Moon of Shadows

by H. D. Gordon

  Moon of Shadows

  The Blood Pack Trilogy: Book 2

  H. D. Gordon

  Copyright © 2018 by H. D. Gordon

  Published by H. D. Gordon Books LLC

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Christian Bentulan

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  Contents

  Story Summary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  The End

  About the Author

  Sneak Peek: Blood Warrior

  Story Summary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Blood Warrior

  Also by H. D. Gordon

  Review, please ;)

  Story Summary

  It's hard being a female Wolf in a male Wolf's world.

  When you have a family to feed, it can be even harder.

  To Dita, there's nothing more important than family, and nothing she won't do to provide for them.

  Desperate to leave behind a dark past, Dita Silvers and her family have fled halfway across the world in search of a better life.

  But with Dita’s ambitions to rise to the top and her trip-wire temper, trouble is bound to come their way.

  Moon of Shadows is the second book in The Blood Pack Trilogy.

  Chapter 1

  “I can’t do this.”

  “Don’t be dramatic. Of course you can.”

  I almost felt bad for the worry that pinched my brother’s handsome face, but we did not have time for that.

  “You have to do this,” I reiterated, placing down the piece of parchment I’d been looking over and crossing to where he stood by the bookshelf. I placed two gloved hands on his shoulders. “You’re just as strong as you need to be,” I told him. “As we need you to be.”

  Devon’s blue eyes were full of apprehension, and my hand twitched as if to slap it off his face, but I resisted. I never thought of striking my siblings, so perhaps his nerves were not the only ones on edge. I was just better at hiding it.

  Much better.

  “I don’t understand why we have to put up the front,” he admitted. “You’re the head of this family. Why do we have to pretend like it’s me?”

  My lips pursed as I straightened his black tie. He stared down at me from his taller height, his wide shoulders stiff and rigid.

  “You know why,” I said. “We put up a front for the same reasons we put up any others. In our world, females have a place, and it is not at the head of the Pack, nor is it at the table when doing business. I shouldn’t have to keep explaining this to you.”

  I finished straightening his tie and took a step back, nodding once. “There. Now have a seat and listen to my instructions. Show no weakness, and everything will be fine.”

  Devon snorted, taking a deep breath and crossing back over to the large desk near the center of the room. I checked the timepiece in my pocket, and was just replacing it when there was a knock on the office door. I shot my brother a look that said it was time.

  “Come in,” he said.

  Nyla poked her head in. “There’s a Mr. Bain here,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Devon replied. “Please send him in.”

  The cold heart in my chest warmed a fraction when my brother’s voice came out poised and strong.

  I took up a spot over by the bookshelves, off to the side and behind my older brother, a place with a little more shadow, where I could watch over the entirety of the room.

  Nyla disappeared through the door and returned a moment later with Arsen Bain in tow. She moved away quickly after making the introductions, and I did not blame the girl.

  It was no wonder my brother was so nervous.

  Mr. Bain’s reputation had preceded him, and by the looks of him, it had not stretched the truth in the slightest.

  He was not the largest Wolf I’d ever seen, but there was a definite power that hung around him, a danger that was palpable in the male’s presence. As soon as he stepped into the room, the predator in me perked up and took notice.

  If this was Carson Cartier’s second, I was curious to see what the Alpha himself was like.

  But he’d sent Mr. Bain in his stead for this meeting today, a subtle display of his power, no doubt.

  To Devon’s credit, he gave no outward indication of being intimidated. His gaze traveled over the other male as he greeted him and offered him a seat.

  From my spot off to the side, I also did a quick assessment, noting the clean cut of his suit and coat, the pristine brim of his hat. He stood maybe six feet tall, his skin milky white, with eyes a shade of blue as light as ice chips framed by white lashes. His lips were pink, and his gaze took in the new setting with the attention of a predator, settling on me with an expression that would have made most females squirm at the mere brush of it.

  But I was not most females.

  I held Arsen Bain’s icy blue gaze, unimpressed with his otherness, and saw a bit of curiosity spark behind his eyes when I did so.

  “Please, have a seat, Mr. Bain,” my brother said, gesturing to one of the chairs sitting before the desk behind which he stood.

  Bain moved further into the room, his gait slow and deliberate, holding my gaze for a few more seconds before turning toward my brother. He took the seat he was offered, and Devon did the same from behind the desk.

  Silence held for a tick, a deliberate pause on the part of Mr. Bain. No doubt meant to make my brother uneasy, a mini display of power. My jaw clenched.

