Hiya!
I’m here as Holly Day today! A couple of days ago, Squirrel in Hiding was released 🥳
Have you read any of my squirrel stories?? This is the third one, and I have to say, writing squirrels is a lot of fun, so I don’t think this will be the last story 😆
In this world, the predatory shifters eat the non-predatory. Every wolf enjoys a good squirrel hunt, right? Yeah, they do. If Farris gets hold of Raaz, he doesn’t intend to eat him, though. Finding one’s mate is a miracle, and Farris doesn’t care what species he is.
But Raaz is not easily fooled. He might be a squirrel, but he has a brain, and he knows squirrels equal food to wolves. He’s better off hiding.
Things don’t always go as planned though, and one night he finds himself in squirrel form, locked out of his house. And of course, Farris is there since he’s turned into a stalker. He might be making a huge mistake, he’s almost sure of it, but he gets into Farris’ car.
Squirrel in Hiding is a quick read with shifters, nuts, books, and fated mates. Characters from Squirrel Circle and Squirrel Hunt make an appearance, but you could read it as a standalone story.
Squirrel in Hiding
Every squirrel worth his name knows when it’s time to run.
Raaz Olen has been on the run for a year, ever since a wolf pack took out everyone in his family but him. When the stupid wolves almost have him cornered, a stranger helps him and sends him to the grumpiest vampire in the history of grumpy vampires, who offers him a job in his thrift shop.
Farris Randal has given up on finding his mate. He’s a big wolf shifter people cross the street to avoid. It’s a lonely life, but at least he can escape into his books. One day, when he’s browsing the local thrift shop, he scents his mate. But before he has a chance to reach him, he is wrestled to the ground by a vampire, and his mate runs away.
There is no way Raaz can ever be mated to a wolf. The pack will kill him. He has to hide. Farris doesn’t care what species his mate is, finding him is a miracle he won’t walk away from. When wolves from another pack descend on the town, Farris fears for Raaz’s safety, but how can he keep Raaz safe when he is hiding from him?
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Paranormal Gay Romance: 34,573 words
Excerpt:
Raaz was screwed. There was no way into the building without either involving Nicodemus or the girls. And if he alerted Victoria, Nicole, or Megan, he’d have to explain what he was doing outside, buck naked, in September. September might not be worse than any other month to be naked in, but it was close to freezing.
No, he wasn’t doing that. Plus, he wasn’t sure Farris would let him go. Had he sealed his fate by leaping off the wall? Most likely. It had been a lapse in judgment.
He’d been swayed by Farris telling him to hide when danger approached. Raaz was old enough not to swoon over something as ridiculous as chivalry. He’d learned early on that he couldn’t trust anyone but himself. It didn’t matter if people wanted to help—which wolves never did—they most often weren’t able to. His parents had done everything in their power to keep him and his siblings safe. The result? All of them were dead, all but Raaz. No, there was only one person he could trust—himself.
Not today, though. He’d left the relative safety on a brick wall and jumped right into the hands of the enemy. His heart might not understand Farris was their nemesis, but his brain did.
There was no way to explain this stupidity. Squirrel brains weren’t this stupid.
He could run.
He was pretty sure he could. Since he was in shifted form and Farris wasn’t, he could take to the trees and lose him without too much trouble. Except it was dark and more wolves were lurking about. He’d have to act now. Farris’ alpha would be here soon, and outrunning two wolves was way harder than outrunning one.
“I have yogurt trail mix, not sure what that means, but it’s an option. Here I have…” Farris turned the bag in his huge hand. “… organic protein boost with cashews—see I told you I had cashews—almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and cranberries.” He placed the bag on the seat in front of Raaz. “And here we have peanuts, cashews, M&Ms, and raisins.”
He looked at Raaz and waited. A wolf who’d opened his glove compartment and showed him an array of snacks. Maybe Raaz wasn’t the only one who was insane.
“I have protein bars if you like those better.” He dug around some. “Here’s one with peanuts, almonds, and dark chocolate.” He grabbed another. “This one is gluten-free. Do you eat gluten? If not, this has peanut butter and chocolate.” Farris grimaced. “I guess these aren’t as healthy as they want us to think. I… eh…” He rummaged around some more. “A Snickers bar?” He held up a Snickers bar, and if Raaz had been in human form, he might have laughed.
