Foster Reynolds spent the last few years in a jail cell for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s been given permission by the Dark Moon Falls Pack Alpha to come to the Pacific Northwest.
Once situated in a small cabin there, Foster sets out to search for the real criminals to clear his name. He knows the rogues behind the heist will stop at nothing to keep their activities secret and he’s prepared to take them on.
What he isn’t expecting is to meet his mate in the cabin next door! Will Foster be able to resist the temptation his fated mate presents and does he want to? Will Lydia learn to trust again? And what will happen when the rogue Wolves responsible for the crimes that sent Foster away turn up and threaten Lydia and her pup?
Prologue
Pain exploded down the right side of her face, and Lydia struggled to keep from passing out. That would only make him even more brutal. She blinked back tears as her husband of four months tore through their shabby little Las Vegas apartment in a rage.
“I know you hid it, you bitch,” Mac swore and cursed as he ripped apart the tiny closet that housed her few articles of clothing and an extra pair of tennis shoes.
Shock numbed the pain she knew she’d be feeling by that time tomorrow, but still, she couldn’t believe what was happening to her. How did she get in this mess?
Too trusting, too desperate for a family. After growing up mostly alone, she’d been a prime target for him. Sadness and fear bubbled up inside her but she shoved it down, afraid to redirect his rage back on her instead of on her clothes.
Again she wondered why she didn’t see the truth behind his sly smile and sweet talk before all this. She’d met Mac while she was waitressing at a tiny diner off the main strip in Vegas. She had moved there about two years before, after graduating high school from one of those tiny little Jersey Shore towns the reality show made famous.
Lydia never knew her parents. They’d died when she was young, and the grandmother who’d raised her had passed right before graduation. She’d had no money, no family, and no prospects, so she’d packed up her meager things and moved straight across the country to the first place she’d thought of, Sin City.
She’d expected to land a job at a big time casino, but soon realized she didn’t have the experience for such places. Then there was the fact she was not willing to take off her clothes for money. Even the thought of doing that had left her cold.
Not that there was anything wrong with being an exotic dancer. It’s just that Lydia was short and curvy and not nearly as confident in her looks as someone would have to be to get up on a stage like that.
When she’d met Mac, she’d been at an all-time low. No money, no friends, no prospects. He’d been cute and charming. Funny too. Not to mention, persistent in his courting.
So very persistent.
Life had been rough for Lydia at times, but she never complained. She’d managed to stay clean throughout high school despite the current opioid epidemic that was affecting teens and adults all over the country. Her hometown in Monmouth County also had an increasing suicide rate related more and more to cyberbullying incidents.
Her grandmother had never trusted computers and wouldn’t allow one in the house so she’d grown up out of reach of social media. Made her a bit of an outcast, which was why she’d left as soon as she could.
Vegas took money and she’d had to stop for a few months in Arizona first. There she came up with a plan to work and make some real money waitressing or bartending in the big glamourous hotels.
Of course, she hadn’t planned on the million other people with the same idea as hers only their resumes looked a lot better. So, she started waitressing at Tiny’s Cafe where she worked endless hours for minimum wage that barely covered her rent let alone the online college classes she was trying to complete.
She wasn’t afraid of hard work, but she was so tired all the time. She hadn’t made many friends even after almost two years in town and was feeling sad and depressed when Mac entered her life. He’d come in one night with a few of his friends. He’d flirted and teased and left her a large tip with a piece of paper and his phone number scrawled on top.
She was flattered, but she didn’t use it. Truth was the big, attractive man looked a little too mature for her, but that didn’t discourage him. Nope. He pursued her like no one ever had in her entire twenty years on this Earth.
Lydia had never experienced anything like it. He brought her gifts and took her out. He even came to pick her up after her shift most nights. He’d drive her home and walk her to her door with a simple kiss goodnight.
He did that every single day for a whole month. She’d thought she was in love. Thought he was too. When he’d proposed with a real diamond ring, Lydia had broken down and cried. She’d never been so happy.
They got married at one of the many small chapels and afterwards celebrated with his friends at a bar. She thought it was strange, but who was she to judge. It wasn’t like she had any friends of her own.
She’d been so shy and new to having someone in her life she’d have done anything. The anxiety of finally being with him made her even more bashful.
Lydia had been both scared and anxious for their wedding night. She knew almost nothing about men or sex. She’d been saving herself for so long, she could hardly believe it was going to happen and with someone so worldly. In her gross naivete she’d thought he would appreciate the fact that his new wife was also new to making love.
Only, Mac didn’t seem to realize his young wife was a virgin. By the time he’d arrived at that conclusion, it seemed to make him more annoyed than pleased. He’d complained about her inability to rouse much less satisfy him. The whole night had been both embarrassing and painful. The few times after had not been much better.
Mac was impatient and rough with her. She didn’t know much about sex, but she knew she should feel something other than hurt and demeaned afterwards. A few weeks into the marriage and Mac had tired of her.
