Feral Instincts (The Feral Series)
Read Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) Online
Authors: Erin Ashley
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Feral Instincts |
Erin Ashley |
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Copyright:
Ebooks are not transferable. They cannot
be sold, shared, or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of
this work. 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 viewed as real. Any resemblance to persons
living or dead, locale or organizations, actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this
book, Feral Instincts, may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission
Copyright @ 2013 Erin Ashley – All
Rights Reserved and Protected Worldwide.
The uploading, scanning, and distribution
of Feral Instincts in any form or by any means including but not limited to
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author’s rights is appreciated.
Dedication:
To
my wonderful husband and self-appointed study buddy. Thanks for always walking
by my side no matter where my path may lead.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Ava
checked the time on her car radio as she pulled into the alley behind
Serendipity. Dam, she was later than she had planned. With an irritated shove,
she pushed the door of her little blue Volkswagen bug open. The ancient hinges
protested loudly at her rough treatment, the groaning creak echoing off of the
back of the old brick buildings.
A
blast of crisp fall air twisted across the pavement, wrapping itself around her
ankles and teasing its way up the back of her skirt. With a shiver she quickly
leaned back into the little car and dug through the pile of stuff that always
seemed to accumulate on the back seat.
Ava
ignored the undignified display she was sure she made with her rear end
sticking out of the door of her little car. She knew the hem of her skirt came
dangerously close to baring her rear end but she just didn’t have time to care
about the undignified display. Besides, it wasn’t like there was anyone around
to see it anyway.
“Ah
ha!” Triumphantly, she pulled her cardigan out of a duffel bag. Backing out of
the car, Ava skillfully hopped on one foot while sliding the strap of her
sandal back over her heel and shrugging into her sweater at the same time.
Slinging her purse over her shoulder she bumped the car door closed with one
butt cheek with practiced ease. With a huff she flipped a stray hair out of her
face and wiggled her skirt back down over her hips. Trying valiantly to look
the part of a calm, composed,
punctual,
professional woman she pulled
her sweater closed across her chest she headed towards the back door of the
shop.
“Oh!”
Letting out an embarrassingly girly squeak of surprise, Ava almost fell on her
face after tripping on the first step of the building. Just as she was moving
up the steps something had caught her eye causing her to do an abrupt double
take. Ava gasped and pressed one small hand against her pounding heart.
“Benji!” She hissed in annoyance. A pair of dark, brooding eyes meet hers from
the shadows of the alley. He had been sitting so still, Ava hadn’t even noticed
him. Shooting him a dark glare Ava moved up the steps in a huff, grumbling
under her breath. “God, Kat and her strays.” He had probably enjoyed the show too.
Creep.
Kat
seemed to think he was harmless but personally Ava thought she should call the
cops and have him chased off. Ava took a deep cleansing breath and made one
last angry swipe at her tear stained eyes with her tissue before opening the
back door to Serenity.
Ugh. What a perfectly horrible day.
With
an aggravated tug she pulled open the back door and walked into the cluttered
backroom of the shop. The top of Kat’s mahogany colored locks came around the
corner of some shelving. All that Ava could see was a pair of legs and her
hands. The box on top was teetering and on the verge of crashing to the ground.
“Kat!
You look like a circus act. Here let me help you.” Coming to her rescue, Ava
caught the smaller box on top, revealing her friends smiling face and placing
it on the dusty counter.
“Whew!
Good timing.” Shoving the clutter out of her way, Kat put down the rest of her
boxes with a thump. Perhaps a little too roughly, as the sound of glass
clinking together, made her cringe.
“Woops.”
Tucking a stray hair behind her ear she smiled sheepishly at Ava but her smile
quickly froze in place.
“Whoa…
sweetie, why do you look like you have been crying?” Kat placed both hands on
Ava’s shoulders and looked into her eyes.
Ava
could never hide anything from Kat and the sympathy in Kat’s face was her
undoing. Somewhat embarrassed that Kat knew she had been crying, she ducked her
head so her hair would cover her face a bit.
Kat
wrapped her friend in her arms and hugged her tight. “You’re starting to scare
me girl. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I
killed the poor little thing.” Ava sniffed and stepped back from Kat to wipe
her eyes.
“What!”
“I
was only two blocks from the shop and there was this rabbit and it ran in front
of my car but I couldn’t stop in time and I ran it over! Not just a little ran
over but
really
ran over, both tires. I know it’s stupid but I feel so
bad. Poor little guy didn’t have a chance.”
“Is
that all?” Kat snorted in disbelief. “You ran over a rabbit! Oh, my god Ava I
thought something really bad had happened.”
“I
know you think I’m nuts but you know I had a pet rabbit when I was a kid and I
just feel horrible about it.”
