“Quick,” Aaron heard Jackal say, “Give me your phone.”
He let go of the beast wolf form, shrank back into his human self, and reached into his pocket. The phone was still there. Aaron then handed it to Jackal and turned around to face the trees they had just come from. The Cougars weren’t far behind. He was sure of it. But Jackal didn’t much seem to care.
“What are you doing?” he asked, not looking at her.
“This,” she said.
At that moment, Jackal wrapped an arm around Aaron’s shoulder, pulled his cheek to hers, and raised the phone high enough that the camera got their faces and the pool behind them. She was taking a selfie?
“You’re serious?” Aaron asked, looking at his dirt-caked face on the phone’s screen.
Jackal grinned. “Damn fucking straight. Now say Cougars!”
Aaron pulled a face, Jackal pressed the button, and the screen blinked as she took the picture. She then shoved the phone back into Aaron’s pants, dipped her hand in the warm water, washed her face with it, and started to run; toward the trees.
“Wait!” Aaron said, “What are you doing? That’s where the Cougars are!”
Jackal spun around, smiled, and said, “You’re going to have to run real fast then, aren’t you?”
She spun around again, threw herself to the ground, and in the blink of an eye she was a wolf. Aaron, who was stuck with the phone in his hand, swallowed hard at the sound of the approaching cougars and then sped into the trees. His transformation wasn’t as graceful, but he managed. And with the phone firmly stuck in his jaws, Aaron followed Jackal through the dark woods, through enemy territory, and out of the Mountain Cougar trail.
The Cougars, he thought, would probably put him on their shit list after tonight.
CHAPTER 10
When Aaron and Jackal arrived at the hub where they had left the rest of the pack before setting off on their mountain trek, it was deserted. Only Jackal’s car remained, quietly reflecting the moonlight evening, minding its own business. Aaron had wondered if the rest of the Mountain Cougars had come down here and driven the wolves off but that didn’t seem likely. It was more likely that they had retreated to the tattoo place to wait for Jackal and his return.
He was right, of course, so Aaron and Jackal headed off in her car back to the glittering lights of the Las Vegas strip. The ride over gave Aaron a chance to change into a pair of jeans and a shirt Jackal had taken from Liz before they left her place. When he put his clothes on, Jackal and Aaron swapped seats so that she could get changed into hers. She told him it always paid to pack a spare set of clothes, and to always dress in something you didn’t mind getting ripped or destroyed if you’re planning on going out of your daily routine.
Aaron stepped into the Wolf Skin tattoo parlor first. The lights were on and the parking lot was full of cars which, it being so late, would probably catch an idle passerby by surprise. But Aaron hadn’t seen many folks walking down the sidewalk on the side of the road. In fact, as he waited for Jackal to step out of the car so they could both walk up to the building together, he saw a man go out of his way to give the parlor a wide berth. This was another lesson he would learn: when werewolves congregate, humans evacuate.
The Wolf Skin tattoo parlor fell silent when Aaron walked in. He may have been wearing new clothes, but his hair was still matted with dirt, skin crusty with dry blood… and dirt… and he wasn’t wearing shoes. Among the crowd of watchful eyes Aaron caught sight of Rocky, the werewolf he had tussled with at the foot of the mountain. He walked up to him first, extended his hand, and said “No hard feelings.”
Rocky stood upright, almost seeming to dwarf even Aaron, and then took Aaron’s hand to shake it. “No hard feelings,” he echoed.
Jackal, who had Aaron’s phone in her hand, walked in with the selfie they had taken at the Cougar’s sacred shrine on the screen and a big smile on her face. “Check it out and weep, boys,” she said, planting the phone in Rocky’s hand. “By the way, I think we may have really pissed them off,” she added.
“The Cougars are always pissed off,” one of the pack said, “They’ll get over it.”
Marcus stood, crossed toward Aaron, and gave Jackal a stern stare. “Did he do it?” he asked.
Jackal looked at Aaron and then at his father. “He passed his trial,” she said, “Took a beating, but he passed.”
Aaron wanted to smirk, to gloat, to boat, but he realized that he couldn’t have done it without Jackal. “I would have died out there if it weren’t for her,” he said, “I had no idea what I was doing.”
Marcus nodded. “It takes a big man to admit he needs help,” he said. “It’s a hard lesson to learn, but we’re wolves. We help each other; that’s what a pack is for. It’s why we need to be a part of one.”
Aaron nodded, understanding now what his father meant. He wondered, though, if Amber would be his pack when he went back home. She wasn’t a wolf, but she was his girlfriend. No. She was more than that. He didn’t want to think that he wouldn’t be able to share all of himself with her, but he didn’t ask. Now wasn’t the time nor the place. Aaron felt the weight of the eyes on him, felt them judging him, sizing him up; he needed to do and say the right things here.
“So, what’s next?” he asked.
“Now,” Marcus said, “We bring you in to the pack.”
