The Girl Who Cried War

by Heather Hildenbrand

  The Girl Who Cried War

  Of Fates and Fables, Book Three

  Heather Hildenbrand

  Bam Shepherd

  The Girl Who Cried War

  Of Fates & Fables, Book 3

  By Heather Hildenbrand & Bam Shepherd © 2020

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written consent of the publisher.

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

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors.

  ISBN: 979-8605381181

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  Contents

  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

  Shoutouts

  About the Authors

  Also by Heather Hildenbrand

  Also by Bam Shepherd

  Dedication

  To Brooke

  Thanks for being our Romy.

  PS... Sorry about what we did to your boyfriend.

  To Jason Mamoa, Tom Hardy, and Chris Hemsworth

  You can join our pack anytime.

  #RAWR

  Chapter 1

  “Are you trying to kill me, woman?” Kash groans, rolling onto his back and pulling me with him. I snuggle into the crook of his arm as I try to catch my breath. My head rests on his chest, and I listen to his rapidly beating heart timed perfectly with my own.

  “I told you I was flexible. I’m like fucking Gumby or some shit.”

  Kash chuckles, his chest shaking under my bare breasts and sending delicious tingles through my body. I press myself closer to him, more than ready to make us late again today.

  “Pepper,” Kash says, his tone pained.

  “What?” I ask, propping my head onto my hand. I look down at him, giving him my best doe eyes as I feign innocence.

  Kash growls, and suddenly, I’m trapped underneath the weight of his body. I shiver as his stubbled jaw scrapes along the column of my throat, the sensation perfectly contrasted by the hot wetness of his tongue.

  “If you wanted to keep playing with the big bad wolf, all you had to do was ask,” Kash whispers against my skin before nipping at my ear.

  “Yes, please,” I squeak, but a sharp rap on the door has me groaning in frustration.

  “If you’re not downstairs in ten minutes, I’m sending Girlfriend in to steal your man!” Talia shouts.

  “Nobody likes a clam jam, you whore!” I shout back.

  Talia’s laughter floats through the door. “Ten minutes. Not a second longer!”

  “Why did we give her a key again?” I ask.

  “It was either give her a key or risk her changing the locks and giving us the keys,” Kash says. “Your friend is kinda crazy.”

  “She’s not my friend right now,” I grumble.

  Kash chuckles, his body shaking and rubbing against my own in all the best places, only winding me up tighter.

  Maybe ten minutes is enough...

  Yapping punctuated by the sounds of tiny paws scraping against the door starts, and I know that Talia will make good on her threat. Kash must know it too because he rolls off of me and rises out of bed.

  I turn onto my stomach, watching the way his ass flexes as he moves to the dresser.

  “I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.” I deliver the cheesy line while wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

  Kash chuckles as he pulls on his boxers before making his way over to the chair where he discarded his pants. He picks up my worn copy of Blood Oath, shaking his head before placing it on top of the small stack of books that rests on the end table next to the chair.

  “You know, I put a bookcase in here so you’d have somewhere to store all your bedtime stories,” Kash says, motioning to the new, mostly empty bookcase.

  “And I will fill it,” I tell him, rising out of bed and stretching, “just as soon as we kill these werebros and I can go back to my apartment for the rest of my things.”

  Kash’s gaze heats as he takes in my still naked form, and I smirk.

  “You change your mind about turning me and wanna lock this down,” I say, gesturing to myself before turning toward the closet, “you know where to find me.”

  I squeak as I’m pinned to the wall, but the sound is devoured by Kash as his mouth crashes against my own. My hands dive into his chocolate locks, tugging and pulling him closer. His hands cup my ass as he lifts me, and my legs wrap around his waist. Kash backs me against the wall and slips one hand down between us, caressing, while his other supports my weight.

  In a matter of minutes, I’m soaring, my body a wobbly mess as I ride out the high that only Kash can give me.

  “I’ve already locked this down, Pepper,” he growls low in my ear before placing me gently back onto the floor. He waits to make sure I’m steady before kissing me on the nose and strolling out of the closet. “And don’t you forget it,” he calls over his shoulder.

  Fucking werewolves.

  The door to the bedroom clicks shut a moment later, leaving me alone to catch my breath as my body comes down from the high that is Kash Montgomery. I sigh and begin to dig through my clothes in search of an appropriate outfit to wear.

  The last forty-eight hours have been a whirlwind.

  Birdie managed to complete the binding ceremony for all of the girls we’d rescued from Brody, but using that much magic took a lot out of her. She’s gone home to recover, but not before she gave us strict orders not to ‘fuck anything up’ or need her to ‘save our asses’ anytime soon.