“Ava,
it’s okay.” Kat’s look of concern was quickly replaced with what could only be
considered an evil grin. “I’m sure there was nothing you could have done. He
was probably just hopping home from work to feed his twelve starving children.”
“Kat!”
“Really,
it’s not your fault. Let’s just look at it as weeding out the slow ones. It’s
survival of the fittest really.”
“Kat!
That’s not funny.” Ava threw her tissue at Kat. Kat quickly jumped out of the
way. “Ew! Ava!”
“Ava,
you’re just too soft hearted.”
“I’m
too soft hearted huh? How is Benji today anyway?” Ava teased, giving Kat a wide
eyed innocent look.
“That’s
different.” Kat grumbled. ”Benji is a human not a stray animal.”
For
the last few days Kat had been bringing food to the homeless man that had
started hanging out in the alley. Ava had been teasing her about it and had
nicknamed Kat’s latest stray Benji.
“Besides,
sometimes I like to cook and since it’s just me at home I have a lot of
leftovers. That’s all.”
“Oh
Kat, you didn’t! Is poor Benji okay? You didn’t tell me he was eating your
cooking! Maybe I should go check on him.”
“Oh
har har. My cooking isn’t that bad.”
Ava
looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Okay,
it’s not that good either, but it’s got to be better than eating out if a trash
can.” Ava opened her mouth to argue when the back door of the shop swung open.
“Hey
girls.” Patrick sashayed into the backroom. The way the man walked would give a
southern beauty queen a run for her money. Patrick didn’t just walk into a
room, he made an entrance.
“Hey
Patrick.” They answered in harmony.
“What’s
all the fuss?”
“Everything’s
fine.” Kat answered with a smile. She had successfully distracted Ava from her
rabbit homicide this morning. Ava didn’t suspect a thing.
Ava
of course knew exactly what Kat had been up to the whole time but had decided
to play along.
“Everything’s
just dandy.”
“I
have been looking for those old broken chandeliers we got at that estate sale.
I need them for parts for that lamp I’m rebuilding. If I can get it finished we
can put it into the window display tonight.” Kat started opening up the boxes
and pulling pieces out. “Grrr, I know they are in one of these boxes.”
“We’ll
let me know if you can’t find the parts that you need and I will see if I can
find some on the web for you.”
“Oh,
thanks Patrick. I was really hoping to get it into the window tonight though.”
Kat’s smooth brow wrinkled in frustration as she rooted through one of the
boxes she had been carrying.
Kat
and Patrick were the owners of Serendipity. They were both proud of their
little store. It was located in the old historic part of town. The street their
store was on was a strange menagerie of bars, little boutiques and cafes.
Serendipity itself was an eclectic shop full of quirky home décor items. All of
the merchandise was handpicked by Patrick and Kat from flea markets and estate
sales.
Kat
was the artist in the threesome. She had a talent for turning pieces of rusty
junk into something beautiful. Kat and Patrick had known each other for years
and Ava joined the crew about a year ago. She had just moved to the area and
had desperately needed a job. She had stopped into Serenity to shop for some
things for her new apartment and fell in love with it. Lucky for her they were
looking to hire someone to help out at the shop. In no time at all she had
become good friends with both Kat and Patrick.
Ava
smiled as she watched Kat rummaging through the boxes, cursing. Even smudged
with dirt from the dusty boxes her friend was beautiful as always. She was
wearing a pair of hip hugging jeans and a turquoise peasant top with a pair of
her favorite cowgirl boots, the ones with the turquoise threads on the shafts.
A belt made by one of the local artisans circled her rounded hips. Ava couldn’t
help but smile as Kat picked up a new smudge as she dug to the bottom of the
box. Ava checked her own dress in response, making sure she hadn’t gotten it
dirty while helping Kat.
Being
around Kat and Patrick always cheered her up. She was lucky to have such good
friends. They were really the only two close friends Ava had since moving to
Eureka Springs almost a year ago.
God had it been a year already?
With
a pang of sorrow, Ava thought of her mother. She had been twenty four when she
had moved to Eureka Springs. Her mother had passed away the year before. Her
mom had been sick for a long time. Caring for her mother had been an emotional
roller coaster. There had been times when her mom would improve and she would
dare to hope that she was going to make it, but in the end the cancer had taken
her.
Even
though she had time to prepare for her mother’s death it had still hit her
hard. Her mom had been the only family she had. It had just been the two of
them since she had been four years old. Her dad had left them and her mom had
never remarried. Her mom had been an amazing woman. She had sacrificed so much
raising Ava alone but she was determined to do right by her daughter and she
had been a fighter to the very end.
