THE IMMORTAL: A Novel of the Breedline series

by Shana Congrove

  THE IMMORTAL

  A Novel of the Breedline Series

  by SHANA CONGROVE

  Copyright © 2020 by Shana Congrove.

  ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-7345251-1-3

  Softcover 978-1-7345251-0-6

  eBook 978-1-7345251-2-0

  All rights reserved. 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 copyright owner.

  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 actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental, unless otherwise acknowledged in italics.

  All photographs and artwork are copyrighted by the author, Shana Congrove.

  Cover Design by: Silvia Mauloabook/mauloabook.com

  Published by: Shana Congrove

  Website: shanacongrove.com

  To order signed copies of this book, contact:

  shanacongrove@yahoo.com

  Novels of the Breedline Series by Shana Congrove

  Sweet Chaos

  Total Chaos

  Unleashed Chaos

  Sins of Chaos

  THE IMMORTAL

  THE CURSE… coming next!

  Available wherever books are sold online

  Author’s Acknowledgments

  In memory of my beloved Baby. Saying goodbye is hard to do. My heart feels lost without you, my sweet darling. You gave me a purpose, a healing comfort, and unconditional love. Rest in peace with your Sissy.

  With love, Mommy, XOXO

  Dedicated to all my talented friends on FanStory.com, my dear friends Angie Hawkridge Moore and Neal Owens, author of Mirrors of Life. Without your helpful advice and continuing support, none of this would exist. Good friends are hard to find. Thank you for being mine.

  As always, immense gratitude to God’s loving grace. Thank you for giving me guidance and courage with everything I do.

  To all the readers, family and friends: Thank you for stepping into my fantasy world of the Breedline. I appreciate your support!

  To the new little addition to my family: You brought me companionship and unconditional love when I least expected it but needed it the most. I love you, Chocco boy!

  The Legend of the Breedline

  Imagine all the myths, legends, and folktales that both captivated and terrified you as a child—the monsters under your bed, the boogeyman in the closet, werewolves, vampires, witches, demons, ghosts, and so on—really existed.

  The story I’m about to tell you goes beyond unbelievable. This is the legend of the Breedline.

  The story goes that a secret species of humans born with an identical twin had the power to shift into wolves. Some say it is an old tall tale, ancient lore derived from Native American legends, known mainly as stories of shapeshifting creatures.

  For the Navajo and other tribes of the Southwest, each has their own version of supernatural creatures called skin-walkers, but each boils down to the same thing: a majestic being capable of transforming itself into a wolf, coyote, bear, bird, or any other animal. When the transformation is complete, the human inherits the speed, strength, and cunning of the animal whose shape it has taken.

  So the question remains...

  Do supernatural beings really exist among our mundane, humdrum existence?

  The thing about myths, legends, and folktales is sometimes they’re true.

  How do I know, you ask? Because... I’m their queen, and this is our story.

  Chapter One

  Salem Cemetery, located in San Francisco, California

  As Jena, Todd, and Sophie made their way through a small opening of the cemetery’s wrought-iron gate, they hadn’t expected it to look so eerie at this hour of the morning.

  A mist of thick fog hovered among the nineteenth-century gravestones as the dead slept deep and undisturbed. Feeling a chill work its way up his spine, Todd quickly dug his hands into the front pocket of his pullover hoodie.

  If zombies were real, Todd thought, this would definitely be the perfect night and place for them.

  All around them, headstones stood in stiletto silence like guardians of the dead. Some of the stones were simple rectangles, others had rounded shoulders, and a few had angel statues perched over the tops. Most of the marble grave markers remained dark in the subdued light, but several shone under the full light of the moon.

  Hidden in the shadows among the despair of so many wasted lives rotting in the graves around him, he heard voices from a distance. As he lay there, weakened and consumed with hunger, they moved dangerously close to where he rested. He listened with excitement, a renewed sense of power surging within his beast.

  Can it be, he pondered, that they were human?

  Thirst gripped his insides and his mouth felt as dry as ashes. It had been too long since he last fed. His eyes widened as an explosive rush of skin and muscle began to shift, changing and converging in an instant. He clenched his jaws as tightly as he could, stifling the anguished howl building at the back of his throat. His veins bulged, and his features twisted and rearranged into the face of a beast—half-man, half-wolf—with a muzzle, long curving fangs, and thick black fur. He could feel his ageless strength awakening from years of peaceful slumber. Now, it was suffocating. He had to release it.

  Buried underground and desperate for air, he clawed and dug until a few faint beams of moonlight entered the underground, giving him just enough light to see by. Thick fog tumbled through the dark and murky pit. He exhaled a ragged breath as he crawled through the opening of the dark, confined space. The pungent scent of human flesh polluted the fresh air and ignited his appetite. For several years he had bided his time. Kill. He was ready to kill for life again.

  Todd flinched at the sound of twigs snapping. With a gasp, he whirled around, his eyes probing the mist and the graves, his heart stuck in his throat. For one brief second, he could have sworn he saw two glowing eyes in the distance, staring in their direction. It vanished into the shadows as soon as he turned to get a closer look. Something was there. He was sure of it.

