Hungry for Red (A Salem Experiment Book 1) Read online

  Copyright

  Hungry for Red

  By: Loni Ree

  Copyright © 2019 by Loni Ree

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Edited By: Kendra's Editing and Book Services

  Cover Design By: Karlee Fast at KL’s Book Designs

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Loni Ree

  Prologue

  Aaron-October 30, 2019

  It’s the same every year. My wolf always gets restless the night before our turn-iversary. Sensing my unease, Kitty and Mouse snuggle next to me to offer comfort. In reality, it’s their turn-iversary, too. Before October 31, 2009, the three of us were very different beings. Kitty was a stray calico cat that wandered up to our doorstep one day. Frankie gave me hell for keeping the ‘mongrel’, but from the moment I saw him, he became part of my family. Mouse was a plain old house mouse that happened to be running through the house, fleeing for his life, on an unfortunate night. I was a computer nerd who had gotten drunk on spring break months before. I woke up with tattoos covering my chest and arms, along with a couple of unique piercings, but otherwise, I was a very boring human, living with two other equally boring nerds, Max and Frankie, in an old Victorian house on Salem Street. Then came the ‘incident’.

  One second, everything was normal, but the next second, I knocked over Frankie’s beaker during an indoor football game and poof, our lives changed forever. Literally. From then on, I share my body with a wolf who has become the other half of me, while Max’s other half is a bear. Frankie, on the other hand, became all beast. Six-feet and seven-inches of beast to be exact. Nerdy Frankie disappeared and was replaced with a massive mountain of a man whose heart matches the size of his body. He has lived with the guilt from that night. Even though we have tried to convince him that the “Salem Experiment” improved the “nerdy crew,” he refuses to listen. We continue to hope that, one day, he will realize we see our capabilities as improvements to the originals.

  As I lie here reminiscing, my wolf becomes even more antsy, almost as if he senses change is coming. Kitty and Mouse feel it, too, and are restless. The last time I felt this way, three nerds became monsters, a cat became a dog, and a mouse became a cat.

  1

  Isla

  Well, I really screwed the pooch this time. My idea of roughing it is a Holiday Inn with an outdoor pool, so why did I freaking agree to go camping with my loser coworkers? Oh, yeah, because Ted called me a spoiled princess, and I wanted to prove him wrong. I proved him wrong, all right. Now, I’m lost in the creepy woods while the sun steadily slips from the sky, and there’s no Holiday Inn in sight. Oh my God, do I hear a wolf howling? I’m going to be a wolf’s dinner, or maybe just a snack. My redheaded temper may have cooked my goose this time. Fudgemuffin, Terrible Ted and his teasing can go to hell. I hope the wolf gets him next.

  My boots crunch dead leaves while I trudge down the forest trail, praying that our meager campsite is around the next clump of trees. The birds in the trees mock me when all I find is another trail that leads further into the dark, scary forest. I managed to get lost between our campsite and the small creek where we were getting our water, and now, I have no idea how to save myself from spending a night alone in the forest without shelter.

  When I tell myself things can’t possibly get any worse, I hear twigs snapping behind me, and suddenly, the birds all rush from the branches above my head. Not one to wait around for trouble, I take off running through the dense forest. The next thing I know, my head connects with a branch, and…

  Aaron

  Well, that isn’t a sight you see every day. There’s an ugly fuck trying his best to pull the pants off of a figure lying half on the trail and half in the grass on the trail’s edge. As I get closer, an unbelievably delicious scent wraps around me. Then, I see brilliant red hair fanned out on the ground and a cute little face marred with an angry purple bruise that covers her entire forehead. My inner beast growls ferociously when he sees the harm this little fucker has done to our mate. What the fuck? Our mate? My wolf forces me to concentrate on the situation in front of us. That ugly little bastard is trying to take advantage of her poor little unconscious body, and my wolf is ready to tear him to shreds.

  My human mind finally accepts her role as our mate at the same time that the stupid fuck turns around and sees me standing over him. He tries to run, but I grab his neck and toss him up against the nearest tree. “How dare you touch my woman?”

  The little punk pales and, while sweat runs down his ugly face, sputters out a lie, “That’s my girlfriend.” The utter bullshit causes my beast to claw and fight for control as I struggle to remain human. After I’ve restrained my inner wolf, I growl, “You wouldn’t have to rape her if she was yours. Now, get the fuck out of here and don’t ever come back.”

  “What about Isla?”

  He looks over at my mate, and I step between them and growl, “Go!” I don’t want her to wake and her first memory of her mate is finding me tearing this asshole apart, so I release the little fuck which pisses my wolf off completely. As I watch him stumble through the woods, my wolf urges me to run after him and make him pay for daring to harm our mate, but I remind the wolf that she is our main priority right now.

  I turn back and carefully examine my tiny love. Besides the large bruise, she doesn’t appear to have any other injuries. Her dark red hair is tangled around her heart-shaped face, and I wish her eyes would open so I know she’s okay. I can’t tell if she is always this pale or if her injury is causing the loss of color. I decide to take her back to my cabin and call Frankie to see if he can FaceTime and check her out for me.

