by C. R. Jane
Wild Heart
Kingdom of Wolves
C.R. Jane
Mila Young
Contents
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Kingdom of Wolves series
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
Wild Girl
Sneak Peek at School of Broken Souls
Copyright
Chapter 1
Books by C.R. Jane
About C.R. Jane
Books By Mila Young
About Mila Young
Wild Heart Copyright © 2021 by C. R. Jane and Mila Young
Cover by Aura
All rights reserved.
No portion 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, and except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Kingdom of Wolves series
From C.R. Jane and Mila Young
Wild Moon
Wild Heart
Wild Girl
These stories are set in the Kingdom of Wolves shared world, but our series will follow Rune’s continuing story with her alphas.
Wild Heart
REAL WOLVES BITE...
I ran from my fated mate.
I drove to the middle of nowhere, where I thought I’d be safe.
And somehow, I ended up here.
Amarok has secrets. And it’s a town filled with shifters.
The very thing I’ve been trying to get away from.
My arrival has shattered the fragile peace this town's had for the last century.
War is coming between the two packs, and only I seem to have the ability to stop it.
The two alphas in the town are determined to have me.
But a killer wants the very same thing.
Me? I just want whatever’s inside of me to be released.
Like Wilder and Daxon, I carry my own secrets, ones that make it impossible for my fated mate to let me go.
They call me wild…
But I just want to be free.
1
Rune
I stumbled to Eve’s side and frantically put my hands on the gaping hole in her neck, like that would actually help at all. I didn’t need to be a doctor to know she was dead.
I screamed for help, not letting up until my voice was hoarse. Where the fuck was everyone? It looked like something had torn a huge chunk out of her neck. Blood was still pouring out of the wound, meaning this was a recent kill. It coated the ground at my feet and was all over my hands. What kind of creature could have done that? It was certainly not like any wolf bite I’d seen, that was for sure.
I opened my mouth to scream again, but just then, a branch cracked from somewhere in the woods behind me. Shivers shot up my spine as I heard the sound of someone breathing heavily. I’d stumbled into something right out of a horror movie. I swung around, not wanting to be jumped from behind, but I didn’t immediately see anything out of the ordinary besides the swaying branches of the trees and shrubs as an unusually cold wind ripped through the forest.
More branches broke, and a giant shadow busted through the underbrush, coming close enough that I could make out its existence while still staying sheltered by the trees and away from the path. It really was some kind of shadow creature. I was unable to make anything out besides the fact that it was freaking enormous and had eyes that seemed like they were glowing.
I stumbled backwards, my bloody hands outstretched as my heart beat out of my chest. Fuck, why did I have to be so worthless with my own wolf?
A low growl sounded out from the monster. It reverberated around me, digging into my skin and sending dread spasming through my stomach. An itching sensation began to spread through my limbs, so intense, I was fighting back the urge to start scratching at my skin, even as I prepared myself to be attacked.
Something pulsed in my gut, once, twice, and then a third time. It felt like something was stabbing me from the inside. The sensation was so intense and strange, I fell backwards onto the path, the loose stones on the ground digging and cutting into my skin.
The shadow creature let out a sharp whine and disappeared into thin air. He hadn’t just moved deeper into the forest, he’d literally just vanished. There one second and then gone the next.
The pulsing sensation had stopped, but my body was shaking from the adrenaline rush of avoiding certain death. My breath was coming out in gasps as I became aware of the rest of my surroundings once again. Like the blood touching my fingertips and the sound of yells and running footsteps approaching from somewhere farther up the path.
I scrambled up to my feet, hoping this was someone who could help and not something else. The path curved up ahead, and I jumped when a snarling grey wolf sped towards me, his mouth curled in a growl. A few people that I only faintly recognized from seeing them in town appeared next. They all halted in place when they saw me standing over Eve’s body. The wolf prowled forward and growled once again.
I belatedly realized what I looked like, standing there, covered in blood right next to Eve’s corpse.
I held up my hands beseechingly. “I just found her. I’ve been calling for help,” I cried. “I was bringing the catering.” I pointed to the dropped tray of food like an idiot, hoping it could convince them of my innocence.
One of the guys barked something at the wolf who was inching closer, and it stopped moving. The guy ran to the side of Eve and checked her pulse. “She’s dead,” he told the others, who all had various looks of grief written across their features.
“No,” one of the women gasped. She buried her head in the shoulder of the other man, a middle-aged guy wearing an oversized flannel with salt and pepper flecked hair. He glared at me, the pupils of his eyes expanding menacingly like I’d somehow become enemy number one.
