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  Savage Lust

  Desiree Holt

  Night Seekers, Book Five

  The Night Seekers, a clandestine group of humans and wolf shifters, are on the trail of the Chupacabra. For team member Dante Martello, killing as many of the beasts as possible is the only thing easing the loss of his wife. Felicia fell victim to the creature years ago, but Dante’s pain is as fresh as ever. He’s a hollow shell, his existence narrowed to a single-minded purpose.

  Making him completely unprepared for Regan Fortune, who jumpstarts a heart—and libido—he’d thought long dead.

  Killed while researching the Chupacabra, Regan’s brother is the latest victim of the beast—and his fiancée is still missing. Even as Dante and Regan embark on a hunt to avenge her brother, find the missing woman, and prevent further deaths, the couple can’t deny the attraction exploding between them. Sizzling erotic nights blunt their mutual pain and hint at a possible future…if they can catch the madman responsible for unleashing the legendary beast.

  A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

  Savage Lust

  Desiree Holt

  Prologue

  “Okay, it’s official.”

  Reed Fortune looked over at his fiancée. “What’s official, babe?” He grinned. “Us? Damn straight.”

  Lisa McKay laughed, the sound musical. “I know that, you idiot. It’s one of the reasons we’re out here celebrating in nature. What I mean is, I’ve just decided the scenery in Texas Hill Country is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.”

  Reed raised an eyebrow. “You changing the location of one of those old icons?”

  “Actually, only one of them still exists. The Great Pyramid of Giza. There are about five new Seven Wonders lists that people have conjured up, so why can’t I start my own?”

  “I guess you can. It’s okay with me.”

  “I mean, look at this, Reed.” She made a sweeping motion with her arm. “Have you ever seen anything that takes your breath away like this? Aren’t you glad we live in the middle of such an awesome area?”

  She was standing on a rocky outcropping on the edge of a bluff, staring out over the Pedernales River flowing beneath them. The sky was painted a brilliant mixture of deep pink and ocean blue and glittering gold. The colors actually seemed reflected back from the low mountains and the meandering water below. Although they were already into November, the days were still blessedly warm enough for outdoor activities.

  The sight of her tall, lithe figure on the rock took Reed’s breath away. That was nothing new. Sometimes just a glimpse of her did that to him. She’d fashioned her thick blonde hair into a braid that hung down her back but a few stray wisps escaped, brushing against her skin. The cerulean sky, the same color as her eyes, was her backdrop, the whole bathed by the gold of the sunlight.

  Her t-shirt and shorts outlined a body that he knew every inch of, one that was highly toned yet soft beneath his touch. Just last night he had slowly and thoroughly explored it. Thinking about that and looking at her now made his cock harden and press against the fly of his hiking shorts.

  God, he loved this woman. He gave thanks every day that she had come into his life, especially considering his…special situation.

  Reed Fortune was a shifter, and therefore very careful about establishing relationships. He and Lisa had been together a long time before he’d even brought up the subject. He was more than grateful she had an open mind and a natural curiosity.

  “We’ve hiked a lot of trails, babe,” he said, shaking himself out of his reverie. “Seen some incredible views.”

  She nodded. “I agree. But this…this is just outstanding. A research trip and gorgeous scenery? Can’t beat that combination.”

  “And we haven’t even seen the falls themselves yet,” he reminded her.

  “What’s even better,” she added, “is we’ve practically got the place to ourselves today. I wonder where everyone is?”

  He shrugged. “Busy. Doing other stuff.” He rubbed his chin. “Lucky for us in more ways than one. I have a feeling that’s why my instincts told me we should do this now.”

  His face sobered as he thought of the dual reasons for today’s hike. Yes, they were celebrating their engagement doing one of the things they loved best. But they had a deeper, more dangerous reason too.

  Reed had written a number of bestsellers about outrageous legends, and Lisa had helped him with most of the research. This research trip was much trickier though. Their latest project concerned the legendary Chupacabra, the “goatsucker”, whose brutal killing methods were the stuff of nightmares.

