by Kimber White
Savage Moon
Wild Lake Wolves Series
Book Four
By
Kimber White
Copyright © 2016 by Kimber White
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by law or for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
A Note from Kimber White
Books by Kimber White
Author’s Note
The Wild Lake Wolves books have all been written so you can enjoy them as standalones. While they can be read in any order, the events within them do occur chronologically. For a full list of published books in the series and their recommended reading order, visit the series page at http://www.kimberwhite.com/wild-lake-wolves.
Happy Reading!
Kimber
Chapter One
Most girls my age start heading off to college. They spend time worrying about their majors or whether they have the right clothes. Me? I was just trying not to die. So far, I should get an A+ in survival. Tonight, though? I was about to go for honors credit.
Trusting me was a mistake. One I knew Kane would never make again no matter what happened tonight. I pressed my back against the wall and watched him sleep. His chest rose and fell in a rhythmic motion. With each exhale he let out a thunderous snore that vibrated through the mattress. A noise that would make anyone believe he had more bear inside of him than wolf. But, for now at least, his wolf lay quiet. Still. Hopefully drifting beneath the fog of alcohol Kane drank at dinner. I hadn’t expected him to get drunk. He never did. But tonight, he’d been in a mood to celebrate, though he wouldn’t let me in on why.
I took a hesitant step forward, mindful of the creaking third floorboard. Maybe I should have just gone out the door and never looked back. But, I had to be sure. With every step I took away from him, the risk increased. I stood over him at the foot of the bed. The blankets tangled around his muscled calves and he had one arm flung over his head, the other curled in a fist across his chest. The silver light of the full moon cast him in shadow. Had he opened his eyes, I would have seen the gleam of his wolf eyes, flashing gold. I took another step forward, then another. I stood at the side of the bed and pressed a hand flat against his chest. His skin burned hot to the touch as he flinched beneath my fingertips. I traced the curving lines of the tribal tattoo across his right bicep. He flinched but didn’t wake.
I had thought him beautiful once. Fierce, deep set eyes and a full mouth. Commanding and strong with his pack surrounding him. They were a huge family and fought side by side. It appealed to me. For most of my life it had only been my brother and me. I didn’t have dozens of friends or extracurricular activities. I’d been homeschooled, if you could call it that. And all my life I’d heard every horror story there was about werewolves. The minute I met Kane, I knew what he was. My father told me to stay away. Hell, I think he would have chained me inside my room if he thought it would have stopped me. But, the first time a wolf came calling, I couldn’t resist.
It’s a cliché, I know. Rebellious nineteen-year-old dates bad boy her Daddy warned her about. I should have been smarter than that. I am smarter than that. But, Kane Matthews had been charming and kind. He danced with me under the moonlight and made me feel safe. I’d been naïve. I hadn’t seen what he really wanted from me. I was a means to an end. That end made me shudder with fear when I looked at him now. If I didn’t break free, he’d have it. He’d win. And I’d live with that guilt for the rest of my life.
It was now or never.
I let out a measured breath, willing my heart to beat steadily. It would have been so easy to panic. But, the minute my pulse started to race, Kane would be able to feel it. The alcohol would dull his senses somewhat, but not forever. I had maybe an hour. Less if he sensed my distress. I reached up and traced the thin outlines of the crescent shaped scar I bore at the base of my neck. Yeah, most rebellious teenagers go out and get nose rings or tattoos. I got a different kind of permanent brand.
Kane’s mark.
Thunder cracked inside my brain as a sense memory flashed of that instant of searing pain as his teeth scored my flesh. Then the burn gave way to waves of pleasure through my core even though my mind railed against it. He hadn’t touched me since. Hell, he’d barely touched me then. Just a kiss. Then a bite. And now, with each beat of my heart, Kane could sense me and I could sense him. Unless I could get enough time and distance between us.
I tucked a hair behind my ear and turned toward the open bedroom door. The rest of the cabin lay quiet now too. He’d sent the pack to patrol the northern perimeter of the forest. They’d be back in an hour. Maybe less. It was time to go.
I stayed to the wall, taking slow, gingerly steps. Just the slightest creak of those blasted floorboards and Kane might wake. Finally, I made it out of the cabin and down the wooden steps. The moon rose high and bright, lighting my path to the tree line.
The hardest part was not giving in to the nearly overpowering urge to run. But, that had been my mistake the last time I’d tried to leave him. Kane could feel the urgent pulse coursing through my veins and knew what I was up to. This time, I went slow and steady, staying hidden in the thickest brush of the woods. I followed the western trail, keeping the moon at my back.
God, I wished I could fly. I almost wished Kane had the power to turn me. Then, I could shift, become speed, power, and strength as I ran through the woods toward freedom.
