Heart of the wolf, p.1
Heart of the Wolf, page 1
HEART OF THE WOLF
The Wild Hunt Legacy: 6
CHERISE SINCLAIR
VanScoy Publishing Group
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Prologue
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
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
Daonain Glossary
Have you tried?
Excerpt from Not a Hero
Also by Cherise Sinclair
About the Author
Heart of the Wolf
Copyright © 2022 by Cherise Sinclair
ISBN: 978-1-947219-39-7
Published by VanScoy Publishing Group
Cover Art: The Killion Group
Edited by Red Quill Editing, LLC
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, business establishments, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this eBook only. No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews as permitted by law.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Growing up, I thought an author would write “The End” and poof, the book would be published. That’s not…exactly…how it works.
Much like a child, a book needs a community to become all it should be (and I’m so very lucky to have a fabulous community).
From the very beginning, I have my amazing crit partners, Fiona Archer and Monette Michaels, who get the first crack at the manuscript, and then content editor Bianca Sommerland jumps in.
After that, there’s a back and forth between me, my wonderful Red Quill editors (Ekatarina Sayanova, Rebecca Cartee, and Tracy Damron-Roelle) and my incredible beta readers (Barb Jack, Marian Shulman, Lisa White, and JJ Foster). They’re the reason you’re not tripping over typos and wondering why the hero’s brown eyes somehow turned blue.
When, the baby…uh, book…is ready to leave the nest, it still needs support.
And there you all are, my awesome readers. You have my deepest appreciation for sending happy emails, for writing reviews, for giving shout-outs for the book. For your enthusiasm that keeps me returning to the keyboard.
Hugs and kisses go to my marvelous Facebook Shadowkittens who stay with me from book conception to after the release date—and the next book. From begging for stories for different characters (no, the Murphy brothers will not get a book) to answering polls and having the most intriguing book discussions. And keeping me laughing.
I love you all.
PROLOGUE
A terror-filled chittering came from the rocky creek below.
Pulled out of her grieving, Heather rose from her tree-shaded niche and wiped her tear-dampened cheeks. As she worked her way down the steep bank to the edge of the water, silence fell.
“Where are you, sprite?” She looked around, not seeing any movement. “Let me help.”
After a long pause, squeaks came from a few feet away.
A young pixie not even the size of Heather’s hand was caught between two rocks at the water’s edge. She’d probably fallen from the tree overhanging the creek. “There you are.”
“Whatcha doing, sis?” Daniel called from farther up the creek. Her brother was a tall, hefty male, muscular from working his ranch in Rainier Territory. Shaggy brown hair hung over his ears because he was “too busy” to get it cut.
Or he doesn’t give a damn, which is more likely.
“Sprite saving.” Heather knelt.
“What a surprise.” Shoving his long black hair out of his face, Tanner, her other littermate, shot her a quick grin. “Face it, sis, you’ll rescue anything, from females to OtherFolk.”
Daniel smirked at Tanner. “Or brothers, like the time you and Gretchen—”
“Shut it, gnome-brain.” Tanner tackled Daniel, dumping them both into the water.
Brothers. Honestly. Heather snorted. Yet their playing lightened her heart. A little.
“Hang on, pixie.” Carefully, she moved a rock to free the tiny OtherFolk’s leg and then held her hand out.
To her surprise, the pixie accepted the invitation and climbed on.
Slowly, Heather lifted her hand to under the lowest branch.
The sprite leaped and disappeared into the foliage with a happy chitter.
Turning, Heather saw her brothers had abandoned their tussling in favor of trying to catch a fish. It was many miles from the North Cascade’s Elder Village to where they’d left their vehicles at a turnout. Since they’d been traveling in their animal forms, they’d stopped at one of the territory’s clothing caches near here to shift to human and take a break.
Undoubtedly her brothers were getting hungry, and bears adored fish.
She was a wolf, not a bear. And right now, her heart was too sore to join them.
Mama is gone.
It felt just so…wrong. There simply couldn’t be a world without her mother in it.
Shoulders sagging, she sat on the creek bank and put her bare feet in the cold water. The August sun was hot on her shoulders. The air held the resinous tang of the forest and the slightly fishy scent of water flowing over sun-warmed rocks.
Daniel made a snatch for a trout, missed, and grumbled.
Two silvery undines flashed around his legs, then went to tease Tanner. Water elementals had a wicked sense of humor.
