Dani Harper - First Bite

When Neva opened her eyes, she was lying on top of Travis. His heavily muscled arms were still around her, protecting her, sheltering her—which made her feel a little better about being naked at the end of a hiking trail. She couldn’t tell what time it was or how long she’d slept, but the sun was high, and she fervently hoped no outdoor enthusiasts had made the trip across Damnation Creek this morning and taken photos of her naked ass.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Travis’s eyes flickered open, and he smiled up at her as she struggled to free herself from his embrace. His frown was hardly even visible at the moment.

“What the hell just happened to us? Is that normal sex for werewolves?” She gathered up her clothes and checked the time on her cell. Two hours! They’d been asleep for two hours!

“Changelings,” he corrected. “And no, I’d say that kind of earth-shattering sex is pretty damn unique. I think it’s related to whatever you did yesterday when you used the stone—it’s like the elements got involved somehow. Maybe nature approves of us getting together?”

“Is it going to be unique every time? What about when we had sex for the first time, in that evergreen shelter? It was totally amazing sex, by the way, but I saw your wolf in your face. It only happened that first time, though. I never got to ask you what it meant because we got separated right after that. Did you see my wolf, too?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I did…” He paused in the middle of pulling on his jeans and looked flustered. “I wasn’t going to tell you about it until later.”

“Really? Later when?”

“Later when you knew everything about me and didn’t hate me for it.”

“You mean like now? Okay, so spit it out. Are we bonded or something?”

“Yes. Like glue. Changelings recognize their true mates, and my wolf recognized you long before I did. And by the time I realized what was going on, it was too late. The animal persona bonds through sex, and the wolves—yours and mine—witness the bonding. That’s what you saw. I guess you could say it’s like a marriage, only I didn’t get the chance to ask you.”

“ Would you have asked me?”

“I would now. Because now I have reason to believe you’d say yes.” He eyed her appraisingly. “You would, right?”

“Hmm. You can be a real jerk sometimes, but you’re decent. So probably.”

“That’s a good thing, because you’re stuck with me, Neva. Changelings mate for life. And we live a helluva long time.”

She mulled that over as she finished dressing. “So let me get this straight. We’re tied together? You’re going to follow me wherever I go?”

“And I’ll know where you are, too. The wolf will always know exactly where you are.”

“Is that so?” Walking a little ways ahead of him, she shifted to her lupine form, looked back over her shoulder at him, and wagged her ebony tail. Let’s test that theory, shall we?

She raced away, a sleek, dark shadow against the forest floor. A moment later, a great, golden wolf followed her.

THE END

This book was largely written in the middle of a move from an island in Alaska to southeastern Washington State. It was supposed to be simple—it wasn’t. It was supposed to be quick—it wasn’t that either. And it was supposed to be painless—not even close. We traveled with two pickup trucks containing the only belongings that were meaningful or essential enough to keep, plus our two opinionated pugs, and my laptop.

I credit my husband, Ron Silvester, with keeping me sane, and well-supplied with coffee and reassuring hugs. Ron and my daughter, Samantha Craig, once again tag-teamed as beta readers, and I could not have done this without them. Thanks to Stephany Evans of FinePrint Literary Management, who wore two hats on this project: one as my fearless agent and the other as an excellent beta reader.

Thanks to my editor, Eleni Caminis, and the team from Montlake Romance. They’ve been wonderful to work with, and I’ve been grateful for their enthusiasm. (P.S. On this project, I’ve been extra grateful for the talented copyeditors! I may yet learn how to use a comma.)

Finally, although it may sound odd, I simply have to express my appreciation to this book’s main characters, Travis and Neva. Some characters are hard to work with—they fail to tell you what they’re doing, keep their history and their motivations a secret, hide out when you need them to perform in a scene, or give you the silent treatment. Travis and Neva started talking to me one day in the Seattle airport between flights, and never stopped . In spite of the deadline pressures and the chaos of moving, I can honestly say I loved writing their story, and I’m looking forward to their adventures in book two.

Photo by Ron Silvester, 2011

Dani Harper is a former newspaper editor whose passion for all things supernatural led her to a second career writing paranormal fiction. A longtime resident of the Canadian north and southeastern Alaska, Dani recently ventured south with her husband to rural Washington to be closer to their grown children. She is also the author of Changeling Moon, Changeling Dream , and Changeling Dawn .