Also by Kate Douglas:
Wolf Tales
“Chanku Rising” in Sexy Beast
Wolf Tales II
“Camille’s Dawn” in Wild Nights
Wolf Tales III
“Chanku Fallen” in Sexy Beast II
Wolf Tales IV
“Chanku Journey” in Sexy Beast III
Wolf Tales V
“Chanku Destiny” in Sexy Beast IV
Wolf Tales VI
“Chanku Wild” in Sexy Beast V
Wolf Tales VII
“Chanku Honor” in Sexy Beast VI
Wolf Tales VIII
KATE DOUGLAS
APHRODISIA
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
Dedication
After I wrote "The End" on this book, I found myself sitting quietly in my office, thinking how quickly I'd come to the point where I was finishing up the fifteenth story (counting the novellas) in my series. It seems like only yesterday when my wonderful editor, Audrey LaFehr, said the series would be called Wolf Tales, with a Roman numeral to designate each book, and I made some stupid comment about having to learn my Roman numerals. I thought of that as I finished Wolf Tales VIII, and had to stop and look up the numeral for nine…it's IX, by the way! So here I am, getting ready to start the sixteenth title in the series, a novella I'm calling Chanku Challenge, and I still can't believe how much fun I'm having with my sexy Chanku. I owe so many people for this great opportunity and the amazing success of the series, from my terrific agent Jessica Faust of BookEnds LLC for seeing the possibilities, to my editor Audrey LaFehr for having the courage to run with it. Thanks too, to the Kensington art department for consistently giving me such gorgeous covers, and to Audrey's wonderful assistant, Amanda Rouse, who has managed to solve just about every problem I've tossed her way. Many thanks go to my longtime, keen-sighted beta readers—Ann Jacobs, Karen Woods and Sheri Fogarty—as well as my newest reader and MySpace buddy, Mospearet, aka Rose Toubbeh, for her eagle eye and wonderful sense of humor. I am forever indebted to my terrific readers who keep me coming up with new stories for characters who are fast becoming old friends. Most of all, my love and gratitude go to my husband, the man who has stuck by me all these years and is, in so many ways, the alpha male behind each and every one of my Chanku heroes.
Contents
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Part II
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Chapter 1
The narrow chin strap was uncomfortable, but it held her night vision spotting scope in place and made it easier to focus on the pair of wolves crossing the meadow behind the house. Even with the scope, it was difficult to keep them in sight for long. They moved like magic through the dark Montana night, and once they disappeared into the heavy overgrowth bordering the forest, she knew they’d be gone for hours.
Stillness descended as the last wolf slipped through the brush. Still, she watched, her vivid imagination taking her where eyes couldn’t follow, taking her into a world of dreams, until exhaustion won out and the dark line of the forest lost its attraction.
Packing up her gear took only a few minutes. Climbing down the fragile rope ladder and raising it once again took a few more, but there would be other nights to watch. Other nights to contemplate the next steps…as many as were needed, now that their den was no longer a secret.
Father would be pleased to know she’d come this far. To know that her journey was almost over. She owed him this much, didn’t she?
Head down, tail hanging, the dark wolf that was the wizard Anton Cheval trotted slowly through the towering trees with two things on his mind—the tantalizing scent of his mate and his own terrible failings. Keisha stayed just ahead, blatantly ignoring him. Without even trying, she still managed to entice him with her sleek wolven body and the musky perfume of her arousal. Her sensual appearance and seductive scent flaunted the invitation he’d felt in warm lips and soft breasts only moments before their shift.
He’d not embraced her then. He’d felt unworthy…almost unclean. Would he be able to here, in the depths of the forest? Here, where the feral side of his nature might finally overcome the issues confusing his woefully inadequate, deeply flawed human side?
For a man who’d taken great pride in his unflattering reputation as a presumptive, arrogant bastard, he’d certainly had the self-importance knocked out of him. Nearly dying could do that to a guy. Giving up and embracing death when those he loved still fought on, when even his infant daughter showed more backbone than he had…dear Goddess, that was even worse.
Would he ever find his way past the pain—the utter humiliation—of his own failings? He’d promised to keep his family and packmates safe, but he’d failed—intruders had breached the very walls of his home.
More than once.
There was no excuse for the fact that Keisha and her cousin Tia, pregnant with her first child, had been forced to defend not only their home and their own lives, but Anton’s infant daughter.
They’d done an admirable job. A much better job than he or any of the other males had. As the so-called alpha of this pack of Chanku shapeshifters, he was a dismal failure.
Even now he felt that all was not well. Despite all their precautions, their nightly searches and increased surveillance, his senses jangled with the subtle awareness of some unseen danger hovering just out of sight.
Was it really a threat, or merely the fact that his personal world seemed to be spiraling out of control?
The first frost of autumn blanketed the ground and dried grasses crackled beneath their paws. Other than the sound of their passing, the night was silent…unless he considered the unwavering clamor of self-flagellation. Creatures stayed warm in their dens. The soft hoot of owls and whisperings of other denizens of the night remained curiously muted, as if the cold imprisoned their voices.
The chill wind didn’t reach beneath his thick fur or cool the heat of his desire. No, he figured he’d manage to do that entirely on his own. Even Keisha’s magic hadn’t been enough to rouse him earlier. Now, her cool, amber-eyed gaze as she glanced over her shoulder drew him, even as his inner demons held him at bay. Still, he moved closer to her,