Diamond Moon

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Diamond Moon

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2015 by Celia Breslin

ISBN: 978-1-61333-803-2

Cover art by Fiona Jayde

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

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www.decadentpublishing.com

Black Hills Wolves Stories

Wolf’s Return

What a Wolf Wants

Black Hills Desperado

Wolf’s Song

Claiming His Mate

When Hell Freezes

Portrait of a Lone Wolf

Taming His Mate

Alpha in Disguise

A Wolf’s Promise

Reluctant Mate

Diamond Moon

Wolf on a Leash

Tempting the Wolf

Coming Soon

Worth Fighting For

Promiscuous Wolf

A Wolf Awakens

Dedication

To my husband and daughter – love you! To my beta readers Amber Belldene, Afton Locke, and Mahalia Levey – you rock! Special thanks to Virginia Nelson for introducing me to Decadent Publishing and to the Decadent team for welcoming me to the family.

Diamond Moon

Black Hills Wolves

By

Celia Breslin

Chapter One

Darci hurried along the gravel edging the worn pavement masquerading as a road leading into Los Lobos, population unknown, exact location not even listed on her Rand McNally map. Her boots kicked up enough dust in the growing wind to make her sneeze, even as the hairs on her nape rose from the incessant sensation of being watched.

For the millionth time since she’d abandoned her little VW Beetle a few miles back—where the road devolved into a post-apocalyptic joke of a highway—she palmed the pink SABRE mini taser in her jacket pocket, comforted by the hard plastic deliverance of doom her aunt had insisted she take with her on her journey to the middle of nowhere.

Rolling hills, rocky cliffs peeking out from the densely packed pine trees, meadows encouraging a Sound of Music gallop with arms stretched wide. America’s Heartland. Beautiful and remote Black Hills, South Dakota. Too bad the pretty place had goose bumps tracking up her arms and chills scurrying down her spine.

The wind kicked up, and she grabbed the bill of her baseball cap, holding tight. If those cranky black clouds started spitting rain, she’d need this little protection. She hadn’t packed an umbrella. Rain rarely happened at home this time of the year. Too bad she’d neglected to Google the weather for South Dakota in June. Judging from the swirling cloud cover, a world of oh, hell no might unleash on her head before she managed to make it to town.

If the town really existed.

Unease tingled along her arms. Come out, come out, little spy.

She scanned the pine trees surrounding her on both sides like a thick green blanket and smelling of Christmas. Having grown up in southern Oregon amidst hills and trees not unlike where she currently traipsed, she’d expected the forest here to comfort her. Instead, she couldn’t shake her wariness. She saw nothing staring at her from the depths of the forest, but her gut urged her to run home to her aunt’s cozy cottage in quaint—and safe—Ashland.

Maybe she should’ve listened to her aunt’s arguments against this adventure. Maybe the hand-drawn map her dead parents had left behind—the map she clutched as if it would magically make this mythical town appear before her—was a joke.

She shook her head. No. Her father had never joked. And he reserved his smiles for her or Mama. His green eyes, matching her own, would light up with love for them alone. She had been six when they both died in a plane crash, but she remembered him. Big and tall, strong and silent, and so serious and on alert, as if danger had lurked everywhere in their idyllic, little Oregon town.

True to his protective nature, he’d left behind instructions for her in case of his death. A note he’d clearly crafted in his state of perpetual wariness, outlining every possible if-then situation Darci might encounter given her half-human, half-Wolf nature, and what to do in the event he was unavailable to help her sort it out.

Her aunt had kept the note from Darci until her twenty-third birthday and, coincidentally, her graduation day from Southern Oregon University with an M.S. in Computer Science, thank you very much. Darci had been so angry at her for withholding the info but had understood her reasoning. She’d wanted to provide Darci with a stable, normal, human life. As a single parent of her sister’s child, she’d done a great job, too. But keeping Darci’s secret had been hard on both of them. Her aunt had one trusted friend/lover while Darci had a few casual friends but no one close. No one she trusted enough to let them know she grew fangs, four legs, and fur at every full moon. Closeness meant sharing, and sharing could lead to discovery of her hidden, horrible truth. I’m not like everyone else.

But, maybe she could be. Maybe the South Dakota Wolves in this mystery town where her father had been born and raised knew a way to help her stop shifting for good. Maybe then she’d be free. God, she hoped her dad was right, and someone could help her here.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and a gust of wind pushed Darci from behind. She stumbled then hustled forward. Time to seek shelter, preferably a nice, cozy room in a quaint little bed and breakfast that would magically appear any second.

No such luck. The trees gave way to yet another meadow and, not surprising, another dilapidated, abandoned building. How many of these meadows had she passed? A half dozen? All with ramshackle buildings, the skeletal remains of barns, stables, neglected homes.

None of them looked capable of housing her in this storm. Another shot of unease stomped over her spine. She diverted her gaze from the road to the remains of the ranch set away from the road in the meadow. A graying, rotted, wood fence zigzagged in front of what was once probably a small ranch house, now an assortment of broken windows, half-ripped roof, and weather-weary walls. A door hung open and flapped against the side of the ranch, the banging sound audible to her keen Wolf hearing over the ever-increasing screech of the wind.

Then she saw it—movement in the tall green grass. Something as gray as the fence it slunk under. Something big. Darci froze, heart hammering in her chest. A Wolf padded directly for her.

She shoved the map in her pocket and grabbed her taser, backing away into the center of the road. Uh, nice doggie. I’m one of you. Kinda. Sort of. Maybe. Great, babbling at a wild animal. A predator who looked very hungry for a woman-sized snack.

Lightning flashed. Thunder cracked. The Wolf growled.

Darci whirled and ran as the sky opened and pelted her with cold rain.

Running was a stupid move. The Wolf could catch her in a blink, sink its teeth into her, and bring her to the ground. Unless I shift and show it I’m a Wolf, too. She suppressed a laugh. Her shifts were never swift or pain free. Slow, bone breaking, skin splitting. Painful. They took her to the brink of insanity—and death—at every full moon. If she didn’t get some help to stop the Wolf craziness, one full moon soon the shift would likely kill her. Of course, today she might experience death by real Wolf.

Wait. I’m still alive. The Wolf hadn’t charged. Darci slowed to a jog and glanced over her shoulder. It loped slightly behind her and to the side, watching her every move. Relief flooded her. Looked as if she’d met her first shifter. Not counting Dad.

Um. Hi, she offered her companion.

No reply. Fine by her. She kept up her jog, happy she’d been a runner all her life, and a good one. Daddy’s Wolf genes, no doubt. Her mood improved further when, at last, Los Lobos came into view through the sheets of freezing rain. Although the several buildings she could see fronting the road gave new meaning to the word quaint, she was still glad to see some semblance of civilization.

No people, no cars, but one sign caught her attention. Gee’s Bar. According to her father’s note, just the person she needed to see. Her picture-perfect memory brought up the last four lines of the note.

Trust only Gee and Luparell.

Stay away from Magnum.

Love you, DeeDee.

Dad

A few steps from the bar door, Darci stopped and faced her furry shadow. Thanks for the escort, and, um, for you know, not eating me.

The Wolf snorted and shook its head. Then, in a disturbing mood shift, her pal bared its wicked-sharp teeth and growled. Crap, maybe he wanted to eat her