Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6)

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Published By: The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC,

400 Gilead Road, #1617, Huntersville, NC 28070

www.hartwoodpublishing.com

Betrayed

Copyright © 2014 by Becca Jameson

Digital Release: October 2014

ISBN: 978-1-62916-078-8

Cover Artist: James Caldwell

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Heather Peters is recovering from her recent kidnapping at the sprawling Spencer ranch in northwest Texas. After witnessing more in the last few weeks than anyone should see in a lifetime, she needs the relaxation the Spencers and their ranch provide while applying for nursing jobs all over the country.

Marcus Cunningham is hovering on the edge of the Spencer ranch, watching closely to ensure the place is indeed a refuge where he might find peace from his family, the leaders of the Romulus, a subversive shifter organization run by his grandfather.

When Heather is bitten by a rattlesnake and goes down hard right before Marcus’s eyes, he has a moral obligation to approach and ensure the woman is okay. Not only is she in danger, but she’s his mate.

As events unfold, Marcus must face his mate and the Spencers with the information that will implicate his grandfather and cause a necessary battle between shifters battling to preserve their way of life, the North American Reserves, and rogue criminals, the Romulus. The future of all shifters depends on Marcus’s skill and knowledge.

To my editor, Lisa Dugan, who slapped me silly pointing out the “plot holes you could drive a pickup truck through” on this one. The rewriting was arduous, but the finished product is much better as a result of her input and countless hours of brainstorming!

“I don’t like it, Dad. He’s my only child.”

Shit
. Marcus had stepped onto his parents’ front porch seconds before he heard his mother’s voice. Just his luck it was warm enough out today to leave the front door open and let the breeze blow in through the screen door.

And thank God, because the last person on earth Marcus wanted to face was dear old Granddad, Melvin Cunningham.

“That’s entirely the point, Lora. You’re
my
only child also. Which makes Marcus the only person alive capable of carrying on the family genes.”

Marcus cringed. He hated the way his grandfather spoke to his mother. He’d never treated her like an adult. And keeping with tradition, his father treated her no differently.

As if on cue, his father spoke next. “Listen to him, Lora. He knows what he’s talking about.”

Great
. They were all gathered in the living room discussing his future, or what they expected to make of it, without his input. Figured.

His grandfather cleared his throat and continued. “Carl’s right. Things have changed. Medical research has made drastic improvements in the last two years. My people have isolated specific chromosomes that make up our DNA and give us the ability to shift. Do you know what that means?”

His mother must have shaken her head because he didn’t hear anything from her before his grandfather continued. He could picture her staring wearily at her father. He’d seen the look many times. It hadn’t done him any good growing up, however. She’d never had the balls to actually stand up for Marcus and keep his father and grandfather from tampering with him.

As a kid he’d spent summers at military camps with other shifters. His grandfather had encouraged his mother to “toughen him up.”

In his late teens he’d felt like a guinea pig when his grandfather had shown up with a vial of some horrific substance he insisted would make Marcus stronger. “You’re far too scrawny,” he said. “This will beef you up, boy.”

Marcus hated the drug and the subsequent series of medicines he’d been given over the next several years. Nothing had made him stronger except time. The pile of drugs had only altered his state of mind and infuriated him.

“It means we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough. It means everything to our species, Lora.”

“What do you have in mind, Dad?” Marcus’s father spoke now. He’d never had a good relationship with his own father and called Marcus’s grandfather Dad for as long as Marcus could remember.

“I’ll need to bring him in to our facility in Minnesota. After a bit of testing, he should easily be a candidate for gene therapy.”

“Dad, he’s a grown man. Twenty-six years old,” his mother protested. “You can’t haul him off to Minnesota for medical research. He’d never agree to it.”

“He doesn’t have to, Lora. No one mentioned anything about agreement.” His father’s voice was cold. Calculated.

Marcus cringed.
They have to be kidding
.

He’d known his parents were involved in something less than stellar for a long time, but he’d never expected this.

His mother was right. He was no child now. He was a grown man. He’d been significantly shaped by his strange childhood. Even though he’d been small as a boy, he learned to fight. He learned to use weapons. He took what he learned at military camp and applied it in positive ways. He was never what his grandfather had hoped, but he became a stronger, more self-sufficient adult as a result of his training.

“The drugs you gave him over a year ago didn’t work correctly. You said so yourself. And you nearly caused us undue embarrassment at The Gathering by encouraging him to mate with more than one woman. I don’t know how we will be able to show our faces at the next Gathering. The Davises must be furious,” his mother said.

His father fielded that one. “Lora, nobody cares about the damn Gathering.”

