The Scent of Seduction Read online

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  Total-e-bound

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  Copyright ©2011 by Trina Lane

  First published in 2011

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Phantom River

  Dedication

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

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  A Total-E-Bound Publication

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  www.total-e-bound.com

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  The Scent of Seduction

  ISBN # 978-0-85715-714-0

  (C)Copyright Trina Lane 2011

  Cover Art by Posh Gosh (C)Copyright October 2011

  Edited by Stacey Birkel

  Total-E-Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author's imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2011 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

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  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Total-e-burning and a sexometer of 2.

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  Phantom River

  THE SCENT OF SEDUCTION

  Trina Lane

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  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Dedication

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  To Meggie.

  Your thirst for knowledge and adventure, generous spirit, bright smiles and sparkling laughter brought light to all our lives.

  Rest in peace.

  Family Together Always.

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  Trademarks Acknowledgement

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  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Jeep: Chrysler Group, LLC

  Popsicle: Lipton Investments, Inc.

  Technicolor: Technicolor Trademark Management societe par actions simplifiee

  Sherlock: Conan Doyle Estate Limited

  Boursin: Societe De La Fromagerie Boursin Corporation

  Captain America: MVL Rights LLC

  Wonder Woman: DC Comics Inc

  Superman: DC Comic Inc

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  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter One

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  August 2038

  She was so beautiful even from a distance. Her siren's call beckoned to him. Hills and valleys created shadows and highlights that drew the eyes. He could not tear his gaze from her magnificence. His mistress hung low in the sky and he tilted his head back to sing her praises. His song echoed in the mountains, across the streams and was repeated by friends and relatives nearby. His mistress’ silvery reflection teased him on the mirror-like surface of the lake, daring him to reach out and touch. The lush grass beneath him blanketed the earth. The scents of soil, lingering summer flowers and nearby animals wafted on the air.

  It was times such as these when he allowed his wolf freedom that Jaryn could forget about the stress of everyday life. The simplicity of the grass beneath his paws and the scent of the night mountain air calmed him as no herbal tea his mother thrust into his hands ever could. Lately that stress had been getting to him, more than ever before. He was constantly tired. And when he wasn't depressed, Jaryn was irritable to the point that even his best friend, who was known for his temper, raised an eyebrow. His life was a constant juggling act of duties to his pack, business, and a task force the American Shifter Council—the ASC—had ‘volunteered’ him for.

  Jaryn lapped water from the lake then lay in the grass, staring up at the moon as if it held all the answers. He heard a sound off to the left, near the tree line, and instantly rose to his feet. His head swivelled and his ears perked. His eyes were glued to the spot—ready for anything—but then a familiar scent reached him and the tension drained away from his muscles. He immediately recognised it as Charlie, his little brother. Seconds later Charlie came loping out of the trees with a rabbit in his mouth. Charlie was only fifteen so he was quite a bit smaller than Jaryn, even in wolf form. Having undergone his first change a little less than a year ago, Charlie was still an eager young pup. His prance gave away how satisfied he was with himself for the catch. When Charlie reached the edge of the lake, he tossed his prize towards Jaryn and prostrated himself a few feet away.

  The scent from the fresh kill tantalised Jaryn's senses. He took the first bite of the treat then welcomed his little brother to join in the snack. With the demands of his stomach temporarily appeased, he decided it was time for a good run. He looked over and saw Charlie rolling around in the grass. He snuffed and let out a little whine then took off across the meadow. His legs stretched with each stride, running full out across the clearing. His hell-bent run forced the air to part as his strong body ripped through the atmosphere. He turned his head and saw Charlie trying to catch up, and slowed his pace to lure him in. All of a sudden a forceful weight catapulted onto his back. Jaryn threw Charlie off his back with a twist and rolled. He quickly regained his legs, preparing for another assault. Charlie was down on his front paws with his rear flank up in the air.

  Oh, so the little runt wants to play, does he?

  Jaryn lunged and head-butted Charlie in the side, tipping him over, but Charlie's smaller size allowed him to squirm out of the pin. He circled around to nip at Jaryn's back leg. They took off running again then, a couple of hundred feet away, Jaryn's back legs lost traction as Charlie dug his head underneath his rear and lifted him up as if they were doing a wheelbarrow race. Jaryn collapsed his front paws and Charlie flew over him. As he did so, Jaryn nipped his tail. A sharp yip escaped Charlie before he landed in a pile of mud.

  Serves the little snot right!

  To finish off the challenge, Jaryn took Charlie's muzzle between his jaws and exerted just enough pressure to demand his submission.

