by Cali MacKay
Greyson
Part One
The Silver Moon Pack Series
By Cali MacKay
Greyson
Part One
The Silver Moon Pack Series
By Cali MacKay
Copyright © 2015 by Cali MacKay
Published by Daeron Publishing
Http://calimackay.com
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher or author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The story contained within is the work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This story contains explicit sexual scenes and adult language and is only for readers over the age of 18.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2015, edition 1.0
ISBN: 978-1-940041-35-3
Table of Contents
Greyson
Part 1
Chapter One
Greyson knew he should have called the pack to let them know he’d finally come home—and yet he couldn’t. Not after the way he’d left. Besides, chances were good they already knew of his return, and were giving him a bit of much-needed space, knowing he’d find them when he was ready.
At the moment, he just wanted to get settled in at his cabin and enjoy the peace and quiet of the woods and the mountains. There’d be plenty of time for pack politics and rivalries, even if he wanted nothing to do with any of it. Unfortunately, he had a role to play, and no one was going to let him walk away from his position in the pack.
Luckily, he’d built his cabin on the outskirts of pack territory, and though that came with its own set of troubles, he was happy for the solitude it afforded him. He’d always been the odd man out—the lone wolf—and he was fine with that, even if others were trying to force a change. But all of that could wait until he’d had a chance to run the woods and shake off the city.
As the setting sun painted the huge sky red, Greyson grabbed a seat on his front porch with a cold beer in hand, taking a deep breath as the scent of pine and musty leaves was carried in on the brisk October air. Although he’d come back to visit for a few days here and there between jobs, it’d been a good four years since he’d come back to stay for any length of time.
Something had called him back, though. It’d nagged at him until the feel of this place, the mountains and streams, the wood fires and the full moons were all he could think of, and he found himself packing up his few belongings onto the back of his bike and taking the long road home to Wild Creek.
The wind shifted, bringing with it a new variety of scents. There was the pine and the leaves, but this time, there was more: the musky scent of a buck, wood smoke, and two unmistakable scents—that of a human woman and a bear. Greyson couldn’t help the growl that rumbled deep in his throat, nor could he stop or quiet the energy that coursed just under his skin, even though he could control the change—for now.
The woman was unfamiliar to him, but given that this territory was that of the Silver Moon wolf pack, and it bordered the lands belonging to a surly group of bears, whoever was wandering the woods this far into the wilderness was asking for trouble, especially when there was a bear on her trail, and everyone’s hackles were up with tensions between the shifter packs riding high.
He should just stay out of it, and yet…he couldn’t leave it alone. Fucking hell…he was already regretting this.
He quickly stripped naked, leaving his clothes in a discarded heap as his muscles tensed with the sharp pain of his change. The energy coursing through him felt like he’d been juiced with a thousand volts. His form shifted and changed until he’d shed his human form for that of his wilder half, his massive paws already hitting the ground in a mad run.
Everything was sharper now, more pronounced, allowing him to pick up on every scent, so he could see as if it were daylight, could hear even the slightest of sounds. He sprinted into the forest, winding effortlessly through the trees, heading in the direction of the woman’s screams and the bear’s growls when he caught the pungent scent of blood—and something more that still eluded him.
He burst into the clearing and immediately spotted her, the sight of her like nothing he’d ever seen before, even though she’d yet to see him, distracted as she was by the massive black bear that now lay dead before her, a massive mound of thick black fur.
Except that this wasn’t just any black bear—this was a shifter from the Black Ridge bear clan, and there would be hell to pay in retaliation and revenge. The woman standing before him was as good as dead.
She started to back away from the bear when her eyes landed on Greyson, who was still in wolf form, and went wide with disbelief as she shook her head no. Not that he could blame her. Stumbling across a bear and a wolf, minutes apart, would be a lot for most to handle—and the woman before him didn’t look like she had the foggiest clue as to what she was dealing with.
Even in the darkness, Greyson could see that the last place this girl belonged was in the woods, let alone woods filled with shifter packs that were barely holding the peace.
With her eyes locked on his, she stood there frozen to the spot, like a fluffy little bunny about to get eaten by a big, bad, hungry wolf. Greyson closed the distance between them—but this time, when he caught her scent, he was hit with something more, something that had his cock going rock hard in response, something so very primal, it’d be impossible to ignore. This could not be fucking happening—and yet it was.
The woman standing before him was his mate—the one he was fated to be with.
If he’d been in human form, he’d have cursed up a storm, and as it were, he refused to believe this was actually happening. Him—mated to a human? No fucking way. It had to be a mistake. The pack would never go for it. Not in a million years. And this was one more problem he didn’t need.
But before he could figure out his next move, the bear shifted and shook, despite being dead, and what once was the body of a bear was now that of a naked man. The woman’s scream was deafening.
