Out Of The Shadows

Out of the Shadows

Julia Davies

Published by Phaze Books

Also by Julia Davies

Bark At The Moon

Out Of The Shadows

This is an explicit and erotic novel

intended for the enjoyment

of adult readers. Please keep

out of the hands of children.

www.Phaze.com

Out Of The Shadows

Copyright © 2011 by Julia Davies

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Edited by Kathryn Lively

Cover Art © 2011 by Amanda Kelsey

First Edition June 2011

ISBN-13: 978-1-60659-609-8

Published by:

Phaze Books

An imprint of Mundania Press LLC

6457 Glenway Ave., #109

Cincinnati, OH 45211

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Mundania Press LLC, 6457 Glenway Avenue, #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211, [email protected].

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

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Out of the Shadows

Julia Davies

“When are you going to get your car fixed?” Jai asked, pulling his motorcycle alongside Dane’s car.

Dane gave the car’s tyre a disgruntled kick. “I can’t afford it at the moment.” He brightened and asked, “Do you think if I leave the keys in, someone might steal the damn thing? It’s insured.”

“No thief in their right mind would steal this piece of shit,” Jai replied. “No offence meant.”

Dane sighed. Jai was right. His car was a rusted heap with mismatched doors that he had salvaged from the scrap yard, and it tended to break down at least once a week. Unfortunately, with his rent and bills to pay, he had the choice of replacing his car or eating. As a werewolf who liked his food, he chose to eat. He did feel bad about having to continually call on his friends to come out and collect him so often.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” he said, climbing onto the bike behind Jai.

* * * *

Jai should have said thank you to Dane, or to that damn car of his, but he kept his mouth shut. He had felt it from the moment Dane walked into his life, the instant attraction, but Dane either hadn’t noticed his interest or didn’t intend to. Jai suspected the former and kept his thoughts to himself, instead finding ways to spend time with Dane until the man was ready to acknowledge it. These recovery runs were as eagerly anticipated as the trips to the pub or chats at the office that he managed to orchestrate.

Jai shrugged his shoulders. “No problem.”

Dane slid his hands onto Jai’s waist to hold on as they set off, and Jai felt a rush go through him. Innocent as it was, that simple touch made blood race to his cock.
Fuck
. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up. For two months, ever since Dane had joined the pack guard, he had been fighting to keep his hands off, look but don’t touch, to force thoughts of Dane to the back of his mind. He had lost count of the number of mornings he had awakened with the covers kicked back and his hand around his dick. Images of Dane filled his mind as he jerked off, and he always came imagining that it was Dane’s hand on him. Thoughts of having Dane beneath him, and being able to sink his cock into the object of his fantasy’s tight little arse, could keep him awake at nights.

They pulled into the car park behind their offices and Jai drew the bike to a stop.
A shame it wasn’t a longer journey
, he thought with a sigh as Dane let go of him and climbed off the bike.

“Thanks again.”

Jai secured his motorcycle and then walked in with Dane. Everyone else was already there, hard at work. Or rather, trying to look busy. Usually, they would be arranging permits for other weres to visit, escorting the Alpha if he travelled or policing the pack. It was a quiet month so far; not so much as a rogue wolf straying into pack territory.

* * * *

The day rolled by at an irritatingly slow pace. Jai was playing his umpteenth game of solitaire on his computer and discreetly watching Dane when Ret came out of his office. He grinned as Ret headed for Brand’s desk, where his boyfriend Andy was sitting. Not long ago, Andy had been inducted into the world of werewolves, first as Ret’s human mate. After an accident that left him fighting for his life, they had no choice but to turn him. He would never have survived without becoming a wolf and now, five months later, he had adapted well.

It’s adorable to see them together
, Jai thought with a smile. Ret may act like a bad-ass to the outside world but, it was clear to those who knew him best—his guards—how much he adored Andy. Jai glanced at Dane again; he would give anything for Dane to look at him as Andy looked at Ret.

He could keep trying, however. The two of them had become good friends over the past few months, growing more comfortable around each other. Eventually, Dane would see that they were mates and reciprocate, he was certain of it. Dane was at ease around those in the guard who were gay or bisexual, although Jai still wasn’t sure whether or not Dane himself was interested. The mate bond, however, was something that couldn’t just be ignored.

“Dane, you need a ride home?” he asked, glancing at the clock. The little paperwork they had left had been done and it looked as though Ret and Andy were packing up, ready to go home.

The other man shook his head. “I’m going to take the bus,” he said, not meeting Jai’s eyes.

