"An interesting and exciting addition to this highly entertaining paranormal series."
Reviewed by Kay Quintin
Posted July 15, 2010
Romance Paranormal
Dr. Cassie Roux, a wolf biologist, lectures for a group in
Oregon. This audience holds the beginning of the change of
her life. Shape-shifter werewolf, Leidolf Wildhaven, is a
striking specimen of a man, when in human form, who is
completely enthralled with Cassie. Leidolf is the leader of
a pack of red lupus garous who reside at his ranch outside
of town. He has more than his share of troubles with
corralling some of the younger werewolves. Leidolf is also
searching for his lifetime mate of a royal alpha female red
lupus garous with whom he can begin his family. Cassie, intent on slipping to the woods to search for a
little red wolf and her pups and another female red garous,
finds more than she bargains for. Leidolf, coming to her
rescue, soon discovers she is also a red garous and yearns
for her as his mate. Both are running from guns,
tranquilizers and fear of entrapment at the zoo while in
their wolf forms. Between dodging the hazards of
tranquilizers and exposure as werewolves as they are forced
to shift shape back and forth from human to wolves, Cassie
and Leidolf succumb to the inevitability of mating for
life, if only they can manage to survive the chase. SEDUCED BY THE WOLF is the 5th in Terry Spear's
paranormal werewolf series. The characters of Leidolf and
Cassie are strong and captivating. Leidolf expects to take
a docile lifetime mate who will abide by his rules, but
finds instead a spitfire with a mind of her own and bravery
to match his. This story is very interesting, extremely
exciting and an entertaining read that I highly recommend.
SUMMARY
Cassie Roux is a wolf biologist who has studied real
wolves
for years, trying to prove to the world they’re not the
evil
predators so many people believe them to be. A red lupus
garou, who lost her pack and was raised by real wolves,
she
has dedicated her life to their preservation. Now for the
first time, she discovers a female wolf, her mate dead,
and
the pups and the mother in real danger, and Cassie does
everything she can think of to protect them. Until she
runs
into one stubborn alpha pack leader—werewolf kind—who has
other plans for her. Leidolf Wildhaven is a red lupus garou pack leader of
Portland, Oregon and has more troubles than he ever
thought
possible what with running a pack, a ranch and other
businesses, dealing with a couple of cantankerous new
lupus
garous, and a myriad of other problems when a little red
wolf of the lupus garou variety is spotted in his
territory.
She’d be perfect as his mate, if she agreed. Only the
headstrong woman has other priorities, saving real wolves
from extinction, when he’s more worried about his own
kind’s
extinction and winning her heart.
ExcerptChapter 1Except for a couple of cars
parked outside the town hall, the lot was empty, and it
appeared
the wolf biologist speaking here tonight wouldn't
have
much of an
audience to lecture to. The
Oregon air surrounding him felt damp and cool, not like
the
drier, much sunnier
weather Leidolf Wildhaven had left behind in Colorado. He
kept telling himself
he'd get used to it. Old-time brass lanterns cast a
golden
glow over the
sidewalk. A steady breeze stirred the spring leaves of
the
massive white oaks
that lined the brick walk leading to the two-story
building. An antiquated
clock chimed seven times in the center of the tower on
top,
announcing to
everyone in the listening area that the time had arrived
for the lecture to
begin. He let out his breath and headed for the building. Anything to do with wolves concerned him, and even
though the "doctor" couldn't say
anything that he didn't already know, he wanted to see
how
others reacted to
her talk concerning them. At this rate, it looked as
though
no one was going to
show. He
took two steps at a time up the brick stairs and strode
into the building, his
gaze focusing on the empty chairs and the speakerless
podium. Dressed in a gray
suit, Millie Meekle, the woman in charge of tourism and
special events in the
area, wrung her hands nearby and shook her head, her
stiff,
glued-together
silver hair not moving a fraction out of place. "Oh, Mr. Wildhaven, this is a disaster. Dr. Roux had a
flat tire at the place she's
staying, and my husband dropped me off here, so I haven't
any vehicle to go get
her." She waved at the empty seats. "And no one has even
shown up yet." "Where's she staying?" Several men sauntered into the town hall, their boots
tromping on the wooden floor,
their expressions annoyed. "Where's
the doc?" one of the men asked gruffly. Millie
quickly spoke up. "She's stuck at the Cranberry Top Bed
and
Breakfast. Mr. Wildhaven's
kind enough to offer to get her. She's staying in the
Blue
Room, first door on
the left down the hall from the entryway," she directed
Leidolf. The
man snorted. "We don't need no damned wolf biologist
telling us how we should
reintroduce wolves into the wild out here." "Now,
Mr. Hollis," Millie said. "Don't
‘Now, Mr. Hollis' me, Millie. You know I raise
sheep,
and if any damn wolf
slinks onto my land, I'll
kill him dead. That's what I'll do." "I'll
go get her," Leidolf said. He stalked out of the building
with its oppressive
heat and back into the cool out-of-doors. He hadn't
figured
any of the
livestock owners would bother to come to the meeting, but
after seeing the
burly men, he was afraid the professor was bound for
trouble. Climbing
into his Humvee, he assumed the woman probably wouldn't
get
a whole lot of
lecturing done but instead would be faced with a barrage
of
condemning remarks.
