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

by Ana W. Fawkes

  “Put her on the couch,” he ordered. “She looks hungry.”

  “She is,” Lucas said. “She understands what she needs to eat.”

  “Good.”

  Dr. Carane disappeared and came back with a bowl of what looked like burger meat. He walked to Debbie and crouched down. She reached for the bowl but he held it back.

  “Tell me your name,” he said.

  “Debbie,” she whispered.

  “Do you understand what’s happening to you?”

  “I’m pregnant. I’m growing by the minute. And it hurts.”

  “I’m going to touch your stomach,” Dr. Carane said.

  He placed his hand to Debbie’s stomach and felt around. Lucas watched with curious eyes. He wished Leah was by his side, but she remained committed to what was asked of her. She stood at Debbie’s side, a hand on her shoulder.

  “When was the last time the baby moved?” Dr. Carane asked.

  “The ride here,” Debbie said. “It’s starting to move now… the food…”

  “Of course,” Dr. Carane said. “Eat up, baby.”

  Dr. Carane put the bowl of meat on Debbie’s lap. Both her hands went into the bowl and she started to eat. The doctor then stood up and pointed to Lucas and Vince.

  “You two with me,” he said and walked out of the room.

  “This is some crazy shit,” Zayne said as Debbie continued to eat the meat.

  Lucas walked alongside Vince into the kitchen. Dr. Carane went to the counter and leaned against it, crossing his arms.

  “You really fucked up, kid,” Dr. Carane said to Lucas.

  “Yeah, I get that. She was a stripper. I was horny. We hooked up. I had no idea this would happen.”

  “She might die through this.”

  Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “Okay.”

  The doctor smiled. “I see the other woman is human too. Is that part of this?”

  “She’s mine,” Lucas said. “Leave it at that.”

  “We need your help,” Vince said. “We need to leave her here. You’re the only one who can help us.”

  “Help you,” Dr. Carane said. “I’m supposed to just drop everything I’m doing and help you?”

  “Doesn’t look like you’re very busy,” Lucas said. “Unless I’m missing something.”

  “Smart ass kid you’ve got there, Vince,” Dr. Carane said.

  “I’m not his kid,” Lucas said.

  “Yet,” Vince said. “But that’s not why we’re here.”

  “You want to bring the child into the world,” Dr. Carane said. “Make sure it’s warm and fed.”

  “Yes,” Vince said.

  “And the woman?”

  Lucas stepped forward. “It’s not her fault. All of this.”

  “She’s a liability,” Vince said. “Maybe it’s best…”

  “Christ, Vince,” Lucas said.

  “What?” Vince snapped. “What is she going to do? Come back to Mercy? Start stripping again? In case you forget woman’s health, son, her body ain’t going to be the same.”

  Lucas stared back at Vince. The man was right and it pained Lucas to admit that.

  “Think about the nightmares,” Vince said. “Think about what she’s eating right now. This is…”

  “Whatever has to be then,” Lucas said.

  “Fair enough,” Dr. Carane said.

  “Are you going to help us?” Lucas asked.

  “Yeah,” Dr. Carane said. “I think I owe a favor or two to the club. The woman can stay. I’ll keep her safe and alive, but I can’t promise anything through childbirth.”

  “I’m not asking for her to live,” Lucas said. “You do what needs to be done.”

  Lucas walked out of the kitchen and heard Dr. Carane say one more thing to Vince.

  “What do you want to do with her?”

  Lucas ignored looking at the crew, and he ignored looking at Debbie as she feasted upon the raw meat in the bowl. Lucas set his eyes on Leah and went right to her. He scooped her up and walked her out of the log cabin to the porch. When outside, he held her, hugging her as tight as he could.

  “What’s this all about?” Leah asked.

  “For you being so damn strong in all this. We’re almost ready to go. Dr. Carane is going to take care of Debbie.”

  Leah looked him in the eyes. “She’s not going to live is she?”

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Lucas said. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

  “Okay. Then we won’t.”

  Lucas put his hands to Leah’s face, feeling her soft and smooth skin. “I… I love you, Leah.”