“Those are our friends, Carl. The people we’ve enjoyed the company of our entire adult lives.”

“Those relationships are trite, Lora,” his grandfather said. “I don’t give a shit about those pansy-assed, lower-class shifters.”

His mother gasped so loud, Marcus could hear her. He held his breath, not daring to move a muscle.

His stomach clenched thinking about Kathleen and Mackenzie Davis, the two sisters his grandfather encouraged him to mate with at The Gathering last year. Every day he struggled to block the weekend out of his mind.

“Listen to me, Lora.” Granddad’s voice rose. “Those damn gatherings are over. We’re about to go to war. Don’t you realize that?”

“Why would we do that? Against whom?”

“It’s a wolf-eat-wolf world now, girl. Survival of the fittest. Last week those bastards snatched twelve women from their mates and stole them away to the Spencer Ranch in Texas. Did you know that? Our people must mobilize.”

“What are you talking about? ‘Our people.’ What does that mean? We’re all shifters. There isn’t a
them
and an
us
.”

“There is now,” his father said. “And we’re going to be on the winning side of this battle, Lora. I intend to fight for our survival as a species. I have to agree with your father. And Marcus needs to man up and do his duty for our side. If those bastards want a war, they’ll have it.”

“What bastards? Who are you talking about?” she asked.

His grandfather cackled maniacally. “Anyone working for The Head Council.” The man sounded exasperated. “Listen to your husband, Lora. This is war. Marcus is strong. He works in construction. He’s an asset to our team. Even with his limited military experience, he’s got what it takes now that he’s fully grown. I need him.”

Military?
Even after ten summers at military camp, Marcus had never considered joining any armed forces. The primary branch of military for shifters was called NAR, North American Reserves. They were under the jurisdiction of The Head Council. However, except for occasionally hearing about the organization, Marcus knew very little about them. They weren’t the group he’d trained under. The camps Marcus had been sent to as a child had been private.

And he could see why now. Apparently his grandfather and his father were opposed to The Head Council. No wonder some of the tactics he’d learned at those military camps had seemed excessive.

Had his grandfather been grooming him all those years? Had he been training with a secret subversive force?

Marcus closed his eyes. He felt sick to his stomach.

His mother gasped. “Just because he’s strong doesn’t mean you have the right to shuffle him off to some medical facility for experimental drug treatment.”

“It means exactly that. After he got out of his teens, when I thought he’d end up scrawny and weak, he’s made up for it in spades in recent years. Precisely the sort of man we need on our team.”

Marcus cringed again at his grandfather’s insistence. The last thing he wanted to do was join dear old Granddad at some strange medical facility in Minnesota.

With the exception of the nasty interlude at The Gathering last spring, he’d been living his own life for over six years. It had taken him a while as a teenager to realize he didn’t want to take anything his parents or grandfather prescribed, but eventually he’d started hiding the pills anywhere he could and pretending to do as they requested.

Instead of bulking up with drugs, he’d worked out. Hard. The physique he had today was thanks to his own hard labor, not some steroid or mind-altering drug.

The Gathering had been an exception out of his control. His grandfather had cornered him and jabbed a needle into his thigh before he could protest. The entire weekend had been a series of stupid actions while he’d been under the suggestive drugged state. He’d been horny as hell, his cock rigid for forty-eight hours. So when Granddad pointed out first one woman and then another as his mate, he’d easily succumbed to temptation.

He’d known something was off, but he’d been helpless to stop the madness. And two sisters had suffered under his ruthless insistence. Nothing could erase the memory and the guilt. Since that weekend, he hadn’t dated anyone, human or shifter.

He forced himself to concentrate on his grandfather’s words instead of lamenting the past. “Get in the game, Lora. You’re either with us or you’re against us. Those damn law-abiding rule followers are in for a rude awakening when they find out what we’re capable of. We hadn’t intended to mobilize so quickly, but the Romulus is ready. And we’ve been backed up against a wall with this mass kidnapping.”

Who the fuck is the Romulus?
He’d never heard of them.

“Are you trying to tell me the Spencers actually kidnapped a dozen women against their will? I can’t believe that. I’ve known Natalie and Jerome for years. They’re the kindest people I’ve ever met.” His mother’s voice faded as she spoke. She must have turned away or lowered her voice.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Well, not the Spencers themselves. They’re just harboring the women. But we’re moving in and will beat them at their own game in no time.”

“You intend to fight them? On their property?” Her voice trembled.

“Yes. And I expect you to keep your trap shut and get your mind in the right place,” Granddad said. His threat was clear.