The True Beast (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance)

by Ana W. Fawkes

  Eli fixed his jacket as Triel held the door open for the leader of the Oreno crew.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Lucas said. “I’ve had enough for one day.”

  Seth’s cellphone rang again. He shook the phone. “Can I?”

  “Take it,” Lucas said. Lucas turned to Vince. “Are we safe?”

  “We’re not safe unless we’re in Mercy,” Vince said. “But I think Eli appreciates our offering.”

  “I don’t want to linger,” Cooper said.

  The four walked back to their motorcycles. Lucas looked over his shoulder and saw Seth running toward his truck.

  “Seth,” Lucas called out.

  “Can’t talk. Big problem.”

  “Club?”

  “No,” Seth said. “But I have to kill someone.”

  Seth got into his pickup truck and peeled around and out of the dirt path.

  “Damn,” Lucas said.

  “That’s not going to be good,” Cooper said.

  “Trail him,” Vince said to Cooper.

  “No,” Lucas said. “I’ll get him.You guys should get back to the club. Cooper needs to get that truck ready and we need to get some bodies ready.”

  “Okay,” Vince said.

  Lucas jumped on his motorcycle, started it, and took off. It was a little more than dangerous to be speeding through Oreno territory alone, but Lucas took the chance. If Eli was dumb enough to pull back on a deal that fast, and dumb enough to kill Lucas, the resulting bloodshed would wipe out the Oreno crew once and for all.

  Lucas darted in and out of traffic as needed until he was once again on the long roads that separated the land between Oreno and Full Moon Mercy. There were plenty of scuffles over who actually took possession of the land, and not just between Oreno and Full Moon Mercy. Plenty of lost riders, those who lived wherever their wheels stopped turning, tried to stake a claim to the empty land. But they came and went, usually without much of a fight. They were wanderers, tough guys who were only tough when alone.

  Halfway back to Mercy, Lucas slowed his motorcycle enough so he could take out a smoke and light it. He knew he should have kept the urgency for Seth but something triggered inside himself. If Seth was going to get wrapped up in a woman and her problems, maybe there was a lesson to be learned. Even if he did kill someone, what did it matter?

  18

  Leah came from Lucas’s room and walked the halls with her heart racing. Protected or not she couldn’t help but think that she was surrounded by men who could shift from strong bikers into even stronger wolves. When she got to the bar a round man stood as though he was waiting for her.

  “Can I get you something to eat?” he asked.

  There was a small kitchen connected to the bar. The smell of grease and coffee caught Leah’s attention. She ate a small plate of food and drank a cup of coffee. The entire time she couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched.

  Which she was.

  She knew she was because of the protection Lucas promised her.

  After returning to Lucas’s room and cleaning herself up, she opened the door again to find Vince’s old lady, Mandy standing there, her hands at her hips.

  “May I come in?”

  “Yeah.”

  Mandy stepped into the room and shut the door. She sniffed the room and smiled. “You spent the night here.”

  “Lucas said it was for my own good.”

  “I’m sure he did,” Mandy said. “And I’m sure it was.”

  The way Mandy looked at Leah made her uncomfortable. The woman had the appeal of backstabbing danger, leaving Leah feel like she should be on her toes with Lucas not there.

  “Lucas isn’t here,” Leah said. “He’s out riding.”

  “I know,” Mandy said. “I wanted to check on you. It can’t be easy accepting all of this.”

  “I accept what I have to,” Leah said. “If if helps Lucas and the club.”

  “The club?” Mandy said. “You don’t get to call it the club. You have no idea who we are or what we do. You slipped your pretty little hands into Lucas’s pants. Don’t think that means you’re untouchable, sweetheart.”

  Leah swallowed. “Fair enough. I’m just trying to help everyone. Including Debbie. She’s uncomfortable and in pain.”

  “Not for long,” Mandy said.

  “That’s good then. For her.”

  “For Lucas,” Mandy said. “That’s his child. That child will be part of this motorcycle club. That child has purpose.”

  “Of course,” Leah said.

