by Jana Leigh
Reggie: Changing a Wolf"s Heart
Denver Pack Book Five
By Jana Leigh
Editing: Kerri Good
Published by JLK
No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form, or by any means.
Electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents either are the product of the author"s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
© Copyright 2011 Jana Leigh. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author From the Author: Thank you to all those who have sent encouraging email and messages. You can check out my web site: janaleigh.webs.com. Alternatively, contact me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jana-Leigh/252352951490534.
Email: [email protected]
Prologue
Blaine did not want to reveal his gift so soon to the New Council. Growing up he had visions, and he hid them because he did not want to be any more of an outcast. Because of the way he came to the Pack most people ignored him. That is until his adoptive mother heard one of his dreams. She believed him immediately, and told him the gift the Gods gave him was special, and hiding would be wrong. From that moment on, he shared all of his visions with her so she could help him understand what they meant.
His Beta, Cloe, proved the trust he placed in her was safe. When he became an Enforcer, Blaine shared his gift with her. She accepted him and his visions when most would have turned their backs. Because of that, he was loyal to her, so when he had the dream last night about the lost Chosen one, he knew he would tell her. Now that she had joined the Council, it meant telling them too.
“We need to go to Denver. I know where they are holding Reggie and his mate. The Rogues are planning to move them now that they lost the battle here. We only have five days.” Blaine said, walking into the room without knocking that held the most powerful wolves in the country. He must be crazy. He had done this several times over the last few months, but so far, none of them had questioned it. He knew he would not get away with it for much longer.
“Where the fuck have you been? I called all the Enforcers to the Pack house hours ago.
How do you know about Reggie?” Quin, the Alpha of the New Council growled.
Blaine shrugged and looked at Cloe, begging her to understand his need for secrecy.
With her best friend, and now mate, Teagan, Cloe assured him long ago that she would never exploit his gift, or tell anyone without his consent.
“Quin, really, I think we should deal with this shit later. If Blaine says that we are short on time, then we are short on time.” Cloe said and looked at her friends and smiled.
Blaine nodded and then turned to the rest of the table. All of them were staring at him intently. He knew they had questions, and he was prepared to answer them, in his own time. Right now, his instincts told him that he needed to get to Denver.
Darien stood up, and put his hand on Blaine's shoulder and squeezed. “What do you need?”
“My bike is out front. I really just wanted you to know where I was going.” Blaine said sheepishly.
Cloe laughed and stood too. She gathered her papers and said, “Give me ten.”
“Whoa there, little missy.” Darien said and pulled her back.
“What?” Cloe growled at him.
Quin and Jaden laughed and leaned back to watch the show. They knew from experience the Gods had not gifted any of them with weak females. Cloe was a Beta, and a strong one at that, she was not going to go down quietly.
“Uh, well, that is.” Darien stammered looking at the fierce look on his mate"s face.
“Listen here boyo, not only am I a Beta, I am also a doctor. Reggie and his mate may need one; they have been prisoners for months, who knows what kind of shape they are in?” Cloe ground out.
“Yeah, and Ruby will not feel comfortable with a bunch of men either.” Jo said snorting.
“You Neanderthals will fuck it up.”
Casey stood, and her mates immediately pulled her back down. Devon said, “Uh that would be a no, little one. I will go.”
“Hey.” Casey glared at her large mate as he held her shoulder, so she could not get up again.
“Don"t test me.” Devon said and glared down at his furious mate. “You are pregnant.”
“Fine. Just remember this when you sleep on the couch and do not have sex for a year!
Besides, Cloe is a doctor, and I am like what, thirty seconds pregnant? It's my brother, and Ruby would feel better seeing a familiar face!” Casey yelled.
“Levi will be there, you will not.” He said firmly and looked at his other mate to help him out.
Sid just shrugged and shook his head. “Hey, don"t look at me, that means I get to stay here with all the hormonal women. I would rather go with you too.”
“Ass.” Casey said, and laughed and then looked at Devon. “Just bring him back as soon as possible. Please.”
“We really need to roll.” Blaine said looking at the argument with interest.
Quin stood up and raised his hand. “Guys, we need to think about this. We can"t send everyone and unnecessarily place the Council in jeopardy. We have already called half of the Enforcers to Milliken, which leaves only half in Denver. What I propose is that, Devon, Blaine, Darien and a few choice others go to Denver. We will wait here, when you get Reggie and Ruby, bring them to Milliken, immediately.” Everyone in the room looked around to see if anyone would argue. When no one did, the men nodded and left the room.
“This sucks!” Casey said loudly.
“I agree.” Jo said and folded her arms across her chest and glared at the door. “Cami is going to have a shit fit when she hears about this.”
“She is so protective of Ruby, when she finds out that they went for her, kids or not, she would have wanted to go.” Casey agreed.
