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The actions of a wolf shifter gone rogue forces Ben Maxwell, the alpha of the Catskill Mountain wolf pack, to act on a vision of his mate quicker than he’d planned. He discovers that she’ll be at an aerial acrobat performance several days before Halloween, which also coincides with the blue moon. Unable to attend himself, he sends his best friends and betas, Adam and Devon, to seek Sandy out. He knows he’ll be sharing her with them and trusts them to care for her in his stead.
But Sandy is a human, and finding out that not only are shifters real, but that she’s mated to not just one, but three of them, is a lot to take in. Can Ben and his betas convince her to accept her place at their side before the pheromones caused by a blue moon on Halloween draws every shifter in the area to her door, including the rogue wolf that would rather see her dead than in the arms of anyone else?
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Blue Moon Mating
Copyright © 2011 Charlie Richards
ISBN: 978-1-55487-019-8
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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Blue Moon Mating
By
Charlie Richards
To the readers. Without your support, enthusiasm and kind words, I wouldn’t have the heart to keep allowing my imagination free reign. Thank you for giving me a reason.
Chapter One
The knock on the door drew Ben out of his thoughts. With relief, he dismissed the memory of the visions that had been plaguing him every night for the last week. He could dwell on them later. Looking up from where he’d been staring blankly at the screen of his desktop, he took a deep breath and smiled. “Enter, Devon.”
The door opened, revealing a six foot muscular blond. Devon entered, ducking his head in submission before closing the door. Ben rose and grinned. He knew he’d have to tell his beta about the visions soon, but not now. He motioned the man forward and Devon obeyed. It was then that Ben scented what he’d missed through the door, the man’s tension and anxiety. Something must have seriously rattled his normally calm beta for him to be this upset.
He wrapped his arms around his friend, rubbing his cheek against the other man’s, offering him support and comfort as only a shifter could. He’d never understood why humans kept their distance from each other. Touch was such a powerful way to reassure those around you. He kept his voice soothing. “What’s wrong?”
The slightly shorter man melted into him, accepting the support and comfort Ben offered. Seconds later, Devon pulled away and frowned. “Roger started an uninitiated change. A group of humans were hiking in the forest and he bit one.”
Ben shook his head. They’d had trouble with Roger for a while. The shifter didn’t seem to be able to control his wolf’s aggressive tendencies, especially while out hunting. After several close calls, they no longer let him go out alone. “It takes more than just one bite to change someone who isn’t a mate. What makes you think the human will change? What happened?”
“Roger went running with Adam and Cody,” Devon started.
Nodding encouragingly to the frustrated man, Ben urged him to continue. As Ben’s second beta, Adam often ran with adolescents who had trouble controlling their shift. He’d probably looked forward to an outing with adults. Cody was Roger’s older brother and often felt responsible for his brother’s mistakes. Ben knew something must have gone horribly wrong for Roger to be able to get near a human while out with the two watchful wolves.
“They were stalking a deer together when Roger took off. Adam didn’t realize it until he flushed the deer to where Roger was supposed to be waiting, and he wasn’t there. He and Cody tracked the wolf, but it was too late.” Devon ran a hand through his short hair, dropping his gaze. “Adam saw Roger try to attack a small woman. A man stepped in the way to save her, and Roger bit the human at least four times before Adam and Cody tackled him and dragged him into the woods.”
Damn. Four or more times? If the bites were deep, that could definitely initiate a change in the human’s DNA. “Where are Adam and the brothers now?” he asked, heading toward the door.
Before his eyes, Ben watched the man straighten and again take on the persona of his strong second-in-command. Devon’s ability to shift gears effortlessly was one of the reasons Ben depended on him so much, sure he didn’t mind comfort in privacy, but out among the pack, he was the one other shifters came to for help.
“Adam grabbed his ranger’s uniform and took off to help the human, and find out who he is,” he explained, following out of the office. “Cody is keeping Roger under wraps at the bachelor house until you come.”
Lifting his gaze to the ceiling, Ben growled, “This is the last straw, Devon. That damn shifter has pushed too far this time.”
He led the way out of his house and down the path between pack homes. His pack almost appeared to be a tiny village tucked among the pines of the Catskill Mountains, with two large community homes, one for unmated males and one for unmated females over the age of eighteen, and nearly a dozen small cottage-like homes for mated pairs.
As the pack leader, the downstairs of his manor-home was open to all pack members, and housed visitors from other packs. Half the bottom floor consisted of a large common room where pack gatherings were held when the weather was bad and they couldn’t use the clearing out back. The other half consisted of a kitchen, dining room, and four guest bedrooms and bathrooms.
He shared the upstairs with his betas, and it was off limits, except by invitation. They each had their own suite of rooms, including a bedroom, bathroom, study, and living area. They shared a media room. He wondered how it would change when he and his betas claimed their mate. He knew the woman he dreamed about would be the mate of his betas as well as his own. That’s the way a fated mate worked. His own parents, deceased now, were proof of that. Biting back a sigh, he refocused on the task at hand and increased his pace.