“You’re the new girl in town, aren’t you?” he said roughly.
I swallowed and took a step back, sensing that the threat of danger wasn’t past. The man who’d been examining Eve stood up, his face pained. His eyes snapped to mine, and I watched as his eyes changed. His hands extended into long claws.
“Please, I didn’t have anything to do with this,” I whispered.
He snarled, his eyes wild. He’d obviously lost control of his wolf. I knew from experience in my old pack that it was all downhill when that happened.
A snarl ripped through the air, and suddenly, Wilder was in front of me, his teeth bared. As a Lycan wolf, he could only change on the full moon, un
like the Bitten wolf who’d been about to jump me, but Wilder was very much still a force to be reckoned with. You could feel his power reverberating through the air. The man who’d lost control immediately dropped his gaze and bared his throat, falling to his knees in front of us. Wilder advanced on him stealthily, snarling one more time for good measure. The other two people had also fallen to their knees and were looking down, throats bared. It took me a second to realize I should have had the urge to do the same, as I’d always done it in the past. Looking back, I’d done it with Wilder and Daxon at times since I’d been here.
The fact that I wasn’t feeling a pull to do it now was certainly an interesting development. I heard the snarl of a motorcycle from far away, and within what seemed like seconds, Daxon was suddenly there, intercepting Wilder’s advance on the other Bitten wolf.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Daxon snarled at Wilder. I watched, mesmerized, as his eyes shifted back and forth from human to wolf. He was trying to control himself, and I hoped for everyone’s sake he would succeed. Neither Wilder nor Daxon seemed to have noticed the pressing issue of Eve. My heart squeezed in my chest as my gaze flicked back to Eve’s lifeless form. She was staring up at the sky, wide-eyed. She almost looked shocked. I hoped for her sake the attack had been unexpected and quick.
Daxon and Wilder were still having some sort of bullshit standoff, and the three other townspeople were eyeing each other nervously, like they were preparing to run if things got serious.
“Losing control of your people, Dax?” Wilder asked sarcastically.
Daxon threw a disdainful look at the three quivering people still kneeling on the ground. “I can handle my own,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Then why was Conley about to attack Rune?” asked Wilder, pointing a rigid finger at the man in question.
Daxon’s face went blank. His golden gaze turned cold, spine-chilling actually. I’d never seen him look like that. His eyes were usually warm, caring, sweet…with the exception of when he’d stalked me through the woods. The man in front of me was a stranger. There was something playing in his gaze, a hint of madness almost, that had my stomach churning with a mixture of fear…and lust.
I probably needed to talk to a therapist about that.
Daxon’s gaze flicked to mine briefly and softened as he examined me, as if he was making sure I was all right. I didn’t know how he could tell either way. I was covered in blood.
Whatever he saw must have been enough to reassure him that I wasn’t about to keel over because Daxon’s face transformed back into the scary, deadly stranger from before as he turned to face Conley. Daxon stalked towards him like he was prey. Conley was a sniveling, shivering mess at that point. Daxon squatted down in front of him, his nails on his right hand transforming into sharp black-tipped claws, much longer than the ones Conley had displayed. I watched in horror-struck fascination as Daxon gripped Conley’s jaw, tiny rivulets of blood dropping from Conley’s face as he did so.
“Were you going to attack Rune?” Daxon purred in what might have been the scariest voice I’d ever heard. The front of Conley’s pants darkened as he wet himself in stark fear of whatever Daxon was about to do.
Wilder snorted at the sight, and then the woman let out a pitiful cry. That was enough to jerk me back to my senses.
“Daxon,” I snapped, weaving around Wilder’s body and rushing towards him. “Haven’t you noticed that Eve’s dead?” My voice caught on a cry as I pulled his clawed hand away from Conley’s face.
Daxon used his other arm to throw Conley down to the ground before standing up. I could feel Wilder’s warmth as he crowded me in from behind.
I resisted the urge to scoot back into Wilder’s embrace while pulling Daxon with me. Despite the fact that I was still furious at Daxon, still furious at both of them really, I found myself craving both of their touches.
It’s just because of the situation, I told myself, unable to admit anything else…even in my own head.
I jerked my hand away from Daxon, and in a blink, he was next to Eve’s body. With a gentleness that surprised me, he softly stroked Eve’s cheek and closed her eyes. He then sprung up and let out the most mournful howl I’d ever heard. It was the sound of pure heartbreak. The three others echoed his howls, and then I heard more sound in the distance where I assumed a large crowd of people were gathered for the picnic. A tear slid down my cheek as more people appeared around the corner, pure devastation present in all of them.