He still couldn't figure out why in the world she'd come
here instead of
lecturing to a more intellectual crowd in the city of
Portland, two hours away. Putting
the vehicle in drive, he headed to the Cranberry Top, a
quaint little
red-roofed home with white siding and a white picket
fence.
Like many of the
homes in the area, the place had been turned into a bed-
and-
breakfast inn
because it was situated on a creek perfect for fishing
and
picturesque Mount
Hood could be seen way off in the distance. Great for a
Portland getaway. When
Leidolf arrived at the inn, he saw the vehicle in
question,
a green pickup with
California plates that was tilting to one side.
Women.
mso-bidi-font-family: Probably didn't know how to
change
a tire or
call for someone to come and fix a flat. He'd
barely opened the door to his Humvee when a woman hurried
out, red hair in
curls down to her shoulders and bouncing with her every
step, eyes sea green and
wide and hopeful, brow furrowed as she clutched a leather
satchel tightly
against her chest and headed straight for him.
Dr. Roux?
At least he presumed
that's who she was, only he'd expected someone a lot less
leggy and less
stunning to look at. What
he'd figured he'd see was a gray-haired older woman, her
hair swept back in a
bun, with oval goldrimmed glasses perched on her nose.
Instead, this woman
looked to be in her midtwenties and in terrific form,
with
shapely legs and a
body to match. He envisioned her hiking through woods on
wilderness treks to
observe wolves, dispelling the notion that she was
strictly
a classroom
lecturer. "Dr.
Roux?" he asked, feeling more like a knight in shining
armor now. She
didn't smile but looked worried as hell as she chewed a
glossy lip and then
gave a stiff nod. "Did Millie send you for me?" She
didn't
wait for him to
answer and motioned to the truck. "I changed the tire
already." He
frowned and glanced back at the flat tire. "Someone
was nice enough to ruin the spare also when I ran inside
to
clean up," she
added, her tone peeved. "It was too late to have the
spare
fixed before the
meeting." Irritated
that any of the townspeople would treat her that way, he
bit back a curse. Yet
he couldn't help being surprised for a second time.
First,
by her appearance. Now,
by how capable the little woman was. He
motioned to his Humvee. "I'm Leidolf Wildhaven, rancher
south of town. I'll
take you to the meeting and have one of my men fix the
tires while you're
lecturing." "A
rancher," she said softly, her voice slightly
condemning. He
cast her a smidgeon of a smile. "Yeah, but cougars are
the
only animals that
bother me of late. Wolves? They're
my kind of animal. Protective, loyal—you know, like
a
dog, man's best friend." "They're
wild, Mr.—" "I'd
prefer you call me Leidolf." "I'm
Cassie. Never met a rancher before who liked wolves." She
sounded as though she
didn't believe he would care for wolves. Maybe even
worried
that he might cause
her trouble when she lectured. She
climbed into his vehicle, took a deep breath, and her
eyes
widened again. He
swore if he hadn't blocked her in as he held the door
ready
to shut it for her,
she would have escaped. He heard her slight intake of
breath and her heartbeat
accelerate. Her gaze swiftly swept over him as if he was
suddenly someone of
more importance. She
swallowed hard and smoothed her skirt over her lap,
drawing
his eye, and then
she pulled away from him as much as possible. She took
another deep breath and
met his gaze. "Wolves are wild and unpredictable. But
you're right. They're
also protective and loyal. Thanks for coming to get me."
He
smiled in response, appreciating that she was a wolf
advocate yet understood
wolves well enough to realize how dangerous they could
be,
and felt a slight connection
to her right away. Before he could shut her door, she
quickly added, "You…
are
mso-bidi-font-family: taking me to the town hall,
right?" "Yeah.
Millie Meekle said you needed a lift." Cassie
still looked a little alarmed when Leidolf climbed into
the
vehicle, and he
supposed he could understand her wariness. Millie should
have called to let Cassie
know he was coming to get her. "I
never figured I'd have trouble out here." She snapped her
seat belt in place
and pressed herself against the passenger door, almost as
if she was attempting
to keep as far away from him as she could. For
someone who studied wolves, she seemed a tad skittish.
Which made him wonder if
she'd had trouble with men before. Instantly, that
thought
gnawed at him, no
matter that he'd just met her. Leidolf
glanced at her as he drove back to the meeting place.
