by Knight, Gwen
“Just go,” she said, exhausted. “Leave me the hell alone. I’m done with you.”
“Jasmine—”
“I said get out!” she yelled.
“You’d choose a filthy shifter over me?” His eyes grew impossibly wide as his mouth clicked shut. And there it was. The truth. Finally. The real man behind the political scheming. Seemed the senator didn’t care about shifters’ rights after all. It was all a ploy to get voters.
“Don’t forget, Dad. I’m one of them now. And you just lost a vote.”
“More than one,” Harley grumbled.
Jasmine bit back a smile. Now wasn’t the time to goad her father. “Just go, Dad. We’re done here.”
“You’ll regret this decision,” he snapped.
“Trust me, I won’t.”
Cursing under his breath, her father turned toward Harley with a scowl. “This is all your fault. You turned her against me. And after everything I’ve done for you.”
“Done for me?” Harley laughed. “Old man, you haven’t done shit except give me a permanent headache. Now, I believe your daughter told you to get out.” He stalked toward her father, gold slowly filling his eyes. “So. Fuck. Off.”
A hint of panic shivered behind her father’s eyes. The sight of Harley’s wolf so close to the surface terrified him. She could smell his fear in the air. But thankfully, without another word, he turned and stormed out of the room.
Jasmine sighed and relaxed against her pillows. She’d done it. After all these years, she’d finally put her father in his place. Excitement jittered through her stomach and danced up her spine. She was free! Free to be with Harley, free to be a shifter, free to be herself. And the feeling was… incredible. She hadn’t realized how trapped she’d always felt. Not anymore. And it was all thanks to Harley. He’d taught her that she had the strength to stand up to her father. She could never repay him for that. But she sure as hell would try.
Harley took her hand and stared down at her, beaming. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Well, duh,” she said teasingly. “So, what’s next for us, Mr. Fulton?”
“I don’t know. You tell me, Mrs. Fulton.”
Jasmine froze. Wait. Mrs. Fulton? Did he just…? No. Harley was a joker. That was who he was. Calling her by his last name didn’t mean he was proposing, did it? He’d never called her that before, so maybe it did mean something? Gah! Trust Harley to make her think.
Harley leaned in with a laugh and kissed her. “Did I finally render you speechless?”
She struggled to come up with a coherent response.
He winked. “Whatdya say? Wanna make an honest man outta me?”
Holy shit. Was this for real? Not one of his silly jokes she never understood? Jasmine’s mouth moved soundlessly. If this was a trick, they wouldn’t have to worry about Humans First getting their hands on either of them again. Because she was going to murder him.
“Come on, kiddo. I kinda need an answer.”
“Wait, you’re serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
Jasmine’s hands shot to her mouth. “And this isn’t some game? Some joke I don’t get?”
Harley’s body shook with laughter. “Not on your life, kiddo. I’m damn serious.” And then right before her eyes, he dropped down onto one knee, as though to prove it. “Be the jelly to my peanut butter? The macaroni to my cheese? The Robin to my Batman? The—”
Jasmine clapped a hand over his mouth, excitement bubbling up. “Only if I get to be Batman.”
Harley stilled, his eyes widening. “Is that a yes?”
“It’s a hell yes!”
Harley leapt to his feet with a whoop and punched the air. “It’s peanut butter jelly time!” he chanted as he danced a happy little jig in front of her.
Jasmine leaned back and watched as her new fiancé wiggled his ass around the room, all the while happily wondering just what the hell she’d gotten herself into.
Life certainly wouldn’t be boring.
Not with Harley Fulton at her side.
Epilogue
Over the next few weeks, word spread like wildfire. Talk of Humans First dominated the news. One couldn’t peruse social media without spotting an article or post regarding the organization. But what frightened Harley the most was the support he saw rolling in. People all over were regaling the hate group as the “hero they needed.” Just sickening.
Perhaps he should have expected it, considering the public’s reaction when werewolves had first revealed themselves. Harley could remember walking down the street and listening to protestors shouting derogatory slurs and setting shifter effigies on fire.
Unfortunately, he suspected things were going to soon devolve into a similar state.
It even seemed like the public was willing to overlook Jasmine’s abduction to instead focus on the San Quintín fire. With a dozen dead and so many more injured, everyone was calling for action. And it seemed they were content to blame Eztli and his clan for everything. Far easier to lay the blame at the feet of “non-humans” than to accept the truth. Regardless of the facts, the public had established their own opinion. Yes, there were those who spoke out in defense of shifters, but their words were drowned out by the screaming masses. Hell, among a certain crowd, Luis was being hailed a hero. The only one who’d been willing to take matters into his own hands to show the world how truly dangerous shifters were.
