Broken Wolf Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  More Curses

  Other Books

  Author’s Note

  BROKEN WOLF

  CURSE OF THE MOON - BOOK FOUR

  by Stacy Claflin

  http://www.stacyclaflin.com

  Copyright ©2017 Stacy Claflin. All rights reserved.

  ©Cover Design: Rebecca Frank

  Edited by Staci Troilo

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental or used fictitiously. The author has taken great liberties with locales including the creation of fictional towns.

  Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. Do not upload or distribute anywhere.

  This e-book is for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with others, please either purchase it for them or direct them to StacyClaflin.com for purchase links. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

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  Chapter 1

  Toby

  I held my breath and focused my breathing, yet my pulse continued racing through my body like an out-of-control truck down a steep hill. My attention moved to the fully transformed supernatural bar, now covered in flowers and shimmery decorations. I pressed my sweaty palms against my slacks and then adjusted the jacket of my tuxedo.

  The band continued playing the soft, romantic melody as Jet and Ziamara came down the aisle. Zia smiled at me as she took her spot next to the other bridesmaids. Jet took his place next to me and whispered something, but I couldn’t tell what.

  The tempo changed, and everyone seated in front of us rose to their feet. My mouth went dry. In just a moment, I would see my beautiful bride and we would marry at long last. I’d waited centuries for this day. It didn’t seem possible that it was really here. We’d been through so much—and that was putting it mildly.

  Finally, she came into view. She looked a little dazed as she scanned the guests, but then her face broke into a grin when our gazes locked. My heart soared and then I relaxed.

  There was nothing left to come between our wedded bliss. We were about to become husband and wife, and start our new life together in a magical paradise.

  Tap, the former troll king and owner of the supernatural bar, looped his arm through Victoria’s. They walked down the aisle, both smiling and nodding to the guests. They reached the small platform. The music lulled until it stopped.

  Soleil, our pack valkyrie who was certified to marry in sixteen countries, stepped up next to me and made eye contact with Tap. “Who gives this bride?”

  “Her mother.” The small but mighty troll extended an arm to Laura, who sat in the front row. She rose and nodded.

  “Come on up.” Soleil held out her hand to Victoria, and helped her onto the platform.

  It took all of my self-control to keep from running to Victoria. I wanted to skip past all the formalities and kiss her. To have us declared married.

  I took a deep breath. It would only be a few minutes. I could wait.

  Victoria walked over to me and took my hands. Hers were especially soft. Her entire face lit up as we stared at each other.

  Joy raced through me like bolts of electricity. I grinned like a fool and didn’t care what kind of teasing the pack would have in store for me later. My bride stood in front of me.

  Soleil moved to her position and adjusted her blonde hair. She cleared her throat and spoke about love. I could hardly pay attention, though. Victoria had always been the most beautiful woman alive, but standing before me in her sparkling wedding gown, she was even more gorgeous than usual. Her eyes shone with excitement equal to what I felt, and her smile had never been wider.

  A clatter sounded from another part of the Faeble.

  Victoria pulled her gaze from me and turned.

  I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention. Our favorite bar could burn down around us for all I cared—just as long as we continued with the ceremony.

  Gasps sounded from the back of the audience, and they moved forward. I turned my gaze from Victoria to see what was the matter. Whatever everyone else saw was blocked from my view. Guests rose from their seats and pressed themselves against the walls, stumbling over each other. They cried out.

  Victoria turned to me, wide-eyed.

  I squeezed her hands and turned to Soleil. “Declare us husband and wife!”

  Her gaze was focused on something behind us.

  “Stop the wedding!” came a deep voice with a thick Icelandic accent.

  I didn’t have to turn to know who he was—or who he wanted.

  Victoria.

  The tall brute of a werewolf stepped forward. People cried out. A few fainted. Everyone knew the violence he was capable of—he could kill us all single-handedly. “Hand over the bride, and nobody gets hurt.”

  I wrapped my arms around her. “You’ll have to kill me first.”

  “No!” Victoria pulled away from me. “Don’t hurt anyone. I’ll go.”

  “Don’t!” I grabbed her arm.

  She turned to me. “You’d rather everyone die?”

  “No,” I whispered.

  Victoria held my gaze. “Then let me go.”

  Chapter 2

  One Week Earlier

  Victoria

  “Look at this one!” Ziamara shoved the bridal magazine at me and added it to the stack on the kitchen table. Our pack vampire stared at me, her eyes wide with expectation, and pulled some of her rainbow-colored hair behind her ears. “Tell me that’s not the perfect wedding dress.”

  I glanced down at the magazine. “It’s nice.”

  “Nice?” she exclaimed. “It’s the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. Right?” Ziamara nudged Stella, who sat between us at Toby’s spot at the head of the long table.

