Blog Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway:
The Defiant Alpha
By Susi Hawke
West Coast Wolves, Book Two
An unwanted alpha and omega long-presumed dead...
fate has a way of righting old wrongs.
Stolen from his mother’s arms and reported stillborn at birth, “Thirteen” has spent nearly twenty-one years in structured captivity with other stolen omegas. His brothers. A few have disappeared over the years, but twelve remain. An even dozen omegas, each with a secret superpower.
Working together under the light of the full moon, their combined gifts help Thirteen escape—he’s their only hope of finding outside help to rescue them all. Except Thirteen is injured and nearly dies as he flees into the night. Collapsing on the side of a desert highway with the sound of a rumbling motorcycle in his ears, Thirteen is sure all hope is lost.
Until it’s not…
Found by his true mate, Thirteen is saved—and mated—before the full moon begins to wane.
Buckle in for a heart-filled adventure. Omegas are rescued, babies are made, a pack finds its heart, and a birth family is reunited with the one miracle they never could’ve dared imagine possible.
The West Coast Wolves is an mpreg series about five alphas. A small pack of bikers who spent years riding the highways and helping those in need until fate gave them each a pack to lead. The second in series, this 50k full-length novel is Lucian’s story. Prepare yourself for a few tissue moments, lots of laughter, and a birth scene you won’t soon forget. But then again, this is a Susi Hawke book so what else can you expect? Possible trigger for child abduction, betrayal from a medical provider, and off-page mention of stillbirth.
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Excerpt:
The closer I got to home, the more the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my stomach clenched. Whatever was about to happen in my life, it was close. My eyes automatically started scanning the road, my shifter-enhanced vision helping me see more of the dark ground off to the sides than a human ever could.
I eased off the throttle and slowed as I came around the first curve taking me higher into the mountain. If I hadn't, I might have missed the brown dog lying half out of the ditch. At this speed, I was able to stop in plenty of time to check it out.
The poor thing looked dead. Hopefully not, though, since I was feeling strangely drawn toward it. Had someone's dog been hit by a car? Or even worse, had an animal been abandoned and left to die? While sickening, such cruelty wasn't unheard of, especially on high traffic roads like this. No matter. I’d always wanted a dog. If this one could be saved, I’d give it a home with all the love its heart could handle, since I knew a thing or two about being tossed aside.
Parking my bike as close to the side as possible with the attached sidecar, I hit my flashers and crossed my fingers no one would come hurtling around the corner and crash into my ride. My headlight lit up the area, letting me see the unprotected stomach and balls of a medium-sized, toffee-colored wolf. Huh. Seeing such sensitive areas on display told me the wolf was either dead or knocked out.
Before I took a step away from the bike, my wolf howled and tried to jump forward. He slammed against my chest, pushing to take over. Fighting him back took more strength than it ever had in my life, and within three more steps, the wind shifted, and my human nose understood what my wolf had already discerned.
This wasn’t a wild wolf, and he wasn’t dead. This was my mate.
I took off at a run, rushing to his side and frantically checking for a pulse. Between the thick fur and my own nerves, finding the fluttering proof of his heartbeat took longer than it should have.
Even as I breathed out in relief, I felt almost foolish. On some level, I’d known he was alive since he didn’t smell like death. No, he smelled like candied ginger and some soft herb I couldn’t quite name at the moment. And more importantly, he smelled like… home. Like my home. The one place where I would always belong.
His weak heartbeat concerned me, as did the dried blood covering his paws and the ridiculous amount of burrs and nettles matted into his fur. He clearly needed a healer. Sliding a hand under his head, I gently lifted it and brushed my fingers over his muzzle while I considered my next steps.
A human doctor was out of the question, but the one thing lacking in my new pack was anyone with medical skills. The sole epsilon I knew of was an hour away, give or take, in Lucerne Valley.
Shit. Of course I should've thought of Matt's pack immediately. Not only did they have an epsilon, they were better set up to help protect and defend my omega mate than my newly trained deltas. The men in my pack had fighting skills, but they weren't soldiers. Matt sent a couple of his Delta captains over to help with my newly formed squadron, but it was a work in progress. Not until this week had we finally been able to start zeroing in on possible captain candidates to take over when Matt’s men left.
Carefully lifting him, I cradled my mate against my chest, shielding his body from further injury. A semi rumbled by, throwing a blast of heated air our way. Seeing the truck reminded me of our vulnerable position, further hammered home as several cars roared past.
Moving carefully, I hustled as much as I dared, carrying him to my bike, where I settled him on the sidecar's floorboard. I snagged a blanket from one of the compartments, tucking it around him as best I could to help protect his smaller body from the wind. I wasn't sure if it would hit him down there, but better safe than sorry.
Once I had my helmet on, I fired up the beast and merged with traffic while I tapped the button for my Bluetooth. As soon as Raul came on the line, I explained the situation and asked him to oversee the pack run tonight. Raul had already proven himself to be efficient and the perfect beta for me, so I wasn’t surprised at his easy acceptance.
"No problemo, Lucian. I've got things here. Your mate comes first. We'll be here waiting to meet him when he's well. I'll let Mamá know—she'll want to light a candle. Be safe. Don't drive like a demon tonight. Remember, getting in an accident will only prolong getting him to a healer." Considering the way he drove, I grinned at his warning, but appreciated the concern.
"Thanks, Raul. I'll be in touch." After I ended the call, I pushed aside all worries about my pack. For the rest of the drive, I focused on two things—the road and keeping one eye on my mate for any sign of further distress.
Check out where is all began with Book 1:
The Reluctant Alpha
Now on audio!
Narrated by Nick J Russo
“As much as I felt bad for this Elisha person—God, my heart was breaking for the young man and all he'd been through—I was also angry. I'd left that pack in my rearview ten years ago for a good reason.”
Matthias Longclaw is happy living his life on the back of his beloved Harley with his five best friends and brothers-in-arms at his side. The West Coast Wolves are a rare pack of alphas, made up of unwanted orphans and second-born sons. The packs they were born to may not have wanted them, but they’ve built a solid family of their own. They help where they can, doing random acts of kindness and expecting nothing in return, just helping to build a world they want to live in.
Then Matt gets a call from an old childhood buddy. He’s being called back—begged to return—to reclaim his birthright and save a life in the process. The problem is… to do it, he will have to take a mate. And if he refuses? The omega will die.
Torn between his duty to help others and his resentment of his old pack, Matt never expects for Elisha Whitetail to tilt his world and change everything. Can Matt and Elisha rebuild a broken pack while tending to a new love and a growing family while dealing with outside threats from neighboring packs?
They’re wolves. Strong, proud, and willing to do what it takes when their community needs them… whatever it takes.
This is the first in a new mpreg series about finding joy in a hard world, building family, and discovering that life can surprise a person when they least expect it. Although this world has harsher themes than my previous books, it still has the same heart you’d expect. Plus a dose of my irreverent humor and all the naughty, knotty heat that comes with true mates. It wouldn’t be a Susi Hawke book without it. Be sure to read the author's note at the beginning for possible trigger warnings.
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