by C. J. Pinard
I held it up, but gripped it tightly. “See?”
“Funny,” he replied dryly.
We got to the end of the block, and Hank looked both ways down the street, then back to me. I looked down at his cut, and it was then I noticed a patch reading Hellboy was fixed to it in small, white letters next to the patch with the bird on it. The writing under it read: Nighthawks.
I bit back a smile. “Hellboy, really? Or should I call you Uncle Hellboy?”
“It’s my road name. And, for the record, it wasn’t my idea.”
“Really?” I smirked as I tried not to laugh.
“It’s a really long story, one I will tell you later on. I’ve only come here as a courtesy to your brother, who unfucked me out of a really sticky situation a couple months back.” He spit a brown stream onto the sidewalk.
With my arms folded over my chest, I said, “And what favor is that?”
Startling me and causing me to scream, Aden appeared behind Hank and said, “It seems dear old fucking dad is looking for us.”
“First off, you scared me, you asshole.” I then looked at Hank. “Tell him we’re not interested.”
“It’s not that simple,” Hank replied, looking around again. “He’s been searching for you ever since your mother left you guys as pups at that church. It’s been both a blessing and a curse that your brother found me that night a few years’ back. He caught my scent as quickly as I caught his, so that means Byron is going to catch it soon, too. He’s an Alpha. Your witch parents put a protection spell on you, I’ve been told, but it wore off when you each turned eighteen. It’s a wonder he hasn’t found you yet. He also somehow knows that Austyn is dead. I don’t know how he knows it, but he just does.”
“I don’t care what he knows,” I gritted out in regard to Byron. “And you know what, I have changed my mind. Take us to him, so I can kill him for murdering our mother.”
Hank looked at me, incredulous. “He killed her because she kidnapped his children and gave them away. Not cool.”
I laughed, but it was laced with a touch of crazy. “Oh, yeah? And why in the hell would she do that, hmm? Who does that? Someone who’s being abused, that’s who.”
“Yes, she left us a note. Our parents saved it for us. She said she had to drop us off at that church to be raised someplace we’d be safe. She must have believed he would harm us,” Aden chimed in.
Hank’s disposition changed slightly and he shifted from one foot to the other. “I admit my brother is a bastard, no doubt about that. I did find him slapping her around a few times, but I put a stop to it. I thought he was just a young, stupid wolf and would mellow out and grow up after the kids came along. Guess he didn’t.”
“Look,” I said, “the bottom line is, we don’t know the past, we only have the note from Amy telling us why she did what she did. And you know what? I believe her. I can’t think of any other reason to do that. What mother on earth would rather give her children away rather than raise them herself? To miss out on their entire lives? Someone afraid, that’s who.”
“I agree,” Aden interjected. “If I see this Byron guy, I’m gonna kill him for laying a hand on her.”
“No, you’re not,” Hank said. “That’s a drastic measure. I’ve been keeping him away from the location of you guys because I feel as if he just wants to find out where you are because he’s controlling and can’t stand that Amy was able to hide you so well. But a part of me also thinks he simply wants to meet his children.”
“Tell me, did he have any more children?” I asked.
Hank shook his head. “God, no. No woman would mate with him. He’s an angry guy, and everyone knew what happened to Amy. No chicks wanted any part of that.”
“But he’s the Alpha, you said,” Aden replied. “Seems like women would still want to mate with him.”
Hank chuckled. “Oh, he gets plenty of pussy, trust me. Just no pups.”
“Good,” I murmured. “I don’t need any awkward half-sibling meetings in my life.”
“So he just killed our mother with no consequences? Nobody called the cops?” Aden asked.
Hank snorted. “No cops. We handle our own.”
“Sounds like a great pack,” I snapped, my arms folded over my chest.
“Well, what do you want me to do?” Hank asked, taking a can of dip from his pants pocket, twisting off the cap, and putting huge pinch into his bottom lip. “You two look like strong, strapping wolves who can take care of yourselves.”
I looked at Aden, then to Hank as I pointed at my brother. “Does he know how to get ahold of you?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay, then. We’ll be in touch, Uncle Hank.” The last two words were colored with sarcasm.
“Suit yourselves,” he replied with a shrug. “I tried.” He strolled off toward a large Harley parked along the curb next to a meter. We watched as he swung his leg over it and then pulled a helmet from its resting place on the back. He turned to look at us, glanced up and down the street, then right at me. “You really are a hunter, aren’t you?”
I looped my arm through Aden’s, turned to walk away, but then looked over my shoulder. “Maybe.” I threw him a wink as we sauntered off.
The sound of his bike rumbled in my ears, and I listened as he roared down the street.
“He was cool. I like Uncle Hank.”
Aden made a scoffing noise. “You would.”
“By the way, where did you come from?” I asked him as we went into Moon Chasers. We made our way toward the table with Sanja and Beckett, who had been in quiet conversation as we’d walked in.
A few whispers and snarls erupted around us as we sat down. The vampires in here had come to tolerate me, but they would never embrace or accept my brother. They left him alone out of respect for me, but still wanted me to know they didn’t like it. We ignored them.
“I was coming here to meet you. Hank had texted me and said he was going to Moon Chasers to find you.”
