A Wolf’s Deception (Novella)
Read A Wolf’s Deception (Novella) Online
Authors: Sherilee Gray
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal, #Fantasy
Sherilee Gray
A Wolf’s Deception
Sherilee Gray
He’d been an outcast his whole life, but it never mattered with her by his side. Then she betrayed him in the worst way possible, and he will have his revenge.
Gabriel Reed knows rejection. There’s no room in a pack for a hybrid. But he finally found happiness when he met Tressa McCray. He thought love would save him from a lifetime of loneliness—until Tressa broke his heart and mated with another. Now her mate is dead, she’s on the run, and Gabe is asked to bring her back safely. He is the only one who can keep her and her son safe. There’s no reason for Gabe to get involved—no reason, except that while he can never forgive her, he’s never stopped loving her.
Tressa McCray sacrificed everything—including her own happiness—to protect the man she loved and their unborn cub. Now her nightmare may finally be over—if she can make it safely back to Black Hills land. Her mate’s pack can never know the truth, or take control of her young son. But the one man she would never call, the one she could never forget, has shown up to help. With the lies and the secrets and the pain, can she really ask him to risk his life to save hers and that of the son he doesn’t know he has?
Sherilee Gray has always had a big (some may say warped) imagination, and as a kid scared herself conjuring up tales full of terrifying creatures. All grown up, she still has the big imagination and monsters in her stories…only now they’re chasing their happily ever after. Based in beautiful New Zealand with her extremely supportive husband and their two children, she spends her time writing, hoarding books, and eating copious amounts of chocolate.
First, I want to thank my family for their unwavering support. Vaughan, thank you for the food deliveries. Love you! I also want to thank some of the amazing women who have helped me in so many ways, whether through beta reading, being a sounding board, or giving me a kick in the butt when I needed it. Kelly, Mel, the awesome BOCHOK babes, and last but not least, my friend and critique partner Nicola Davidson. I couldn’t do it without you guys!
For Dad. Love you!
Contents
Bestselling Titles by Escape Publishing…
Tressa McCray hitched her squirming cub higher on her hip and rang the bell on the reception desk for the third time. The service at this dump was terrible, but then that was what you’d expect from a place with water stains on the ceiling and unidentifiable dark patches on the bedspread.
After what she’d just run from, she’d put up with anything to make sure they didn’t have to go back to that nightmare.
She darted another glance out the large window, to the dimly lit parking area beyond. All clear, thank God. Still, her palms grew sweaty and a shiver moved through her, amping up the nerves already fluttering in her belly.
Sawyer wriggled in her arms again, and she hitched him back up, holding him close.
Just a little longer and they’d finally be safe.
She had to believe it was true. If she let fear overwhelm her she’d fall apart and she didn’t have the luxury of a breakdown just yet.
Ringing the bell again, and keeping her back to the parking lot, she forced herself to stop chewing on her bottom lip.
The door behind the counter opened, an overweight man with grease-slicked hair and an odour that stung her nostrils, shuffled out. It was the same man who’d checked her in two days before. A bottle of beer was wrapped in one meaty fist and he took a swig before acknowledging her.
‘What?’
Nice.
Sawyer chose that minute to let out an ear-splitting wail, slapping her on the side of the face with his sticky little fingers. ‘Wanna get down,’ he said, squirming in the arms and trying to get to the floor. Tressa held him tight. No way in hell was she letting her son play on that floor. God only knew what the tacky surface was coated in.
‘I’ll read you a story soon, honey. Just be a good boy while mama talks to the nice man.’ Glancing up from her wriggling, whining cub, she plastered a smile on her face. The guy took another swig of his beer and scowled.
‘The thermostat on the air conditioning unit seems to be broken. I was wondering if we could change rooms?’
He shook his head. ‘Nope. We’re full.’
A growl crawled up her throat, but she choked it back down. He was lying through his rotten teeth. Why would anyone in their right mind stay here? Only desperate people stayed at a place like this. People like her.
‘Um…the rooms on either side of ours look empty, as do the one’s above.’
In fact, the whole damn section she was on looked empty.
‘I told you, we’re full.’ He drained the rest of his beer and tossed it in the trash. His beady, bloodshot eyes raked over her from head to toe, then slithered back up to pause on her breasts. He licked his lips. ‘But I’ll come take a look. Maybe I can help you out, sweetheart.’
A stab of fear, not to mention a good dose of revulsion curled low in her belly. If it wasn’t for the fact she hadn’t eaten in two days, she was pretty sure she would’ve thrown up all over the bastard’s dirty floor.
Sawyer stilled suddenly, his struggles to get free ending along with his constant chant of
down, down, down.
Like her, her son was a good judge of character. His animal senses were nowhere near their full potential. But he was able to pick up on danger when it was near, had been around enough of it to know the way it felt, the way it tasted; more than any child his age should.
She took a step back. ‘Look, it’s fine, really. Sorry I disturbed you. I think I saw a spare blanket in the closet. That’ll be fine. I shouldn’t have bothered you.’