  When Charlie capitulated, Jaryn gave his little brother a lick. He liked to encourage Charlie to build his dominant nature. One day he could be Alpha of their pack and it was important he learn those skills. They lay next to each other in the meadow for a while, occasionally rolling around in play, each try
ing to topple the other. A breeze had picked up as the sun began to set and his fur rippled as if it were waves on the ocean. They eventually made their way back to the house. After trotting up the steps to the back porch, they shifted and dressed in the jeans laid out for their return.

  "Hey, next time watch the teeth on the tail, man. I swear I felt some fur strip off."

  He captured Charlie in a headlock. “You started it, runt. If you don't wanna pay the dime, don't do the crime."

  Charlie twisted and looked up at Jaryn, rolling his eyes. “Save me from the antiquated puns. You old farts need to learn some new material. I realise that back when you were born dinosaurs still walked the earth, but we have moved on, my good man. Welcome to the future! If you don't want to start showing your age, I suggest you get with the times."

  He released Charlie from the headlock and backed him up against the timber siding of the house. The kid eventually would rival him in size but his fifteen-year-old frame was still all arms and legs. “Watch it, kiddo. You may be family, but I'm still Alpha around here."

  "Yeah, yeah. You almighty powerful Alpha. I bow before your magnificence."

  "Good you're learning.” He turned towards the back door—pausing for the facial recognition system to identify him before it unlocked the door. A couple of seconds later the door opened and the warm light from their parents’ kitchen spilled out onto the back porch. “Oh, and by the way—have you heard of this thing, a new program, where you can type in words and it'll find you information on just about anything in the world? I found some really cool stuff the other day. Did you know that there are drivers that allow an adult to download every transmission sent to and from a secondary comm-unit on their account? I'm pretty sure that I saw it downloaded on Dad's E-sphere the other day."

  He saw Charlie's complexion go white and his eyes go wide. The kid dashed around the side of the house so fast his pale skin was no more than a white blur. Jaryn fell against the door laughing. Served his little brother right for mouthing off to him. Dinosaurs indeed. Jaryn was hardly that old. He walked inside, still chuckling. He wiped the tears away that had gathered in his eyes with the hilarity—the laughter helping to wash away the tension from an overall shit week. When his eyes refocused, he saw his mother standing in the archway leading from the dining room with her hands on her hips.

  "Okay, what'd you do to him?” she said.

  He walked up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Mom."

  "Don't you ‘Hi Mom’ me, mister. What did you do to Charlie? He just dashed through the front door like the hounds of hell were after him, yelling something about his comm-unit as he ran up the stairs. I swear the two of you go out for a simple run and—"

  This started another bout of laughter and it was several seconds before he regained control of himself. “I told him Dad downloaded a driver that allows him to spy on his transmissions. He was probably dashing off to erase any evidence."

  "Oh, Jaryn.” She chuckled. “That was very bad of you. Funny, but bad. Don't you remember what you were like at that age?"

  "Of course I do, why do you think I gave him fair warning? I'd hate for him to be blindsided like you did to me."

  "You deserved every little punishment you got. I still shudder to think about the things you did we never found out about."

  "But that should make you proud. The fact that I didn't get caught means I was clever enough to escape your and Dad's eagle eyes. Points for ingenuity. It taught me problem solving skills which made me into the Alpha I am today."

  "Wow...I don't think I've ever heard a better spin on the justification of teenage behaviour. You are—"

  "A bilious pile of pig puke! Jaryn, I'm going to..."

  He heard Charlie screaming from the top of the stairs and gave his mom a huge smile. “Gotta run. Love you, Mom. Tell Dad the same. Don't forget—pack meeting on Tuesday at seven o'clock."

  He jogged down the steps from the back porch and headed for his Jeep. Once again he looked up at the moon, this time taking in his surroundings not only from the vantage of his six-foot-four inch height, but in all the colours his wolf vision denied him. His mom had flowers planted all around the stone foundation of the large covered porch and the brightness of the full moon highlighted the light yellow colour. He glanced back at the log and timber two-storey home with fondness. It was the project that had inspired him to become an architect. It was open and warm and filled with memories, some of which included the day they'd brought Charlie home from the hospital, and the insanely massive quantities of lights his dad had hung their first Christmas after it had been built. A more recent recollection was of the day he'd taken over the Alpha position from his father, and they'd celebrated in a huge party that sprawled out onto the pasture surrounding the home.