  Birdie managed to remove the magic from the tattoos, but the same can’t be said about the ink. The look on Kaitlyn’s face when she realized that her sweet baby would be left with Brody’s mark still tears at my heart. Birdie must be just as devastated because she swore to use her time to not only recover and replenish the magic she used but also to find a way to remove the marks.

  Talia procured a bunch of miracle concealer for everyone to use until a more permanent solution could be found. When Justice asked her where she found a concealer that worked so well, she’d given him the stink eye before reminding him that she hadn’t forgotten about his payback.

  The entire compound has been abuzz since the arrival of the rescued girls. While all of the moms-to-be have been settling in at the pack house, the men of Kash’s pack have been busy running patrols and cleaning out the unused cabins. Right now, Reagan and the others feel most comfortable together, but when they’re ready for their own spaces, Kash has ensured that the
y’ll have options.

  The arrival of the expecting mommas also brought about another unexpected surprise. The return of Danielle. As luck would have it, she has experience in home birthing, thanks to a course she took last summer in California. As a certified Doula, Danielle has taken it upon herself to care for the expectant mothers. She visits daily, fussing over the girls and making sure they’re comfortable. It seems like having a purpose is pulling her out of her depression. Each time she visits one of her new patients, she looks more and more like the Danielle I remember.

  When Talia, Anna, and I haven’t been busy helping with the new arrivals, I’ve been busy with what Talia has dubbed “fight club,” which is basically just Talia kicking my ass. We run, lift weights, and practice kickboxing. Talia’s even forcing me to try my hand at all of her toys, claiming that one of them will be meant for me. Anna joined us the first day, but it ended with her calling Talia “meaner than a wet panther.” She’s been conveniently busy since, claiming all her cooking was taking “double the time since I lost all my most treasured kitchen supplies.”

  Kash and Lynch have been busy themselves as they try to catch up on pack business and deal with the council, but with so many babies about to arrive, Lynch has somehow found the time to plan a massive baby shower for this afternoon.

  There’s just one thing we still have to take care of before the festivities can begin. And unfortunately, it’s not sexy time with my man. We’ve done a lot of that these last couple of days, and aside from the mind-bending orgasms, I think it’s been restorative for the parts of Kash–and for me–that were injured by Brody’s cruelty.

  Sexual Healing has seriously taken on new meaning.

  “All right, I’m ready,” I declare, fiddling with my dress as I finally make my way back to the main house and into the kitchen.

  Anna is standing in front of the stove, whipping up a massive breakfast, and I watch as she breaks off a piece of bacon and throws it down to a yapping Girlfriend. The tiny dog gobbles it up with the ferocity of a shark then bats her lashes for more. Anna just laughs and goes back to her cooking.

  From the looks of the nearly empty serving plates on the counter, she’s already gone through at least one batch of food.

  “Well, it’s about damn time,” Talia huffs, standing and pushing her plate away. “Where’s Kash?”

  “He’s leaving instructions with Doyle for while we’re gone.”

  “He better hurry up. We need to get this show on the road. Lynch woke me up at the butt-crack of dawn, mumbling about whether or not he had enough fake mustaches for later–”

  Lynch’s hand darts out to cover her mouth.

  “Quick, Anna! Hand me one of those raspberry tarts so she’ll stop telling all my secrets,” he pleads.

  Talia rolls her eyes before pushing his hand away.

  “Chill out. I wasn’t going to spoil your surprise by telling them your party theme.”

  A tiny yip sounds from the floor. Lynch leans down, scooping up the dog and placing her on the chair next to him.

  “You would never betray me like this. Would you, Girlfriend?” Lynch asks. Girlfriend barks, her fluffy grey body wiggling so much that she falls over. Lynch pets her head before straightening her pink tutu dress, but it’s not enough attention for her. She attacks him, licking his face and pawing at him until he picks her up.

  “Anna, you goddess, will you watch Girlfriend this morning?” Lynch asks.

  “Compliments won’t replace my favorite measurin’ cups or the truck I worked every summa’ since I was sixteen to save up for,” she quips, cracking open an egg.

  Talia groans. “We said we were sorry. We’re going to replace Bessy and everything we damaged. It will be even better than what you had. I promise.”

  “And I will continue to give you grief about it until you do,” Anna says primly.

  “She’s really good at laying on the guilt,” I admit.

  Anna smirks. “I come by it honestly. Y’all ain’t seen guilt until you’ve been shamed by a southern mama.”

  “Look, I am man enough to admit that we deserve whatever punishment you want to give us,” Lynch says. “But look at this sweet little princess. She’s a little ball of adorable who can’t help who her mommy and daddy are. You can’t hold her responsible for our reckless endangerment of your baking equipment, so will you please keep an eye on her today?”

