The Secret Wolf (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance) Read online

  Welcome to the world of FULL MOON MERCY.

  This isn’t just a book about a MC… this is about a brotherhood, a group of men who share a bond not just within the MC, but within their souls…

  They’re men. They’re beasts. They are… FULL MOON MERCY.

  Don’t miss a Full Moon Mercy book!

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  THE SECRET WOLF

  A Full Moon Mercy Novel

  Sitting next in line to run Full Moon Mercy Motorcycle Club, Lucas Trowwer has kept his fair share of secrets. Whether it’s the cover up of murders in town or the fact that all the men that sit at the table are truly beasts on the inside, Lucas knows the line between paranormal and reality is very thin.

  When bodies start piling up in town, the evidence points to a rival shifter crew looking to take down the MC, and the last thing Lucas needs is to save an innocent woman and fall for her. His trust must now reside in a woman who is beyond beautiful... and completely human. If things couldn’t get any more confusing, a one night stand from Lucas’s past comes forward with news that could change the path of Full Moon Mercy and Lucas is trapped within secrets, romance, and bloodshed.

  There’s a war brewing in the town of Mercy… and deep inside Lucas’s beast of a heart.

  1

  The smell was just too much to let go. Thanks to a southern wind, trying to pull cool air down from the mountain, he stood on the border between right and wrong, inhaling the air. His mouth watered. His brain felt as though it were swelling, the urges and needs becoming so intoxicating, his body started to quiver. With a hand against a tree, he waited, licking his lips, tasting them already. They were miles away, yes, but that didn’t matter. The smallest taste of hope, desire, love, lust, fate, anger, hatred, or fear, he could find it easily.

  He curled his hand against the wide tree. It should have ripped the skin off his fingers, bringing blood and signaling the tree was stronger than him. Such wasn’t the case. His fingers ripped at the bark as though it were cloth. The bark cracked and when he pulled his hand away, he had a handful of the tree.

  He laughed.

  Another cool wind kicked up and he put his head back and inhaled the air again. The taste was just so much. Opening his mouth, he let his tongue flick at the air, wondering what tasted better. Was it the taste of the air, the taste of a woman’s desire, or the taste of flesh and blood?

  Before making his decision - because face it, they all tasted great - he stepped over the line. There had once been a set fear in crossing that line. It had been instilled in everyone he knew, a deep seeded command that always seemed to leave them all wondering what exactly would happen if and when he crossed the line. Standing beyond the line, nothing happened. And nothing would. He knew that, he always knew that. Speaking it though would result in perhaps an internal war that nobody really wanted. There were enough wars to fight, waiting on the outside world.

  One step turned into a second, into a third, and with a lunge forward, he was no longer human. He was running, fast and free, the trees becoming a blur, yet his senses so perfected and so heightened he could see, smell, touch, and taste anything around him. He saw deer scatter as they ran for their lives. He smiled. The deer weren’t of his taste. That kind of meat was saved for desperate times. Birds scattered and he could hear their wings flapping, the frantic sound of thousands of wings making their urgent escape. These were the animals within the nature he called his own and home. The animals could hear and sense him, but humans couldn’t. The animals were programmed to do so. That’s what made it all so interesting. He could be human, he could be beast. He had the best of both worlds in strength, power, looks, opportunity, and emotions. He was part of the true alpha creation. Maybe not an alpha of a pack yet, but certainly a creation greater than any human to step on the ground and call it their own.

  What made him intrigued was all the effort that had seemingly went into the creation of humans. The way they talked, acted, their emotional capabilities, their mental capabilities. Yet they were so weak. So vulnerable. So… worthless.

  He came to a halt when the smell became too much to bear. As he waited, saliva collected and dripped like a broken faucet. He couldn’t stop it now. The thick muscle and hair of his arms and chest were a mess of salvia from running so fast.

  He could see them now.

  They were standing on the side of a road. Their car pulled to the side of the road, the driver’s door open.

