A New Dawn Novel
Other books by Rachel
The New Dawn Novels
Winter Wolf
Wolf Dancer
Wolf Sight
The Deadwood Hunter Series
Lexia
Whispers of Darkness
Holocaust
Betrayal
Surrender
Novellas
The Beast Within – Woodland Creek Series
Deaths Echo – The Complex Series
Copyright and Legal Information
Copyright © Rachel M. Raithby, 2019
All rights reserved.
Cover Art, Interior Images & Formatting by Kat & Rob Smith @ Creationinspire
Editing by Hot Tree Editing
Author Photo © Kat Smith @ Creationinspire
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.
Contents
Other books by Rachel
Copyright and Legal Information
Contents
Dedication
PART ONE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
PART TWO
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Author Bio
Dedication
This one is for my parents and grandparents,
who held my hand in the dark when I, too, was barely surviving.
I love you guys, more than any words could ever say.
PART ONE
Set during the events of Wolf Dancer
Chapter 1
A buzz hummed through Regan’s veins, and it had nothing to do with the bottle of cider she’d drunk. For the first time since her sister’s death, Regan felt a little like her old self—the wilder, freer version of herself. The version she’d buried under grief and pain, then duty and obligation.
At sixteen, Regan had lost her twin sister. They’d been alike in all ways, but in personality they’d been opposites. Her sister, Megan, had been quiet and reserved, dedicated to school work and pack life. She’d been born to follow the rules, and Regan had been born to break them. In fact, Regan took great pleasure in breaking rules, and not once had she felt guilty for running her parents ragged. That was until after her sister’s death, until Regan had to change who she was so that her parents could cope with life.
In some ways, it hadn’t bothered Regan to change. She’d been struggling to cope, too, and living life to its fullest just didn’t have the same appeal. It wasn’t until she was in the middle of a secret party, laughter all around her that it truly hit her how much she’d changed.
“Pleased I convinced you to come?” Katalina asked her, a devilish grin on her face.
Regan couldn’t help smiling back just as wickedly. “Yes! I so needed this.”
“See, I told you. Every now and then it’s good to break a rule or two.”
“Aren’t you the slightest bit worried about Bass finding out?”
Katalina laughed. “I can handle him. The packs needed this. Look around you. Friendships are being made, bonds formed. This is more than just a party. It’s strengthening the alliance.”
Regan gazed at Katalina, a little envious of the person she was. Regan had once been more like her. Now she was a shadow of herself.
No more.
Tipping back the bottle she held in her hand, Regan downed the last of its contents, a thrill stirring in her soul.
“That’s the spirit,” Katalina cheered. “Someone turn up the music!”
Cheering with her, Regan threw her head back, hands lifting to the sky as she laughed and danced along to the beat. Letting the mask she’d been hiding under slip away, and when a hand landed on her shoulder later in the night, his touch sending a shockwave through her body, Regan threw caution to the wind. Broke every rule in the book. Tonight, she was being the girl from her past. Tonight she was going home with a sexy blue-eyed wolf. Consequences be damned.
Chapter 2
After shift change, Tyler had headed to the pack kitchen to eat. Taking a seat with his plate of food, he scanned the room, noticing there was a distinct lack of younger pack members present.
John sat down next to him, mug of coffee in his hand and a sandwich on his plate.
“Not eating with the family tonight?” Tyler asked.
“No, she had dinner with her parents earlier. This saves her cooking for me. I’m surprised you’re not at the party.”
“Party?”
John laughed. “I’d have thought you’d be in the know.”
“Just tell me what you’re talking about,” Tyler grumbled.
“I heard a few whispers. Kat’s organized a party on the border for both packs.”
“Wow, and Bass agreed to it?”
John’s smiled grew wide, and he dipped his head. “Word is he doesn’t know.”
Tyler laughed, shaking his head. “Poor Bass. You going to tell him?”
“Hell no. You?”
“Fuck that. I’m going to join it. Coming?”
“Nah, I’m too old. But go, enjoy it while it lasts. Can’t see it being a secret for too long.”
Stuffing the last of his pasta into his mouth, Tyler headed out, grabbing a quick shower and changing clothes, before going to search for the party. It didn’t take him long to hear the distant beat of music, and the closer he got, the clearer the laughter and conversation became.