  Todd choked down a taste of fear and blurted, “What the hell was that?”

  As Jena and Sophie paused to listen, a muffled moan blew through the cemetery.

  “It’s just the wind, scaredy-cat,” Sophie giggled.

  He turned to Sophie with an aggravated expression. “No, it wasn’t the wind, dammit. I swore I saw something.”

  Sophie shined a flashlight, aimlessly searching through the foggy graveyard and said, “Where?”

  Todd directed her to a certain area of the cemetery and said, “Over there, somewhere.”

  Sophie looked to where Todd pointed. “I don’t see anything,” she said, holding the flashlight steady. “It’s probably just your imagination.”

  “Yeah, well, what if you’re wrong?” he said. “What if someone is here? They could call the police on us.”

  “Quit worrying, Todd,” Jena said as she rearranged the leather satchel strapped over her shoulder. “There’s no one here.”

  “Guys, I think this is a bad idea,” he said in a hushed voice. “I mean, what if we get caught? You do realize we are all breaking the law. I could lose my job at the hospital, or worse... go to jail. Hell, is all this really worth it?”

  Jena—with her perfectly flowing waves of blonde hair and tall, willowy model’s figure—rolled her eyes. “Good grief,” she grumbled. “Don’t be such a wimp. We’re not going to get caught. Besides,
we have plenty of time. The security guards don’t come in until six. That gives us two hours. Once we get inside the mausoleum, all we have to do is locate Carla Rosi’s burial chamber. The rest is a piece of cake.”

  Todd snorted. “Yeah, whatever,” he snidely remarked. “Don’t forget about the creepy part.”

  “What’s a matter, Todd?” Jena’s tone was mocking. “You’re not afraid of a little séance, are you?”

  “Why do you always have to poke fun at me, Jena? You know I hate this kind of stuff. I only agreed to do this because I don’t want you two here alone, especially at this hour. Besides, don’t you think I deal with enough death at work?”

  “Honey, where’s your sense of adventure? For Pete’s sake, pull that stick out of your butt.”

  “Yeah,” Sophie chimed in as she glanced in Todd’s direction—huge, dark eyes ringed with even darker layers of mascara. “Don’t be so uptight, Todd. You’ve been driving an ambulance for way too long. I think it’s starting to get to you.”

  “Whatever,” he groaned, throwing his hands up in defeat. “This whole thing is stupid, anyway. Carla’s body wasn’t ever found. Her parents put an empty casket in the mausoleum.”

  “Her body may not be there,” Jena said, cocking a brow, “but her spirit might be.”

  “Jesus, woman.” Todd sighed, disgusted with Jena’s idea that she could somehow connect with the dead girl’s spirit. “You’re a whole new definition of bat-shit crazy.”

  “But you still love me, right?”

  He glared at Jena in silent menace. Then a hint of a smile drifted over his mouth.

  “Come on, you two lovebirds,” Sophie said, jogging ahead of them. “Stop arguing. Let’s just do this already.”

  Todd took off through the cemetery in a trot, his senses on high alert for the slightest sound or movement, leaving Jena following close behind.

  With little effort, they caught up to Sophie. When they neared the mausoleum, Todd paused in midstride. Without warning, a cold prickly feeling of someone watching took hold, and goosebumps crawled over his skin. For a split second, reality threatened to crush him. Was someone waiting close by, hiding in the shadows? Closing his lids, he forced himself to stay calm. He was probably working himself up over nothing. Most likely, it was just the wind playing tricks on him.

  You’re only imagining things, he tried to convince himself. It’s just the branches swaying in the wind. That’s all it is.

  Todd opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as his mind finally accepted this explanation. The rancid odor of stagnant earth and rotting leaves invaded his nostrils, instantly producing a nauseous reaction deep down in his gut.

  Slowly, he approached the old, stone structure that reminded him of something straight from a horror movie like Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Vines of ivy draped the dreary and ghoulish structure, covering the roof and the weathered stained-glass windows. A cracked and worn statue of an angel guarded the gated doorway. At last, he mustered the courage to move forward. With a trembling hand, he reached for the latch that was flaked with rust. Suppressing a shiver, he opened it and pushed his way through.

  A rumble of thunder snaked its way through the cemetery.

  Sophie looked up. “You’ve got to be kidding,” she moaned. “We better hurry. It looks like rain.”

  Todd’s heart hammered wildly in his chest as he climbed the steps that led to the miniature house for the dead. At the top, a creepy feeling gnawed at the pit of his soul. Then he turned to face Jena and Sophie, who still stood outside the gate. “Well, are you coming, or not?” he said, trying to keep his voice even.

  As Jena reached up to adjust the ball cap on her head, a bone-chilling shudder went through her. Carla Rosi? she silently asked. Is that you? She waited for a sign and prayed that she’d pick up on something... anything. Then she felt a presence closing in around her. Felt a breath on her face.

  “Jena... it’s not safe... turn back now.”

  “What is it?” Sophie whispered, noticing Jena’s blank stare as if she had seen a ghost.