Someone had even taken the time to throw together a sloppy documentary on the man. An American-raised, military-trained purebred poster boy turned radical. Their own “Captain America” as it were. It made Harley sick.
Sighing, he placed his phone on the couch and tipped his head back. If this state of affairs continued, things would only get worse before they improved. Sky and Wyatt were trying their damndest to minimize the damage, but the public was too riled up to care.
The sound of laughter caught his attention.
Harley lifted his head and glanced across the room. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Jasmine and Maddie sitting together, their heads bent over bridal magazines. The world might be burning down around them, but as long as he had Jasmine, everything would be fine.
She was all that mattered, and he would do anything to protect her.
Even walk through fire.
* * *
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The Wolffe Peak Saga continues with the fourth book, Promise me the Moon, coming Feb 2020. Click here to continue enjoying these growly men! You can also keep scrolling to read the first chapter of book four.
Wolffe Peak Saga (available in Kindle Unlimited)
Reach for the Sky
Whispers in the Dark
Sealed with a Kiss
Written in the Stars
Promise me the Moon
Promise me the Moon Sneak Peek
Wolffe Peak Book Four
TEN MONTHS AGO
Sterling Fischer stood before a cluttered desk, his back military-straight as he awaited the arrival of his commanding officer. Though they’d given no indication as to the purpose of this meeting, he wasn’t stupid nor was he foolish enough to hold onto hope. There could only be one reason why they’d summoned him. Unfortunately, knowing what was coming didn’t make this any easier. For five years, he’d given himself to his country. He’d sacrificed everything in order to serve. Hell, he’d nearly died more than once. And this was how the bastards intended to repay him.
With a deep breath, he steeled himself. He would take this forced discharge with a level head and calm disposition. He would prove to those above that werewolf was not synonymous with dangerous or high risk. It ate at him that they intended to force him out of the only place he’d ever truly felt home, but he wouldn’t sully his name or those of his fellow soldiers.
Sterling caught the sound of approaching combat boots and l
ifted his chin. Outside the door, one of the base officers paused and rifled through what sounded like a stack of papers. A quick whiff revealed it to be Colonel Wright, thanks to his distinctive aftershave.
The door creaked open, and Sterling listened as the colonel pushed his way inside and rounded his desk.
“Thank you for your prompt response, Corporal.” Wright took a seat and thumbed through the papers once more. Only after flattening them out a third time did he glance up with a sympathetic smile.
Sterling had braced himself for this moment. He’d anticipated outright fear or downright disgust, but certainly not pity.
“I’m sure you know why you’ve been brought here.”
Sterling forced himself straighter and nodded.
“How long have you served, son?”
“Five years, sir,” he bit out. An answer they already knew, considering his file sat on the colonel’s desk.
Wright nodded, his head cocked as he held Sterling’s gaze. “Well, I think that’s earned you a ticket home, wouldn’t you agree?”
Sterling’s eye twitched. “No, sir, I don’t think I do.”
For five years, he’d played the role of a good little soldier. He’d kept his hair short, his nails clean, and most importantly, buried his wolf. Not once had he ever considered talking back to a commanding officer. But today, he’d reached his limit. They were going to discharge him anyway, so what did it matter anymore?
The corner of Wright’s mouth tugged upward. “Be that as it may, the decision’s been made.”
Sterling clenched his jaw until his teeth ached. “If I may speak freely?”
Wright considered his request with narrowed eyes but eventually nodded.
“I’d like to know why I’m being discharged. Sir,” he added as an afterthought. He already knew why, but he wanted to hear Wright say it.
“I don’t think we need to get into that,” Wright commented, dismissing Sterling’s request without thought. “As it stands, we have grounds to dishonorably discharge you due to your desertion a few weeks ago—”
Sterling sucked in a sharp breath. He hadn’t deserted shit. But his commanding officers had refused to hear him out. All they cared about was that two weeks ago, he’d abandoned his post in Syria and turned up a week later back in the states. It didn’t matter to them that he’d been abducted and experimented on at the hands of Humans First, a hate group adamantly against the existence of shifters. No, all they cared about was the dreaded W-word. The second someone had whispered werewolf, everything had changed.
“—but based on your service record, we felt a general discharge was more fitting.”
