Patrick's Heart
Wolves of Climax 6
Patrick’s Heart
Cassidy Lyons is forced to face a world where fantasy and reality collide. After witnessing Patrick shift into her red wolf, she’s scared and confused. But his raw sexuality and dominant aura keep luring her back. Can she accept that her lover is one of the forest’s deadliest predators?
Patrick’s not impressed that the rest of his pack refuses to come clean with Cassidy. He’s the odd man out after volunteering to reveal his wolf. It wasn’t the magical experience he’d hoped for, only acting to tear them apart. After spending a lifetime carrying a deep-seated hatred of humans, he’s ready to do anything to win his little human back.
When a threat comes to Climax, the pack must work together to protect Cassidy. But as soon as they get a chance to complete the mating bond, Garret discovers there is much more to Cassidy and her family drama than any of them could have imagined.
NOTE! You are purchasing Siren's newest serialized imprint, the LoveXtreme Forever Series. This is Book 6 of 7 in the Wolves of Climax collection. These books are not stand-alone. Each is a continuation of the previous book and must be read in the numbered order. Each book may end on a cliffhanger but usually with a happy-for-now for the heroine and one or more men. The final book contains a happily forever after for the heroine and all her men.
Genre:
Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length:
25,186 words
Wolves of Climax 6
Stacey Espino
LOVEXTREME FOREVER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: LoveXtreme Forever
PATRICK’S HEART
E-book ISBN:
978-1-62241-720-9
First E-book Publication: November 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of
Patrick’s Heart
by Stacey Espino from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
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This is Stacey Espino’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Espino’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
Dedicated to Robin Womack and Megan Schall. Two readers who help make all the effort worth it.
PATRICK’S HEART
Wolves of Climax 6
STACEY ESPINO
Copyright © 2012
One
Cassidy tried to convince herself she was watching a horror movie, only there was no screen. She wasn’t dreaming, either. That would be too easy. Acres of darkened forest surrounded her, the sinister-looking branches reaching out from every direction, adding to her unease. The cool evening temperatures made her moist skin break out in gooseflesh.
The red wolf continued to stare at her. She remembered the beast the moment she saw its glowing eyes. It had visited her at the small river behind Garret’s cottage. She’d touched it, run her hands along its thick coat of fur. Not once had she felt afraid, but now she didn’t know what to feel. She couldn’t digest the connection between the wolf and Patrick. It was all impossible, too far fetched for her mind to process. She began to wobble, her reality so shattered that her mind began shutting down.
“Get her out of here,” shouted Garret.
Evan tried to lead her away, but her feet felt like lead. She kept staring at those eyes, a mix of shock and awe holding her attention. “How?” she murmured.
“I’ll take care of you, Cassidy. Don’t worry,” said Evan.
She felt safe in his arms. More than anything, she needed him to be her rock until she could come to grips with what was happening. Dozens of questions flashed in her mind, but she was too disoriented to articulate a sentence. The cold, the remoteness of their location, and the pack of vicious wolves were only afterthoughts. What really plagued her mind was Patrick. What had become of him? How had he transformed? She was reminded of all the crazy late-night specials about Big Foot and Loch Ness. Cassidy never believed in tall tales, but hadn’t she just witnessed something paranormal with her own eyes?
“Where we going?” she asked, as Evan whisked her away through the forest. There was a sense of urgency snapping in the air. She could scarcely see, but he ushered her through the maze of underbrush with ease. “What about the others?” She dared not say
“What about Patrick?”
Cassidy was terrified of the answer. Part of her was in love with her Viking miner. His red hair was usually covered with his tuque, his heavy jacket hiding plenty of inked muscle. He may have been rough around the edges, but she’d connected with him on numerous occasions. Now she didn’t know if he even existed at all.
“They’ll be fine. I promise,” he said.
Her mind wandered. She’d had sex with Patrick. The things she’d let him do to her body… Was he even a human being? He turned into a wolf, so did that make him a werewolf? The word alone terrified her.
She couldn’t tell how much time passed. When they finally stopped, they were at the edge of a lonely roadway, the moonlight casting a faint reflection off the asphalt. “We’ll get a ride out of here,” said Evan.
There were no vehicles in sight, and she doubted one would come along, especially at this hour.
“What about Garret, Travis, and Matthew? We can’t just leave them here.”
“A car’s coming,” he said, ignoring her question. She didn’t hear it or see the cones of light until several minutes later.
“You’re naked, Evan. It won’t stop for you.” She suddenly recalled her own nudity. Her clothes were likely strewn across the forest or ripped to shreds by Wolf-Patrick. She felt an emptiness grow inside her, a loss for the man she expected to spend the rest of her life with.
“Oh, it’ll stop.” As the car veered around the bend in the road, Evan leapt out into the road, his arms outstretched. He had the perfect male form, but any driver would probably be terrified. The car came to a screeching halt, swerving to the side to stop in time. Evan moved so fast she could hardly keep up with his actions. She fought to see through the darkness, wishing the moon’s energy was stronger.
A car door opened and a brief scuffle ensued. Everything was a blur of action. Then the passenger side door opened. “Get in.”
Cassidy peered into the open door. Evan was in the driver’s seat, and a large man was unconscious in the backseat. “What did you do?”
“We have to get out of here, Cassidy. I’ll explain everything later, but right now you need to listen.”
She settled in the passenger seat only to feel the strength of the acceleration a moment later. Her back hit the seat as they sped along the narrow back roads that cut through the dense northern forest.
“This isn’t our land, Cassidy. I’ll feel better once I have you on Gregor land.”
“Why? Are you going to explain this to me? And please don’t tell me I’m crazy and didn’t see the things I did.”
“I knew this day was coming, but I hoped Garret would have transitioned you better.”
“Are you talking about Patrick?”
He looked to the side as he drove, his beautiful eyes trained on her with such intensity her breath caught.
“Are you?” she repeated.
The Gregor miners were all best friends and coworkers, sharing the same small cabin. Surely they’d know if one of their ranks was actually a fucking werewolf. All the stories she’d heard since coming to Climax filtered through her mind. Was Patrick the crazy wolf killer everyone was so terrified of?
“We’re almost there. Be patient, Cassidy.”
Be patient?
Her heart was beating a mile a minute. She was sitting in a strange car, completely naked, with an unconscious stranger in the backseat, and she’d just seen one of her lovers turn into an animal. Cassidy was completed lost and needed to be grounded in a hurry.
