Wolf at the Door - Nicole Morgan Read online

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  Wolf at the Door

  By Nicole Morgan

  EROTIC PARANORMAL ROMANCE

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Nikko Farkas was despondent after the death of his mother, the strongest person he ever knew. After weeks of wallowing in his grief, he finally picks himself up and sets off to track down his cousin, Gerri Wilder. His mother’s one wish, whispered to him in her last breath was that he finally slow down and find a mate. He knew if anyone could help him keep that promise it would be his match making cousin, Gerri.

  Natalie Renquist had just gone on her last date, with the last man she would ever allow into her life. She’d spent months going on dates with men that the Paranormal Dating Agency had matched her up with and each and every one of them were worse than the last. Resigning herself to buy a house cat, or two, she would stock up on Rocky Road ice cream and forget about her pursuit for happiness all together.

  When Nikko gets matched with Natalie, he is entranced by the gleam in her eye. Excited to actually court a woman instead of finding his usual hookup to find release, he is not prepared for the rejection she sends his way. Never being one to give up, he ups his game and pursues her relentlessly. But when Natalie complains to PDA about his advances he becomes furious with her for labeling him the way that she has. Though try as he might, he cannot get her out of his mind. And much to Natalie’s dismay, she begins thinking of him as well. Dreaming of him, and longing for him.

  Will Gerri be able to match the two most stubborn clients she’s ever had? Or will the successful and tenacious fireball of a matchmaker finally get through them?

  Prologue

  May, 2017

  Nikko Farkas knelt by his mother’s bedside. Bowing his head down, he blinked away the tears which kept refused to stay away. The harder he fought them, the more they stung his eyelids.

  Silently, he prayed that her suffering wound soon end. He squeezed her hand, unable to speak any words. His voice was silenced, stifled behind the gut wrenching emotion which was boiling up inside of him.

  Why her? Of all of the people in this world, why her?

  He’d asked the questions to himself a thousand times before, but no answers ever came. He wasn’t even sure who he was asking anymore. He’d long since given up hope than anyone was listening. There was a time, when he was younger, before his mother became ill, that he’d believed in a higher power. That seemed like a distant memory now as he bit his lower lip, trying to keep the cries from betraying him and showing her his weakness.

  He refused to break in front of her, refused to show her the extent of his pain. All he cared for was her comfort. Her relief. Her peace.

  Corrine Farkas wasn’t just his mother. She was a legend. An elder in their pack, and one who had done so much for their kind over the years, her illness hadn’t just affected him. He knew full well that there was an entire community of their kind who would feel her loss.

  No matter how much he tried to understand how important she had been to so many, all he could think was that she was his mother. The woman who had been there to kiss his cuts and scrapes when he was a mischievous young boy, the woman who continuously nagged him for not settling down and giving her grandchildren. She was the woman, the only woman, who he ever loved.

  “Nikko?”

  His mother’s quiet and shaky voice surprised him. Looking up, he stared into the most caring eyes he’d ever known.

  “Mama. Shh… you shouldn’t try to speak. Save your strength to –.”

  “Hush now, my love. I need…” her voice trailed off. She sat silently for a long moment before taking a deep breath and continuing, “Nikko, my sweet boy. Do you know how proud I am of the man you’ve become?”

  He gently brushed at her cheek. “Thank you, mama. But really, you must rest. The doctor said so.”

  She coughed, the depths of her illness echoing through the raspy sounds which emanated from such a gentle woman.

  “I know I’ve nagged you, Nikko. But, I’d like you to promise me something.”

  “Anything, mama.”

  “Find someone, my son. Don’t continue with the way you’ve been. Go out there, find the kind of love that your father and I had.”

  She coughed once more. A drop of blood escaped her mouth and landed on his shirt.

  “I will. Someday I will.”

  Shaking her head she persisted. “No, my love. You have no idea how precious life is. How quickly it can be taken away. Your father was taken from you when you were so young, too young. You don’t know what it is that you’re missing.”

  “Okay, mama. Okay.”

  He tried to reassure her, but he would’ve promised her the stars and the moon above if she’d asked. Anything, if it meant keeping her calm and free from her constant discomfort.

  “No, Nikko. Promise me. Promise me you’ll stop living this life of solitude. Find someone, fine…” she choked on her words.

  Blinding tears filled his eyes. He saw how strong she was trying to be, but he knew. He knew how much she pain she was in.

  He got up and leaned over her. Wrapping his free arm around her head he gently brushed at her silver hair and kissed her forehead.

  “I promise, mama. I swear. I’ll find someone. I’ll make you so proud of me.”

  “I am proud of you, son.”

  “I love you, mama. I love you so much.”

