by Fel Fern
Darkfall Mountain Pack 5
Jared’s Heart
Ten years ago, a drunk driver ran over Jared Hudson’s family. Thanks to the intervention of the Darkfall Mountain Pack, Jared and his sister became survivors, predators, and werewolves. A decade is plenty of time for Jared to plot his vengeance. He’s digging two graves, his own and his parent’s murderers, but it doesn’t matter. Jared plans to see this tale to the end, even if it costs him his own life. The one thing Jared didn’t account for? Falling in love with the man he swore to kill.
Bear shifter Matthias Jensen has spent plenty of time behind bars. He’s balanced the scales. Paid plenty for his penance, but it doesn’t seem enough. When a mouthy pup threatens to kill him, Matt instantly recognizes Jared as his mate. He’s dreamed of begging for forgiveness. Matthias thought he was ready to die for his sins, until he realizes that there’s something else worth living for—a future with his unexpected mate.
Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 23,118 words
JARED’S HEART
Darkfall Mountain Pack 5
Fel Fern
EROTIC ROMANCE
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove
JARED’S HEART
Copyright © 2016 by Fel Fern
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-067-8
First E-book Publication: February 2016
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
To my readers, I hope you enjoy Matt and Jared’s story as much I loved writing it. This was an emotional one for me to write.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
About the Author
JARED’S HEART
Darkfall Mountain Pack 5
FEL FERN
Copyright © 2016
Prologue
Fifteen Years Ago
Hearing his favorite song on the car radio play, Jared traded a secret glance with his sister Jane beside him. They knew singing out loud and off-pitch drove their parents crazy, especially the same top twenty songs on the radio. Besides, at ten, Jared’s attention span was limited.
He’d soon become bored of riding for hours, and counting the endless trees that rose on either side of the car, more greenery and mountains in the background. What a bore. Hudson family tradition demanded they go camping in the woods twice a month, but Jared and Jane never cared for the outdoors.
Jared started the game, singing to the chorus, and Jane followed.
“Christ, you kids are driving me nuts,” their father muttered under his breath.
“We’re almost there. Behave,” their mother chided.
Jared and Jane did their best to cancel the trip. Jane wanted to sleep over at her best friend Miranda’s place, and Jared wanted to spend the long weekend playing soccer with his friends.
They mentioned the rumors surrounding the Darkfall woods plenty of times to their parents. How the area teemed with plenty of dangerous man-eating werewolves intent on eating outsiders. On normal and close-minded parents, it would have worked. The existence of the supernatural community had only been revealed two decades ago.
Most sensible adults stayed clear of areas reputedly populated by shifters, but no. Jared and Jane had to be born to open-minded parents who supported the Humans for the Paranormal movement, not the Humans Only faction. Figures they’d like the opportunity to get close and personal with werewolves.
The sedan ambled on. They pitched their voices louder, until their dad starting muttering under his breath.
“Jon, watch the road!” their mother shrieked, the last words they’d ever hear her utter.
In broad daylight, Jared spied the huge twenty-wheeler coming at them. No honk, no warning. The car careened to the side, but the road had been too narrow. Heart racing, Jared glimpsed the driver behind the behemoth, but only for a moment. A confused bearded face stared at them in shock, one hand frozen on the wheel, the other holding a beer bottle that toppled over as he struggled to bring the truck to a stop. Too late for that, the tires of the Sedan squealed. Jane let out a scream, pitching forward, but Jared grabbed her in time.
His mother’s words about keeping their seatbelts on came back at him. Jared fumbled for Jane’s strap. His first attempt failed. Using a curse word his mother told him to never use, Jared’s third attempt succeeded. He strapped himself in, and that quick thinking saved Jane and him. Wheels crunched on gravel, then loose soil. Jane reached for his hand, squeezing tightly. They both let out a scream. Their mom shrieked, while their dad panicked, hand still on the wheel. The car took a nosedive and rammed straight into a tree.
Air bags exploded. Glass shattered, front and sides, erupting into a hundred slicing fragments. Smoke came out from the front. Jane started to cry. So
meone let out a shrill scream of terror, and then started making terrible panting animal noises. It took Jared a second later to realize it was him.
“Mom and Dad?” Jared whispered in a shaky breath. The car was eerily quiet, with the exception of Jane and him. “Is everyone all right?”
