Reclaimed From The Moon (Wolf River, ID. Book 3)

by Rebekah R. Ganiere

  He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her– his lips lingering over hers. His tongue swirled in her mouth. She needed him. To feel him. To be close to him. She ran her hands under his shirt and lifted it off. His gaze intensified and suddenly they couldn't get their clothes off fast enough. They kissed and stripped and kissed. She clawed at his back as he smothered her mouth with his and thrust hard inside her. She grabbed onto his shoulders and held on as his hips worked harder and faster against her. His head fell to her shoulder and he bit her skin.

  In less than a minute he climaxed. She rocked him through it and he kissed her again, but this time, all of the fire was gone. Instead of hot blatant need, he kissed her gently, worshiping her. His breathing evened and his heartbeat slowed.

  "I love you Dakota. You never need to be scared again. I'd do anything to make sure you're safe. "

  The weight of his words rolled over her. "Did you kill him?"

  He pushed the hair from her forehead and then kissed it. "Anything."

  Dakota walked down the hall toward the kitchen. The light was on but the entire house was quiet. She entered the kitchen and found Mary at the table with Jeremiah. She stopped as they both looked up at her, eyes rimmed red, expressions exhausted.

  "Hey," she said.

  "Hi." Mary smiled at her.

  Dakota glanced at the clock. It was close to two a.m.

  "What are you guys doing up?" She walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a box of tea.

  "Just talking.”

  She held up the tea. "Want some?"

  Mary shook her head.

  Dakota ran the water and filled the kettle then turned it on.

  "Dakota, can we have a minute?" asked Jeremiah.

  Chills ran over her body. She loved Jeremiah like a father, but as an Alpha he was very imposing - and she wasn’t quite sure yet which she would be talking to.

  "Sure." She set down the tea and walked to the table.

  Mary and Jeremiah sat silent for a moment.

  "You know what happened tonight, right? Griffin told you?"

  He hadn't told her everything but she'd gotten the gist. Lenny was dead.

  "We left the body in the woods for the scavengers," said Jeremiah. "It will look like an animal attack."

  Dakota nodded.

  Silence stretched out between them and then Mary reached over and took her hand. ”We think maybe it would be a good idea if you and Griffin came home for a while.”

  "He told us he'd been thinking about it after the semester is over but I think it might be better if you leave sooner,” finished Jeremiah.

  Mary's eyes softened. "People saw you at the park. They saw Caleb. If that man has friends and they report him missing–"

  "It's possible it could come back to you and Griffin. It's not probable but it is possible," said Jeremiah.

  "But you said it looks like an animal attack. And wouldn't leaving make it look worse?" she asked.

  Jeremiah shrugged. "Possibly, if they ever connected you to his disappearance, which they won't. Griffin's a decorated military veteran and neither of you have a record, they'll probably let it go. And if they ever do find the body they'll find nothing more than animal DNA. Plus, me and Mary, Logan and Caleb will vouch that you two were with us. I have some pretty high powered friends that will make sure nothing ever comes if it if needs be.”

  "There's more to it than that though,” said Mary. "Griffin is going to need time. It hasn't quite hit him yet– what he's done. But he will, and when it does finally hit him… it's going to take the support of the whole pack to pull him through. Him and Caleb are gonna need each other especially."

  Jeremiah reached across the table and took her other hand. "You didn't get a chance to see Griffin when he came home this last time. But you've seen him the other times. You know it gets dark for him. This will be worse. He won't have the excuse that he was following orders and fighting for his country. He had a choice and he took a life. There's a difference."

  They were right. After each successive tour, Griffin had taken longer to recover. It had never been anything major, staring at the wall, sleeping for days on end, nightmares, smiles that didn’t quite reach his eyes- but every time he’d pulled out of it with minimal therapy and time in her arms. But for all of those bad days, she’d never once seen him look the way he’d looked tonight when he’d gotten home. Griffin was a good man; killing Lenny wouldn't go over easy.

  "Dakota? Dakota!" Griffin's shouts floated down the hallway.

  She rushed from the table as he threw open the bedroom door and stormed into the hallway with Bowgie at his heels.

  "I'm here, Griff. I'm right here."

  He charged forward and picked her up into his arms. Sweat slicked his body and his muscles trembled.

  "It's okay," she said. "I'm right here."

  "I woke up and you were gone."

  "I'm not gone." She cupped his face and brought his forehead to hers. "I'm not going anywhere, ever."

  He gulped down air in deep, short bursts. They stood forehead to forehead for several seconds. For the first time true fear for Griffin washed over her for Griffin. His body shook as he squeezed her so tight she was afraid he might break her.

  "Come on," she said. "Let's get back to bed."

  Griffin looked over her shoulder at his parents. "Sorry I woke you."

  Dakota glanced at Mary and Jeremiah.

  "We were still up, honey." Mary smiled. "You get some rest. Both of you." Mary looked pointedly at Dakota, and Dakota nodded.

  She walked back to bed with Griffin– his grip tight on her hand.