Heather smiled slightly. It was nice to be with her brothers again. Her cabin wasn’t far from their place—they were all in Rainier Territory, after all—but she was busy with her company, and they stayed busy on the ranch that’d been in their family for generations.
Pulling up her legs, she rested her head on her knees. This summer had been so filled with heartbreak. In June, Scythe mercenaries had attacked their summer festival. Shifters had died, and she had killed a human for the first time.
Then yesterday, word had come from the Elder Village their mother was failing. It’d taken too long to get from Rainier Territory to the village since the place was deliberately inaccessible to vehicles.
Mama was gone before they’d arrived.
We didn’t even get to say goodbye. To tell her how much we love her. Heather blinked hard. Mama had known how much she was loved.
She’d known.
Wiping her eyes, Heather glanced at her brothers.
Having abandoned their game, they were watching her with concern.
“She wouldn’t want you sad about her death,” Daniel said gently.
Tanner’s crooked smile held his own grief. “Nope, she’s liable to come back and knock you into the creek.”
“Like when we were sixteen”—Daniel splashed toward her—“and Mama found out the Martel brothers were messing around with you.”
“Those assholes,” Tanner growled. He’d always been the most protective of her two brothers. “They were, what, mid-twenties?”
“Mmmhmm.” Heather tried to smile. They’d been the first to teach her that males weren’t always honest in their interest. “The Martels are still lying cockroaches.”
“We wanted to teach them a lesson, but Mama beat us to it. She’d already shifted to bear.” Tanner splashed water at the undines, making them swirl in glee. “She scared the scat right out of them. It was great.”
Mama had been the sweetest person, yet she’d take on the entire world to keep her babies safe. Heather had always wanted to be just like her.
“Mama bears—the terrors of the animal world.” Daniel smiled, then frowned at Heather. “You sure had abysmal taste in males back then.”
“Guess so.” And it seemed her taste hadn’t improved. Bitterness made her press her lips together. She’d grown better at avoiding liars, but not at choosing males who wouldn’t cut and run at the drop of a hat.
Nobody stayed. She pushed her forehead against her knees, choking back a sob.
“Hey, we’re here for you, you know.” Tanner dropped onto the bank beside her and patted her shoulder.< br />
Being bears, her brothers fumbled their way through emotional moments. But it warmed her heart that they tried.
Soaking wet, Daniel sat down on her other side.
“Thanks, dudes.” They cared; she knew they did. But their lives were tied up in their ranch, just like hers was invested in her software business.
She didn’t want them to drop everything for her. She didn’t.
But she felt so alone.
Mama’s death wasn’t a surprise, not really. After her lover in Elder Village died, she’d faded rapidly, as older shifters were wont to do. Daonain lived a long time, but Mama hadn’t been young when she’d birthed Heather and her littermates.
Why couldn’t she have lived long enough to see her first grandchildren?
Heather set her hand on her belly. She was pregnant—at long last, after so many years.
She wasn’t very far along, having conceived at the last Gathering. In fact, the healer in Cold Creek had barely picked it up. She frowned. The way Donal’s brows had drawn together was concerning. Still, he hadn’t said for her to worry.
As she scrubbed her hands over her face, exhaustion pulled at her bones. She hadn’t been sleeping well in her empty bed. After she’d told her two new lovers she was pregnant, they moved out, leaving the territory entirely. They’d had no interest in raising cubs, whether theirs or someone else’s.
Had they ever been interested in her, really? Or had they just wanted an easy ride through life with a female who had money?
No, be fair. In all reality, her pregnancy was simply one problem too many. After all, they’d hated Rainier Territory where her cabin was located.
She couldn’t blame them. Born and raised in Ailill Ridge, she loved Rainier Territory with all her heart…but it had become unwelcoming.
In truth, the territory was a disgrace. The Laws of the Daonain were ignored, and the clansfolk were alienated from each other. Most of the problems were Pete’s fault. Shifters who should have been reprimanded by the Cosantir were allowed to do whatever they wanted.
Rainier Territory was no longer a safe place to grow up.
She put her hands over her still-flat belly—over the little ones growing within. Don’t worry, my babies. I’ll protect you. If I have to slap every mangy asshole in the territory, you’ll be safe.
Giving them a gentle pat, she smiled. She was going to have cubs.
She bumped Tanner with her shoulder. “I’m ready to get moving and get home. I have a business to run.”
