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Published By: The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC,
400 Gilead Road, #1617, Huntersville, NC 28070
www.hartwoodpublishing.com
Betrayed
Copyright © 2014 by Becca Jameson
Digital Release: October 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62916-078-8
Cover Artist: James Caldwell
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Betrayed by becca jameson
Heather Peters is recovering from her recent kidnapping at the sprawling Spencer ranch in northwest Texas. After witnessing more in the last few weeks than anyone should see in a lifetime, she needs the relaxation the Spencers and their ranch provide while applying for nursing jobs all over the country.
Marcus Cunningham is hovering on the edge of the Spencer ranch, watching closely to ensure the place is indeed a refuge where he might find peace from his family, the leaders of the Romulus, a subversive shifter organization run by his grandfather.
When Heather is bitten by a rattlesnake and goes down hard right before Marcus’s eyes, he has a moral obligation to approach and ensure the woman is okay. Not only is she in danger, but she’s his mate.
As events unfold, Marcus must face his mate and the Spencers with the information that will implicate his grandfather and cause a necessary battle between shifters battling to preserve their way of life, the North American Reserves, and rogue criminals, the Romulus. The future of all shifters depends on Marcus’s skill and knowledge.
Dedication
To my editor, Lisa Dugan, who slapped me silly pointing out the “plot holes you could drive a pickup truck through” on this one. The rewriting was arduous, but the finished product is much better as a result of her input and countless hours of brainstorming!
Chapter One
“I don’t like it, Dad. He’s my only child.”
Shit. Marcus had stepped onto his parents’ front porch seconds before he heard his mother’s voice. Just his luck it was warm enough out today to leave the front door open and let the breeze blow in through the screen door.
And thank God, because the last person on earth Marcus wanted to face was dear old Granddad, Melvin Cunningham.
“That’s entirely the point, Lora. You’re my only child also. Which makes Marcus the only person alive capable of carrying on the family genes.”
Marcus cringed. He hated the way his grandfather spoke to his mother. He’d never treated her like an adult. And keeping with tradition, his father treated her no differently.
As if on cue, his father spoke next. “Listen to him, Lora. He knows what he’s talking about.”
Great. They were all gathered in the living room discussing his future, or what they expected to make of it, without his input. Figured.
His grandfather cleared his throat and continued. “Carl’s right. Things have changed. Medical research has made drastic improvements in the last two years. My people have isolated specific chromosomes that make up our DNA and give us the ability to shift. Do you know what that means?”
His mother must have shaken her head because he didn’t hear anything from her before his grandfather continued. He could picture her staring wearily at her father. He’d seen the look many times. It hadn’t done him any good growing up, however. She’d never had the balls to actually stand up for Marcus and keep his father and grandfather from tampering with him.
As a kid he’d spent summers at military camps with other shifters. His grandfather had encouraged his mother to “toughen him up.”
In his late teens he’d felt like a guinea pig when his grandfather had shown up with a vial of some horrific substance he insisted would make Marcus stronger. “You’re far too scrawny,” he said. “This will beef you up, boy.”
Marcus hated the drug and the subsequent series of medicines he’d been given over the next several years. Nothing had made him stronger except time. The pile of drugs had only altered his state of mind and infuriated him.
“It means we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough. It means everything to our species, Lora.”
“What do you have in mind, Dad?” Marcus’s father spoke now. He’d never had a good relationship with his own father and called Marcus’s grandfather Dad for as long as Marcus could remember.
“I’ll need to bring him in to our facility in Minnesota. After a bit of testing, he should easily be a candidate for gene therapy.”
“Dad, he’s a grown man. Twenty-six years old,” his mother protested. “You can’t haul him off to Minnesota for medical research. He’d never agree to it.”
“He doesn’t have to, Lora. No one mentioned anything about agreement.” His father’s voice was cold. Calculated.
Marcus cringed. They have to be kidding.
He’d known his parents were involved in something less than stellar for a long time, but he’d never expected this.
His mother was right. He was no child now. He was a grown man. He’d been significantly shaped by his strange childhood. Even though he’d been small as a boy, he learned to fight. He learned to use weapons. He took what he learned at military camp and applied it in positive ways. He was never what his grandfather had hoped, but he became a stronger, more self-sufficient adult as a result of his training.
“The drugs you gave him over a year ago didn’t work correctly. You said so yourself. And you nearly caused us undue embarrassment at The Gathering by encouraging him to mate with more than one woman. I don’t know how we will be able to show our faces at the next Gathering. The Davises must be furious,” his mother said.
His father fielded that one. “Lora, nobody cares about the damn Gathering.”
“Those are our friends, Carl. The people we’ve enjoyed the company of our entire adult lives.”
