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       “You’re the only woman I want, Chelsea.”

      “When I started falling in love with you,” she told him, “it felt like dying.”

      “And now?” he asked, his hands settling on her hips.

      “Now I finally know how it feels to be alive. Not just parts of me, but all of them.” Her long hair streamed over her shoulders as she shook her head. “I don’t know to explain it. It’s like you woke me up. Made me open my eyes.”

      The instant she whispered, “Make me yours, Eric,” his fangs burst into his mouth so hard that it hurt.

      His wolf prowled beneath his skin, brimming with instinct and the need for possession, but he had to make sure this was what she wanted, because once done, there was no going back. “Are you sure this is what you want, Chelsea?”

      “I’m sure,” she said a little breathlessly…

      Dear Reader,

      The BLOODRUNNERS series is one that’s been near and dear to my heart since I first wrote Last Wolf Standing back in 2007, and I’m so thrilled to finally be bringing you Eric Drake’s story. I love his smart-ass sense of humor, his bad boy ways, and the undying sense of loyalty he has for the people he cares about. But I never really understood how intriguing he was until I had to start playing around inside his head. Thanks to his bloodline, Eric is one of the most powerful Lycans in the Silvercrest pack, and yet, in the wake of his father’s treachery, his entire world seems to be crumbling around him. That’s when the feisty, all-too-human Chelsea Smart storms into his life…knocking the gorgeous werewolf right on his sexy backside. She’s the last kind of trouble he needs, and yet, Eric finds himself fighting a temptation greater than any he’s ever known.

      Before I go, I just want to shout out masses of thanks for making the Bloodrunners a part of your lives. I promise there are more adventures to come!

      Best wishes,

       Rhy

      About the Author

      RHYANNON BYRD is an avid, longtime fan of romance and the author of more than twenty paranormal and erotic titles. She has been nominated for three RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, including best Shapeshifter Romance, and her books have been translated into nine languages. After having spent years enjoying the glorious sunshine of the American South and Southwest, Rhyannon now lives in the beautiful but often chilly county of Warwickshire in England with her husband and family. For more information on Rhyannon’s books and the latest news, you can visit her website at www.rhyannonbyrd.com or find her on Facebook.

      Dark Wolf Rising

       Rhyannon Byrd

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For Crystall…

      (aka Cici)

      Sorry you had to wait so long, sis!

      Love you lots!

      THE BLOODRUNNERS’ LAW

      When offspring are born of a union between human and Lycan, the resulting creations may only gain acceptance within their rightful pack by the act of Bloodrunning: the hunting and extermination of rogue Lycans who have taken a desire for human flesh. Thus they prove not only their strength, but their willingness to kill for those they will swear to protect to the death.

      The League of Elders will predetermine the Bloodrunners’ required number of kills.

      Once said number of kills are efficiently accomplished, only then may the Bloodrunner assume a place among their kin, complete with full rights and privileges.

       THE DARK WOLF

      A Dark Wolf bloodline is the purest of the Lycan race.

      They are the most primal and powerful of their kind. Visceral. Predatory.

      Creatures of instinct and hunger.

      They are the potential for all things good and evil.

      And when it comes to humans…they are a deadly nightmare just waiting to happen.

       DARK WOLF RISING

       Something dark is coming…

       Chapter 1

      Eric Drake had always believed that if there was one thing that didn’t mix well, it was humans and wolves—which was why he had a bad feeling about the current situation. Or more specifically, about the woman.

      Climbing out of his truck, he stared through the hazy glow of silver-threaded moonlight, struggling to make out the features of the female sitting behind the wheel of a sky-blue Volkswagen bus. A human female. And a ridiculous-looking bus. With a whimsical confection of puffy white clouds painted down its sides, the vehicle looked more like something that belonged on a laid-back, surfer-laden beach in Southern California, rather than the rugged terrain of the Maryland mountains. It was parked in a narrow field, just behind a small line of trees that hid it from the nearby road and any passing cars, which had obviously been the driver’s intention.

      Fortunately, a pair of Silvercrest scouts had discovered the bus and its occupant while patrolling this private stretch of road. It split off from the main highway a few miles back, then slowly wound its way up toward Shadow Peak, the mountaintop town the Silvercrest Lycans called home—a fact which made this particular area exceptionally dangerous if you were human…and nothing more.

      Eric didn’t want to think about what could have happened to the woman if she’d put herself in the path of a ravenous werewolf out roaming the dark woods in search of prey. As a rule, his pack didn’t feed on humans—and those who did were marked as rogue wolves, hunted down and assassinated by the Bloodrunners. But to find a defenseless human alone in the mountains while on the hunt for fresh meat would be a temptation some might find difficult to resist. Despite knowing it was wrong, the dark, destructive craving could all too easily overpower a Lycan’s reason and sense of rightness.

      The lady was lucky to still be sitting there in one piece.

      Eric tried to get a good look at her, but even his exceptional night vision couldn’t make out her features. Apparently uninterested in who had just arrived on the scene, or, judging by the stiff set of her posture, too furious to care, she sat behind the steering wheel with her face turned to the side. A long, thick fall of brown hair covered most of her profile, so that only the delicate tip of a small nose could be distinguished, along with the soft-looking swell of her lower lip.

      Hell of a mouth, he thought, wondering exactly what he was going to do about her. The situation obviously hadn’t improved since he’d received the call from Hendricks, one of the two scouts who were on the scene. Her frustration seemed to all but fill the interior of the bus with the weight of a thick, oppressive fog. With her shoulders tight, back straight and arms crossed protectively over her chest, she didn’t appear ready to give in to their demands that she leave the area immediately, and go back to wherever she came from.

      Drawing in a deep breath, he searched for her scent on the heavy mountain air, but the bus was sealed tight, windows up. Whatever trace might have escaped through the window as she’d talked to the scouts earlier had been carried away by the howling wind sweeping through the forest, rustling the new spring leaves upon their branches, bringing with it the damp, humid promise of a storm. They were common enough this time of year in western Maryland, and after flicking a quick glance toward the thickening, bruise-colored clouds that marked the midnight sky like blotches of smoke, Eric realized he was going to end up soaked if he didn’t get a move on.

      Shutting the truck’s door with a sharp snap, he ran a

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