“Hope will keep her calm.” Jo said and rubbed her stomach. Soon she would get to welcome her little girl, although recently there had been a strange feeling, something through their link.
Chapter 1
Levi rode his motorcycle down the streets of downtown Denver. He knew his mates were here somewhere. He could feel it. For months, he had been searching for any sign of Ruby and Reggie. The Rogues had them, and he was going to get them back. Levi wanted howl in frustration. He was an Enforcer in the Denver Pack, because of his size and strength; he was a natural addition to the Pack guards.
Levi stood over six and a half feet tall, and had broad strong shoulders. He never considered himself handsome or cute, growing up with parents who cared more about their next drink than a child, that had hardened him. Levi had long, black hair and green eyes, the same color as his wolf. His cheeks were high and angular, when he was small kids made fun of him because they said he looked like a Gargoyle. When he got older, the women tended to pass him over because he looked too hard, or so they said. A wide mouth that never smiled only added to his gruffness. The only one who ever paid attention was Ruby, and she was the only one who mattered anyway.
He knew Ruby was his mate, but she was so young. He just did not want to have to take care of anyone but himself for a while, that is why he had not claimed her. At least that is what he told himself, the truth was he did not want to have her hate him when she realized that he came from the scum of the Pack. When his mentor, Quin, told him that his father gave him a Pack in the United States, Levi almost jumped for joy. Levi had be
en too young to come then. He waited for three years before his Alpha, Quin's father, allowed him to come over to the United States.
He felt like he had something to prove because he was one of the youngest Enforcers.
When Ruby had come of age months ago, he knew she was his mate. Levi had chosen to wait until she matured a little before claiming her. She needed to see the world, experience life before allowing herself to settle down with one wolf, well obviously two wolves. None of that mattered right now since she had been kidnapped. Levi just wanted her back. He would do whatever he had to do to get her and Reggie, back where they belong.
Slowing down he parked his bike in front of a well-known bar that Werewolves went to.
The owner was one of the few humans that actually knew they existed. The whole point to this cluster fuck was that they wanted to live with humans. Some Werewolves did not want to come out to the humans. They preferred to remain in the background so they could use their power and influence to gain whatever they wanted. A longtime ago, there had been a Seer, who the Spirits gifted with a Prophecy.
The European Council had been excited when the Seer told them about the spirit's gift.
They were ready to come out into the open and give the next generation the keys to the leadership. The Prophesy said the future Council would be made up of children born on the first day of each month of a certain year. To ensure there would be no confusion, the spirits assured the Seer only one shifter child would be born on this day, and they would be one of the Chosen. They would receive a special gift to help them fulfill their destiny.
Oliver, who was the Alpha of the Old Council, had a child born in February. Everyone thought Josephine was murdered. The kidnappers sent a bloody blanket as proof of her death, after Oliver failed to comply with their demands. It wasn"t until recently, when they found Jo, because she joined the Denver Pack without knowing she was one of the Chosen. It all came to light, when she changed into a White Wolf after an ex-lover shot her. Quin only learned about the Prophesy after calling his father seeking advice and help.
When Quin discovered who Jo was, Oliver, and many of the Old Council showed up in Denver, with the current Seer. She had produced all the papers the previous Seer left.
Because of the attack and kidnapping, she assumed everyone thought she had failed, and had taken her own life as an offering to the spirits to make up for her supposed failure. She had written everything down with the hopes the spirits gave them another chance to fulfill their destiny.
The spirits gave each of the Chosen a gift that coincided with the astrological signs they were born under. Something that would help them fulfill their position on the Council.
The Spirits assigned each of them with a specific job, which would ensure the New Council would succeed in their enormous task.
Quin, born in January, was the leader of the Council. Being a Capricorn, he was regarded as the zodiac's leader. His gift was being the Alpha Triad. Thus, having stability and strength needed to lead the Pack and the Council at the same time. As well as being a stable influence for humans to see, and would not fear the shifters would try to take over their realm. Because both jobs were of equal importance, the Gods gifted a Triad to help share the duties. Cami, the female Alpha, had a strong personality in her own right. Jaden, the other wolf in the Triad, was also an Alpha. Before coming here, he had been planning on setting up his own Pack somewhere close. When he arrived and discovered that he was mated to both Cami and Quin, he had been ecstatic. They had decided over the last few weeks that Jaden would be the Denver Pack Alpha while Quin would be the Council Pack Alpha. They would share the responsibilities, but it made it easier on both Packs to have one Alpha to go to.
Jo was born in February. She was an Aquarius, the humanitarian. She was a White Wolf and had the ability to feel the entire Pack and Council, and transfer emotions to calm and reassure others. Once she gave birth to her child, she would receive another gift; none of them knew what it was. She was the emotional balance needed for them all.
