Yearning for the Wild — Preston Walker

Randy has had the worst year of his life. That's saying a lot, considering how awful the rest of his years had been. He lost the job he went to college for. His fallback career got him shot, which hurled him into a lawsuit against the state which he didn't want to pursue in the first place, but he felt cornered into it. Not long after that ordeal, his roommate (who he'd been obsessed with for most of his adult life) betrayed him in an unimaginably nightmarish way. His life crumbled around him, and he couldn't make heads or tails of it anymore. So he left. One cheap acre of land in the middle of nowhere and a second-hand RV later, Randy was off in pursuit of peace and quiet. It seems to be working. The land isn't the best, but it'll work for his needs. The RV of course won't last very long as a primary living space, but he'll get his house built before winter. That's the plan, anyway. A small boy sets all of his plans on edge when he lets it slip that his mother is terribly unhappy. Randy, who has never been able to smother his white-knight instinct altogether, checks in on his neighbor for the boy's sake. He's relieved to hear that she has family coming, and considers his job done. He returns to his homestead to complete his work. Soon, his neighbor's home is swarming with her loud, happy family. She invites Randy over to meet them, and he is instantly struck by her brother, Andre. Andre is tall, dark, handsome, and fantastic with his nephews. He makes all those feelings Randy had killed off in the wake of his ex-roommates betrayal come screaming back to life. Suddenly Randy finds himself utterly involved with the big, odd family. But every family has secrets, and Randy can't outrun his past. A series of coincidences sets him at odds with the family without his knowledge; though soon he has the opportunity to prove his loyalty. Violence and Werewolf Mafia rules descend on the quiet mountain settlement, and all of the peace that Randy had been seeking is stripped from the quiet valley in the claws of resentful werewolves on a mission. The intruding werewolves make Randy an offer. Come back to the city to be king of his own domain; or fight and die beside the family he'd only just come to know? Randy will have to decide what's more important to him. Money, power, and sex; or the wild, open spaces and honest people he'd been yearning for?