* * * *

Jai watched him leave and walk toward the bus stop with his shoulders hunched and head down against the cold wind, before starting his bike. He sighed; he had the nagging feeling deep in his stomach that this was doomed. Every time he thought Dane was opening up to him, even a little, something happened. He had no idea what had changed tonight, but he had seen the wariness on Dane’s face, the walls going back up. It was killing him, to know that the one who was destined to be his mate was mere metres away each day. To him, it seemed like miles.

He had dreamed of finding his mate ever since he could remember, and now that he had he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. To a were, his mate was like the other half of his soul, the one person who was his perfect partner. According to the legend that each pack passed from generation to generation, there had been mates since the first weres. In the beginning, there were two weres who were deeply in love. They were sworn to each other for eternity, unable to live without the other. When Mahalia died, she swore with her dying breath that she would find her love again in the next life. Nathaniel was lost without her and died of a broken heart only days after her. Their spirits never found each other, but they continued to search, never giving up. As their genetics were passed on through their descendents, so was a small piece of their spirit. Each new generation of wolves continued their search, to reunite the pair in some small way as they found their own soul mates.

Now Jai had found his mate and the enormity of it sank in. Before a were found his mate, it was more of a vague wish, in the same way that humans dreamed of finding the perfect man or woman. Once he met Dane, however, the weight of that knowledge lay heavily across his shoulder. Now he
knew
what he was missing and it became all he could think about. If Dane turned him down, walked away, he wasn’t sure what he would do. Which was why he was taking it slowly, in the hope that Dane would realise their connection and acknowledge it instead of running for the hills.

Turning his bike away from home, he headed for the woods that the pack used for hunting when the moon was full. He needed to run, to let the wolf take over for a while so that he didn’t have to think about anything. When he reached the dirt car park, he pulled his bike over and climbed off, hooking his helmet over the handlebar. There was no need to lock his motorcycle up here; even those in town who weren’t wolves knew that this place was private property and didn’t come here.

The car park was enclosed on all sides by the trees, making it safe from prying eyes, so he quickly stripped out of his clothing and stashed it in the saddlebags on his bike. Unhooking the gold hoop from his right ear, he put that into the jacket pocket. He had learned from past experience that shifting with the earring still in was damned uncomfortable, not to mention that it caused a stir if humans saw a wolf with an earring wandering about. When everything was away, he walked into the woods.

Jai reached the small clearing after a few minutes walk into the trees and stopped. Dropping to his knees in the grass, he allowed the wolf to surface. The shift was painless, albeit disorientating at first, and the change washed over him like a tide of magic. His skin tingled, heat prickling over him as his body contorted, his bones and joints altering to that of a lupine. Fur erupted from his skin, coating him with a thick, dark grey pelt. He felt his face morph into the wolf’s muzzle and licked his lips, tongue running over the sharp fangs. Jai shook himself from nose to tail, and looked around.

Everything was a thrill to the wolf, every sound and every scent there to be explored. He dropped his nose to the ground and tracked one of the scents happily, ears pricking up as he heard a rustle in the undergrowth, but he didn’t follow it. Instead, he set off at a trot into the trees, picking up speed until he raced along. His senses helped him to dodge any obstacles, to leap over the fallen branches, without colliding with anything.

Although Jai was still in there, still able to reason and think as he did in his human form, he had relinquished most of the control to the wolf. The wolf didn’t concern itself with such things as work and social occasions, only thinking of its basic needs. To the wolf, if it didn’t involve food, hunting or sex, it wasn’t interesting enough to waste time on. For Jai, being able to let the simplicity of the wolf’s thoughts take over for a while was freeing, relaxing.

This section of the woods had been the source of speculation for many years, the local human population having sent conservation specialists here on a number of occasions. They heard the howls on the full moon or caught a glimpse of the wolves every so often and, since there were no wild wolves in this part of Britain, they called in the authorities. Maybe they were worried about the danger the wolves posed, or maybe it was just that they wanted to prove that they actually had seen a wolf. Then the conservation people arrived.

Michael, as the registered owner of the land since he was Alpha of the pack, sent one of the guards to take them around the woods, letting them search. The visitors looked for tracks and traces of wolves, getting excited at the prospect. Of course, they found nothing. Michael made sure that the pack knew to stay clear on the days they were being investigated and the conservationists left, disappointed. Jai had often wondered what they would have done if they had known they were being shown around by one of the wolves they were searching for. Since no photographic or video evidence could ever be found, the woods had acquired similar stories to those of the unidentified big cat that supposedly roamed the countryside down south. People had been reporting sightings of a supposed black panther for years, and it had become an urban legend. The wolves of Blackthorn Woods had quickly become just as legendary, and the pack preferred it stay that way. Had any photos ever surfaced, the nature conservationists would have been back in force to study and monitor and generally get in the way of pack business.