Jane’s nails dug painfully into his palm, but Jared didn’t have the heart to let her go. “Brother,” she whispered, scratching at him, her eyes wide as saucers. Jared stared at her white face, at the large cut on the side of her head. When did that happen? She reached for him, touching his cheek and her hand came away with blood. He didn’t even realize he was hurt.
Dread building in his stomach, Jared unfastened his seat belt, then Jane’s. He peered, yelling when his mother’s head flopped to the side, glassy eyes staring sightlessly at him, her neck bent at an awkward angle.
“Jane, we need to get out. Pull Mom and Dad out.” Jared didn’t know where he found the strength to open the car door and stumble out. His head reeled. Jane still hadn’t gotten out, so he hissed under his breath and walked over to her side to yank the door open. The smell of gasoline assaulted his nostrils.
“I can’t do this myself, Jane. Help me get them out.” Jared had to shake her thin shoulders. Finally, biting her lip, she nodded. They managed to pry the driver’s door open.
Jane let out a cry, taking a step back. She would have fallen too, if Jared hadn’t caught her. He peered inside. At first, he couldn’t understand what spooked Jane, until he glimpsed his father’s face. A glass shard pierced right through his spectacles, right through his eye. Some part of Jared knew the truth, but he refused to acknowledge it. They were going camping. Something they’d do regularly and nothing bad ever happened. Their parents were sleeping, or unconscious. That was all.
“Help me pull him out, Jane.”
“Brother, D-daddy’s—”
“Don’t you dare say it,” Jared said vehemently. At those words, Jane’s eyes began tearing up again. He pushed her aside. “I’ll do it.”
“Get away from the car, boy. Your parents are dead,” yelled a rough voice. Jared’s head snapped up.
Jane crept close to him, clutching at his arm. He tried to shake her off, but she held onto him tight. Jared saw the shadowy figure of the man between the trees. Same red flannel shirt, ragged jeans and cap. The driver. Something explainable sparked inside him, fury burned inside him, gutted him inside out. Not a fire that went out easily, but the cold kind that burned and wouldn’t easily go away.
“Murderer. Killer,” Jared said, eyes burning with hatred. Even though he hadn’t said the words out loud, the driver flinched, took a step back. Then he started running, eventually fading from Jared’s line of sight. “Get back here, coward! We’re not done, far from it!”
Jared started forward, dragging Jane with him when the explosion went off. His eardrums bled. The blast separated Jane and him, sending both of them flying. Not wanting to lose his only remaining family member, he screamed her name, but she wouldn’t have heard it. His back hit something hard, a tree. Jared crumpled to the ground like a doll. Pain, agonizing and sudden, streaked up his back and legs. His vision blurred. Jane lay a few meters away, unmoving. Somewhere in the woods, a howl sounded, chilling him, but wild animals were far from his mind.
He refused to have his last memory of his little sister with him pushing her away in annoyance. Jane couldn’t be dead. Death couldn’t take her with their parents. It would be too much, too cruel. He tried crawling to her, but he screamed, every inch of him felt like it was on fire. Jared’s vision blurred, but he forced himself to stay conscious.
When he tried again, he spotted something huge, three of them, moving toward Jane’s prone figure. Wolves, he realized a second later, panicked. Larger than average wolves, there were two large dark-furred monsters and slightly smaller one he assumed was the female. The biggest, pressed his nose against Jane’s arm, sniffing her.
Jared found his voice. “Don’t you dare touch her!”
That got the attention of the other two. Fear thudding, Jared didn’t know where he found the strength to keep talking. “Leave her alone. She’s too small. If you want to eat someone, eat me.”
That got the attention of the big one. It padded to him, scenting his face. Jared tried to fight him off, but he couldn’t move his limbs. Oh God. Maybe dying with their parents would have been the better alternative compared to be being chewed to bits.
Then the most shocking thing happened. The wolf melted, or rather, changed forms until a young man replaced it. The other two followed, and the striking physical resemblance between them told Jared they must be siblings.
Werewolves, Jared realized. His parents taught Jane and him that shifters were like everyone else. Humans who happened to turn into animals, and if they were human, they were capable of emotions like pity.
“Please,” he whispered, not sure what he asked for.
