Wolf in his Heart
by N.J. Walters

Copyright © 2017 by N.J. Walters All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Prologue

Johnny Bellamy sat in his truck and waited for a glimpse of the pretty little waitress from the local diner. She was new and had only been working there a short time, but she’d caught his eye the first time he saw her.

He shifted his position as his jeans grew uncomfortably snug. The light was off in the room she was renting by the week at the local motel, but he knew she was in there.

He’d watched her leave work and walk home. It wasn’t the first time.

He was contemplating going up to her door and knocking when it opened. There was enough light from the motel parking lot to allow him to see her slip outside and shut the door behind her. Where was she going this time of night? Was she meeting a man?

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and a muscle beneath his eye twitched. No way in hell was he going to let that happen. She was his.

But she didn’t meet anyone. She glanced furtively to the right and left and then slid around the corner of the building.

Johnny was out of his truck in a flash and hurrying across the road. He had to know what she was doing. He needed to know everything there was to know about Irina Matheson. Everyone called her Rina, but he’d gotten her full name from one of the other waitresses a few days ago.

Years of hunting deer had taught him how to move silently. He kept his back to the wall and risked a quick glance around the corner of the building.

Shit, she was gone.

He hurried down the side of the cheap motel where Rina rented a room and around to the back. He scanned the woods. Surely she hadn’t gone for a walk this late at night. She had to be meeting someone.

Fury boiled up inside him and he clenched his hands into fists. Whoever it was, he’d beat the hell out of the guy and then explain to Rina how things were going to be. He’d been going to the diner every few days since she’d started working there, and she’d barely glanced his way.

It was time for her to notice him. He was tired of her playing hard to get and ignoring him.

Johnny kept to the shadows and slid into the forest that backed on to the motel. Where was she? He listened and caught the slightest sound off to his left. He moved slowly, praying he wouldn’t step on a twig and alert her to his presence. The farther he got from the lights of the motel, the more difficult it was to see a damn thing.

He saw movement and crouched low as he crept toward her. He paused and hunkered down behind the thick trunk of an oak tree. Rina was standing alone in a small clearing that was slightly illuminated by the light of the full moon.

Her skin gleamed. She was half naked, her top lying on the ground at her feet. He swallowed hard and kept watching as his cock lengthened and thickened. He licked his lips in anticipation. He was going to have her. Here. Tonight.

Nothing and no one would stop him.

He thought he might come in his jeans when she stripped off her pants and tossed them aside. Naked, she raised her hands into the air.

He frowned. Was she one of them heathens who prayed to nature or something? He wasn’t a very religious man, but his mother had dragged him and his brothers to church when they were boys. This didn’t seem right.

Then she began to change.

Johnny blinked and dug his fingertips into the bark of the tree. Rina hunched forward and fell toward the ground. By the time her hands hit the dirt they weren’t hands at all, but paws. Her soft skin vanished beneath a thick covering of fur. Her lush lips disappeared, replaced by a muzzle.

The woman was gone. In her place was a wolf.

He expected her to howl. Instead, she was totally silent as she vanished into the underbrush.

He realized he was shaking. He wanted to swear but was afraid to speak. What the hell was she? His fingers trembled when he rubbed them over his eyes. He wasn’t seeing things. She’d really turned into a wolf.

His stomach churned and he feared he might lose that last cup of coffee he’d had at the diner. He swallowed and sucked air into his lungs. He had to get away from here. He had to think.

Johnny pushed to his feet and stumbled out of the woods. He kept looking over his shoulder, wondering where the wolf had gone. His nerves steadied as he staggered into the motel parking lot.

He thought about breaking into her room while she was gone but decided that could wait. He needed to sit down. It took him two attempts to get his truck door open. He pulled himself inside, closed the door and took a deep breath.

“God almighty.” His whisper sounded like a yell in the still quiet. It took another ten minutes for him to stop trembling, which only pissed him off.

Who’d believe him if he told them what he’d seen? No one. Not that he’d tell anyone other than his brothers.

“Fuck.” He rubbed his hand over his face and rested his head against the back of the driver’s seat. What was he going to do?

