by M. D. Grimm
Psychic Moon
The Shifter Chronicles 1
Beginnings Book One
M.D. Grimm
Psychic Moon
The Shifters Chronicles 1
Beginnings Book One
Celtic Warrior and Wolf Spirit
A Shifter Chronicles story
Psychic Moon sequel
By M.D. Grimm
Cover Art: Reese Dante reesedante.com
Copyright 2021 M.D. Grimm
Smashwords Edition
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Psychic Moon
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
Bonus Story
Celtic Warrior and Wolf Spirit
About This Book
About M.D. Grimm
Other Titles by M.D. Grimm
Connect with M.D. Grimm
Chapter One
A wolf,—he retains yet large trace of his ancient expression,
Hoary he is as afar, his countenance rabid,
His eyes glitter savagely still, the picture of fury.
~Ovid, Metamorphosis
It was only halfway through his workday, and his blood was already close to boiling. Derek hated humans. He hated the whole lot of them. What they did to animals was utterly disgraceful. Maybe he had lived a sheltered life with his pack, and maybe he hadn’t known what the world was about when he left home at eighteen. Maybe he hadn’t been as fully prepared for the grief life could throw at him as he thought he had been.
Maybe.
But that was no fucking excuse for abuse and neglect of an animal that was bred to serve and love its owners.
Derek glowered as he drove his official humane officer car through the streets of King County, Washington. He had been horribly naïve when he had taken this job. He thought he would not only be helping animals but also helping humans understand how they could properly take care of their pets. He had been wrong. This job was a slow torment. Derek would never have imagined just how horrible humans could be to their pets and livestock. He was forced to grow up quickly and not allowed much time to be a rookie.
His very first call on the job was for a dog near death. Complete neglect and carelessness had led the animal to become a bag of bones, and dehydration began to take its toll. The Washington weather didn’t help matters. The dog had been shaking with cold when Derek pulled his vehicle up to the curb. He had tried everything he could, and still it hadn’t been enough. The dog had died.
Rage flashed inside that hadn’t dimmed in the passing years. The rage, in fact, only seemed to build more and more each day as he witnessed the results of careless humans. He knew he was close to burnout but to quit now felt like defeat.
There was a pregnant cat in the cage in the back of his car that looked close to birth. She was dehydrated and malnourished, and the fur around her neck was gone. But in the skin, he detected markings that might have been caused by a collar once upon a time. He suspected she got pregnant, and the owners decided to abandon her instead of seeing her through the pregnancy.
A wolf-like growl issued from Derek’s throat, and the muscles under his skin rippled with anticipation. He shook his head once, hard. Not here. Not now. Not only was he driving but shifting would not help the cat. She was skittish enough as it was.
He couldn’t blame her—he was a wolf shifter after all. Cats and wolves didn’t have the best relationship. But that didn’t matter. He would have saved a cat from a flash flood without blinking. It was his job.
It was who he was.
Derek pulled up to the Animal Services Center and got out of the car, slamming the door harder than he needed to. He walked around to the back and opened the door. The cat hissed, but Derek knew she had to be in pain, and her terror wasn’t helping.
“Easy there, girl. I’m only doing what’s best for you. Easy.” Derek continued to talk to her as he grabbed a small portable carrier and opened the cage door. He set the carrier on the floor and threw a cat treat into it. The cat, despite her terror, wanted food. She lifted her nose in the air and sniffed before she heaved herself off the floor and waddled to the carrier. Derek closed the small door and gently lifted her. She was much too light for a cat carrying a litter.
After shutting all the doors and locking the car, Derek walked quickly to the main doors of the center. The clinic was in the back, and he hurried past the waiting room and behind the counter through a door that read “Employees Only.”
Derek had been employed with the center for about four years now, beginning right after he finished his certification with the academy for law enforcement and animal handling. This was the only job he had ever wanted to do. The rest of his family either worked in the government to save the environment, or were rangers in wildlife preserves. He’d wanted to do something different, something that would help pets, not wild animals. In his opinion, pets were often the most in danger of human cruelty.
His anger flared once more, and Derek growled.
“I agree,” a voice behind him said.
Without knowing it, Derek had stomped passed the clinic doors. He turned around, and his bad mood vanished almost instantly.
Here, Derek thought. Here is the one exception to the human species. Here is the one human who could restore the honor of the human species with a single gesture.
In his opinion, Brian O’Donogue was the best veterinarian the world had ever seen. Brian had joined the center only two years before, and his presence made a marked improvement in how many animals survived when brought in. He had a gift—it was that simple. The staff had also dubbed him the “animal shrink” because, since he joined, they hadn’t put an animal down for bad temperament. He was somehow able to get into their heads and knew how to heal them, mind and body. Of all the good and dedicated people that worked at the center, Derek considered Brian in a league of his own.
