Heart of the Pack Read online

  Darkfall Mountain Pack 14

  Heart of the Pack

  The war is coming to an end.

  Sergio Esteban is the Alpha of the Darkfall Mountain pack. He’s tasked with making the hard decisions, but the war has taken its toll. Sergio’s lost his sister and far too many pack mates, and he’s on the verge of losing his mate and son. Vengeance was once enough but not anymore. Sergio needs to remember the spark he once had for his mate, Ron, or risk losing everything.

  Omega wolf Ron knows it’s his job to support his powerful mate, no matter what happens. With a traitor in the pack, Ron knows they have to keep their friends close and their enemies even closer. One major and final decisive battle looms on the horizon. Together, Sergio and Ron must fight their own demons.

  Can the strength of their love carve a path to victory?

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 25,219 words

  HEART OF THE PACK

  Darkfall Mountain Pack 14

  Fel Fern

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  MANLOVE

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

  HEART OF THE PACK

  Copyright © 2016 by Fel Fern

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-635-9

  First E-book Publication: December 2016

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2016 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.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Heart of the Pack by Fel Fern from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

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  This is Fel Fern’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Fel Fern’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  To my readers, thank you for your support.

  I hope you enjoyed all the stories in the Darkfall Mountain Pack series.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  About the Author

  Landmarks

  Cover

  HEART OF THE PACK

  Darkfall Mountain Pack 14

  FEL FERN

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  “You’re not going to finish your breakfast?”

  Sergio Esteban looked up from his reports to see his husband and mate, Ron, across the table. Ron glared at him. The Omega had been doing that a lot lately, but Ron had every right to it. Most days and nights, Sergio was busy meeting with the pack and other animal groups. They had one common goal.

  For two years now, Alpine Industries, the paranormal-hating group run by humans, had been kidnapping and experimenting on shifters in the hopes of igniting a countrywide paranormal war. Twenty-four months seemed like a short time, but in reality, it felt like an eternity. Sergio had suffered far too many losses and had disappointed too many people who relied on him.

  Domestic troubles weren’t his number one priority at the very moment, especially not today. Ron should have understood why Sergio needed some alone time, why he wasn’t in the best of moods.

  “I don’t have an appetite.”

  Sergio wished he kept his mouth shut. Something small bumped against the table. Sergio looked down to see their two-year-old son Will in wolf form. The pup snapped at his fingers when Sergio tried to pick him up.

  “Stop scaring him,” Ron snapped, picking Will up.

  Sergio snorted. “I’m not doing anything.”

  “That’s the problem.”

  Ron picked up Will and ruffled his ears. The pup let out a happy woof. Sergio picked at his memory. When was the last time he played with his son? Fuck, he couldn’t remember the last time he fucked his mate senseless, let alone hear Ron laugh or smile.

  “Let’s not start anything.”

  Ron rolled his eyes. “That’s your solution, isn’t it? Ignoring a problem won’t make it go away, Sergio.”

  Fine. Was this how Ron wanted to play this?

  “Go ahead, Omega. Tell me what I’m doing wrong.” Sergio knew he shouldn’t start a fire, but it was bound to come out sooner or later.

  “You’re always at the pack house,” Ron said. “It feels like I’m the only one who cares about this family.”

  “I have a job to do. I’m Alpha of the Darkfall pack. I’m in charge of close to a hundred people. There’s also too many small packs in our fucking territory. None of these shifters are the fighters we need.”

  Sergio rubbed at his temples. His headache was getting worse. An Alpha needed to be in top shape both mentally and physically. Otherwise, all the other wolves linked to him would feel his apprehension. He couldn’t let them down, especially not in a crucial time like this.

  There had been a surge of activity from Alpine Industries, according to his spies. With so many non-predatory shifters like deer and small cat colonies flocking to Darkfall as refugees, his wolves couldn’t monitor the borders of their land that well either.

  There was no end to the problems.

  “I know.” Ron blew out a breath. “But you missed our date ni
ght last night.”

  “I don’t have time for this.”

  “You never have time for us.” Ron rose to his feet and cleared his plate without asking Sergio if he was done.

  The doorbell rang. Ron dumped the dishes in the sink and didn’t bother looking at him. Ron took Will in his arms, scooped his bag off the counter, and exited through the back door.

