Reclaimed from the Moon
Rebekah R. Ganiere
Reclaimed from the Moon © 2016 Rebekah R. Ganiere
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are fictitious and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-63300-022-3
Cover art by Rebekah R. Ganiere
Dedication
For all of our First Responders and their Families. Thank you for all you do and give to keep us safe.
Contents
Newsletter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Thank You
Tamed Under the Moon
Also by Rebekah R. Ganiere
Newsletter
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Chapter One
Dakota stumbled from her bed. The smoke alarm blared in her ears overpowering Bowgie's barking and disorienting her. She coughed and tried to suck in a breath, but only managed to gulp down a cloud of smoke. Holding her hand to her mouth and nose she tried to block out the acrid smell. Heat poured through the bedroom wall making the paint blister and peel.
She had to get out of her apartment.
Bowgie pulled on her pant leg with his teeth and she dug her fingers into his fur. Smoke burned her eyes and tears blurred her vision as she fumbled blindly toward the door. One hand on Bowgie, one holding her sweatshirt to her nose, she moved cautiously toward the hallway. Bowgie whined and took off for the door. She stumbled and swiped at her eyes. Reaching around she searched for Bowgie.
"Bowgie, heel!" She couldn't hear her voice over the sounds of the fire alarms. The building was equipped with sprinklers, where the hell were they?
Her heart raced. She couldn't lose Bowgie.
"Bowgie," she cried again.
A muffled bark came from the hallway.
She swung her arm in front of her searching for the doorframe. Pain shot through her hand as her knuckles collided with the hardwood. A yellow and orange tinted haze enveloped the right side of the hall. Smoke burrowed into her lungs and she fought to breathe. She just had to make it to the door. Forty steps, maybe a few more. That was it.
Flames licked up the walls of her living room. The curtains she'd spent months searching for were no more than charred ash on the floor. The wall unit looked moments from collapsing. Her heart sank; she was going to lose everything.
A loud groan sounded from the other side of the living room wall and the floor shook as something collapsed in the neighboring apartment. She peered into the kitchen and found Bowgie lying on the floor panting.
"Bowgie." Her voice came out croaky. Dakota tried again but only sucked in a lungful of smoke. Her head fuzzed over and she tipped sideways. She reached for the counter for support but her hand slipped. Pitching forward, her head struck the tile countertop. Her vision blurred as she crumbled to the floor. Bowgie crawled toward her and licked her face. She coughed and gasped, grabbing onto him, as everything grew dark.
"Griffin."
* * *
Griffin dried off and walked naked across his bedroom to grab some boxers. Medical textbooks lay strewn across his mattress like confetti. He stared at them for a minute, trying to decide if he should clean up, in case Cassie came over after dinner.
Three months together and they still hadn't had sex. Cuddling, making out, falling asleep in each other's arms, yes. But actual sex had been put on hold until he could get his crap in order. He and Dakota may be separated but he wasn't about to defile their vows the way she had. His gut clenched at the thought of her and his wolf grumbled. He still missed her.
Slipping on his boxers he walked to the closet, glancing at the divorce papers on his nightstand. Dakota's face floated into his mind and he swallowed hard. It'd been almost two whole days since he'd thought about her. That was probably a record.
He'd signed the papers over a year ago, but somehow hadn't gotten around to sending them in. He had made it clear to Cassie from the beginning– there would be no sex, until he was divorced. Mostly because just the thought of being with someone else still didn't sit right with him. He hated what Dakota had done to both herself and to them, but he knew that just because he signed a piece of paper saying they were legally no longer man and wife, that didn't mean they were no longer connected. They were werewolves. And the soul bonding of two Blood Born wolves went deeper than anything that could be explained in words. Their souls became intertwined in such a way that everything ran deeper. The love, the lust, the betrayal... He wished it were that simple to break free from her.
He blew out a breath and flipped on the light in his closet but kept his gaze trained on the left side. He'd watched betrayal ruin his grandmother. His grandfather's philandering ways had literally broken her heart and killed her. Griffin had been forced to look on as her once plump, smiley face grew thinner and ashen. The light dimming in her eyes as she lost interest in everything and everyone she loved. Refusing to leave her bed and eventually succumbing to despair.
He'd sworn he'd never allow that to happen to him. He refused to be broken. And yet…
Running his hand over the perfectly straight hangers, he picked out a pair of crisp jeans and a royal blue, button down shirt. Yanking on the jeans, he kept his eyes off the small mess that cluttered the other side of the closet. Miscellaneous shoes, t-shirts, a wedding dress, and several sweaters stared at him accusingly. Part of him wanted to throw them out. Another part wanted to clean them up. Neither wanted to actually touch the items though. Her items.