  “Hurry up, man!” one of them shouted.

  “Relax. I’m just taking a piss.”

  “I don’t want to get attacked by a bear or something.”

  It made him laugh.

  A bear?

  Please.

  He walked forward slowly, breaking through the trees and letting his presence be known. The guy taking a piss had his head down and had no idea the size and extremeness of the creature before him. With a quick growl, attention had been claimed.

  The guy pissing started to step back and tripped, falling to his ass.

  “Tommy!” he screamed. “Help!”

  There was no help.

  The other guy, Tommy, walked forward and saw his friend on the ground, pants around his ankles, still pissing. Then he saw the size of the beast waiting for a fresh kill and he froze.

  “Holy shit…”

  Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun and pointed it. The gun shook.

  He didn’t care.

  What was a gun going to do?

  Just to be sure, he opened his mouth, his salivating fangs speaking much louder than a gun ever would. Tommy dropped the gun and turned to run. This guy was going to abandon his friend. Betrayal really wasn’t a good thing…

  He jumped over the guy on his ass with his pants around his ankles. With one swipe of a massive paw, claws and strength went into Tommy’s neck and shoulder, opening him, snapping his spine, killing him instantly. He put his nose to the open wound and sniffed the blood.

  It was beautiful.

  He turned and slowly walked back to the pissing guy. He nuzzled his nose against the guy’s cheek, smearing the blood of his backstabbing best friend on him.

  “Please,” he whispered, “don’t hurt me. Go away. I’m not food.”

  He smiled and looked at the guy. He allowed his eyes to shift to their human form. It allowed him to also speak.

  He wanted to choose his words carefully for such a special moment.

  “Yes,” he said to the man, “you are food. My food.”

  He opened his mouth, stretched his jaw wide, and began to enjoy.

  He was as interested in the blood and flesh as he was about creating a bigger war.

  2

  The sunset bled across the sky, another dying day. Lucas Trowwer stood with his back against the brick building, one foot up, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He smacked a lighter against his bent leg, kicking up a flame. He held the lighter up, and stared at the flame, seeing the colors arrange from blue to yellow. He put the lighter to his cigarette, lit it, inhaled, and killed the flamed. The lighter shut with a metallic click and it slid it into his pockets. After a refreshing drag on the smoke, Lucas took the cigarette from his mouth and put his head back.

  When's the last time I slept? he asked himself and then began to laugh.

  Sleep was a luxury, and Lucas had plenty of those in his life already. Well, they appeared to be luxuries, but that was just bull
shit. Lucas would easily dare any mortal soul to step up and trade with him. Sure, the money, the life, the ability to change had the appearance of being cool as hell, but it all came with a price. That's all life really was to Lucas – people just paying a price until they finally kicked the bucket and rotted back into the ground.

  Lucas inhaled on his smoke as though it were his last one. For all he knew, it could have been his last one. Nobody ever really knew when their last second would tick away. Maybe that's what made life so interesting. Maybe that's what made it terrifying. Part of it, Lucas knew, was the reason why people flooded the nightclub Full Moon Mercy owned, which gave them access to many people for pleasure and necessity. It also covered up the background details and noise for the motorcycle club under the same name.

  The side door opened with a rusty squeak. Lucas listened to someone cough and turned his head.

  "Cooper, what are you coughing about?"

  "Shit," Cooper said waving his hand, "that shit'll kill you someday."

  Lucas laughed. He'd been shot, stabbed, choked, and beaten and left for dead more times than he cared to count for... and yet a cigarette was going to take him down?

  Try me.

  Lucas dropped the smoke to the ground and stepped on it, sending orange ashes to scatter and die.

  "There, happy?" he asked.

  "Vince wants us," Cooper said. "Business meeting."

  "Beautiful," Lucas said.