  It was probably Jared, one of his enforcers along with another werewolf. If there were a threat nearby, his wolf would have sensed it. Through the pack bonds, Sergio felt the familiar presence of his wolves. He could never be too careful, especially in times like these.

  Sergio usually rotated who guarded his mate and son, but Jared was one of the few wolves he trusted. Jared, along with his sister, Jane, had been one of the wolf pups he and his siblings adopted and practically raised like their own kids.

  Why had he done a good job with Jared and Jane when he couldn’t even take care of his own fucking family?

  Back then wasn’t a peaceful period either. Darkfall Mountain had been unclaimed territory. Sergio had wrestled control of it from other animals groups and had ushered in peace to a town that had only known civil war between shifters. Now a different war was brewing on the horizon, larger and more terrifying.

  Sergio didn’t think they could win, despite the act he put on in front of his brother and Beta, Alessio, or to his other enforcers. The only person he could confide his fears in was gone. Ron was drifting away from his fingers, and his own son was afraid of him.

  Everything was slowly spiraling out of his control. It was suddenly difficult to breathe. Looking around the messy kitchen, he realized he didn’t even notice the new additions to his own house. For instance, the coffeemaker was new. There was a drawing pinned on the wall. It was nothing but a mess of blurry red lines, but he knew it was Will’s handiwork.

  A pang shot through his heart. Sergio felt like a stranger in his own home. How fucked up was that?

  Taking deep breaths, Sergio rose to his feet and followed Ron. His mate was conversing with Jared and Leo, a new transfer to the pack. Sergio needed more fighters like Leo. Normally, the pack had stringent rules for newcomers, but he couldn’t afford to be picky. Leo had proved himself time and time again, volunteered for hard missions along with the rest of his wolves.

  “Alpha,” Leo greeted, spotting him.

  Jared gave him a casual wave. Will was still in wolf form, dancing at Jared’s feel. Laughing, Jared picked the pup up and rubbed his belly. The pup whined but looked happy.

  The sight made Sergio envious. Seeing his son being friendlier to other pack members hurt, but Sergio long ago accepted his role. He was Alpha and a leader had to make sacrifices, the hard decisions no one else would. For instance, Sergio utilized his military experience and trained his pack fighters like soldiers. As a result, his wolves didn’t fight like drunk bar brawlers. Instead, they fought like a single organism, a unit. Adding to that, Sergio stocked an impressive stock of weapons. That was why the Darkfall Pack ranked as one of the more powerful packs in the country and why it was the only one able to successfully defy these humans who wanted to eradicate all paranormals.

  “Have you gotten word to the other enforcers about our meeting this evening?” Sergio asked Jared.

  “Yup. Everyone will be there.”

  Sergio rubbed at his eyes and was surprised when he yawned. Last night, Will’s crying had kept him up. Ron threw him a dirty look, and he looked back at his mate. Even among his closest lieutenants, Sergio didn’t dare let his guard down. He and Ron put on a united front when appearing in pack meetings. To fellow pack mates and guests, they were the dream couple, but the act was beginning to wear off. Sooner or later, they needed to face the music.

  “Bye. Call me when you get to work,” Sergio told Ron, bending down to give Ron a quick kiss on the lips.

  Ron pulled away and didn’t reply. Sergio noticed that Leo shot Jared a curious look, but Jared ushered the other man back into the car.

  “By the way, Alessio says he’s on his way,” Jared added before getting into the car. “He keeps bugging me because you don’t check your phone.”

  Sergio stood by the curb until Jared’s car disappeared from his line of sight. He fished out his phone, ignored the dozens of text messages, and finally found his brother’s numerous missed calls. Great. Another person who was pissed at him.

  Sighing, he got into his car. From his side-view mirror, he spotted Dino and Raul in Raul’s truck. He told Alessio far too many times that he didn’t need bodyguards.

  Alessio’s argument had been convincing—“If an assassin finds you due to sheer stubbornness, what’s going to happen to the rest of us?”

  Sergio couldn’t argue with that logic. Raul and Dino belonged to the circle of veteran fighters in the pack. They could challenge any of his chosen enforcers and probably win. They were fellow pack members, but they weren’t really his wolves. They were hers. Catching Raul’s gaze, Sergio gave the man a curt nod.