“Sorry, I… eh… I need them for work, you know. Are you hungry? I can cook something if you’re hungry.”
Yup, insane. He was saved from having to try to communicate by a car approaching.
“Fuck, that’s Konrad. Here.” Farris opened one bag of trail mix after the other. When he reached for the protein bar, Raaz chattered at him, and he stilled.
“Enough?”
Nodding, Raaz made a shooing gesture.
“You’re throwing me out of my own car?”
He nodded again, but it only made Farris grin. “Okay. Here’s the key.” He dug around in his pocket. “You can press the lock button, I take it.”
Raaz nodded again while crinkling his nose. Farris must be more stupid than he’d first believed. Handing over your car keys to your enemy wasn’t smart. What if Raaz locked the door, shifted, and took off? He could get pretty far in a car, and no one would be able to track his scent. He wouldn’t have to go hungry since Farris had a stash in his glove compartment.
Maybe there was more in the car. Who put all their nuts in the same place? No one. You had to have several hiding places. It was common knowledge.
A car stopped next to Farris’, and he closed the door before the guy in the other car could exit. Raaz remained where he was.
Peeking out through the window revealed a man looking to be in his late thirties or early forties. Big and strong, like all wolves, but not as big as Farris.
He looked… kind might be the wrong word, but he didn’t look nearly as mean as alphas normally did. Farris looked meaner. He shivered. Stupid. He should’ve run when he could. He should’ve returned to the roof even if he risked turning into an owl snack.
He couldn’t leave now when Farris had brought him a buffet of nuts, dammit. Unless… maybe the nuts were to fatten him up, so he’d be juicier when Farris barbecued him for a late-night meal.
Popping a cashew into his mouth, he watched Farris and—had he said Konrad?—walk toward the trees. They crouched, talked, and gestured.
Someone knocked on the window, and Raaz screeched. A slim man grinned at him and waved. “Want to share?”
No, he didn’t. He popped a blue M&M into his mouth and shook his head. Who was this idiot thinking he’d want to share his nuts?
Raaz lifted his foot to push the lock button on the key, but right before he did, the man yanked the door open. “Ha! Think you can cheat me out of Farris’ nuts, do you?”
Squirrel. Raaz almost choked on the M&M. A squirrel. Other than him. He hadn’t met a squirrel in over a year.
“Scoot.” The squirrel gestured at him to get off the passenger seat. He grabbed the trail mix and slipped into the car, dropped the bags in the driver’s seat right in front of Raaz, and closed the door.
“I take it you’re Raaz. The cupcakes were my idea, so I deserve at least a few nuts for making Farris look brilliant.”
Look brilliant?
“I’m sorry about Myka. She gets excited, and she likes Farris for some reason.”
Raaz stared. What the hell was going on?
“I’m Dahy, and the oaf over there—” He pointed at Konrad who was walking toward the car with Farris. “—is my mate.”
Raaz’s lungs had stopped working. He couldn’t breathe. There was no room for air. A whine started in his mind. He’d die here, in the driver’s seat of a werewolf’s car surrounded by trail mix, right next to a deranged squirrel who believed squirrels could be mated to wolves and live to tell the tale.
“Hey, are you okay? They didn’t get you, did they?” Dahy reached for him, but he barked and jumped away.
“Easy. Those idiots, if it’s them, came to our house to ask Konrad if they could hunt on pack land. Then I came home, and they tried to eat me right there in my own kitchen. Fuckers. Konrad threw them out, but, yeah, a little scary. Though, you know how it is. Wolves are stupid.”
Schizophrenia? Or was it some kind of psychosis? Raaz edged closer to the door handle. It wasn’t easy to open doors in squirrel form, but maybe he wouldn’t have to. Farris had stopped right outside. He might open the door any moment now.
If he ran, the wolves would most likely chase him. Would it trigger their hunting instinct? If he darted across the parking lot to reach the brick wall, they might not be able to withstand the temptation.
What was best, staying in a closed-in space with an insane squirrel or trying to outrun wolves?
Ofelia Grand 