Here’s the second excerpt from Wolf in the Headlights (Alice the Wolf 4), this time from chapter 9. You may notice that instead of posting these one day after another, I’m posting them a week apart. I’m doing it this way to spread out the promotions a bit longer. If I do them in the same week, I’ve spent all my efforts too soon, and with the way social media streams run so fast, it’s practically an eye-blink before I’m off the social radar. So, new plan, yeah? One post a week and multiple promotions in the stream, hopefully leading to catching more peepers.
Aren’t these glimpses into indie marketing for social media so fascinating? No? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. So, let’s move on to the book excerpt…
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Monica is surrounded in her bed, with me and Jesse standing over one side, and her parents on the other. Pi and Josie are at the foot of the bed, and Evan is sitting in a chair across the room with Uncle John and Brandon standing on either side of him.
Out in the hallway, Lilith and Bat are talking. The door is open, and Bat is eating a lot of humble pie in an effort to win Lilith back. So far it’s not working, and I kind of hope he fails. If the FBI loses Lilith, it’s a big chunk of their power missing long before Regina is ready to deal with them.
Monica’s eyelids flutter, and we all lean over to watch her wake up. She looks at her parents first and whispers, “Hey.”
Tony laughs quietly and leans over to take her hand. “Hey back, princess. Do you want anything?”
“I could use some water.” Monica’s eyes roll up as she blinks slow, and she smiles. “Whatever’s in that bottle, i’s good stuff.”
“It’s one of the perks of being in the hospital,” I say, and Monica rolls her head on the stack of pillows to look at me. “They’ve got all the best drugs.”
“I should get hospitalized more often.”
“Please don’t,” I say.
“Maybe with a better injury. I could go for a nice appendicitis.”
Oh yeah, she’s really enjoying the drugs.
Tony raises the top half of the bed with a remote and Monica takes the cup from him and drinks on her own.
Dana says, “Honey, the doctors say you’ve got some kind of infection.”
Monica lowers the cup and says, “S’cause I’m a werewolf.”
Both her parents look at me and their mouths fall open.
At the foot of the bed, Pi comments, “Maybe we ought to back her off the drugs a wee bit.”
Josie says, “You think?”
Dana recovers from shock enough to ask, “A werewolf?”
Monica nods. “I’m in Alice’s pack. I found out her secret and asked her to bite me. I wanted to tell you, but the FBI is making us keep it a secret.”
“The FBI is changing their policies,” I say. “I wanted to tell your parents after you were upright, but I guess we can go with the full confession now.”
Tony asks, “Are you planning to bite us too?”
“I’m planning to offer you a place in our pack, yes. But if you refuse, I wouldn’t force you into this.”
Dana says, “This is why you wanted our daughter out of town. You were trying to avoid a fight with…with other werewolves.”
“Yes.”
“And your parents were monster hunters.”
“Yes, and that’s why they went to prison. We’re an endangered species, although at the rate the other wolves are recruiting, we should already be off the list.”
Both of Monica’s parents stare at me until Monica breaks the silence. “You might as well start at the beginning. We’ve got time, right?”
“Good point,” I agree, and I really do start at the beginning, explaining how I met Peter, and how his mother kidnapped me. The doctor comes in to check on Monica, and after he leaves, I go on with my story. By the time I’m up to Miriam’s part in the tale, the nurses arrive to check Monica, and they gasp when they pull back the gauze and find the wound sealed.
That’s one more piece of evidence backing me up, but I know I have to wrap this up because the doctors will be rushing in any second now.
I tell Monica’s parents, “I’ll explain the rest tonight, after we get Monica home. I know this is all shocking, but I have to tell you the truth. Otherwise you might move out of town to avoid trouble. The problem is, trouble is coming for all of us, and Monica is safer with us than she is living in isolation.”
Tony glances at Monica and says, “She would have been safe if we’d listened to her and let her get out of town.”
“Nah, that’s a lie,” Monica says. “I would have left, sure, but the wolves would have taken over the school, and I’d come back to fight with them on Alice’s side.” She smiles dreamily. “It’s what I do now. I’m a superhero.”
I laugh and go to the bed. “Pi, grab some gauze out of those drawers. We’re getting the little princess off the drugs before she confesses to the doctors.”
“Damn,” Monica says, making a sour face. “I was liking this. It’s way better than being drunk.”
Dana folds her arms over her chest. “How would you know?”
Monica stares at her, and then looks at me and nods. “Yeah, okay, get the IV out.”
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Wolf in the Headlights is available for just $4.99 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and my blog bookstore. If you review books on your blog, you can request a free review copy by emailing me at zoe_whitten (at) yahoo (dot) com. Oh, and if you haven’t read the first three books in the series and want to review them, don’t hesitate to request them. I need all the help I can get, and I need more reviews, especially these days while I’m struggling to get my proverbial toe in the door with new readers. Anywho, if you’re reading the excerpts, thanks for checking them out.