  *

  The woods were quiet even though there was the scent of animals everywhere. They weren’t tasty though. They weren’t the same as humans. That’s what their body craved. Nobody understood it unless they were shifters.

  He stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the wolf pace in front of him. Left to right. Right to left. Left to right. The wolf put its head back and sniffed the air. It opened its mouth and snapped its teeth as though there were flesh dangling in the air to savor upon.

  “Can you talk to me?” he asked.

  The wolf looked at him, showing its teeth. The wolf stood and shifted back into human form. Muscles and tattoos, a stern face, and evil eyes.

  “Are you ready to take this one on?”

  “I’m ready,” he said. “I’m just waiting for your approval. Give me the nod and I’m off to start a war.”

  “No. There’s no starting a war. This war has been going on for years. We’re just going to up the stakes a little. Create a diversion.”

  “I think that’s already been done,” he said and smiled.

  “I wouldn’t be smiling just yet. Get out there and make this happen.”

  “Am I allowed?” he asked.

  “Go. Now. Or else I’ll gut you myself right now.”

  He put his hands up and backed away. He turned and rushed from the woods to his waiting motorcycle. The roar of the engine was that of the filthy scum that lived in Mercy. Riding through their town he swore he could smell them. That lingering scent of betrayal. That scent of sex and violence.

  Once out of Mercy, he felt a little better but not by much. The wind ran through what hair stuck out of his helmet. He hated wearing a helmet. If he were to crash, then that would be his destiny. If his brains were meant to splatter across the pavement, so be it. That’s where life would be best to end. But he couldn’t leave himself exposed. The helmet and sunglasses covered most of his face, which kept him mostly hidden. If any of those scums from Full Moon Mercy saw him, they’d attack. He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near them.

  Oh well.

  When he entered the next territory, he slowed the motorcycle down and inhaled the air. This was where he would make his next move. Would it cause a war? Maybe. Maybe not. But it would certainly be a nice warning that he and the rest of his club weren’t going to let Full Moon Mercy get away with injustices without paying a steep price.

  He pulled the motorcycle to the side of the road and got off. From there he walked. There was a black car parked at the end of an alley. It was exactly what he was looking for. He walked to the car, making sure his helmet and sunglasses were on.

  “Hey, brother,” the driver said. “Thought you and your boys were already gone through.”

  “Just hanging back,” he said. “In case there’s trouble.”

  “No trouble here,” the driver said. “You know that. We have a deal.”

  “Yeah, we do.”

  He waited a few seconds and then pulled a gun from the back of his pants and pointed it at the driver. Before the driver could mutter a word, he pulled the trigger over and over. He cleared the chamber on the gun and then smiled.

  “There’s that,” he said.

  He tucked the gun away and hurried back to his motorcycle. There he waited patiently for someone to come and investigate all the gunshots. Another black car appeared and that’s when he
turned around and peeled away on the motorcycle.

  That should make things a little interesting.

  24

  Lucas told Leah to stay near his motorcycle and he returned to the log cabin. Inside, he saw that Debbie was missing. Ian, Cooper, and Seth stood in the what was the living room area of the cabin.

  “Where’s…?” Lucas asked and pointed to the empty couch.

  “Vince, Ethan, and Nate helped her out back,” Cooper said. “Vince went with the doctor.”

  Lucas slid his hands into his pocket and walked to the kitchen. He looked out the window and saw Vince and Dr. Carane standing just outside one of the caged areas. Inside he saw Debbie walking around. She looked like she was sniffing her new surroundings. It was actually fascinating. Could Debbie actually be changing? Could she become a shifter because of all this? If she were able to become a shifter there was a good chance she would survive the pregnancy. But on the flip side, she would be connected to Lucas forever and she would be a shifter. That would only make that bond stronger.

  Vince looked to Lucas and gave a quick wave.

  A minute or so later Dr. Carane led the way back into the kitchen. Vince was behind him, followed by Ethan and Nate.

  “You two get the rest of the guys and get ready to go back,” Vince said.

  Ethan and Nate left the kitchen.

  “Are we all set?” Lucas asked.