"Why
not lecture in
Portland? You'd have had much more of a draw." A
long silence filled the air. "People
need to be educated in places like
this," she finally said. Leidolf
didn't respond, but he was already bothered by where this
was leading. And he
had a sneaking suspicion it was the very reason she had
come here. She
looked out the window and didn't say anything further.
He
cleared his throat. "Why in places like this?" A
prolonged silence filled the space between them,
elevating
his concern. Turning
her head in his direction, she gave him a sad kind of
smile. "Because unless
the wolf is in the Oregon Zoo, the people of Portland are
unlikely to see any
wolves running around their fair city." "Out
here?" He
felt her observing him while he concentrated on the road.
Like she studied
wolves? Wouldn't she be surprised to learn he was one
also,
whenever he had the
urge to shift. "They
might be out here, some day." "You
don't seem the type who wastes time talking about future
events. Have you seen
a wolf in this area?" he
asked, very much to the point. He had to know. Had she
seen
one of his pack
members running in his or her fur coat in the woods
around
here? She
looked back out the window.
Hell.
mso-bidi-font-family: "Cassie, have you seen a wolf in
these parts?" "They've
been spotted in several different locations all over
Oregon. People everywhere
need to be educated. That's
what I do," she said evasively. Concerned
about what she'd observed, Leidolf pulled into a parking
space at the town
hall. Several vehicles now filled the lot. He hoped that
most of the good
citizens of the area would behave themselves. And if
she'd
seen what he
suspected she had, he hoped the hell she didn't mention
it
in the lecture. He
suspected that she was worried he might want the wolf
eliminated if she told
him she'd actually witnessed it—because he was a
rancher, despite saying he
liked wolves. Before
he could climb out of his Humvee to get her door, she
hopped out, thanked him,
and hurried up the brick walk. "Sorry," she said, in a
rush
to get to the front
door. "I'm fifteen minutes late." He
thought she hurried to stay away from him for some other
reason. He couldn't
fathom what that reason was. He had brought her here safe
and sound and would
have one of his men fix her tires. So why would she fear
him? The fact he was a
rancher? Or maybe she was so used to being around
wolves—the real kind—that she
wasn't equipped to deal with the wolfish human kind. On
the
other hand, maybe
he was making something out of nothing. Maybe she was
just
anxious because of
being late to her own speaking engagement. That was all.
He
stalked after her and opened the door before she reached
it. "It looks like
most everyone just arrived, so I'd
say you were right on time." She
gave him a tight smile, but the attempt at a friendly
response didn't reach her
eyes. She hurried inside, her heels clicking on the
wooden
floor, and the conversation
died to absolute silence. Leidolf took a seat in back
where
he could observe
everyone. As attractive as the woman was, he'd have
preferred watching her, the
way she slid her hands gently over her notes, the way her
full, glossy lips
parted as she spoke, the sweet tone of her voice, even
when
she was worried
about being late or annoyed that someone had ruined her
tires. He
forced his gaze from her and glanced at several kids, who
appeared to be
high-school students, seated to one side of the room with
pens and notepads in hand.
Probably would receive some kind of special credit for
coming here tonight.
Even a couple of twin girls from his pack were in the
audience, although pack
members home schooled their own. Their father must have
made them come. Alice
and Sarah glanced back at Leidolf and smiled. He bowed
his
head in acknowledgment. On
the other side of the hall, he recognized most of the
men,
ranchers all of
them. One man raised pygmy goats; six others, cattle like
him; and the
sheepherder. The man who really caught his attention was
a
blond who also
garnered Cassie's. Her eyes widened, and she fussed over
her notes, but she
looked back at him as he grinned broadly. Someone she
definitely knew but
apparently wasn't overly happy to see. She didn't seem to
be from the area. In
fact, her bio said she was from California, and Leidolf
didn't remember seeing either
of them here before. So had the man followed her here?
Leidolf
studied the man again. Tall, thin, wearing hiking boots,
jeans, and a
camouflage jacket. He looked like a hunter. Leidolf
already
didn't like him. Pulling
his cell phone out, Leidolf texted his second in-command,
Elgin, telling him
which vehicle to have repaired, what needed to be
accomplished, and to take his
time in getting it done. And then Leidolf sat back to
listen to the little lady's
speech. After she finished her talk, he meant to speak to
her again and learn
the truth. What
kind of wolf had she seen, and where?
Cassie
couldn't believe all of her rotten, bad luck. First,
the idiot or idiots had to ruin not one, but two of her
tires. Then the absolute
hunk who comes to rescue her was one of her kind. How
could
she get so lucky? And
to top all that off? Fellow wolf biologist Alex
Wellington
had to track her down again. What was his problem? What
part of
I work alone 10.5pt;font-family:
"Times-Roman","serif";mso-bidi-font-
family: did he not get? Not
that he wasn't cute or good at his job, but sometimes she
liked to shift while
she was working, and she sure as hell didn't want him
studying
her as one of his wolf projects.
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