Shy River Pack 3
A Guardian’s Awakening
Brought together by an infected wolf’s bite…
Gavin Campbell was looking for his missing sister, so he didn’t expect to find an injured woman or run into two werewolves willing to save her life. But after giving Hensen Bright and Kade Ridges permission to make Maggie Johnson a werewolf he couldn’t just abandon the woman. Staying close had nothing to do with his need to understand three people who had him questioning everything he thought he knew about love. At least that’s what he told himself.
Hensen thought he had fifty more years before domestic drudgery caught up with him, but fate delivered a huge smack upside the head. Three mates! Can Maggie, Kade, and Gavin forgive him for his previously dismissive attitude?
But as they struggle to build their relationships, a mysterious illness is revealed, and Maggie is suddenly at risk of being euthanized. Pursued by their own pack mates, can Hensen, Kade, and Gavin keep Maggie alive long enough to find a cure?
Note: This book contains double vaginal penetration.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 43,482 words
A GUARDIAN’S AWAKENING
Shy River Pack 3
Rachel Clark
writing as
Bec Adams
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
A GUARDIAN’S AWAKENING
Copyright © 2013 by Bec Adams
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-322-1
First E-book Publication: August 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Prologue
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
About the Author
A GUARDIAN’S AWAKENING
Shy River Pack 3
BEC ADAMS
Copyright © 2013
Prologue
Eleven years ago…
Maggie Johnson fell.
That was what her obituary would say. Maggie Johnson fell. Nothing more. Why would it? She’d never done anything worth mentioning. She was seventeen and totally stupid.
Okay, so maybe she wasn’t totally stupid. She got good grades at school and all, but it took some serious stupidity to go hiking alone, without telling anyone where she was going. Throw in a bit of loose dirt, the wrong type of shoes, and a teenager who thought accidents only happened to other people and it was a recipe for disaster.
But probably more than the fact that she was liable to freeze overnight on her tiny, precarious perch on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, what really bothered her was the thought that she would never get a chance to apologize to her mom for all the nasty, selfish, teenage-cliché things she’d said.
Wallowing so deep in regret Maggie almost missed the stealthy maneuverings of a large brown wolf as it made its way across the cliff face, jumping ledge to ledge until it reached hers. She’d already screamed herself hoarse, so she barely managed a whimper as the brown wolf joined her on the tiny outcropping of dirt.
“Nice doggy.” The wolf tilted its head at her quiet plea and then moved closer, sniffing her as if he’d found something very tasty. It seemed that luck sure wasn’t on her side today. “Please don’t eat me,” she pleaded breathlessly. If she was going to die, she at least wanted her mom to know she was dead. Nothing would be crueler than her mom never knowing what happened to her.
The wolf’s ears swiveled toward her, but the way it made a soft “woofing” sound and then let its tongue hang from its mouth made her feel certain that it was laughing at her. It sure as hell looked happy. Fuck, it was probably viewing her in the same delighted way her best friend eyed pizza.
She rubbed a hand over her eyes, an ironic sort of despair weaving through her.
“I suppose if you do eat me, they’ll at least have something more interesting to put in my obituary,” The huge brown wolf simply continued to watch her steadily. “Just leave enough for them to identify me, okay?”
But instead of attacking, the wolf licked over the swollen and rapidly blackening bruise on her ankle. She’d never broken a bone before, but even with her teenage propensity for drama—yes, she could see her faults very clearly now thanks to her amazing ability to somehow grow up when faced with imminent demise—she was fairly certain her ankle was broken.
If the wolf had been a pet dog, she might have yelled at it to leave her alone, but this was not only a wild thing but also the biggest animal she’d ever seen. Maybe it was the small ledge skewing her perspective, but she could swear that the wolves at the zoo weren’t nearly as big as this one.
Nervously s
he tried to back away. Of course, it did little good. She was already wedged against the cliff face so she literally had nowhere to go. Well, except down. And that was something she truly didn’t want to try. She’d already made the mistake of looking over the edge. Hell, even if the wolf did decide she was dinner, she knew she wasn’t brave enough to willingly leap into that abyss.