  At first Lisa had tried to talk Reed out of it. Their research had uncovered all the stories over the past years—centuries, even—about the devil beast and the devastation it left in its wake, stories that often frightened her. But Reed was convinced there was something more going on here, something so horrific people refused to put a name to it. After all, how many of these “goatsucker” creatures could there be? Was it possible there was some kind of breeding place for them?

  Lisa and Reed hardly dared whisper the thought to each other, but Reed was determined to be the one who discovered the real origin and perpetuation of the Chupacabra.

  More than that—he wanted to extinguish the breed.

  He also had a personal reason for this particular project. Reed and his sister were the last of a shifter clan that had been shrinking for years. Stories had been passed down to them from their parents about the voracious hunger the Chupacabra had for wolves. For shifters, in particular. And Reed was determined to track the beast to its lair and find a way to destroy it for good.

  It was sheer luck that he and Lisa had hooked up. She had been studying werewolves, of all things, in the library when he was doing research in some very old books. One thing led to another and, well…

  When Reed thought about her excitement the first time she’d seen him shift, his cock hardened and his blood raced. Who would have guessed he’d be lucky enough to find someone like Lisa? Not to mention the fact that once she’d discovered his true nature, the sex became hotter and more electric than ever.

  Because the level of disbelief in the Chupacabra was so high, a lot of work had gone into pulling their information together. Studying countless articles and reports to determine if the descriptions of alleged victims’ bodies matched the goatsucker’s methods. Reed had discovered that the number of deaths had increased in the past year. And although they occurred in various states, the majority of them took place in Texas.

  Using information from ancient books and plotting on a map, he’d decided the beast’s next target area would be Wolf Mountain. Too crowded? Yes. Illogical? Also yes. But there was nothing logical about the situation, so here he and Lisa were.

  “I know it defies reason,” he told Lisa when he’d made plans for the hike, “but my wolf senses are tingling. I need to do this.”

  “And in that particular place?”

  “Yes.” He had looked at her, baffled by even his own logic. “Everything I’ve found says it hunts in isolated areas but something keeps leading me back to Wolf Mountain. Sometimes instinct overrides logic.”

  “Then I’m coming too,” she insisted.

  “Too dangerous.” They had just gotten engaged and he didn’t want anything to happen to her.

  “We’re in this together. Where you go, I go.” Then she’d kissed him so heatedly he wasn’t sure his cock would ever stop straining to get out of his jeans. “Besides, we can use it as a celebration. What better way to seal the deal than making love under the stars listening to a waterfall nearby?”

  Still, he made sure that in his backpack, along with camping gear and his ever-present iPad, he had a heavy-duty pistol at the ready. He might be
adventurous but he wasn’t stupid.

  What he really hoped was to trace the attacks to a human source. With so many killings in the past few months, he couldn’t avoid the possibility someone was breeding the creatures. It was better than the scary thought of the beasts self-perpetuating. But who would do that? And why? Not for the first time, he regretted allowing Lisa to come with him. He realized, though, she just would have tried to follow him anyway. She was safer being with him than alone.

  Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was close to noon. They had started out early, passing Wolf Mountain itself before noon and taking the portion of the trail that paralleled the bluffs. The weather was certainly with them. Although it was November, the days in this part of Texas were still warm enough for outdoor activity. Tonight when they camped, they’d build a small fire, pull on their sweatshirts and huddle close together. Then, in the shelter of their tent, they’d make love hot enough to dispel any chill in the air.

  He couldn’t wait.

  Unless, of course, the beast made an appearance and changed everything.

  “Let’s take a picture.” Lisa motioned to him. “Bring your cellphone.”

  He stood on the outcrop beside her, putting his dark head next to her blonde one, and positioned the camera to capture their faces and the scenery behind them.

