Feral Claim [Devil Hills Wolves 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

  

  Devil Hills Wolves 1

  Feral Claim

  Ordinary human Dave Rush and his psychic brother have spent their entire lives running away from a pro-human government. When Dave finds out the government wants his brother’s head on a platter, he takes his brother and runs. Dave’s spent his entire life being told that paranormals consider mere humans like him as prey. But when there’s no one else to turn to, Dave takes the risk of a lifetime and seeks the den of monsters for sanctuary.

  For over a decade, the Devil Hills wolves have closed off their territory to outsiders, but the scent of his mate draws werewolf enforcer Forrest to find Dave. Forrest knows his community doesn't allow humans in for a reason. Dave might be his undoing but once a Devil Hills wolf stakes his claim on a mate, there’s no stopping the hunt until he makes Dave his in every sense of the word.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Shape-shifters, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 33,033 words

  FERAL CLAIM

  Devil Hills Wolves 1

  Fel Fern

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  FERAL CLAIM

  Copyright © 2018 by Fel Fern

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-110-0

  First Publication: April 2018

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2018 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  To my readers, I hope you enjoy the first book in my new series.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Felicia Fern works as a graphic designer during the day, and loves penning M/M paranormal erotic romance at night.

  A sadist who loves watching her heroes break their backs trying to earn their happy endings, Fel likes throwing in the occasional dash of the unknown to the usual romantic concoction.

  www.felfern.com

  https://tinyletter.com/felfern

  https://www.facebook.com/author.felfern

  For all titles by Fel Fern, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/fel-fern

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  FERAL CLAIM

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  FERAL CLAIM

  Devil Hills Wolves 1

  FEL FERN

  Copyright © 2018

  Prologue

  Ten years ago

  Dave Rush couldn’t focus on his homework. Looking at the bright yellow pamphlet distributed during class hours ago made his stomach turn. He touched the Humans Matter logo on the upper part of the paper, a fist clenching a hammer. Beneath the fist lay the bloody carcass of a wolf.

  “Help us cleanse this city of undesirable shifters, vampires, Espers, and other paranormals. Let’s make the world a better place again,” Dave read out loud.

  It had been easy enough to pretend that he’d been just like his other classmates, hating the supernaturals who came out of the woodwork a decade ago. Too bad none of the other kids understood what it was like, growing up with an Esper brother. Dave didn’t know why the Humans Matter government had to hate on Espers, too. His younger brother, Daryl, was human, just like him, save Daryl possessed odd abilities.

  “What are you looking at?”

  He crumpled the paper at Daryl’s voice, turned around on his chair. Plenty of people said they looked alike but Dave’s blond hair was a shade darker, and he inherited their father’s dark brown eyes. He hated his eyes the most, because every time he looked at the mirror, he saw his hateful old man reflected there. Daryl had been lucky, though, since he inherited the bright green eyes of the mother they’d never seen, who’d died giving birth to him.

  Dave guessed Daryl also inherited his strange gift from their mother. Their dad didn’t possess anything decent inside him, using violence as an answer to every single thing. He swallowed, paper still clutched in one fist as he met Daryl’s gaze, eyes too old in a twelve-year-old kid. Even though Dave was two years older, Daryl had always acted more mature.

  “Oh, that?” Daryl lost interest and pried the same paper from one of his textbooks. “I got one, too.”

  “Why do you sound so calm when just last night,” Dave began, then whispered, “you used your gift on Dad again.”

  “If I didn’t, neither of us would be able to go to school today,” Daryl said plainly, taking off his backpack. “He was in a nasty mood last night. Besides, it’s not like I did anything bad. I just made him go to sleep early. That’s all.”

  Dave bit his lip, not denying it. Their dad had always been an alcoholic, but the old man had been becoming worse lately. He preferred their dad not coming home at all, passed out in some bar or street, instead of returning to their apartment.

  Every time I look at you two little shits, I get so pissed, their dad always said.

  Dave often wondered if they reminded their dad of their dead mother, or if when he looked at them, the bastard only saw two mouths to feed.

  “It’s going to be fine, Dave,” Daryl said in that calm voice of his.

  The heaviness in his chest and his anger lifted. He mellowed out, about to return to his homework, then scowled.

  “Stop using your abilities on me,” he said, a little angry. Then he tried to reason with his brother. “Daryl, please. If we’re not careful, the Discipline Squad might come knocking on our door. Do you know what’s going to happen? They’re going to take you from me, the way they parted Maddie Stevenson from her brothers because she displayed a little telekinesis in the schoolyard. You’re all I got, little brother.”

