The Secret Wolf (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance)

by Ana W. Fawkes

  “You’re a traitor,” the man said.

  Lucas recognized the man as the one who had been with Rev.

  “You’re on Full Moon Mercy territory, Shae.”

  “Territory that’s supposed to be ours,” the man, Shae, said. “You made a deal.”

  “I had a conversation ten years ago,” Vince said.

  “A conversation that stuck with the crew.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Vince said. “You know how many conversations I have that turn out to be shit?”

  “I’m going to kill you, Vince,” Shae said.

  Lucas felt his chest tighten. He could easily just turn with the shotgun and take Shae out. He could splatter the man’s brains all over the road.

  “No, you’re not,” Vince said. “We can work this out, right?”

  Shae began to shake. “We’re hungry.”

  “Everyone is,” Vince said. “But luring junkies through my town? Leaving them massacred for us to find? Walking around here like you own it?”

  “We do own it,” Shae said. “This is our land now. You can’t stop us.”

  Vince backed up and kicked at the shotgun he had placed on the ground. “I have guns. I have men. My guys are very hungry too.”

  “Not like ours,” Shae said. “We’re ruthless. We break rules.”

  “So do we,” Vince said and smiled. He threw his cigar at Shae. Shae knocked it out of the way and stepped at Vince.

  Lucas could feel the tension between Shae and Vince. This wasn’t going to end pretty.

  “Come on,” Vince said, “are you really going to handle your business like this?”

  “How do you know I don’t have a crew in those woods, waiting?” Shae asked. “They’ll pounce on you and tear you limb from limb. They’ll lap up every drop of blood spilled on the road. And then we’ll work our way right into sweet little Mercy…”

  Vince stepped back and put his hands up. “That’s a serious threat, Shae.”

  “It’s true,” Shae said.

  Vince smelled the air. There were no other wolves in the area. Shae had come alone. He’d come to attack the men in the car. Probably to feast on one and leave the other as a warning to Full Moon Mercy. Vince must have intercepted communications between Shae and the men.

  Lucas looked down at the two handguns on the ground. With a swift kick, one of the handguns slid across the ground and under the car. Lucas figured it would be enough of a distraction for Vince to do something to Shae. He knew Vince could smell the air too and knew that Shae was full of shit.

  When the gun hit Vince’s foot, Vince kicked forward and sent the gun right between Shae’s legs. Shae hurried and grabbed the gun, pointing it at Vince.

  “What the fuck?” Lucas whispered.

  Vince bent for the shotgun, but Shae called him off. “I’ll fucking kill you right now. Stand up.”

  Vince put his hands up. Shae looked at Lucas. “Toss your gun away.”

  Lucas hesitated. Vince looked at him and nodded. Doing as told, Lucas threw the shotgun out of his reach, and out of the reach of everyone else.

  “Now it’s just us,” Shae said. “Imagine the feast of Full Moon Mercy blood.”

  “Enjoy it,” Vince said.

  “I will. All you need to do is give up the mountain. Make your words right, Vincent.”

  “You want my words?” Vince asked. “Fuck. You.”

  Shae’s lip curled. Lucas wasn’t sure what to expect next. Vince made a move at Shae and that’s when the gun went off. It was a single shot and Lucas saw Vince stumble back. He’d been shot in the shoulder. As a human, it would hurt like hell. As Shae aimed the gun again, looking for a better shot, Vince lowered his head and in the confine of his own space, without needing room to jump, Vince became a wolf. It was spectacular to see.

  The men in the car began to scream again.

  Shae dropped the gun and tried to step back, perhaps to shift into a wolf himself. If he did that he would have been easily killed by Vince. Shae wasn’t strong enough and didn’t have the proper mind to attempt to fight Vince.

  Vince came at Shae and with one powerful swipe, Vince’s claws slashed from Shae’s left shoulder down to his stomach. Lucas expected to see Shae’s body fall to pieces, but that didn’t happen. Vince managed to keep full control of his strength. The claw marks bled, but they were only cuts. Deep enough to hurt. Deep enough to scar. Deep enough to send a message to the rest of the Reckingdune crew.

  Shae stepped back and touched the wounds.

  Vince shift backed to human and stood with his hands balled into fists.

  “The message is sent,” Vince said. “Anyone steps on my fucking territory will be killed. And if you want to come at me again, I will kill you. Take your pick.”

  Shae looked in shock. The hunger. The need. The pain. “No… no…”

  Shae turned and jumped, becoming a wolf and jumping back into the woods.

  “You forgot your gun!” Vince called out and laughed.

  That’s when Lucas was finally able to come back to reality and move. He rushed to Vince and looked at him. Vince dressed himself with a smile on his face.

  “What was that?” Lucas asked.

  “That was insurance,” Vince said. He pointed to the gun. Lucas bent and Vince grabbed his jacket. “Don’t touch it.”

  “Why?”

  “Fingerprints,” Vince said. “He shot me with that gun.”

  Lucas looked at the wound on Vince’s shoulder. “Does it hurt?”

  “Like a motherfucker,” Vince said. “That’s good.”

  “I don’t…”

  Vince reached into his jacket and pulled out a glove. He slid it onto his hand and grabbed the gun. He walked to the car and opened the backdoor. Before Lucas had a chance to try and wrap his mind around what was happening, Vince pulled the trigger two more times. Both men slumped in the backseat of the car. Dead.

  Vince then dropped the gun to the ground.

  “Get the rest of the guns out of here,” Vince said. “I’ve got the emails between Shae and these two junkies. Chief will come up and it’ll all be done.”