“Why didn’t you warn me?” I asked.
“Because I thought I could beat him here and tell you in person.”
“Where the hell did you go, and who the hell was that guy?” Beckett asked. “I did poke my head outside earlier and saw you talking on the street corner, and you looked okay, but I was worried.”
“My uncle, apparently,” I replied.
Sanja’s eyes got big. “He’s a huge wolf, so… that was your biological uncle? Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I am. It’s just weird, and I kinda think I’m in shock. But he was decent enough.”
“You didn’t seem like you were in shock,” Aden replied, chuckling as he waved Janine over and ordered a Coors on tap.
“I was high on adrenaline and also a little buzzed.” I lifted my glass. “I’m kinda freaking out now, though.”
“Do you need another one?” Beckett asked, pointing at my glass.
“Yeah, I do.”
When Janine returned with my brother’s beer, Beckett asked her to refill all our drinks.
“What are we going to do?” I asked Aden after she walked off.
He wiped foam from his top lip and set his glass beer stein down. “I guess we should probably agree to meet daddy dearest.”
I made a face. “Really?”
Sanja gasped. “What?”
I shot her a look. “Yeah, that’s why he came.”
Aden nodded. “How else are we going to get close enough to kill him?”
I grinned and put my fist up. “You have a point.”
He bumped his fist with mine and grinned.
“Oh, my God. Here we go again,” Beckett groaned.
THE END
The Lunar Promise, Book 5 in The Ayla St. John Chronicles, will be out in winter 2018! Watch my social media pages for cover reveal, date, and links!
Would you like to read Evan and Karina’s story? You can here, in this short novella entitled Violent – and it’s free to download! CLICK HERE
SONG LIST:
<
br /> Babe—Sugarland (feat. Taylor Swift)
Indestructible (Live at Red Rocks)—Disturbed
Is There Somewhere—Halsey
Black Hole Sun—Soundgarden
Bottoms Up—Brantley Gilbert
Right Here—Mark Wills
I Didn’t Mean It—The Belle Brigade
Meet Me On The Battlefield—Svrcina
Talking To The Moon—Bruno Mars
Chasing The Sun—The Wanted
Spotlight—Mutemouth
This Is What It Feels Like—Armin van Buuren (feat. Trevor Guthrie)
The Night We Met—Lord Huron
Heartless—Kanye West
Haunted—Evanescence
My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark—Fallout Boy
OTHER BOOKS BY C.J. PINARD
Paranormal Fantasy:
Enchanted Immortals 1
Enchanted Immortals 2: The Vortex
Enchanted Immortals 3: The Vampyre
Enchanted Immortals 4: The Vixen
BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation
Enchanted Immortals Box Set: 4 Books + Novella
New Adult Contemporary Romance:
Patriotic Duty (Duty & Desire, #1) FREE
Tour of Duty (Duty & Desire #2)
Boots Beneath My Bed (Duty & Desire #3)
Playing the Field (Duty & Desire #4)
Romantic Suspense:
Antihero (Imperfect Heroes, Book 1) FREE
Above Protection (Imperfect Heroes, Book 2)
Beneath Broken (Imperfect Heroes, Book 3)
Beyond Love (Imperfect Heroes, Book 4)
Paranormal Romance:
Unscathed (A paranormal romance novel with Tim O’Rourke)
Soul Rebel (Death’s Kiss #1) FREE
Soul Redemption (Death’s Kiss #2)
Soul Release (Death’s Kiss #3)
Kovah: Soul Seeker (A Death’s Kiss Novel)
The Lunar Effect (The Ayla St. John Chronicles, #1)
The Lunar Curse (The Ayla St. John Chronicles, #2)
The Lunar Secret (The Ayla St. John Chronicles, #3)
The Lunar Magic (The Ayla St. John Chronicles, #4)
Lotus (Daughter of Darkness) Lotus’s Journey Part I FREE
Watcher (Daughter of Darkness) Lotus’s Journey, Part II
Guardian (Daughter of Darkness) Lotus’s Journey, Part III
All books available where eBooks are sold. Click HERE for a complete list.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.J. is a USA Today Bestselling author living in Colorado. Lover of red wine, wearer of fabulous shoes, and a die-hard Niner fan, she’s also an editor at heart. She’s written over 25 books and short stories that contain both contemporary/new adult and paranormal romance that are a little bit badass, a little heart-wrenching, and sorta funny (to her, anyway). Almost all of her books usually contain law enforcement or military undertones, since strong, brave, alpha men and women are her weaknesses. When she’s not writing, she can be found working at a very strange day job, which may or may not have some mild influences on her gripping stories—so strange, in fact, she may just write a book about it one day.
You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, or on her website, www.cjpinard.com
Now pay attention!! I've got several free books available for download, and you can find a list of books on my website, cjpinard.com. Feel free to email me anytime, I love hearing from readers!
Find me: http://cjpinard.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Like me: https://www.facebook.com/CJPinardAuthor
Friend me: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007822338176
Tweet me: https://twitter.com/CJPinard
Add me: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6565787.C_J_Pinard
Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/c.j._pinard
and here https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-j-pinard
Join the fan book club! https://www.facebook.com/groups/CJPinardBookClub/
