by Renee George
Who Let The Wolves Out?
Peculiar Mysteries Book 9
Renee Geore
Barkside of the Moon Press
Contents
Acknowledgments
Blurb
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Gone With The Minion - Chapter 1
Paranormal Mysteries & Romances
About the Author
Who Let The Wolves Out?
Peculiar Mysteries Book 9
Copyright © 2019 by Renee George
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder.
Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement by the author of this work.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and storylines in this book are inspired only by the author’s imagination. The characters are based solely in fiction and are in no relation inspired by anyone bearing the same name or names. Any similarities to real persons, situations, or incidents is purely coincidental.
Publisher: Barkside of the Moon Press
For my sister Robbin Clubb.
You have my back day and night 24/7. I would be a hot mess without you!! I love your f*cking guts!
And for Robyn Peterman
(aka my Robyn Smith in the book),
Who called me twice a day to cheer me on,
I love your f*cking guts!
Acknowledgments
For the usual suspects, BFF sister Robbin Clubb, who was with me every step of the way, BFF and favorite cookie Robyn Peterman, who called me twice a day to cheer me on, BFF Dakota Cassidy, whose name I used for my heroine and who loves the tea as much as I do, my mom, who helped take care of my mother-in-law so I could work, and to my husband and kid who provided me with Diet Cokes and apple pies from McDonalds as writerly fuel.
To my Rebels, you all RAWK! You keep me going every day with your support. I love you to the moon and back.
To my fans, I would not be anything without you. Seriously. If you keep reading, I’ll keep writing! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If I were reviewing you all, you would get five-gazillion stars and a million-gazillion smooches.
Oh! And lest I forget, thank you strong, black coffee. Without you, I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning, let alone write a single word.
Blurb
There are certain expectations when you grow up the oldest girl in a family of eleven. I'd always made a real effort to meet those demands and more. After all, I couldn't ask for better parents than Ruth and Ed Thompson. They didn't have a lot of money, but they made up for it in love and support. So, I was happy to do what I could to make their lives a little easier. Which meant, I didn't go out partying with my friends, I made good grades and graduated at the top of my class. I would run my younger brothers and sisters around and do errands for Mom and Dad. In other words, I never went through a rebellious phase, and I always tried to behave in a logical and rational manner. That is, until yesterday, when I decided to throw caution to the wind, for once, and act impulsively.
But now that I've awakened next to a dead body as the chill of spring rain seeps into my flesh, I am questioning every decision I've made since the full moon.
When a pack of werewolves move into her hometown of Peculiar, Missouri, good girl Dakota Thompson finds bad-boy werewolf Cal Rivers irresistible. The problem? She's a deer shifter. Who ever heard of a prey animal falling for a predator? Good girls avoid bad boys. Right?
Cal Rivers wants to make a real go in the Ozarks shifter community, but most folks are deeply suspicious of the werewolves—with one exception. The beautiful doe shifter Dakota Thompson. Cal finds himself drawn to the gorgeous and smart Dakota. In a mate kind of a way. But then he gets into it with Dakota’s overprotective ex-boyfriend, which doesn’t make him any new friends.
After a full moon, when everyone in town shifts and spends the night in their animal forms, Dakota wakes up next to the dead, mutilated body of her ex. The tense situation between the werewolves and the town’s shifters go from precarious to catastrophic as Cal becomes one of the prime suspects in the murder. Together, Dakota and Cal work to find the real murderer to prevent an all-out war between predators and prey. Unfortunately, the killer isn’t done yet…
Prologue
December 20, 2018...the day before Chavvah and Billy Bob Smith's wedding.
"What do you think they want, Dakota?" Jo Jo Corman, a long-time family friend and my sister Michele's sometimes boyfriend, asked as he leaned forward from the middle seat of my parent's cargo van to gawk at the herd of lycanthrope milling around the Smith yard. "It seems weird them showing up out of the blue."
"Well, it is Doc Smith's people, family, whatever," I said, placing the van in park. In the back, we had a stack of forty-six metal folding chairs. Brady Corman brought the folding tables on his truck, and Mom had swung by Blonde Bear Cafe and Sunny's Outlook to pick up the food. I peered out at the unusually tall gathering. "They're probably just here for the wedding."
Luke Dwyer, who sat in the passenger seat, shook his head. "Folks are already talking around town. They're nervous." Luke was everything I could want in a guy, nice, smart, and from a good family. His handsome, narrow face and large wide brown eyes marked him as a deer shifter like me. Plus, when we went out, he treated me with respect. Sometimes, though, his ideas about humans and outsiders verged on speciest.
"People are always afraid of the unknown," I said. And these wolves were the biggest unknown Peculiar had seen in quite a long time. Frankly, the last time they'd welcomed strangers, two of them had turned out to be serial killers who thought they could skinwalk if they took the right hide. It had turned out that they believed the right hide was Chavvah Trimmel, their first and last mistake. My brother Tyler was a sheriff's deputy, so he'd given me some of the nitty gritty. Basically, enough to give me nightmares. I shuddered as I recalled the way he'd described Mike Wares skinless corpse.
