Whispers in the night, p.1
Whispers in the Night, page 1
WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT
Copyright © October 2023 by Gabrielle Evans
Cover Art by Black Butterfly Designs
Published by Peccavi Press INC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Contents
Synopsis
A Note from Gabrielle…
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
Epilogue
About the Author
Also By Gabrielle Evans
Synopsis
At just fourteen years old, Jackson Cunningham quickly learned his place in the world when he was shot and left for dead on the side of the road. He didn’t expect to be rescued, and he never imagined his savior would turn out to be his own mate.
For the next four years, he waits patiently, eagerly looking forward to his eighteenth birthday, to the day that his mate will finally claim him. Only, that day never came, and now, at twenty-one, he’s done waiting for Talon to want him.
Talon Cartwright doesn’t exactly have a reputation for possessing a kind and gentle nature. There are very few things in life he cares about, and Jackson is right at the top of that list. Claiming him, however, binding them—body, heart, and soul—isn’t an option. Cursed by a rare genetic disease, he knows his days are numbered, and he refuses to allow Jackson to suffer the same fate that awaits him.
When dreams of a brother he left behind begin to plague Jackson, it doesn’t take long for him to realize they aren’t dreams. They’re calls for help. Can he save his brother and convince his stubborn mate to claim him? Or is he destined to lose them both forever?
A Note from Gabrielle…
Whispers in the Night was originally released in 2011 by a different publisher as the third book of The Moonlight Breed series. This new version has been significantly edited to add details, smooth out any rough spots, and include updates from this decade.
It does not, however, contain any meaningful changes to the characters or the storyline.
one
“And that’s how I broke my collarbone sliding into home plate.”
“Mm, amazing.”
Doing his damnedest to appear even remotely interested, Jackson Cunningham blinked rapidly when he felt the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes. Gods, this idiot liked himself, and he clearly didn’t care that people knew it.
Case in point, Jackson had just sat through a recap of the guy’s entire baseball career, from T-ball all the way through one season in the minors.
“So, what is it that you do?”
Jackson actually looked over his shoulder, convinced the guy had to be talking to someone behind him. Not a huge stretch since he hadn’t been given an opportunity to say much about anything, and certainly nothing that applied to him or his life.
“Oh, um, I’m a home security specialist.”
“That’s great.” Mr. Tall, Dark, and Stupid pushed his shaggy hair back from his brow and reached for his beer. “You know, I think our centerfielder in college went on to do something with security systems.”
And he was off talking about baseball again.
Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. It wasn’t as if he opposed baseball. It was actually his second favorite sport after football. The self-important ass sitting across from him, however, was beginning to sour his opinion on the great American pastime.
Damn, he couldn’t even remember the guy’s name.
Objectively, his date had a lot going for him. A thick head of dark hair. Strong, square jaw. Warm brown eyes. He coached high school baseball—shocker—and by all appearances, he had his life together.
Good for him. Jackson just couldn’t find it in himself to care.
Fuck, he hated going on these dates. He would rather be at home, doing literally anything else. If he thought it would help, he would even volunteer to fold everyone’s laundry—by far his least favorite chore.
Because not only did he dislike these dates, but he also considered them utterly pointless. Only one person had ever held any interest to him. Only one person owned his heart.
Even if the asshole didn’t want him.
“I have to go,” Jackson interrupted. Leaning to the side, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and extracted a couple of twenties. “This has been…” He searched for something polite to say without outright lying. “Well, the food was good.”
“Oh.” His date looked from the money to him, his brow deeply creased. “Okay, well, maybe we can do this again sometime.”
“No, thank you.” Manners were important. That was what Talon always said, though he never followed his own advice. “Later, dude.”
Frankly, he didn’t care if he sounded rude or not. He just wanted to end this farce and go home.
Tossing the bills onto the table to cover his part of dinner, he gave the guy—David, maybe?—a nod and hurried out of the restaurant.
Fifteen minutes later, he turned onto the long, gravel drive that led to the cabin he shared with his pack. Well, they called it a cabin. In reality, it looked more like a ski lodge, or maybe even a bed and breakfast.
Instead of regular bedrooms, the house boasted five suites, each complete with their own private bathrooms. They also had a study, a den, and a couple of rooms they didn’t even use. Despite its enormity, it still felt claustrophobic some days.
With seven grown men sharing the space, privacy was more of a luxury than a right. Add in their supernatural senses, and secrets weren’t really a thing, either. Yet, he had somehow managed to keep a pretty damn big one for seven years now.
As he pulled to a stop, his gaze immediately went to the corner of the house and the man waiting for him in the shadows.
Turning off the engine, he climbed out of his car with a sigh. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to Talon, but he didn’t exactly have a choice. It had become as routine as the setting sun, and he hated these follow-up reports even more than he did the actual dates.