“How do we do that?”
The pack of wolves in the tattoo parlor exchanged looks, grins, nods of approval. “Get in my chair.”
Aaron cocked his head. “Get in your chair?”
Marcus gestured toward the empty chair in his booth; the chair his clients sat on when they went to get tattoos.
“You want me to get a tattoo?”
“No; I want to put a tattoo on you. If you want to be a part of this pack, you need to get under my needle.”
Aaron thought about what he had just been through, the injuries had just suffered, and couldn’t find a reason to object to getting a tattoo. He didn’t have any tattoos and hadn’t ever thought about getting one before so he had no ideas as to what he would get, and seeing as though they were for life he figured he ought to be given a little time to decide. But Aaron’s father wasn’t the kind of man to wait.
“And you’re going to choose what goes on me?” he said, heading towards the chair.
“Yup.”
“And I don’t get a say?”
“Will you relax already?” Jackal said. “Rocky, why don’t you show him what I put on your skin when you joined the pack.”
Rocky rolled up his sleeve to reveal the face of a snarling wolf as realistic as a photograph. The wolf’s right eye had been gouged out and it had a scar over the brow, but it looked vicious and ready to rip its enemies to shreds. Aaron, and some other members of the pack who had gotten up to see it, marveled at the work while Jackal looked on, smug and clearly proud of it.
“That must have taken a long time to do,” Aaron said.
“No, actually. Werewolves heal really fast. We got it all done in one sitting.”
Marcus snapped a pair of gloves on his hands and called Aaron over. “After this,” he said, “I’ll need you to stay here for a while.”
Aaron approached the chair but he waited, standing. “What do you mean? I passed the trial.”
“Passing a trial makes you a member of this pack. But becoming a fully functional member of our society requires you to live with the pack for a while, to get used to living with a predator lurking underneath your skin. I know you have a girl back home you’ll be wanting to get back to but I can’t in good conscience let you leave just yet. I need you to tell me you’ll stay until you’re ready.”
Aaron thought back to the conversation he had had with Liz about the day Marcus chose to leave. She had told him that Marcus didn’t want to hurt Aaron or his mother and in the moment a small part of him had understood what she was saying. Now, listening to Marcus talk about Amber—someone he had never met and probably didn’t care much about—and h
er safety, more of Aaron was starting to believe Liz’s words.
“I’ll stay,” Aaron said, after a moment’s pause.
The decision to leave Amber behind to find his father had been hard enough, but this one was harder. Consigning himself to being without the girl he wanted to be with for an unknown amount of time hurt like all hell, but he was starting to understand one important part of werewolf life. Arguably the most important one. A werewolf’s life is about self-sacrifice, and Aaron was willing to sacrifice anything for Amber.
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ARE YOU READY FOR PART THREE?
Because if you are, the Necromancer is available right here! Go ahead and grab your copy, find out what happens when Aaron returns to Amber a changed man, and prepare to be transported to a dark and solemn place where new allies and enemies await!
And if you haven’t yet read Forged in Darkfire - Damien’s prequel - click here and read it right away! You won’t want to miss this glimpse into Damien’s past.
This Novella was a lot of fun to write and I thought the series, Aaron in particular, has benefited from it. As always, if you did enjoy it, please drop me a review with your thoughts and comments. Indies thrive on reviews, and I’m always appreciative of each and every one I get. If, on the other hand, you did not enjoy the book, drop me an email at
[email protected] and let me know why.
Thank you!!!
Katerina
www.katerinamartinez.com
FORGED IN MOONFIRE
An Amber Lee Mystery Novella
Book 3
Copyright © 2015 by Katerina Martinez. All rights reserved Cover uses images © 2015 Shutterstock.
Published by Katerina Martinez.
Visit: www.katerinamartinez.com
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WARNING: This book is intended for mature audiences since it features mature language and some explicit sex scenes.
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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Reproduction in whole or in part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or tell your friends about this serial to help spread the word!
Thank you for supporting my work.
DEDICATION
To my husband, my rock, and my partner in crime.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: KATERINA MARTINEZ
I’ve never written a novella before. But then again, a few months ago I had never written a novel and that kinda worked out. So I step into this confident in the knowledge that I’ve done a great job at delivering a story that’s short, to the point, but also deep and full of character. I think I’ve succeeded, but hey, don’t take my word for it! Read the story, judge it for yourself, and then let me know how you feel about it.
If you enjoyed it, head on to the Amazon page where you bought it and leave me a review. Reviews make my world go round (literally, without reviews authors can’t do anything) and I need every last one that I can get. If you didn’t enjoy it, though, just drop me an email at
[email protected]. I’ll be happy to talk to you about this little novella or any other of my stories!
Anyway, you have some reading to do so I’m going to let you get to it! Please enjoy this little glimpse into Aaron’s world and I’ll see you in the next author’s note!
Katerina Martinez
xx
Katerina Martinez, Forged in Moonfire
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