  Mandy got closer to Leah. “My advice, if I had any to give, would be to really think about the future of all this. You want to be an old lady to a shifter? You want to watch Lucas raise his child, even though it’s not yours. That life will never connect to your life. You’ll always have to take a backseat to it. The same for Debbie. She’s going away, not disappearing. Think you could handle that, sweetheart?”

  “Are you telling me to leave?” Leah asked.

  “No,” Mandy said. “Just sharing some words.”

  Mandy looked Leah up and down and then inched close and sniffed her.

  “Something wrong?” Leah asked.

  Mandy smiled. “So human. I really hope Debbie doesn’t finally lose her mind and kill you. That would be tragic.”

  Mandy left the room and left Leah shivering with fear. The woman was a bitch but she had that aura about her. Leah was convinced Mandy was a shifter too. Leah wondered if Mandy was born like that or if maybe Vince had somehow changed her. If that were possible.

  Needing to get out of the room, Leah went to the back set of steps with a set of keys in her hand. She snuck down to the secret apartment and found the right key to open the door. Of all places and people to seek some kind of comfort in, Leah couldn't help but check on Debbie. She wanted to prove to herself, to Lucas, and yes, to all of Full Moon Mercy, that she could handle all this.

  Inside the apartment, Leah took small steps and found Debbie sitting on the couch watching television. Her hands were on her even larger belly. She looked at Leah and curled her lip.

  “Dangerous being around me,” Debbie said. “I might try to hurt you again.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” Leah said. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fat.”

  “Well, you are pregnant.”

  “This ain’t pregnant,” Debbie said. She leaned back and rubbed her stomach. “This is… I don’t know what this is.”

  Leah kept moving toward Debbie slowly. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  “No. Unless you know what’s going to happen to me.”

  “You’re going to have a baby,” Leah said.

  “They keep telling me there’s a special doctor to take care of me. What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” Leah said. “But I think you just need to trust everyone. Including me. I’m going to be there with you when we travel.”

  “Why? What do you get out of this?”

  “Lucas,” Leah said.

  Debbie rolled her eyes. “I don’t remember his dick being that big.”

  Leah felt her blood boil. She took a shaky breath and looked away. “It’s not about that.”

  “You love him?”

  “What if I did?” Leah asked. “Would that matter to you?”

  “I hope you do. Then again, what’s going to happen when he gets you pregnant and then finds someone else to fuck?”

  Leah looked at Debbie, refusing to acknowledge the pregnant woman’s stomach. She felt the urge to slap Debbie and knew this was her chance to do it. Just get it out of her system. Show this bitch that she meant business.

  As Leah’s hand cracked against Debbie’s face, there was a sense of relief followed by regret. Debbie grabbed her face as she cried out. Leah’s hand stung and throbbed.

  “I’m not listening to that anymore,” Leah said. “I don’t care what he did to you. I don’t care what you think he’s going to do to me. Understand?”

 
; Debbie glared up at Leah, holding her face. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

  Leah walked to the kitchen and found a bag and filled it with ice. She took it back to Debbie.

  “Thanks,” Debbie said and put the bag to her cheek. “I guess you could handle yourself finally.”

  “I always could,” Leah said. “Don’t forget, you did try to kill me once.”

  “I tried to eat you,” Debbie said and smiled. “Urges.”

  “How do you feel right now?”

  “Getting hungry,” Debbie said. “But not for you. Yet.”

  “Good to know. Lucas and some of the crew are out working on the plans for you. Just so you know. I wanted to check on you and tell you that. If it helps.”

  “Nothing helps,” Debbie said. “The feelings I feel. The dreams I have. I wake up and have this pain deep in my body. I touch my stomach and hope there’s nothing there. I hope it’s just me coming off a really bad high. But it’s not. It’s reality.”

  “I’m sorry that happens,” Leah said.

  “The dreams are the worst. It’s all darkness. All I hear is growling and running. The sound of heavy thuds. Crunching bones. The wet sound of skin tearing and blood spilling. It’s the same dream over and over. I can’t wake myself up though. I only wake up when I hear the sound of a baby crying.”