Talon would hound him for the details until he eventually gave in, so he figured he might as well get it over with instead of trying to fight it. Stuffing his fists into the pockets of his jeans, he took a deep breath and strode toward the shifter.
“I didn’t kiss him, and I didn’t fuck him,” he said without preamble. “I didn’t so much as let him breathe on me. He was an arrogant prick, and I’ve had more fun clipping my toenails.” He went down the list of the usual questions Talon asked. “The food was good. I paid for myself. I didn’t eat dessert.” Pausing, he ran a hand through his shaggy curls. He needed a haircut. “He was decent looking, around thirty, and I won’t be seeing him again.”
Talon’s dark hair hung loosely around his face, the tips brushing the tops of his broad shoulders. Though a shadow on the wrong side of five o’clock covered his jaw, Jackson could still the the muscles twitch beneath the stubble.
Trying to ignore the way those icy blue eyes made his heart flutter and his cock ache, he lowered his head and rubbed the tense muscles in the back of his neck. “Is there anything else? I’m tired, and I just want to go to bed.”
“Come here.” Though dressed in only a pair of tight jeans and a simple black tee, he appeared unaffected by the cold wind that whipped through the surrounding trees.
“Talon, please, just ask me whatever you want to ask me so I can go inside.”
“I said come here, pup.” Talon spoke with a quiet authority that invited no argument.
Unable to resist, Jackson sighed and took a step forward with a shiver that had nothing to do with the weather. “What?”
“Turn around.” Without waiting for a response, Talon gripped his arms and urged him to face the opposite direction. His hands came to rest on the tops of Jackson’s shoulders, and he began kneading the knotted muscles. “Feels good?”
“Gods, yes.” Letting his head loll forward, he closed his eyes and groaned. “Don’t stop.”
“I’m sorry you had such a bad night, baby.” He used his thumbs to massage a particularly painful spot at the base of Jackson’s skull. “I’m sure next time will be better.”
Jackson shivered and squeezed his eyes shut. He both loved and hated when Talon called him that. Just as he both loved and hated these stolen moments.
“There’s not going to be a next time. I’m done.” Bitterness tinted his words, but it couldn’t completely hide his pain and frustration. “If you don’t want me, fine, but I’m not doing this anymore.”
“You know that it’s not because I don’t want you.” Talon continued to speak calmly, but with a thread of steel be neath the dispassion. “You agreed to this—”
“When I was fourteen!” Spinning around, Jackson bared his teeth and growled.
“Look, kid—”
“I’m not a damn kid anymore, Talon. I stopped being a kid a long time ago.” As quickly as it had flared, all the anger and fight drained away, leaving him exhausted down to his soul. “I don’t know who I pissed off to deserve such an asshole for a mate, but I can’t do this anymore.”
“Jackson.”
Ignoring him, Jackson pushed past the man he loved more than his life and stalked toward the front door. He didn’t know where he would go, but he refused to stay where he wasn’t wanted and continue to be a burden.
Inside the house, he slammed the door closed behind him and stomped up the stairs to his bedroom. Was he being childish and petulant? Probably. He didn’t care, though. He’d had enough, and he needed to get out before he suffocated beneath the weight of Talon’s rejection.
Since he’d never been on vacation before, he didn’t own a proper suitcase. Instead, he grabbed an old gym bag from the back of his closet and tossed it onto the mattress. Then he began grabbing clothes at random—from the closet, his dresser, the floor—and slung them in the general vicinity of the bed.
He didn’t have enough savings to start a whole new life, but he could at least afford a motel room until he figured out his next move. It would have to be something cheap, preferably that he could rent by the week, but anything was better than staying there.
“Hey, Jacks! How was the—” Keeton stopped in the open doorway and tilted his head. “What are you doing?”
There was no censure. No judgment. He sounded curious and nothing more.
“I’m packing.”
“Well, yes, I can see that,” Keeton continued conversationally. “What I really meant was why?” Wandering over to the bed, he began folding the clothes there and placing them neatly inside the gym bag.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh, I see.” The little blond’s lips twisted on one side of his mouth. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain pack member that just happens to look a lot like my mate, would it?”
Jackson froze, his heart jackknifing up into his throat. “I…I don’t…I mean,” he stammered as he stared at Keeton with wide, terrified eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Calm down, Jacks.” Keeton popped one hip out to the side and rested a delicate hand on it. “That’s between you and Talon.”
Realizing there was no point in denying it, he asked instead, “How did you know?”
He had never said a word to anyone. He had been so careful to hide his feelings around Talon. Not an easy feat, considering they lived with a bunch of shifters.