She shivered as the sun dipped below the tree line. She wasn’t prepared to stay overnight. Hell, who was she kidding? She wasn’t prepared to be here at all. As usual she’d resisted change, given her mother all sorts of grief for dragging her camping with her and her new boyfriend, and then gone off in a snit. Some might even say she’d gotten what she deserved.
The wolf whined again, licked her face—so gross—and then shuffled his large furry body so that he was literally pressed against her. She would have sighed from the additional warmth if she hadn’t been so damn frightened. Knowing her luck he was just keeping her fresh until the rest of his pack arrived.
But as the hours ticked by and the wolf kept her warm, still showing no inclination to eat her or that he was waiting for backup, she finally closed her eyes and gave in to exhaustion.
Hours later she woke to full sunshine, thirsty, sore, thankfully still alive and about to be rescued.
But the wolf who’d saved her life was nowhere to be found.
Chapter One
Gavin Campbell was a man on a mission.
He marched into the building, quickly took note of all the things he no longer needed to take note of now that he was a civilian, and then headed to the counter.
“Hi,” he said to the skinny-looking guy who was nervously shuffling paperwork. “I’m looking for Suzanne Bailey.”
“Who?” the young man asked as if he’d never heard the name.
“Suzanne Bailey,” Gavin said slowly. “She works here.”
The man shook his head. “I don’t think so. I…um…I’ve been here for…uh…three months now, I think, and I’ve never heard the name.”
“Is there someone who’s worked here longer than that?” Gavin asked as dread started to pound through him. Suzanne’s home had been boarded up, the place obviously abandoned, so if she no longer worked here then he needed to find someone who knew what happened to her.
“Ah…I’ll just ch–check,” the young man said nervously. Gavin knew he could come off as intimidating at times, but he wasn’t about to start backing down now. If scaring people just a little got him some answers, then it was well worth it. The kid scurried from the counter and returned a moment later with a man who seemed to be in charge.
“Shane Jenkins,” the older man said extending his hand.
“Gavin Campbell,” he answered, dutifully shaking the guy’s hand. The man obviously wanted his name and Gavin wasn’t about to withhold it. If he didn’t find Suzanne soon, his name was going to be on everybody’s lips anyway. He’d tear the damn mountain down barehanded if that’s what it took.
“Steven says you’re looking for Suzanne Bailey.”
“That’s right,” Gavin said, trying not to show his impatience. At least this guy seemed to recognize her name. “Do you know where I can find her?”
“How do you know Suzanne?”
“I’m her brother,” he said trying to sound casual.
Both men gave him a look that clearly showed their disbelief.
“Half brother,” he added grudgingly.
“Look,” the older guy said as he rubbed the back of his neck, “ordinarily I’m not allowed to give out personal information about people who’ve worked here, but in Suzanne’s case we don’t actually know anything. She resigned suddenly about twelve months ago. She didn’t leave a forwarding address or discuss her next job so even if we were allowed to help you we wouldn’t be able to anyway.”
“Did she give a reason for resigning?”
“Nope, she came in with her fiancé one day and just resigned.”
“F–Fiancé?” Gavin asked reflexively, regretting the stuttered, shocked word almost immediately.
“Gavin, is it?” the older guy asked, even though it seemed pretty obvious that he hadn’t forgotten. “If your sister didn’t tell you she was changing jobs, didn’t contact you with a new address, and didn’t invite you to her wedding, maybe she doesn’t want you in her life. Maybe you should just go home and forget about visiting her.”
“Yeah,” Gavin said, deliberately giving the impression that he was going to give up looking for her. “I guess I spent too many years in the Navy. She probably got used to not having me around.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t help,” the older man said with a sympathetic frown.
“Me, too,” Gavin said as he forced a casual shrug and turned to leave the building.