“Those relationships are trite, Lora,” his grandfather said. “I don’t give a shit about those pansy-assed, lower-class shifters.”
His mother gasped so loud, Marcus could hear her. He held his breath, not daring to move a muscle.
His stomach clenched thinking about Kathleen and Mackenzie Davis, the two sisters his grandfather encouraged him to mate with at The Gathering last year. Every day he struggled to block the weekend out of his mind.
“Listen to me, Lora.” Granddad’s voice rose. “Those damn gatherings are over. We’re about to go to war. Don’t you realize that?”
“Why would we do that? Against whom?”
“It’s a wolf-eat-wolf world now, girl. Survival of the fittest. Last week those bastards snatched twelve women from their mates and stole them away to the Spencer Ranch in Texas. Did you know that? Our people must mobilize.”
“What are you talking about? ‘Our people.’ What does that mean? We’re all shifters. There isn’t a them and an us.”
“There is now,” his father said. “And we’re going to be on the winning
side of this battle, Lora. I intend to fight for our survival as a species. I have to agree with your father. And Marcus needs to man up and do his duty for our side. If those bastards want a war, they’ll have it.”
“What bastards? Who are you talking about?” she asked.
His grandfather cackled maniacally. “Anyone working for The Head Council.” The man sounded exasperated. “Listen to your husband, Lora. This is war. Marcus is strong. He works in construction. He’s an asset to our team. Even with his limited military experience, he’s got what it takes now that he’s fully grown. I need him.”
Military? Even after ten summers at military camp, Marcus had never considered joining any armed forces. The primary branch of military for shifters was called NAR, North American Reserves. They were under the jurisdiction of The Head Council. However, except for occasionally hearing about the organization, Marcus knew very little about them. They weren’t the group he’d trained under. The camps Marcus had been sent to as a child had been private.
And he could see why now. Apparently his grandfather and his father were opposed to The Head Council. No wonder some of the tactics he’d learned at those military camps had seemed excessive.
Had his grandfather been grooming him all those years? Had he been training with a secret subversive force?
Marcus closed his eyes. He felt sick to his stomach.
His mother gasped. “Just because he’s strong doesn’t mean you have the right to shuffle him off to some medical facility for experimental drug treatment.”
“It means exactly that. After he got out of his teens, when I thought he’d end up scrawny and weak, he’s made up for it in spades in recent years. Precisely the sort of man we need on our team.”
Marcus cringed again at his grandfather’s insistence. The last thing he wanted to do was join dear old Granddad at some strange medical facility in Minnesota.
With the exception of the nasty interlude at The Gathering last spring, he’d been living his own life for over six years. It had taken him a while as a teenager to realize he didn’t want to take anything his parents or grandfather prescribed, but eventually he’d started hiding the pills anywhere he could and pretending to do as they requested.
Instead of bulking up with drugs, he’d worked out. Hard. The physique he had today was thanks to his own hard labor, not some steroid or mind-altering drug.
The Gathering had been an exception out of his control. His grandfather had cornered him and jabbed a needle into his thigh before he could protest. The entire weekend had been a series of stupid actions while he’d been under the suggestive drugged state. He’d been horny as hell, his cock rigid for forty-eight hours. So when Granddad pointed out first one woman and then another as his mate, he’d easily succumbed to temptation.
He’d known something was off, but he’d been helpless to stop the madness. And two sisters had suffered under his ruthless insistence. Nothing could erase the memory and the guilt. Since that weekend, he hadn’t dated anyone, human or shifter.
He forced himself to concentrate on his grandfather’s words instead of lamenting the past. “Get in the game, Lora. You’re either with us or you’re against us. Those damn law-abiding rule followers are in for a rude awakening when they find out what we’re capable of. We hadn’t intended to mobilize so quickly, but the Romulus is ready. And we’ve been backed up against a wall with this mass kidnapping.”
Who the fuck is the Romulus? He’d never heard of them.
“Are you trying to tell me the Spencers actually kidnapped a dozen women against their will? I can’t believe that. I’ve known Natalie and Jerome for years. They’re the kindest people I’ve ever met.” His mother’s voice faded as she spoke. She must have turned away or lowered her voice.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Well, not the Spencers themselves. They’re just harboring the women. But we’re moving in and will beat them at their own game in no time.”
“You intend to fight them? On their property?” Her voice trembled.
“Yes. And I expect you to keep your trap shut and get your mind in the right place,” Granddad said. His threat was clear.
Marcus cringed as he pictured his mother cowering in front of her father. Bile rose in his throat.
“Melvin has created a superwolf, Lora. Unstoppable.” His father’s words were filled with pride as though he were discussing some educational accomplishment rather than some strange subversive military coup planned by his grandfather. What were they called? The Romulus? Marcus’s spine stiffened as he pondered what a superwolf might be.