  When I lift her close to my chest, her scent invades my body, and my beast is nearly impossible to restrain. As she instinctively turns her face into my shoulder, my heart thunders in my chest while my dick turns to stone in my jeans. It’s a torturous trek back to the cabin with my wolf fighting me, my mate’s scent arousing me, and the rough denim chaffing my engorged dick. My distaste of underwear, along with my hardware, create an unfortunate situation. After what feels like an eternity, I see the roof of my home come into view, and Mouse and Kitty come running to greet me.

  My large wolf-like dog sniffs my precious cargo then looks circles around me protectively while I finish my journey to my front steps. “Okay, Kitty, thanks for guarding the place while I was out.” I shuffle my precious load then open the door and usher my tribe into the warm cabin. Kitty walks over to his doggy bed in the corner of the room and lies down while waiting for Mouse to slink over and cuddle up next to him.

  After placing my Little Red on the sofa, I grab a treat for each of my friends and an ice pack for the large knot forming under the ugly purple bruise on my mate’s for
ehead. I grab my phone and shoot a quick text to Frankie. Hopefully, he can stop by and take a look at her injury or check it out over FaceTime. When I hear soft moaning coming from the sofa, I drop my phone on the coffee table and hurry over to my mate. As the most stunning green eyes flutter open and look at me, my wolf cries, “Mine,” at the same time my heart stops beating for a second then restarts in a rhythm all for her. I can’t resist taking a big sniff of her heavenly scent, and my cock grows impossibly hard. I have to take several seconds to remind myself she’s injured before I throw her little ass over my shoulder and rush to the bedroom to fuck the hell out of her. What the hell? It’s like I’ve lost all sense of normalcy. My wolf is fighting harder, and I try to hold on to him as I examine Little Red.

  Her plump rosy lips form an O before she gasps and tries to sit up, but I gently lay her back and reassure her, “You’re safe here. I found you in the forest with some little creep trying to take advantage of you. He claimed to be your boyfriend, but I didn’t believe him. I’m not sure if he hit you or how you got the bump on your head.” I walk over and sit next to her on the sofa, and she doesn’t move away, much to my relief. Her scent drifts over to me, and it’s changed slightly; since she’s awake there’s a stronger, more potent quality to the aroma, and my inner wolf notices and fights even harder for control.

  My girl looks around cautiously before replying, “I got lost in the woods. Uh, I remember hearing something, then I took off running.” She rubs the bruise on her head and winces. “I ran into a branch, but I don’t remember anything after that.” She sits up carefully and leans her head back against the back of the sofa, swallowing a few times before continuing. “I don’t have a boyfriend, so he was lying. What did the little creep look like?”

  “Short, ugly clothes, bad haircut. Loser written all over him.” As I’m describing the jerk, her little hands are turning into fists. I reach over and take one, lifting it to my lips to place a soft kiss on her knuckles. There’s a sharp spike in her unbelievable fragrance, and I barley control my shift. I quickly close my eyes before she sees the flashing red that signals my slipping control, then I groan in the back of my throat as my dick swells further in my already tight jeans. Soon, something is going to have to give. The wolf isn’t backing off at all now, and I’m having trouble controlling both my human and wolf urges. I can’t stop myself from taking huge whiffs of her luscious scent, and the more of her fragrance that flows through my body, the harder my wolf fights me.

  The outrage in her soft voice distracts me some. “I can’t freaking believe Terrible Ted would try to assault me. That jerk. I knew I hated him. That asshat.” When she goes to stand, I reach over and hold her arms so she can’t rise from the sofa. After she finishes her struggle, I stand and walk over to the fireplace, where I try to discreetly adjust myself to give my poor abused cock a little room to expand. Her scent is a little less potent from this far away, and I’m thankful for the tiny bit of relief.

  Once my dick is in a more comfortable position, I turn back to Little Red. “Let’s make sure you’re okay. Then we can deal with the asshole.” After she nods, I walk over and kneel in front of her and keep speaking. “You need to stay calm until my friend, who’s a doctor, says you haven’t been badly injured. I texted him about your injury, so he should come by soon to check you out.” Then it hits me that I haven’t even introduced myself to my future wife. “I’m Aaron Wolfe.”

  2

  Isla

  Wow, that is one fine man. When I woke up and found a huge, gorgeous hunk standing over me in the darkened den, I figured I’d died when the branch collided with my head, and I somehow managed to make it to heaven. Even though I’m slightly queasy from my injury, his dark brown eyes send pure lust through my body, and I fight the urge to jump his hot body. The knot on my head must have done some sort of damage because this virgin has never felt the desire to attack a grown man. I rub the painful bump, trying to figure out what in the world is wrong with me. Because he keeps sniffing me, I worry about how I smell, but there isn’t anything I can do about it right now.