  Despite his apprehension, however, Devon had spent the better portion of his life pretending to be something that he was not, and so he was better at the charade than he gave himself credit for. He waited in calm silence for Mr. Bain to speak.

  At last, after an amount of time that only a smug male would think necessary, Bain said, “My boss sends his regards.” He removed his black hat, revealing a head as bald as a full moon.

  Devon leaned back in his chair, the picture of composure. “It’s unfortunate Mr. Cartier couldn’t join us himself.”

  “He’s very busy,” Mr. Bain replied, his voice a flat monotone that was admittedly chilling. “He understands that you bought the property on Fourth and Walnut, and would like to inquire as to what you intend to do with it.”

  Devon’s head tilted a fraction, his ebony hair shining in the light of the l
anterns set around the room. “I’m not sure why that would be a concern of Mr. Cartier’s,” he said.

  Arsen Bain looked at my brother full on for the first time, drawing away from his observation of the room around us. I had endured the full force of his stare when the male had walked in, and warned my brother not to break eye contact, not to look down.

  “Don’t blink, brother,” I told him in the telepathic manner we shared as Wolf siblings. “Don’t you dare blink.”

  The moment didn’t last long, but any measure of time is always relative, and I was gratified when my brother passed the test of dominance with flying colors. His face was smooth and unaffected, and his body did not shift an inch in his seat. He simply relaxed into his high-backed chair, his hands folded neatly in front of him, his posture straight but poised.

  Mr. Bain said, “It concerns Mr. Cartier because he also has multiple establishments in that part of the city. He would consider it a professional courtesy if you were to fill him in.”

  Devon’s brows rose a fraction. “And does Mr. Cartier intend to inform me on the decisions he makes for his business? As a professional courtesy, that is.”

  The flash of anger that overcame Mr. Bain at my brother’s flippant response was not something that could be seen, but rather, only felt. His shoulders didn’t stiffen, and he did not bare his teeth or narrow those chilling blue eyes, but I felt it, nonetheless. Here was a Wolf prone to violence, a male who could snap with the flip of a switch. I’d known his kind before. I’d known them well, and some would claim that I could count myself among them.

  In a voice as smooth as churned butter, Mr. Bain replied, “Is that the response you would like me to deliver?”

  I spoke quickly into my brother’s mind.

  “Tell him we intend to open another pub,” I said.

  My brother did as I told.

  Mr. Bain’s bald head tilted in a very Wolf-like manner. “That will make a total of five in the city, isn’t that correct?”

  “You seem to know that it is,” Devon answered.

  “Where do you get your shine?”

  My brother held the male’s gaze, waiting for my direction, and then following it.

  “From a supplier,” Devon said.

  “Which supplier?” asked Mr. Bain.

  A half smile pulled up Devon’s lips, and I could not have been more proud of him. “I’m not sure how Mr. Cartier does business,” he replied, “but I like to respect the privacy of those with whom I deal.”

  Mr. Bain offered a smile of his own, too toothy to be anything but an unspoken threat.

  “How considerate of you,” he said. “But Mr. Cartier would like you to know that he is also a supplier of the shine, and that everyone else in the city orders from him.”

  “Is that so?”

  The smile melted from Mr. Bain’s milky white face like snow. “It is.”

  “Tell him to get to the point,” I growled in my brother’s head, growing weary of the thick tension Mr. Bain had brought into the room.

  My brother leaned forward in his seat, placing his forearms atop the desk, holding Bain’s stare as he spoke in a flat tone. “I’m a rather busy Wolf myself, Mr. Bain,” he said, “so if there is a point you’re trying to reach, I’d appreciate it if you would just speak plainly.”

  Mr. Bain sat forward in his chair as well, and my hands flexed in my pockets, my fingers poised over the barrels of the two revolvers hidden beneath. I did not like the way this Wolf was looking at my brother, nor the feeling of danger radiating off him. I would wonder later if this was the way others often felt around me.

  “If you were as smart as you look,” Mr. Bain said, “you would strongly consider ordering your shine from Mr. Cartier instead.”

  Devon released a low sigh and repeated the words I spoke into his head. “With all due respect to Mr. Cartier, I find his prices too high.”

  Mr. Bain glanced around the office, taking in the dark wooden shelves stocked with books, the fancy desk behind which my brother sat, the fine rug beneath our feet, and the other various subtle displays of wealth.

  “Seems to me you’re doing all right.”