  Oblivious to Sophie’s question, Jena turned slowly in all directions. “Sophie, did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  “Come on, girls,” Todd called out to them in frustration. “What the hell are you waiting for? If you’re going to do this thing, let’s get on with it before the storm rolls in.”

  “Never mind,” Jena told her, ignoring the voice in her head. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

  As she went to take a step, Jena heard the voice again, but it seemed like some strange faraway echo.

  “It’s here! Run, Jena!”

  Jena’s body suddenly went rigid with fear. Oh God, was Carla Rosi’s spirit trying to warn her? Seconds crept by, but she couldn’t move. Damn it! Why had she ever come here? How could she be so stupid? What could she possibly have been thinking? Had she risked her fiancé and her friend’s safety just to connect with a dead girl?

  “Jena, are you okay?” Sophie asked.

  Maybe she really had imagined the voice. Maybe it had just been her nerves. I can do this, she told herself. I have to do this. I want to know what happened to Carla. Waving it off like it was nothing Jena moved forward, and then stopped again, almost immediately.

  As the creature moved in behind some bushes to watch its prey more closely, it fought a desire to spring out and kill them immediately. The urge to feed fueled its rage and gave it direction. It was exquisite torture holding in its lust for flesh and blood. After all these years, he’d been so careful, so cunning... concealing the ageless secrets of his kind.

  Quickly, its crouching form slipped from the blanket of undergrowth and sprang to the decrepit structure that housed the dead. Then, he waited.

  Jena’s heart ricocheted into her throat as she caught a glimpse of a dark silhouette vanish behind the mausoleum. What she saw threatened her sanity. Was it a dog? Yet it seemed too fast. The unsettling size was something far too big to be a dog.

  “Get out of here, Jena! Run!”

  In sheer panic, Jena stood there, too stunned to breathe, much less move. She clung desperately to the voice warning her. The satchel slipped from her shoulder, and finally, she found her own voice, barely choking out the words, “We need to get out of here now.”

  “What?” Sophie said, looking at Jena strangely. “What are you talking about?”

  A terrible howling cut through the darkness, and like a statue of stone, Todd froze with his mouth agape.

  For a moment, Jena’s head began to spin. She put a trembling hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. She tried to think, to calm her frantic breathing and her rapid pulse. In less than a heartbeat, she saw something stir from the shadows. A rush of terror surged through her, flooding her with cold and cruel certainty.

  Startled, Jena heard the voice again.

  “Run!”

  Before Jena could get a word out, Sophie screamed.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Todd saw something move from out of the shadows. His eyes widened in disbelief as a beam of light from the moon exposed a creature that looked like something he’d thought to be only a foolish myth. The sight of it nearly brought him to his knees. It looked so like a man, but it was huge and hairy like a beast. All of its hair was black, and its ears had a hideous peaked lupine appearance. It was moving toward Jena and Sophie, who appeared too frightened to move.

  Todd held steady and drew in his breath, reaching for an inner strength he knew he possessed. You have to save them, he thought.

  Sophie was already backing away from the creature’s luminous eyes that continued to follow her as though she was its main target.

  Todd waved his arms and shouted, “Get away from them!”

  The creature quickly averted its eyes from Jena and Sophie and twisted fiercely in Todd’s direction. Its pupils were vertical slits, like a cat’s.

  Jena saw Todd turn toward her. He opened his mouth and started to say her name, but he never got the chance.<
br />
  For one brief second, Jena wavered between hysteria and total collapse as she helplessly watched the creature attack the man she was engaged to marry.

  She hadn’t even realized that she’d screamed his name. But there was no time. It happened too fast. At first, Todd struggled, choking violently, but the creature was merciless as its ivory fangs tore into his jugular.

  “Please,” Todd croaked painfully, but the words turned to bubbled, liquid sounds as the creature ripped at his body.

  Jena’s heart ached with grief and regret. Oh God, this is my fault.

  She felt as though time had stopped, and this was someone else’s nightmare. It’s not too late. I can still help him.

  Without a word, she began moving painfully in the direction the creature had vanished with Todd’s body. Before she managed to get too far, Sophie grabbed her from behind and jerked her back.

  “We need to go, Jena,” she said quietly. “It’s too late. We can’t save him.”

  “It’s not too late!” Jena cried. “We can’t just leave him here.”

  Then, Jena heard the voice again.

  “Run, Jena! It’s coming back!”

  An icy shudder worked its way up Jena’s spine. She looked at Sophie with haunted eyes and uttered a small gasp.

  “Run, Sophie!” Jena finally cried out. “It’s coming back!”

  Frantically, Sophie quickly peered behind Jena. Her eyes rounded in fear when she caught sight of two yellow eyes. They were like the color and brightness of the moon, glowing across the cemetery at her. Her mouth locked in open terror, and her eyes blinked in disbelief. The man-wolf was standing on its hind legs, glaring at her as though it wanted to kill everything in its path. Black hair covered its hideous face, and the smell of blood and flesh wafted up to her, making her gag.

  Sophie felt weak and suddenly dizzy, falling on her hands and knees.

  The ground shook with the weight of the creature as it set off after Sophie and Jena on all fours, letting out an ear-shattering roar.

  “Get up, Sophie!” Jena screamed.