Ben’s well-muscled, six-foot-three-inch body ate up the ground between houses, Devon flanking him. A few minutes later he climbed the steps to the male shifters’ barracks. Men halted in their games of pool and darts to watch his progress across the room. He nodded and waved at them, giving them leave to resume their play. Cody appeared at the entrance of one of the halls, ducking his head in submission. Ben rested a hand on the back of the wolf shifter’s neck for several seconds before releasing him. He knew it was a bit formal, but under the circumstances, he also knew it was necessary.
“Your brother’s mistakes are not your responsibility,” he said, pulling the man into a quick embrace, sharing his scent and assuring his fellow wolf that he was still welcome in the pack. Releasing him, he led the way down the hall. “He may be the younger brother, but he is still an adult.”
“If I had stopped him from being taken,” Cody murmured.
“There was not
hing anyone could have done last year. Your brother knew better than to stray into the cougar pride’s territory, and the members involved in tying him up and leaving him stranded were punished by their alpha once he found out. We both know he’s been using that incident as an excuse to get away with the crap he’s pulling now. This is on your brother, now, Cody,” Ben said sternly.
Cody nodded, but Ben knew he still blamed himself for the incident. Roger had known their pack boundaries and had deliberately crossed them. Ben knew it wasn’t the first time he’d done it either. The younger brother had been a troublemaker since puberty. Ben felt more inclined to believe that Roger used his incident of capture as an excuse to stir up trouble. He’d only been captured for eight hours. He hadn’t even been beaten, just tied up, blindfolded, and left alone, which could definitely be considered a form of torture for their kind, which relied on touch and scent to reassure each other.
Pushing the incident from his mind, he returned his focus to Cody. “Where is he?”
“In his room. He says he feels terrible for what he did.”
“I’m sure,” Ben replied dryly. If only he believed the man’s words. There had been too many incidences of violence, but this had been the first against a human. In the past he’d attacked other pack members, always under the guise of challenging the other wolf for position in the pack. Ben just didn’t know what to do with the wolf.
They stopped outside a door, and Cody knocked. When he didn’t receive a response, he glanced nervously at Ben. A niggling suspicion took hold in Ben’s brain, and he inhaled deeply. “Shit!” he snarled, before pushing the other wolf aside and opening the door.
It was empty.
Ben crossed to the open window, shucking his clothes as he went, and peered out into the forest. “If he comes back, you know what to do, Devon.”
“Yes, Alpha,” his beta answered quickly.
Ben put his hands on the windowsill and leaped out. His body shifted and popped, turning wolf before he hit the ground. He lowered his nose to the ground, catching the scent of Roger in wolf form. He took off after the other shifter. He felt more than saw the two wolves who instantly flanked him. Kiall and Peter were enforcers for his pack, and when his betas weren’t available to watch his back, the men instantly seemed to appear. The seamless inner workings of his pack made him proud. Now if he could just get this one wolf in line, things would be perfect. Then he could deal with his visions.
Focusing on the problem at hand, he and his enforcers tracked Roger through fields, across streams, and in and out of gullies. Nearly three hours later, Ben admitted defeat, shifting and staring around the clearing where he’d stopped. His enforcers did the same.
“It looks like he had a truck hidden, Alpha,” Kiall commented, showing where branches had been broken and faint tire tracks marred the grass.
Ben nodded. “It looks that way,” he growled irritably. “I need one of you to follow those tracks. See if you can figure out where they go.” He knew it was a long shot, but the fact that one of his wolves had gone rogue pissed him off. He had to grasp at straws.
Peter stepped forward. “I’ll go. Kiall’s busy tonight,” he said with a wink.
Kiall blushed, and Ben couldn’t stop his grin. He grabbed the man, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “Got a date, my friend?” he teased.
“Yeah.”
From his enforcer’s tension, he wondered. His brows lifted. “Is it serious?”
Ducking his head, Kiall gave a quick nod. “I think she may be my mate,” he admitted.
Ben grinned. “That’s wonderful!” He gave the man’s shoulders another squeeze. “Let’s get you back home to prepare then.” Turning to Peter, his smile faded. “You’ll give me a report as soon as you’re back, regardless of the time.” It wasn’t a request.
“Yes, Alpha. I’ll report in as soon as possible,” Peter confirmed.
Nodding, Ben gripped his enforcer’s neck in a show of support before releasing him and again calling on his wolf. Seconds later, he ran toward home. Another two hours found him shifting on his back deck. He waved at Kiall’s wolf before entering the sliding glass doors to the common room and grabbing a pair of sweats, quickly pulling them on.
