by Riley Cross
SCENT OF
UNCERTAINTY
RILEY CROSS
Scent of Uncertainty
The Venus Pack Series
Book 1
Copyright © 18 April 2020 by Riley Cross
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual event or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Art Illustrations : Aleshyn_Andrei/Shutterstock.com
ortlemma/Shutterstock.com
Published by : Nicola Crosbie
Sold By : Amazon Digital Services LLC
ISBN: 9798699933174
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this story to my Twitter Twoob Treehouse. I have a special place carved in my heart for every one of you.
This one’s for you, my adopted family.
xXx
CONTENTS
Prologue
ix
1
Chapter One
Pg1
2
Chapter Two
Pg 27
3
Chapter Three
Pg 43
4
Chapter Four
Pg 57
5
Chapter Five
Pg 82
6
Chapter Six
Pg 96
7
Chapter Seven
Pg 109
8
Chapter Eight
Pg 125
9
Chapter Nine
Pg 136
10
Chapter Ten
Pg 160
11
Chapter Eleven
Pg176
12
Chapter Twelve
Pg196
13
Chapter Thirteen
Pg214
14
Chapter Fourteen
Pg235
15
Chapter Fifteen
Pg245
16
Chapter Sixteen
Pg256
17
Chapter Seventeen
Pg270
18
Chapter Eighteen
Pg283
19
Chapter Nineteen
Pg298
20
Chapter Twenty
Pg311
21
Chapter Twenty-One
Pg318
Epilogue
Pg333
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This past year has been a roller coaster ride including all the highs and lows. I want to thank so many people for their never-ending support and love.
My Twitter Twoob Treehouse.
Whenever I’ve had questions or needed advice, you have all been there. You haven’t laughed at me or made me feel silly. Your support and love have kept me going, even when I’ve doubted my own abilities. I couldn’t have made it this far without you beautiful people in my life.
The friendship bonds that have formed between us are the kind of bonds that last a lifetime.
prolouge
Two devils make a deal.
Removing my hand from the head of blonde curls, I watch silently as it lolls to the side. Yellow, angelic hair, falling over the sleeping beauty’s lifeless eyes. Hiding the truth of what I’ve done.
The sleeping male besides the female rolls restlessly in his sleep. As if feeling the loss of his wife on a primal level.
Down the hall their young daughter sleeps, unawares of the nightmare taking effect in her parent’s bedroom.
Ripper. That is what the world’s underbelly of society call me. I move without making a sound. Slipping into the most secured areas and leave without leaving a trace. I had sold my soul to the devil. Taken countless lives, leaving only pain in my wake. I don’t even remember how I got to this point. Feeling nothing but an empty void as I look over the body, I’d just stolen the life from like it was nothing.
When this family wake in the morning and come to realize what I took from them. I’ll be their monster. Their nightmare. Carrying their pain and grief with me.
Wasn’t that the job of the Ripper?
“Mommy?” At the sound of the innocent voice, my breath freezes in my lungs. Eyes darting to the doorway. A small girl stands, wiping her eyes. Not fully seeing me, thanks to the darkness. At the sight of her brunette hairs sticking out on end, my heart clenches. Another face coming to mind.
One with deep ocean eyes.
*
The heavy rain outside does nothing to drown out the incessant noise blaring from my mobile phone.
Moving through the living room, I throw my towel over the back of the chair. Scooping up the small device, I check the caller ID.
America?
Swiping the touchscreen, I hold the phone to my ear. Not bothering to greet whoever it was disturbing my evening.
“Am I speaking with Ripper?” A feminine voice asks.
“Yes.” I confirm at the sound of my codename, making my way over to the spirit cabinet. Waiting for the female to continue her part of the conversation, I pour myself two fingers of scotch.
After a brief moment of movement on the other side of the call, the female’s soft voice is replaced with a gruff sounding male.
“Hello Ripper, my name is Greyson. I’m the Alpha of the Bloodmaw pack. And you are an exceedingly difficult person to track down.”
That is by design, I smirk.
“I would like to hire a man with your particular skill set. How quickly could you travel to the States?” He asks.
Rolling my eyes at his question. Everyone is always wanting things yesterday.
Downing the contents of my glass, I refill it. Thinking over my answer.
“It could take me anywhere from a week to a day. It all depends on the details.”
“It’s a simple task, but one I’m willing to pay you generously for.”
Who isn’t?