Breaking through the trees, several people paused at the sight of him, but Tyler concentrated on one individual. Katalina. Silence fell as he walked toward her. Katalina watched him with apprehension
.
“Tyler.”
“Katalina,” he responded, doing his best at keeping his tone indifferent.
“Look—”
“What’s going on, huh?” he asked, deadly serious. Katalina’s face fell. “Not inviting me. It’s an outrage!”
“Ty!” She smacked him. “You ass. I thought you’d come to play enforcer.”
“Not likely.” He laughed. “Pass me a beer.”
Relief flooded her face, and laughter erupted. Shaking her head, Katalina glared at him, but he could see the amusement in her gaze.
“Sorry, couldn’t resist.”
“Jesus, bro,” Logan said, throwing him a beer. “You had me then. Thought we were busted.”
Tyler caught the beer, popped the top off, and took a swig before answering. “Nah, was just too good an opportunity to miss.”
Katalina poked her tongue out.
“You do realize Bass will find out about this, don’t you?”
Katalina smiled sheepishly. “I’ll handle him.”
Laughing, Tyler clinked bottles with Logan. “Cheers. Long may it last.”
Sipping his beer, Tyler surveyed his surroundings; there was a good mix of River Run and Dark Shadow, and while most seemed a little on the tipsy side, there were some he knew were there to protect, not party.
Logan, it seemed, had gone for the party side. Tyler had lost track of the conversation a few minutes ago, but Logan hadn’t noticed as he babbled on.
“Logan, how much you drank, pal?”
Logan paused, his brow creasing as he studied the bottle in his hand. “Lost count.” He shrugged.
“Not concerned about being around River Run, then?”
He pulled a face, shaking his head overdramatically. “Course not. Kat’s as much theirs as ours. All’s good, Ty. Let loose.”
Yet it didn’t sit right with Tyler. Not that he thought they’d hurt Katalina; it was just with Bass being absent, he felt obligated to watch out for Katalina in his absence.
She was clearly drunk, dancing giddily with a group of girls, equally as drunk as her. Some he knew, but there was one who caught his attention and kept doing so throughout the night. It was her hair he’d noticed first; it hung straight to her waist, black with the subtle hint of blue. It reminded him of a midnight sky.
“Dude, just go up to her already,” Logan said, slapping him on the back.
“She’s River Run, pal.”
“Sooo?” Logan answered dramatically.
“So, I’m not nearly drunk enough to use it as an excuse when Bass finds out and murders me.”
“Don’t see what the issue is. Not like you’re wanting to marry her.” Logan shrugged. “I mean, if you’re not interested… I’m all for fun.”
Logan winked as he stepped away, tossing Tyler a wicked grin over his shoulder. It took Tyler all of two seconds for his brain to kick in and halt Logan in his tracks.
“I think not, pal,” Tyler murmured, kneeing Logan in the gut. “She’s too beautiful for you.”
Logan grunted and doubled over, hands on his knees he let out a breathless laugh. “You’re welcome.”
Grinning back at Logan, Tyler winked at his friend before setting his sights on the black-haired beauty he’d not been able to look away from all night. Taking a deep breath, he allowed a charming smile to grace his lips before placing a hand on her shoulder.
She turned, her gaze locking with his, and whatever cheesy hook-up line that was on the edge of his tongue slipped away.
My God, you’re beautiful.
His wolf cocked his head, rising to attention and right then and there, Tyler knew one night would never be enough.
Chapter 3
Regan flopped onto her back with an exaggerated sigh, hitting her duvet with a huff. Sleep was eluding her. When she closed her eyes, she saw his blue, blue gaze, and tight bronzed muscles moving above her; it made her anything but sleepy. She didn’t regret her one night of freedom and rule breaking with Tyler, not even the next morning, but it had been a week and she was beginning to have them. And these regrets only stemmed from her inability to sleep without dreaming of him, without waking up the next morning feeling anything but rested.
With another sigh, Regan flung her duvet off and got out of bed. Creeping out of the room, she silently padded past her parents’ bedroom and down the stairs, going to the back door. Pulling her oversized nightshirt off over her head, she dropped her panties and shifted, running out into the dark night.
