Chapter 1
Late November mornings in Loveland, Colorado could be bone-chilling cold. That morning was anything but typical. By the time the sun rose to the center of the sky—marking the noon hour—the temperature had risen to a crisp thirty-four degrees. Without a trace of wind, the bright sun brought most of the locals out of their cozy homes to get a breath of fresh air on days like this.
Shaw Lykan’s Ducati called to him from the garage full of motorcycles he had collected through the years. Not one to ignore a badass bike, he pulled on some blue jeans and a black T-shirt. After slipping into a black leather jacket, Shaw pulled on a pair of motorcycle boots, then grabbed a full-face helmet. One with a dark visor to shield his eyes from the sun that would be glaring off the pristine white snow covering nearly everything.
Before heading out to the garage, he made a call. “Hey, Brogan, feel like a little ride?” The members of their little private motorcycle club rarely rode alone.
“I’m up for it. But I can’t go just yet. Can you give me a couple of hours, Shaw?” It wasn’t like Brogan to put Shaw off.
It had Shaw wondering what could be holding his packmate up. “You have something more important?” Tension filled his voice. When Shaw said ride, they rode, no discussion necessary.
“More important?” Brogan’s tone was submissive. “No, sir. It’s just that I need to change my oil before I take off. I have to keep the bike you gave me in good condition.”
His packmate’s answer relieved Shaw a bit, taking the growl out of his voice. “I see. I’m going to take off now. Shoot me a text when you’re heading out, and we’ll join up. This day is much too gorgeous to waste. And tonight will be one to remember. The moon will be full. But I don’t have to tell you that.”
Brogan chuckled. “No, you don’t. I can feel it in my bones. The shifting is settling in already.”
“I hope you’re up for a long night full of hunting. A month has come and gone; we’re all famished.” Shaw walked out the side door to the garage and the overhead lights turned on with his entrance. “We’ve got tonight to fill the needs inside of us. It’s the best time to hunt during a full moon.”
“Yes, sir,” Brogan agreed, “it certainly is. I’ll catch up to you as soon as I get this oil changed.”
Shaw ended the call and put the cell in his inside jacket pocket. Pulling a pair of leather gloves out of his right pocket, he put them on and went to get the keys to the Ducati out of the key box that hung on the wall near the door.
As he looked around the six-car garage at his collection of bikes, Shaw saw the need would soon arise to add on another section or two. Luckily there was plenty of room on his vast property to do that.
His cars filled a twelve-car garage on the other side of his home. Shaw wasn’t as into cars as he was into bikes. The freedom a bike gave him was a thing he craved. But then again, he craved freedom in many forms.
Once Shaw got on the road, he could feel the cold air, biting at his flesh through the blue jeans. It made him feel alive and like a part of the world. He wasn’t one to shy away from the elements. No, Shaw loved to immerse himself in them. Cold, heat, wet, dry—you name the condition, he loved to get out in it.
Pulling into town, Shaw saw people everywhere. He’d been right. The nice weather had everyone out and about. Smiles seemed to be plastered across every face he glanced at.
After taking a quick tour of the town, he headed to the edge of it. He and his friends often went to one park in particular. It had great access to the woods behind it. You could park your bike and know it would be safe while you took a hike in the woods.
Heading out to that park to see how many people were there, Shaw found the parking lot nearly full. But he managed to score a parking spot near the front.
People were walking around the pathway that looped around the park. Some kids were playing on the playground equipment that was off to one side. Everyone was enjoying what had become a nice day. A nice day by Colorado standards, anyway.
Getting off his bike, he took off the helmet, and a scent hit him right away. He growled one word involuntarily, “Female.” His eyes scanned the various people and landed on one girl.
His hands gripped the helmet he held so tightly he grew afraid he’d smash it. Putting it on the seat of the bike, he looked in the other direction to gain control of himself as well as the creature who lived inside of him.
