Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Also By Harmony Raines
Reclaim the Wolf
Wolf Valley Raiders
(Book Three)
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Note from the author: My books are written, produced and edited in the UK where spellings and word usage can vary from U.S. English. The use of quotes in dialogue and other punctuation can also differ.
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All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.
This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.
© 2015 Harmony Raines
Silver Moon Erotica
Kindle Edition
Chapter One - Cole
“I need to go for a run,” Cole told his brother, Riley, who was still lounging in bed.
“This early?” Riley asked, his voice thick with sleep. They had been up late last night. But not out raiding homes, a thing they would have been doing if still controlled by the blood oath they had sworn to their father. After his death, the four children of Wolf Valley’s exiled beta had returned for vengeance. Now free of the oath, they were able to go back to being their true selves.
Which was acting like big kids, according to their sister Bliss. She might have a point. Last night their brother Sol, who, although a grown man, did really act like a child because he was starved of oxygen at birth, had taken off, running out of the house whooping and hollering at the moon. Cole and Riley had run after him, following him up onto the lower slopes of the mountain. But their search for Sol had soon turned into a big game of hide and seek, which Cole admitted had been exhilarating. The freedom of living in such an isolated house, even if it was rundown and need of repair, was incredible, after a life living in towns and cities.
Cole looked at his brother, who was already dozing off again. Perhaps Cole should be sleeping too but a tense energy filled his body, leaving him unable to rest. He didn’t know what was the matter with him, but he knew a run in the early dawn would make him feel better. If not, when they went out later to visit their sister, there was every chance he would end up ripping someone’s head off. If not physically, then verbally. Whether there was something in the air, he wasn’t sure, but his blood stirred in his veins, leaving him restless.
He figured it was the need to find his mate. If what they had been told was true, either Cole or Riley would be the next alpha of Wolf Valley. But the next alpha could not take up this role unless he had found his mate. So the search was on.
They were both aware: their search for a mate could last for days, months, or eternity. It might take them away from here, or they could find the right woman on their doorstep. All Cole knew was that it was time for that woman to be in his life and in his bed. Not only because of the chance to become an alpha. No, it went much deeper than that. Seeing his sister happily mated to Hugo had given him a glimpse of the life he wanted. A life with his mate, and pups to raise, to indulge in kid’s play with, just as they did with Sol.
He had never told Bliss just how thankful he was to her for breaking the blood oath their father had put on them. He was glad to be free of it, and intended to make the most of this new start.
“I’ll catch you later,” Cole said. “Then maybe we can go into town. I’m looking forward to seeing my new domain.” They had so far avoided Wolf Valley, but at some point they had to go into town—which was verging on lawlessness, from what they heard from Hugo.
This made Riley lift his head up off the pillow. “Yeah, right. You are never going to be alpha over me, little brother. I’m the eldest; I have more authority.”
Cole laughed. “If you ever get your lazy ass out of bed.”
“I need all the rest I can get so I can go and find the most attractive woman to be my mate.”
“Looks aren’t everything,” Cole said. “Which is a good job, or else you will be lonely forever.”
“Funny. Real funny. Later I’ll make you pay for that comment. But right now I need some more sleep. Check Sol is still in bed, won’t you?” Riley asked, his head hitting the pillow and his eyes closing. Cole knew his brother would be asleep in no time. That man could sleep anywhere.
Still, he did as Riley asked and checked on Sol. Opening his door a little, he could see the shape of their little brother under his covers, the slow rise and fall telling Cole he was fast asleep. Great, time for some fresh air to clear his head. It would be good to run alone out over the mountain and through the valley before anyone else was up and moving around. He liked the solitude and wanted to think.
Out of the small, dilapidated house he went, taking in all the tools and new logs Hugo had brought over so that they could begin to rebuild the place. Hugo was a good man, and Cole wanted to emulate him, to leave behind the raider and become a man with a good reputation instead of a bad one.
But the past was hard to outrun. Even for a wolf.
He shifted quickly, a shimmer in the early morning air the only sign that he had changed. From man to wolf took him nanoseconds; the wolf was like his second skin, he loved the freedom of it. Muscles straining, he ran over the dew-covered grass, up over the small peak, and then down into the valley. Below him the town of Wolf Valley sat like a buried jewel. He longed to clean it off and make it sparkle again.
Never before had he realised that he needed a purpose. Maybe it was some residual effect of the blood oath. But he wanted to save Wolf Valley in a way he could not explain. All that stood between him and his dream was a mate.
Taking big gulps of air, he raced out over the long meadows, down towards the river that cut the valley in two. Stopping for a drink, he savoured the cool water, letting it clear his mind. He had to stop being so obsessed with finding a mate. Making peace with the people of Wolf Valley should be his priority. There had to be a way to gain their respect.