Rina was a werewolf or a witch or a devil or something. What she wasn’t, was a God-fearing woman. Maybe he’d seen her because he was supposed to either bring her into the light of the Lord or punish her for being wicked.

The more he thought about it, the more he decided the second idea was the right one. No matter what she was, he still wanted her. Maybe even now more than ever.

He needed a plan. She wasn’t going anywhere, and he knew where she worked. He started his truck and pulled away. He glanced in his rearview mirror, but there was no sign of Rina. She might be gone for minutes or hours.

No matter, he knew what he had to do. There was an old steel cage his granddaddy had kept for trapping bears. That would do just fine for keeping her in. She was an animal after all. A few thick chains on her wrists and ankles, and he was sure he’d be able to control her.

His home was situated on an isolated patch of land that had been in his family for generations. No one would come looking for her there. And that’s assuming anyone even reported her missing.

According to Millie, a local girl who worked at the diner, Rina hadn’t listed any next of kin on her job application. She never talked about family either.

It was obviously divine providence that he’d seen what she truly was. It was a sign he was supposed to take her, to remove her from others for their safety.

How did she get to be a werewolf? Had she been bitten? Were there more of them?

Johnny didn’t like that idea at all. But one thing was sure. He planned to confront Rina. Either she came with him willingly or he’d take her by force. By tomorrow night, he planned on having her. He licked his lips as he remembered how she’d looked naked before she’d changed into a wolf. She was thin but she had curves.

How would he keep her from shifting into a wolf?

He pondered the problem and then smiled. The moon. She’d gone outside to shift into a wolf. No doubt she needed the light of the full moon in order to change. As long as he kept her inside with the drapes closed, everything would be fine.

Didn’t all the movies and books say the same thing? Werewolves came out during the full moon. He looked up at the bright orb high in the sky. The full moon was tonight, but tomorrow, well, tomorrow night things would be different.

Chapter One

Sage Gallagher inhaled the tangy scent of the nearby pine trees and tilted his head back to soak in the sun. He loved hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and tried to get here at least five or six times a year. More if he could manage it.

Yes, he could just as easily hike Salvation Pack land, but there was always someone around. Sage enjoyed his solitude. There was something about being alone out in the vast wilderness that soothed the always-present ache in his soul. With over eight hundred square miles of parkland, he could walk forever without seeing a single person.

He swore under his breath and started walking again. He was way off the beaten trail, but that was okay. He did have a werewolf’s heightened senses and was in no danger of becoming lost. He also knew how to survive in the wilderness. His uncle and the other members of the pack had made sure of that.

As much as he felt accepted by the members of the Salvation Pack, he knew he was different. Half-breed. A werewolf who couldn’t shift.

You’d think that after a decade of living with the pack it wouldn’t still bother him, but it did. He certainly wasn’t lacking for people who cared about him. His Uncle Elias and Sue loved him. He never doubted that for one second. His cousin, Billy, was fully human and was totally accepted by everyone as well.

Problem was Sage was a twin. And his twin brother, Reece, could shift. Why his brother could embrace his wolf form and Sage couldn’t was a mystery. One with no answer.

Sage skirted a stand of sugar maples, their leaves swishing in the light breeze. He moved easily through the forest, his booted feet making no sound. Thanks to training by Uncle Elias and Cole Blanchard, Sage could slip unseen through the woods. He felt like a ghost some days, almost as if he weren’t quite real.

He growled under his breath. “Stop the pity party.” He hated whining. Hated it even more when he was the one doing it. He had a good life with the pack.

He’d always figured he’d been the one to leave, to find his path away from the close-knit community of the pack. That had always been his plan. And he had gone away for a year or so, traveling and working odd jobs. In the end, he’d come home to Salvation, North Carolina, and started farming.

It still made him laugh. Him, a farmer. But he not only enjoyed it, he was also good at it. With the blessing of the alpha, Jacque LaForge, Sage had built several greenhouses and cultivated several large plots of land away from the pack houses. He grew lavender, peppermint, and other fragrant herbs. He’d planted a variety of vegetables as well, much of which was consumed by the pack. What was left over, he sold at the local farmer’s market in town on the weekends.