  Mary was right. He was going to need the whole pack to heal from this. They both were.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Griffin tapped the pencil on his textbook then threw it down and covered his hands with his face. He couldn't focus. It'd been four weeks and all he could see was Lenny's body, lying on the ground, ripped to shreds. And despite the horror he felt, for having done it, he'd do it again— in a heartbeat.

  "You taking a break?" Dakota walked into the room.

  He dropped his hands and smiled at her. "Yeah." He'd been putting her through hell the last month. Calling her name in the middle of the night and reaching for her to make sure she was okay. Texting a dozen times a day just to say hi and hear her respond. Between nights at work and nights not sleeping, he'd gotten so far behind in his classes, he didn't know what to do.

  Dakota crawled into his lap and pushed him back against the couch making his wolf sit up and take notice.

  "So I was thinking."

  He slid his hands up her thighs and cupped her rear. "Was it good thoughts about me?" He pulled her down for a kiss.

  She laughed and pushed away. "Yes. It was. But, I wanted to talk to you about something."

  The serious tone of her voice had him paying attention.

  "I think we should go home." She looked at him with genuine resolve.

  "We talked about it before. When the semester is over–"

  "I think we should go now." Her eyes held an intensity that he’d not see in a long time.

  "Now? I only have two months left.”

  She nodded. “I know but I love you and I want the best for you– for us– and being here, away from our family, away from the pack, it's not good for us. You need them. I need them."

  The support of family. Of those he trusted. Those he could tell anything to– without fear of judgment.

  "What about school? And the house? And you love your job.”

  "We'll rent out the house. I already found out we can get a bit more than we pay on the mortgage and who cares about school? You can retake the classes. Maybe I can find a job up there somewhere, or not. What matters most is our family and our mental health. And I think we both would heal a lot faster if we were around a better support system.”

  He chuckled. “For our family huh? I thought you weren't sold on having kids right now."

  "Well it's a bit late for that." She bit her l
ip.

  Griffin’s heartbeat quickened and his wolf ’s ears perked up. ”What do you mean?"

  "I mean about six weeks too late." She pulled a white stick from her back pocket. It had two pink lines on the front.

  Griffin stared at it. "You're pregnant?"

  A broad smile spread across her face and he couldn't help but smile as well.

  "We're having a baby?"

  She nodded.

  He kissed her hard and then squeezed her tight. "We're having a baby."

  He let go of her and looked her over.

  "It's fine Griff. You can still hug me. You aren't going to break me."

  He set his palm over her belly, waiting, hoping for a sign of the life growing inside her, but it was too early. He knew that. It didn't matter though. He smelled the hormonal change on her. How had he not noticed it before? The now sweeter, stronger scent of her skin.

  A piece of his heart clicked into place and that was it. His eyes focused on hers and the trepidation that rolled over her. He leaned in and kissed her soft, his heart flooding with emotion. More than anything now he had to focus on her and their child.

  "Let's go home," he said.

  Bowgie trotted in carrying his leash and both of them chuckled.

  Tears welled in her eyes and she kissed him. "Home to Wolf River."

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for taking the time to read Reclaimed from the Moon. I love writing this series. It's been a lot of fun writing a series about shifters in real world situations, like Dakota and Griffin. Trying to put a relationship back together is tough on everyone, but can be totally worth it as well.

  If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment to leave a review on your favorite retailer. Your reviews make all the difference to an author and the success of books.

  Feel free to take a moment and email me and let me know what you liked about the book or who your favorite character was and why. I love hearing from readers. It makes writing so much more fun when I hear from my readers.

  VampWereZombie@Gmail.com

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  Rebekah R. Ganiere - BOOKS WITH A BITE

  Tamed Under the Moon

  Wolf River Book Four

  Affina prowled through the frozen trees behind her father Rocnar's large bunched shoulders. The scent of frozen tundra wafted toward her on the chilly breeze. Not a sound emanated from the clearing in front of them.

  The Obsidian Mountain clan was hunting them.

  For the last five years, the Obsidian Mountain clan had stalked the Siberian wastelands seeking out the last of her clan and wiping them out. Her mother had been in the first attack at the castle, as had the youngest of their clan. The survivors had run that very night and slowly they'd wandered from place to place trying to entreat the other clans to come to their aid. Few had offered help and none had offered to shelter them.

  All that remained were Affina, her father the Alpha and King of the Sabers and a handful of other Sabers. If they couldn't make it to the flight they'd chartered, they wouldn't make it through the winter.

  Several of the clan members had tried to reach out to the other shifters for help. Wolves, lions, bears. But the distrust between Blood Born clans in Europe ran deep. And the Blood Born preferred to keep to their own kind.

  A branch crunched to the left. Affina's father's head whipped that direction. He sniffed the air and his muscles tensed. The stench of malice floated from a clump of trees.

  Rocnar turned to her, his hand moving in several rapid signals telling her he was going to move into the clearing to set the flare in place. Her clan had been forced to resort to thievery to obtain enough money for transportation to America. Affina had heard stories of the continent full of soft humans that outnumbered Blood Born thousands to one, but she'd never been there.