  Daryl walked up to him, still sitting on his desk, and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

  “Okay. I’m sorry I’ve worried you.” Haunted green eyes looked at him. “Remember Danny Lee?”

  He sucked in a breath. Of course. Everyone knew about Danny. Danny had been in the same class as Dave, had been taken away by a white-clad Discipline Squad member during math class. Shifters, vampires, and other supernaturals classified as non-human were eliminated on site, but Espers? According to the government, Espers could be turned into fully functional and contributing members of society.

  The Humans Matter government
called it rehabilitation but he had a sneaking feeling it was so much worse. Danny came back months ago, pale, his head shaved and his eyes empty. A walking corpse, he remembered thinking.

  “I don’t want that to happen to you,” he whispered to his brother. Sure, his younger brother annoyed him sometimes, but that was what younger brothers were for. He didn’t want a DS member taking his brother away and locking Daryl to God knew where.

  “It won’t. I promise I won’t use my abilities so much,” Daryl said.

  Dave heard a loud bang outside. His entire body tensed. Daryl and he traded wary looks, knowing what came next. No thief or robber in their right mind would want to break into their ratty apartment. For one, they owned nothing worth stealing.

  “Where the fuck are you two sons-of-bitches?” hollered their father Jake’s voice. “Come out here or I’ll drag you two useless shits out.”

  “We should do as he asks,” Daryl said in that same creepy-calm voice that adults sometimes used when soothing an overemotional kid at school.

  He shook his head. “He sounds drunk. Why is he home anyway? He should still be working.”

  “He lost his job at the factory yesterday.”

  Dave blinked. “What? Why didn’t you tell me? Wait, you can read minds now?”

  Daryl shook his head gently. “It was one of his last words before I put him to sleep. It’ll be okay, big brother. I’ll put him to sleep, just like last night.”

  Daryl was about to walk past him but Dave grabbed his hand. He clenched his jaw. He hated it when Daryl acted like the big brother when he should be the one protecting his younger brother. It turned dark as they debated about going out too long. Heavy footsteps and flying curses neared their room.

  The doorknob rattled and Dave jumped to his feet, putting himself in front of his brother. Their father’s pissed-off face appeared, then the rest of him. A skinny twelve-year-old who hid his abilities and a normal fourteen-year-old had zero defenses against a huge drunk adult. Before working at the clothing factory, their dad used to be a boxer.

  The old man always blamed them for ruining his career, the good old days, but Dave had a sneaking suspicion alcohol did that first. No, Jake only let them stick around because they provided an outlet for his temper.

  Dave pinched Daryl’s arm behind him, hoping his brother understood the silent warning. According to rumor, the Discipline Squad was lurking everywhere, shady neighborhoods like theirs especially, ready to snatch up a kid who might show any signs of Esper abilities. They had some kind of equipment that detected when an Esper used their gifts.

  That only seemed to enrage Jake, who flared his nostrils. “Don’t hide the freak from me. That’s right. I’ve suspected for a while that bitch passed her freakishness to you, runt. Last night you did something to me. Well, I know what to do with you.”

  “What are you talking about?” Dave asked, breath leaving his lungs as Jake drove a fist into his gut.

  Another punch and he dropped to the ground. Agony streaked throughout his entire body as he clutched at his sides.

  “Run!” he yelled to his brother, who backed away until his back hit the desk.

  “The Discipline Squad will pay good money for model citizens who bring in a freak,” Jake said, cracking his knuckles.

  He met his brother’s gaze, panicked. Why wasn’t Daryl running? They couldn’t let Jake take Daryl to one of those awful rehabilitation centers. He remembered Danny, how the confident and reckless kid turned into a shade of his former self, a ghost who didn’t smile. Dave couldn’t let the same thing happen to his brother. He lunged at Jake’s leg, ignoring his throbbing stomach, and held onto that thick ankle for dear life.

  His father swore and kicked him away.

  “Stop it!” Daryl yelled. It was rare to see his brother lose his temper. Daryl’s bright green pupils started to turn black and glow, and his brother said in that same eerie voice, “You won’t hurt us, not anymore.”

  “No.” The word rattled out of his throat. He kept repeating it, even as Daryl leapt at their father, touching his arm. Jake slid on the floor, blood dripping down his ears. Dave clawed his way to his brother, who stumbled on the ground, looking shocked.

  “What have I done? I am really a freak, a monster?” Daryl whispered, then looked at him, as if Dave had the answers.

  He knew what his brother needed, though. Acceptance. He hugged Daryl’s small frame fiercely.