  “You just killed those men,” Lucas said.

  Vince put a hand to Lucas’s shoulder. “Yeah, I did. For the better protection of us all. Get it?”

  Lucas got it, sure. But that didn’t make it right.

  “You’re not going to make this disappear?” Lucas asked.

  “No,” Vince said. “When they get Shae’s prints off that gun, the Reckingdune will be in our debts for a long time. That’s why we’re going to keep that gun as a little souvenir.”

  “You’re not letting Chief take it?”

  “No,” Vince said. “Next time any of the Reckingdune try to fuck with us, we’ll have the mountain crew by the balls. Shae’s a pack leader. He wouldn’t last in prison. The crew couldn’t survive without him.”

  Lucas looked down at the gun. Then back to Vince. “So what do I do now?”

  “You leave,” Vince said. “I’ll call Chief. Tell him I was on a little ride to clear my mind. That I came across a drug deal. I can point the finger at Shae, but there won’t be evidence. The bullets in those two in the back of the car will match the bullet in my shoulder. That’ll clear our name. And we’ll have the gun.”

  “I can’t believe all this,” Lucas said.

  “Believe it,” Vince said. “This territory shit is just that… shit. This is Full Moon Mercy land and I won’t give it up as long as I’m breathing. You came without knowing why, Lucas. That means something to me and to the crew. There’s more to worry about now than a couple of hungry wolves messing with us. We have to protect Debbie the best we can. She’s carrying the future of Full Moon Mercy. I’m in a lot of pain here, son. I need to make that call.”

  Lucas nodded. He knew his place now.

  His place was to leave and make like it all never happened. As Lucas walked by the car, he looked to the backseat for the last time. The plan would work and Vince was a smart man for
thinking it. But on the same regard, how much sense did it make to kill innocent men? Those two men had nothing to do with the Reckingdune crew or Full Moon Mercy.

  Lucas started his motorcycle and watched as Vince winced in pain as he took out his cell phone.

  The ride back into Mercy was the loneliest ride Lucas could remember having. The dust would finally settle between Full Moon Mercy and the Reckingdune crew in the mountain. But that meant nothing compared to what waited. Lucas thought of how Vince said that Debbie carried the future of the club. They would protect her and it would be up to Lucas to risk his life for her if need be. That was something Lucas couldn’t be sure of.

  There was only one person worth dying for in his eyes.

  When he showed up to Leah’s apartment, she opened the door and hugged him tight. Lucas had made his claim to Leah. The claim was strong and would only get stronger with time. Leah would need to do her part, and maybe soon she’d understand what that all meant.

  Until then, Lucas did what he felt was best. He came into the apartment, shut the door, and locked it. He lifted Leah into his strong arms and carried her back to her bedroom.

  Some days were just worth wasting in a place that felt peaceful and human.

  *

  Mandy opened the door to the conference room and stepped inside. She looked at Vince as he sat with his chin resting on his hands. Smoke billowed in the air and a half empty bottle of whiskey stood next to him. He stared at the table, deep in thought.

  “How’s your shoulder, love?” she asked as she slowly walked to the table.

  “Wonderful,” Vince said. “They got the bullet out and patched me up. They were amazed it didn’t go through. Said I have some thick muscle.”

  “Thick muscle,” Mandy said and smiled. “I think I can vouch for that.”

  Vince smirked.

  “You look upset,” Mandy said. She sat in the chair closest to Vince. “Anything you need to share with me?”

  “Plenty to share,” Vince said.

  He poured himself another shot and held it in his hand. He turned and faced Mandy. She could see the look in his eyes. The look of a man who had a big heart but also the look of a man who had to make tough decisions.

  “We need to get the pregnant one to safety,” Vince said. “Now that our little territory thing is settled. We need to move, and fast.”

  “We will.”

  “She’s going to demand Lucas be involved,” Vince said. “Rightfully so. He’s the father of the baby. He needs to be there. He needs to bond. He needs to understand.”

  “He will,” Mandy said. “It’s a lot to take in right now, Vince.”

  “Sure it is,” Vince said. “And it doesn’t help that his mind is somewhere else with someone else.”

  “Oh, Vince. You know Lucas. He goes from woman to woman all the time. He falls in love every week and every weekend. You know that.”

  “This one seems different,” Vince said.

  “And if she is?” Mandy asked. “What are you going to do? Kill her?”

  Vince stared at Mandy. His eyes were honest and deep. Vince put the shot glass to his lips and threw his head back. He slammed the shot glass on the table, letting it break into pieces.

  “Vince…”

  Vince turned and stared at the table again.

  Mandy sat in shock, her heart racing.

  There was no reason left to speak now. Speaking would bring forward the truth. Mandy placed her hand on top of Vince’s hand. She’d remain loyal to him and Full Moon Mercy. No matter the storms that would come and the blood that would be shed, sometimes it took a rough journey to reach the right destination.

  Don’t miss the next book in the Full Moon Mercy series – THE TRUE BEAST

  Lucas has his hands full. Falling in love with a mortal woman and coming to terms with the fact that he is going to become a father has begun to take its toll on the sexy shifter.

  Leah is in love with Lucas and willing to do anything to help Lucas… and the MC.

  The club must come together and find a way to not only protect Lucas’s biggest secret, they must keep Debbie alive before she gives birth. But to do that, they must cross enemy lines and put the entire MC and the town of Mercy in grave danger.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First electronic edition May 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Ana W. Fawkes

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.