His uncle’s wife had joined him in his endeavor and made soaps and fragrant sachets out of the herbs he grew. She had an online store and also sold at the local market.

Anything organic sold at a premium price. It wasn’t going to make him rich, but it allowed him to work the land. It also gave him freedom. But most of all, it allowed him to contribute to the pack that had given him, Reece, and Uncle Elias a home.

During the long winter months, Sage worked alongside his uncle building custom furniture that sold for a pretty penny at high-end furniture galleries around the country. He enjoyed woodworking, but being outside, coaxing life from the land was what he enjoyed most of all.

He paused and listened intently. His senses automatically tuned in to the world around him. It didn’t pay to get careless in the woods. He wasn’t so worried about the four-legged predators, but the ones on two feet. There was plenty of game around, and sometimes there were illegal hunters. The park rangers did what they could, but there was a lot of ground to cover, some of it not easily accessible. Hunters sometimes ignored the park boundaries when they were hunting deer.

Assured he was alone, except for a lone bear lumbering through the underbrush about fifty yards away, Sage began to walk once again. He veered away from the bear, giving the large animal space. Not that he was worried about the beast. With his werewolf genes, he could outrun the bear if necessary, but bears usually scented the difference in him and gave him a wide berth.

The woods were alive with sound. He enjoyed the buzz of the bees and the songs and calls of the birds. A dragonfly zipped by in a hurry to go somewhere. He caught the whisper of water running over rocks and headed toward the sound. The water was low this late in summer. It had been a long hot one.

He hunkered down by the edge of the stream, removed his knapsack, and set it aside. The shade from the nearby trees gave him welcome respite from the sun. He scooped up handfuls of water and sluiced it over his face and bare arms. It was cool against his heated skin. He raked his damp fingers through his shoulder-length brown hair, shoving the damp strands off his forehead.

He normally didn’t take time away during the growing season. He had crops to harvest for this weekend’s market. But he’d needed the time alone.

Even worse, his uncle had known it.

Uncle Elias and Sue had promised to keep an eye on things for him. Sue knew nearly as much about the crops as he did. And, truthfully, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he missed one weekend market. But he didn’t like shirking his responsibilities. The gardens and greenhouses were his.

Yet he hadn’t been able to turn down their offer.

He didn’t know what in the hell was wrong with him. He just felt restless. And if he was honest, he was horny too.

He bent over the trickle of water, dipped his cupped palm in the water and rubbed it over the back of his neck. It didn’t help.

His entire body tightened and his cock swelled, pushing against the front of his jeans. He’d been known to go to the roadhouse bar just outside of Salvation and blow off steam every now and again. Hell, whenever he went to visit Reece in Chicago, they went out on the town and had no trouble finding willing women, women who were only looking for a good time.

That was necessary, because Sage wasn’t exactly in a position to offer a woman a long-term relationship. What could he tell her? Hey, I’m a half-breed werewolf and I live on a pack compound with a bunch of other werewolves. Yeah, like that would go over well.

Any outsider was a security risk. No way would he jeopardize pack safety, especially now that there were kids to protect. There’d been a surprising explosion of babies over the past decade. Hard to picture a badass like Jacque LaForge with kids, but he had two boys, Aaron and Nicholas, aged five and eight. Sylvie and Gator had six-year-old Etienne. And badass Cole Blanchard and his mate, Cherise, had the sweetest little girl. Amy might be the youngest at four, but she was queen of the bunch.

Thinking of the kids made him smile. They were always so lively and energetic. He stood and swung his pack over his shoulders and headed out again, doing his best to ignore his nagging erection. He’d set up camp soon, but he wasn’t ready to stop hiking yet. He needed to wear himself out some more so he’d sleep.

He’d had way too many sleepless nights lately.

He sidestepped a fallen oak tree that was crawling with ants and headed west. He’d only been gone for one night. He’d planned on three but was already working his way back toward his truck. He’d left it in the parking lot at one of the visitor centers. All the park rangers knew him and would keep an eye on it for him. Sage had a reputation for being one of the best trackers around and had assisted on several search-and-rescue operations.