* * * *
Hensen Bright deliberately ignored the delicious scent by turning and running in the other direction. Yes, it was cowardly. Hell, it probably put him in the realms of totally fucking stupid, but the last thing he needed or wanted was a mate.
He had plans. He didn’t want to be tied down to a mate and pups just yet. He was barely one hundred and four years old. He had a lot more living to do before settling into domestic drudgery.
Ironically it seemed he wasn’t the only one avoiding his mate. Whenever Hensen discovered the delicious scent, it was obvious the wolf was moving away from him just as fast as he was running in the other direction.
Thank fuck this assignment was going to be finished in a matter of days. It had taken far longer than planned, and with Gideon and Brigden tied down with their mate, Suzanne, it had taken even longer. He was happy for the three of them. It just wasn’t his idea of a good time.
He’d have to drop by occasionally for general system maintenance and retraining for a few years—at least until Dry Creek had a pack member with a better grasp on technology—but he could handle that. His relief that it was necessary had nothing to do with the idea of checking in on his mate from time to time.
His paws stumbled slightly as instinct warred with logic. His wolf side desperately wanted a glimpse of his mate, but as a man Hensen didn’t need to know what she looked like. The last thing he needed was her face flashing through his mind as he chased tail. There were plenty of pretty she-wolves happy to play. He had at least fifty more years of freedom, and he planned to enjoy every one.
Of course his wolf half whined pathetically as he forced himself to move further away. As soon as he was close enough to the Dry Creek pack he changed into his humanoid form and jogged back to his accommodations.
* * * *
Kade Ridges tried desperately to slow his rapid heartbeat as the other wolf finally turned and headed back the way he’d come.
That was too fucking close.
Kade had spent nearly seven months staying far enough away from Hensen Bright, avoiding what some would say was inevitable, to fail now.
Hell, just the thought of Hensen’s strong arms closing around him had his dick rock hard. He could close his eyes and almost feel the man slide deep inside his ass, the fucking desperate as Hensen rode him to orgasm and then claimed him for his own. He didn’t want to admit—even to himself—how many dreams he’d had of making love to the man he was deliberately avoiding.
But, his need for the other werewolf didn’t make any sense. Yes, it hurt to be rejected by a man who should have been eager to meet him, but Kade had found his mate a long time ago. She was human. She’d been very young the day they’d met, and she’d only known him in his wolf form, but for the past eleven years he’d held out hope that she would again visit his part of the mountain.
Crawling to the exit of the den he’d been hiding in, Kade sniffed the air, glad to confirm that Hensen was truly moving away. He waited several more minutes before leaving his hiding place and heading toward the cliff face where he’d found his true-mate this day so many years ago.
* * * *
Something was wrong. Gavin could feel it in his bones.
He’d spent days search
ing the Internet for details on people Suzanne had last worked with or had last seen. He’d tracked down and spoken to all of them except one. Jay Holks.
But it seemed Jay Holks didn’t exist. Oh, there were work records and birth records and all sorts of other interesting tidbits of information, but none of it quite added up. If Kade was still working black ops, he’d swear the guy was an undercover enemy operative. Jay Holks had disappeared around the same time Suzanne had mysteriously left for a happy new life with her supposed fiancé without telling anyone where she was moving to or what her plans were. It seemed too much of a coincidence.
What the hell had Suzanne gotten herself involved in?
* * * *
Maggie stood near the edge of the cliff that had almost claimed her life this day eleven years ago and lamented the addition of a safety rail. That concrete and metal construction marring the beautiful forest was her fault. It was understandable that the authorities wouldn’t want anyone else falling down there, but it was quite a way off the walking track. If Maggie had owned just a lick of sense back then she would never have been anywhere near the edge of such a dangerous fall.
She glanced around the area as she reached for her water bottle. Unlike her previous visit, this time she knew exactly what she was doing. Not only was she wearing the proper footwear and carrying a backpack full of supplies, she also carried a GPS locator, a satellite phone, and a first aid kit. And she’d advised several different people of her whereabouts and intentions.
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