“I can see your aura.” Keeton shrugged nonchalantly, but his tone suggested Jackson was kind of thick. “Talon’s, too. You both light up like the Fourth of July when you get within ten feet of each other. Besides, Talon isn’t such a dick when you’re around.”
That last part was kind of debatable. In fact, he would argue that Talon was more of a dick when he came around. At least, that was how it felt.
“You can’t tell anyone, Keeton. Please,” Jackson pleaded. “Talon would shit kittens if anyone found out.”
“Calm down before you have a stroke. I told you, that’s between you and Talon. I won’t pretend to understand why you feel the need to hide it, but I’m not going to say anything.”
Jackson released the breath he’d been holding. “Thank you.”
Keeton folded a pair of jeans and placed them inside the bag. “I’m pretty sure Braxton suspects, though.”
“Wonderful.”
Just what he fucking needed. He loved Keeton and Braxton. Even if they weren’t mated to members of his pack, he would still consider them family. Subtle, however, was not in their vocabulary.
“Jacks, please, relax. So what if people know Talon is your mate? It’s really not the end of the world.” Sighing, he packed the last of Jackson’s clothes and flopped down on the mattress.
“Keep your voice down.” He worried his bottom lip between his teeth as he glanced at the bedroom door. “Look, just don’t say anything, not even to Logan, okay? I know he’s your mate, and you guys don’t keep secrets, but he’s also Talon’s brother. His twin brother.” Jackson took a huge breath and let it out slowly. “I have to go.”
Crossing one leg over the other, Keeton leaned back on his elbows. “And exactly where are you going to go?” When Jackson didn’t answer, he rolled his eyes and pushed up from the bed. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
While he waited, Jackson grabbed a few necessities from the bathroom and crammed them into the side pockets on either side of the gym bag. He had just finished zipping it closed when Keeton reentered the room, holding out a small, gold key on a glittery rainbow ring.
“This is to my cottage. You remember how to get there?”
Jackson nodded as he accepted the key. “I thought you sold that place.”
“I decided against it. I understand that we have to live with the pack, but it’s nice to have a place that is just mine and Logan’s, even if it’s only for a weekend.”
He tilted his head, a frown tugging at his lips. “And you want me to stay there?”
“No.” Keeton smiled and shook his head. “I want you to stay here. But I know what it’s like to feel frustrated and angry.”
Of course, he did. He was mated to the other half of the Cartwright twins. While Logan had a reputation for being the calm, easygoing one of the group, he was just as stubborn and high-handed as Talon.
“Go to my place for a few days,” Keeton continued. “Take your time. Think it over. Just remember the full moon is in three days. You can run the woods around my place, but please be careful.”
Overwhelmed with gratitude, he leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Keeton’s cheek. “Thank you. Logan is damn lucky to have you.”
Keeton laughed and patted his arm. “If you get a chance, be sure to tell him that. He thinks I’m a pain in the ass.”
“That’s because you are,” Braxton said from the doorway. Leaning against the frame, his gaze flittered from the key in Jackson’s hand to the bag on the bed. “Going somewhere, Jacks?”
“Just for a few days,” Jackson answered nervously. “I just need to get away for a little while.”
How was he going to get out of the house without everyone questioning him?
“Because of Talon?” Braxton arched an eyebrow.
Well…fuck. “Does everyone know?”
“No.” Braxton pushed away from the doorjamb with a chuckle.
Jackson didn’t really see the humor in the situation.
“I swear, the men in this house are about as observant as a rock.” Braxton jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Come on. We’ll create a diversion so you can sneak out.”
Christ, Xander and Logan were going to kill him. Well, if Talon didn’t get to him first.
Boston might take his side. Maybe. Too bad he had disappeared.
No one knew where the hell he had gone or why. He had taken two weeks off from the nightclub he and Talon worked at, packed a bag, and took off. Before leaving, he had insisted that they not call him unless someone died.
If it had been the first time, Jackson might have been worried, but he had become used to Boston vanishing at least once a year. They all had shit in their past, trauma that they had to live with. Everyone had their own ways of coping, and he figured this was Boston’s.
“Are you sure?” he checked, still hesitant about the plan.
“Absolutely,” Keeton answered as he shoved Braxton out of the room. “We’ll even get you right out of the front door. Just wait for the signal.”
Jackson bobbed his head a few times, then stopped abruptly. “Wait, what’s the signal?”
His only answer was a mischievous laugh that reverberated down the hallway.
Jackson didn’t know exactly what he was supposed to be waiting for, but he figured he better be ready. Grabbing his bag, he slung the strap over one shoulder and crept down the hall to the stairs. Then he pressed his back to the wall to keep out of sight and waited.
A couple of minutes later, bloodcurdling screams echoed from somewhere near the back of the house. He guessed the kitchen. That had to be the signal.