From the passenger seat, Luke shook his head as he stared at the newcomers. He took out his cellphone, slid his finger in a scribbly pattern across the front to unlock it, and started to take pictures of the group. "Hopefully, they're just passing through. The last thing we need in Peculiar is a bunch of werewolves taking our jobs and using up our resources. We're a small town. Lots of folks have had to get jobs in Lake Ozarks to make ends meet." He gripped my knee and gave it a squeeze. "Right, D?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. Doc Smith is a lycan, and he's pretty great."
Luke laughed. "The doc is awesome. I don't count him in with the rest of them."
My mom knocked at the window and saved me from the direction of this awful conversation. "Can you all give me a hand with the warmers? Or are you planning to hang out in the van all day?"
"Is that an option?" Jo Jo asked.
"You're not too old to spank, Jolon Corman," she said, using his given name.
He laughed. And with more interest, he asked, "Is that an option?"
"What is going on out here?" Sunny Trimmel, one of my mom's best friends, asked. She wore both her children like saddlebags on either side of her hips. Jude, her oldest, stuck a wet finger in her ear. Sunny made an awful face and gently swatted his little hand away. Jude giggled, and I grinned.
Luke leaned to my ear. "You've got baby fever, huh?" he whispered.
I modeled Sunny and swatted him away. "Don't be stupid." I heard Jo Jo chuckling as I grabbed the door handle to escape a conversation I didn't even want to joke about. "You boys get the chairs out of the van, and I'll help Mom with the food."
"You got it," Jo Jo said.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I put distance between Luke and myself. I would have to end things with him and soon. He almost dropped the L-word on me last night, but I'd managed to change the subject quickly before he could actually say it. I'd stuck it out because my mom had been excited when I'd started dating Luke, but I couldn't be with someone who made me dread intimacy, even if we were "perfect for each other" as my mom had put it.
Mom approached and put her arm around me. "You okay?"
"Fine." I faked a smile. My feelings for Luke were lukewarm. In the beginning, there had been a little spark, and I'd thought, with enough time, I could fan it into a flame, but it had disappeared, smothered by the lack of oxygen. "I'm just feeling a little claustrophobic this morning."
She tilted her head to the side, waiting for me to elaborate. When I didn't, she patted my shoulder. "Let's get the food set up before it gets cold."
"Can I help?" The low, gruff voice startled me. I craned my gaze upward, because the guy had to be at least six-feet four-inches tall. Rays of sunlight scattered through his blond hair, highlighting the odd strand like tinsel. His blue eyes were darkened by shadows as he stared down at me.
"I...I, uhm," I stammered as my knees went all wobbly.
My mother, oblivious to the fact that I was about to have a lust-induced stroke, said, "Sure. Grab those pans of eggs. They're the heaviest. What's your name?"
"Cal Rivers, ma'am," the guy said as he gave my mom a nod.
"I'm Ruth Thompson and this is my daughter, Dakota. Welcome to Peculiar, Cal."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Thompson." He turned to me. "Dakota."
Heat crept into my cheeks. I grabbed the pan of bacon.
Sunny, thank heavens, walked over. "The tables are set up, and the lycans are helping Luke and Jo Jo set up the chairs. Let's get the food over there before people start eating their neighbors."
Cal laughed, and the sound stirred a deep longing inside me. No. No. No. First, he changed into a wolf on the full moon while I became a deer, a wolf's go to meal, and the thought brought me some relief from my sudden big, bad wolf fantasies. I handed a pan of bacon to Cal.
"I can take more," he said. So, I stacked a pan of sausage on top of it.
Luke strolled over. "Chairs and tables are set up. What's the hold up on the food?"
"No hold up." I averted my gaze from Cal.
Luke sized up Cal before glancing at me. I'd never been so glad that there was no such thing as a mind reader. I looked up, and Sunny was eyeballing me with the hint of a smirk on her face. I pressed my lips into a frown.
Okay, so I was glad that Luke wasn't a mind reader.
Numbly, I grabbed the pan of pancakes and followed Cal, Luke, my mom, and Sunny to the tables, and I couldn't keep my eyes off Cal's firm butt as he placed the eggs on the serving table.
Sunny caught up with me. She nudged me with her elbow. "That boy has a delicious booty." I gave her a startled look, and she giggled. "Watch your feet."
"What--ahh!" I careened forward in a lurch, desperate to keep the pancakes from flying out of my hands. With one hand, Cal grabbed the pan and with the other, he caught me around the waist, bringing my stumbling to a stop. Then Luke was grabbing me, and suddenly, I felt as if I were in a tug-o-war between them.
Cal let go first, Luke didn't have the right kind of hold on me, and I almost fell again.
Cal, who'd handed off the pancakes to someone, took a hold of my arms and righted me. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Uhm, yes. I think I am. Thanks." I let slip a hint of a smile. I'm pretty sure I even batted my eyelashes. Gah!
"Good." He smiled back. "I'm glad."
I took a deep breath the quell the flutter in my belly.
Luke yanked me backward. I yelped and fell against him, my head hitting his chin.
"Mercy, Luke!" I staggered away from him. "What the heck?"
