A Wolf’s Heart: Blue Moon Shifters Book Four
A Wolf’s Heart
Blue Moon Shifters Book Four
Isha Fáng
Copyright ©2020 Isha Fáng
All rights reserved.
A Wolf’s Heart is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover by: Wolf Conan.
Editing by: Ann Attwood, Editing and Proofreading Services.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form, or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in the book reviews.
Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
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
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Also by Isha Fáng
About the Author
Stalk Me!
Translation
Reference
Acknowledgments
I need to thank bucket loads of people for helping me get this steamy, sizzling story out.
To my family, thank you for leaving me the hell alone when I said I have a deadline to meet.
My sprint partners, thank you for motivating me to write this short in a short time ;). Sade, you just know how to whip me and get me writing. Amanda, my thesaurus goddess, you rock. Brook-lynn, unmute us, K.M. Taylor thank for your time.
Maureen, my blurb goddess, you are fantastic. Thank you for helping me on such a short notice.
To my betas, Sabella, Sheryl, Doni, Maggie, and La—thank you for your help and suggestions, and for dealing with my crazy ass questions in the middle of the night.
And lastly to my readers. Thank you for taking a chance on my stories and for reading this book.
XoXo
Isha.
Foreword
This book is one of pure fiction. Any and all characters are based solely on the author’s imagination. While researching is used as a base point for the story, it has no standing in fact.
Chapter 1
Tyrone
“Do you think everyone is here?” I ask Mathew. He’s my Alpha and a detective at the Boston police department, plus, he’s Jonathan’s partner. I met him a few months back when he and others rescued me. Thank god for that, I couldn’t take it anymore—and several other young girls, younger than me, from the camp—more like a playhouse of a devious man who liked to kidnap young boys and girls and breed them to conduct some experiments on the babies.
But Rain, Storm, and I were his playthings.
Thank god he didn’t sexually assault us. He already had a harem of boys for that. But it wasn't like he wasn't planning on doing just that. It was only a matter of time before he would have rectified that error...
“Don’t dwell on it. Think positive, like how you are finally free from the dungeons. And you have a mate now.”
My inner Buckaroo is always ready to bring me out of the stump.
And he’s right.
No negative thoughts, focus only on the positive.
I’m trying, but sometimes I can’t help but let my mind go there, to the dark place where I don’t ever want to go again. And all the scars from the wounds are gone.
Everyone thinks it’s because of the medicine I’m applying on my skin, but what they don’t know is that Vau blood has special healing powers that can not only heal a wound faster than a lightning striking earth, but also erases the scars from the body.
Apparently not fast enough to save my parents.
A bitter snort escapes, making me cringe inside.
Shit! Fucking shit!
I can feel his eyes, poking, prodding me to turn around and look at him.
Not gonna happen. Nope. Nada. Nyet!
I should be more careful around him. My Alpha already thinks I’m fragile and on the cusp of breaking. I don’t want him to think I need a stay in the mental asylum. Which is further from the truth.
I’m ready to rejoice in this life.
Ready to take control of it.
“Do you think Cillín’s grandfather has found something in the archives of the Shifter Federation Office?” I drop the question to take the focus off me, and angle my body toward him.
His lips part in astonishment, but he purses them and narrows his eyes. “I see what you are doing. I’ll let it go for now, boy, but don’t think I didn’t hear the galling snort of yours. We are visiting the matter later. Definitely.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I mutter, “Whatever.”
“Don’t whatever me, boy.”
My spine stiffens at the command, and I bow my head, my eyes lowering.
“We will talk this through. Later. And as for your question whether Senior Walsh found anything in the archives? Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s wait and see. I’m sure it’s nothing scary.”
A single nod, that’s all I can muster.
I can be sarcastic, or talk back, or make a witty joke of it, but that’ll not fly by him.
My Alpha, he’s somewhat different. He’s an alpha type guy.
Strong.
Dominating.
Commanding.
Yet… caring, tender and protective.
I found this out when I acted out a little after moving in with him. I still hadn’t known about my parents’ death, and in my eagerness to meet my family, I lashed out because he wouldn’t let me go and visit them.
And I’m so glad and appreciate it now.
Because, if he hadn’t stopped me, I would have met with a fate far worse than my time in captivity.
Destruction.
Mayhem.