Daxon’s howls quieted, and his whole body quivered. I heard him let out a long exhale like he was trying to get a hold of himself. As the crowd grew, just a few feet away from me, their murmurs grew louder. Their eyes flicked from Eve to my blood-covered form, accusations in their eyes that were hard to bear.
Another loud cry ripped through the crowd, the sound somehow filled with even more pain than the others I’d heard. A woman pushed her way through the crowd, her eyes the same color and shape as Eve’s. She let out an inhuman wail as she collapsed to Eve’s side, burying her face in Eve’s chest as giant sobs wracked her body.
She must have been Eve’s mother. Shame that I shouldn’t have felt coursed through me. It was like everyone’s accusations and assumptions were sinking into me…making me feel like I’d somehow done something wrong.
Daxon snapped his finger at one of the men in the crowd, and he came and comforted the weeping, raging woman as Daxon turned his attention back to me.
“Rune,” he said softly, the words heavy in the air. I let out a hiccuped sob.
“I was just coming to deliver the food,” I whispered, half-heartedly gesturing to somewhere behind me where the tray of steak bites was still strewn across the path. Wilder had now stepped up right behind me until his body was practically cradling mine. I shivered despite his warmth. “She was lying here, already dead.” I took a deep breath, trying to get ahold of myself. “There was something in the woods, a creature. I’d never seen anything like it. It was right over there,” I explained, pointing to where the shadow thing had been.
Wilder moved away from me in an instant, stalking his way towards where I’d pointed. I wondered how long it was going to take for me to get used to how fast he and Daxon moved. No one in my old pack, including Alistair, had shown that kind of speed. Wilder sniffed the air and crinkled up his nose in disgust. “It smells like sulfur and smoke,” he commented as he moved deeper into the woods. My stomach rolled in worry as I watched him, sure that the shadow thing was going to make an appearance at any moment. Daxon hadn’t moved from in front of me. He was watching the crowd with hard eyes, as if he was daring them to keep talking about me. I probably should have sent him after Wilder, who’d just disappeared from sight, but I had a sinking suspicion that Daxon’s presence was the only thing keeping the crowd from coming at me. “Is that Eve’s mother?” I asked softly, resisting the urge to go to the woman and comfort her. That obviously wouldn’t go over well.
“Yes,” Daxon whispered just as softly. “She was her only child. They’d been having trouble lately, fighting more and more. I guess Eve had been acting strange.” He sighed and ran an anxious hand through his tousled golden locks. “Lydia’s never going to recover from this.”
I thought of Eve’s secret relationship with Daniel. I was sure it was behind Eve’s strange behavior.
Daniel. My heart thudded with the reminder that he still had to find out about this. He’d been crazy about Eve. I could tell. What was this going to do to him?
Wilder appeared from behind a tree, and I let out a sigh of relief. He shook his head at Daxon, answering an unspoken question.
“You did this,” Eve’s mother suddenly screamed. Her nails sharped into short, ferociously sharp claws as she lunged towards me. Daxon caught her before she could reach me, and she began to beat against his chest, snarling to get to me.
“Calm,” Daxon ordered, Alpha power threaded through his words as he spoke. She collapsed against him, her fight completely gone as she wept i
nto his shirt. The blood she’d gotten on her while embracing Eve’s body stained Daxon’s white button-up. The whole scene was utterly heartbreaking.
Wilder reached an arm around my waist, and Daxon snarled. “Don’t touch her,” he seethed, his eyes flashing.
Watching his eyes…and everything else that I’d seen just now, reminded me what an idiot I’d been to ignore all the blatant signs in front of me that Wilder and Daxon, and the rest of this town, were so much more than human. It was amazing what the mind could do when it wanted to protect itself.
Daxon looked torn between wanting to rip Wilder’s hand off of me and continue to comfort his pack member, who was still sobbing in his arms. The woman in question lifted her head from Daxon’s shirt and shot me a furious glare filled with so much hate that I could practically taste it.
“I’m getting her away from this mess. You need to handle the situation,” Wilder growled out, and I sighed in frustration that even in the midst of this crisis, they were still doing their alpha a-hole competitive thing.
“I have the inn’s catering van,” I murmured softly, my gaze dancing to various members of Daxon’s pack that all looked like they were seconds away from going against their alpha and trying to kill me. If they thought about it, the idea that I was capable of killing Eve was ludicrous. She’d had the ability to harness her wolf powers. I was as weak as a lamb. Certainly not a threat to anyone.