He strode through the house, following his nose. He found Devon in the kitchen pulling a turkey casserole out of the oven. Ben’s stomach growled, reminding him of how long it had been since he’d eaten and how much energy it took to shift several times.
The look on his face and frustrated scent told Devon of the fruitlessness of his search even before speaking. “What happened?” the other shifter asked.
“We tracked him for nearly three hours. His scent stopped at a service road. From the broken branches and tracks in the grass, it looks like he’d tucked a truck there.” He crossed his arms over his bare chest and leaned against the table. “He must have planned this, but why? To what purpose?”
“To undermine your authority,” Devon replied quickly, shrugging. “What else? He’s been trying to piss you off with one stunt after another for years. We both know he used the excuse of being caught by members of the cougar pride as a cover for his recent blatant brutality. He’s been causing mischief since he was old enough to shift.”
Ben nodded. “I agree. What I don’t understand is why?”
“Uh, greed? Desire for power? Stupidity?” Devon grinned and shrugged again. “It doesn’t matter why. The fact is the little shit has had it out for you for eight years. You’re far more patient and tolerant than I would have been.”
“It’s going to hurt Cody, but after today’s actions, there’s no way I can continue to stand by and do little more than slap Roger on the wrist.” Ben shook his head, grimacing. “He’ll have to be dealt with!”
Devon crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Ben. It wasn’t often he had to take comfort from his betas, normally he was the one who gave it, but his betas always seemed to know when it was needed. Rubbing his cheek against his beta’s neck, he reveled in the release of calming endorphins the movement created. Ben sighed, enjoying the relaxed state as Devon pulled away. “Adam and I have your back. You know that.”
Ben had never doubted that for a second, and told his friend so.
Devon grinned. “Good.” He turned back to the food he’d pulled out of the oven and set it on a cooling rack.
Cocking his head, he watched his beta pull out frozen corn and set it on the stove to heat. “When is Adam due back? And why are you cooking?”
“I find it relaxing,” Devon admitted.
“Huh,” Ben muttered. Now that he thought about it, every time he soothed Devon, later he found him in the kitchen cooking. “Why didn’t I know that sooner?”
His beta grinned. “You have other things to worry about, Ben,” he said.
The man using his name made him smile. Damn, it’d been a long time since his friend used his name. He missed it. They’d been friends for so long, growing up together as cubs, learning to shift together, school and college together. He’d tried so hard to get them to call him his name when he first became alpha. Whenever he asked, they just grinned and shook their heads. It wasn’t unless they were alone, completely alone, that they occasionally slipped.
“You should do that more often,” he whispered.
“What’s that, Ben?” Devon teased. Ben snorted, knowing they both knew exactly of what they spoke. After a wink, his beta continued, “Adam called a little while ago. He should be back in,” he glanced at the clock over the stove, “fifteen minutes.”
“He’s early,” said a tired voice from the doorway.
Ben took in the fatigue lines around his beta’s eyes and crossed to him. “You’ve had a busy day,” he muttered, giving the man a soothing hug. “Want to tell me about it over dinner? Devon made a casserole.”
Inhaling deeply, Adam groaned. “Oh, hell, yeah. That smells delicious.” Adam crossed to the dining room and dropped into a seat. He tossed his ranger jacket onto the
seat next to him and let out a low sigh.
Grinning, Ben set a beer in front of him and Adam took a grateful swig. “Damn, that’s good.”
“This will be better,” Devon stated, thunking the casserole dish in front of Adam.
Adam groaned. “Where’s my plate?”
Ben held it out, quickly retracting it when Adam reached for it. The beta glared. “What happed at the hospital?” He grimaced sympathetically at his friend’s strained look. When the man met his eyes, Ben shrugged. He was the alpha. He wanted information. So sue him.
Adam motioned for the plate, and Ben gave it to him. “His name is Lonnie Bowler,” Adam said, watching Devon pile his plate high with turkey casserole, corn, and garlic bread. “He’s an accountant with a small local firm in Delhi. He was released from the hospital after getting eighty-seven stitches.”
Ben watched his betas exchange a look and he glanced between his two trusted friends. Where Devon stood six feet tall and sported wiry, sleek muscles, Adam was two inches shorter, thicker, and more compact. The two men made quite a contrast, with Devon keeping his white-blond hair almost short enough to be called a military cut, and Adam allowing his dark hair to grow long and keeping it tied in a thick ponytail that nearly hit his butt. Their wolves ended up about the same size due to Adam’s extra muscles. Devon was a quick, wily fighter, while Adam could use brute strength to subdue others. Devon preferred to keep quiet and observe others around him and was known as a peacekeeper. Adam was a people person, friendly and outgoing, always in the thick of things.
As far as betas went, they were different as night and day, except for one thing, their loyalty to Ben. Ben couldn’t express the gratefulness he felt for the two men, which made what he had to tell them this evening even more difficult. He’d had a vision about their mate, their human mate.