Hayden’s Haven
Page 1
Hayden’s Haven
Broken Shifters
Julie K. Cohen
Julie K. Cohen
Hayden’s Haven
Whoever controls the pack, controls the virus that can kill humanity…
Traitor. Outcast. Predator.
Those are the names he hears whispered in the shadows.
They don’t understand what happened with his former pack.
Neither does he—not entirely.
Here, in his new pack, he goes above and beyond,
Trying to prove his loyalty, his worth.
Now, she’s here.
The beautiful shifter who’s their only hope for developing
A lasting vaccine against the shifter virus.
She accepts him for who he is,
Despite his past—and hers.
To save her, he must return to his former pack
And challenge the alpha. . .
The brother who cast him out years ago.
* * *
Fight Hard. Love Harder.
Hayden’s Haven is a steamy wolf shifter romance where appearances are deceiving and love truly conquers all.
HAYDEN’S HAVEN
Copyright © 2019 by JULIE K. COHEN
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, institutions, organizations, agencies, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, institutions, organizations, agencies, places, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, screenshot), or stored in any retrieval system, without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in printed reviews.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this work via the Internet, email, audio, or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Thank you for supporting the author’s rights.
Hayden’s Haven (Broken Shifters series) 1st ed. (October 2019)
Published (October 2019) in the United States of America by:
Julie K. Cohen
JulieKCohenRomance.com
Cover Art by: KUDI-Design.com
The author and publisher do not have any control over and do not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my beta readers Susan Hudson, Cheryl Cogswell, and Marcie Pinkal for all of their insight, feedback, opinions, passion, and support. You ladies are the best! Additional thanks go to my wonderful ARC readers for taking the time to read, review, and help me locate those pesky spelling errors before publishing. I’m very lucky to have you!
Julie
The Path Traveled Thus Far…
(An overview of the shifter world if you haven’t read prior books in this series)
In today’s world, humans know of and fear shifters—with good reason. Shifters have better hearing, sight, and sense of smell compared to humans. They also run faster and can self-heal, making them harder—but not impossible—to kill.
Shifters can blend in with the human population.
In the 150 years since shifters came into being, humans and shifters have developed a strained coexistence and understanding. Humans don’t interfere with shifters’ lives, and shifters stay away from humans.
Not everyone abides by that unofficial stance.
Humans lead their lives, happily ignoring the presence of the packs who inhabit the mountains and forests throughout North America, Europe, and various isolated regions. Wolf shifters, meanwhile, tend to congregate in packs.
Those wolf shifters who live and work alongside humans usually do so in secret. A pack offers safety, whereas being a lone wolf means having no support, no backup. And shifters do not have rights. Period. They are viewed as less than human, even though they are feared and hated for their superior abilities.
There is no overriding law or council that rules over or controls shifters or packs. Each pack has its own rules, traditions, and goals, though the structure of packs tends to be consistent from one pack to the next. Only one rule is universal among all wolf shifter packs: No one may break a blood-bond, the sacred bond that links two mates.
For now, the U.S. Government remains quiet on the ‘shifter issue’, not interfering with the activities of the WSSO and other anti-shifter hate groups. Without legal protection against the anti-shifter hate groups that target them, shifters have developed ways to combat their enemies. Many packs form alliances, while others take unique approaches including espionage and blackmail.
Those methods have proven effective. . . until now. One anti-shifter organization has developed a genetic weapon, one that will ensure shifter genocide.
Shifters’ Origin
Over 150 years ago, anthropologists dug up several wolves from the ice in Antarctica and shipped them to various museums to be prepped for display. When the wolves were thawed, the taxidermists and other staff became exposed to a virus that spread like wildfire.
Thousands became sick. Most died before doctors isolated the infected people and stopped the spread of the virus. Those who survived the illness started shifting. They were seen as monsters. Even in their human form, the first shifters were hunted until they were killed or ran off. The wolves in them soon took over, driving them to form packs for survival. Packs formed mainly in North America and Europe, where the virus spread the fastest. The survivors of the virus were not human or wolves, but a new species—shifters
That original virus is now referred to as SOV, Shifter Origination Virus. When the virus jumped species from wolf to human, it took a copy of the wolf’s genome, the DNA that is unique to a wolf. The virus spliced the wolf’s DNA with the human’s DNA by creating a genetic ‘bridge’ between the two. It is this bridge that enables shifters to shift between human and wolf.