  “Of course,” Anna sighs, wiping her hands on her apron before reaching for the tiny fluff ball. “It’s not your fault your mama and daddy destroyed my life’s dream, is it, sweet pea?” she says with a wicked grin.

  She’s definitely going to be milking the whole guilt trip until we replace her old dessert truck.

  “We’ll check in on the girls just as soon as this food is finished,” she says, finally letting them off the hook. “Don’t you worry, Lynch. Girlfriend’s paws will probably neva’ even see the floor. Maybe I’ll even make her some peanut butta’ treats. Would you like that, Girlfriend?” She laughs as the little dog licks her face in excitement.

  “Everyone ready to go?” Kash asks, walking into the room. His eyes are on his phone, and he quickly types out a message before tucking his phone away and looking up.

  My gaze darts to where Anna stands flipping sizzling slices of bacon. I sigh wistfully, stopping to give Anna a quick hug before following Talia down the hall and out of the house.

  Talia’s bike, sans sidecar, is parked behind Kash’s SUV in the circular drive. We walk toward the vehicles, stopping between them while I wait for Kash to go over the details one last time.

  “You know the plan. You and Talia will go to Greek Row and see if you can get eyes on Brody and his werebros,” he tells Lynch, and I laugh at the way he’s adopted my term for Brody’s pack. “You are not to attempt to interact with them in any way,” he says, his gaze trained on Talia now.

  Talia shrugs, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Kash’s demands.

  “I mean it,” Kash presses. “Brody’s numbers rival the Somerville pack, and I don’t want to take any chances of anyone else getting hurt.” His gaze flicks to me, and I know the torture he felt when I disappeared is still fresh for him.

  “Relax,” Talia tells him. “Being chained isn’t really my kink, and I have no intention of letting an asshat like Brody be the one to try and change my mind.” An angry growl tumbles from Lynch’s lips at the mention of Brody, and Kash shakes his head.

  He sighs but doesn’t push it. After three days of scouting, no one has seen or heard from Brody. He hasn’t been spotted at the Delta house, so it’s unlikely they’ll encounter him today.

  “Romy and I will look into our lead,” Kash says. “Whoever completes their mission first should check in with the other team and rendezvous.”

  We all nod our heads in agreement, having already discussed the plan more times than I care to remember.

  “I want us to make the trip there and back together. We’ll go our separate ways only once we’ve reached Reverence. I don’t want to spend more time split up while outside the wards than necessary right now.”

  I reach forward, pulling Talia into a hug.

  “Be careful,” I whisper.

  Talia brushes me off with a wave of her hand. “We’ll see you guys soon. Let’s go, big guy. You get to ride bitch today,” she says, sauntering off to her bike.

  “Oh, this is gonna be fun,” Lynch purrs. “I recommend you don’t look in your rearview,” he says before trailing after her.

  “Those two are either gonna have the most epic love story of all time, or they’re gonna go out in a blaze of glory. I can’t decide which.”

  Kash chuckles. “We’re in the middle of a pretty epic love story ourselves, Pepper,” he says, kissing my nose before opening my door and motioning for me to slip inside.

  On my seat is a covered plate. The scent of Anna’s French toast drifts up to me, and I spin, reaching up on my tiptoes to kiss Kash.

  “Thank you,” I breathe out before sl
ipping into the car.

  Kash is right. Our love story is pretty epic, but right now, it’s not the focus. Finding Brody is. And in the midst of all that, we’re making time for the only other thing important enough to make me get out of Kash’s bed.

  The time has finally come to find out what information Kash’s father learned that was worth killing him for.

  The drive to Reverence is blessedly uneventful. Still, my pulse quickens when Talia waves before breaking away and turning right. My nerves are strung tight. I hate this part of the plan.

  Kash reaches over, squeezing my hand.

  "Lynch will keep her safe," he says.

  "Yes, but who will keep him safe?" I ask.

  "Talia," he says simply, and I smile.

  With Kash rubbing soothing circles on the back of my hand, I'm finally able to settle down for the last part of the drive to Valkyrie.

  This is the first time I’ve been back to Valkyrie since the night I first saw Kash. In the daylight, the trendy brick building stands unassuming–showing no hint of the life-changing secrets its shadows hold.

  "Are you sure he's going to come?" I ask for what must be the hundredth time.

  "I'm sure, Pepper. Our Intel says he comes every Sunday."

  "What if I'm wrong though?" I ask.

  "What if you're right?" he counters as we push inside, prepared to stake out the place until our target arrives. Darkness envelops me as I step through the door.

  This is it.

  By the time we walk out of here, we’ll hopefully know a lot more about the night Kash’s father died. The dim lighting makes it impossible to see anything, though, so I blink until my eyes adjust.