But, I couldn’t. It doesn’t work like that. I was only Olivia Lord. Wolf’s mate. Daughter of the Bear. And my human legs were all I had to fight my way through the thick brush and stabbing pine branches. If I had any luck at all, they were all I would need.
My blood ran cold when a howl rose from the south. I dropped down into a squat, concealing myself behind a rotted-out log and waited. One beat. Two. I kept my breath steady. Only an owl answered, and I wondered if maybe my ears were playing tricks on me. The pack was north, and Kane was still asleep. I headed toward the lake. It couldn’t be too far ahead now.
With each step I took, I began to believe that this time, I’d make it out. Kane’s range couldn’t possibly reach to the other side of the lake. And, once I made it across the water, he wouldn’t be able to track me. At least, I hoped. I knew mor
e about bears’ powers than I did wolves’. But, I was learning fast. Even if Kane could track me, by then I might have enough of a head start to reach my destination. Then, it wouldn’t matter. No power on this earth would be able to make me go back. I would find my father. I would find my brother. I would be safe. I could wash the last six months out of my mind forever and start over.
That is, if my father would take me back and forgive me for what I’d done. But, I couldn’t think about that now. There would be time enough later for explanations and forgiveness. Now was about one thing. Distance.
Distance and water meant safety. I’d imagined my path a thousand times as I lay awake or next to Kane. He hadn’t touched me since that one night I let him, but he kept me close. I’d waited for this cloudless night to light my path and now, finally, I reached the clearing.
I should have been more careful.
I burst through the tree line, my pulse steadily rising. But, the water was so close. Just a few more steps and I would reach the first of my goals. I swallowed past a lump in my throat when I saw the outline of the overturned kayak just by the shore where I’d left it. God, I hoped the oar was still inside of it, but it didn’t matter. I’d use my hands if I had to.
It took everything in me not to run, not to scream in delight. But I hadn’t forgotten how that had tipped Kane off the last time. This time, I would make no mistakes. The brush beneath my feet gave way to sand. Just a few more steps, but they were the most dangerous. I had to leave the safe cover of the trees and step out into the open. I hesitated. Took one more steeling breath, then I emerged from the woods.
I saw the wolf at the last second from the corner of my eye. I don’t know why he didn’t sense me first. I had been so focused on the kayak and watching the water line, maybe something else held his attention as well. But, he stepped out on a rocky ledge to my left. The moonlight shadowed him in silver. At least, that’s what I first thought. But, as I crouched down and he turned, I realized it wasn’t the moonlight giving him that color. He was made that way.
His ears pricked back and he leaped from the rocky ledge to the water’s edge. His coat gleamed snow white under the stars. I didn’t have to worry about keeping my breath even anymore because it left my lungs in a whoosh. I’d never seen anything like him. And that’s saying something. I’d spent the last six months living with a pack of werewolves and the first eighteen and a half years before that as a bear shifter’s daughter.
But there was something different about this wolf. He was huge, maybe as big as Kane himself. When he sat back on his haunches and lifted his great, long head, a chill went through me. He’d hunted. Blood caked his paws and he stepped into the water to wash it away. I realized that’s why he hadn’t found me yet. His senses were still heightened and filled, no doubt, with his fresh kill. But, the water that was supposed to be my salvation was about to be my undoing. As soon he got clean, he’d be able to smell me.
I couldn’t go forward, and I couldn’t go back. Some dark corner of my brain didn’t care. So now, I was well and truly fucked.
Chapter Two
I sat transfixed, watching the white wolf as he pawed the ground and shook off his fur. Fat droplets of water sprayed everywhere. He chuffed and rolled in the sand, trying to get the scent of his kill off him. It had been something small probably. A rabbit, maybe even a fox. Anything bigger than that and the rest of Kane’s pack would have sensed him and come running.
What was he doing here? These were Kane’s lands. Every wolf pack in Wild Lake knew that. Even if they couldn’t sense it, they could read the signs at every ranger outpost through the park. No one came through here unannounced or crossed these lands without permission. And certainly, no one came through here alone like he was. Or looking like him.
I’d only seen white wolves in pictures. His thick, downy fur gave him a ghostly appearance, and he would stick out like a sore thumb with any of the packs native to Michigan. He belonged in the arctic maybe, where he could move undetected through the wintry landscapes. Certainly he didn’t belong here. And yet, as he rose up on his hind legs, a tremor ran through me and I had the strongest urge to reach out and run my hands through his snow white fur.
I clamped a hand over my mouth as he fell forward on his front paws. His shoulders rose high; the fur bunched and rolled. He stretched his neck long and his snout curled. A great shudder passed through him, and for an instant, I felt the pain of his shift.
I shouldn’t. Couldn’t. I should only be able to feel Kane. But, when that instant, stabbing agony pierced through the white wolf’s body, I felt it as a dull echo in mine. I took one great, gasping breath, and the pain was gone. I must have imagined it. Become so transfixed watching him that I let my thoughts run wild.