“What have we got here?” Brian came over and took the carrier from Derek.
“Female cat. Pregnant. Abandoned.”
Brian clucked his tongue and gestured for Derek to follow him into the clinic. They walked back to Brian’s workstation, and he put the carrier on the long operating table in the center of the room. He bent down until he was eye-level with the opening of the cage door. The cat hissed.
“Poor thing,” Brian said, so many emotions riding on those two words.
Derek leaned against the wall as Brian tried to coax the cat out of the carrier.
Brian was a cutie. He was older than Derek, but Derek didn’t know by how much. His blond hair was long, coming down to the middle of his back. He wore it either in a braid or a ponytail. He had a thin beard that didn’t do much to detract from his boyish face. Derek fig
ured he grew it to at least look old enough to drink. His eyes were a startling green, and he was fit, and the long white coat didn’t detract much from his rather impressive figure. Derek also couldn’t help noticing his perky butt when the coat was off. He also had a faint, adorable accent that Derek enjoyed.
Despite being fond of Brian for nearly two years, it was only in the last six months that he’d started to desire something more. He’d held back because he wanted more than just a night of pleasure with Brian. He wanted a serious relationship, which was a first. He’d accumulated a few shifter fuck-buddies over the years but they all knew what to expect—no promises. And yet Derek knew, to his core, that if he sought something long-term with Brian that he couldn’t keep the other half of himself secret. He wanted to share all. He wanted Brian to see his wolf, to accept him. But could a normal man do that?
At least he wasn’t in doubt of Brian’s sexuality. While Brian wasn’t exactly “out,” most of the staff knew. And there was no denying the faint scent of arousal when Brian was in his presence. Derek had even caught Brian checking out his ass a dozen or so times since he started working at the center. At least the attraction was mutual.
Brian finally coaxed the cat out of the carrier and gently checked her over.
“Well?” Derek pushed away from the wall.
“She’ll be due soon. We need to get some food and water down her. Not much, though. Too much will make her sick.”
“Right.”
“That pup you brought in this morning is looking well.”
“The Lab from the storm drain? He’s going to live?”
Brian grinned and patted his arm. “I guarantee it. He’s a bit timid with a bump on his head but he’s doing fine. The staff’s already fallen in love with him.”
Derek took a deep breath of relief. “Good. Good.”
Brian considered him a moment before speaking. “You were in a mood when you came back. Wanna talk about it?”
Not only was Brian the animal shrink, he was also the staff’s shrink. If anyone had any problems, personal or professional, he would be the one they went to first. His quiet and nonjudgmental nature made people want to open up to him.
“I hate people,” Derek blurted.
“I know,” Brian said, nodding. He rubbed his hand up and down Derek’s back. It sent shivers of pleasure shooting to his groin.
It’s amazing, Derek thought. This is the only person who can get me out of my bad mood just by looking at me. No one has ever done that.
He eyed Brian when he removed his hand. Derek regretted the loss of contact.
“You should get back out there. I’ll take care of her now.”
“I know you will.”
“Don’t hate everyone, Derek. You only see them at their worst. They have a best. Remember that.”
Derek nodded mutely and walked out of the room.
Brian took a deep breath and looked down at the cat. “He’s a complicated one, I know.”
He and the cat stared at each other a moment longer before he snorted. “What do you mean he smells funny? How else is a person supposed to smell? He doesn’t wear cologne.”
Brian’s smile widened, and he continued to send calming thoughts to the cat. He imagined a warm and soft bed with fresh water and food.
He couldn’t “talk” to animals, nor could they “talk” to him. He communicated on a level other people weren’t able to. He could touch animal minds and give and receive images, which was how he received the “animal shrink” moniker. No one knew about his gift, not even his family. When he mentioned it as a kid, they thought he was kidding, and when he got older, they told him to grow up. So he had grown silent.
The cat meowed in pleasure at the thought of the comfort coming, and when he put his arms around her to pick her up, she didn’t resist him. He carried the tawny beauty to the animal holding area and nodded to the staff as he passed.
He didn’t mind his moniker. He’d always used his gift to help soothe animals, and he had eventually learned how to transfer his gift to humans. While he could also touch people’s minds, he couldn’t project images to them or read their minds. It was more of an emotional transfer or easing the intense feelings they might be experiencing. He soothed the negativity. But it didn’t work on everyone, only receptive people. It had certainly helped when his roommates in college were overly stressed, which in turn, stressed him out. Calming them calmed himself.
Although his gift hadn’t been enough to stop his ex-boyfriend from abusing him.
