Wolf Betrayed (The Dark Ridge Wolves Book 3)
WOLF BETRAYED
The Dark Ridge Wolves
Book Three
Marissa Farrar
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
About the Author
Also by the Author
Copyright
Chapter One
“Hey, can I get another round of waffles for Mr. Franks, and table twelve needs fresh coffee.”
Maya shouted the order to Steph, the other waitress working that day. The woman—older than Maya’s twenty-one years—flashed Maya a smile to show she’d heard and hurried off to get the food and drinks. Steph was a good worker. She needed to be, with two children at home who she worked to support after their idiot of a father got himself locked up for trying to sell drugs.
Taking a rare moment, Maya looked out of the windows, which spanned the length of the diner, and across the road to the expanse of trees beyond.
Never go into the forest alone. Don’t stray off the path. Stay home during a full moon.
Maya Brookes knew the rules, but that didn’t mean she always wanted to follow them. She was an adult now, and already life was starting to drive her crazy. When she’d been growing up, she’d fantasized about leaving the small town of Little Nimping and going off to college, but then her dad had gotten sick, and her mom hadn’t been able to cope with the family business alone. She wished she was one of those people who didn’t give a damn about anyone else, and who would go off and live her life regardless of others, but that wasn’t her. Her father, Jeremy, struggled with severe osteoarthritis in his joints which left him unable to do a physical job like working in the restaurant. In fact, now the disease was so progressive, he struggled to do much of anything at all himself, and was confined to a chair or bed most of the time. She knew her mom, Barbara, felt guilty at keeping her here, but they didn’t have anyone else they could trust with things like the banking and closing up every night. Her mom needed to be around to help her dad, and so all that kind of thing fell onto Maya’s lap. When she wasn’t handling the money, she helped out front, taking orders from the same customers she’d seen her whole life. They always asked after both her and her parents, and it was all she could do to stop herself falling to her knees and begging them to get her out of there. There must be more to life, but she felt it was passing her by.
Perhaps that was why the lure of the forest kept calling to her.
Everyone in town knew of the shifter compound where the Dark Ridge wolves lived. They came to town on the odd occasion for supplies, but for the most part they kept to themselves. Humans lived their lives, and shifters lived theirs. But the thought of them fascinated Maya. She knew others preferred to pretend they didn’t exist, but it wasn’t as though they actually hurt anyone. They had the rules to keep humans safe from shifters during the full moon, when they prowled the forest in their wolf form, but as far as she was aware, any problems had been caused more by the humans than the shifters. Nothing had happened recently, but when she was a child she remembered there being a couple of hunters who’d accidentally shot some shifters when they’d been in wolf form. The tales were that it was a difficult time for both the humans and the shifters, both wanting to keep peace intact, while needing to have someone pay for what had happened. The humans argued that they weren’t to know the wolves had been shifters—they’d shifted against the moon, something they weren’t supposed to do, but had been necessary that day for some reason. The hunters argued that they had no way of knowing those had been shifters they’d been hunting, but of course the shifters didn’t believe they should be shooting wolves, period, whether they were shifters or not. In the end, the hunters did time for the deaths of the shifters, but it had been for manslaughter, not murder, and they’d been out within a few years.
That had been the last time anyone had had any conflict with the shifters. People knew to stick to the rules, so why was it Maya wanted to break them?
It was going to be a full moon that night, the first of the three night cycle where shifters could move between wolf and human form at will. She couldn’t explain it, but the forest beckoned her. She would never give voice to her desires, but she wanted more than anything to come face to face with one of the creatures. Her life was void of excitement, and perhaps this was just the easiest way of injecting some into it. She’d heard the shifters were bigger than regular wolves and that their eyes glowed yellow. She’d give anything just to catch a glimpse of one as it ran.
One of the regulars, Mrs. Hewish, signaled her with a wrinkled, shaky hand, and then lifted her empty coffee cup. Maya smiled back then went to grab the pot to give her a refill.
“How’s your daddy doing these days?” the old lady asked as Maya filled her cup back to the brim.
“Some days are better than others. My mom is taking care of him almost full time now.”
She gave Maya a wide smile and patted her on the back of the hand. “At least they’ve got you. You’re such a good girl. I bet they wouldn’t know what to do without you.”
Maya forced herself to smile back, but inside her stomach was sinking. They wouldn’t be able to cope without her, that was the truth of it. She took a small wage from the business, but she didn’t need much. She still lived at home with them, so didn’t need money for rent, and was able to drive the truck which had the restaurant’s emblem on the side. If her parents had to bring someone else in to manage this place, they’d go bust within a year. They simply couldn’t afford to pay a manager’s salary on the turnover the restaurant had. They did okay, but their customers were regulars who came back year after year, ordering the same things, and they’d not felt they were able to put their prices up much when they had such loyal clientele.
