Dire (The Dire Wolves Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  DIRE

  The Dire Wolves Chronicles

  Alyssa Rose Ivy

  Copyright © 2014 Alyssa Rose Ivy

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written approval of the author.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover Design: Cover It! Designs

  Cover Photography: CJC Photography

  Formatting: Polgarus Studio

  Other Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  Flight (The Crescent Chronicles #1)

  Focus (The Crescent Chronicles #2)

  Found (The Crescent Chronicles #3)

  First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles #4)

  Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1)

  Search (The Empire Chronicles #2)

  Stay (The Empire Chronicles #3) - Coming October 2014

  The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards)

  The Hazards of a One Night Stand (Hazards)

  The Hazards of Sex on the Beach (Hazards)

  Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology)

  On The Rocks (Mixology)

  Derailed (Clayton Falls)

  Veer (Clayton Falls)

  Wrecked (Clayton Falls)

  Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)

  Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)

  Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)

  www.AlyssaRoseIvy.com

  www.facebook.com/AlyssaRoseIvy

  twitter.com/AlyssaRoseIvy

  [email protected]

  Preface

  A single howl made me stop short. “The wolves!”

  “Let’s hope they are farther away than they sound.” Gage tightened his hold on my hand and pulled me forward.

  Three more howls filled the night. “They sound closer.”

  We picked up the pace, and I chanced a glance behind me. That was a mistake. Several large grey wolves came into view. “Run!”

  Gage didn’t need to be told twice. He broke into a run without letting go of my hand.

  I ran as fast as possible over the frozen snow, but we didn’t get far before the wolves started circling around us. “Oh my god.” Could things get any worse?

  “You have to make a run for it.” Gage’s voice quivered. “They’re going to kill us.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” I tried to stay strong, and I kept my eyes locked on the wolves. There were five of them. All of them were massive, much larger than any wolf I’d seen before, but one of them was even bigger and had a large silver streak running down its back. That wolf seemed to be staring right at me.

  “I’ll distract them. You run. I’ll catch up.”

  I spotted an opening next to one of the smaller of the wolves and went for it. I didn’t make it far before one of the wolves stepped in front of me. I froze, paralyzed with fear, before my legs were knocked from under me. Suddenly, I was lying in the snow with a giant wolf hovering over me.

  “We’re fucked.” Gage voiced exactly what I was thinking.

  The silver streaked wolf stared down at me. It’s almost glowing eyes bored into mine. Was I really going to die as half-frozen food for a giant wild animal?

  Then things got hazy and the air seemed to buzz. Moments later it wasn’t a wolf on top of me—it was a man. A completely naked man with a faint scar across his face.

  “What the heck?” I tried to scurry back, but Hunter didn’t move. His very exposed parts nearly touched me. I didn’t want to notice his size, but I did. He was huge. He also didn’t look remotely concerned with the cold.

  His lips brushed against my ear. “Were you going somewhere?”

  Chapter One

  Mary Anne

  He wore black athletic shorts that sat low on his hips and gave me a fantastic view of his perfectly sculpted abs. I had a strong desire to touch those abs with my hands and quite possibly my tongue. His bare chest was equally as alluring, all muscle with just a little bit of sweat sliding down.

  “Thanks for waiting up for me.” He walked into his room and closed the door. “I was worried you’d have fallen asleep already.” He slipped off those black shorts and walked toward his bed that amazingly enough I was already tucked into. He pulled back the blanket. “And you’re wearing the lingerie I like best.” He grinned wickedly as he slipped in beside me.

  “Isn’t the best part taking it off me?” I bit my lip, knowing that it would only turn him on more.

  “You remembered.” He slipped the strap down off my right shoulder.

  “I remember everything about you. I always have.”

  “How’d I get so lucky?” He slipped off the other strap as he left tiny kisses from my shoulder up toward my neck.

  “You know you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”

  “I know.” He pushed my top down and out of the way. “I feel exactly the same way.” His mouth closed around my breast.

  “Mary Anne!”

  My eyes flew open as someone pounded on the door to my dorm room. I blinked a few times, trying to hold on to the remnants of my dream.

  “Mary Anne!” The voice yelled louder.

  I grudgingly dragged myself across the room and opened the door. I wasn’t surprised to see Genevieve standing there.

  “Finally!” She pushed into the room. I closed the door and cut her off before she could sit on my bed. I needed to make it first. I pulled back my jersey knit lime green sheets and navy blue comforter. As soon as I smoothed out the comforter, she took a seat.

  I sat in my desk chair and watched her. “As lovely as it is to see you, I’m guessing there’s a reason you’re here?”

  “Aren’t you a little grouchy this morning?” Suddenly her glossy lips twisted up into a smile. “Wait….you were dreaming about him again.”