That was it. A place to start. Instead of trying to win over the whole of Wolf Valley at once, he needed to start with one person at a time. Lifting his head, he scented the air; there was a rabbit nearby and he longed to hunt, to taste the fresh, warm flesh in his mouth. But he had a plan now, and the rabbit would have to wait.
Surefooted, he made his way over to the north side of Wolf Valley; he knew exactly where to go, recognising the track leading up to a small farm. Stopping, standing still, he let the morning sun warm his fur. Looking along to where a barn stood, its doors hanging off their hinges, he knew he had come to the right place.
Yes. This was where he would start.
A movement up ahead told him the owner was up and about.
No time like the present, wasn’t that what they said? He could
speak to them now and arrange to repair the barn; this was the first small step on the way to forgiveness. Cole changed, flexing his arms and his legs before taking a step down the track.
The figure of a woman disappeared inside the house. Was she frightened of him? That wasn’t so good, but he deserved it. They all deserved it.
Closer now, he took in the devastation. The barn looked as though a truck had driven into it. Listing to one side, the whole thing looked unsafe. He couldn’t remember them doing that. But they had done a lot of bad things. His brothers, Bliss, and two other mangy mutts who had run with them for a while.
“Hello,” he called.
A slight movement as one of the windows was hoisted up. Then a voice rang out through the clear morning air. “Get away from here. You will not steal from me again.”
“No. I’m not here to steal from you. I want to come and repair the damage we caused.”
“Right. I wasn’t born yesterday. Where’s the other one? Skulking around somewhere?”
“I’m alone,” he said, holding up his hands. “I only want to talk to you.”
“Stop right there. Turn around and get off my property.”
“I’m not here for anything else. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I’d like to repair the damage.” He took a few more steps forward, needing to get the woman to understand why he was here.
“I told you to leave.”
“Let me just have a look at the damage, then I’ll come back later with my brother and some materials.”
“You and your brother have done enough. Get off my property.”
“Please. Five minutes of your time.”
He only heard the crack of the gun after the pain flared in his shoulder. By then it was too late to try to dodge the bullet.
Chapter Two - Kira
“I think I killed him.” Fara stood looking down at the motionless body on the ground.
Kira got out of her truck and walked over to where the old woman stood, shotgun still in hand, staring down at the bloodied body. “I’ve told you not to use that gun.”
“And what was I supposed to do? He was coming here to rob me again. Twice they’ve been back before; well, I’ll not let him steal my things a third time.”
“Was he alone?” She had reached Fara now and looked down at the man crumpled on the ground, blood seeping from a wound in his shoulder. A strange feeling came over her; she felt light-headed and faint and she didn’t know why. Blood didn’t usually affect her, and Fara had done a good job of stemming it anyway: there was little to see. Yet she had to take deep breaths and concentrate on keeping her feet firmly under her, or else she would be a crumpled mess too.
“Others must have been skulking out the back, run off when they heard the gunshot. I only wanted to deter them.”
“Looks like you’ve done that, all right. You sure it’s the same man?” she asked Fara.
“Oh, yes. Saw this one the first night. Not the second time, I’ll admit that, but the second time it was the same group. I recognised the voice of the one, he sounded odd ... creepy, you know. Made my skin crawl.”
“Right. Well, let’s get this guy into my truck, and I guess I’ll take him into town.”
Fara knelt beside Kira, her face stricken. “You can’t! How am I going to explain to the sheriff that I shot a man?”
“We don’t need to tell the sheriff. I’m going to take him to the hospital; no one else needs to know what happened.” Kira had no intention of going anywhere near the sheriff of Wolf Valley. Perhaps taking him to Bear Bluff might be a better idea, but it would raise more questions from the sheriff there. She was a wolf, and they didn’t cross boundaries if they could help it. Not with the way things were.
“Have you seen that sheriff of ours? He knows everything, spies everywhere. He’s more likely going to charge me with murder, and let this guy go free. Gone are the days when the law helps the helpless.”
Kira had never thought of Fara as helpless, but she understood her concerns only too well. “He can’t charge you with murder; you have to actually kill someone for that.” She placed her hand on the fallen guy's neck, searching for a pulse. Immediately she pulled back from him.
“You OK, Kira? You look pale. Is he dead?” Fara’s face creased up some more, if that was even possible. The old woman was worried and Kira wasn’t helping matters, but she didn’t know what had come over her.
“I’m fine. I just feel a little off. Maybe it’s the blood.”
“Or something else,” Fara said, her expression perceptive.