  Again, my brother echoed my silent response. “’All right’ is a rather relative term, isn’t it?”

  “I would advise you not to get too greedy, Mr. Silvers,” Arsen Bain said in his flat tone.

  This time, the response came from my brother. “Seems a rather ironic thing to recommend, all things considered.”

  I stifled the small smile that wanted to appear on my lips, still standing silently over by the bookshelves. As if somehow intuiting this, Mr. Bain’s light blue eyes flicked to me, and I blinked once in feigned innocence.

  He stood from his chair abruptly, and again my hands twitched toward my irons, but he only said, “Is that what I should tell Mr. Cartier, then?”

  “I suppose you’ll tell him whatever you see fit,” Devon replied.

  Arsen Bain placed his black hat atop his bald head. “Yes, I will,” he said, and tipped the hat to Devon. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Silvers.”

  Then his blue eyes found me again, and I fought against a shiver that wanted to race up my spine. There was a knock on my mental walls, a request Wolves made when they wanted to communicate telepathically.

  Simply because I knew the bastard expected me to refuse, I acquiesced, and watched as his brows raised a fraction, surprised at my lack of intimidation.

  Mr. Bain’s flat tone filled my head while his icy eyes ran over me in a way that was almost a violation.

  “You look good enough to eat, little Wolf,” he said.

  I knew very well that this was more than just a flirt, but rather, a comment intended to incite fear. Perhaps if I had not spent the better portion of my life living in The Mound, surrounded by predators and males with dishonorable intentions, it would have had more of an effect.

  Despite the fine clothing I currently wore, and the massive house in which I now stood, with the fancy rugs and high ceilings, I was no high class broad.

  And I’d be damned if males like Arsen Bain would know the satisfaction of scaring me.

  So I returned his look with a small smile, flashing straight white teeth that concealed the fangs tucked just below the surface.

  Chapter 2

  After Mr. Bain left, Devon and I remained silent for a moment. I moved over to the window that looked out upon the front of the house, and watched the male get into the waiting carriage. As he did so, he glanced back up at the place with those oddly colored eyes, and a low growl escaped my throat before I could stop it.

  Bain hopped into the carriage, and the driver snapped the horses into motion. Devon joined me over at the window, and we watched until the carriage had trundled out of sight.

  “Are you sure that was the best thing to do?” my brother asked.

  I slipped my hands into my pockets, releasing a low sigh. “Can one ever be sure of such things?”

  “You know what I mean, Dita.”

  I turned toward my brother. “If we let Wolves like Carson Cartier push us around, they never stop pushing. You know that as well as I do.”

  Devon unbuttoned the front of his suit jacket and leaned back on his heels, hands sliding into his pockets in a stance very similar to my own. Just beyond the windowpane, the sky was turning a stunning shade of orange as the sun began to set over another day.

  “I know,” he mumbled. “I guess I just thought with all of our businesses being above board now, there would be less trouble with males like Arsen Bain and Carson Cartier.”

  I blew a short breath out of my nose. “Well, that wasn’t the brightest of assumptions, and let me worry about Cartier and his pale-skinned henchman.”

  Devon’s handsome face went serious. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”

  I clapped a hand on his shoulder and smirked, though thinking of the way Bain had devoured me with his strange eyes made my stomach twist unpleasantly.

  “I’m used to it,”
I said.

  Devon sighed. “I suppose most females are… Doesn’t make it right.”

  I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t.”

  We stood in silence for a moment, but I knew my only older sibling well enough to know when he had something on his mind.

  “Spit it out, then,” I said, turning toward the window again, watching the sun sink slowly in the sky.

  Devon drew a deep breath, as if the words were hard to get out. “It’s just, I wonder… Do we really need to open another establishment? We’re making plenty of money now, more than anyone really needs, so why do we need to own more property?”

  I considered his words a moment. “You’re asking why we need to expand.”

  Devon’s head tilted, his ebony hair shining in the last of the sun’s light. “I guess so, yes.”

  I wandered away from the window, putting some space between us, slightly offended by the question though some part of me knew that I shouldn’t be. As of late, my older brother and I had been having more and more disagreements about how the business of this family should be managed. Needless to say, it was an added complication that I didn’t always appreciate.

  “We have a lot of people to take care of now, Devon,” I said. “We’ve got the girls and Demarco, Kyra and Cora and the others. On top of that, we employ several people, and they count on us. I know it’s a lot, but it’s miles better than where we came from.”