The evening was clear and crisp, the slight breeze playing through her fur and wafting up the scents of the wilderness around her. For the first time in a week, Regan relaxed. Her body let out a breath, dispelling with it every frustration she’d been holding in. For the next blissful moments, her mind was that of her wolf, no human complications, no blue eyes, just the forest and the predator at her core.
Slowing her pace, Regan came to a small stream that ran along the River Run, Dark Shadow border. She didn’t use Dark Shadow’s land for running, not like many others in her pack did. And while Regan didn’t hold the same negative feelings toward the other pack as her parents, there was still a small part of her that felt like she was breaking her loyalty to her sister by accepting the pack alliance.
Emotions were complicated and messy, and part of the reason she’d not been sleeping. Because not only had she been breaking the rules going with Katalina to her illegal party, she’d ended the night sleeping with one of the Dark Shadow wolves. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to wish otherwise, and that brought on a whole mass of complicated emotions. To make matters worse, her body craved more of the blue-eyed wolf.
Taking a breather, Regan lowered her head, drinking from the stream. Her ears twitched, listening for any threats, her mind relaxing yet always on alert. Detecting a rustle from the other side of the water, she snapped her head up, scanning the Dark Shadow land ahead. Slowly out of the bush walked a wolf, his dark brown fur highlighted with auburn. Piercing blue eyes met hers, and while Regan had never met him in wolf form, she knew it was Tyler. She’d never mistake those eyes for anyone else’s. He’d been haunting her dreams, he’d chased her from her bed, and now he was gazing at her like she’d been doing the same to him.
They both froze, looking at one another as if one of them might have been conjured up. Regan’s heart boomed through her body, the human mind she’d come to escape awakening. Minutes stretched out as they stayed frozen, caught between dream and reality. In the end, Tyler made the first move, stepping hesitantly into the stream.
Fear clawed its way through Regan’s body; she wasn’t ready. She hadn’t unraveled her feelings around their one night of passion, and she definitely wasn’t ready to meet his wolf face-to-face. Taking a step back, and another, Regan only paused when Tyler did. Gazing at him for a heartbeat longer, she dashed away, running alongside the steam that meandered back and forth over the border.
Looking toward Dark Shadow, Regan found Tyler was doing the same. Only he wasn’t chasing her, he was joining her, and Regan found with the water between them acting as a barrier, she could cope with that. In fact, she could more than cope; she quite liked it.
Chapter 4
Night after night they met at the same spot, running the same route in wolf form. Each time Regan snuck from her home, she silenced her guilt, fed herself lies—they weren’t speaking, weren’t even crossing onto each other’s land. It didn’t mean anything. They were two wolves enjoying each other’s company, that was all. It didn’t matter that she forced herself not to shift each night. That their silent runs where filled with unanswered questions and feelings.
Tyler surprised her with his patience; it was as if he was perfectly happy to spend forever doing the same thing. That he didn’t want to shift and talk at all. Regan wished her own body was as patient, that her hormones would get on board with her head. As time went on, Regan found herself counting down the hours until they’d meet again. But being in his presence wasn’t enough; she wanted, neede
d more, until the point it could no longer be ignored. As much as she battled with her conscience and the jumbled feelings surrounding her sister’s death, it wasn’t enough to stop her giving in and meeting in human form.
Fidgeting with nerves, Regan waited for Tyler to arrive. She clenched the commandeered jeans in her hands as she wondered what he’d say. She had no idea herself what to say. Her plan went as far as throwing the jeans at him, and from there, her mind went blank.
With nothing to do as Regan waited, she found her mind wandering into the past and recalling a time when she’d not been as nervous, when her first instinct was to jump and build her wings on the way down. Her younger self would approve of the jeans move. Only she’d have planned out and imagined what followed afterward. At sixteen, Regan had been confident, carefree, and just a little reckless. Boys had found her nature very alluring, and Regan had kissed a different boy each month with not much thought or care. Megan, on the other hand, had been shy and awkward, tending to spend her nights studying or watching TV rather than rule-breaking with her sister. Regan often wondered if she’d become more like her sister to try to fill the giant hole Megan had left behind. Or maybe it was simply she viewed her reckless behavior as the reason for her sister’s death. Either way, Regan had changed, and it wasn’t until Katalina’s party that she’d realized it maybe wasn’t for the best.
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