Auctioned Wolf

Auctioned Wolf Age Gap Wolf Shifter Romance Silvercoast Wolves Book 7 Ruby Knoxx Copyright © 2023 by Ruby Knoxx. All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of the book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, including recording, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in a book review. Contents Chapter 1 - Claude Chapter 2 - Marilyn Chapter 3 - Claude Chapter 4 - Marilyn Chapter 5 - Claude Chapter 6 - Marilyn Chapter 7 - Claude Chapter 8 - Marilyn Chapter 9 - Claude Chapter 10 - Marilyn Chapter 11 - Claude Chapter 12 - Marilyn Chapter 13 - Claude Chapter 14 - Marilyn Chapter 15 - Claude Chapter 16 - Marilyn Chapter 17 - Claude About the Author Books by Ruby Knoxx Chapter 1 - Claude The hush of winter's breath silenced the forest. A thin layer of snow crusted the ground beneath Claude's footsteps, delicate crystals crushed under the soles of careful boots. He had lived in these woods for half of his life, he knew the ins and outs of the cedar and pine trees, the flow of the land and how the hills gradually tilted toward the stream that flowed in the opposite direction. As a wolf, Claude could track and kill any prey he came across, could even find the scarcest of game in the dead of winter. But now, on the cusp of spring, animals were plentiful as they came out of hiding for the season of renewed warmth. Claude had come across the buck's tracks early that morning, only an hour after waking up at dawn and venturing into the sleepy forest. It was a sign that today would be a good hunt, the one he'd been waiting for after a harder-than-usual winter. The tracks were too easy to spot in the snow and mud in the places where it had melted. He could tell the beast was big from the deep tracks left behind, and hunting it as a wolf would have been no challenge to him whatsoever. He needed the meat, but hunting was one of the few things he took pleasure in anymore, and it was the challenge of hunting game alone that had allowed Claude to thrive over twenty years as a lone wolf. The thrill of the hunt never faded. Sometimes, it was even more enticing when the prey was smarter than him. Alas, that was seldom possible, so instead he increased the challenge by hunting in his human body. Though he still had enhanced senses compared to most humans, those senses were blunted compared to those of his wolf form. Hunting as a man required as much finesse as when he was a wolf, but it engaged different faculties, and Claude liked to test his mettle in both. He had to stay sharp to survive on his own. The buck moved quickly, and Claude glimpsed the 6-pointer twice during his pursuit, but he couldn't quite get in position to shoot it down. He was relentless in his chase, finally following the tracks down the slope toward the stream, coming closer to his prize with each step. He had been tracking it for miles and would not let it go easily. Claude was a loner through and through, and he only had himself to rely on for survival. If he didn’t make a kill soon, he wouldn’t starve, but he’d face the personal shame of having to rely on the conveniences of the human world to keep him alive. In part it was his fascination with the human world that had him exiled after being beaten near to death, so now he only went near humans when he had no other choice. He always had a tendency of touching things that didn't belong to him, but before his exile, he'd thought he was above the law. He'd been a young hotshot who believed he could take whatever he wanted and get away with it. His exile had been the first time he'd faced such dire consequences for his actions. In hindsight, he'd deserved his punishment, but at the time, he'd been outraged by how his pack had treated him. He claimed he was being punished for falling in love; in reality, he'd flown too close to the sun and gotten burned. Now he survived on his gruff exterior and the fear he instilled in the people who would try to challenge him and take what was his: his home. At the bottom of the hill, through the trees, piles of snow had slid down to settle on the banks of the stream in icy clusters. The buck stood with his head dipped toward the chilled water rushing over the rocks. His antlers hovered inches over the water while he leisurely rested, probably tired from the long chase endured from Claude's persistence. On the other side of the stream, the clearing was blanketed in a thick layer of snow that sparkled in the morning light like crystal diamonds. A single sycamore tree stood proud at one end of the clearing, its trunk twisted upwards into two separate skeletal and leafless branches. Claude lifted his bow from his back, nocked an arrow, and carefully pulled back the string. He inhaled, held his breath as he aimed at the deer's shoulder, intending to pierce the heart. He could already taste the juicy roast he'd be digging into after the buck's meat had time to settle, and he salivated in anticipation ... Howling sounded in the distance. The wolf's cry echoed across the clearing and the buck's head shot up and he bolted just as Claude exhaled and released the arrow. The arrow whizzed through the air, striking the rocks where the buck had been standing instead. The animal bounded off over the stream and across the clearing, disappearing past the sycamore and into the woods on the other side. Any