Shaw could feel heat begin to course through his veins. His jaw clenched as what hid inside him strained to come out. “No,” he commanded quietly.
Claws ripped at his insides, and his head turned to look at the female who filled his nostrils with her delicate scent. Howls filled Shaw’s ears, but they weren’t from anywhere other than inside himself. “No,” he repeated.
His chest rose and fell as he tried to control the wolf that was trying to overtake him. But it only got worse as he looked at the girl. No matter how hard he tried, Shaw couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.
Soft golden curls hung around her shoulders. They bounced, catching the sun’s light as she pointed to something, and one of the three dogs that sat on their haunches at her feet got up and went where she’d told it to.
Shaw managed to pry his eyes from her as he noticed the dogs. A Doberman, a pit bull, and a husky looked at the girl much the same way he did. In adoration.
Adoration? Shaw thought.
That wasn’t Shaw. He didn’t adore anything.
If he saw someone he wanted, Shaw took her. But adore?
No, Shaw didn’t do adoration. Not at all.
The girl moved, and Shaw’s eyes jerked to watch her. Her red lips pulled into a smile as the Doberman returned with a stick between his sharp teeth. The dog took it right to her, laying it in the palm of her hand. She didn’t pat the top of his head the way Shaw thought she would. Instead, she pointed to the spot he’d been in before leaving to fetch the stick. He obediently backed up to sit once again on his haunches, awaiting her next command.
The husky barked, and the girl’s head snapped as she looked at him. Shaw could hear her from where he was, her tone was sharp yet completely controlled, “No, Sheba.”
The husky ducked its head in submission.
Impressive, Shaw thought.
Shaw noticed how calm he felt all of a sudden. The creature in him stilled as they watched the female. Shaw took a deep breath so he could take her scent in. Entirely human is what he got.
Shaw’s only thought: What a shame.
“I can still have her, but only for sex,” Shaw told himself and the thing that resided within him.
“I want her,” it told Shaw. “Get her for me.”
“You can’t have her. You know that. She’s human.” Shaw tried to look away, but it wouldn’t allow that.
“I want her,” it told Shaw once more.
“You’d kill her,” Shaw reminded the monster who tried to rule him.
No one ruled Shaw, not even the thing that shared his body and soul.
A family came past him, the father eyeing Shaw as if he was a lunatic. Shaw offered the man a smile that turned into a smirk, and he hurried his pack of humans along. “Hurry, dear, we need to grab a picnic table before they’re all taken.” His pale blue eyes darted to Shaw’s, then quickly he averted them and moved even faster.
“That’s right, you fool, hurry your little family away before something bad happens to you,” Shaw growled low in his chest as he felt his eyes flash red.
The full moon was hours away, yet he could feel the changes already occurring. Once it came out, he and those like him would lose their hold on the things that united them all. And they’d all hunt and feed to their heart’s content.
In the morning they’d all wake up, back to normal, naked in the morning sun’s light. And they’d feel more alive than any human ever feels.
With one big sniff, Shaw found her scent once more and felt his cock straining inside his jeans. “Down, boy. She’s going to be a hard one. I want her but so does he. That’s a dangerous combination.”
Killing humans wasn’t a thing he enjoyed doing. He’d take out any one of them who needed it. The innocent ones, Shaw couldn’t do that to. And she had to be one of the good ones.
Watching the girl with her dogs amazed him. She was so controlled, so alpha.
She looked his way. Green eyes met his, and he shuddered with the reaction to the contact. They were half a football field away from each other, and still, he felt the connection.
When she looked back at the dogs, instead of him, Shaw felt the loss immediately. And so did the thing inside of him as its growl filled his head, “I want her! Get her for me!”
“But you could kill her,” Shaw tried to stand his ground, but the full moon was coming, and the beast inside him was stronger than he was most of the time.
Shaw’s feet began to move his body forward. He was going to get who his beast and Shaw both wanted.
Shaw couldn’t help but silently pray, God help her.