{"id":1001,"date":"2017-09-25T11:46:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T15:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1001"},"modified":"2017-09-28T11:17:12","modified_gmt":"2017-09-28T15:17:12","slug":"huntress-bound-chapter-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1001","title":{"rendered":"Huntress Bound: Chapter 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Huntress<\/a>Ready for a peek into Huntress Bound<\/a>? As a reminder, you’ll enjoy this book much more if you read Huntress Born<\/a> first. That caveat aside…let’s dive right in!<\/em><\/p>\n

I stood in Sebastien\u2019s foyer and assessed my current predicament.<\/p>\n

Unwitting mate who had no idea I was a werewolf? Check.<\/p>\n

Tenuous permission to hunt for my brother within another clan\u2019s territory? Check.<\/p>\n

Cupcake from my beloved father to be eaten when I found a safe harbor? Check.<\/p>\n

Pants? Okay, so I\u2019d lost that one small item somewhere along the way. But otherwise, I seemed to be all set.<\/p>\n

With everything else accounted for, I gazed up into my mate\u2019s molten chocolate eyes and acted more bold than I felt. \u201cDo you think,\u201d I asked a human who I\u2019d only met a few days earlier, \u201cI could spend the night on your sofa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sebastien\u2019s scent gradually shifted as he looked me up and down, gladness at my unexpected arrival giving way to the first inkling of doubt as reality stretched out between us. And I had to admit that he had grounds for misgivings. After all, it was roughly one o\u2019clock in the morning and I\u2019d spent the last hour running through the city in lupine form. So in addition to those missing trousers, my feet were filthy, my hair was tangled, and I looked very much like my inner beast felt\u2014exhilarated, tired, and very much wild.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d apparently chosen well, though, when I bound myself to this particular human in a fit of intense desperation earlier in the evening. Because the professor merely nodded and showed me inside, nuking a mug of water plus tea bag in the microwave before joining me on the sofa. Being cared for felt really good…so I squashed my inner chef\u2019s urge to cringe at the irregular brewing method and instead settled in to enjoy the experience.<\/p>\n

And, once again, Sebastien proved himself far more insightful than I\u2019d expected. \u201cTea is healthier when you make it this way,\u201d my companion explained professorially as he handed over the vessel. \u201cMore theanine and polyphenol. Try it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obediently, I lifted the mug while struggling against my wolf\u2019s impulse to scoot closer to our host so our skin might touch. The liquid was hot and aromatic, and my inner beast quieted as we discovered that our mate was right. The brew was <\/i>tasty. Perhaps science won out over tradition after all…at least in this one specific case.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Sebastien\u2019s methodical mind wasn\u2019t willing to let my unconventional appearance slide by without further comment. \u201cAre you in trouble?\u201d he asked when the silence between us had lengthened considerably. And even though the topic wasn\u2019t one I\u2019d hoped to broach tonight, the gravelly rumble of my companion\u2019s voice was enough to make my inner wolf whimper with delight.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, my human self was the one carrying on our end of this particular conversation, and I had no answer to the questions that were surely running through Sebastien\u2019s mind as quickly as possible answers were streaming through mine. Should I explain away my pants-less arrival by saying I\u2019d fallen out of a moving car and torn my clothing on the pavement? Been vomited upon by a drunken party-goer before tossing the sullied fabric? Lost my clothes in an ill-fated poker match? Was there any semi-believable explanation at all other than the fully implausible truth?<\/p>\n

\u201cShould I call the police?\u201d Sebastien continued when I failed to so much as nod or shake my head in reply to his earlier question. \u201cIf somebody hurt you….\u201d<\/p>\n

And there was that wolf-like possessiveness I knew and loved. My mouth quirked up on one side as Sebastien\u2019s aroma shifted yet again, this time turning steely and dangerous in response to thoughts about an imaginary tormentor.<\/p>\n

No, Sebastien hadn\u2019t chosen me as his mate when given the chance. Didn\u2019t, in fact, possess a single clue about what a werewolf mate bond consisted of or that he\u2019d become entangled in one against his will. But my companion did<\/i> worry that I\u2019d been harmed, and that concern soothed my lupine soul.<\/p>\n

So I hastened to return the favor. \u201cNobody hurt me. I promise,\u201d I answered, trying to figure out what else I could tell Sebastien without risking either of our skins. After all, despite being my not-quite-mate, the professor was still a human who wasn\u2019t allowed to learn about shifter-kind under penalty of death. That particular sword of Damocles definitely put a damper on what I was willing and able to share.<\/p>\n

I must have hesitated a bit too long. Because before I could come up with any answer at all, Sebastien cut me off. He sighed, pursed his lips, then let me off the hook. \u201cYou can\u2019t tell me. I understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t understand, though. Not really. Our mate bond wasn\u2019t yet fully functional, but proximity still granted me a window into my companion\u2019s thought processes. Via our half-formed tether, I could tell that the professor was confused, puzzled, disappointed…and that he also halfway believed he\u2019d opened up his home to a mafia member whose family would invade with guns blazing before the night was out.<\/p>\n

The mere notion startled words from my lips that I wished I could take back as soon as they\u2019d been uttered. \u201cI\u2019m not a gangster,\u201d I told him…only to realize a second too late that an ordinary human wouldn\u2019t have been granted that trickle of insight into her companion\u2019s thoughts.<\/p>\n

In an effort to cover my butt, I segued straight into the first semi-believable lie that came to mind. \u201cI wasn\u2019t paying attention earlier, and I got stuck in an auto-locking door,\u201d I started, warming to my tale as it spun out around me. \u201cI would have told you when you first asked, but the result was just plain embarrassing. The door snagged on my pants as I was going out the back of a bar downtown, and I couldn\u2019t figure out how to tear the fabric loose or get anyone\u2019s attention. That place was so loud\u2014it was crazy. So I wriggled my way out of my trousers and came here rather than walking bare-butted through the fray. Really, there\u2019s no reason to call the police. I\u2019m not hurt. I just need a place to stay for the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

I paused, then added, \u201cAnd maybe the loan of a pair of pants.\u201d<\/p>\n

For half a second, I thought my mate had bought into my lie. After all, the tale didn\u2019t involve supernatural beings or invisible bonds\u2014surely it was more convincing than the truth?<\/p>\n

But then Sebastien shook his head, chocolate eyes hardening into sharp-edged flint. \u201cYou can spend the night and borrow some pants,\u201d he offered. \u201cBut please don\u2019t lie to me again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read chapter 2 here.<\/a> Or click here to get your own copy of Huntress Bound.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ready for a peek into Huntress Bound? As a reminder, you’ll enjoy this book much more if you read Huntress Born first. That caveat aside…let’s dive right in! I stood in Sebastien\u2019s foyer and assessed my current predicament. Unwitting mate who had no idea I was a werewolf? Check. Tenuous permission to hunt for my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[24,14,7,27,23,8],"class_list":["post-1001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excerpts-aimee-easterling","tag-kindle-unlimited","tag-paranormal-books","tag-shifter-books","tag-urban-fantasy-books","tag-urban-paranormal-romantic-fantasy","tag-werewolf-books","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1001"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1009,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions\/1009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}