  I try to sit up, but he stops me, and his deep powerful voice wraps around me as he explains what happened in the woods after I collided with the tree branch. Outrage flows through me when I realize Terrible Ted was trying to assault me then had the nerve to claim to be my boyfriend. Yuck! Just the thought makes my skin crawl. When my protector takes my hand and runs his lips over the back of my knuckles, desire streaks through my body, causing my juices to drench my panties, and I swear his eyes flash red in the darkened room. After I grumble about Terrible Ted, my protector paces the room for a bit before informing me his friend will check me out before we deal with Ted. Then, I find out his name is Aaron Wolfe.

  His friend arrives to check out my injury and follows Aaron into the study where I’m waiting. When Frankie lightly touches my forehead, a large rumble fills the room, and we both turn to stare at Aaron. Frankie pauses and recommends that Aaron wait in the kitchen, but my protector adamantly refuses, so Frankie demands to speak to him in the hall. After the two men stomp out of the room, I hear a heated discussion and a thud in the hallway before they return for Frankie to finish his examination. Aaron walks around, muttering under his breath, with his fists clenched the whole time, but he doesn’t stop his friend from completing his work. Finally, Frankie pronounces me fit after the harrowing, extremely short examination. Aaron doesn’t waste any time, leading his friend from the room and out the front door once Frankie gives us instructions for my head.

  Aaron tells me to rest while he fixes us dinner, and I’m left sitting on the sofa, wondering how I’m going to get home and what will happen next. Frankie suggested that someone watch me for signs of a concussion, but I hate to ask a stranger who’s already helped me so much. Although, it would be nice to stay a little longer so I have time to jump him. There’s also the problem of my jerk coworker and his father, who happens to own the company where I’m employed. I’ll also have to deal with that situation soon.

  While I’m thinking about all these problems, there’s a knock at the front door. I stumble to my feet and rush into the foyer when I hear raised voices and arguing. To my dismay, I find Terrible Ted and his father—Ted, Sr.—in the foyer, arguing with Aaron. “Isla needs to come with us now,” Ted, Jr. sneers, and my skin crawls. Aaron shakes his head and growls back, “Fuck off. She isn’t going anywhere with you, asshole.”

  When Ted, Sr. turns and sees me, his eyes narrow, and he threatens, “Isla, if you want your job, you’ll get your ass in the car now. I’ve wasted enough of my Saturday out looking for you. My son was worried when this animal kidnapped you.”

  “Bullshit. You’ve spent your Saturday looking for her so she doesn’t report your asshole son to the authorities for attempted rape,” Aaron cuts in, and both Teds turn angry eyes in his direction.

  I decide it’s time to get rid of these assholes before there is more trouble. “Mr. Dirks, your son is a creep, and I refuse to go anywhere with you. And I quit.” Terrible Ted starts sputtering before I finish speaking, but his father grabs his arm and drags him to the door. When he gets to the door, the senior Ted turns and glares at me. “Young lady, if you know what’s good for you, you won’t repeat your false claims against my son.”

  Aaron charges, and the other two men rush out the door, then he sprints out after them and the door slams before I can follow. As I get to the door, Aaron walks back in, carrying my bag from the campsite. He looks at me and shrugs. “The asshole said he didn’t want to be responsible for anything of yours. He said your last paycheck will be in the mail Monday.”

  “Can you take me home?” The words burn my throat, but now that all the drama is over, there really is no reason for me to stay.

  “No, you need someone to take care of you. Now, go sit in the living room while I finish dinner.” Aaron’s commanding voice leaves no room for argument, so I head back to the living room and sit on the sofa to wait for him to return.


  A large black cat slinks up to me and rubs against my leg. When I lean down to pet it, another nose pokes into the side of my shoulder. I turn and face the largest dog I’ve ever seen. It looks like a combination of a German Sheppard and a Wolf. The large animal doesn’t appear to be mean. Just as I’m about to touch its silky back, Aaron returns, holding a tray of food. “I see you’ve met my friends, Mouse and Kitty.”

  I roll my eyes and look up at him. I can’t control the laughter at his pets’ names. “Please, don’t tell me you named your cat Mouse and your dog Kitty.” He sets the tray on the table in front of me and pets the dog on the head, then he points at the corner of the room where a pet bed is set up. The dog looks lovingly at the tray then turns and walks over to the bed and lies down. After the dog is stretched out, the cat rubs up against me one more time before it slowly ambles over and drops down next to his friend.

  Aaron turns to me. “Now, stop laughing at my poor animals. Yes, my dog is named Kitty, and my cat is named Mouse. I’ll tell you the whole long story later. First, I want you to eat something, and then we’ll try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll worry about everything else.”

  When Aaron sits next to me on the sofa, I have a hard time eating the delicious meal. His masculine scent wraps around me, and I feel my pulse increase as the desire to crawl onto his lap rushes through me. His tendency to sniff me continues, and I’m determined to get a shower, soon. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch him shift restlessly before standing and pacing the room while I try to finish eating.