He rose slowly, with his back to me. Rippling muscles and lean, solid lines. He straightened, squared his shoulders. In wolf form, the moon had cast him in ghostly shadows. Now, the man stood before me, and his tanned skin glistened with the sweat of exertion. I did a reverse commando crawl, trying to make myself small and put distance between us. In another instant, he’d surely be able to hear or smell me. And I had no way of knowing whether the threat in front of me was worse than the one behind.
He kept his back to me and cocked his head to the side. If he sensed anything, he didn’t react. Instead, he took a powerful stride forward, drawing my eyes to the strength and sinew of his perfectly curved ass. Then, he lunged forward and cut a clean, arcing line through the water as he dove in.
I let out a breath. Now was the time to run. But where? The only way to safety was forward through the water, and this stranger was blocking my path. I stayed hidden. The water rippled out and bubbles rose where he had submerged, but he didn’t surface. The water went still as glass, and yet, he still didn’t come up for air. A full minute passed. Maybe more. My heart thundered in my ears and I knew that more than anything spelled danger. Kane could track me this way. I put a hand up to cover the scarred mark at the base of my neck, as if that could somehow muffle Kane’s ability to find me. That was probably as effective as a child closing her eyes to hide, but I did it anyway.
I was running out of time. Kane would wake. The pack would return. I needed to be on that kayak and halfway across the lake by now. But, no plan worked unless I was on the move. So, I did the thing that had spelled disaster the last time I’d tried to escape. I ran.
I reached the kayak and heaved it over. The oar fell out of the middle of it, banging painfully against my shin. Rotted leaves slid out of it along with some skittering creature across the top of my foot. I flung the thing toward the water, wiping sweat from my brow with my forearm. As I crouched down to slide the kayak off the sand, fingers closed around my ankle, searing a path from my skin to my core.
I lost my balance, landing hard on my ass in three inches of mucky water and seaweed. The stranger rose above me, beads of water sluicing off his chiseled, naked body and his wolf eyes flashed bright as diamonds in the moonlight.
I crab crawled backward through the muck, making enough noise to draw the attention of anything wild around us. But, the wild thing in front of me didn’t break my gaze. His glinting blue eyes took me in with both smolder and ice. Though his wolf had been ghostly white, everything about the man in front of me was hard and dark. He had a dusting of black curls over his broad chest. One dark brow climbed into an arch as he crouched in front of me. Only a shock of white streaking from his forehead to the crown of his jet black hair matched the snowy wolf inside of him.
My breath came hot and my chest heaved as I sat frozen before him. He cocked his head to the side in that wolfish way weres like him do. Then, his full lips curved into a sly smile as he rose to his full height, towering over me. He let go of my ankle and offered me his hand to help me up.
I couldn’t run. My hands and feet had sunk too far into the muck to do anything other than make an ungraceful splash as I heaved myself to my feet. I couldn’t dive into the kayak and hope to outpace him. If I screa
med, Kane’s pack would hear me if they weren’t already on their way. The only thing I could do was reach up and let him take my hand. So I did.
When his fingers closed around mine, it felt as though my veins conducted electricity. A shock went through me that made my heart trip and my breath go out. His eyes flashed silver for an instant, and I knew he’d felt it too. The mark at the base of my neck flared hot and signaled danger. He wasn’t pack. He shouldn’t be touching me. It was only a matter of time before Kane woke and sensed it too.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said, though my voice was scratchy and dry. Soaked through, my shoes squished as I walked out of the muck and made it to dry land. He let go of my hand and followed me.
“What are you running from?” His voice was a deep baritone that skittered across my skin and vibrated up my spine. I turned to face him again, willing my eyes to stay on his. I couldn’t help it though. He was tall and broad, masculine and strong. My gaze traveled from the corded muscles of his thighs, his hair still wet and clinging to him. His hips tapered into a perfect V, and a blush flamed my cheeks as he stood naked before me. His huge cock dangled as he stepped toward me unabashed and unafraid. Wolves never are. He didn’t seem to worry that he’d just shifted in front of me. Something about me must have told him I’d seen such things before. I lived in his world even if I wasn’t fully a part of it.
“I’m not running,” I said, though I looked over my shoulder. I couldn’t feel Kane. The instant of alarm raised by this man’s touch hadn’t woken him yet. But, I didn’t have long. I either needed to get back to Kane’s cabin as fast as I could or commit to my plan and get on that kayak. I’d lost precious time, though. “I just needed some air, and it’s a beautiful night.”
“You aren’t wrong about that. But if you were planning on taking out that kayak, that’s pretty dangerous. This is a quiet lake, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be trawlers or reckless kids on jet skis. They wouldn’t be able to see you.”