  “I’d definitely wear it.” Stella twisted a strand of curly hair around a finger. She’d been so helpful since joining the pack. I’d turned her into a werewolf when a cruel vampire had been after her, and I’d never seen anyone so grateful to be a part of the Moonhaven pack.

  My mom grabbed the magazine. “Oh, I really like this one. It’s so elegant. I can make one just like this—and make all the adjustments you want.”

  I pulled a sticky note from the pad. “Mark the page.”

  Ziamara arched a brow and rubbed her rounded stomach. “What’s with you?”

  “Nothing,” I said too quickly and grabbed one of the magazines. “I just want to get married. The details just don’t matter. I’ve already got my dream groom.”

  Stella sighed dramatically. “I hope I find love like that one day.”

  “You will.” I flipped through the pages, my mind f
ar from the dresses in front of me. Ever since I’d heard about the wolf essence stone, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Only when Toby was around could I distract myself, but he was out with some of the pack guys, getting fitted for tuxes.

  Ziamara spoke about flowers and my mind wandered again. I didn’t know much about the stone, but I knew I wanted to find it. Its size and beauty was said to put the Hope Diamond to shame. It was also widely rumored to hold the cure to the curse of the moon—what forced every werewolf to shift only at the full moon. Well, every werewolf except me. First, I couldn’t shift at all, then I started shifting when my emotions were high. And now with my thoughts so focused on the stone, I wasn’t shifting all that often anymore.

  “…right, Victoria?” Ziamara asked.

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts, turned to the vampire, and smiled. “Of course.”

  “I told you she wasn’t listening.”

  My face burned. “Sorry. Can you blame me for being lost in my own world? I’ve had to go through so much to finally plan this wedding. First, I died—”

  “Let’s not talk about that.” My mom handed me a magazine. “Look at these bridesmaids’ dresses. I need to check on the stew.” She hurried over to the stove.

  “I miss Soleil.” Ziamara sighed.

  “Me, too,” I agreed. The pack was noticeably duller without her quirky humor. For being an angel of death, she sure brought a lot of light into our pack. “She’ll be back soon, though. Once she gets over her mourning period.”

  Zia frowned. “But won’t being here just remind her of all she’s lost?”

  My heart constricted thinking about the recent loss of Brick, Toby’s best friend. “It would do her good to spend some time with Toby. Nobody was closer to Brick than those two.”

  The aroma of the stew wafted over.

  “Is that ready?” I asked.

  “Just about.” Mom continued stirring. “You want some now?”

  My stomach rumbled. “Yeah.”

  “Grab some bowls, would you, hon?”

  Stella jumped up. “I’ll get them.”

  I flipped absentmindedly through more pages of the magazine. The wolf essence stone had two conflicting rumors—that it had been destroyed in a fire, and another that if destroyed, it would kill all werewolves. I believed the second to be true. So many had gone to find it, but none had lived to share their tales.

  Since it could wipe us all out, werewolves were far from the only species in search of it. I’d done some digging since first hearing about it, and many supernatural creatures had gone in search of it—vampires, witches, mesmers, and djinn to name only a few. Tap even spoke of a secret werewolf society dedicated to finding it.

  The fact that we had a secret society after it made me think that it held more secrets than just the possibility of killing us. Alex, one of our wolfborns—those who could only turn human during the full moon—had told me the stone was a double-edged sword. It could probably grant us a lot of power. If our pack had it, not only could we shift whenever we wanted, but we could probably overpower anyone who stood against us. We could quit losing members fighting other packs—we’d lost a young wolf named Dillon when standing against my old pack, and we’d lost Brick when fighting Toby’s old pack. The madness had to stop.

  Stella placed a large bowl of steaming stew in front of me.

  “Thank you.” I dug in too fast and burned my tongue.

  As we ate, Ziamara and Stella discussed music. I nodded as each made her point. It didn’t matter to me if harpists, violinists, or even a heavy metal band played. I just wanted to marry Toby and then find that stone so everyone else could shift at will.

  I scanned the magazines lying open in the middle of the table, and my gaze landed on one in the middle. The bride wore a large, beautiful red stone around her neck.

  “Oh! I think she likes something.” Zia smiled. “That one?”

  “It’s gorgeous.” It made me wonder what the wolf essence stone would look like around my neck, hanging just above my wedding gown. The dress would be white, so no matter what the color of the stone, it would match.

  My mom grabbed the magazine. “I like how this one sits just off her shoulders. Do you want this one?”

  I stared at the model’s necklace and nodded.

  She tore the page out of the magazine. “I’m going to get to work on this right away. It’s going to take several hours just to sew all those sequins.”

  “Wait.” Ziamara pulled out her phone. “Let me get a picture of that to add to the wedding pin board.”

  My mom held it out and Zia snapped a few pictures. “Perfect.” She turned to me. “Toby doesn’t know about the board, right?”