  Starting the engine, Sergio drove straight to the cemetery. He was thirty minutes late thanks to the faulty alarm clock. Sergio had a feeling it was Ron’s way of getting back to him for missing date night, but he was too tired to confront the Omega.

  Alessio would be pissed, but he would understand. There used to be three of them. Now there were only two. Sergio reached the St. Angelo Cemetery in half an hour. It was located on the outskirts of town. The place was relatively quiet at this time of the day, but not this Friday morning.

  Sergio spotted a few more werewolves heading to their respective cars. Like Raul and Dino, these men and women weren’t technically his. They belonged to Michella, his sister and the former pack Gamma. Seeing him, some greeted him, and others gave quick jerks of the head, like Raul. He knew some of them still blamed him for Michella’s death.

  Raul and Dino got out of the car but remained behind to chat with the others. He had always accused Michella of possessing a soft heart and had always told her that her kindness would be the death of her. In the end, his prediction turned out true. She had died protecting Raul’s mate from a suicide bomber.

  Sergio vividly remembered what had happened the day before her death. They had argued viciously on the phone, Sergio blaming her for offering sanctuary to a small and weak wolf pack.

  Like so many things, Sergio wished he could take those words back, wished he didn’t need to take back his sister in pieces after the blast. They had a closed-casket service because there was no whole body to be buried.

  They had her remains cremated. Alessio didn’t want her buried in the ground and offered to take her urn back to his apartment, but Sergio knew this place held some sentimental value for her.

  Alessio and he had practically raised her after their parents had died in an accident. She had grown up wild, untamed. This cemetery had been one of her favorite hiding spots. Later, it became a secret place she met lovers with. As a young adult, she had fallen in love with a human psychic and, after he died, had inherited his ability of empathy.

  Another woman rose from the ashes of her old self. She took her duties as Gamma seriously. Pack mates flocked to her for problems. She had become the heart of their pack, and everyone felt her absence when she passed away.

  He found his brother sitting with his back pressed against her grave. Alessio’s lips moved, but Sergio couldn’t make out the words yet. Seeing him approach, Alessio got to his feet, looking embarrassed to have been caught by Sergio talking to their dead sister.

  “You’re late,” was all Alessio said.

  “I know. Woke up on the wrong side of bed.”

  “Fighting with Ron again?”

  His brother always could read him like a book, not the way Michella had but good enough.

  “None of your fucking business,” Sergio responded. After Ron’s cold treatment in the house, he didn’t mind picking a fight with his brother.

  “It’s my business as your Beta to know if you’re fit to lead, Sergio.”
>
  Snarling, Sergio bared his fangs. In a couple of steps, Sergio crossed the distance between them. Fisting Alessio’s shirt in his grip, he growled into his brother’s face.

  Alessio didn’t look impressed, didn’t have the decency to show Sergio the respect he deserved. Instead of apologizing, Alessio threw a gut-wrenching punch. Sergio grunted, returning the favor. He lashed out a fist. They ended up on the ground, rolling and trading blows.

  “Get the fuck off me,” Sergio threatened.

  Alessio didn’t listen. They went at it a good long while, and Sergio realized his brother hadn’t used claws or teeth. Alessio knew he needed this, needed to let off some steam.

  Damn it. His head began to clear. They got off each other and lay on their backs. The summer sky was clear above them. He could almost imagine Michella appearing, glaring down at both of them with hands on her hips.

  “What would she say?” Sergio asked.

  Alessio seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “She’d tell us off; that we’re supposed to be the Alpha and Beta, the two people the rest of the pack look up to; that she feels like she’s been burdened with two younger brothers, not older ones.”

  Sergio raised a hand over his face to block the sun, remembering the one time they were all holed up in the restaurant for a pack meeting.

  “It’s too bright and sunny outside. Such a waste. Let’s reschedule,” Michella had said, grinning.

  In that moment, she had looked like their mother, the mother she had few memories of. Sergio remembered their parents, though. He’d been ten when they died, twelve when he’d been bitten by a rabid werewolf. Not wanting to leave him alone to suffer, Alessio and Michella let Sergio bite them, turn them.