Tey, her mate would call it a curse as well as a blessing. Tey was the one who had to hold her when the emotions overwhelmed her or try to calm her down when she was high on excitement from all the emotions the Pack gave off. He had done a wonderful job so far, but taking care of the Packs emotional well-being was a full-time job. Tey had to be with her always, the Pack had lost one of its best Enforcers.
Quin and Jaden had decided to ask Quin"s brothers, Gregg and Darien, to join the Enforcers when Devon found his mate. They took over as the Betas of the Denver Pack, for the time being. They were going to share the title, since they were looking forward to adding a huge number of wolves to their Pack. Both men had a fearsome reputation in Europe, and Quin was happy when they both decided to come and help with his Pack.
The next was the child born in March, Pisces. This child would be the visionary of the group. They would be the one who had the ideas and ability to see what the future held for the Pack. Though they had the Seer from the European Council Pack, the Spirits intended for this child"s gift to surpass that of the Seer. This person would see the very future of the Council, and the wolf whom Quin wanted found first. After reading the papers from the previous Council, they also figured that she would be the hardest to find.
Then, the child born under the April constellation is an Ares. This child will be the one who will be the liaison between the humans and the Were. They will travel all over the world promoting the harmony that is needed for both races to coexist. There were more shifters than just the Werewolf, and making the decision to come out into the open was going to be difficult. All shifter communities needed to be involved in planning the Revelation.
After April is, of course, May, the Tarsus. This will be the spiritual advisor and historian of the Council. This Wolf will confer with the past notes, and make sure the Council is not making the same mistakes the previous Councils made. They will record our history as it happens, and make sure that future generations have the documentation of shifter history.
The child born in June is one of the most unique among the zodiacs, Gemini, the twins.
They will be the only ones who share a month, and will share the seat on the Council.
They will be the financial managers of the Pack. Because of the responsibility, and the task being so vast, two children needed the gift. The current Council had amassed a great fortune, and the Denver Pack was extremely prosperous. They needed to build more room for the new members of both Packs as well as making sure that each member was taken care of. Quin and Jaden would never allow anyone in their Pack to want for anything. It would take a team loaded with financial people to normally run the funds from a Pack. The twins were going to be in command of the group.
The next child is born in July, a Cancer. They are the overseer of mates. Their gift allows them to see who is supposed to mate, and who is not. They are also the protector of the mates, should anyone force a mating or abuse a mate, and they are the ones who will deal with it. Quin did not tolerate any abuse of a mate in the Denver Pack. They had heard stories of other Packs that used their females as slaves, and refused to do anything like this. The overseer of mates for the Council would have a big job trying to clean up the mess in America. Quin and Jaden spent half of their time calling the Alphas from other Packs around, and reporting mate abuse that they heard about.
Devon was born in August. He is the Leo, the leader of the Enforcers of both the Denver Pack and the Council Pack, the leader of their army, a natural protector. Should he wish he could challenge Quin, of course he would never do that because he does not want the headache. He is perfectly happy being the Beta. Devon was going to be the leader of all the Betas; he would set up training for them and make sure that they were doing their job. This, as well as making sure the Enforcers were doing their job. He was like the military leader in the United States, the highest ranking General in the Were community. If there were a war with the Rogues, Devon would be leading it.
They will work with the human doctors to understand the physiology of the Were, and will be the trainer of the Were doctors. There were subtle differences in the makeup of Were"s. The Denver Pack had a doctor, and he was a good one. Doc had been with Quin since he started this Pack, but there are too many shifters for the one man to help and know about, thus the need for a medical advisor. Levi knew they had found this member of the Council recently. Cloe was mated to his Beta Darien, and apparently, they shared a bond with another member of the new Pack.
The child born in October, Libra, will be the Pack builder. They will be responsible for setting up a new Pack and knowing what is going on in each of the Packs and report to the Council. Once the Council officially moved to Denver, there was sure to be an influx of Packs starting in the United States. Many of the Packs for Europe had small Packs in the States, but Quin knew that they would grow, and be much larger than they were now.
The next is the child born in November, the Scorpio. They are considered the oldest of souls and will be the consultant with the previous Council, use them as a resource, should the Council need them. There was much to be learned from humans, and other Were"s, and Quin wanted the Old Council to be advisors, but they needed someone appointed to help with organizing them.
Finally, the child born in December, the Sagittarius, they will be the liaison between the other shifters and the Council. We know there are other shifters, all with different hierarchies, and this person will be the go-between for the groups. Devon had been surprised when he learned there were more species in the Americas than where he had grown up, and he had yet to meet any. Most of the shifter community kept hidden, even from fellow shifters. Once they became public, it would be a huge job to organize all the different communities. Quin mentioned that he would eventually like to have some of the other shifters on the Council as advisors.