Brian grimaced and shook himself. Stop. Just stop.
None of his techniques on humans worked better than on Derek. It was still puzzling but also reassuring. Considering the warning he’d received on his first day about Derek’s flash temper, he was pleased to discover that he could calm even Derek’s fury. Of course, it hadn’t been an easy or fast process, and it took quite a bit of courage on his part to confront an angry man. His therapist had been quite proud of him.
Brian snorted and shook his head.
After some months, Brian finally allowed himself to loosen up in Derek’s presence. Even trust him. A blind man would see that Derek was utterly passionate and close to obsessive about his job and the animals he rescued. He wanted punishment toward cruel and neglectful people and was never satisfied when all they received were fines.
Brian gently set the cat in a small kennel and gave her food and water. She thanked him with deep-throated purrs, and he smiled. He gave her head a thoughtful scratch before closing the kennel door. He stood and, because today was slow, he figured he would get a lunch break for the first time that week.
As he snagged his lunch, he puzzled over what the cat had “told” him. She thought Derek smelled weird for a human, and it put her on edge. She couldn’t tell him what she’d smelled or what it meant. It wasn’t the first time Brian noticed cats acting strange around Derek. He made cats wary, on edge, as if in the presence of a bigger predator. Brian could see no cause for it either—Derek had never harmed, nor would harm, an animal.
Though it wasn’t just cats. Brian thought about the strange mannerisms of dogs when they were in Derek’s presence. They just acted differently, submissive. Instinctually submissive. Yet he could never pin down exactly why even when touching their minds.
Brian ate his sandwich and wondered if it had anything to do with the unique feeling of Derek’s mind when he touched it. It had an unmistakable canine quality that Brian had, at first, thought was a fluke. Derek was certainly a mystery, one he wouldn’t mind figuring out one of these days.
Chapter Two
Two years earlier
Brian followed Lisa as she gave him the grand tour of the main offices for the Animal Services Center in King County, Washington State. The center handled licensing, pet adoption, and animal control. Due to that, they had their own small vet clinic to care for animals brought in for treatment.
Brian had only moved to the west coast a month before and wondered when he’d find his footing. He’d already noticed cultural differences between the coasts, and a few folks had commented on his accent, some snide, some teasing. He’d taken it all as best he could and was glad he’d found a therapist during all the chaos. He didn’t think he would have adapted as well without a professional to lean on.
Dr. Shauna Esprey was a godsend and came highly recommended by his former therapist.
“Here are our current inmates,” Lisa said with a smile.
Brian grinned at the dogs in kennels as they wagged their tails. He lightly touched each of their minds, relieved to sense only excitement and anticipation of their doors opening. No hunger or fear or pain.
“The cats are through that door.” Lisa pointed. “And we keep the livestock at a different facility after we check them out.”
“Can I see the cats?”
“Of course.”
They stepped into the cat room. Brian grinned at the haughty yet satisfied cats, none of them hungry or afraid or in pain. This was a g
ood place to work.
“You a cat person or a dog person?” Lisa asked.
“Yes.”
She laughed and patted his shoulder. She was a woman in her sixties and was due to retire in a week. He was filling her spot but doubted he could replace someone so ingrained into the organization. Two cats came over to rub themselves against his legs. He bent down to pet them, gently touching their minds. They wondered if he had any treats. He snorted.
“Next we meet the animal cops,” Lisa said. “While all of them are good people, there’s one in particular I feel I should warn you about.”
Brian straightened and frowned. “What do you mean?”
“His name is Derek and he… takes his job very personally. I mean, all of them are serious people that want to do their best for the animals. But his dedication can be rather scary at times. He can come off a bit intense. I’ve heard others describe him as territorial, persistent to a fault, and loyal.”
She smiled slightly and shrugged. “He takes cruelty to animals as a personal insult.”
Brian swallowed hard. “Is he, uh, violent?”
Lisa looked a bit troubled. “He can be. Though I’ve never seen him raise a hand to anyone who works here, he has been known to punch walls, and he’s been in a couple of bar brawls that threatened his job.”
Brian’s stomach twisted. He really didn’t like the sound of that. Any of that. He’d come to Washington to get away from violence. Now he would have to work with someone who flew off the handle at any given moment? Brian sighed. He might need to schedule an extra session with his therapist.
Lisa patted his shoulder again. “Don’t worry about it, seriously. I just want you to be prepared so you’re not shocked when you witness one of his tantrums.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
The rest of the tour was uneventful, and while he’d met most of the officers, the one he was most anxious to meet was on vacation. Oh well, something to worry about later then. Brian shoved that concern to the back of his mind and focused on what was in front of him. He wanted to find a home here, and he was going to do his damn best to build one.
