Ann Aguirre - The Wolf Lord

Roguish. Reckless. Unreliable.

Raff Pineda has a certain reputation among the Animari. Hes the one to call if theres a party starting, not the man to rely on when all hell breaks loose. Though hes nominally the leader of the Pine Ridge pack, he defers to his second on the tough calls. Raff prefers to live fast and hard and keep his heart hidden, but a certain Eldritch princess wont fall for his usual tricks, and their contract political marriage may be anything but convenient.

Ambitious. Elegant. Isolated.

Princess Thalia Talfayen may not have been raised by a witch in a tower, but shes spent the last few decades locked up for a failed insurrection. Plotting and scheming come naturally to her; personal connections do not. Since shes come this far in her unstoppable quest to claim the silver throne, she wont hesitate to do whatever it takes to unite her people, even if that means giving herself to the big bad wolf

Ann Aguirre

For Suleikha Snyder

Who writes beautiful books

And still finds time to read mine.

Copyright Information

THE WOLF LORD

Copyright 2018 by Ann Aguirre

EPUB Edition

Edited by Victoria West

Cover art by Kanaxa

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or used in a fictitious manner and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form whatsoever, without written permission from the author except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews or articles.

I wish I could download books directly from my brain, but alas, making words takes time. Thanks so much for waiting eagerly to receive Raff and Thalias story.

First, thanks to Karen Alderman, Fedora Chen, and Pamela Webb-Elliot for sticking with me through so many books. I also appreciate Rachel Caine, Bree Bridges, Melissa Blue, Kate Elliott, Suleikha Snyder, and Charlotte Stein for offering moral support, kindness, and humor during one devil of a year. Thank you to all my readers and anyone whos enthusiastically recommended these books to others, such as Patrick Weekes.

Kanaxa also merits special mention as the artist who packages my books so beautifully, even when the ask seems impossible. My editor, Victoria West, needs a thank-you, as well, since she polishes my prose so well. Thanks to Lillie for the fantastic proofreading. I couldnt do this without the whole team.

Finally, thanks to my family, who are only a little jealous that I have a special office mini-fridge stocked with juice boxes, string cheese, and pudding. My son, Alek, helped me a lot in working out the plot for this book; hes a fantastic listener and he always comes up with great solutions. The action scenes often contain his ideas!

Please enjoy this story and look forward to the rest. Were halfway there; thanks for sticking with me. If youre wondering whether there will be more booksmore couplesafter the planned six-book series ends, that depends on you, dear reader. Keep talking about these stories and let it be so!

In The Leopard King, Latent shifter Pru Bristow went after the pride leader, Dominic Asher, who had holed up at the seers retreat after the death of his wife, also Prus best friend. With the conclave approaching, Ash Valley couldnt afford to let Doms second, Slay, run the show. It was rocky going, and they were attacked by Eldritch assassins. In the furious fight that followed, Pru finally shifted and saved Doms life.

In time, she convinced Dom to come back to Ash Valley because the fate of the pride rested on completing the conclave and renewing the Pax Protocols (a peace treaty between supernatural communities). Her success didnt come without a cost, however. She agreed to become Doms mate and lead the pride alongside him.

Their return startled a lot of people, Slay most of all, because hed always thought that Pru would wait for him forever. Since he didnt want her when she couldnt shift, she didnt want him once she could, and Pru devoted herself to working with Dom to make the conclave go smoothly.

That wasnt in the cards. Though the attendants all arrived safely, the Pine Ridge wolf pack and the Burnt Amber bear clan hated Lord Talfayen of the Eldritch, and nobody knew what to make of Prince Alastor of the Golgoth. Everything that could go wrong, did, including the murder of an Eldritch envoy. Talks broke down, culminating in treachery, but the Eldritch Lords plot went awry, as the bombs hed set detonated too soon, catching his own people in the trap. King Tycho of the Golgoth attacked thereafter and it was all Ash Valley could do to hold.

Meanwhile, Dom and Pru tried to keep things together while falling in love. They did battle with their enemies and each other, before eventually admitting their true feelings. Slay vanished mysteriously and the leading couple finally had a wedding party, once Ash Valley was safe. Soon after, the visiting dignitaries departed, and the Numina prepared for war.

In The Demon Prince, Dr. Sheyla Halek reluctantly agreed to take charge of Prince Alastor Vega and work on synthesizing the medicine he needed for his rare illness. Since she preferred research to treating actual patients anyway, she didnt hate the idea, but she was quite annoyed to be saddled with someone she considered an enemy. For his part, Prince Alastor liked the prickly doctor at once and spent a good deal of his time trying to charm her.

They left Ash Valley togetherwith her ostensibly in the role of company medicand became closer through an arduous journey to Tychos likely next target: the unprotected city of Hallowell. Alastor tried his best to woo Sheyla, and while she wasnt susceptible to his brand of charm, she did admire his determination to do the right thing for his people. Slowly, they drew together, because he understood her, and shewithout realizing itquietly partook of Golgoth courtship rites.

Eventually, they decided to embark upon a wartime romance because their passion could no longer be denied. Theyd only stay together until Hallowell was safe. Afterward, theyd go their separate ways, because Sheyla belonged in Ash Valley, and Alastor had heavy responsibilities to his people. Since she couldnt have a relationship, even a brief one, with a patient in her care, Sheyla turned treatment over to a colleague and focused on researching Alastors medicine.

Neither one cared to admit how deeply theyd fallen for one another, and the risky romance only intensified, set against the backdrop of impending doom. When Tychos forces invaded, it seemed like all might be lost, but Alastor eventually won against incredible odds, mounting a successful defense of a critical foothold in the war effort, though not without painful loss and sacrifice. He also secured the allegiance of Tychos surviving forces, which was when Sheyla left him, as per their original agreement.

Realizing he couldnt live without her, Alastor chased her down and officially proposed in front of her family, offering to make her his queen once he liberated Golgerra. Though her relatives were skeptical at first, eventually they agreed, and the demon prince was set to live happily ever after with his physician-queen. This decision meant rejecting other marital offers, however, which would have a fascinating impact on the war effort elsewhere

P rincess Thalia Talfayen loathed scoundrels, but she might marry one. She stared at the dossier before her and then glanced up at her aide. Is there truly no hope for an alliance elsewhere?