* * *
This story follows the lives of male and female shifters in three packs. All of these shifters are broken in one way or another, but they never give up. They do more than fight to survive… they fight for the ones they love.
* * *
The Packs
In the mountains of Colorado, west of Boulder, three wolf shifter packs rule near Devil’s Peak. Each pack has its own territory and laws. Very few rules are universal between the packs, except the laws of nature. . . and these shifters like to defy nature.
Black pack (alpha: Damien Black)
Novak pack (alpha: Drake Novak)
Greyson pack (alpha: Liam Greyson)
Contents
Hayden’s Haven
Acknowledgments
The Path Traveled Thus Far…
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Frank’s Felon - summary
Frank’s Felon - Preview
Defiant Wolf (White Wolves)
Lethal Wolf
(White Wolves)
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Chapter One
HAYDEN
Four men, clad entirely in black, moved down the street, darting between doorways and alleyways. Mercenaries perhaps, but they only had handguns, no rifles, or tactical gear. Hayden glanced back at Kate and Mila. The three of them, along with Callen, had been stuck in the outskirts of Medicine Bow, Wyoming for four days while Kate continued to heal. Her injuries and subsequent infection had taken a toll on her and her wolf, leaving her weak and not ready to travel home.
Hayden still couldn’t believe his cousin was alive, that she had escaped the WSSO, the World Shifter Suppressor Organization. Presently, she was sitting on the floor, slumped over, her head resting on her bent knees. Dr. Mila Evans, the beautiful green-eyed shifter from Montana, had saved Kate’s life, for which Hayden would forever be grateful. Maybe one day he could thank the lovely doctor without her trying to bite his head off.
The men were closing in. Hayden no longer had a choice. “Time’s up, Doc. We have to move,” he called over his shoulder in a half-whisper.
“One more minute,” Mila said, as she flew by, rushing to the back of the abandoned storefront to finish packing up her medical supplies.
The scent of lilac, her scent, washed over him for at least the sixth time in the last hour. He and his wolf were already on edge, and now Mila’s scent wrapped around him, distracting him. He had to get both women out of there and back to Damien’s pack.
With his foot, Hayden nudged Kate’s calf to get her attention. Her skin was pale and sweat moistened her brow. The damn infection. Sepsis. Mila had had it under control until this morning.
“Hey there, kiddo. Ready to go?”
Kate flashed him a weak smile. “Not a kid. I’m a full-grown woman. Just ask Callen.” The ends of her mouth lifted despite how shitty she felt.
Despite the short pixie cut and those large, expressive, dark eyes of hers, his cousin was indeed very much a full-grown woman. “Yeah, well, I’d rather not think about that, if you get my drift. You’re like the little sister I never had.”
His cousin had already been to hell and back. Running from a few mercenaries was nothing new to Kate. She would do whatever Hayden asked of her, though from how she slumped against the wall and closed her eyes, he would probably end up carrying her sooner rather than later. He preferred having his hands empty in case of attack, but he’d do whatever was necessary to get them to safety.
Mila’s bright green eyes caught him. She had returned with a heavy backpack weighing her down. Another woman who was as stubborn as she was beautiful, Mila with her long dark hair and large expressive eyes grabbed hold of him every time he spoke to her. As for those luscious lips that he desperately wanted to taste, they hid the tongue of a viper when he pushed her the wrong way.
He had pushed her the wrong way several times already. He wasn’t even sure how precisely, not that pushing her was a bad thing. When he irked her, her eyes grew wide and defiant, showing a fire within that challenged him, made him want to get to know her better. Then again, she had a barrier around her that he couldn’t seem to get past. Even after four days in this abandoned space, he knew very little about Dr. Mila Evans.
Mila dropped the bag with a definite thud. Green eyes practically challenged Hayden as she waited for him to protest. They had already argued over the bag.
“It’s still too heavy,” he said, as he leaned back against the desk, arms folded across his chest. That was to keep his hands to himself. He didn’t trust himself at the moment, not with how her defiant gaze stirred him.
“It’s not your problem. I’ll be the one carrying it.” Mila cinched the top closed and hoisted it over her shoulder, schooling her features. Anyone could see it was too heavy for her.