  Lucas walked to his motorcycle and touched its leather seat. He had a date with his bike tonight, preferably alone for a little bit, before coming back and having his way with some lucky chick in the club. There were so many women, so many willing, and they all woke the next morning not really sure what had happened the night before other than they were smiling, hungover, and ready to get the hell out of Full Moon Mercy.

  Cooper held the door for Lucas. Lucas ran a hand through his thick black hair and went back into the club. He turned left and took the stairs two at a time. His boots thudded with an echo as he hurried. Second in command to the club, seated behind Vincent Rilder, Lucas technically had some big shoes to fill someday, but he honestly didn't give a shit about it. The club worked the way they did and it was all fine. As long as Vince had respect, his wife Mandy's open legs, and the ability to fight, fuck, and kill anyone he wanted, he was a happy man. As far as Lucas went, his life was beyond that. There was more out there, way out beyond the small town of Mercy. The road called him, and it wasn't like that for the other guys. It wasn't for the smell of blood or flesh. It wasn't for women. It wasn't for killing. It was just something else... something always lurking, always tempting Lucas.

  The top floor of the club was a wide open loft. Lucas pointed and nodded to a few guys behind the bar. They weren't shifters, but they wanted nothing more than to be just that. They worked tireless hours for next to nothing, only to be taken once in a while on a little mission to knock someone off or watch some of the guys in the club shift and tear something apart.

  "He's waiting," someone called out.

  Lucas shook his head and opened the heavy wooden doors to what was called the conference room.

  "Idiot," Lucas whispered.

  He stepped into the room and saw the black chair at the head of the table. It was turned around but he knew Vince was sitting there. He could smell him. He'd known Vince his entire life and could always pick up on his smell. Cooper came next and shut the door with a heavy thud.

  "Not much to say," Vince said as he turned in the chair.

  Lucas looked around the room. It was just Vince, Cooper, Ian, Zayne, and himself in the room. Usually business meetings had more of a gathering to discuss things. Vince loved a good conversation, and sometimes he loved to throw a fist or two. Or just shift and trash the room to nothing.

  "I see the turnout is shit," Lucas said.

  He put his hands to the top of a chair and leaned. He hated sitting. He hated wasting time.

  "Presslin called," Vince said. His eyes went from Lucas to Zayne, back to Lucas.

  "Good 'ol Chief Charlie, huh?" Lucas asked.

  "We've got to go," Zayne said. "Right now."

  "Go where?" Lucas asked.

  "Two more, dead," Vince said.

  "What the fuck do we care about dead bodies?" Lucas asked. "I know we're a small town here, but..."

  "Go with Zayne, Cooper, and Ian," Vince said to Lucas. "You'll see when you get there. We need to check the scene, clean it up, and then calm little Charlie down before his heart finally gives out."

  "What's he up to now?" Cooper asked. "Three heart attacks?"

  "Something like that," Vince said.

  That fact bothered Lucas. Chief Charlie was needed more than anyone cared to lead on, mostly because Chief would let it go to his head. Bad enough he already tried to look young and cool, which was impossible with the wrinkles on his face, bloated lips, and old grumpy attitude.

  "I'm cool with it," Lucas said. "I was just having a smoke and then heading out for a ride anyway."

  Vince leaned back and said, "I want this done now and done quiet. I want everyone back here too at some point to figure this shit out."

  "Not the first kill," Ian said. His hands were folded, his fingers tattooed with symbols that meant nothing to normal people. "This isn't good."

  "Come on," Lucas said. "Just relax a little."

  "Let's roll, bro," Cooper said and gripped Lucas's shoulder.

  "Yup."

  Ian and Zayne stood. As they walked by Vince, they each gripped his hand tight and nodded as a sign of respect and love for Vince. For all he'd done and all they hoped he'd do. Lucas didn't have to do the same with Vince. There was a different level of respect for Vince when it came to Lucas. They met eyes and Lucas saw Vince's eyes flicker from human brown to a beastly yellow.