  I shook my head.

  “Good. Don’t tell him—not now that we have the dress picked out.”

  Mom kissed the top of my head and scurried out of the room, humming.

  “I can’t believe you finally picked something,” Stella said.

  “Well, you can’t be too picky about these things. Not after how long we’ve had to wait.”

  My phone rang. I glanced next to the pile of magazines to see Toby’s smiling face on the screen. My stomach flip-flopped. He still had the same effect on me as the first time I’d seen him. I accepted the call.

  “Hi, Toby,” I answered with a song in my tone.

  “My sweetness. Do you want to meet me at the Faeble? Tap wants to discuss decorations.”

  “You have to ask if I want to meet you?” I teased.

  “I don’t want to interrupt whatever you ladies are doing.”

  “You can interrupt me anytime you want.”

  Stella and Ziamara exchanged an amused expression.

  “In that case, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  “I’ll be there.” I smacked my lips, sending him a kiss through the phone.

  He repeated the gesture. “I love you.”

  “Not as much as I love you.”

  “We’ll have to agree to disagree.”

  “I can live with that. See you in a few.” I ended the call.

  Stella rested her chin in her palm and sighed. “I can see why you don’t care about the details.”

  My heart fluttered. “I’ll see you girls in a while.”

  “Have fun.” Stella grinned.

  “But not too much fun,” Zia teased.

  I balled up a napkin and threw it at her. On the way out, I checked my reflection in a mirror. Then I ran as fast as my feet would take me into the snow-covered woods. I hated how much slower I was in human form. Luckily, I could change at will—all I needed to do was get upset or excited. Any high emotion would do. And since I hadn’t shifted in a while, it should be easy. I ran behind a tree, hiding from the often-traveled path, pulled off my clothes, and tucked them out of sight for later. The snow chilled my feet to the bone.

  Closing my eyes, I thought of my wedding day and our mysterious honeymoon location, known only to Toby. How wonderful it would be to finally marry the love of my life. The exhilaration would be second to none.

  A rib cracked and then another. I cried out in pain, but not even that could pull me from the joy of my thoughts. Bones cracked, popped, and finally broke as I turned into a wolf. I looked up to the sky and howled before bursting into a run. The more I thought of Toby, the faster my legs took me.

  Once at the supernatural bar in the middle of the woods, I trotted to the back where plenty of shifters left spare clothes. I closed my eyes, shifted back to human form, and found the cubby with mine. I picked out the cutest outfit and quickly dressed.

  Inside, I sniffed the air. It appeared that I had gotten there before Toby. I headed over to the bar and sat next to another shifter, who sat stirring the straw back and forth in her drink. She seemed lost in thought. A fishy scent emanated from her.

  I gave her a double take. Could she be a mermaid? I’d only ever heard rumors about them.

  “Look who’s here.” Tap grinned at me. He stepped up onto his
platform behind the bar and stood at my level. “I’ve asked a couple of my sisters to help with transforming this place into a proper wedding venue. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. I’d love to meet your relatives.”

  He chuckled. “They may be tiny, but they can be forceful. Just don’t let them overwhelm you.”

  “I won’t.” I leaned over the bar and lowered my voice. “Have you heard anything new about the stone?”

  Tap’s face paled. “I told you to forget about that thing.”

  Behind him, Quinn paused and watched us.

  “But it can cure our curse.”

  He scowled. “It can also kill you all. Or just you if you don’t find a way to lose that fever. It never ends well for anyone with that look in their eyes.”

  We stared each other down.

  “I’m serious, Victoria. Just focus on your wedding. The witches can find a workaround—I’m sure of it. The high witch is a personal friend. Forget the stone.”

  Quinn hadn’t moved, and he arched a brow. He knew something.

  I took a deep breath. “Tell me what your sisters have in mind.”

  There was no way I would stop thinking about the wolf essence stone. If I had to come by when Tap wasn’t around, I’d find out what I needed to know from Quinn one way or another.

  Chapter 3

  Toby

  My heart skipped a beat when I saw Victoria. She sat at the bar, talking with a female mesmer who sat next to her. It was hard to believe how close we were to having our wedding.

  I crept over to her, hoping my scent wouldn’t give me away, and stopped just behind her. Then I reached around and covered her eyes. “Guess who.”

  She spun around and stared adoringly into my eyes. “I don’t need to guess.”

  “Good.” I pulled her to standing and pressed my mouth against hers, taking in her sweet scent. “I missed you so much.”

  “Not more than I missed you.”

  “You just saw her two hours ago,” Sal teased.

  I tossed a playful smirk at my old friend and pack guard.

  Victoria turned my chin back to her and ran her palm over my stubble, staring hungrily into my eyes. I pulled her close, feeling her every curve against me and kissed her deeply. Our tongues danced together as though they were made for each other.