That’s what I would have faced. Skeletons—young, old, babies—burned houses, blackened wood, blood stains on the ground, broken pots, dirty torn clothes, shattered glasses.
My pack, my town, my house was attacked by rogues.
Nothing of the life I knew was there anymore. Nothing.
Mathew searched for them and anyone else from my pack, when we found out some had survived and tried to move to another place after the attack.
My parents had been traveling north and came upon a patch of black ice. They swerved, losing all control and went over a steep embankment.
Their deaths were instant. But my younger sister—sharp as a whip—somehow managed to get herself and our baby brother out of the car, and walked for miles till they found a small town and called the police.
They stayed with an older couple until the cops could arrange something for them both, but later were put into the system.
A good couple fostered them both, didn’t even think of separating them… and I’m thankful for that.
They stayed for a year and half with them. Now they are living with us, and I’m so glad to have them with me.
But I miss Mama and Pop.
I miss them so much.
I have this gnawing feeling inside my chest whenever I think about them.
What eats into me day and night, is that my parents died without knowing I am alive.
That I’m not alone.
That I’m safe and back home where I belong.
That I have found my mate and a family to call my own.
I jerk out of the bleak thoughts my brain was turning to, when the sharp pain shooting through my thigh catches me off guard. “Ouch. Shit! ” I curse and rub the spot that’s still burning and scowl at my Alpha. “What the hell? Why did you pinch me?”
“To have your attention, that’s why.”
“You could have called my name. There was no need to inflict bodily harm to get me to focus on you,” I huff and try to ignore the sting.
“I did call your name. Several times I should add. Even touched your hand and shoulder to get your attention, but you were lost in your thoughts. Oblivious to your surroundings. God knows what’s going on in that wicked head of yours.”
“Oh.” Shit! Was I really so lost in my head that I didn’t hear my Alpha’s voice?
“Yep! Totally lost. Gone,” my Buckaroo hands me his two cents. “You are so in trouble. Like time to get your Tumblr spanked trouble.”
What the bloody shit? That doesn’t even make sense.
“It does to me,” Buckaroo sneers.
Obviously.
My brain is definitely running on an imaginary track, because it is losing its mind.
Laughter gurgles out of my throat at the irony.
My mind is losing its mind!
br /> That’s definitely a first.
“Tyrone, are you really okay? You’re acting kinda strange today. Or have you lost your marbles?” Narrowed, suspicious eyes study me, checking for any sign of mental instabilities.
Well, he won’t find any because I’m not unstable.
And who says marbles these days?
“Apparently old men. Or our old man.”
Yeah, apparently.
“I’m fine. I was just thinking about Torin’s birthday—which is in five days— and was wondering if I should have a birthday party or not. I mean I haven’t been a part of his and Teejan’s life for several years, and I feel like I’ve missed out on so many things.” The lie spills easily from my lips. Well, not entirely a lie. The part that I have missed out on things in their lives is true. I did miss being a part of their lives, but the part where I have been lost thinking of the said party is a lie.
Which he doesn’t need to know.
I mean, lying is not always bad. Especially if it saves your hide.
“We’ll have the party and invite our close friends and family,” he states.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am,” he assures me. “Now take the bags of food we just got from the grocery store and get out.”
“Out?”
“Yeah, we’ve reached home.”
Home.
Such a simple word, but to me it’s everything.
It’s a tangible freedom and not my imagination.
It’s a source of independence and not shackles in a temple's dungeon.
“Come on, we don’t want to be late.”
That pushes me to work quickly.
We both get out and grab the bags and enter the house. Torin and Teejan are playing a video game in the den.
“We’re back,” I announce, to let them know. And the only acknowledgement we get is a few grunts.
I walk to the refrigerator to store everything in. It’s a big-ass fridge. Latest model.
This is the new home we moved into after my siblings came to live with us a few weeks back.
Before this we lived in a small two-bedroom apartment in the city.
Mathew bought this house along with other alphas from our group dirt cheap, remodeled it, and now everyone is living in this place.
Once done we head out, but not before telling the kids to lock the door behind us.
We walk hand in hand toward Mark and Jonathan’s house, which is only a few hundred meters away.
Today is the day. The day when the group is meeting at Mark and Jonathan’s place. Everyone will be there, including the family elders like Gnan and Pa and their crew, Cillín’s grandparents and parents, Jonathan’s siblings and mother and a few others .
