Hackles

There's no sugar-coating it. The hero of Pack and Coven has hackles. He's a wolf shifter, and that's how he's built. So I thought, instead of doing a standard "new release woohoo" post today, I'd list 10 things that raise Harry Smith's hackles.

1) The thought of being anybody's boss but his own. Harry may have an "alpha" gene, but in my imagined world, that doesn't define an individual's character. It's more of a genetic ability. So even though he's alpha, Harry can't stand the thought of having to graduate to management, so to speak. Heck, he can't even boss his cats around. (Although, who can boss cats around??)

2) Well-done steaks. Horrors! That's just not how meat should be eaten. Not that people or wolves should eat it raw -- we're not savages and we don't want tapeworms -- but abusing a nice T-bone with charring should probably be a crime.

3) Cruelty. Harry is a live and let live sort of guy. That doesn't mean he thinks it's all right to be cruel to other people who presumably don't deserve it. In fact, Harry's such a mellow dude that he's friends with most of his ex-girlfriends and has been known to hook them up with their future spouses! And he still gives them discounts at his garage.

4) Handcuffs in bed. On him, anyway. Let's just say there was an incident with a lady alpha shifter in his past which involved handcuffs and a camera and leave it at that.

5) Hooking up with other alpha shifters. In part because of what the lady did with the handcuffs and the camera, and in part because two alpha shifters who get together tend to attract a pack which they then have to manage (see #1), Harry avoids that kind of entanglement.

6) Having to do his own cooking. See #2. He's not that good at it, and food is a pleasure not to be ruined with poor preparation. To quote Harry, "Hell, a man who could cook could probably talk him into a lot of shit too, but men never showed up with pie. Sometimes a six pack, which wasn’t as persuasive."

7) Crappy little econo-cars. Why drive a car that can barely do sixty, down hill, when you can drive a Porshe or a motorcyle or a sensible, full-sized pickup truck? Especially if you need to outrun pack wolves who want to hunt you down and force you to join them.

8) Confrontations. These raise Harry's hackles literally! But Harry also doesn't see the point in expending his energy and time fighting with people when he could be chummy with different people. Of course, his avoidance of conflict makes him a bit unprepared to handle it when the local pack decides they're going to conscript him, but he has made some friends in his life who can help.

9) Conservative werewolves. These are the ones who believe no wolf should be independent from a pack, who believe males should outrank females, who believe humans are inferior instead of just different, who believe democracy is for weaklings, who believe all sorts of things Harry disagrees with. These wolves are not his friends.

10) The woman he loves being in danger. From conservative werewolves. Who are cruel and who want to conscript him. This is the one situation that raises Harry's hackles enough that he's willing to do anything required to save her, just as he knows she has been doing for him.

***

On my blog, there's a contest for a $25 gift card running until February 29, so be sure and stop by and tell me what food YOU would order at a tea room! Harry orders steaks, perfectly cooked steaks, and the tea room owner keeps them in stock just for him.

I'm also on the Carina Press blog on the afternoon of February 22 where my rascally cat, Meankitty, forced me to post her "improved" version of the Pack and Coven cover and blurb.

You can see the blurb and buy links for Pack and Coven at my website if you're interested.

Sincerely,

Jody W.
When is an alpha not an alph-ass?
Pack and Coven: http://www.jodywallace.com