  “Say cheese.” He grinned and snapped the picture. “Let’s move on to Jones Spring,” he suggested. “The brochure says there’s a heavily forested area almost to the edge of the bluffs. We can find a place to rest and eat lunch shaded by the trees.”

  “Great idea.” Lisa pulled a bottle of water from her hiking belt, uncapped it and drank thirstily before replacing it. “I’m ready. Let’s get moving.”

  “I want to get our camp set up before dark so I can watch and be prepared.”

  “Do you really think this is safe?” Her voice held an undertone of anxiety. “You know, what we’re doing?”

  “Absolutely. I’ve got a gun with me, I’m cautious, and I know what to expect if we come across the thing.” He studied her face. “Do you want to go back and I’ll finish this myself?”

  “Not on your life. I’m in it with you all the way.”

  Before she could take a step, they heard the rustle of leaves and a whitetail doe appeared at the edge of the trees. Spying the two humans, she stood absolutely still, shielding the two fawns that bounded to her side.

  “Don’t move,” Reed whispered as he eased his cellphone from his pocket again.

  Lisa made herself as still as a statue while Reed moved the phone into position and snapped pictures of the little family. Then, as if suddenly deciding they needed to hide, they took off through the woods and were swallowed up by the trees.

  “Wow!” she whispered. “Just wow.”

  “Uh-huh. And certainly better than the coyotes we heard howling a while ago.”

  Other animals appeared in their line of sight as they continued their journey. They came across rabbits scampering through the pecan and juniper trees. Raccoons lumbered across their path and clambered up the ash, elm and sycamore trees. Reed busily snapped as many pictures as he could. The trail was long and arduous but they were seasoned, experienced hikers and they’d plotted their route sensibly. They were rewarded with a wide variety of sights that included scrubland, dense cedar woodlands, valley vistas, springs, the river and the famous thundering falls.

  Just after one o’clock, they reached Jones Spring. A wide, flat area bumped up to the edge of the spring, a perfect place for picnicking. Reed dropped his backpack to the ground, took out a thin thermal sheet and spread it beneath a wide elm. Lisa grabbed their lunch from the insulated bag in her own backpack and began to lay out the food.

  She had just opened a bag of trail mix when she stopped and sniffed the air. “Reed? Do you smell that?”

  He looked up from his backpack. “Smell what?” He lifted his head and sniffed.

  Turpentine.

  The alleged telltale scent of the beast.

  “Lisa, get over behind those trees,” he ordered. “Right now.”

  “Why? What’s happening?”

  “It’s the scent. The devil beast has a distinctive smell, remember?” He dug into his pack and pulled out the gun he’d stashed there. With his other hand, he opened the camera on his cellphone. If this was indeed the Chupacabra, he wanted to record what he saw.

  At that moment, an unearthly sound roared at them from the trees.

  Lisa froze. “R-Reed?”

  “Don’t move.” He tightened his grip on his handgun.

  The unholy sound echoed again and the undergrowth shook as small animals scurried to safety and birds sped madly through the trees.

  Just as Reed turned and began to rise slowly to his feet, an ungodly apparition burst through the vegetation.

  His breath froze in his lungs and he was sure his heart stopped beating.

  Facing him was a creature straight from a nightmare. Standing at least five feet tall, it had the muscular legs of a large goat and a scaly body with knifelike protrusions down its spine. Its eyes were a vivid red, glowing like the embers of a fire, and its jaws were like those of a grizzly. Two enormous fangs protruded from its mouth and as Reed looked at it, the creature’s tongue snaked out and licked its ugly lips.

  Fuck! Fucking shit!

  He was actually looking at the Chupacabra.

  Until that moment, he’d had a tiny inkling of hope that the legends were just fanciful stories and the beasts doing all the killing were really some other animal.

  But this was real—and more horrific than he’d ever imagined.

  He wanted to tell Lisa to run, to get out of there, only no words came out of his mouth, even though his mind raced. He tried desperately to shift but the turpentine-like scent flooded the air, the odor seeming to inexplicably neutralize his wolf. It choked him and completely froze his ability to shift. He couldn’t even raise the gun and shoot.

