Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance Heat Level: 3 Word Count: 85, 000 ISBN: 978-0-3695-1346-5 Editor: Lisa Petrocelli Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Elijah by N.J. Walters

Heat Level 3
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Seven Deadly Sins, 1

Bounty hunter and werewolf, Elijah Sin lives by one rule: Stay away from other werewolves and pack politics at all costs. Known as the seven deadly Sins, he and his brothers are outliers living on Sin Mountain in Kentucky.

Her daddy’s death has sent Kinley Wright on the run from her former pack to avoid a forced mating. Desperate for help, she tries to hire Eli, only to discover he’s a wolf, like her.

Under threat from her former pack, there is only one place Eli and Kinley can turn for help—his brothers. Blood will spill and lives will be lost. Trust is fragile between them, but the attraction is explosive. Even if they survive the coming storm their love might become a casualty.

Excerpt:

The simmering rage inside her exploded. She began to run, picking up speed until she was sprinting across the darkened parking lot. He spun around at the last second, but she didn’t stop. Their bodies slammed together with a force that took them to the ground. He grunted when they hit the asphalt and skidded several feet. They were still in motion when he rolled, reversing their positions so she was on the bottom. Before she had time to fight, he grabbed her hands and slammed them over her head.

“What the hell was that about? I could have hurt you.”

It was so absurd she began to laugh. When he frowned, she laughed harder. Tears of frustration trickled from the corners of her eyes.

“What’s so funny?”

“You…” She gasped for air. “You’re worried about me being hurt when I’ll be dead within days if you don’t help me.” She was verging on hysteria, but she’d reached the end of her tether. There hadn’t been time to grieve after her daddy’s unexpected death. On the heels of that tragedy had followed her uncle’s ultimatum—she could mate willingly or not, but she would mate a wolf of his choosing.

Elijah heaved a sigh, his breath wafting over her face. “It’s not that I don’t sympathize with your troubles.” He got to his feet and held out his hand. Ignoring it, she pushed up off the ground.

“Troubles.” She scrubbed her hands over her face, wiping away all sign of her momentary weakness. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. I’m being hunted by a mercenary who’s been ordered to drag me back to my pack. I doubt it matters much what condition I’m in when I get there. We both know I’ll heal from whatever injuries I sustain.” Werewolves were tough and healed faster than any human ever would. It wasn’t instantaneous, but broken bones would be repaired within days.

He dragged his fingers through his hair and swore under his breath. “You’re a problem I don’t need.”

This was pointless. He wasn’t going to change his mind. Nothing she said or did would make a difference. The adrenaline-fueled anger died, leaving behind defeat and exhaustion. She turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?”

“What do you care?” she muttered, knowing he’d hear her over the ambient city noise. Werewolves had superior senses. She had access to money but had no plans to check into a motel. It was too easy for someone to track her, something she’d learned the hard way early on. She hadn’t been able to obtain fake identification, never in one spot long enough to find someone with the necessary skills.

The toe of her boot jammed into a crack in the pavement and sent her stumbling. She went down on one knee, shoved up, and kept going. Sleep was little more than a memory. Catnaps were all she’d managed over the past however many days. They all ran together in a blur. She’d lost track of time, had no idea how long she’d been running. It felt like forever but couldn’t be more than a week. She’d lost weight, her appetite slim and her activity level high. She’d walked and run miles, crisscrossing several states. Werewolves naturally had a higher metabolism than humans. She was pushing her limits.

She sensed Elijah following but ignored him. In spite of the late hour, there were people on the sidewalks and vehicles streaming up and down the street. When she reached the traffic light at the intersection she looked both ways, searching the shadows for anyone suspicious while she waited for it to turn green so she could cross. She needed to figure out where the nearest bus station was. Maybe she’d head to California, lose herself in a big city. San Francisco might be nice.

Her wolf whined, yearning for the forest. She commiserated, but there was nothing to be done about it. Not if she wanted to survive and remain free. There was a better chance of running into a wolf in a rural setting. That was the last thing she wanted. The city was safer for the time being.

The light turned green, but she was suddenly frozen with indecision. Elijah stood alongside her, not prodding her along or questioning her sudden inability to move. When it turned red again, he peered down at her. “You have anywhere to stay tonight?”

She shook her head, too tired to lie or tell him to mind his own business.

“When’s the last time you ate?”

She tilted her head back and stared up at him. “Why do you care?”

A muscle pulsed beneath one eye. Other than that, he looked as though he’d been carved from stone. She hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention to his appearance back at the bar, too focused on trying to gain his help. With him standing alongside her, spotlighted by a streetlamp, it was impossible not to notice.

About half a foot taller than her, his broad shoulders stretched the seams of his short-sleeved t-shirt to their limits. Seeing him without it earlier, she knew his biceps were huge, his torso lean and roped with muscle. It wasn’t surprising he was in perfect physical shape. He was a werewolf, which meant there was a whole lot of power packed into his body. Shaggy brown hair fell haphazardly to his shoulders. His nose was a bit large but suited his face. High cheekbones and full lips added to his appeal.

But it was his eyes that had caught her attention from the start. They weren’t dark brown but pure black, the shade unheard of among werewolves who mostly had various shades of brown, from yellow to chocolate, and sometimes green. Whoever said the eyes were the mirrors of the soul had never met Elijah Sin. His hid more than they revealed.

The light changed several more times. He canted his head to one side, as if trying to figure her out. She almost snorted. She wasn’t that hard to grasp. Her needs were basic—food, shelter, and freedom. Love wasn’t something she ever thought about. Not in the pack where she’d been living. Not with her daddy, the only one who’d truly cared, gone. The empty space inside her squeezed, the dull ache one that seemed to grow larger each passing day.

No real family. No pack. No hope.

When the light turned green this time, she took a single step. He caught her by the elbow, stopping her forward momentum. “I have a motel room not far from here. I’ll watch over you for the night. Then I’m gone.”

Series:
/series-seven-deadly-sins/

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