“What’s a superwolf? Why?” his mother asked, voicing Marcus’s exact thoughts.
Melvin spoke again. “They’re larger and stronger than the average shifter. Lora, I’m tired of taking orders from others. I’m sick of living in hiding. We’ve lived below the radar as a species for centuries. I have the financial backing now to make this possible. There are humans in high places who know about us. They’re helping me. In return, I’ll assist them.”
Whatever the fuck his grandfather had planned, the details made Marcus go pale. His body shook with rage. He needed to get out of there, and fast. The last thing he wanted to do was to get caught and hauled into this mess.
How he’d lived twenty-six years oblivious to all this shit was beyond him, but he didn’t have to live another minute on the wrong side of justice knowing what he now knew.
“Where’s Marcus now?” his grandfather asked.
“Probably on his way over. I invited him for dinner,” his mother said.
Thank God he’d gotten off work earlier than expected and come straight to his parents’ home. He hated to think what might have happened if he’d been ten minutes too late for this powwow.
“Then I’ll wait. We’ll either convince him to come in, or take him against his will if need be.”
Marcus eased away from his spot against the outside wall. He prayed not a single board in the porch squeaked to give him away as he inched toward the side railing. He didn’t dare go back down the front steps. With one hand on the banister, he leaped over the top and landed firmly on the ground. Seconds later he was running into the woods behind his parents’ house.
He couldn’t take the chance of going home. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to take anything with him anyway. He wasn’t going to take a casual drive in his car to escape. The only option he had was to shift and go completely under the radar. Rogue.
He managed to dash more than a mile into the trees before he paused to shed his clothes and shift. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to easily figure out he’d run by encountering his clothing. He found a dip in the ground, buried everything he had, and covered it with debris and leaves. Over the years he’d run in these woods so many times, there was no way anyone would be able to track him. His scent was everywhere.
Shifting was quick and easy, and then he was on the move.
He lamented the loss of the life he’d built for himself over the last few years. His job as a contractor would quickly be snatched up by someone else when he didn’t show up for work. It couldn’t be helped.
Marcus was a grown man. No drugs had been in his system for six years, with the exception of that one weekend. He’d worked hard to build his life the way he wanted it, giving everything he had physically and emotionally to overcome his weird childhood. And he wasn’t about to lose the ground he’d gained. Not even for family. Not for anybody.
He ran. Hard. His destination easy.
Texas.
Like his mother, Marcus would never believe the Spencers had anything to do with the kidnapping or harboring of anyone. His best option now was to go see for himself.
•●•
Spencer Ranch, three weeks later…
Heather heard the rattle only a second before she felt the stinging bite of small teeth entering her ankle. She yelped and jumped, but it was too late. Instant pain ran up her leg and froze her in her spot. “Fuck.” She didn’t dare move as she watc
hed the venomous diamondback slither away.
Tears filled her eyes. She lifted her gaze toward the main ranch house. She was too far away to make it to the house. In fact, her leg hurt worse than any pain she’d ever experienced, and she lowered herself to her knees as the pain increased. As a human, the clock was ticking.
Heather shook her head. She needed to think. She gritted her teeth and then screamed. No one heard her. Why had she wandered so far from the corral and barn alone? She sat hard on her ass and grabbed her leg with both hands as though squeezing her calf would alleviate the searing pain.
Her eyes watered, blurring her vision. But she could see enough to watch her ankle swell rapidly around the two puncture wounds. “Dammit,” she muttered.
Heather was a nurse. She needed to take a deep breath and calm herself. Think. Her life depended on it.
Her chest seized with fear. She could literally die right here on the ground. And who knew how long it would take for the Spencers to find her?
Heather flattened to the dirt. It wasn't a conscious choice. She was growing woozy. She bit down against the searing pain, curled onto her side, and grabbed her ankle with both hands.
Her ponytail whipped across her face, obscuring her vision, but she couldn't care enough to brush the locks away. Tears escaped to run down her cheeks, and she bit the inside of her lip to keep from screaming as she struggled against the burn in her leg and blinked back the dirt in her eyes. All she could see through the curtain of thick hair was the tall brush in which she lay hidden.
She tried to steady her breathing. Suddenly she had a moment of clarity. Shift. You must shift. It’s the only way.
Dragging the last bit of energy she could manage, Heather called forth the shift. It took longer than usual, but she managed. Several seconds later she lay panting on the ground in wolf form, her clothes in tattered shreds around her. Her leg still hurt like a mother, but at least she wouldn’t likely die.
As a wolf, she would heal faster. Her body was less likely to shut down from the venom.
Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6) Page 1