  “Why do you have to say it like it’s a bad thing? Most women have some sort of sexual dreams. It isn’t at all abnormal.” I ran my fingers through my long red hair to get out the tangles.

  “Mary Anne, I’m only saying this because I’m a friend and I care about you, but you’re obsessed.” She crossed her legs. “Most women may have sex dreams, but they’re about celebrities, not a guy they actually know. Plus, the frequency is the crazy part.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with dreaming about Gage.”

  “There is. If you want him so bad, just get with him. It’s not like he’d say no. He’s gotten with half the girls on this campus already.”

  I groaned. “That’s not entirely true. I admit he has a reputation, but he doesn’t actually sleep with everyone. Plus, I can’t just sleep with him. We have a history. We’re from the same town.” Maybe claiming we had a history was a bit of an overstatement, but I had known him practically my entire life.

  “Is he still driving you home for break?” She leaned back on her hands.

  “Of course. Why would that change?”

  “I thought you might have considered taking Roy up on his offer to drop you off on his way home.” She raised an eyebrow.

  “Gage and I are going to the same place. It makes sense to have him drive me. Plus, my parents know him.”

  “Mary Anne.” Genevieve was in the habit of saying my name far more often than necessary. She was the best friend I had at Eastern U, so I didn’t remind her of how annoying the practice was. “You know what you’re doing, right?”

  “Are we still discussing my plans to get a ride home with Gage?”

  “More specifically we’re discussing your
decision to say no to Roy’s offer. You’re chicken. You’re afraid of accepting an overture from a guy who you actually have a chance with. A guy who is really interested in you.”

  “I wonder why you want me to give Roy another shot?” I bit back the smile that was ready to come out. “This would have nothing to do with his best friend, would it?” I’d gone out on one date with Roy, and although there was nothing particularly wrong with it, I had no intention of seeing him again.

  “What?” She put a hand on her chest. “Of course not.”

  “Oh? It wouldn’t be convenient for you if I were dating Roy?”

  “Sure, it would be convenient to have an excuse to spend time with Tony, but that’s not why I want you to give Roy another chance. He’s a nice guy.”

  “He is nice. He’s also intelligent and cute, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend four hours in a car with him.”

  “Not when you can spend the same amount of time in a car with Gage.”

  “Gage drives a truck.”

  Genevieve sighed. “Same thing. My point is that you have no excuse to be sitting around pining over a guy when you have real, good options knocking down your door.”

  I didn’t take the bait. I was too stressed out to get into a fight about my love life. “I’m taking a shower.” I walked over to my closet and pulled down my favorite pair of worn in jeans. I took a purple thermal shirt from my dresser. December in Boston was cold.

  “I’m sure it’s going to be a cold shower.” Genevieve made no move to leave my room.

  “I hadn’t even gotten to the good part in my dream, so a hot shower will be perfectly fine.”

  “I’ll wait here.” She lay back on my bed. “We can walk over to the exam together.”

  I hesitated with my hand on the door knob. “That sounds great, but please no more overanalyzing my choice of men. I need to keep my mind focused on the test.”

  “You’re going to ace it. You know this stuff inside and out.”

  “Let’s hope. I refuse to become the first member of my family not to get the Youngston Fellowship, and I need to ace calculus to get it.”

  “You’ll ace it, but so what if you don’t get the fellowship? You’ll still get into grad school, and you’ll be able to do exactly what you want anyway.”

  “You don’t know my parents.”

  She sat up. “I’ve met them.”

  “Meeting them is different than knowing them.”

  “Yeah, but you said they wouldn’t mind you getting a ride home with Gage. That makes me question their sanity.” She laughed. “Ok, take that shower. We don’t have much time.”

  “I wonder why not.”

  “Don’t start. Your alarm would just be going off.”

  As if to prove her point, the dinging of my alarm started. Genevieve turned it off, and I headed down the hall to the bathroom. Four hours in the car with Gage. I could hardly wait.

  Chapter Two

  Gage

  “Do you want to get out of here?” A girl whose name I only vaguely remembered pushed a bunch of blond hair off her shoulder. She tilted her head slightly in order to reveal her neck to me. Whether she knew it or not, that was her subconscious way of telling me she was available and willing.

  The problem with majoring in Psych, and having a mom who was a psychiatrist, is you noticed those things. You noticed when a girl was acting in the same way an animal would—showing she was submissive. Some guys might have found that a turn on, but I didn’t. Unfortunately that was about the only type of girl I tended to attract. The more challenging ones, the type that wouldn’t hand over control until I earned it, were harder to come by at Eastern U. Either that or they just weren’t interested in a guy like me.

  “I’m good actually.” The party was boring, but I wasn’t in the mood to even consider taking the girl home. I was more concerned with how crappy my drive home would be the next day if the snow came early.