“What’s the job?” I inquire, ready to finish this call and get on with my night.
“A neighbouring pack. I want their Alpha female.” By the slight change in the wolfs voice, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what Greyson has in store for the rival Alpha.
“How do you want them to be delivered?” Dead? Alive? Or judging by his voice, naked and willing.
“I will email you with the specifics. Along with the first half of your payment.” Seems like the male has everything figured out.
“Where is the target located?”
After a few beats, Greyson answers.
“Stonehart.”
Stonehart. I haven’t heard that name in so long. God, has it really been six years already?
Certain feelings make it feel like longer.
Could I really go back there? With all this blood on my hands.
“Do we have a deal?”
Without my permission, a familiar face flashes in my mind. A soft, innocent smile, eyes that hold flecks of blue and green, my oceans. The mouth-watering scent of vanilla cream. I haven’t let myself think of her in so long. I had her kept in a locked box in the farthest reaches of my mind, unwilling to let my taint touch the memory of her.
But now. Stonehart.
“Yes.” Bracing the phone on my shoulder, I
call my magic. Running a finger over the palm of my hand, I draw a circle. In the middle, I sign a V dotting the centre. Pain pulses up my arm. And by the surprised growl coming from Greyson on the other end of the line, I know his own contract is forming on his palm, mirroring mine.
Burning and scarring the skin for a moment, before vanishing from sight.
A Warlock seal.
A contract between two parties. Such contracts are unbreakable. If Greyson tries to back out, or breaks the terms, the seal will kill him.
“It is done.”
Chapter One
When the past comes back around.
Sonofabitch
Nothing could stop me from pacing the length of the living room. My knuckles turning white as my grip tightens on the cell phone as I listen intently to my Beta describing what he was currently seeing. The images his words paint in my mind are enough to cause my inner wolf to lunge for the surface. Trying her best to force a shift.
If I was any less dominant or even a submissive she-wolf, my animal no doubt would have transformed right there and then in the middle of my living room. But I held her at bay, keeping my human form. Thankfully, I was born an Alpha female, more dominant than the rest of the wolves in the Venus pack.
Which meant the animal could bitch and whine to her furry little hearts content. She wasn't getting out.
“This isn't good, Rae, the scent’s here are all messed up. I can hardly tell who was comin’ and who was goin’.” Dorian complains.
Being the only dominant child of a mated Alpha pair, while most of the time it seemed like a blessing. The rest of the time it was hard not to see it as a curse.
From a young age I had mercenaries trying to kidnap and assault me. Some psychos even attempted to assassinate me. In the end, my parents had asked one of my closest friends, Dorian, to become my personal bodyguard. My protector. Since then, he has saved my ass more times than I can count.
As soon as I became Alpha of the Venus pack, I had instantly named the dark grey wolf as my Beta. No doubt in my mind that he would be perfect for the role.
“What's she sayin’? Are we going huntin’?” Cam’s voice in the background settles my wolf a little.
Out of the three of my brothers, Cam had always said it was easier to seek forgiveness rather than ask permission. When we were kids, he liked to flaunt the rules. Dancing on the line of innocence and spending a lifetime in jail. That all seemed to change when we lost our parents. His mindset seemed to change. He spent more time thinking of the pack instead of chasing the endless parties.
When I was appointing everyone with their new roles, he had begged me for an Enforcer station. At the time I had declined. Unsure if his current mindset was permanent or just a fluke.
When the three of my brothers returned home, Cam spent endless hours training. Proving himself to be an excellent choice as an Enforcer to the pack. Along with Kye.
Liam, my eldest brother took over the Head Enforcer role. His patience, along with the control he had over his animal was almost legendary within the pack making him perfect man for the job.
“Well, if you'd shut it, I would be able to hear what she's sayin’.” Dorian snaps at an impatient Cam. “Rae? You still there?”
Clearing my throat. “Yeah, I'm here. Listen, gather as much evidence as you can, I don't want the humans fucking up the crime scene with all their chemicals. And no hunting. I want to know exactly what we are dealing with.” After Dorian’s grunts of approval, I hang up the phone, tossing it onto the kitchen counter.
Overcome by the memories of that night, I storm out the house needing to get some fresh air into my lungs. Once I’m out on the front porch, I rest against the railings.
I can’t believe it’s been six years already, It felt like only yesterday.