Fucking hell…
She was backing up, her eyes shifting from the dead man to him, before turning and bolting as he leapt after her—only to have her trip over something in the dark, and go down in a heap, laying there, not moving as the pungent smell of blood hit him again.
Focusing his energy, he shifted back to human form with a growl, the pain rippling through him as his muscles tensed and contracted, and his bones shifted once more. Shaking off the last remnants of the wild, he dropped to her side, and lifted her unconscious body into his arms, relieved that she was still breathing. She must have struck her head on a nearby rock when she tripped.
Greyson carried her over to the shifter, just to make sure that he was indeed dead. He was—though there was no visible wound, and the only blood he could smell was hers. Greyson recognized the shifter as Atticus, a real asshole and no real loss that the guy was dead. And yet a dead shifter, even if the guy was a dick, was a headache he didn’t need. A shifter was dead and revenge would be had.
He needed to get her the fuck out of there before someone figured out this guy wasn’t just missing but dead. Not that Greyson had a damn clue as to how he’d keep her safe if the bears came looking for her—and they definitely would come looking. The only thing that might slow the bears down was the fact that the attack had happened on wolf ter
ritory, which meant Atticus had been trespassing.
Lifting her back up into his arms, she started to stir awake, which was not a good thing, given that he was taking her back to his place, whether she wanted to go or not—and he was still naked. Fuck… This was not going to go over well.
Holding her tightly to him, he sprinted through the woods, heading back to his cabin, just as she finally came fully awake and started to scream. “Hush—I’m taking you someplace safe. Or would you rather take your chances with a pissed-off group of mangy bears?”
“Put me the fuck down, or I swear I’ll murder you with my bare hands.” She kicked and squirmed, bit and scratched, though there was no way he was letting her go until he got to his home—and thank fuck, they were nearly there, since holding onto her was like trying to hold onto a rabid hellcat.
He took the steps up to his porch two at a time, practically kicking in his front door before he was finally able to put her down on the sofa. “For fuck’s sake, woman…you’re hurt—and if you’ll stop fighting me, I can take a look at that cut on your head.”
“No fucking way. You’re naked—and hard. Pervert! Get the fuck away from me—I saw what you did…what you are.” She jumped to her feet as if to make a run for it—or deck him—when she swayed and her knees gave out from under her.
Leaping to her side, he scooped her back into his arms before she had the chance to hit the floor, and laid her down on the sofa. “Stay. Do you fucking hear me? I’m not going to hurt you, and if you give me a minute, I’ll get some clothes on. But don’t even think about pulling a runner, since it’s not safe for you out there.”
Frustrated and annoyed with the whole situation, he strode off onto the front porch and grabbed his clothes, tossing on his jeans before heading back inside, half surprised to still find her on the sofa. He fought the primal need calling him to her, a need that would no doubt have him burying his cock deep inside her before long, since there’d be little chance of thinking of much else when she was supposed to be his mate. And now that he finally could see her properly, he had to say, the fates had a twisted sense of humor.
She looked like a punk-rock pixie, with a rocker tee, torn jeans, Doc Martens, and long, thick hair that shifted from blonde to lilac and aqua. And despite his annoyance with the situation and his overwhelming need, there was no denying that his out-of-place punk-rock pixie was downright gorgeous, even with her lilac hair. Freckles danced across sunburned skin, and he swore she had the biggest doe eyes he’d ever seen, the color of aqua waters. But it was that body of hers…not some waif he could break, but a real woman, with lush curves he could hold onto.
Shaking his head clear, he forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. “What happened with the bear?”
“You mean the bear—that turned into a man? No offense, but…what the fuck is going on here? Or am I hallucinating the whole thing? The berries I ate…were they poisonous or something?” She shook her head, and then thought twice about it when her face contorted with pain.
“Let me take a look at your head. You hit it pretty hard.” He sat down on the sofa next to her, trying to prioritize the shit storm that was brewing on the horizon. She was clearly freaking out, and who could blame her? But they didn’t have a ton of time before the bears figured out one of their own was dead on wolf pack territory, and would want answers. “What were you even doing out here in the woods? You’re a long way off from any real civilization—and no offense, you don’t exactly look like you’re suited to the wilds up this way.”
“I live here, if you really must know—and you’ve yet to answer my question. What the hell was up with that bear—and you, for that matter?” At least she was letting him take a look at her head. There was a massive bump, but the cut itself was relatively small—unlike the gash on her arm.
“The cut on your head isn’t too bad, though I’m sure it’ll feel like you’ve cleaved your head in two, for at least the next day or two. Your arm, however, will need to be bandaged.” She was still looking for answers, but all he had were questions for her. “What do you mean you live here? Where?”
