His beast isn't playing around #PNR #MidWeekTease #MMRomance

Hiya, it's been a while I posted from a work-in-progress.

So you know how the other time I told you I started writing a story for a shifter anthology?

Well, I started writing it, then I parked it because life intruded. Now, I'm writing it again and hoping to submit it before the deadline in a few days. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, let me share a little from Royal, my shifter short story. In this scene Blake meets Jaheim (who is in wolf form) for the first time. An accident becomes a bit more than Blake expected.

I hope you enjoy this teaser. It is unedited.

A couple of paces away from me, a wolf lay where the wet blacktop met the muddy grass verge. A large wolf with brown fur.

Lupine shifter. The words whispered in my mind as I recognised the shimmering aura surrounding it.

Back muscles tightened and brows pulled in, my gaze ping-ponged around the road. The only light came from the car headlights and didn't reach beyond the tall trees lining both sides of the country road in the darkness.

Shifter politics never concerned me. With the ability to mask my aura and suppress my beast, I’d been able to live as close to human as possible since I became an adult.

At this moment, my animal impulses flared to life, as if I behaved this way regularly.

Opening my mouth, I sucked in air, scenting, searching. Although the downpour masked some scents while setting others free, I still picked up what I needed.

Danger. More wolves lurked.

But I couldn’t gauge their distance, having used only a fraction of my powers. I’d never needed to release the other part of me before. The part I hid from the world.

“It’s a wolf,” I called out to Dean as I squatted beside the animal.

“Is it okay?” Dean asked. He surveyed the front of the vehicle for damage.

A quick check proved the wolf was male. From the rattling sound and rise and fall of his chest, he breathed, albeit raggedly.

“He. It’s a male and he'll be alright.” Bowing my head, I flicked trickling rain off my face as some tension released from my body. I didn’t have to do anything.

An injured shifter could heal quickly. All this one had to do was to shift from beast to man, and the mending would accelerate.

But some of my unease remained because he hadn’t transformed. Yet.

Every shifter had a fundamental instinct to shift when wounded. So why wasn’t this wolf doing anything?

Unwilling to fight the sudden urge to touch him, I slid my palm into his fur.

A bolt of energy travelled up my arm and hit my chest. My skin flushed with heat. The beast inside me jolted, coming to attention.

Mine.

The severity of the word in my head nearly landed me on my ass on the slippery asphalt as I jerked my hand back. “What the hell?”

My beast came to the fore for the first time in years, brimming with savage agitation, ready to take charge. He’s mine. Ours. Protect him or I will.

Blake's beast isn't playing around, much to his shock. I love unsettling my characters. LOL

So here's my image of Blake. Can you guess what he is?