Wildwood in Winter

Brotherhood of Blood ~ Wildwood Wildwood in Winter by Bianca D’Arc Copyright © 2023 Bianca D’Arc Hawk Publishing, LLC New York All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any or by any means, or stored in a database retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the Author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. www.biancadarc.com OFFICIAL BIANCA D’ARC NEWSLETTER She’s kissed a lot of frogs in her day, but she has the feeling she’s finally found a prince. A simple first-contact mission goes horribly awry… Arlo was just going up to Idaho for a quick visit to a possible new member of his extended Pack - a part-dryad who might be related to the Pack’s Alpha female. What he finds is a woman who stirs his senses and challenges his perceptions on every level. He likes her. A lot. Maybe too much. What he doesn’t like is the mage who comes calling, out for her blood. Shared danger, shared adventure… Running for their lives, Arlo learns that his new dryad friend is very powerful and incredibly ingenious. A woman after his own heart. His inner wolf wants to claim her and she seems amenable, but they have to deal with the people trying to kill them first. Fate, it seems has ideas about her previously quiet life… Pam is drawn to the handsome werewolf. She doesn’t like the danger, but she wouldn’t want to face it with anyone else by her side. Arlo inspires trust, and a lusty attraction like she’s never felt before. Not only that, but he’s the kind of guy she could easily fall in love with…if she dares. DEDICATION It’s been about a year since my father died, and in that year, I’ve managed to bring to a close two outstanding story lines in my paranormal world. First, last summer, I wrote the Trident Trilogy, which solved the sea monster problem in Grizzly Cove. And now, with this set of four books, I am bringing an end to the story line started long ago with the dryad Leonora. I think Dad would be proud of the work I’ve done, even as I mourned his loss. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him—and my mother—and miss them. I know they are around me, but it’s still rather quiet here without them and I miss their counsel. I know they would be thrilled with my being able to continue to write the stories I love. They never read my work, but they supported my career change wholeheartedly, which meant the world to me. This book, as all my work, is dedicated to them, but most especially to Dad, on the anniversary of his departure from this realm. I know many of you got to meet him at various conventions I brought him to after Mom died. She was scared to fly and he loved flying. But because he loved her, he didn’t get to fly much when she was around. After she passed, I took him on my travels and he loved every minute of the adventures we had. He loved meeting the friendly people wherever we went and he loved getting out and going places. So… To Dad. My first—and best—hero. TABLE OF CONTENTS Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Epilogue Excerpt from The Elven Star About the Author Other Books by Bianca D’Arc PROLOGUE Previously, in Wyoming… “Where is she?” The Pack Alpha, Jason, stepped forward. He was facing Sally, the woman he had fallen in love with, his gaze speaking of his fear that the dryad, Leonora, had indeed died. “She rests inside this willow until I can gather her granddaughters and bring her back,” Sally replied, her voice shaky. “Then our Pack will guard her resting place.” Jason answered steadfast. Arlo, one of the wolves watching all of this unfold from the perimeter, nodded internally. He’d taken an interest in the courtship between the Alpha wolf and the big city police detective, who would soon be the Alpha female of the Pack, if he wasn’t much mistaken. “Good,” Sally replied. “Because I already sort of promised Leonora that you would.” Sally smiled a bit sheepishly. Jason just took her in his arms and kissed her fiercely. In front of the toughest wolves in his Pack. That was a statement, if ever there was one. Arlo watched his fellows carefully to see what their response would be. He knew what he thought about the pairing, but he wasn’t sure what the others—particularly the single females—would think of accepting human Alpha female for the Pack, even if she was part-dryad. Instead of growls of complaint, Arlo was satisfied to hear a chorus of joyful howls all around, painting the night with a symphony of sound. Approval. Arlo joined his voice to the others. The Pack had a new member, and their Alpha had a new mate. The Pack would be stronger now that its Alpha had chosen a strong female to be his partner in life and in leading the Pack. It was a happy moment