Rhyannon Byrd - Last Wolf Standing

He was her only safe haven in a world that had become her worst nightmare.

For the first time, Torrance got a clear look at her rescuer’s face.

“It’s you!” she gasped, sounding groggy.

“Shh. Just take it easy,” Mason rasped, staring down at her, his expression fierce and brutally hard, with lingering traces of violence and rage. A warm glow burned in his oddly lit gaze. Animal ferocity, predatory and wild, rode the long lines of his body. His eyes smouldered with an intensity that made her feel… uncomfortably sensitive. And suddenly Torrance was aware of being cradled against the strongest chest she’d ever felt.

There was something wrong here, she knew. But she mentally shoved the irritating thought away, her body finding too much enjoyment out of being in his arms. If she thought too hard about things, she would have to move…and that just wouldn’t do.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rhyannon Byrd fell in love with a Brit whose accent was just too sexy to resist. Lucky for her, he turned out to be a keeper, so she married him and they now have two precocious children who constantly keep her on her toes. Living in the Southwest, Rhyannon spends her days creating provocative romances with her favourite kind of hero – intense alpha males who cherish their women. When not writing, she loves to travel, lose herself in books and watch as much football as humanly possible with her loud, fun-loving family.

For information on Rhyannon’s books and the latest news, you can visit her website at www. rhyannonbyrd.com.

Dear Reader,

Dark, deliciously intense alpha males are my favourite kind of hero. I just love their rugged sexuality, rasping growls and fierce possessiveness. As a writer, there’s nothing I enjoy more than creating a character who snags your attention, makes you shiver with awareness and, by the end of the story, has captured your heart. What better way to do that than with an alpha – especially one who just so happens to be half werewolf, like Mason Dillinger, the gorgeous, drop-dead sexy hero in Last Wolf Standing .

From the opening scene, when Mason walks into a bustling café and catches the scent of his human mate, the primal side of his nature is evident in his every action and thought. And yet despite his intense attraction to her, in true alpha-male fashion, Mason puts up a heck of a fight when it comes to opening his heart and falling in love. But what’s so wonderful about this breed of hero is that when they finally give in, they do it with every part of themselves, with all the raw, powerful force of their character. The Bloodrunners may be a wild, wickedly tempting bunch, but it’s their complete and utter devotion to their women that I truly love about them.

As the first of my Bloodrunners, Mason will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope you enjoy his story and find him as irresistible as I do.

All the best!

Rhyannon

RHYANNON BYRD

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my father, Patrick, who has always believed

in my dreams.

Thanks for always being there, Pops! I love you!

I’d like to take a moment to thank all the

wonderful people who have supported me

through the writing of this book:

Deidre Knight, of the Knight Agency,

for making it all possible!

Ann Leslie Tuttle, for her endless patience and

insight. I’m so thrilled to be working with you.

Charles Griemsman, for always being so helpful

and keeping me on track.

Erotic-romance author Madison Hayes,

whose incredible talent never ceases to amaze

me. Thanks for always offering your

unconditional support. I don’t know what I’d

do without you.

Debbie Hopkins Smart, who keeps me sane

and can always make me laugh, even when

I’m pulling my hair out.

Two of my awesome critique partners,

Patrice Michelle and Shelley Bradley,

whose books I can never get enough of.

And last but not least, my family, who somehow manage to live with me while I’m under

deadline without killing me. I love you guys!

THE BLOODRUNNERS’ LAW

When offspring are born of a union between human and Lycan, the resulting creations may only gain acceptance within their rightful pack by the act of Bloodrunning: the hunting and extermination of rogue Lycans who have taken a desire for human flesh. Thus they prove not only their strength, but their willingness to kill for those they will swear to protect to the death.

The League of Elders will predetermine the Bloodrunner’s required number of kills.

Once said number of kills are efficiently accomplished, only then may the Bloodrunner assume a place among their kin, complete with full rights and privileges.

Chapter 1

If not for the bustling noise of the crowd, anyone standing within five feet of Mason Dillinger would have easily heard the two halting, roughly drawled words that slipped slowly past the tightening line of his mouth.

“Oh, shit.”

Perhaps not the most erudite of phrases, but what it lacked in eloquence it more than made up for in conviction. In fact, in Mason’s opinion it summed the situation up to perfection.

After all, it wasn’t every day that one of his kind found his life mate in a throng of jacked-up caffeine addicts. Five seconds ago he’d have sworn that it could never happen—that a woman who had been created as his perfect match, the other half of his self, even existed—but there was no denying what that scent was doing to his head, not to mention his quickly thickening body parts.

“Hell,” he muttered under his breath, reaching down with one hand to rearrange himself, pulling the edge of his flannel shirttail in front of his bulging fly. “I’m screwed.”

The second he’d stepped through the doorway into the bustling interior of The Coffee and Croissant, the smell of her had hit him like a fist upside the head, rolling across his tongue like the sweetest sin, the most wicked of temptations. It was something he wanted to sink his teeth into and swallow. Something creamy and entirely his . The erotic promise of damp, pink flesh that would be slippery and warm to the lap of his tongue, rich and succulent like a treasure.

He wanted to eat her alive…and he didn’t even know who she was.

But he knew where she was. She was somewhere in this crowded, pain-in-the-ass, prepped-out joint that his Bloodrunning partner, Jeremy Burns, had insisted they duck into before the entire day had passed them by without eating. With their accelerated metabolisms, it was unhealthy to go too long without sustenance, not to mention dangerous as hell to the general population at large.

Yeah, he knew where she was. And he knew what she was, too.

She was his .

Mason’s narrowed eyes quickly scanned his surroundings, taking everything in, and then his head tilted back and he allowed inhuman senses so much sharper than mere sight to take over and read the room. Hot, fresh-baked croissants were just being taken from an industrial oven in the kitchen. To his left, a small, distinct clatter of metal against crockery as a businessman added sugar to his double cappuccino. A toddler fussed in the corner, beside a belligerent, kohl-eyed teenager in black who scowled at her father as he lectured her on the importance of grades. The myriad of sounds and scents assailed him, chaotic and full, and yet she burned through sharp and crisp like a radiant beam of light. Vibrant, breathtaking sunshine on a bone-chilling, cloud-smothered day. Something warm and comforting like home.