She backed out of the door before he had a chance to answer. Yanking the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, she tucked Sawyer in close, and walked quickly towards her room. The sound of the motel’s reception door opening then slamming shut echoed behind her, followed by the scuff of shoes on the path.
Shit.
Walking faster, she got the key ready in her hand, and unlocked the door as soon as she reached it. Without a backwards glance, she slammed it shut behind her and threw the lock.
A few seconds later he put those solid fists to good use and pounded on the door. ‘What the hell are you doing? Let me in so I can fix the damn thermostat.’
‘No thank you,’ she backed up a step. ‘I said it’s fine.’
Sawyer whined and buried his head against her shoulder. Her young son didn’t know his alphabet, couldn’t count past four, but he knew what happened when a big male like the one outside got angry; what happened when the door opened.
She wrapped her arms around his slight frame and tried to comfort him. ‘We’ll be safe soon.’ Her mother had assured her the new Black Hills alpha was sending someone to take them home, away from all the pain and fear. Away from the living hell she’d barely survived.
The rattle of keys came next and she scrambled back further. ‘Shit.’
The door opened a second later and the motel owner took a step inside. ‘Not very nice of you, locking me out like that.’
Her inner wolf growled, bared its teeth. ‘Don’t you need tools?’
‘Nope.’ His dull gaze landed on her then slid to Sawyer. He wiped the back of his hand across his lips. Lips that were fleshy and red and looked out of place on his suddenly hard face.
‘Put the kid in the bathroom and shut the door.’
And just like that, something snapped inside her. A part of her she’d been forced to contain for so long that supressing it had become second nature. But now it reared up, clawed its way free, lighting every nerve ending, heightening every sense, every instinct.
Without a word, she ran her fingers over her son’s baby-soft hair and carried him to the bathroom. ‘You be a good boy and stay in here.’ After laying a towel down, she sat him on the floor with the few toys she’d managed to grab when she’d left. ‘Mama will be right back, sweetheart.’ Sawyer looked up at her, his pale blue irises wide. He popped his thumb in his mouth, but didn’t say a word. He knew when to be quiet.
She shut the door carefully and stepped back, colliding with the male’s large frame. His soft belly pressed into her lower back and his hot, sweaty hands landed on her shoulders. She felt disconnected in that moment, like she was floating above herself, watching this from afar.
‘Mmm, that’s right,’ he whispered, damp, beer breath against her ear. ‘I knew you’d be up for it.’
‘Shut the door,’ she said in a voice she barely recognised.
He released her and shuffled across the floor, doing as she asked. When he turned back, he gestured to the fly of her jeans. ‘Take’em off.’
Sweat beaded his forehead as he watched her, darkening the underarms of his shirt. She kicked off her boots and slid her jeans down her legs. Her sweatshirt and tank were next, followed by her bra. His Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed loudly, groaned. ‘Jesus.’
His gaze moved over her body, but she didn’t feel disgusted or ashamed. She didn’t feel much of anything—anything except pure, white hot rage.
To keep her son safe, she’d do anything, would suffer through anything. No matter what it took, she’d make sure he got the life he should have had. The life that would have been his if she’d been stronger, if she had fought instead of cowering, allowing someone else to dictate her future.
When she was completely naked, she took several steps back, making sure he was away from the exit. He reached down and massaged the bulge behind his zipper.
‘You’re one hot piece of ass.’ He looked down and fumbled with the button of his pants. ‘Come here and suck my cock.’
Tressa didn’t give herself time to think about what she was about to do, instead she let all that pent-up rage flow through her body, let her wolf rush forward.
The animal inside her took control and within a few seconds she’d shifted, taking her wolf form. Her predator’s instincts, instincts of a mother willing to do whatever necessary to protect her cub, took over. Pushing off with her powerful back legs, she leapt up and latched onto the stunned male’s throat before he could open his mouth to scream for help.
She pulled him down the floor and, without hesitating, tore open the pulsing artery there. She held him tight in her jaws as his struggles became weaker, until eventually they stopped completely. With a snarl, she backed up and watched him as he bled out on the dirty carpet.
She’d killed a man and she felt nothing. Not one thing. He would have hurt her and Sawyer and she was through being the victim.
Using her jaws, she dragged the bedspread down off the bed and used it to cover the body so Sawyer didn’t have to see it.
No one was hurting her or her baby ever again.
Gabriel Reed drove to the rear of the dive motel, where the street lights didn’t quite reach and killed the engine.
Yanking open the glove compartment, he pulled out the information he’d been given to double-check the address. The photo he’d been trying to avoid since he’d seen it the day before tumbled into his lap. He stared down at it, trying to ignore the way that traitorous face affected him. Sliding his fingers over the image, he picked it up, staring into those dark eyes.
What the fuck am I doing here?
As a Guardian—one of a group of hybrids who enforced shifter law—he spent a lot of time with the packs in the area he policed, sorting out territory disputes, hunting down the odd rogue wolf…but they never called him and invited him in. No pack welcomed his interference into their business.