  “Are you sure?” She put a hand on my forearm and leaned in. “We could be having a lot more fun somewhere else.”

  “I’m leaving early tomorrow.” That was the lamest excuse in the book, but it was nicer than any other line I could come up with.

  “Oh. Ok.” Her face fell as she released my arm. “See you around.” She walked off into the crowd. I was sure she’d find someone else to occupy her time. I didn’t delude myself into thinking I was anything special to a girl like that. I was a body with a dick and some muscles. She’d find a replacement easily.

  Loud laughter had me flipping around. “Cold, man.” It was Josh, of course.

  “Shut up. I don’t have to sleep with every girl that comes my way.”

  “No, but that one was cute enough.” He gazed in the direction she’d disappeared. He was probably staring at her ass.

  “I’m not interested.” I looked out at the falling snow again.

  “You have messed up taste. You still haven’t even bagged that sexy nerd who is always hanging on to your every word.”

  “Who, Mary Anne?” Sexy nerd was probably a good description for the girl. I’d have never thought that Mary Anne Andrews would ever earn the label sexy, but somehow in the months since showing up at school she’d become just that. I noticed her way more than I should have, and she’d even starred in a fantasy or two. Her older brother would have had my ass for even thinking about her that way.

  Josh laughed. “So you admit she’s sexy.”

  “She’s attractive, I’ve never denied that.”

  “But, you’ve yet to tap that resource?”

  “Tap that resource? That’s a pathetic one even for you.”

  “You know what I mean. She’s from your hometown. If you had her as a friend with benefits you’d get some back home too.”

  “Not going to happen. I’ve known her way too long, and it’s not like that with us.” Up until a few months ago I still thought about her as a little kid. That was definitely changing, but it didn’t change whether I was going to touch her.

  “That’s the excuse you can use when you’re good friends, but you’re not good friends. There is no friendship to ruin.”

  “There’s still plenty to ruin. But why the hell do you care?” Josh always had ulterior motives.

  “I’m getting bored. She seems like a fun new challenge.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Why not? If you’re not interested, what does it matter if I want in?”

  “Because she’s off limits.” Way off limits. I wasn’t sure where the strong protective instinct came from. As Josh pointed out, we weren’t close friends, but Mayville, our hometown, was small enough that you knew everybody. Add to it that I played football and basketball with her older brother, and it seemed natural enough.

  “Whatever, someone’s going to tap that soon. If they haven’t already.”

  He was right. I knew that. I’d seen her out on a date the week before and found it bothered me more than I wanted to admit. Mary Anne had definitely grown up, and I wasn’t the only one noticing just how attractive she was. She hadn’t realized it yet though. I could tell by the way she looked down instead of making eye contact.

  “Are you really planning to leave early tomorrow?” He wisely dropped the Mary Anne subject.

  “Yeah, I don’t want to get stuck in the mountains when the snow hits.”

  “How many hours is it?”

  “Just four, but it takes ten times longer in the snow.”

  “Gage, what’s up man?” Tad, my at times annoying roommate, called from across the room.

  “I’m pretty much the same as I was a few minutes ago when you asked.”

  He laughed drunkenly. “Oh, I forgot.”

  “Why are we friends with him again?” Josh asked.

  “I could ask the same question about you.”

  Chapter Three

  Mary Anne

  “Wow, this is fun.” I rolled my eyes at Geneviève as we made a half-attempt to mingle with our classmates
. We were at a house party of a sophomore I’d had a few classes with that semester. It’s not that Genevieve and I were completely anti-social, but we didn’t exactly revel in drinking cheap beer and wearing short skirts with the hope of catching the right guy’s eye. Okay, I’d have worn nearly anything to get that kind of attention from Gage, but I knew he wouldn’t be at this party. Even in college Gage and I were part of different crowds. I guess some things never change.

  “We’ve been here close to an hour. Let’s hold off until ten thirty, and then we can leave.” Genevieve was the type who always came up with an answer. She never waffled or wavered, which made her the perfect person to go out with.

  “Deal.” I forced myself to take another sip of the flat beer I was currently holding. It tasted just as putrid as the last sip. I gave up on the beer and focused on the faint music playing in the background. The music seemed out of place at a college party. It felt dated in that, ‘this is what my parents would listen to’ sort of way.

  “We’re done with first semester. That should be exciting.” She sipped her own beer. By the expression on her face she wasn’t enjoying hers either.

  “It should be. We’re halfway done with freshman year.” Somehow the first semester of college had been a letdown though. My high expectations tend to lead to disappointment.

  “Maybe there’s something wrong with us. We don’t get excited about normal things.”

  “Or maybe we’re the normal ones.” I set down the red cup.

  “Mary Anne?”

  I tensed. I recognized the voice, and it wasn’t one I’d been looking forward to hearing. I turned around slowly. “Hi, Roy.”