  “What are we going to do now, brother? I don’t think Dad’s going to wake up again.”

  Dave looked at the photo taped to the wall of the desk, the only one they had of their mother. In it, she smiled back at the photographer like she had no cares in the world. Next to her stood the grandparents they never met. Both Beth and Brody had reached out to them multiple times, but their father refused every time.

  “It’s going to be okay, Daryl,” he said. For once, he tried to sound like an adult. If there was one thing Dave was good at, it was acting. He pretended to go along with his pro-Humans Matter friends, because he knew while he had no special abilities like Daryl or his mom, he had the next best thing. He knew how to blend in.

  “Everything’s going to be alright from now on. We’ll take care of each other,” Dave finished.

  Chapter One

  Present

  “Are you sure Captain Smith wants to see me?” Dave asked, hiding his nervousness with an easy smile. He learned long ago to watch his smiles and body language.

  Officer Reyes, his partner and senior, rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me repeat myself, Rush.”

  He nodded, gaze lingering on the family photo taped next to his computer, that of his grandparents and brother. It had been taken during Daryl’s high school graduation. All four of them had been smiling in that photo, the closest Daryl and he had come to living with a wonderful and real family. Hard to believe ten years had passed since that awful incident.

  Dave recalled how scared Daryl had been, unable to speak when the police came to their apartment. One of their neighbors had heard noises, and when the cops arrived, they had a story ready.

  Too bad Beth and Brody couldn’t see them now. Both passed away a year after Daryl’s graduation. It was as if their grandparents only waited for the two of them to become adults. He owed them plenty, still missed their absence every day of his life.

  “Rush,” Reyes said in warning, popping her head from the cubicle next to him.

  “Sorry, daydreaming.” He flashed her a grin and she rolled her eyes. Dave always played the role of joker all his life. He painted himself as the guy no one took seriously, who didn’t stand out. So why was the captain calling for him now? Dave was no one, just into his first year as an officer of the force. He had been pleased to be assigned to one of the up and coming districts in the city.

  Dave had chosen his career with care to make sure no one looked twice at his brother. He rose from his seat and walked up to the captain’s office, nodding to Smith’s assistant.

  “He’s waiting for you,” Sherry said without looking up from her computer.

  He knocked politely on the door and entered.

  “Ah, Officer Rush, please have a seat,” Captain Smith said. “I’d like to talk about your recent case.”

  Dave turned his mind on autopilot, too distracted because today was special. Hard to believe a decade had passed since Daryl used his powers to end the life of that miserable bastard, a decade since they’d been free. It had been an accident, but ten years later, Dave remained grateful to his brother. If Daryl hadn’t done that, neither of them would be at this point in their lives, him a police officer and Daryl a renowned local artist.

  “You have a younger brother, don’t you, Rush?”

  Dave snapped to attention at those words, heartbeat racing. He and his brother hadn’t survived this long without honing their instincts to how certain people reacted.

  “I do,” he said carefully, not showing any visible reaction on his face. Dave flashed the captain what he hoped lo
oked like a sheepish smile. “You should remember him from the Christmas party three months ago. He rocked that karaoke machine.”

  “According to your essay to the academy, your brother was one of the reasons why you wanted to join the force, is that correct?”

  His essay? Alarm bells rang in his head. Smith looked at his computer intently. Sweat dripped down his back. Why did he have a feeling Smith perused his personal records? Why now? Shit. Dave had been careful, and Daryl hadn’t used his abilities since that incident with their dad.

  Beth had the same ability, so did their mom. Thanks to their grandmother’s training and guidance, she taught Daryl to hide his powers completely, so well that even a specialized member of the Discipline Squad couldn’t detect he was an Esper.

  “Yes, sir,” he replied. “Both of our parents passed away when we were kids. We were lucky our grandparents took us in, but other kids aren’t so fortunate. They end up in the foster system. I became a cop to help the kids in our district.”

  The speech had been scripted by him a long time ago. The lies came to him easily.

  Calm down, he repeatedly told himself. Don’t show any weakness. Play your part as the ditzy rookie.

  “I see. That’s pretty admirable.”

  Smith was a hard-ass captain, one who was all about business and cleaning up the streets. The man was also well-known pro-Humans Matter activist.

  “Is there something wrong, sir?” he asked.

  “Not at all. Continue the good work, Rush. I expect your report on the Andolini case soon.”

  “Yes, sir.” Taking those words as a dismissal, he headed back to his desk. Dave felt self-conscious, wondered if the captain had someone watching him. Heart still pounding, he returned to his desk.