“Dump eighty percent of the weight.”
“I’d rather dump you.”
He inhaled sharply, mockingly. “Harsh. And here I was considering carrying it for you.”
“I don’t need any favors from anyone, especially you.”
Hell, this conversation wasn’t going the way he wanted. He sounded like he hated her. So much for being good at talking to women. Then again, it’s not like the women at camp had ever been attracted to him. None of them understood him, or his needs. They only saw him as Damien’s second, a strong shifter who could give them two things; social status and the chance at becoming stronger for the shifter he’d blood-bond one day. In turn, the women he dated often gave him what they thought he wanted, sex. There was more to life than sex. And she was standing in front of him, bright green eyes, a body that was made for him, and a wit that challenged him like no other.
“Not a favor,” he replied. Not really, but he’d dug this hole already, so he might as well carry on. “You can help with Kate while I carry the bag. I need to be able to shift fast and I’d rather drop the bag and not Kate.”
Mila glanced down at Kate. The doctor’s worry for her patient pulled at Hayden. This was a woman who genuinely cared about others. He wanted to know her.
“That will work. Just say when,” she said, rather civilly, nice in fact. Not even the slightest bite to her words.
Hayden threw her a smile, not one of his usual ones meant to charm the ladies. That would have felt disingenuous, especially considering the situation. He smiled just enough to ease her worry. He and Callen could handle the mercenaries in a fight if need be. If Callen was okay, and there were only four assailants out there.
Callen was late, which wasn’t like the enforcer at all. He had every incentive to return. Not only would Callen never abandon a packmate, he had blood-bonded Kate, and he’d do anything to ensure her safety. That was what worried Hayden. If Callen had taken an unnecessary risk. . .
Hayden shook his head. This wasn’t the time to think about it. He had to stick to the plan. Callen would catch up to the three of them when he could. The enforcer wasn’t easy to take down, in either his shifter or wolf form, though a gun could certainly do it.
Hayden subconsciously rubbed the slight scar near his heart from where Kate had shot him six weeks ago. His wolf had fully healed him, but the area still felt tight.
“Sorry,” Kate whispered. She had seen him rubbing his chest. Mila’s eyes moved from Kate to him, brows furrowing in confusion.
“Ready to go?” Hayden asked them.
“Callen’s not back yet.” Kate’s voice wavered as she stared at the back door.
What Hayden wouldn’t give to have someone worry about him the way Kate worried about Callen. “I’m sure he’s fine. He’ll catch up to us.”
“What if he’s injured?”
“That won’t stop him. Nothing will stop him from getting back to you.”
“I know, but—”
“We’re leaving now, Kate. That’s an order.”
Mila glared at Hayden while she slipped her arm around Kate to help support her. “It wouldn’t kill you to be a bit nicer. Or can’t you tell she’s worried?”
“You ever live in a pack before, Doctor?” Hayden asked, his muscles tensing.
“Yes, but—”
“Then you know how to take orders, I presume. If not, you can stay here. But if you plan to come with Kate and me to our pack, then you’ll learn to keep quiet and follow orders, at least until we’re out of danger.”
Mila’s eyes lowered to the floor. It was so uncharacteristic of her to give in to him like that. Where was the biting remark, the defiant look in her eyes? He had been harsher than he should have been, on both Mila and Kate, but this wasn’t the time to debate who was in charge or to question orders.
Hayden had a responsibility to Kate and to his new charge, but especially to his adoptive pack. They needed Dr. Evans. With Alex gone, she was their only hope of developing a vaccine against SEV-2, the damn Shifter Eradication Virus that had already wiped out entire packs. At last co
unt, nearly twelve hundred shifters had died from the virus and countless more were unable to access their wolves.
The thought of not being able to shift or access any of his shifter abilities sent a chill down Hayden. He’d seen the torment Tess had gone through, and he couldn’t imagine being so helpless. He’d been a strong shifter his whole life. Even when his brother had. . . No, he wasn’t going to think about that. He would focus on getting Mila to Damien’s pack so she could develop a working vaccine. The vaccine Alex had developed was no longer effective. The virus had mutated, and it was only a matter of time before the virus reached his pack.
Hayden scooped up Mila’s backpack. It was heavy, full of who knew what, but they didn’t have time to go through it now. He had to trust that she needed the contents.