Wolf Takes the Lead


 
 
 
 
 
 
 Copyright © 2023 by Terry Spear
 Cover and internal design © 2023 by Sourcebooks
 Cover art by Kris Keller/Lott Reps
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 The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
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 Contents
 Front Cover
 Title Page
 Copyright
 Chapter 1
 Chapter 2
 Chapter 3
 Chapter 4
 Chapter 5
 Chapter 6
 Chapter 7
 Chapter 8
 Chapter 9
 Chapter 10
 Chapter 11
 Chapter 12
 Chapter 13
 Chapter 14
 Chapter 15
 Chapter 16
 Chapter 17
 Chapter 18
 Chapter 19
 Chapter 20
 Chapter 21
 Chapter 22
 Chapter 23
 Chapter 24
 Chapter 25
 Chapter 26
 Chapter 27
 Chapter 28
 Chapter 29
 Epilogue
 Acknowledgments
 About the Author
 Excerpt from Wolf on the Wild Side
 Chapter 1
 Back Cover
 
 
 To Michelle Scaff, who reads everything that has my name on it and tells the world about it. You are a writer’s dream come true! Thank you!
 
 
 Chapter 1
 Derek Spencer was running along the beach with his Irish setter rescues, Red and Foxy, his bodyguard Will Wolfson following him, when the billionaire gray wolf realized he hadn’t heard from his human girlfriend, Brenda Connors, in a few days. Since he was taking her to a charity gala the following night, he figured he’d better touch base with her when he got back in to make sure she was all right. She’d been moody of late, irritable with him, but no matter how much he had pressed her to learn what the matter was, she wouldn’t share with him. Maybe she didn’t even know herself what was bugging her.
 Despite telling himself he should take the chance to date some she-wolves, Derek balked at going out with any of them. He told himself that after opening his heart to two of the she-wolves he’d loved and then lost to other wolves, he couldn’t let it happen again. It just wasn’t worth it. He couldn’t see a way past the anxiety he felt about even trying to date another she-wolf and risking falling in love again if she wanted nothing to do with having a permanent relationship with him. Hell, he was a billionaire and made all kinds of tough financial decisions. He could do just about anything he set his mind to, except when it came to dating she-wolves.
 His friends had given up on trying to convince him to date the ones they knew. He did a lot of stuff with his male friends, but when they included their mates, he just felt like an outsider. He felt he was never going to be able to do anything but see human women he wouldn’t lose his heart to. He would never consider turning one of them either. Yet he wanted something more.
 He wanted the connection he would have with a wolf mate that wasn’t anything like being with a human, no hidden secrets about what they were. That would be a relief—to let their wild selves out and enjoy spending the time with each other on wolf outings; to understand what it meant to be wolves; to be free to talk about wolf issues and to have that bond they shared. Sure, he talked to his wolf staff and his friends, but the bond between wolf mates went even deeper. He certainly wasn’t a lone wolf at heart.
 He ran up the stairs to his ocean-view estate in northern California, removed the dogs’ leashes, and headed into the kitchen to pull a bottle of water out of the fridge to drink.
 Will joined him. “That was a good run.”
 “Yeah, the best.” Then Derek grabbed his phone to call Brenda.
 “If you don’t need me for anything, I’m going to do a perimeter search.”
 “Okay, thanks.” Ever since Derek had started dating Brenda six months ago, she’d wanted him to wear something that wouldn’t clash with what she was wearing to social engagements. It was a quirk of hers that he didn’t mind accommodating. But she hadn’t called him about it yet, and he wondered if she was in another one of her moods. He could deal with them better if he just knew what was bothering her. Then he had another notion. He hoped she wasn’t sick.
 He called her several times before she finally answered her phone. He didn’t hear any sounds in the background indicating she was out on the town and too busy to answer the phone.
 “Listen, Derek,” Brenda said. She didn’t sound like she was happy with him, and that made him suspicious. “I’m tired of all my friends asking if we are getting engaged and me hemming and hawing around about it. I like your little social gatherings just fine, but unless you’re going to propose to me soon, I’m no longer going out with you.”
 Derek nearly choked on the water he was drinking out of the bottle. Her declaration surprised him because she hadn’t once hinted at wanting to be engaged at all. That was what the mood swings were all about? He sure hadn’t expected her to just give him an ultimatum. Why hadn’t she talked to him about this earlier instead of putting on the pressure right before the social event? Well, he supposed that was the reason—to