Full Moon Games Series

BOOK ONE: WOLF MOON MAGIC Mom always called me a moon chaser. I always took that to mean I was a free-spirited problem child with zero direction who'd probably end up in jail for throwing an alligator through a drive-through window. Little did I know how literal that nickname would turn out to be. It all started on a Friday in late January. It was warm outside thanks to living in 'Merica's wang, also known as Florida. Morning lecture was canceled. Hours to kill before my next class. What else was I to do but chug a bucket of coffee with caramel creamer and gape at pretty book covers? I was a grown-ass woman, and I'm not afraid to admit I was practically skipping to my favorite place in the world - Alakazam Bookstore. "Frank," I greeted the middle-aged shopkeeper. "Harlow." He barely looked up from the local grunge magazine that he perused with intensity. Alakazam opened at the butt crack of dawn so chronic book sniffers like myself could saunter in anytime and get lost in the scents of old leather covers, paper, and ink. The smells alone brought me back here again and again. "No class today?" Frank thumbed his two-day scruff and turned the page in his magazine. "Nope, not this morning." I squeezed my way through more than a few teetering stacks of books that formed a maze on the floor. Frank wasn't what you might expect to be the owner of a quirky little store like this. He dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt, typically with his favorite band on the front of it. Today's band was Glimmer Puss written in neon green. He had long, salt-and-pepper hair that was braided down his back and full-sleeve tattoos. He was a member of the local motorcycle club and completely looked the part. He drank his coffee nightmare black, and I was convinced that his soul was even blacker, even if he was usually nice to me. "And you thought you'd come here." Not a question. Not even close. "That gonna be a problem, Frank?" I side-stepped another pile on my way toward the back. "I gotta get my fix somewhere." "Only if you don't read the entire book here like last time," he called after me. "Hey, I paid for it, didn't I? Plus, if you don't want people reading here, get rid of the chairs." He knew I was right. His loud sigh echoed slightly before the high shelves swallowed me. Then, I was alone in a steamy sea of swoony men, whip-smart heroines, and unique worlds I could drown myself in again and again. Also known as the romance section. Here, I would find all the love stories I couldn't seem to land in real life. I had just finished The Veil of Moonlight and Fangs, and I was in desperate need of the sequel. Honestly though, I would gladly read any of these. However, right now, wolf shifter romance novels were my vice. Those that featured incredibly hot, powerful, domineering men were my favorite. I perused the aisle, scanning each title, knowing exactly what I was looking for: The Winter of Shadows and Prey. When my eyes landed on the title, a little gasp escaped. Yeah, there was chesty Dominic on the cover looking so fine. I snatched the book up and flipped through the pages, the words "tongue," "hot kiss," and "thrust" popping out from page ten onward. "Yes!" And no, I didn't read books just for the s*x. Fine, maybe I did. Maybe just this morning I told my enormous laundry piles, "Don't worry. No one does me either." See? That's called a valid excuse to read s*x books. "Romance, huh?" a deep male voice said. I spun, ready to use the book like a weapon to fend off what was clearly an attacker. Instead, the book dropped from my hand and hit the floor when I came face-to-face with a tower of muscle. The guy stood before me in that typical "tall, dark, and handsome" sort of way. Blue eyes, perfect dark hair, plush lips, shoulders to swoon over, full sleeve tattoos and hints of more curling up from underneath the collar of his black T-shirt. And that wasn't even considering the deep rumble of his voice or the way he smelled like violets and sea spray during a thunderstorm. I might have been drooling. Fuck. What had I found? The god of the bookstore hiding in the back? Something tugged sharply in my chest, an explosion of sparking nerves. "I like a handsome books." The words were out before I could stop them. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, trying to swallow them all back like they were eggplants. Eggplants? f*****g hell, Harlow! Pull your head out of your ass. No wonder I couldn't get laid. "What?" He smiled in a way that no one that hot had any business smiling. I shook my head, trying to reset, but no go. With only one functioning brain cell, I did the only thing I could - I darted down to grab the book. He stopped me with one warm, overlarge hand on my shoulder. "Let me get that." He flashed another perfectly crooked smile my way before he bent down and picked up my book for me. "I've been dying to read this one." He met my eyes, and I almost got lost in how bright and blue they were. He had a scattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks that were more than a little intriguing. But he was lying to me. I knew a fellow book nerd when I saw one, and he was just too hot. Plus, I was pretty sure there was no such thing as a bookstore god, which was a real shame. "You like these types of books?" I asked him skeptically, grabbing the book and flipping halfway through. The words "I screamed his name as he slid between my folds" might as well have been blinking in neon. I looked from the words to him and back again and nearly burst out laughing as whatever spell he'd had on me snapped. "You have no idea." He grabbed the book back, looking down at the page. I could have sworn his jaw detached a little. "I think you have no idea," I shot back. I didn't know if I was flirting or teasing, but I didn't care. Time to turn the tables on whatever weird attempt to pick me up he was making here. "Maybe I should've guessed that's what you liked," he said, his voice low and intoxicating. "Maybe." My smile spread innocently, teeth flashing as I took the book from his hands and scanned the page. "Dare you to read this part to me." "I would love to," he said, taking the book back. My stomach flopped as I realized too late what I had asked him to do. Right here. In the middle of the bookstore. With a voice that was worthy of the words he was about to read. What had I done? "More," he read with an arched eyebrow. God, just that one word trembled my knees. "More," he continued. "She spoke the word in a rumble as she spread herself for him, for the width of him that was just waiting to take her. To claim her. She needed it, but he was frozen there, the tip of him teasing her opening, the width of him already pushing her wider. More. The word was a sob as she bucked toward him, begging for his rock-hard cock..." I gulped loudly, staring at his fingers as they caressed the book cover, my coffee shaking in my hand. "Are you screwing with me?" His blue eyes flicked to mine, and I nearly dropped my coffee as he brought me back down to Earth with one look. The 1-800-s*x-GODS voice had gone. Poor guy looked furious. "Yes, of course." I laughed, grabbing the book from him and heading toward the front of the store. "Pretending you're into these books is such a bad pick-up line." He caught up to me easily. "Who said that I was trying to pick you up?" "Um, the fact that you tried to pretend you read wolf shifter books. You're a terrible liar." I gave him one last look, my heart leaping in my chest. Too bad he wasn't a reader because I'd start a book club with him any day. "Wolf shifter? I knew it." He quickened his steps, cutting me off right before I turned the corner that would put me in sight of Frank. He moved in closer, making me even more aware of his presence. It made the hair on the back of my neck spike up, like an electric current before a thunderstorm. It was like the same reaction I had at the sound of his voice but on steroids. I suppressed a shiver as he leaned close to my ear and asked, "What kind of wolf are you?"