He hadn’t planned on putting himself forward like that. Staying under the radar was what he did. The necessity for pack security had been drummed into him since he was a kid. But a couple of years ago, he’d been hiking in the park when he’d come across a group searching for a little girl who’d gone missing. No way could he sit back and do nothing. He’d gone back to the campsite where the girl and her folks had been staying and started from there. With his preternatural senses and tracking skills, he’d found the girl within a matter of hours.

The park service had his phone number and called if they needed help. As a result, he could pretty much go anywhere he wanted in the park. They knew he walked lightly on the land and left no trace. They understood they didn’t have to worry about him out in the backcountry on his own.

Sage paused and squinted up at the sunlight filtered down through the trees. He’d been away long enough. It was time to head home and take care of business. As much as he loved being alone, he couldn’t help shake the nagging sense that something was wrong.

It didn’t feel like Reece was in trouble. As twins, they shared a unique relationship. They’d always been able to sense what the other one was thinking or feeling. Even now, when they lived so far apart, Sage could tell when his brother was upset or frustrated. He knew it was the same for Reece.

His brother had been feeling restless too. Although for his twin, it could simply be the need for Reece’s wolf to get out of the city for a while so he could run. Sage didn’t understand how his brother could stay in an overcrowded space when he could live on pack land. It was almost as though Reece needed to prove to himself he could live and survive on his own.

He’d asked his brother about it once. Reece had simply shrugged and told him he had a nagging feeling he needed to be in Chicago. Sage had never questioned him again.

They might not be living together anymore, but he knew his brother was there for him, would drop everything without hesitation if Sage needed him. It’s just the way it was between them.

The shadows were lengthening and the sun was getting low in the sky. Time to find a place to set up camp and get something to eat. He’d stay overnight and get an early start in the morning. It wouldn’t take him more than a few hours to reach his truck, but he wanted one more night lying out here under the stars. He’d be home by lunchtime tomorrow and back at work by tomorrow afternoon.

As much as he loved camping, he wouldn’t mind one of Gator’s mouthwatering meals right now. The badass werewolf was one hell of a cook. The woods were too dry for Sage to risk a campfire, so he was eating trail mix, protein bars, and beef jerky. Filling but not exactly appetizing.

He veered off to his left. There was a nice spot not too far from here that was perfect for him. The small meadow would give him a great view of the stars.

* * * * *

Irina Matheson didn’t bother to look over her shoulder. She knew those men were still following her. She’d thought she might lose them when she ventured into the park. After all, hunting was illegal here.

Not that they cared. Men were all the same. Her thoughts were bitter, but she was entitled to them. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. She didn’t have time to indulge in self-pity. Not now.

She might be a werewolf, but she had three experienced hunters on her trail. And they wanted her hide for their wall. She had no one but herself to blame for her current predicament. She’d gotten careless.

She ran as fast as she dared, trying not to leave any trace of her passing. It would be easier if she could shift to her wolf, but everything she owned was in her knapsack. She’d abandon it only if there was no other choice.

It might come down to that.

Plus, there was a real chance of someone seeing her if she shifted, and that was what had gotten her into this problem in the first place. The last thing she needed were the park rangers getting a call about a wolf sighting from some camper.

Hard to believe only twenty-four hours ago she’d been working at Barney’s Restaurant, a local diner in nowhere Tennessee, and trying to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life. Waitressing was one of the few jobs that was easy to get. There were always women coming and going, leaving diners and restaurants shorthanded. Many of those places paid under the table. That had allowed her to fly under the radar in the early days. She hadn’t been able to do that at Barney’s. He was a stickler for rules, and she’d had to fill out all the proper government forms, but she no longer worried that anyone in her pack was looking for her.

She paused by a rock, crouched down, and listened intently. She couldn’t hear them. The sun was close to setting. If she could evade them until nightfall, she could lose them. They’d have to stop and set up camp. She, on the other hand, could see as easily in the dark as she could in the day.