Translation: We don’t want you causing trouble. A dishonorable discharge meant bringing his case before a judge, which also risked the public finding out. He’d heard one of his commanding officers mention steering clear of any negative press.
Over a decade ago, the public had learned about the existence of werewolves. And since then, the world had lost its fucking mind. Things had quieted down for a while, but recently, people had begun to stir up shit again. Namely Humans First. Sterling still had no idea how they’d managed to get their hands on him. Or how they’d even figured out he was a werewolf. It remained a mystery to him, even now. All he remembered was waking up in Wyatt Turner’s basement—a man he’d hoped never to lay fucking eyes on again—and shifting for the first time in five years. Wyatt and his pack had told him they’d rescued him from some warehouse where Humans First had been testing the effects of mercury and silver on him. Since then, he’d been dealing with the aftermath.
“Truth be told, son, your record is a damn fine one. I see you saved the lives of your unit more than once at the expense of your own health. You’ve taken injuries and survived things most wouldn’t.”
Sterling’s nostrils flared. Wright was referring to the nasty webbing of scars that covered the entire right side of his face. There were more, of course, hidden beneath his uniform. Taking the brunt of an IED blast hadn’t done much for his looks. In fact, it’d downright disfigured him. But he hadn’t thought twice about it. At the time, the only thing he’d known was that his friends would die if he didn’t do something. So he’d leapt in front of them and taken the blast. Him being a werewolf was the only thing that’d saved him. His wounds should have fully healed but hadn’t. All thanks to keeping his wolf so deeply buried for the military.
And now they were dismissing him as though he was nothing.
“But it’s just too damn risky to keep you onboard right now. We don’t know enough about you.”
“About werewolves, you mean, sir,” Sterling growled, finally uttering the word they’d both been avoiding.
Wright’s jaw ticked. “I know this might be upsetting—”
“Upsetting, sir?” Sterling unleashed a deep laugh. “This is completely ridiculous. You realize we wouldn’t be having this conversation if they hadn’t found out what I am, right?”
“Be that as it may….” Wright slid a stack of papers across his cluttered desk. “Sign here, and you’re free to go. Take solace in knowing you served your country. Most can’t say that.”
He could fight this, but Sterling knew it was pointless. A public affair meant dragging werewolves further into the limelight. He might hate his pack and the man currently claiming the role of alpha, but he refused to be the cause of more trouble.
Sterling swallowed his anger and snatched a pen off the desk. But before he signed, he caught Wright’s gaze. “What about Tag?”
The colonel’s brow wrinkled as he glanced down at Sterling’s file. “I don’t recall that name.”
“My dog, sir.”
“Your dog?” He glanced up, a flicker of confusion darkening his face.
“He was a stray my unit stumbled across. I’ve been caring for him for about half a year.”
The colonel drummed his fingers against the desk and considered Sterling, his unspoken thoughts shadowing his face. Sterling could read him like a book, silently worrying about his reaction if they rejected his request. Sterling was in no position to make demands, but from the looks of it, Wright wasn’t willing to escalate things over a dog.
“I’ll look into it. It won’t be easy or immediate. There are a lot of rules and paperwork when it comes to bringing animals over.”
Sterling gave a terse nod. “I would appreciate it, sir. He doesn’t have anyone to look after him.”
“Fair enough.” Wright gestured toward the paperwork.
Sighing, Sterling hunched over the desk and scribbled out his signature. He dotted the i in Fischer, then stood back. Just like that, he was a free man, though not by choice.
The question remained, what the hell was he going to do now?
Want more?
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Also by Gwen Knight
Wolffe Peak Saga
Reach for the Sky
Whispers in the Dark
Sealed with a Kiss
Written in the Stars
Promise me the Moon
Viking Wolf Series
My Viking Wolf
A Baby for the Viking Wolf
Meet Your Alpha Series
How To Meet Your Alpha
Burn For You
Whisk’er Away
Can’t Fight This Feline (Free Web Story)
Blood Courtesan Books
Marked
Exposed
Harlequin Cravings
Her Alpha Protector
A Hunter’s Passion
Souls of Salem Chronicles
A Touch of Soul
Cursed Holiday Series
Death by Mistletoe
Death by Chocolate
Isa Fae Collection
Reaper
About the Author
Before tackling writing professionally, Gwen Knight graduated university with a degree in archaeology and geography. But after a few years of digging up artifacts and mapping them out, she d
ecided to follow her next passion into publishing. Now, she lives in Jasper, Alberta with her husband and son. You can subscribe to her newsletter here.
For more information:
www.gwenknight.ca