  Rocnar stalked through the waist-high rows of dead corn to the middle of the clearing. In the glistening light of the moon the smattering of snow shone brightly against the frozen dirt. A shiver raced over her skin as she pulled her bear pelt covering closer around her shoulders. A new country. She was going to a new country. Her saber's tail swished irritably and she shoved her saber down. She didn't have time to deal with such nonsense at the moment.

  Behind her a cough broke the silence. Incus covered his mate Jershon's mouth and he grabbed a water container and pressed it to her lips.

  A dozen pairs of bright orange cat eyes stared at her waiting for the signal. She motioned for them to stay quiet before training her eyes back on her father.

  He pulled an object from under his cloak and threw it to the ground. Affina held her breath. They were about to give away their position. Not only to the plane just out of reach but also to anyone within a ten-mile radius. Red smoke rose from the flare and then a stream of bright red light poured out of it. Her father backed up and turned his gaze to the sky. Minutes passed and her heart beat faster and faster. Finally, there was the sound of plane engines drawing closer. Affina smiled. They were going to make it.

  Rocnar beaconed Affina over. She ran toward him as an ear-splitting screech cracked through the silence. Affina turned. A large creature lumbered through the trees.

  "Affina! Stay by me!" Her father yelled in her native tongue.

  Behind her Jershon screamed and Incus roared. Bones broke as the rest of her clan shifted and the sounds of fighting ensued.

  Fire coursed through Affina as her saber fought for control. She took a step back toward her clan.

  "Affina! No! To me!" Her father commanded.

  A saber cried out and Affina's saber clawed its way to the surface. She dropped her cloak and bag as anger boiled her blood. She turned to help when strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground, dragging her backward.

  "Father no! We must help!"

  Wind whipped violently above them as the small aircraft came into view. The helicopter descended from the air just feet from where Affina's father held her tight. It hit the ground nearly knocking her over from the wind and the sound. A man opened the door on the side of the helicopter and held his hand out to her.

  "Hurry!" the man yelled.

  "Go my daughter. Carry on my name. Carry on your mother's name. Don't let our clan die."

  Propelled forward she clawed at his arms, her nails and teeth lengthening. The sounds of shrieks and growls floated out of the trees. She turned her head and looked over her shoulder.

  "Father stop! Let me help!"

  Teloren lumbered into the grove, his front leg hanging limp and useless. She reached for him.

  "Take her!" Her father pushed her at the helicopter and the man inside grabbed her arms pulling her up.

  Affina kicked and screamed at them to let her go, but the two men grabbed her arms and legs and threw her inside, her head struck the metal floor.

  Her father's voice floated toward her. "Be well my daughter. Don't let our clan die!"

  Affina's eyes stung with bitter tears and the fire that had burned inside her doused like a bucket of icy water as she banged her hands onto a hard cold surface. "Let me out! Let me go back!"

  Her father slammed the door to the helicopter. "Get out of here," he yelled.

  Affina blinked several times and sucked in a ragged breath. One of the men jumped into the cockpit and buckled himself in.

  "Let me out! Let me out!" she screamed.

  The second man joined the first as the helicopter lifted into the air. Affina ran at the helicopter door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. She banged on the window as the helicopter gained altitude. Tears streamed from her eyes as she watched her father battle an enormous saber. She sobbed, face pressed against the glass for a long time, until the sabers lying in pools of blood on the frozen ground were no bigger than ants. Her saber roared inside her at the pai
n of what she'd witnessed. Everything grew fuzzy and then darkness overtook her.

  "Hey.” A hand shook Affina's shoulder. "Miss, are you okay?"

  Affina opened her eyes and the round doughy face of the man who had pulled her into the helicopter floated in and out of view.

  "Where am I?" she croaked. Everything flooded back to her and she sprang to her feet. "Get me back. I must go back."

  His eyes rounded with surprise. "Back?"

  "To my father. You must take me back." He stared at her for a moment and she grabbed him by the shirt. "Take me back!"

  "Calm down. Just calm down."

  Affina let go of his shirt and pushed backward. Her spine hit the side of the helicopter and she looked around frantically. They sat on a small airstrip next to a squat beige building. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be here alone while her clan died out. She had to get back. The pilot ran up to the helicopter and handed the man a cellphone.

  "This is Stephan," the man said. He looked at Affina and then held the phone out to her. "It's for you."

  Affina took the phone apprehensively. "Hello?"

  "This is Tate from the Night Shift Relocation service. What's your name?"

  "Affina Tigra of the Saber Mountain clan."

  "Affina Tigra?" he repeated. "The daughter of Rocnar Tigra?"

  "Yes. Can you get me back to him?"

  There was a pause. "Is he not with you?"

  "No. No one is with me."

  "You're the only one who made it?"

  Affina swallowed hard, pushing back the tears. "I'm the last."

  "Okay. Okay. We're gonna get you on a plane and get you to America. It's what your father wanted."

  "But where am I supposed to go? What am I supposed to do? I don't know anyone. I'm the last of my kind."

  There was a moment of silence. "Trust me, everything is going to be okay. You aren't alone."