Instinct
By jourdan lane
The headlines were always the same: someone getting arrested; someone in politics doing something really stupid; someone wanting to bring something new and improved to the area. I was all for new and improved. Business was business--and more business meant more money in my pocket.
Something clanged and then the sound of a dish dropping to the floor and breaking drew my attention across the diner. One of the waitresses had apparently misjudged how much she could carry. I was glad it wasn't mine. Mine? Was nearly gone, the huge pile of bacon and eggs really hitting the spot.
I turned my attention back to the paper and skimmed down to see if that new and improved proposal had a construction firm on bid yet. Sure enough, I'd missed out on the deadline for the bid. I growled and sipped at my lukewarm coffee, wondering just how I was going to keep paying my crew through the winter.
I could always get by. But the men and women who worked for me depended on me to keep them working so they could support their families a little easier through the worst of the winter months.
Raucous laughter erupted from the middle of the room and drew my attention again. Six men were gathered around a long table, talking and laughing and carrying on. I recognized them in an instant: ranchers who got together once a week when they made their runs to town for feed or other supplies.
Try as I might to ignore them, they just kept getting louder and louder. One of the men laughed hard, almost snorting. "Ha! There ain't been no wolves 'round here in years!"
I groaned. Not this shit again.
One man sat up in defense of the other's laughing. "What? You don't think I know what a wolf howling sounds like? Hell, I even saw some tracks near the back fence."
Another man shook his head. "Well, you know they were wanting to reintroduce wolves back into these parts. Import them from Canada or some far off place."
Another grumbled around a mouthful of food. "Tell you one thing. I find a wolf on my land--that bastard'll spend the rest of its life decorating my wall."
All of the men agreed ... 'I hear that' echoing around the table.
I frowned and folded the paper I'd been reading. It never quite set well when the subject of wolves was broached. I wasn't fond of them myself, but I had a link to them like no other. A link I couldn't get rid of to save my life.
Digging in my wallet, I counted out payment for breakfast and a tip and set it beneath my mostly empty coffee cup. Beth would gripe and complain that I needed to let her ring me up, but she was nowhere to be seen and I wanted out of that place before I said something stupid.
I liked Charlie's Diner and hated the thought of having to find somewhere else that gave me the same level of service. Beth always had me a plate made--warming and waiting--every morning of the week for the past three years. It was something different every day, but it was always heavy on the meat. And I did like meat.
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Werewolves under the moon. City boys forced to accept their wilder side. Primal danger. The Call anthology has all this and more. Three stories give us an inside view of the life of the wolf. Jourdan Lane, author of the popular Soul Mates series, gives us Instinct. Construction worker Ethan hates being a werewolf. He hates the man who made him what he is. When he meets Noah, he finds a fellow wolf who wants his help, and his body. Can he open up to Noah enough to put aside his fear? And what happens when the man who turned him wants him back? Emily Veinglory pairs the small town werewolf Nate with the city boy Steven. When Steven's car breaks down at Nate's gas station, Nate figures he's found something worth keeping. He has secrets, though, and he might be too wild for the sophisticated Steven. Can he juggle his past and make a new life? From BA Tortuga comes Home Fires, the story of Houston, who escapes torturous captivity to return to his mate, Jackson. Jackson welcomes Houston back to their remote New Mexico home, and sets about healing Houston, body and soul. Can they remove the scars that Houston can't hide? And can the two wolves escape the ghosts of the past when they come looking. Run with this anthology today!