As she rose, a tiny cramp started in her belly. Then there was a bigger one.
No. No, no, no.
Pain rippled across her abdomen. She felt a trickle of warmth, of blood, between her legs.
“Noooo.” Her knees buckled.
“Heather!” Daniel caught her and eased her down.
“No, please.” Pressing her hands to her abdomen, she felt her hopes and dreams simply end.
CHAPTER ONE
Is everything making you irritable, girl?
The answer was yes. It’d been two weeks since losing her mom and her unborn cubs, and all the joy and light had left Heather’s world.
Having stopped at the coffee shop for much-needed caffeine, Heather walked down the sidewalk toward her offices.
The mid-August sun was already hot, intensifying the petroleum fumes hanging in the air. Located outside of Rainier Territory and an hour’s drive from her cabin near Ailill Ridge, Cle Elum was a small human town with far too many cars.
She watched a woman drive two blocks before parking again. Really, humans depended too much on their automobiles.
“Fucking thieves!” Across the street, a man chased a couple of boys. The youngsters dodged, sped up, and disappeared around the corner.
Heather frowned. Why wasn’t someone looking after those lads? They couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen. She’d never have let her…
Closing her eyes, she pulled in a slow grief-stricken breath. After a moment, she shook her head.
Leaves in the stream; nothing is forever. Time to move on.
Across the street, the shopkeeper returned to his electronics store, still swearing a blue streak.
She pursed her lips. Thankfully, Ailill Ridge, with a mostly Daonain population, didn’t have gangs or thieves, at least as far as she knew. Of course, a badly run shifter territory like Rainier had its own problems—the growing animosity between werecats and wolves, the disregard for the Laws, and the poor condition of clan properties.
The whole clan suffered from a general malaise.
It hurt. Her ancestors were some of the founders of the town. They’d built her little cabin in the forest. She loved it…but she was starting to wonder if she wanted to stay in Rainier Territory.
Should she pack up her cat and wander the country?
She snorted. Considering what a homebody she was, her journeys might not last long, but maybe she’d find a welcoming new territory. It could happen.
Then again, she had a business to run.
Forgot about that little detail, did you, girl? Adjusting the shoulder strap of her laptop case, she grinned and continued down the street. She’d have to settle for a short vacation. One of these days.
A block down, she walked into the software company she and a friend owned. It was time to redo the advertising for the winter season. And she had to find a new cleaning company. And…
With a smile, she walked past the receptionist who was on the phone. In the beehive-like main room, cubicles lined the perimeter. Employees were intent on their work—although a few looked up with smiles of greeting. The far end of the room held the private offices.
“Heather, finally.” Shaquana stepped out of her office. She wore a screaming red suit. Her black hair was in a perfect bun, her makeup impeccable. Her dark eyebrows drew together. “Woman, your bags have bags. Didn’t anyone tell you sleep is a good thing?”
Heather managed a smile for her human partner. “I stayed up way too late last night. Maybe I had too much coffee yesterday.”
Not…exactly…a lie. Was one cup too much?
Honestly, she thought she’d done well to get cleaned up and into her usual business attire of khaki pants, white button-up shirt, and navy blazer. It was a shame business owners had to look respectable. Really, the only dressing up she’d ever enjoyed was getting sexy for Gatherings.
“Stay awake for a while. We need to talk—and then maybe you should take the rest of the day off like you never do.”
“We’ll see.” Heather glanced at the discussion table in the center of the room. “Is this an everyone meeting or an owner meeting.”
“Just us. About the offer we got.”
“What about it?” Over the years, their accounting software for small businesses had acquired an excellent percentage of the market. But, as often happened with software companies, bigger corporations wanted to buy their company to get the rights to the app. With previous offers, they’d simply refused.
So what was there to talk about?
Inside her white office with its sleek lines and burnished metal, Shaquana settled into one of the three black chairs.
Joining her, Heather took a sip of her coffee and waited. Her friend never took long to get to the point.
Until today.
“Spit it out, Shaq. What’s wrong?”
Shaquana took in a long, slow breath. “I want to accept the offer. To sell.”
Heather choked, feeling as if an elk had kicked her in the chest. Carefully, she set her coffee on an end table. “Sell. Our company.”
“I’m sorry, Heather.” Shaquana swallowed. “But we’ve been doing this for fifteen years—and I’m in my forties. I’m ready for something else.”