A year. That's how long he'd been back from Afghanistan and separated from Dakota. He walked out of the closet and looked at the divorce papers again. It was time. He needed to move on. He deserved a chance at happiness again. And despite his anger toward her, so did Dakota.
Griffin pulled into Cassie's driveway and hopped out of his Jeep. His personal cell rang as he jogged to the front door. He pulled it from his pocket. Private Number.
Cassie stepped outside and smiled. He ran his finger across the screen of his phone, rejecting the call, and shoved it back in his pocket.
She wore a conservative yellow, floral summer dress that exposed her long, slender neck and peachy arms. Though she was several years his senior, the smattering of freckles and apricot colored hair, pulled into a ponytail gave her the youthfulness of a woman in her early twenties. It was the same way Dakota used to wear her dark sleek locks. He cleared his throat and pushed the memory away.
"You ready to go?"
She nodded. "Just got off an hour ago."
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "If you're too exhausted we could s
tay in."
The smell of her shampoo and soap no longer made his wolf cringe. It was a good sign.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you kidding me? I'm starving and you promised me a big salad."
His wolf grumbled in his chest. Salad. "That I did."
She laughed. "We can go somewhere else if you want."
"Why would I want to?"
"Because the mere mention of eating something green makes you break out in hives."
He took her arm in his and escorted her to his Jeep. "I don't mind a salad. As long as it's covered in a bunch of delicious stuff like bacon, beef, chicken, venison, salad dressing… more salad dressing. Anything so I don't have to taste it."
She shook her head and he opened the door for her. Back home, in Wolf River, they'd hunted their own food; sometimes as wolves, sometimes as humans. There was nothing like the feel of taking down prey and eating it fresh.
He looked up at the evening sky. Only a week and a half until the full moon. The one time a month he drove up north to see his parents, his brothers, and his pack. To connect, bond, and run free. Natasha, Liam, Cara and Noah had come up the month before to see everyone. His father had been surprisingly gracious in allowing Cara and Noah to run with the pack, even though they weren’t members and they were Bitten. It made Griffin think that maybe everything Natasha and their family been though had actually made his father relax his views on Bitten werewolves a bit. After all, he had basically let Stix and Deacon and their parents into the pack and they weren’t even wolves. They were bears.
Griffin threw Cassie a tight smile knowing she'd never experience any of those things with him or be able to go to Wolf River to live. And if they stayed together long enough to have children…
He walked around the back of his Jeep and his phone rang a second time. He pulled it out and again it read, Private Number.
He hopped into the driver's seat and stared at the phone.
"Who's that?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Probably a sales call." He set his phone down and buckled up. "All right. Let's go get you some rabbit food."
Cassie covered her mouth as she chuckled and her cheeks reddened. Griffin loved the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed and wished she wouldn't cover her mouth. It was as if she was embarrassed to let people see her have fun. Unlike Dakota who’d never cared what anyone thought.
"So what did you do?" She reached for her glass of wine.
"I told him, thank you for the kiss sir, but I'm not your wife."
She laughed again and had to set down her drink to keep from spilling it. He picked up his beer and took a deep swallow.
Cassie gulped in several deep breaths and wiped tears from her eyes. "I don't know how you do it Griffin, I really don't."
"What you do isn't much different," he said. "I just happen to get to them first."
She shook her head. "Naw. I could never be a paramedic. Seeing the scene. How things happened. Being right there in the moment. That is way too intense for me. I like working at the hospital, having people brought to me. I know where everything is and how to get it all done."
"You learn to adapt."
"Did the Navy teach you that?"
He nodded.
She stared at him for a moment. Her hazel eyes full of compassion. "How's your friend doing? Uhm… Noah? The one that came to visit last month.”
Griffin dropped his gaze to his beer bottle and slowly rotated it on the table. "He's good. Getting better. Stronger."
"He lost his leg, right?"
"Yup."
Cassie reached across and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
He smiled. "You didn't."
She looked at his plate. "I'm impressed. You ate all the meat. I think you might have even managed to get a few pieces of lettuce."
"It was a struggle."
"So how is school?" she asked.
“A bit tough with my work schedule but I'm plodding along."
"Have you decided what specialty you want to go into?" she asked.
"I'm thinking a family practice maybe."
"Really?"
"In Wolf River; Doc is getting up there in years, so I figured it might be good to go into something general."