  “It’s all good, brother,” Dr. Carane said. “I’ll take care of things. My word.”

  “Okay. Thank you for doing this. For me. For her. For the club.”

  “And for me,” Vince said. “I’m sorry about that knife thing last time.”

  Dr. Carane touched his neck and nodded. “I’m sure it’s hard to accept bad news.”

  “I’ve got a temper,” Vince said.

  “We all do,” Dr. Carane said.

  Vince laughed.

  Lucas eyed the scene carefully and wondered if Dr. Carane was a shifter or not. Not that it really mattered at all. Lucas went to the doctor and shook his hand. He and Vince then exited the kitchen and cabin.

  Outside, Lucas looked at the box truck and realized it would just be Seth and Leah in the truck this time. Without Debbie there would be no real protection from anything Vince dared to try. Actually, it would be a perfect scenario for Vince. He could dump the truck with Seth and Leah in it, killing both of them.

  Vince slapped Lucas on the back. “Leave your mind cool, son. Let’s get back to Mercy and then we can talk.”

  “Yeah,” Lucas said. “Good idea.”

  “Load up,” Vince called out. “Our plan is to stop where we met the Oreno crew the first time. We’re going to leave the truck and all the goodies on the inside. Seth, you can ride back with Ian.”

  “Like hell he will,” Ian said. “No guy is climbing behind me for a ride.”

  Lucas laughed.

  “Okay,” Vince said. “Ethan. You take Seth back.”

  Leah moved from the motorcycle and Lucas grabbed her wrist. “You’re riding with me, baby.”

  “I thought I…”

  “No. With me. Now.”

  “Kind of dangerous,” Vince said. “Don’t you think?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “If something happens,” Vince said, “wouldn’t it be safer to have her protected in the truck than on the back of a bike?”

  “She’s safest with me,” Lucas said. “Let’s ride.”

  Leah got on the back of the motorcycle and Lucas took the lead. Vince quickly caught up and the crew rode in the same formation as they did arriving to the cabin. With Leah’s hands around his stomach, Lucas felt more comfortable. If he could keep Leah close, he could keep her safe.

  When they began to approach the Oreno territory, Lucas slowed up enough to let Vince take the lead. It pissed him off to have to back down sometimes, but he needed to respect the chain of command within Full Moon Mercy.

  Once through one of the towns, Vince moved to the right and started toward the empty area where the deal had been set to make. Lucas saw a line of motorcycles and black cars. They were all sitting in an organized formation, perhaps to look big, bad, and threatening.

  Lucas felt Leah’s hands grip tighter around his waist. She was scared. She had every right to be scared. Besides the criminals in the back of the box truck she was the only human around.

  As they closed in, Lucas saw the Oreno crew starting to get out of their cars and off their motorcycles. There was a great deal of tension in the air, but that was the life. When wolves got together, they all fought for territory. It was just instinctive need and urge. When the Oreno bikers pulled out guns, Lucas put on his brakes.

  This wasn’t part of the deal.

  The first shots were fired and Lucas dropped his motorcycle, needing to keep Leah safe. They crashed to the ground and skidded along, Leah screaming behind him. When the motorcycle stopped, Lucas hurried to lift the bike and check on Leah.

  Gunshots continued to ring out and when Lucas turned his head, he couldn’t believe what he saw. His eyes were more focused and better than any human in the world. He saw a bullet sail through the air and crash right through the windshield of the box truck. The bullet hit Seth dead between the eyes, instantly killing him. The box truck continued to travel as Lucas stood up. Bullets were still flying around, but Lucas couldn’t look away. The truck ended up hitting one of the black cars, cutting to the left, and finally hitting a tree to stop it.

  Lucas pulled out his gun, and with anger in his body he started to pick off the Oreno crew one by one. Head shots killed, body shots did shit.

  Ethan, Nate, and Zayne jumped off their motorcycles and shifted into wolves.

  “Oh, fuck,” Lucas whispered.

  This was a disaster.

  A pack of wolves launched over the black cars and soon there was a battle of claws, teeth, and blood right in the middle of the scene.