  His last word came out in a howl of wrenching pain. The hairs began prickling his arms as he felt his wolf self begin to shift. He had never felt so weak and out of control. He’d always been able to control how his body reacted to emotion. But looming over his mother, seeing the strongest woman he’d ever known look up at him with such proud and loving eyes was his true undoing.

  “I will always be with you, Nikko. Always…” Just as she spoke the last word her body stilled.

  He watched in relief as a veil of peace washed over her. “I love you, mama.”

  Unable to control his emotions, he allowed his wolf self to take form. His limbs shrunk and his body morphed down to half its normal size. He stretched into his fur, his tail protruding out through the base of his spine as he nestled on the bed next to her.

  Whimpering he nuzzled his nose against her neck and cried. Tears streaked down his grey coat as he laid his body on her chest. He prayed, hoped that he would hear the beating of her heart, but nothing came.

  She was gone.

  Gone from their pack.

  Gone from this world.

  Gone from him.

  He raised his head up, and howled into the silent night, wondering if she finally was without pain. Hoping that she was finally free.

  Chapter One

  Present day…

  Natalie Renquist sat across the table from Chad. Or was it Thad? She’d long since forgotten his name. Which was a remarkable feat in and of itself conside
ring he hadn’t stopped talking about himself or his many attributes for the entire dinner.

  Five minutes into the evening with her cantankerous date and she’d already known it had been a mistake. Despite what her matchmaker, Gerri at Paranormal Dating Agency had told her, the man chewing with his mouth open while telling stories that the whole restaurant could hear was anything but polite. He had the manners of a caveman and the personality of a wet mop. Not that she was surprised really. He was a Kodiak shifter after all. She’d heard that many bear shifters could be jerks, but Kodiak bears seemed to be pegged as the biggest jackasses of the lot. They had a reputation for being obnoxious, arrogant and all around asshats. They were traits that he not only seemed aware of, but oddly proud of as well.

  For weeks she had considered ending her agreement with the dating agency. Gerri had come highly recommended but, it seemed for as much as she had a reputation for being the best, she had been the absolute worst in her dealings with Natalie’s love life.

  She went over the conversation in her head a few dozen times while her date continued on about some conquest he was bragging about. A part of her wanted to ask Gerri if she was completely delusional. The thought wasn’t completely out of line considering the monumental pricks that she’d been setting Natalie up with in the previous months. Still on the flip side she tried to remember that not only was Gerri known as the best in the business, but she was intimidating as all hell. The actual odds that Natalie would ever stand up to Gerri were slim to none. Still, it was an interesting scenario to detract her from the current pain she was being forced to endure by the constant droning on of her date.

  And just what the hell was his name anyway? Was it Chad? Was it Thad? Oh! Brad! That’s right.

  “Excuse me,” the waitress looked hesitant when interrupting their conversation. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  Natalie smiled through clenched teeth. “Just the check, please.”

  “What? You don’t want any desert?” he gave her a once over. “You look like you have a sweet tooth?”

  If it hadn’t been for gravity, Natalie was sure the waitress’ eyes would’ve fallen out of her head from the shock of his rudeness.

  She neither cared what her crude date thought, anymore than she cared what the numbers on the scale in her bathroom said. She knew she was overweight and could stand to lose a good fifteen, or more pounds. It’s not like she was oblivious to the fact she had a figure shaped like a pear. Every woman in her family had been blessed with the same traits, big boobs, tiny waist, big ass and giant thighs. She’d learned to live with it and had no illusions or insecurities about her body. So she hardly needed a man in her life that looked down on her as though she was anything less than fat and fabulous.

  “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Glaring at him she replied. “By what exactly?”

  She refused to acknowledge his asshole remark, just like she’d ignored many of his other rude comments throughout the night. The only real compliments he seemed capable of granting were ones to himself. It was a wonder to her that he was dating at all, seeing as how his one true love seemed to be himself.

  “You’re different. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ve not met many women like you before.”

  You mean women with a backbone who don’t subscribe to your cocky pigheadedness?

  “Oh?” she asked. “Tell me, what is a woman like me exactly?”

  “You know… you don’t care what people think.”

  No. I don’t care what you think.

  Despite wanting desperately to utter the words, she kept quiet and reached for the check as soon as it hit the table.

  “Whoa. You’re paying too?” he asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, just another one of the qualities of being a woman like me.”

  While sarcasm dripped off of every word, she doubted he recognized any of it.

  “You know, since you’re buying… you might just get lucky tonight.”

  She tossed a fifty dollar bill on the table and cringed at the thought.

  Don’t hit him, Natalie. Don’t do it.

  Nodding her head down at the money she replied, “This should cover it.”