Her expression clouded and she slid her hand from his. "So you're planning on going back then? I've never heard you say that before."
Griffin's gut clenched. Did he? It had never occurred to him that he did still plan on it. In all honesty, he couldn’t imagine living his life anywhere else. Cassie was sweet, smart and funny. The last months with her had dimmed the pain of his past somewhat. She made him think of the future– though he still couldn't picture his life with someone other than Dakota.
"I don't know," he said finally. "My family is there. It seems weird to think I'd never go back. It's my home." He grabbed her hand again. "But I like where I am right now too. I have no immediate plans." His wolf growled in protest.
A smile warmed her features. "Good. I was just beginning to like you."
He laughed and his phone buzzed. He looked at it.
"How many times has that private number called you tonight?" she asked.
"I think this is the fourth time."
"Maybe you should answer it."
He stared at the words on the screen and a niggling feeling settled in his stomach. "Maybe you're right." He hit the green button. "Hello?"
"Mr. Reed?"
"Yes?"
"This is Dr. Stevenson at St. Luke's downtown emergency room."
Griffin's heart kicked up. "Yes?"
"It's about Mrs. Reed. She's been in an accident and you were listed as the next of kin on her intake form from the last time she was here."
Dakota. Griffin's throat dried and he fought to keep his hands from shaking.
"Is she dead?"
"No. No. Nothing like that. But she has been injured and–"
"I'll be right there." Griffin hung up the phone.
"Griffin, what's wrong?"
He rose from the table and pulled out his wallet. He tallied the meal in his head and added a tip.
"I have to go," he said. "I'm so sorry. Here." He held forty dollars out to her.
"What's that for?"
"An Uber to get you home."
Cassie rounded the table and grabbed him by the arm. "Griffin, what's going on?"
His mind reeled and he tried to think straight. "Dakota. She's been in an accident."
Cassie took a deep breath and nodded. "All right. Give me your keys."
"What?"
Her voice stayed calm and steady. "You are obviously upset. You shouldn't be driving. Give me the keys. I'll take you."
"You don't have to–"
She held out her hand. "What hospital?"
He played and replayed the doctor's words in his head. "St. Luke’s. Downtown."
"Let's go." Cassie strode from the restaurant pulling Griffin behind her.
Dakota had been in an accident. Despite everything that she'd put him through, he thanked God she wasn't dead.
Chapter Two
Dakota's head thumped with pain as she lay against the stiff, white hospital bed listening to the sounds of people rushing back and forth. The scent of smoke clung to her clothing and her chest burned slightly from the inhalation. An oxygen mask covered her mouth and nose and the cool air coated her mouth with its strange crispness. She fought to keep calm but the noises and scents of the emergency room pulled unwanted memories of her Planned Parenthood visit to the forefront. Farmed out by her health provider she'd been sent there over a year and a half before. Alone. In a hospital gown. Waiting her turn for a D&C. Her wolf growled at the memory and paced back and forth.
She shook her head and reached out to Bowgie for comfort- but he wasn't there. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch at the thought of losing him. No one had told her yet where her dog was or if he'd even made it out of the apartment. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed deep. He was fine. He was fine. He
had to be fine.
A pair of heavy footsteps stopped at the nurses’ desk outside.
"I'm looking for Dakota Reed."
Her breathing hitched. She hadn't heard that sweet tenor in so long. Her wolf clawed at Dakota to be let out.
"Are you family?" asked a nurse.
"I'm her… her husband."
It surprised Dakota that he even still called himself that.
"Do you know what happened? Was it alcohol? Drugs? Did she hurt anyone?"
"Hold on Mr. Reed. Let me get the doctor to speak with you."
Dakota's rib cage squeezed so tight she felt like her heart might crush inward. She wanted to be upset with Griffin for thinking those things but how could she? The last time he'd seen her she'd been doped up and shaking like a hummingbird.
"Mr. Reed? I'm Dr. Stevenson. Your wife has a concussion and some smoke inhalation. She needs to be monitored overnight but she doesn't need to stay here."
"What happened? What did she do?" asked Griffin. "Is she going to be arrested?"
It was like being outside her body, listening as the two men discussed her condition.
There was silence and Dakota took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She couldn't blame him for thinking the worst. Everything that she'd been through had been her own fault. No one had forced her to take the pills. That had been her choice. And everything that had followed or fallen apart because of it was her doing as well. But damn, she wished he'd at least show an ounce of concern. At least ask if she was okay.
Reclaimed From The Moon (Wolf River, ID. Book 3) Page 1