  Lucas closed the door behind him and caught Cooper putting on a set of leather gloves.

  "Let's get it," Cooper said. "Let's go look at some dead bodies."

  Lucas followed behind them slowly, and thought, awesome.

  3

  The sunset still stretched along the horizon, light holding on as much as possible. Lucas started by following behind Cooper, Ian, and Zayne, but he cut out from the group and sped up, taking the lead, right where he belonged. The wind pounded against his face, blowing his black hair behind him. The rumble of the engine was that like a beast, but Lucas knew he could run faster and be stronger than an engine on a motorcycle. This engine and wheel gave him that powerful sense of freedom. Along the roads that curved, twisted, and turned, they began a descent from the main part of town.

  When Lucas saw flashing lights in the distance, he revved the engine and caught up quick to the scene waiting on the side of the road. He pulled over, killed the engine and took his helmet off. Cooper, Ian, and Zayne followed suit, parking their motorcycles at angles, boxing in the police cruiser.

  “How about we kill those lights?” Lucas asked as he stepped from his bike.

  “Nice to see you too,” Chief Charlie said.

  “I don’t think we need anymore attention here,” Lucas said. “Do you?”

  Chief Charlie stood with his hands to his hips. His face was mean and old. He had nothing in his life but his job and the feel of holding the town of Mercy by its thick balls, something that at one time bothered Lucas, but the more he learned of Chief Charlie, the more he understood and went along with things. Plus, at the end of the day, no matter the title on someone’s badge, the only thing that mattered was Full Moon Mercy and what they provided and protected Mercy from.

  “I wanted Vince to come for this,” the Chief said as he walked to his cruiser.

  “What’s wrong with me?” Lucas asked and smiled.

  Chief Charlie scoffed.

  Lucas knew he had what most would call a baby face look to him. Even with the gentle black scruff on his face, Charlie’s deep brown eyes gave more of a true youth look than what Lucas was actually capable of.

  The lights on the cruiser we
re turned off and it felt like privacy had now been restored.

  Lucas looked back to Cooper, Ian, and Zayne. They were still seated on their bikes. Loyal, yes.

  “Stay put for a few,” Lucas said.

  He walked to Chief Charlie and put an arm around him. “Let’s walk. Show me what you have.”

  “Lucas, this is getting out of hand here,” the Chief said. “There’s only so much we can do before this starts to spread. Christ, if I hadn’t gotten a call about an abandoned car, I don’t know who would have found this.”

  “Who made the call?” Lucas asked.

  “I don’t know. Someone driving by I guess.”

  “They didn’t stop?” Lucas asked. He looked at the car on the side of the road. The driver’s door hanging open, the lights on inside the car, the car running.

  “Maybe they were worried,” Chief Charlie said. “Would you stop here for a car on the side of the road?”

  Lucas smiled. “Probably not.”

  That’s when Lucas looked down and saw the first body on the ground. Face down, a massive wound running from the shoulder to the victim’s neck. The way his head was tilted, it was safe to say he died instantly. That still didn’t mean he hadn’t died with some fear or pain.

  Lucas kept walking and when he saw the second body, he let out a sigh. “Oh, damn.”

  “What am I supposed to do with this?” Chief Charlie asked. “Look at it. It looks like a goddamn feast.”

  That’s not what it was. If it had been a feast, there would have been nothing left at the scene. Whoever did this wanted to send a message to Lucas, Vincent, and Full Moon Mercy. A message that was read loud and clear, one that would start some bigger problems.

  Lucas crouched down and looked at the missing face of the man on his back. His pants were down to his ankles, the scene looking awkward and deadly. Lucas rubbed his face and looked up to the woods. He inhaled a deep breath, wanting to catch a whiff of something. He could smell plenty, mostly the bodies before him. They were still flesh, meat, nourishment, even though Lucas wouldn’t dare touch the bodies. They were meant to die, but it shouldn’t have happened like this.