"Sorr--sorry, D." He reached out to me, his bottom lip bleeding. I took another step back. "I didn't mean--"
I rubbed the top of my head where we'd collided and glared at him. "I'm fine."
"You should have the doc look at your head, maybe get some ice for it," Cal said. He touched the spot. "You already have a bump."
"Quit touching my girl, asshole," Luke said.
"I'm just concerned." Cal nodded at Luke's lip. "You should get looked at, too." He grabbed a napkin from the table and held it out for Luke. "Here. You have some blood."
Luke slapped the napkin away. "Back off!"
A surge of fury, something I'd rarely felt, welled inside me. Jo Jo stood behind Luke, ready to back his play, and some very imposing lycanthropes crowded behind Cal.
"Stop it," I said. "All of you, just stop."
Chavvah jumped between Cal and Luke, Doc Smith on her heels. "What in the world is going on?" she asked, casting an accusing glance at Cal.
"Luke is completely overreacting. I tripped over a rock, and all this guy did was keep me from landing on my face." Not to mention the pancakes.
"Don't be stupid, D. He has been eyeballing you since we got here. He probably tripped you himself."
My mom snapped her fingers at Luke. "Lucas Dwyer, I'll thank you not to call my daughter stupid. Now." She pointed to the van. "Go. Home."
Cal, whose veins were popping from his forehead, leaned in. "Yeah, Lucas. Go. Home."
Chavvah snapped her fingers at Cal, mimicking my mom's action. "There's no call to make things worse."
His face hardened then relaxed. "Sorry, ma'am," he said to Chav. "I don't know what came over me."
I looked back once as my mom escorted me into Chavvah and Doc Smith's house. Cal gave me a quick nod. I nodded back then went inside.
Mom spoke to me confidentially once we were away from prying ears. "Don't be too hard on Luke. Men in love can be a little hot headed, my girl. Remember the in-love part when you're ready to forgive him."
Her words sunk inside me like a weighted burden. I didn't want him to be in love with me. How could he possibly love someone who couldn't love him back? I wanted to say as much, but the hopeful look on my mother's face stopped me short of the truth. "I will, Mom."
"You might want to steer clear of the wolves while you're at it," she added. "No sense in adding fuel to the fire." She gave my cheek a pat. "I'm so glad I don't have to worry about you."
"Nope." Though, I wished like crazy someone would worry about me, because worrying about myself had become a serious chore.
Chapter One
I woke up with my cheek pressed against soft, fragrant dirt. The dank, earthy smell mixed with the sharp scent of shortleaf pine told me my location. I rolled onto my back and blinked up at the gray sky.
I had stick and twigs poking through my hair and my feet were covered in mud. “Dakota Thompson,” I muttered, “what did you do last night?”
Hard to know. Most shifters didn’t wake up with memories of their moonlit jaunts after the first full moon of the month. Our animal forms, during forced transformations like last night, processed experiences so differently our human brains couldn’t translate. In other words, I had no idea what my doe-self did last night.
Dark clouds blocked out the early morning sun, muting the colors of the surrounding woods. It was unusually quiet, and I allowed myself to enjoy the peac
e for a few seconds. I was the oldest of nine children, and I still lived with my parents. I helped them at home and worked for our family business, Doe Run Automotive. Living in a house with eight other people, silence was a rare commodity. A slight breeze brushed over my skin. If it hadn't been so cool out, I would have called the humidity tropical, but since it was only fifty degrees, judging by the goosebumps on my arms, the dampness in the air made it feel more like forty. My transition bag hung in the ancient oak where my doe always ended up during this time of the lunar cycle. Most shifters woke up in the same area every month. This small clearing near the giant oak happened to be my spot. My mother told me it was nature's way of keeping therianthropes safe during the full moon.
Before I could get up to dress, a rustling of dried leaves drew my attention. I popped to my feet and froze, my emotions a mixture of horror and admiration as I realized who stood directly across from me. An extremely naked and, uhm, well-endowed Adonis by the name of Cal Rivers, one of the new wolves who had come to Peculiar. Turns out that one of our own, Chavvah Smith, was their new leader. The group had moved into town in December and was currently living in Peculiar on probationary terms. It had not been a smooth transition for the wolf shifters. While the town had embraced Dr. Billy Bob Smith, previously the only lycanthrope in town, as one of their own, having a whole pack of wolves show up had brought on prejudices based in the fear of the unknown.
For the first two full moons since their arrival, many of the parents in town had kept their families locked in "just in case". My family had made a point of going out and running, like we normally did. It wasn't like we didn't have other predators in town. We were a mixed bag of therianthropes in Peculiar, and the doc and Chavvah had given their assurances that the wolves would stay away from therian groups on those nights. As a matter of fact, part of the town council's approval of the lycanthropes staying in Peculiar was that they stayed on the Smith property during the full moon. I'd overheard Mom talking to Chavvah and Sunny about it. Since all shifters turned to the baser animal selves on the first full moon, Chavvah promised, with the help of her spirit guide, Brother Wolf, that the lycans would strictly adhere to their probationary contract. Since some people in town weren't happy about the new arrivals, the agreement was the only thing keeping the peace.