Rina wanted to curl into a ball and cry, something she hadn’t done for months. It still hurt how easily her family had cut her out of their lives after she’d refused to accept a mating with her father’s choice. She still couldn’t believe her father would offer her to Alex Gribkov. The man was a chauvinist pig, and truthfully, Rina was scared to death of him. Her wolf didn’t like him either. That was good enough for her.

She stayed low and started running again. She couldn’t afford to stop yet. These men were experienced hunters and would keep looking until they had no light left. They might not even stop then.

The last thought gave her pause. Surely they’d have to stop for the night.

Of course they would. All she had to do was stay ahead of them until nightfall and then she was home free. Not that she had any idea where she was going. She’d zigzagged her way down through Canada after leaving her home in Alaska. From there, she’d made her way down through Montana and had been heading eastward ever since, trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and her former pack.

Banished.

She was a wolf alone. A terrifying prospect, especially since she’d never been on her own for one day in her life. Being alone wasn’t possible in a pack, especially not for an unmated female werewolf.

In the past fourteen months, she’d been nothing but alone. She’d kept her wolf in check all that time too. It had been the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, but she’d done it.

Until the night before last when she’d crept out behind the rundown motel where she’d been renting a room by the week. It had been such a beautiful summer night. The wind had been warm and the full moon high in the sky. Her wolf had practically clawed her way out. Rina had known she’d have to let her wolf run.

She’d thought she was alone when she’d shifted. She’d never dreamed anyone was watching her. But she’d been wrong. A regular at the diner, a man whose name she didn’t even know, had started watching her. And he’d followed her home after she’d gotten off work.

“I know what you are.” His words still sent a shiver down her spine. She’d been pouring coffee for him the next day when he’d whispered those words to her.

She’d frozen in place, and he’d leered at her with a terrifying hunger in his eyes. “You’re going to leave with me now. Unless you want me to tell my brothers about you.” He’d gripped her hip and squeezed hard. Even now, the memory if it made her skin throb with pain. “I’ve always wanted me a wolf-skin rug.”

“I have to finish my shift.” The words had been automatic.

He’d frowned and shaken his head. “Go tell Barney you’re sick and have to leave,” he’d ordered.

She hadn’t argued with him. She’d simply nodded, walked back behind the counter, and carefully put the carafe back on the burner. Then, without a word to anyone, she’d retrieved her knapsack, which was always packed and ready to go, and slid out the back door.

She’d made it as far as the wood before she’d heard him calling her name. He must have followed through on his threat to call his brothers, because two other men had joined him in his hunt. They’d gotten terrifyingly close at times, but she’d always managed to evade them.

She cursed her father for not teaching her more survival skills. As far as he was concerned, only her brother had needed to learn how to track and hunt. Her sole purpose was for breeding.

Thankfully, her brother, Mikhail, had taught her the basics. She owed him her life.

She leaned against a birch tree and listened. She could no longer hear the men moving through the underbrush. Maybe they’d stopped to set up camp. She could only hope. The light was nearly gone now, the sun mostly hidden by the mountains.

If her luck held, she could be hours ahead of them by sunrise. All she needed to do was to find a bus stop somewhere, buy a ticket, and get far away from here. California was looking mighty good. Or maybe somewhere farther south.

She didn’t care where it was as long as it was away from the men chasing her. Luckily, she’d gotten paid two days ago and had enough money to survive for a week or so. After that, she’d be living on the streets and eating out of garbage cans.

Wouldn’t be the first time, but she’d thought those days were behind her.

Her luck would change for the better. Wasn’t she due?

She almost snorted as she pushed away from the tree and slipped through the forest. Fate couldn’t be counted on to be fair. She almost stumbled and righted herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this exhausted. Her werewolf genes might give her an edge in strength and stamina, but even she needed to rest sometimes. She’d been running hard since early this morning and hadn’t eaten anything other than the half-melted chocolate bar she’d had in her bag.

She stumbled again and barely caught herself from ending up facedown on the ground. An owl hooted and a squirrel scampered up a nearby tree.

Rina froze in place. She was no longer alone.

“Are you lost?”

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Release Date: March 23, 2023

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