  “Hey,” he reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Don’t rush off yet. I haven’t had a chance to get to know you.”

  Pulling her hand away she cocked her eyebrow up. She was surprised he even noticed she was there at all. He might as well have been sitting across from a mirror for as much as he seemed to love himself.

  “Maybe that’s because you haven’t shut up for longer than five seconds this entire dinner.”

  “Aww, come on, babe. Don’t be like that.” He stood up and placed a hand on her waist. “Maybe we could go back to my place and finish the conversation over a glass of wine.”

  Surely he didn’t just suggest that. There was no way even he could be that ignorant to my obvious disinterest.

  “Are you insane?”

  It wasn’t a rhetorical question. She was beginning to think he may actually be suffering from some sort of narcissistic disorder. It was the only way to explain away his complete asshole tendencies.

  “Insane? No. Horny? Yes.”

  Pushing his hand away she moved past him and began to walk away from the table.

  “You’re really leaving?”

  She turned, eyeing the six foot something dickhead who’d she’d wasted the last two hours of her evening on.

  “Well geez, I don’t know. Does a bear shit in the woods?”

  Chapter Two

  Nikko stepped into the waiting room of Paranormal Dating Agency. For months he had been ignoring his cousin’s continuous nagging phone calls, until last week when he finally stopped feeling sorry for himself and decided to pay her a visit.

  Stepping up to the young woman sitting behind a desk he introduced himself. “Hi, I’m here to see –.”

  “Nikko? Nikko Farkas?”

  He didn’t have to turn to see who it was. He would’ve known that voice anywhere. A smirk worked up the corners of his mouth as he turned and there she was. His tiny, but tenacious cousin, Gerri Wilder stood in the doorway. Her presence, though small in stature, was commanding. Her petite frame with white hair and a personality made from fire reminded him so much of his mother.

  “Hi, Gerri.”

  She came toward him, wrapping her arms around him in a bear hug. “Oh, I’ve missed you.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t call after mom died. Thank you for sending the flowers. They were very nice.”

  “Oh shush. Corrine was an amazing woman and the best aunt I could’ve ever hoped for. I’m just so sorry for your loss.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Now, let me have a look at you.”

  He bit his tongue, knowing what was about to come.

  “Oh my.” She shook her head. “You look horrible. When was the last time you got laid?”

  And there it is.

  “Geez, Gerri.” He tried his best not to laugh, but his cousin had never been one to mince words.

  “What?”

  He looked around the waiting room. “Do you ever use a filter when you talk to people?”

  “Oh, please. You’ve obviously been away from me for too long. I don’t even have a filter. Much less use one.”

  “I guess some things never change then.” He teased.

  “With me? Never. But you on the other hand, things have changed. Haven’t they, cousin?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh come now. I’ve been trying to get you to the agency for years. You’ve never set foot in my offices before now. Not once. Now you just come strolling in with that ‘please help me, I need a good fuck’ look on your face.”

  The woman behind the desk snickered.

  “Well if you must know, I’m here to see if you can’t find me a mate. A real mate. Not just for… well, you know.”

  “Not just to fuck?”

  He rolled his eyes
and could no longer contain his laughter. “You’re something else.”

  “Indeed.” She smirked and motioned him into her office.

  He stepped inside, while she closed the door. He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but a plain desk with a simple and humble office hadn’t been it.

  “So how does this stuff work, anyway? Do you ask me a bunch of random ass questions that have little to do with anything and then run it through some computer program which spits out a mate for me?”

  “Uh uh. Yeah. And then it’ll do your taxes, fold your laundry and cook you a steak too.”

  “Smartass.”

  “Better than being a dumbass, my dear cousin.”

  “Tell me, how can someone so tiny be such a sniping bitch?”

  “I’m going to ignore that little comment since I know it comes from a place of sexual frustration.”

  He chuckled. “Okay, okay. I give. You always were the best at delivering the ultimate insult when we were growing up.”

  “And things haven’t changed either.” She winked.

  “Okay, so if it’s not a magical computer program than what is it?”

  “Oh, Nikko. Tell me, why is it you men are always so simple minded?”

  “Hey! Not all men.”

  “Oh, please. If it has a penis, it already is automatically dumber by at least 20 IQ points.”

  “Damn.” He laughed even louder. “I have missed you.”

  “I am a gem. But, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What are you looking for? You know, what’s your type?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve always been an ass man.”

  She shook her head. “I take that back. At least 50 IQ points.”

  He leaned back in the chair across from her desk and crossed his arms. Glancing around her office he took note of the only imposing thing in the room, a large winged back leather chair which screamed ‘boss lady’ to anyone who dared to enter the Gerri lair, as they often called her make believe empires when they were kids.