Marked by the Wolf — Trinity Lee

Journalist Ethan has a dream job working on a music magazine in Paris, and he's dating the gorgeous deputy editor, Guillaume. When he asks Guillaume to help him choose a new tattoo, he gets more than he's bargained for with an other-worldly experience that will help mark his acceptance into Guillaume's pack - and set the scene for some of the best sex he's ever had. This is the fourth installment of the Spell of the Shifters series. Warning: This short but highly charged erotic romance (7100 words) contains one cute but naive LA music correspondent, a heartstoppingly hot Parisian wolf and some very graphic sex scenes. Not suitable for under-18s.Excerpt"For our people, tattoos are something sacred," he said. "We would never have one that doesn't have a meaning for us, and as you become closer to us and begin to learn our ways, it seems appropriate that something like this should be shared."So, what does yours signify?" I hadn't asked before. I never knew with Guillaume what was off-limits and what wasn't.He sighed and for a moment, I thought he was going to change the subject. He touched the wolf silhouette on his shoulder thoughtfully, as if weighing up how much to tell me. I had wondered if it was a pack membership symbol, although I had noticed that Thomas did not appear to have one."You have seen the same ink on Antoine, n'est-ce pas?"I nodded, and then the truth hit me."You had it done together, because he was your mate?"He avoided my eyes."Yes. And now I cannot have it transformed or removed, because the rules of our kind decree that when you mate, it should be for life, and the ink that signifies a failed mating should be a constant reminder of one's own failure."But was it your failure?" I probed, wanting to make the most of his sudden openness. Antoine was irresistible, as I knew to my own cost. He was the yin to Guillaume's yang: loud, cocky and with silver-blond hair and the palest blue eyes I had ever seen, in either human or wolf. Guillaume shook his head.