He had to leave for a few weeks for work, he’d said. Lydia was ashamed to find herself relieved when he’d left. But that relief was short-lived.
After about a week of him being gone, she’d started tossing up her breakfast. Her fatigue increased tenfold. Dizziness and constant nausea her only companions.
Mac hadn’t left her any money and she was too sick to work. Forced to stay home for two whole days with her strange stomach bug, she was too scared to talk to her neighbors and landlord about her situation. If it wasn’t for the kindness of a coworker, Lydia wouldn’t have eaten during that time.
That same coworker, an older woman named Janet, brought her a pregnancy test along with a quart of Tiny’s chicken soup. Turned out she was right in doing so. Lydia was pregnant. Fear and happiness bubbled inside of her at the news.
She had no idea what she was going to do. Mac had left without any way for her to contact him and there was still the problem of no money. Lydia had no choice but to return to work.
There she was, married but without a husband. Pregnant, but without any support. She wasn’t going to let that stop her though. Not when she had a baby to grow. Weeks went by without any word from Mac. She’d managed to pawn an old ring of her grandmother’s and stuffed the bills under the ripped carpet in the trunk of her car just in case.
One day at work, she’d received a strange package with some sort of flash drive and an old book, but with all the things on her mind she stuffed that too in the trunk of her car and forgot about it. Bills started piling up and her anxiety level increased. She had already received notice that she would need to vacate the apartment at the end of two weeks.
Days later, she ‘d been heading back home with her hands full of some food her boss had given her to take home. At the prospect of charity, she’d wanted to say no, but her baby needed it and she’d been too grateful to say anything but thank you.
The mouthwatering scent of meatloaf and mashed potatoes had her salivating as she’d headed for her door. She hadn’t even noticed
the car parked outside the apartment. Imagine her shock when she entered the room to see Mac and some of his buddies tearing the place apart.
“Where is it?” He’d raged and screamed, slapping the container of food out of her hands and hitting her on the head.
“Tell me!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mac. Please, no!”
“I sent it to you, now where is it! You hid it! You bitch!” he snarled and snapped.
Huge claws sprung from his hands and he’d used them to hit and strike at her tearing the flesh on her arms and legs. She’d managed to block her stomach, but her head ached like hell.
The assault continued for about twenty minutes before a neighbor called the cops. But not before Mac looked at her with glowing yellow eyes and claws dripping with her blood. Fear like she’d never felt before washed over her. Her husband was one of them. A Shifter.
Lydia had read about the mysterious folks who could turn into animals at will. They both intrigued and scared her, but she’d had no idea she’d married one. That night Lydia packed everything she owned into her little beat up car and drove as far away from Mac Gregory as she could get.
Hand protectively over her stomach she knew her only responsibility was to the baby she was growing inside of her. Her Shifter baby.
“Don’t worry little one. I’m gonna take care of you,” she vowed, “Everything is gonna be alright.”
Chapter One
“Foster Reynolds?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Elias Grant.”
Foster listened to the Alpha’s steady footsteps as he’d approached him. He’d chosen a small back booth in the crowded diner as a good place to wait. It gave him the best visual of the restaurant and left no blind spots where he could be taken unawares. Prison had taught him that much.
He’d only been there about ten minutes, but like any good visiting Wolf, he’d placed the call immediately. It was good manners to alert the head of whatever Shifter community of the place you were visiting or planning to stay in to ask for permission first.
He’d made the Dark Moon Falls Pack Alpha aware of his presence the second he crossed the city limits. Then, he’d followed the man’s instructions to Delight’s Diner.
The eatery was one of those comfortable laid back places that made authentic homecooked food served with a side of sass and no nonsense from what he could see of the owner. Miss Delight was loud and friendly enough, but he could tell from looking at her that she didn’t take shit from anyone.
She didn’t smile at him when he’d walked through the door, merely pointed to the back booth as if she’d known all along who he was and why he was there. The cool look in her eyes told him she was reserving judgement for a later date.
Pretty cool of her actually since, yes, he’d been given permission to come, but there were rules and unspoken formalities that needed to be addressed. Foster was glad he’d followed his instincts and told his story to the Alpha before he’d arrived in this close-knit town.
His Wolf approved as well. The large brown beast took in the Alpha from inside Foster’s mind’s eye and lowered his head in that metaphysical place where he waited until he was called upon. The animal accepted the other man’s natural dominance and right to lead without causing any fuss.
That in itself made Foster wonder what kind of Pack magic existed in Dark Moon Falls. Must be pretty powerful to quiet the angry Wolf inside of him.
“Please, sit,” Foster said, forcing his mind to the present. He might have spent most of the last two years in jail, but he still had manners.
“Thank you,” Elias replied.
He was tall and muscular like most of the Wolf Shifters Foster had known throughout his life. In fact, his physical form was nearly perfect save for a scar over his left eye. That only made him that much more in Foster’s eyes. This was a true Alpha.
