QSFer Kaje Harper has a new MM Paranormal book out, Hidden Wolves Book 2: Unexpected Demands.
He’d rather fight enemy wolves and rogue humans than face his own heart.
When Aaron took down a violent, power-crazed wolf and inherited half a pack, he knew being Alpha wasn’t going to be easy. A week later, he’s finding out what an understatement that was. Other werewolves are calling for the extermination of his pack’s gay wolf, or for Aaron’s own death, and the risk of exposure to humans is growing.
Aaron can’t afford to let his long-suppressed sexuality escape his rigid control. When one of his younger wolves is in trouble, it’s simply Aaron’s job as Alpha to help and protect him. But keeping a cool distance from a young man who appeals to all his senses could be Aaron’s toughest challenge.
This is a rerelease of the 2012 original with light editing. Content warning for substance abuse, some violence.
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Excerpt
I sat up straighter and let my wolf come to the fore. Time to be Alpha. The man on the other side of the door was near the bottom of my pack’s rankings and urgently in need of a good father figure. Or maybe a good spanking; at this point I could go either way.
“Come in, Zach,” I said in a conversational tone, not bothering to raise my voice. We may have lacked weird powers and super strength, but acute hearing? That we wolves had in spades.
The door opened slowly and the young man behind it came into my study. He was small and lightly built, with dark hair and eyes, and the smooth, easy gait of a born athlete. Of course, all my wolves had that, a gift to their human forms from the wolf. The kid had his chin up and his eyes were defiant. Brat knows he’s wrong, but he’s not going to make this easy.
“Shut the door and come here,” I told him, as his mouth opened for whatever cocky greeting or justification he’d come up with while waiting. He did as I asked. By the time he reached the front of my desk, he’d taken measure of my expression and thought better of speaking first. I let him stand there silently and just glared at him while I opened our pack bond.
I was definitely better at cutting bond contact down to the barest thread and opening it at will, but once open, the intensity was still excessive. From Zach, I got a heart-pounding mix of anxiety, embarrassment, and fear. And one hell of a headache. His for a change, not mine. I didn’t let the impact show in my expression.
Looking more closely, I sniffed and wrinkled my nose. “Just how much did you drink last night?”
His olive skin couldn’t hide his flush. “Not that much.”
“I can still smell the booze on you,” I said coldly. “Unless you had more again this morning?”
“Hair of the dog,” he tossed off, aiming for nonchalance.
“You’ll note that refers to dogs, not wolves,” I snapped. “Wasn’t last night’s binge enough?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “I’m told you decided to get drunk with some of your human friends, began cruising for trouble, and ended up spray-painting the word BIGOT in giant orange letters on the side of Dan’s house. Is that right?”
I could feel his jolt of surprise when I mentioned the spray paint, the moment’s hesitation when he considered denying it, and the fear that went with giving up that denial. My bonds might still be too deep for comfort when I opened them up, but at least my wolves were never going to be able to lie to me.
“I didn’t plan it. Things just sort of happened.”
I eyed him. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-one,” he said, with a touch of defiance. When my glare didn’t waver, he added, “Almost.”
“Almost” was true. There was only a week left to his full majority, but almost wasn’t completely, and the legal drinking age was twenty-one. Which gave me leverage, had I needed any more than being his Alpha.
“You decided that our pack wasn’t in enough trouble? You had to add underage drinking, drunk driving, and vandalism to the mix? Not to mention antagonizing the fourth-ranked wolf of the only pack that’s even marginally behind us right now?”
“I didn’t get caught. No one will know…” He trailed off because obviously someone did know.
I sighed. “Zach, tell me. What the hell am I supposed to do with you…?
Author Bio
I get asked about my name a lot. It’s not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I was born in Montreal but I’ve lived for 30 years in Minnesota, where the two seasons are Snow-removal and Road-repair, where the mosquito is the state bird, and where winter can be breathtakingly beautiful. Minnesota’s a kind, quiet (if sometimes chilly) place and it’s home.
I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), mostly for my own entertainment, usually M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, sci-fi…) I also have a few Young Adult stories (under the pen name Kira Harp).
My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I have a weakness for closeted cops with honest hearts and teachers who speak their minds, and I was delighted and encouraged by the reception Mac and Tony received.
I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award winner for “Best Mystery-Thriller” Tracefinder: Contact. Readers can find a complete list of my books with links on my website at https://kajeharper.com/books/.
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