“I’m in the cabin up on the hill.” She tilted her head up to look at him, his height of six four towering over her, despite the fact that they were still sitting.
“Old man Weston’s cabin? Is it even still standing?” And how long had she been living there? Granted, the cabin was sort of in a no-man’s-land, nestled between wolf and bear territories, but it still wasn’t a safe place for a human to be hanging out.
“Never mind about the cabin—I want an explanation of what I saw, and then, if you could just point me in the right direction, I’ll get out of your way. Because if you think I’m sticking around so you can get naked again, you can guess again.” She pinned him with a glare and held her ground, looking ready for a fight.
“Sweetness…I still need to clean your cuts and bandage your arm, and if you think I’m going to let you walk out of here so you can get yourself mauled by a bunch of bears hell-bent on revenge, you can guess again.” There was no fucking way he was going to let her go wandering off on her own—not when her scent was making him lightheaded and hungry with lust. And yet there was something more to her…something different about her that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. She was certainly still human, but something about it felt off. He just needed more time to figure it all out.
He still couldn’t believe she was his mate—and there were more than a few problems with that scenario. But that just meant there was no way he could let her go. Not when she was the one he was fated to be with.
It was more than a little odd that he’d immediately known her as his fated mate, since, more often than not, it took some time for that realization to kick in—if it ever did. Usually, shifters just fell in love like their human counterparts.
But this connection to her? It was downright complicated, since he had no doubt she was the one and only person he was meant to be with. If anything happened to her, he’d be cursed to a life where it felt like a part of his soul was missing.
Once you found your mate, they were the one person who could make you feel whole, and being without them left you with a hunger that could never be satiated. He had no choice but to keep her safe and make her realize that they were meant to be together, even if she looked ready to murder him.
She glared at him with a stubbornness and confidence that he had to admire, given her current situation and all she’d been through. “Whether I stay or go, that’s not your decision to make. No offense, but I met you five minutes ago, so if you think I’m staying here to be mauled by some sort of half-naked, over-muscled, were-pup, you can guess again.”
“Were-PUP?” He swore she was making his eye start to twitch. “I’m a shifter—and I’m not over-muscled, sweetheart. I’m lean, defined, and deadly. So you will do as I say—and you should thank your fucking lucky stars that I had a big dinner.”
“A shifter? Like what? Twilight? Are there a bunch of sparkly vampires hanging out in the woods too?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, even though it had to cost her, given the gash on her arm. “And just so we’re clear—if you think I’m following orders from you, you’ll be sorely disappointed.”
He grit his teeth, even as his cock went hard at her feisty sarcasm. And when she was this close, her scent of honey, cedar, and heather was enough to make him want to lay her back on the sofa and sink his hard cock into her tight body. “Cupcake…you don’t have a choice, because this over-muscled were-pup is the one who’s going to keep you alive when a dozen pissed-off bears come to hunt you down. And if I have to gag you and hog-tie you to a chair to get you to cooperate instead of constantly arguing with me, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” But he was already hauling her to her feet and dragging her into the kitchen so he could rinse her wound clean, ignoring her curses.
“Let the water continue to run over it while I get some bandages. And don’t even think of making a run fo
r it. I will find you, and I won’t be so nice next time.”
Chapter Two
Juno didn’t know what the hell sort of trouble she’d just gotten herself into, but her head was killing her, the gash on her arm was throbbing and burning, her entire body ached, and she was covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises. And though she’d never in a million years admit it, she was scared. “Well, if you’re going to kidnap and bully me, you could at least tell me your name.”
He all but growled it at her, his eyes like a shimmering pond of liquid gold. “Name’s Greyson. Greyson Moore.”
“Juno Sorenson.” She let out a weary sigh, her adrenaline rush starting to wear off so she felt every bump, ache, and bruise.
“Let me get some bandages, and then you can start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened. Okay?” His gold eyes locked on hers even as her mind raced, trying to think of a way out of this mess—and coming up empty.
She swore she hadn’t meant to kill that bear, but it was like her past was following her, and her…curse…just wouldn’t go away. Not that she could let anyone know about her problem. They’d lock her up for murder—or stick her in some sort of lab to try to figure out a way to harness her power for evil. Because that was exactly what her curse was—evil.
She hated lying, but Greyson wanted answers, and telling him the truth about what she was capable of and what happened with that bear would only result in her ending up dead. He might have his own freak going on, but if he found out she could kill with a single touch, there was a good chance he’d shorten her life expectancy for her.
Panic had her thinking of making a run for it, although the thought was quickly quashed, since she knew Greyson was right. There was no doubt in her mind that he could find her, especially if he was some sort of shifter—whatever the hell that meant. Yet, before she could give it anymore thought, Greyson was back with a first-aid kit, forcing her to put any plans of escaping on the back burner.