of her boring brown hair, she coveted Isabella’s blondness. Suzanne’s curves and long oval face paled in comparison to her cousin’s lithe build. Isabella, at five feet six and a half inches, was the perfect height and made Suzanne feel like an Amazon at five feet nine.
She choked back another sob. “I don’t want to ruin this trip for you.”
Suzanne had taken a leave of absence from her law firm to accompany Isabella to northern Scotland. Isabella’s grandmother, whom she barely knew, had died recently and left her only grandchild a small castle outside a remote little village called Padraig. Suzanne loved all things Highland and Gaelic. But the trip that should have been a dream come true was tainted by Isabella’s grandmother’s death and Suzanne’s own recent dumping.
“Don’t be silly.” Isabella rubbed Suzanne’s thigh again. “I want you here. I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise.”
Suzanne sighed. Isabella had been her rock since the Wade debacle. Suzanne was glad to be out of Denver, out of the whole freaking United States. Here in Scotland, Wade could become part of her past, and perhaps she could think about her future—her law practice, her desire for a home and children.