“How odd,” the big one muttered.
“Sergio, the girl will die soon if we don’t do something,” the female of the trio interrupted, but the big guy, Sergio kept his gaze on Jared.
“What are you asking for, kid?”
What was…?
Jared didn’t hesitate. “Help her. Save Jane. Please. She’s so little and I promised our parents I’ll watch out for her.”
“Alessio, bring the girl,” Sergio said.
“Careful,” the woman warned. The other man took Jane gently in his arms and laid her close to Jared. Seeing her covered in blood, Jared broke into sobs.
“She’s not dead, brave boy,” Sergio said, taking Jane into his arms.
“What are you doing?” Jared whispered, fearful.
“Saving her, so be calm.” The woman knelt close to him, patting his hair. Her touch reminded Jared a little of the mother he lost.
Seeing Sergio’s teeth—sharp canines not human teeth, Jared croaked out a protest.
“Hush, your sister won’t die. Neither would you. Both of you are going to live,” the woman said.
“Michella, don’t make promises we can’t keep,” Alessio warned. “Sergio hasn’t given the bite to anyone in a long time.”
“Quiet,” Sergio growled, and then sunk his teeth into the side of Jane’s neck.
Jared let out a cry. Jane’s limbs twitched. He couldn’t bear to watch. What did Jared do? He’d begged these werewolves, these monsters to save them, but did he make the right decision?
For a while, she didn’t move, and Jared thought she was dead. It didn’t help the three shifters remained quiet, waiting, watching for something. Jared wanted to scream at them to leave them alone. To his shock, Jane’s eyes flew open, terrified. She jerked in Sergio’s arms. “Who?”
“Hush, little one. Your brother is here,” Sergio said, setting her down on the ground. Jared kept his eyes glued to Jane, unable to close his mouth when her injuries started to close.
“Your turn,” Sergio said. Despite seeing Jane heal, Jared tried back away.
“It’s going to be okay,” Michella told him. “It will hurt. I won’t lie to you, but only for a while. Don’t you want to live, for your sister? You wouldn’t want her to be alone, do you?”
Those words struck a chord. Jared realized he did. He wanted to live, so he could see another day. To get strong, so he’d never be weak again. If he survived, he had plenty of things to say to that trucker, who made the mistake of ramming into their car. He didn’t fight Sergio when he did the same, and gave Jared the bite. Michella was right.
It hurt. A lot, but Jared gritted his teeth. Once the pain was gone, he felt new strength coursing inside him. A pair of yellow eyes opened inside him—a wolf, promising power, telling him he wouldn’t need to be weak again.
When he craned his head, he saw Jane was gone. A wolf pup with a coat the color of Jane’s dark blonde hair, and his, wagged her tail at him, waiting.
“Reach down for your wolf,” Sergio instructed. “A wolf pup needs to eat, and to grow strong.”
&
nbsp; Jared obeyed. He grabbed hold of the wolf in him. It resisted at first, but Jared poured all his intense emotions into his beast. All the rage he’d stored up and thought he’d never put a use to. The wolf understood. This trucker crossed them, killed the members of their pack. The first change didn’t come easy, but Jared heard his bones pop, fur replace human skin, and claws and teeth emerge. He fell on all fours, to find Jane and three adult wolves waiting.
The wolves wouldn’t be able to replace the real family Jane and he lost, but it was something. They’d give Jane and him a place to stay. Eventually, they’d learn to call Darkfall their home, but Sergio also gave them something else. A gift. A weapon, and when Jared grew strong, he’d sharpen it, and make use of it to strike where it mattered most.
Chapter One
Present
“Jared, are you listening? Pup?” That last word caught Jared’s attention. Glaring at Alessio across the table, Jared bristled. The Beta knew he hated being called that. For Christ’s sake, he turned twenty-five a month ago, and Alessio knew it.
“Don’t call me that,” Jared automatically said.
“You begging for a fight, pup? Because I can still give you a good whacking, because you haven’t learned to respect your elders.”
“My elders?” Jared asked skeptically. “Well, an old wolf shouldn’t be talking so much shit.”
Inwardly, Jared knew Alessio meant well. Although the most closed-off of the three Esteban siblings, Alessio possessed an uncanny ability to know something was bothering Jared.
