When a blogger with a vendetta investigates him, a teen werewolf must outwit paranormal monster hunters.
Sixteen-year-old Cody Forester has a secret identity. He’s a werewolf. Kind of like a superhero with fangs. But when he wolfs out while protecting the girl he loves, he does more than make the front-page news. He comes to the attention of Storey Evans, a popular blogger who views herself as an investigative reporter.
When she was young, Storey witnessed her father being torn to shreds by a pack of werewolves. The horror of that night turned into a vendetta. She now runs a blog called Noneties—The Non-Human Entities Among Us. She is obsessed with exposing werewolves and other shapeshifters for the good of the public.
To Cody, she is an immovable force. She can’t be bought off, can’t be turned away, and certainly can’t be killed. He is just beginning to learn about the power of blogs and social media. Can he slip through the traps she has strewn before him, or will his secrets be revealed at last?
Excerpt
July 25, 2008, Loxahatchee, Florida
Brittany held my hand as she led me to the back porch. I smelled chlorinated water. The filmy curtains stirred, letting in snatches of starlight. I slipped my arms around her. She pressed against me. Her lips found mine. Her kiss was grape-soda sweet. The wolf within me stirred, and it was all I could do to keep from transforming right there.
She pulled away, fumbling with her shirt. I stilled her fingers and undid the buttons slowly. One button. Two buttons. She wore a bathing suit underneath. I slid my hands down the warm contours of her waist. With a little sigh, she pulled away and turned her back. I closed my eyes.
She gasped. “This feels so good.”
I unzipped my jeans and let them drop. I wore an old bathing suit. It was too small to begin with, but after Brittany’s kiss, it was noticeably snug. The only way to hide my bulging enthusiasm was to get into Aunt Lynette’s new hot tub. But as soon as my nethers hit the hot water, I was off like a rocket. My eyes crossed.
I said, “Uh.”
“Cody? Are you all right?”
I said, “Uh.”
“Don’t be such a baby. The water isn’t that hot.” She splashed me.
Behind us, a voice drawled, “That’s enough, you young’uns. This water’s for meditating, not splashing.”
I moaned and slipped sideways off the little plastic seat.
Aunt Lynette approached carrying a flickering candle. “Move your hairy legs, werewolf. This here tub’s supposed to hold six people.” She set the candle on the edge, climbed in opposite us, then dropped a muslin pouch into the water.
I sat gingerly beside Brittany. “What’s in the sack… er, the bag… er, what’s that?”
“Calming herbs,” she said. “We got to keep you under control, wolf boy.”
“I’m under control.” I glanced at Brittany. “Mostly.”
Just then a whiff of the stinking herbs hit me in the face. I sneezed. Brittany laughed and splashed me again.
Aunt Lynette leaned back. “This will be good for our rituals.”
“Better than that blow-up pool we had,” Brittany said. “Is Myra coming in?”
“She’s cleaning up supper.”
I stretched my arms over the top of the tub.
Brittany used my bicep as a pillow. “This is so relaxing.”
I felt like a teabag. A growl escaped me, and I forced a smile to cover it.
Aunt Lynette said, “I hear tell you’ll be moving soon.”
Not if I could help it. “Actually, it’s been delayed,” I said. “There’s been some trouble at the construction site. Someone stole the kitchen sink.”
Brittany giggled as if incredulous. “The kitchen sink?”
“Yep. Still in the crate.”
Aunt Lynette said, “Where you gonna be living again? In a barn?”
“An old stable. At the Richardson place.” I smiled at Brittany. “It’s supposed to have a hot tub, too. But only for two people.”
She gave an exaggerated pout. “I still don’t like the idea of you living so close to Ayanna. I’ve seen how she looks at you.”
Ayanna had had a crush on me since the day we met.
“She’s a member of my pack. And a friend,” I said. “But she knows it won’t go further than that.”
Brittany snuggled against me. “Better not. I’ll turn her into a toad. I’m a Witch Queen, you know.”
Aunt Lynette barked a raucous laugh. “Not yet you ain’t.”
Brittany cast her an angry glare. Aunt Lynette shot her one right back.
Uh-oh. Touchy subject.
Hurriedly, I said, “I thought Eileen was going to join us.”
“She was on the phone with a florist,” Brittany said. “Wedding stuff.”
“Ah.” I nodded. It was hard not to be excited about the wedding. William’s joy was contagious. What would it be like to have someone promise to stay with you forever? Even my mother hadn’t managed that feat.
“In a Wiccan wedding, everyone would bring flowers to decorate the altar,” Aunt Lynette said. “Just go out to a field and pick ‘em.”
“Must be a beautiful ceremony,” Brittany said.
“We call it handfasting,” Lynette said, “and in the eyes of the goddess they would be one. But she insists on observing tribal ways.”