  “Sounds like a nightmare,” Leah said.

  Debbie touched her stomach. “Everything is a nightmare right now.”

  Leah looked back to the door of the secret apartment. She could take her chances upstairs with the motorcycle club, and Mandy. Or she could take her chances with Debbie. Leah walked around Debbie and plopped down on the couch next to her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Staying,” Leah said. “In case you need me.”

  “You must really love Lucas,” Debbie said.

  Leah didn’t respond. She leaned forward and reached for the remote.

  You must really love Lucas…

  Leah smiled.

  *

  Seth punched the steering wheel as he drove. He wished he had his motorcycle. The pickup truck had no speed and the ass end swung left to right as though the back tires were bald and on ice. He sped back into Mercy with his cellphone between his legs. There was nothing he could do right now to help Abby. Her asshole boyfriend had shown up looking for a little revenge after Abby ditched him for Seth. Seth figured at best, the guy was there just to rattle her chains and scare her. At worst, maybe Abby would have to offer her body to him to calm him and distract him. Either way, this guy would never live to see another day.

  It was an extremely empowering feeling to hold that kind of command over life. To know the fate of someone when they didn’t. It was a heavy responsibility but right now, Seth couldn’t give a shit about responsibility. He could only focus on making the kill. Ever since Vince put him out to kill Leah, that urge still ticked inside. Not being able to kill Leah not only made Seth feel weak, but it left that urge to kill alive.

  Today he would fix that.

  Seth sped through Mercy. He cut the wheel to the right and felt the truck trying to give away and flip. Seth didn’t care. If he rolled the fucking truck he would climb out and run. If he couldn’t run fast enough as human he would shift. Let someone make the call to the police about a large wolf running through the streets of Mercy. What did it matter?

  Seth saved the truck from tipping and raced to Abby’s apartment. When he saw the single motorcycle parked out front, he hit the gas pedal and sped up. A few feet from the motorcycle, Seth slammed on the brake pedal and skidded into the bike. It crashed to the ground and slid into a car. That felt good, but the kill would feel even better. Hell, maybe he would even shift in front of Abby and show her just who he was. Prove to her that nobody would be able to hurt her.

  At the bottom of the steps, Seth lunged forward and was on the landing. He reached for his gun and kicked open Abby’s apartment door to find her on her knees with her hands tied in front of her. She was crying and the barrel of a gun was pointed to the side of her head. Sure enough, the big asshole from the bar the other night stood beside her. Tattoos up and down his strong arm. That rattlesnake look of murder in his eyes.

  “There you are,” the man said.

  “Stop it, Bo,” Abby said.

  “Shut up,” Bo said and pushed the gun against Abby’s head. She cried out.

  “Let her go,” Seth said. He had his gun pointed at Bo. “This isn’t about her. It’s about us, man. You want a fair fight? Let’s do it. Right now.”

  “Put your gun down,” Bo said.

  “Fuck you.”

  “I’ll pull this fucking trigger,” Bo said. “I’m in control here. Tell him, baby. Tell him to put the gun down.”

  Seth looked at Abby. “Please, Seth. Just listen to him.”

  Seth’s hand began to shake. He hated this. He could try and shift, but any lapse of time, even a second, would be Abby’s life.

  “Fine,” Seth said.

  He slowly put the gun on the floor. He showed his empty hands and stood back up.

  “Kick it to me,” Bo said. “I don’t want to take a chance.”

  Seth kicked the gun and Bo lifted his black boot and stepped on the gun.

  “Now put your gun down,” Seth said.

  “I never said I was going to do that,” Bo said and smiled. “You fucked my girl. I could smell it on her. She’s no use to me now.”

  “Wait a second,” Seth growled.

  He managed half a step before the gun went off. He saw the spray of blood to the wall and then it was done. Abby fell back to the floor and by the time Seth managed to move his eyes to Bo, thinking of all the ways to kill him, the gun was pointed at Seth.

  “Sorry, bro,” Bo said.