After what felt like forever, the last of the breakfast crowd paid and left.
“You okay to clear up?” she asked Steph as the final customer walked out, the door swinging shut behind them. “I want to go and check on my folks.”
Steph looked up from the table she was wiping. “Sure, sweetie.”
“I’ll be back soon so you can grab your break.”
Steph waved a dismissive hand. “We’ve got a good hour before the lunch rush starts up. Take your time.”
Maya left to slip out the back of the restaurant to where the family home was built. A yard separated the house from the business, but instead of hosting a swing seat or other garden furniture, it was filled with cast-offs from the restaurant—tables and chairs that weren’t needed, and boxes of deliveries that hadn’t been stocked away yet.
She entered the home she shared with her parents and headed straight for the kitchen, knowing she’d find her mother there.
She wasn’t wrong. Her mother sat in her customary spot at the pine table.
“Hi, Mom. How are you doing?”
Her mother looked tired, dark smudges below her eyes, her face pale and drawn. She placed a finger to her lips and jerked her head toward the sitting room, then waved Maya toward the kitchen table.
“Your dad has finally gotten to sleep. He was awake all night in pain, and I don’t want to wake him.”
Barbara got to her feet and set about putting the kettle on.
“I
’ll do that, Mom,” Maya said, taking the kettle from her. “You go and sit down. If Dad was awake all night, I’m going to guess you were, too.”
Her mother sat in the wooden chair and nodded. “You know it’s impossible for me to sleep when he can’t keep still. It’s not his fault, he just can’t get comfortable with the pain keeping him awake.”
“Does he need to see the doctor again? Maybe he can adjust his pain meds.”
She exhaled a sigh. “Yeah, maybe. It’s just that every time we think we’ve found something that’s working, his body starts to get used to it and we have to start all over again. We’re constantly running to stay in the same place.”
“You need to look after yourself as well, Mom. You look exhausted. Make sure you tell me if there’s anything more I can do.”
She waved a hand. “Oh, Maya, you do too much already. You work from dusk till dawn till dusk as it is. A young woman like you should be out having fun, and instead you’re stuck here with us. I feel horrible about it.”
A wave of guilt washed over her at her earlier thoughts of wanting to run away. “Don’t be silly. We’re family and we support each other. It’s not as though this is anyone’s fault. Dad never asked to be ill. He’d much rather be working up front of the restaurant, chatting to the customers, than being stuck back here.”
“Oh, I know he would,” she agreed. “He hates this as much as anyone. He misses the company.”
“The customers are always asking after him,” she said. “They miss him, too.”
Her mom wiped away at a tear on her cheek. Maya carried the tea over and sat down opposite. She reached out and took her mother’s hand. “Don’t cry, Mom. I hate to see you like this.”
“This whole thing is just so damned frustrating. I’d never thought we’d all end up like this. I imagined you’d be off traveling or at college, and your dad and I would be enjoying our years together. Instead, everything is a mess.”
“We’ll be okay, Mom. We’ll get through this.”
Except they both knew they wouldn’t all get through it. It wasn’t as though her dad was going to get any better.
A knock came at the door and Steph’s head popped around the corner. “Sorry to bother you,” she said.
Maya got to her feet. “Sorry, Steph. You want to take your break?”
“Well, yes, but it’s not that. Maya, there’s a man here to see you, and it looks like he means business.”
Chapter Two
Chance Nickoli stood in front of the mirror, naked from the waist up. He ran his finger across the scar traversing his cheek. It had faded from the angry red, raised ridge it had been when it first healed, and was now a smooth white line, but that didn’t change how he felt. Shifters healed faster than humans—if he was human, with how deep the slash had been, he’d definitely still be healing—but that didn’t alter the fury he felt upon seeing it. His gaze cast downward where further scars ran in parallel lines down his chest, and across his biceps and back. He wore jeans, but he knew similar scars covered his legs. The scar on his face had been caused by a wolf’s canine, those across his body by the sharp claws of the animals.
Several weeks had passed since he’d been attacked by members of his own pack. The anger simmered deep inside him. Not one of the shifters responsible had apologized for what had happened—why would they? The attack had been ordered by their old alpha, and, as wolf shifters, they were bound to obey their alpha’s orders.
Holton Golding was the new alpha of the Dark Ridge wolves now, so at least Chance didn’t need to come into contact with their old alpha Gregory again. He didn’t want to contemplate how that would have worked out for him, having to bow down to the man who’d ordered him to be attacked. However, the other shifters involved hadn’t suffered any reprimands for attacking him. They’d done as Gregory had ordered, so they couldn’t be punished for it. Gregory’s plan had been to get rid of Holton, claiming he was a threat to the security of their pack, but in the end it was Gregory who’d been the one causing all the problems. The pack had settled back into life with a new alpha, but Chance was still struggling. He was waging an internal war that no one else seemed to be aware of. He thought he’d been content with his role in the pack—a subordinate wolf, just as his father had been, and his father’s father—but, since the attack, he’d been wrestling with his desire to fight against the bonds of the wolf pack hierarchy.
