Ariel Ellman

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Synopsis

WITCHBOUND is the first book in THE NORTHWOODS PACK series, a high heat, humorous, entertaining, paranormal romance series set in Maine, featuring an irresistible cast of wolves, vampires, and witches, caught up in an ancient prophecy to unite their three worlds.

Twenty-five-year-old Finn, a gay bartender from NYC who grew up on the streets in the Bronx but looks like he belongs in Venice Beach, doesn’t do overnights or even return phone calls, and he definitely doesn’t believe in “mates.”

When Finn inherits a cabin in the Northwoods of Maine from his werewolf friend, neither he nor his friend's insanely sexy older brother are prepared to meet on the doorstep. But once they do, nothing will stop the Alpha werewolf, Griffin, from claiming Finn as his mate, not even a kidnapping and an ancient prophecy involving Finn and a witchborn werewolf with a claim of his own

Excerpt

I almost passed out in relief when I pulled up the long dirt drive and spotted my newly inherited log cabin I’d abandoned my New York City apartment for. Its light-golden log frame and wide glass picture windows overlooking the lake, sparkled in the Maine late spring sunshine, giving off Hallmark movie vibes, right down to the forest green Adirondack chairs arranged cozily on the wrap-around porch. Add a pine wreath to the door and some snow dusting the welcome mat in the winter, and I could be living in a real-life holiday special, Christmas in the Maine Northwoods.

That was the first thought that flashed through my mind when I came to a stop. Then I wondered who the scary looking welcoming party was, as a trio of three, seriously buff, huntsmen looking guys stepped out of the woods.

“What’s he doing?” one of the guys called out as I sat unmoving in my ancient, dark red, GMC pickup truck, staring at them, lining up in front of the cabin.

They were probably early 20’s, just a few years younger than me. One had dark skin and a cool, messy afro, the other two were white, with a dark brown man-bun, and tangle of deep red curls. They had on dark T-shirts and ripstop pants, and man-bun had a knife strapped on his waist. They were either going rock climbing or about to kill me.

“What do you think I’m doing?” I muttered under my breath, checking to make sure my truck door was locked. “Not getting out of the truck in the middle of the woods to be murdered by the evil queen’s huntsmen, obviously.”

“Huntsmen? Do you think that was an insult or a compliment?” the tallest of the three guys asked his companions.

Oh, this was great. There was only one reason I could think of that the evil huntsman guy could have heard my muttered commentary inside the truck from across the driveway. They must be fucking werewolves. My new werewolf friend Cian, the guy who left me this cabin and truck, totally had supersonic hearing. That guy could hear me breathing when I was a block away from him.

Of course, he conveniently left out the part about the other werewolves lurking in the woods around his cabin when he sent me here. With my luck, I’d just stumbled onto an entire werewolf pack and was probably trespassing on their territory.

“You idiots weren’t supposed to come here,” a deep voice called out in exasperation, and the most beautiful guy I’d ever seen stepped out of the forest and in front of my truck.

If the other guys were the evil queen’s huntsmen, this guy was definitely their leader. He radiated authority and power. He was all raw masculinity and hear me roar, several inches taller than my own six-foot frame, with short dark hair, just long enough to run your fingers through, long legs tucked into jeans and work boots, with an open flannel over a T-shirt that did little to hide his rippling chest muscles and perfect abs.

He looked scary, and from the way the guys behind him were shrinking back, he must be dangerous, but instead of fear, I instantly thought, safe and warm, and yum. If he was the leader of the huntsmen, he was the one who helped Snow White get away.

I had the strangest desire to jump out of the truck and lick him, and I don’t just mean in a sexual way. He made me want to curl up in his lap and nuzzle his chest by a fire, and I’m not a nuzzler. I’m more of a bend-you-over-in-a-dark-alley kind of a guy, who tosses your number in the dumpster after I walk away. It’s not that I’m an asshole, exactly, I just don’t cuddle, nuzzle, or do attachment.

“Get out of the truck, we’re not going to hurt you,” the super-hot, guy-in-charge commanded. At least, it felt like a command, and that’s what broke the dreamy, I want to curl up in your lap and lick you all over spell for me. You could say I’m a little prickly about being ordered around. Comes with the territory of having to fend for myself my whole life. I don’t let anyone push me around, and I have plenty of my own rippling muscles under my shirt to back me up.

“Fuck off,” I shot back, reaching below my seat for my trusty K-bar knife. If these fuckers wanted to rumble, they weren’t getting me out of my truck without a fight.

“Did he just tell Griffin to fuck off?” huntsman number two exhaled in shock. The other guys gaped in disbelief.

Hottie lumberjack centerfold cocked his head to the side and stared at me curiously, his nostrils flaring as my heart rate sped up and he seemed to smell the adrenaline running through my body as I tensed, readying myself for the fight. Enhanced hearing and smell were definitely signs of a werewolf. This was perfect, things were looking worse for me by the minute.

But instead of dragging me out of the truck, he sniffed the air between us again, his eyes going carefully blank.

“Get out of here,” he growled at the guys behind him, and as they turned and ran into the woods, he stepped away from the truck, raising his hands up in a non-threatening way.

“They weren’t supposed to come here. They were just being stupid, nosy kids because they heard you pull up. I’m sorry if they scared you,” he said, continuing to back away until there was a healthy distance between us, and my heart rate started to regulate. It was almost like he could hear it beating in my chest, because he stopped backing away as soon as it slowed down.