  Then in a blink, the devil creature was on him, its massive claws gripping him, the huge fangs bared, the smell of turpentine overpowering.

  As he tried to break the grip of the animal’s knife-sharp claws, he was vaguely aware of Lisa finally getting to her feet and backpedaling to the edge of the clearing. Her scream split the air like a shard of lightning.

  In the next instant, fangs pierced his neck and the razor claws tore at his body. Monstrous pain, worse than anything he’d ever felt, consumed him.

  Then there was only blackness and death.

  There was no one to hear Lisa’s terrified screams when the beast grabbed her, hoisted her in powerful scaly arms and sped off, her cries still ripping the air.

  Or to see the man dressed head to foot in black, waiting by the helicopter hovering just above the ground in a hidden clearing.

  Chapter One

  The sound of lonesome coyotes in the distance pierced the fading night surrounding Desolation Ranch, the Texas headquarters of Night Seekers. The rhythm of daytime had yet to begin, the familiar activity in the war room and the ever-present sound of hammers and other construction equipment, which fell blessedly silent once the sun dipped below the horizon.

  Originally outfitted to house the first eight recruits of Night Seekers, the structure was undergoing massive changes. As more members were added and as spouses joined the team, Craig Stafford, the billionaire moneyman behind the group, had set about making sure each couple had their own private wing.

  Dante Martello loved the hour just before dawn, when the sky began to lighten and shine with the promise of a new day. These were the only moments when he actually allowed a glimmer of hope to pierce his consciousness.

  For five years now, Dante had been consumed with pain, rage and a savage lust to kill the beasts that had destroyed his life. It was why he ran as he did now, morning after morning, no matter what the weather, as if he could outrun the crushing agony that never left him.

  Night Seekers had become both his refuge and his opportunity to satisfy that
murderous hunger. Once, his lust had been focused solely on the woman who meant everything to him. Now destroying the Chupacabra consumed his entire life.

  With the house in sight, he slowed his pace until he eased into a walk. There were no lights on in the house except for the war room. Good. Everyone was still asleep. They all respected each other’s privacy, but ever since Sophia had caught him unawares, brooding on his patio, he worried someone would ask questions about his emotional state. Or worse yet, insist on accompanying him on his runs.

  Those who were shifters—and hadn’t he just had to turn his brain inside out to accept that?—often ran together in the darkness, burning up the energy of the wolf that lay inside them. But he, the cop who had always connected so well with people, had become an emotionally isolated loner. And this hour when he ran was what allowed him to pull himself together to work with the team the rest of the day.

  To push the memories of his wife and the hideous remains of her body out of his mind, a nightmare from which he couldn’t seem to wake up.

  Felicia…

  God, just thinking her name stabbed his heart with pain.

  Since arriving at Desolation Ranch, Dante had concentrated every waking moment on helping Night Seekers find a conclusion to his nightmare. He had no personal life. That had died with Felicia.

  Theirs was tense, nerve-racking, draining work. When other members needed a break from the constant search for information or the tension of yet another Chupacabra kill, they’d hang out at Clint Beltaire’s newly opened bar, The Black Wolf. The name made them laugh, since Clint was a shifter, like nearly three quarters of the team. In his other form he was a formidable black wolf, thus the name of his place. The bar was located in a little town about ten miles from Desolation Ranch, with a lot of local regulars. When Night Seekers gathered in a dark corner, they inevitably vented their despair over the loss of loved ones.

  But Dante never joined in. Though five years had passed, Felicia’s death was still too painful for him to discuss. He hoped finally killing all the Chupacabra would give him—and the others—some closure. Unfortunately, there seemed to be an endless supply of the monsters. Now the emphasis wasn’t just on tracking the beasts, but also on hunting the madman they believed was breeding them, combining genetic material of different species.