Twenty-three-year-old Raine has spent years outrunning grief, until her best friend lures her into the Montana wilderness and into an enchanted forest that awakens the wolf buried inside her. Claimed by ancient magic and inhabited by legendary cryptids, Raine is forced into a role she never wanted: protector of a supernatural village threatened by dark forces and a ruthless military-style werewolf pack closing in on their land.

As Raine trains to master her volatile power, she’s drawn to Mycah, a lethal wolf raised to obey orders and sent to hunt her. Their connection—equal parts sanctuary and danger—unravels loyalties on both sides, blurring the line between enemy and ally.

With war looming and the forest demanding a leader willing to descend into darkness to save it, Raine must decide whether to keep fighting the wolf within her—or finally embrace it, and claim her place as an Alpha capable of rewriting what power, leadership, and legacy look like.

Running Wild is a coming-of-age story rooted in grief, self-discovery, and the Cherokee legend of the two wolves—the battle between darkness and light that lives within us all.

I was drawn to write this story through my own journey with loss and healing, and through a love of found family, morally gray characters, and heroines who grow into their power.

I’m especially passionate about reimagining werewolves as guardians of nature rather than mindless monsters, highlighting North American cryptids and mythologies, and centering powerful female characters at the heart of the supernatural world.

Content & Trigger Warnings: grief, parental loss, supernatural violence, injury and death, emotional trauma, non-consensual poisoning (brief, non-sexual), references to historical violence against packs/families, sensual content (moderate).

Both my editors have rated the “spice” in this book 4 out of 5 chilli peppers.