“What do you mean, something else?” Kira looked down at the guy in front of her. He was handsome, that was for sure, big muscles, just right for manual work, yet he had a look about him: he was intelligent too. She longed for him open his eyes so she could see what colour they were; she hoped they were the same colour as his hair, dark brown with amber flecks. “Oh!” She shook her head. “Oh no.”
Fara cackled, her mood lightening. “Well, if ever a man needed taming, this is him. You have your work cut out for you, lady.”
“No. Look, I’ll just take him and dump him somewhere.” She straightened up, not sure where those words had come from. She was one of the most compassionate people she knew, too compassionate. But she didn’t want him and didn’t want a mate. Not if that mate was bad news.
“And dump your heart right with it,” Fara said, her voice now kind, reassuring. “He just needs a good woman, and you are that, my lovely.”
“You can’t be sure he’s my mate.” Kira looked down at the unconscious figure. But she could, by the way her touch had caused electricity to crackle between them. Her mom had described the very same thing to her. Years ago, she told Kira of the first time she touched the hand of Kira’s father; there had been that strong pulse of static electricity. Recognition. That was how her mom had described it: two people fated to be together recognising each other on a different level. A place where their souls met and knew what they were to each other.
It sounded so romantic to a young and impressionable teenager, whose head was filled with all these notions of Prince Charming and happy-ever-afters. But this man took all those dreams away. He was no Prince Charming, he was a thief; and her happy-ever-after seemed to disappear like a morning mist.
Her life was going to be filled with keeping track of him and making sure he stayed out of trouble.
“Oh, nuts.”
Behind her Fara laughed, placing her hands on her knees as she took deep breaths to contain herself. “He couldn’t have picked a better woman if he’d tried.”
And I couldn’t have picked a worse man. “OK. Now you have that out of your system, we still have to decide exactly what we are going to do with him,” Kira rounded on Fara, who was still wiping tears from her eyes. “You did shoot a man.”
“Oh, yeah. But now he’s yours, at least I won’t have to worry about him pressing charges or anything.” She stood up straight, seeing Kira’s anguished look. “OK, honey. You’re a good girl, I get that. So listen, if you really don’t want him, you could make yourself scarce. I’ll ring that no-good sheriff, and he can take us both into town. Guess he might arrest this mutt and then you won’t ever have to see him again.”
Kira looked down at the ground, her eyes straying to the long, shoulder-length hair of her mate. The fullness of his lips called to hers. She couldn’t do it. She had always been a soft touch—a kind heart, that was how Fara put it. A doormat would be a more appropriate description. If she had been harder, things might have gone differently.
But you couldn’t change your character just like that. Kira gave in to her need to help Fara. “Damn it. Help me get him in the truck.” She turned to Fara. “And I’m doing this for you. I know you wouldn’t last five minutes in a prison.”
Fara’s life had been hard enough. Taking over the family farm had been her dream, but she had always expected to have a man to help her. But no mate had ever shown up, and so she had toiled for long days on her own. When
she had been younger, it hadn’t been too hard, but as she got older, the farm had slowly begun to slide into disrepair. The attacks she had endured by the raiders had just quickened the downturn. With the barn gone, it was impossible to see how she and her livestock would survive the winter.
However, nothing ever stopped her seeing the funny side of life. And her eyes still shone with amusement at Kira’s predicament.
“The wound isn’t life-threatening. I think you just grazed him,” Kira said, thinking she had better show some concern and check the guy over before they moved him. “I’m surprised he’s remained unconscious so long.”
“Might be the crack over the head I gave him,” Fara said.
Kira turned to look at Fara, appalled. “And you never thought to mention that before?”
“Didn’t seem too important. Fella’s got a hard-enough head.”
Kira knelt back down and steeled herself for the shock of touching her mate again. Thankfully, the current wasn’t so strong; maybe it wore off after a while, that was one blessing. She hated to think she would be plagued by this almost continuous assault on her senses. She just wanted to forget he was hers.
Probing his skull with gentle fingertips, she assessed the damage. There was no swelling, and only a little cut where Fara had hit him. The best thing would be to get him in the truck and take him home. There she could nurse his wounds properly. If there was one thing she wouldn’t find in Fara’s house, it was a decent first-aid kit.
And this was going to need more than a Band-Aid.
“I’ll take his upper body, you take his legs, OK?” Kira asked, putting her hands under his arms and lifting him. He was heavy, and she was grateful he was not carrying an ounce of extra fat on his body. If he had been, the two women would not have been able to lift him.
“Damn fine body on him,” Fara said approvingly. “You two are going to have some fun in the sack.”
She nearly dropped him to the floor at Fara’s words. “That is not happening.”
Reclaim the Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Wolf Valley Raiders Book 3) Page 1