  Seth started to shake, ready to shift. But before Seth could even begin to command his body to shift, he heard a growl and watched as a large beast lunged into the apartment and attacked Bo.

  19

  Lucas turned into the parking lot of the apartment building, following the wicked smell of Seth. Lucas had to laugh to himself; the scent coming off Seth was that of a wildly horny guy. Humans did dumb things when they were turned on by a beautiful woman. Shifters, however, could easily lose their damn minds.

  That’s what Lucas realized when he saw Seth’s pickup truck sideways through three parking spots and saw the black motorcycle on its side with pieces of it scattered all around.

  “Oh, shit,” Lucas said as he pulled into a parking spot for himself.

  This was certainly two men fighting over a woman. Lucas knew that at least one of the men was a wolf. If the other guy wasn’t, then there was going to be a funeral. After the murder was covered up, of course.

  Lucas took to the steps. When he heard the gunshot, he jumped to the top of the steps and rushed to the open door. He was there just in time to see the body of a woman fall back. Her hands were tied. Her blood and brain splattered against the wall. And then there was Seth, with his back to Lucas, frozen. Lucas stepped back and quickly shifted, knowing he needed to do some major damage control to this scene.

  He jumped forward past Seth and fell on top of a tattooed, muscular man. The man instantly started to kick and scream, and with one scent of the man’s sweat, Lucas knew he wasn’t a beast. Just some regular biker.

  Lucas backed away from the man and looked at Seth. He wanted to give Seth a chance to get his peace in the situation. Seth took advantage of it and jumped forward. For a second, Lucas thought Seth was going to shift. That would have made the entire scene an even bigger disaster.

  Instead of shifting, Seth put his hand under his shirt and reached for the gun that the man had dropped. Lucas nodded. Seth was still capable of using his head. Lifting the gun, Seth placed it to the side of the man’s head. The man stared at Lucas, in complete shock that a massive wolf was standing in an apartment like this.

  “Fuck you, Bo,” Seth said.

  Seth pulled the trigger.

  Now there we
re two dead bodies on the floor.

  Seth dropped the gun, stepped back and fell to his knees over the body of the woman. Lucas eyed the scene and slowly stood up, changing back into a human. He left the apartment momentarily to gather his clothing. When he returned to the apartment, Seth was cradling and rocking the woman’s body.

  “Shit, Seth,” Lucas said. “You can’t do that. We can’t leave evidence here. This is a murder-suicide right now. Got it?”

  Seth looked at Lucas. His face was white. “This should have been you, bro. Because of me. How could I do it… just how?”

  “What are you talking about, Seth?”

  Seth touched the woman’s cheek. “She was beautiful. Abby. She was wild in bed. I think I loved her.”

  “You didn’t love her,” Lucas said. “You just met her. You’ll move on. Come on, brother, we have to move out of here before police show up.”

  “I can’t leave her. I feel fucking empty.”

  Lucas touched Seth’s shoulder. Seth took a swing at Lucas and groaned.

  “Easy, man, easy.”

  “It’s not easy,” Seth said. He closed his eyes and began to rock. “It’s not fucking easy at all. Seeing someone you want to be with. Watching them die.” Seth looked at Lucas. “I was going to do it. I was told to do it.”

  “Okay, man,” Lucas said. “Let’s get out of here and you can tell me about it. Is that okay?”

  “No,” Seth said. “I can’t look him in the eyes. Not after this. Not after what he wanted me to do. To you, Lucas. To the club.”

  Lucas crouched down and touched Seth’s shoulder. Seth was losing his mind for real. This wasn’t just because of some hot woman he picked up at a bar. There was something deeper brewing inside Seth.

  “Who? Who is he?”

  “Vince,” Seth whispered. “Fucking Vince, man. He wanted me to do this to you.”

  Lucas looked at the woman. “Did Vince call this hit? He wanted me to do this?”

  “No,” Seth moaned. “No. This was Abby, man. She was fun. This fucking asshole was her old man I guess. She came with me though. He came and killed her. But I get it now. I get that pain. It should have been your pain, Lucas. But I couldn’t do it.”