  He jumped in his Jeep then took off down the dirt road. He loved this vehicle. It may have been almost thirty years old, but there was something about roaring down the road in a transport still powered by a combustion engine that really revved Jaryn's blood. He'd lived with his family until he'd taken over as Alpha and built his own home farther back on the pack's property, a few miles away from his parents. His pack owned two hundred and forty acres in the area known as Phantom River, in western Montana. Pack historians had traced their ancestral members to the region well before the Europeans had come to claim the country for their own. Legally, Phantom River had been in their possession since the late eighteen-hundreds. As an added bonus, the surrounding land had eventually been designated as state and national park-owned mountains and forest. This gave all the shifters in Jaryn's pack plenty of space to run. The closest town, Stonepass, was large enough to support their medium-sized pack and most chose to live in or near town, but any pack member could apply to build within the boundaries of the pack lands if they so chose. Jaryn didn't have any neighbours within sight of his home, and he liked it that way. Since he was the one who approved all new buildings on the pack lands, he intended to keep it that way, too. He knew some packs around the country which lived in one large dormitory-like home, but as much as Jaryn's wolf loved the community of the pack, his human side valued privacy and peace.

  He pulled up to his house and smiled. The warm exterior lights welcomed him home to the log and timber single-storey Adirondack-style building. The exterior featured a glass wall that faced the mountains, a blocked stone chimney and foundation, and hand-hewn pine timbers supporting the eaves and logged walls. Jaryn strolled through the grass and stepped up onto the stone patio that surrounded the house. The biometric recognition system identified him and disengaged the home security. He opened the door and stepped inside.

  "Lights on. Level one."

  Low-wattage lights glowed from the vaulted ceiling—enough light for Jaryn to make his way easily through the great room without being blindingly bright. Of course, with his enhanced vision he really didn't need any lights, but they did make the place a little homier and highlighted the efforts of all his hard work. He'd worked tirelessly on the floor plan to achieve a unique combination of intimacy and space. Several sets of French doors opened to the wrap-around stone patio, and timber accents inside showcased the details of the high ceilings. Jaryn had done his best to blend traditional styling with contemporary innovations when it came to the furnishings and appliances.

  He went into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge. It was a nice enough night to go sit on the patio for a little while. When he closed the refrigerator door, he noticed the data screen on the front that flashed the latest update of his food stores. It reminded him that he needed milk, eggs and lunch meat—not to mention a reminder to pick up ingredients for this week's dinners. The system suggested that tomorrow he make steak with Boursin cheese and green beans. Jaryn shrugged—it sounded as good as anything at that moment. Eventually he'd have to programme in new suggestions for the system to rotate so he could get a little variety in his diet, but for now he was satisfied with the three basic food groups. Meat, beer, and potatoes. He occ
asionally added something green for good measure. Well, that and so his mom didn't take a bite out of his fur for having such a bad diet.

  It was a good thing that the appliance also sent reminders to his comm-unit because Jaryn knew he'd forget to stop by the store on his way home tomorrow without them. Then he'd be stuck without breakfast or lunch food in a couple days. Of course he could always frequent the diner, and with all the late nights he'd spent at the office lately, Jaryn had wound up there more often than not in the last several months.

  Jaryn stepped outside on his patio. “Lights off,” he ordered the home system. He loved sitting outside and watching the night sky without interference from artificial light. The night temperatures were cooler now that they'd crossed into the latter part of August. He lit a fire in the stone fireplace that was built into the side of his house then relaxed, listening to the sounds of the nearby creek. Some technology was great, but nothing could replace the peacefulness of the scents and sounds of a wood-burning fire and the great outdoors.

  It was nights like this he wished he had a mate to share the quiet peace of nature with. One who would kick back and enjoy the warmth of the fire with him, maybe even get a little frisky under a flannel blanket on one of the large chaise lounges he had scattered around the patio.

  He'd been with plenty of women over the years but none had been ‘the one'. None of them had called to his wolf, telling him that this was the person with whom he would share his life. He was getting tired of playing the game. He found temporary solace with the women he dated, but before long his wolf would demand that Jaryn move on, always on the hunt for his mate. Jaryn found himself frequently lonely despite being constantly surrounded by friends, family and pack members. Only with his mate would Jaryn's life be complete, and he'd be able to experience a full mating bond. The legendary bond ensured that Jaryn's extended days would be filled with love and laughter and companionship. She'd be the only woman who could give him children, the only one with whom he'd share a mental link. The only woman who could know him completely, and still love him. Claws, fur, fangs, bossy Alpha attitude and all.