Thomas Durling escaped his small-town upbringing for over ten years, until a single phone call drew him back. Told his mother has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, he returns to the small northern Michigan town he once called home to find a mute stranger taking care of her in his stead.<br><br>On the surface, Andre seems harmless enough, but Thomas has enough problems trying to deal with his mother’s illness. He doesn’t need a gorgeous young man to distract him, especially in a town that drove him away once already with its homophobia.<br><br>But Andre has nowhere else to go. A wolf without a pack, he’s been on the run since witnessing his father’s murder, always looking over his shoulder, never looking ahead. Taking care of Thomas’s mother has given him a welcome sanctuary, as well as a place he can call home for a couple months. He wants to stay, but more importantly, he wants to help, even if Thomas isn’t ready to accept that they could actually be friends ...

Moon-Touched

He didn’t think Thomas saw him as weak, just ill-informed. The differentiation was vital, as important to Andre as being respected for what he could do instead of what he couldn’t.


His wolf howled silently inside his head, a crow of grand satisfaction that swept all the way to the tip of his tail. Stronger than that, however, was the need to allay Thomas’s fears, to soothe away the lines that now marred his forehead, to bring back the humor and smile Andre knew he would miss when he was finally forced to leave.


It manifested in his flesh. Sank into his bones. Gripped him in a vise so unavoidable the night and its pallid moon disappeared.


The pain was excruciating. Far worse than when he’d forced the shift earlier.


But more terrifying than that was the knowledge he couldn’t stop it.8


Chapter 25