  Cooper stood with his gun pointed at a man who had a gun on him. Ian was next to Cooper in the same dangerous position. Vince had his motorcycle stopped and he just sat with his hands on the handlebars. Nobody in the Oreno crew would be dumb enough to take down the leader of another crew. Especially Vince. The hell it would unleash would leave the Oreno wiped out completely.

  “Lucas… what do I do?” Leah asked.

  “Stay here,” Lucas said.

  He started to move and Leah reached for him. Lucas couldn’t leave his brothers in the line of fire. He walked with his gun up, keeping himself protected. The fight with Ethan, Nate, Zayne, and the Oreno wolves continued. The growling and slashing of flesh was loud and painful. Ethan had one pinned down on the ground, his mouth around the other wolf’s neck. Zayne had a deep cut on his shoulder, but the blood on his mouth was greater. He pounced on another wolf and bit at the back of its neck. With a sickening crunch of his teeth, Zayne killed the wolf. He then set his sights to help Zayne. That’s when the fight came to a sudden end. The other wolves retreated.

  Ethan, Nate, and Zayne all stood and shifted back into human form. They were beat up and bleeding, but Zayne had it the worst. There was a large gash on his face, the blood dripping down his chest and to the ground. They all stood, hands in fists, ready to shift again if need be.

  “What the fuck?” Lucas called out. “Where’s Eli?”

  The back door of the black car in the middle opened and Eli stepped out. That’s when Vince put his kickstand down and stepped off his motorcycle. Lucas took heavy breaths and continued to advance on the scene to help.

  “Didn’t know we’d be in an ambush,” Vince said. “We brought our part of the deal.” Vince pointed to the box truck.

  “Yes, you did,” Eli said. “But I wasn’t aware we’d be under an ambush either.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lucas asked.

  “I won’t speak to you, Lucas, if you’re going to point a gun at me,” Eli said.

  “Tell your boys to stand down and I will,” Lucas said.

  Eli looked at his crew
and nodded. All guns were lowered. Lucas kept to his word and tucked his gun away.

  “What ambush are you talking about?” Lucas asked.

  “Earlier,” Eli said. “One of my guys was shot numerous times.”

  “It wasn’t us,” Lucas said. “We were riding.”

  “Which we didn’t know about,” Eli said.

  “We had to go,” Vince said. “But we didn’t kill anyone. We rode through, made our delivery, and we came here to drop off the truck.”

  “My guys saw someone on a motorcycle, looking just like someone from Full Moon Mercy.”

  “Christ,” Lucas said. “Why would we do that? That would be suicide for us.”

  “I don’t know,” Eli said. “Maybe trying to swing your big dicks around.”

  “Hey,” Vince said, “my big dick is tucked away and only comes out for my old lady. We have no business killing someone like that. And look what you just did to us.”

  “That’s a member of our crew in the driver’s seat of that truck,” Lucas said.

  Eli pointed to the dead wolf on the ground. “I think we’re even then.”

  “We didn’t fucking kill anyone,” Lucas said. “We didn’t ambush anyone. We kept our word. That truck is full like we talked about.”

  “Well, someone came from your direction and killed one of my guys,” Eli said.

  Lucas looked at Vince and the answer came to him. It was a setup. A blatant setup.

  It was the Reckingdune crew. Always trying to make a mess of business they didn’t have.

  *

  Leah shook as the bullets ripped all around her. She closed her eyes but couldn’t stop the noise attacking her ears. The sick sounds of the wolves fighting. Then the violent conversation between the two crews. If they kept shooting each other, what was she supposed to do? Considering her surroundings, Leah had only one choice. She could ride away. She could get on Lucas’s bike and get back into Mercy. She might not have been completely safe there, but it had to be safer than this volatile situation.

  Slowly turning, Leah was on her hands and knees. She listened to the conversation continue. The attack was in retaliation of something Full Moon Mercy didn’t do. It made Leah shiver as she started to come to the real terms of this life. Everyone was so eager to shoot and attack before asking questions. That meant anyone could end up dead. Hell, if Leah had gotten into that truck with Seth, she could have been shot. She would have, at the very least, gone head first into a tree.