A knock came at the front door. He left the bathroom and stalked through his small house and swung the door open to reveal one of the other subordinate wolves, Ash, standing there.
“You’re needed over at the meeting house. They want some chairs set out before the meeting tonight.”
Chance growled. “I guess expecting them to do it themselves would be a stupid idea.”
The other guy shrugged as though to say ‘what can you do?’
They had a hierarchy for a reason. Everyone knew their place, and that way the pack ran as one entity. That was the idea, anyway, except it never ran quite that smoothly. Personal egos sometimes got in the way. Before the attack, Chance had accepted his place in the pack, but now having to run alongside those who’d hurt him, he was struggling.
He left the house and walked through the compound. The shifter compound of the Dark Ridge wolves had everything expected from a rural village—they had a small school for the children, a medical room which he’d seen far too much of, even one of the women had set up a salon and cut hair and trimmed beards when needed. They still had to go to the nearby town for some supplies, but otherwise the little community was self-sufficient.
Up ahead, Gavin Toller, one of the men who’d been involved in the attack, lolled against a tree. Chance stuffed his hands in his pockets and scowled at the ground, trying to ignore the other shifter’s presence. It seemed Gavin wasn’t going to leave Chance alone, however.
“Off to do some chores, Chance.”
He heard the mocking in the other man’s tone. Chance wasn’t a small man. He’d only been overpowered because there had been several other wolves involved in the attack, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of fighting. Every muscle in his body tensed, his hands balling into fists. He remembered exactly which scars this particular man had given him—the five stripes across his chest, and the tooth mark down his cheek.
“Move out of my way, Gavin.”
“Sorry, I wouldn’t want to keep the chore-boy away from his jobs.”
Chance squared his shoulder, stepping up to get in the other shifter’s face. “Who the hell do you think you are? It’s not like you’re alpha or beta either. You have your place in this pack, just like I do.”
He scoffed. “Not right at the bottom, though.”
Chance growled.
“Hey!” The shout of their alpha made the two men step away from each other. “You two, quit it.”
Chance turned to see Holton heading their way. His long hair fell over his shoulders as he walked, his dark brows drawn together in displeasure. His mate, Ruby, who was the niece of their old alpha Gregory, was now the alpha-female and stalked along beside him, needing to make two of her paces to match with her mate’s one.
He couldn’t help but blame Holton for not doing more after the truth had been revealed. He should have sent those other wolves away instead of letting them stay in the compound. After all, the same shifters who had hurt him had also threatened to kill Holton and Ruby. Holton had said it was a fresh start under a new alpha, but Chance was less sure.
Holton stopped to stand between them. “Is this something I need to be concerned about?”
Both men looked to the ground.
“Nothing’s going on,” said Chance
“Glad to hear it. You’re needed over at the meeting house.”
“Yeah, that’s where I was going before someone stopped me.” He shot Gavin a glare.
“Well, hurry up about it.” The alpha turned his attention to the other man. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be, too, Gavin?”
He entered the wooden building to find the alpha’s brother, Joel, unstacking chairs. Joel must have caught the dark expression on Chance’s face.
“Everything all right?” Joel asked, sweeping his blond hair from his eyes.
Chance’s black mood radiated from him. “I don’t know how you stand to be here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t your brother sweep away your girl from right under your nose?”
Joel’s blue eyes darkened a shade. “She was never my girl. We were just friends. We still are.”
“Really? That’s not what I heard.”
“I don’t give a shit what you heard. You’ve got one hell of a chip on your shoulder lately, Chance.”
His mouth dropped open, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. “Yeah? I wonder why that could be? You were there, Joel.”
“I’m not trying to say what happened was right—believe me, like you said, I didn’t come out of the whole thing unscathed either—but you’re going to have to find a way to get over it. Gregory is gone, but you can’t have expected the others to go against his wishes when he was alpha.”
“You did,” Chance snapped back. “You refused to attack your brother. You stood up to Gregory against him.”
“That’s because he’s my brother, but also, I already had some insight into what Gregory was like. Remember my sister, Alyssa? Gregory had his eye on her, even though she was half his age.”
“Age doesn’t mean anything to mated pairs.”
“Maybe not, but Gregory was never going to be Alyssa’s mated pair. He was already mated. He just wanted her as a little extra.”
He could understand Joel’s reasons for going against Gregory, and he was glad someone had, but that didn’t make him feel any better that he had to live side by side with the people who’d scarred him. Even though he knew with his shifter genetics, the scars themselves would be gone within another month or two, he didn’t think he’d be able to forget so easily. Perhaps if the other men had been apologetic in some way, things would be easier, but they seemed to lord the attack over him.