The True Beast (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance)

by Ana W. Fawkes

  It was sickening to think about.

  Leah slowly started to pull herself up. She pictured seeing Lucas ride the motorcycle over and over, trying to remember what he did with what hands to make the motorcycle move. She could figure it out. She would get her balance and then she would be gone.

  She coudn’t do this anymore. Not right now. Not like this.

  Leah stood and put her hands to the handlebars.

  She then heard a bunch of screams and looked to see the Oreno crew all drawing on her. Her mouth fell open and Lucas let out a screaming NO!

  It looked like another setup. It looked like Leah had been hiding on purpose. It looked threatening.

  Leah didn’t stand a chance to move, to speak, or to defend herself. She heard the sound of a gun as she felt the hot, stinging pain in her shoulder. It blasted her away from the motorcycle. As she touched her shoulder, she saw blood. Her knees lost all their strength and then she was on her back. She looked at the sky. The blue sky. The beautiful sky.

  Then the sky went black.

  25

  Lucas saw Leah fall and he ran toward her. Her life was his only concern. Behind him he heard shouting and shuffling. Things were getting messy again but he didn’t care. Fuck the meeting. Fuck the Oreno crew. Fuck Debbie. Fuck Vince.

  Lucas fell to his knees and scooped Leah up. Blood poured from her shoulder. There was still color on her face, which was good. He stood, holding her. Her arms and legs were limp.

  “Baby, I need you to wake up,” Lucas said. “You have to fight the pain. You have to get on the back of my motorcycle.”

  Leah groaned.

  Lucas looked at Eli and saw the look of concern on his face.

  “This is my woman,” Lucas growled. “She’s not an enemy. Never an enemy.”

  “Okay,” Eli said. He put his hands up. “Looks like we have a few misunderstandings here.”

  “A few?” Vince yelled. “I have a dead member of my crew and a woman close to our club shot.”

  “Hey, I just go by what I’m told,” Eli said.

  “Thanks for trusting our word,” Lucas said.

  “Don’t put this on me,” Eli said. “Looks like you have plenty of enemies looking to set you up.”

  Lucas looked down at Leah. Her eyes started to flutter. He touched her face and pulled her close. “Leah, stay strong for me. I love you, baby. I’m going to take care of you. I promise. Be strong.”

  Leah’s hands moved. They were weak, but she reached up and put her hands around his neck. Lucas nodded.

  “Yes,” he whispered. “I’m going to get you on my motorcycle.”

  Lucas helped Leah sit up. She let out a cry of pain as she did so. Cooper ran to her aid and helped. Lucas got on his motorcycle and Cooper helped Leah wrap her arms around him.

  “She’s not going to hold on, man,” Cooper said.

  “She fucking has to,” Lucas said. “Leah. Listen to me. You need to hold tight. Only for a little while, baby.”

  “Okay,” Leah whispered in a weak voice.

  She had her head on Lucas’s back. Her fingers were interlocked. Lucas touched her hands and looked at Eli.

  “I want to put a fucking bullet through your head right now,” Lucas said.

  “Come back when your old lady is fixed and try it.”

  “Cut this shit,” Vince said. He pointed to Lucas. “Get her back to safety. Right now.” He looked at Eli. “You and I need to talk this out.”

  “I’m riding with Lucas,” Cooper said. “He can’t go alone. In case.”

  “Go,” Vince said.

  Cooper got on his motorcycle and they left the scene.

  The ride was slow, for Leah’s safety, but to Lucas it felt like he was walking. The roar of the engine and the smooth road did nothing to soothe him. He could feel Leah getting weaker by the second. She was almost like dead weight against him. And even when they got back to the club, what would happen? Could they take her to a hospital? There would be so many damn questions. For a second Lucas wondered if Dr. Carane could fix her. He quickly jammed the brakes and spun the motorcycle around. Leah let out a long cry.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” Lucas yelled. “But I know where to go. What to do.”

  Cooper’s tires cried out as he made the same dangerous move. He got alongside Lucas and yelled, “What are you doing?”

  “Dr. Carane,” Lucas called back. “He can save her.”

  They sped up.

  A few minutes later they passed by the scene of Full Moon Mercy and Oreno still talking and staring each other down. Lucas looked at Vince and saw Vince follow him with his eyes.

  It was obvious where Lucas was going.

  He wasn’t sure what it would take for Dr. Carane to help, but Lucas would cover the cost. This wasn’t a club problem, this was his problem. He’d fallen in love with Leah and now he had to save her. Lucas’s protection suddenly didn’t feel good enough, but he would fix that. Leah would heal and then Lucas would get revenge. He’d take care of the Reckingdune crew first and then come back to make sure the Oreno crew knew the difference between a random hit and someone from Full Moon Mercy making a kill.