We have decided to meet here, because Mark is in his last week of pregnancy. He cannot travel with his beach-ball-sized swollen belly. Any day now he’s gonna pop.
“Looks like we are the first to arrive,” Mathew sighs.
Yeah, I don’t see any cars in the driveway.
I knock on the door and Jonathan’s brother, Andrew, opens the door.
“Hey, guys, come on in.”
“Thanks,” I smile, and we enter. We remove our shoes and store them in the foyer closet, and walk barefoot deeper into the house.
We are greeted by the entire Marshal family in the living room.
“Marshal,” Mathew addresses Jonathan in his manly way—crisp shakes and a hearty thump on his back.
“Logan.” Jonathan responds in a similar manner, then heads toward the kitchen.
I hug and kiss the ladies in the house, and then settle next to Mark.
“How are you feeling, Daddy?” I smile and pat his hand that is resting on his stretched belly.
“Like I’m waiting to milk rainbows out of Skittles. Nobody told me giving birth would be this tedious and harrowing.”
I laugh at his sarcastic tone and pat his leg. “A few more days, then you’ll get your reward for all your hard work. You will finally meet your princess.”
“What he says,” Andrew agrees.
“I know. That’s what is keeping me from going insane from the discomfort. This child is a hellion, I’m telling you.
She’ll be a troublemaker. Definitely takes after her papa.”
“Even so, It will be worth it, agori mou.” Alessa Marshal, Jonathan’s mother, promises.
Mark nods and rests back his head on the sofa, but abruptly jerks up cursing, cringing and holding his stomach. “Shit!”
Umm, what?
“You need to settle down, junior. It’s time to rest. You’ve played enough soccer today. Give Daddy some rest, please,” Mark pleads, looking at his belly.
Aah. Okay.
Baby is active inside him. I can see her moving, his skin stretching like exactly how it’s shown in the Alien movie.
Creepy.
A slight tremor rushes along my spine and I look away, only for my gaze to collide with my Alpha’s.
He smirks, like he knows what I’m thinking, and folds his arms over his chest, standing on the far side of the sofa.
He can always read my mind, know my thoughts. It’s uncanny.
He’s the first one to break the contact.
Jonathan comes out with a bottle of water. He hands it to Mark and kneels in front of him, then rubs his belly. “Listen to your father, junior. Don’t trouble him. Be a good girl now and sleep,” Jonathan says softly, but his voice is strong and stern.
And just like that, the child stops moving inside Mark’s tummy.
“Thank you.” Mark smiles and rests his hand on top of Jonathan’s on his stomach.
“So did you all find something—anything—about those four horses we saw a few days ago?”
“I did some research on the four horses, but I kept getting pointed toward four horsemen and the Book of Revelation,” Milla grumbles.
And we all agree and admit to her acknowledgment.
“Yeah.”
“Same.”
“All the time.”
“Yep.”
“Mmhmm.”
“I know, right.”
She nods and continues. “So I Googled what the Book of Revelation is and found out that it’s the final book of the Christian Bible.”
“Oh.” I look to Mark, then back to Milla. “That’s... interesting, I think.”
“Oh, it is,” she says, excitement twinkling in her eyes. “Do you want to know why?”
We all nod and wait for her, but all she does is give us a smug smile.
“Spill it, will you?” Mark groans.
“Well, the interesting thing about this book is that it’s an apocalyptic document in the cannon of the New Testament.”
We all look at her with a blank face.
I mean what?
What the hell is she talking about?
I didn’t understand one single word she has just said, except for apocalypse.
“What is this New Testament canon?” Alessa asks.
“It’s like an authoritative scripture with texts and all, that a certain religious community refers to. The word ‘canon' is derived from the Greek word κανών. The pronunciation is similar to canon in English. It means “rule” or “measuring rod” something like that.”
We continue to look at her with blank faces.
I don’t... I mean... what?
Testament? Canon? Measuring rod? What the fuck is she talking about?
I don’t understand one single word she’s just said. It doesn’t make any fucking sense to me.
I’m sure the others are sailing in the same boat of confusion.
“For fuck’s sake, it’s a new version of the Bible, that was updated to fit with the newer civilization in the Christian community.”
“Language, Milla!” Alessa scolds her.
“Sorry, Mamá.” She looks chagrined for a moment for her outburst, but recovers quickly and explains further. “The humans follow these scriptures like we refer to our shifter bible.”