In the middle of the night, a feeling of a powerful loss pulsed through the pack link. Waking every Venus wolf from their slumber. Our wolves had known what that feeling meant. But my human half rebelled against it. It was impossible.
Everyone gathered at my family home to mourn the loss and seek answers. But I had none. My parents were nowhere to be seen. Rallying together, we searched throughout the night. Then, in the early hours of the morning, I received the call.
Someone had found their bodies.
Running as fast as my legs could carry me, I dash through the woods, swiping the angry tears leaking down my face. Praying my pack mates were wrong. That what we all felt through the link was a lie and that my parents were happy and healthy.
Breaking through the tree line, it opens into a wide-open field where lavender was growing. That scent burned into my mind along with the mutilated bodies of my mother and father.
Bile and vomit climbed up my throat as I took in the scene. My father laying on his back covered in blood, holding my mother in his arms like they were simply enjoying the stars together.
Their faces mauled beyond recognition but there was no mistaking their scents’. Or the rich scent of vampires covering the ground around them. The sick fucks had even laid out a bouquet of Wolfsbane in my mother’s hands.
It had sent my wolf into a frenzy. Demanding retribution. Needing to spill the blood of the vamps responsible for the murders, of not only my mother and father but my Alphas’.
Dorian and I had no choice but to step into our roles as Alpha and Beta that night. The health and wellbeing of our pack had to come before my animal’s need for blood.
While we stayed back to honour my parents and former Alphas, my brothers went on the hunt for the vampires’ responsible for their murders..
They hunted the monsters to the ends of the earth and slaughtered them. Returning just over four years ago.
Since then, a fragile peace has enveloped the Venus pack.
The only genuine issue that I've had since taking the mantle as Alpha female of the Venus pack is Greyson. The Alpha male from the Bloodmaw pack. Their territory is the next closest pack to Stonehart. Greyson has been pushing me for a mating. No doubt wanting to merge both our packs and double his territory. Safe to say I’ve refused him at every turn.
Well, laughing in his face was more like it. But honestly, what was he thinking? Sure, the man was good-looking and built like a brick shithouse, but his massive male ego was a big ol’ turn off for me and my wolf.
Now it seems the arrogant male was the least of my worries.
According to Dorian, Charlotte, one of our pack mates had called him. She had become increasingly concerned when one of her bartenders hadn't turned up for several of their shifts at Howling Moon. The bar is exclusive to the town's shifters population.
Wanting to put her at ease, Dorian had agreed to check on the wolf in question. Taking Cam along with him.
Nothing looked out of place when they arrived at the house until Cam noticed the curtains were drawn in the middle of the day. Checking for a way inside the property, they found the back door was unlocked.
When they went inside, that is when they picked up on the smell of rot and decay coming from the living room.
From the brief description Dorian offered, the assholes had copied the same MO as the rogue vampires who killed my parents and shook the Venus pack to its core.
Coming to a halt on the front porch, I grip the railing and remember the breathing technique my mother had once taught me to calm my wild wolf.
“Take a deep breath through your nose, Rae. Let the scents of your surroundings wash over you and her. Take them deeply into your lungs. Then release it through your mouth.”
Eventually my she-wolf calms enough to give me the chance to loosen the reins and relax a little.
Leaning forwards, I take in the view. A crisp white winter wonderland has a death grip on the earth. The snow has always given the land a magical edge. An edge the children in the pack loved, my brother's, and myself included. When we were younger, we would build entire families from the snow. More often than not, it would always end up in a snowball fight that would send us into the surrou
nding woods.
The sounds of an approaching car snatches my attention out of the past, dumping me right back into the present.
“Great.” I drawl. Now who's coming to shit on my already crappy day?
The old red pickup truck comes into view from beyond the property tree line.
Balls.
I’d completely forgotten my Grandparents, Ben and Jenni were on their way. My brain is still trying to digest that phone call. Straightening, I hop down the steps of the porch and wait for my Grandpa to switch off the engine.
As expected, Grams was already jumping out the vehicle before Ben even had the chance to park properly.
“Rae!”
Hearing the cheery woman call my name, warms my heart.
"Grams." Smiling, I bend slightly to embrace the smaller female.
My Grams was the first human to learn about the pack. As a former Alpha to the Venus pack, Ben didn't give anyone a choice. Once he had his eyes set on Jenni, it was pretty much over. He had her mated and pregnant within the first six months of their meeting.
Releasing Jenni, I embrace Ben on his approach.