  With his blood hot, fire in his eyes, and anger fueling him, Lucas rode hard and fast. The road of revenge was bumpy and bloody, but it was a road Lucas was now on.

  *

  Vince pulled up to the log cabin and pointed to Ian, Ethan, Nate, and Zayne.

  “Stay here,” Vince said. “And someone get Zayne something for his face.”

  The blood dripped off Zayne’s face.

  Vince rushed to the cabin and busted in to find Leah on the couch, looking pale white. Lucas stood over her, touching his face, shaking. Cooper had his back to the couch.

  “What’s happening?” Vince asked.

  “She’s dying,” Cooper said. “And the doctor won’t help.”

  Vince ran into the kitchen and found Dr. Carane leaning against the counter, sipping a glass of whiskey.

  “What…”

  “I didn’t sign up for this,” Dr. Carane said. “It’s not how it works for me. I’m not a hospital.”

  “Shit,” Vince said. “I didn’t tell him to do this. He just thought…”

  “He thought wrong.”

  Dr. Carane drank the whiskey and dropped the glass into the sink. When he walked toward Vince, Vince put a hand out and had the doctor by the throat.

  “Tell me why,” Vince said. “Tell me what it is.”

  “I’ll help you,” Dr. Carane said. “You know that. I’ll help you.”

  “That’s my crew,” Vince said. “That’s…”

  “He’s not your son,” Dr. Carane said. “Means nothing to me.”

  Vince released his hold on the doctor and smiled.

  This had suddenly shifted into his favor. He had a choice to make now. He could get Dr. Carane out of the cabin and let Leah die. She would simply just bleed out and be gone. If that happened, though, Lucas would go crazy. He would seek out Dr. Carane… and then he’d go through the Oreno crew and start taking them down until the doctor was killed.

  That would be a mess.

  The other option…

  “If I claim him,” Vince said, “you’ll help me?”

  “You’ll have a son then,” Dr. Carane said. “Everything you’ve ever wanted in life, huh?”

  “That’ll make that life out there more important for me and the club,” Vince said.

  “And that will make me more important to you,” Dr. Carane said.

  “Looks like we’ll need each other then,” Vince said.

  Dr. Carane smiled.

  Vince went into the room and nodded to Cooper. “Give me a minute here.”

  Cooper looked at Lucas. “It’s fine,” Lucas said.

  Cooper walked out of the cabin.

  Vince walked to Lucas and touched his shoulder. Lucas shook him away.

  “Son, you have to…”

  “No,” Lucas said. He turned and looked at Vince. “You wanted this, did
n’t you? You wanted this fucking mess. I know, Vince. I know… because Seth told me…”

  “Seth is dead,” Vince said. “His words mean shit right now. What does mean something right now is that your woman is on this couch slowly dying. And the only man that can save her is in the kitchen. I can help you…”

  “Don’t do this,” Lucas said.

  Vince took Lucas by the shoulders. “I have to, son. I have to. For the good of the club. For the good of myself. It’s about legacy in Full Moon Mercy.”

  Lucas lowered his head and shook it. “I…”

  Vince pulled Lucas in for a tight hug. He squeezed Lucas like he always dreamed of doing. Like the son he could never conceive with Mandy. The anger and pain had always been suppressed by Vince. The only time he showed emotion about it was when Dr. Carane told Vince and Mandy that they would never have children. Their bodies just weren’t compatible to do so. That was when Vince pulled the knife on Dr. Carane. He wanted to cut the doctor’s throat so he could never utter those words again.

  But now another opportunity waited.

  Lucas reached down and touched Leah’s head. His fingertips were shaking. Vince reached down and put his hand over Lucas’s.

  “Let me do this,” Vince whispered. “Then we can save her. She’ll be protected, Lucas. She’ll be protected…”

  Lucas slowly turned his hand so that he was gripping Vince’s hand. He broke away from Vince and looked at him.

  Slowly, Lucas began to nod.

  “Okay,” Lucas said. “For the good of Full Moon Mercy. To save Leah. For everything happening around us… okay.”

  “Say it,” Vince said.

  Lucas nodded again and then looked down at Leah. “Vince, I want… I want you to claim me. I want to be your son.”

  Don’t miss the next book in the Full Moon Mercy series – THE DARK MONSTER

  The war outside and the war inside Full Moon Mercy is reaching a deadly climax. Claimed by Vince, Lucas finds himself understanding more than he ever imagined he would. Blood boils between rivals crews and his love for Leah is reaching a level that could tear the entire MC apart.

  Soon, it becomes Leah who holds the key to the future of Full Moon Mercy.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First electronic edition May 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Ana W. Fawkes

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.