A Wolf who would not just sit back and rule his Pack from afar, but one who was in the mix. An Alpha who would defend his Pack with his own teeth and claws. Foster nodded his head as the Alpha continued to watch and assess him.
Yes, he thought, I made the right choice in coming here.
Speaking in a low voice, Foster thanked him for granting him access to Dark Moon Falls. The small mountain town was well known for its lush green landscape and pleasant atmosphere. It was also known for its strong Shifter community.
The Dark Moon Falls Pack had earned a reputation for being fierce, fair, and loyal. Something Foster had sorely missed during his years in prison.
“I read your file. Seems to me you were charged and prosecuted on little more than your connection with Ms. Furlong, the owner of Art off the Strip Gallery and Exhibits.”
“Most of the evidence was circumstantial.”
“Agreed. Now tell me what was not in your file.”
Foster waited a beat. He’d expected this, but it still angered him when he thought of how stupid and arrogant, he’d been. His father had told him to keep it in his pants when he’d been a teen and he should’ve followed that advice as an adult. Damn, he still missed the old man.
“It is an unfortunate fact that the gallery owner, Ms. Furlong, owed me money.”
“I see,” Elias spoke with the quiet assurance of one used to being the biggest, baddest, and strongest. Foster didn’t think twice about speaking openly to him. As it stood, Elias Grant held all the cards here.
“The cops figured I stole a couple of artifacts her gallery had on loan from the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology.”
“What were those artifacts exactly?” Elias asked.
Foster was surprised at his interest, but he answered him honestly. A Wolf, an Alpha especially, could tell when a person lied. Shifters rarely bothered with playing those kinds of games.
“A ceremonial dagger dated back to the twelfth century, a buckskin cloth that may have been used to cover an altar, and a very well preserved claw from a wolf, possibly a Shifter.”
“What purpose would you have for stealing these items?”
“Well, I’m an artist, not a historian, but I’ve spent the last few years researching just that,” Foster leaned forward lowering his voice even further. He didn’t need to be told there were other Wolves in the place. His senses answered that question already.
“Alpha, it seems these artifacts are believed to have held certain magical importance in the Shifter community. An ancient ritual that would involve the transference of power. I think whoever stole them was trying to copy the ritual.”
“I’ve heard of such things, but only as myths,” Elias replied.
“Yes, well, I don’t pretend to know if it works, only that the gallery was granted permission to study the artifacts.”
“And you and Ms. Furlong? Why would she accuse you?”
“We’d spent the night together after my last showing at her gallery. It sold out. I’d waited over six months from then to get my royalties until I finally threatened her with legal action if she didn’t remit payment in full. Before I received the payment, about a week or so after I left that message, the robbery occurred. It probably did not help that on the day before the robbery I went to her office and busted her new five-thousand-dollar coffee maker. Anyway, she pointed the finger.”
“I see,” said Elias.
His face was carefully blank. No emotion, but that also meant no obvious judgement. Foster did not mind that at all. He could use the benefit of Elias Grant’s doubt. He needed this man’s help if for nothing more than his permission to stay.
Foster had two goals in mind. He wanted to clear his name and he needed to heal his Wolf. His time in prison was hard on his animal. Dark Moon Falls was just the kind of place to help his Wolf regain that sense of himself that was stripped away in jail.
He longed for the freedom to run and the sense of community the Pack would provide to reel him in if he strayed too far from his true self.
“I would like to thank you for granting me permission to remain here w
hile I figure things out.”
Elias nodded. He took a sip of the strong brew Delight had placed before him and Foster knew he was about to ask him something. That was fine. He just had to be honest.
“So, going by what you have told me, and I have to say I agree with you so far, my senses have found no deceit in you as of yet. You were most likely framed, Foster. You were sentenced to three years, released early for good behavior. Still, nineteen months in a jail cell could not have been easy for you or your Wolf.”
“No, Alpha, it was not,” he said through clenched teeth.
His Wolf hated the reminder of his prison days. The animal had wanted to bite, claw, and fight to escape. Everything and anything to be rid of that horrible place. Instead Foster had learned to master control over his Wolf.
Trying to run would have only meant death from the dozens of guards with semi-automatic shotguns full of high tech bullets, hollow points, slug shots, silver tips, and others. All known to take down man or Shifter.
“Easy brother Wolf. Be at peace. You walk among friends,” Elias’ voice was tinged with a hint of his animal as it echoed from his mouth into the far reaches of Foster’s mind. He spoke directly to Foster’s Wolf using his Alpha voice to do so.
Immediately, Foster felt his inner beast calm. Relief flowed through him and he was grateful for the Alpha’s interference. He refocused on the man and listened to what he had to say.
“It is okay. I truly understand. Now that you are out, what are your plans?” Elias asked and sipped from his still steaming cup of coffee.
“I want to build a life, Alpha, but I can’t lie to you. I want to find out who did this to me.”
“Understandable. Okay, here is what I am going to do. I am granting you a trial period, Foster Reynolds. You may stay in Dark Moon Falls and as such you will be under my protection.”
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 100
