Fated to the Lone Wolf: The Luna Shaw Series, page 1
Fated to the Lone Wolf
THE LUNA SHAW SERIES
L. L. WINTERS
Copyright © 2024 by L. L. Winters
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact llwintersauthor@gmail.com.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
1st edition 2024
Blurb
“I know what you are Jackson…shift.”
I never thought I’d leave my home in Boston, trading big-city life for small-town living. But, after discovering a letter in my Aunt’s will revealing I had a long-lost grandma and plenty of family secrets, that’s what I found myself doing.
Rural life has proven to be filled with more drama than I could have ever anticipated and I had been excited to eventually return to Boston. That was, until I met Jackson.
Tall, dark and handsome. Muscles for days and eyes that could incapacitate any sane woman, Jackson was sexy as sin.
He keeps telling me to stay away, but how can I when he’s everywhere I go? The heat between us is undeniable, and whether he likes it or not, it seems like fate is pushing us together.
I’m determined to get to the bottom of the mysteries swirling through my life. The townspeople are determined to make me fall in love with maple syrup, and Jackson seems determined to drive me to insanity.
Oh yeah…and apparently, paranormal creatures actually exist!
If you like enemies to lovers shifter romances with a possessive, obsessive alpha male and toe-curling spice, this is the book for you.
This is a full-length novel (100k+words) and book one in a two book series. It ends on a cliffhanger, but don't worry, book two will be released soon! The series has a HEA and is recommended for 18+ readers due to spicy content.
For all the people who have a little bit of wolf inside them.
Contents
Prologue
Part I
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
Part II
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Bonus Content
Mated to the Alpha
About the Author
Prologue
I could hear my mom's screams deep within the house, over the roar of the fire. The flames licked under my bedroom door and seeped through the cracks as smoke trickled into my room. I was cowering under my bed, scared and unable to move. I remembered visiting the fire station with kindergarten and learning to stay low if there was a fire. It felt safer under here, slightly cooler. But my monster pajamas still felt stifling and suffocating, the soft material clinging to my sweaty skin. The acrid smoke got thicker and began to fill my lungs. Violent coughs racked my body, my nose ran uncontrollably, and I started to feel sick and dizzy. Move, get to the window. I knew what I had to do, but my survival instinct hadn't kicked in. I was too scared to move. I peeked out from under my bed, watching the scary shadows dance across the trees and mushrooms my mom had painted on the wall. My vision began to get dark and hazy, my eyes blinked lethargically, and I cuddled my stuffed wolf, rubbing its soft paws on my face. “It'll be okay, don't worry. Mommy and Daddy will save us.”
The sound of glass smashing behind me caught my attention. I tried to open my eyes wider as I turned to face the window, but my body wasn't cooperating. Everything felt weak, and I couldn't seem to breathe properly. Panic gripped me, and I started shaking violently before I felt strong hands wrap around my waist and pull me out from under the bed. I was vaguely aware of being carried in someone's arms out of my bedroom window, just like how my dad used to carry me to bed when I had fallen asleep on the couch. I tried to look up at my rescuer to see if it was him, but everything around me was fading away.
I burrowed my face into the person's chest, shielding myself from the heat and smoke. He didn't smell like Dad. He smelled like the forest. Trees, fresh air and…something else. I was faintly aware of the roaring fire and continued screams. I tried to move, to wriggle free from his arms, “My parents…” but I was carried away from the fire, away from my parents, away from my home.
Part One
Chapter
One
The freezing cold water cascaded over my face, washing away any lingering hints of clammy sweat and panic. I leaned my forehead on the cold white tiles as the water sluiced down my back. I loved starting my day with a cold shock to wake me up, it prepared me for the harsh reality of life. Once I couldn't bear it any longer, I turned the shower temperature up and waited…and waited. Fuck. The hot water had already been shut off. The lease on my apartment didn't end until midnight, but the landlord was clearly an asshole. I groaned as I lathered up my hair, the water now making my fingers numb. After a hurried, icy shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and one around my head, there was no chance I would be able to find my hairdryer amongst all the boxes and suitcases. Finally, I went and put some coffee on.
While the coffee was brewing, I made my way through the apartment, checking on the smoke alarms, making sure the windows were still locked and that my fat orange cat, Jasper, was safely snuggled up on the couch. Only once I was sitting on the couch wrapped in my towels and robe, with a steaming black coffee in my hands and Jasper, curled up next to me, did I allow myself to think about the dream. I looked up at the window, the dancing shadows of trees made me think of the flickering flames, and my throat almost felt sore, like I had actually been coughing. It hadn't happened for a while now. Months, maybe even a year, had passed since it last woke me up, sweating and scared. I knew the dream wasn't real, but it didn't make it any less traumatic.
I hated waking up, gasping for breath with the bedsheets clinging to my clammy skin and my heart racing. It always took me a few moments of wildly looking around my bedroom to remember that I was safely at home. I had counted my breaths, like Aunt Sarah had taught me, and tried to focus on things I could see in my room.
After my panic had subsided at 5am this morning, I’d swung my legs out of bed and wandered over to the window. The soft morning sun was just beginning to peek through the Boston skyline, which meant it was early, too early. I hated waking up before my alarm, I wasn't a morning person. I could already tell that it would be another stifling August day, the summer had been unreasonably hot this year.
My parents had died in a tragic house fire when I was seven, Luckily, I wasn’t home at the time, I'd stayed at a friend's house across the street. I had such a vivid memory of seeing the fire. But thankfully, I wasn't cowering under the bed like I was in my dream. My aunt, Sarah, had explained to me when I was older that my brain was inventing memories due to survivors' guilt or something. She was a counselor, so I assumed it was a common thing that she had dealt with.
After the fire, nobody could find any family to contact for me. My friend's family had wanted to take care of me, to keep me close, but the law got in the way and I was taken to a kids' home for a while. They said I had a family member on record but they couldn’t get hold of her at the time. But, a few months later, Sarah was finally found, and she came to Maine to collect me, and I spent the rest of my life growing up in Boston with an aunt I had never met before. It's weird, I lost my parents and some aunt I'd never heard of appeared in my life. Now, Sarah had just died of cancer, and I discovered I had a grandma I never knew about.
I wandered over to the window and watched as the city began to wake up. An early morning runner breezed down my street as the little old lady from across the street walked her dog out to a patch of grass to relieve himself. I picked up the paperwork for the apartment and Sarah’s will. We had gone through most of it together in the weeks leading up to her death, but when I’d gone to the lawyer’s office she had left one surprise for me. An estranged grandma.
We knew that Sarah was dying for a while, the cancer was slow, and we had a lot of time to prepare. At twenty-three, it was about time I moved out anyway, so I assumed I would get an apartment in the city somewhere and continue writing for small-time papers. I wanted to work for one of the big guys eventually, The Herald or The Globe, but I had to pay my dues first. My job was fine, my boss was fine, but I needed more excitement in my life. I was bored of writing shitty profiles on boring people and boring stuff.
However, Sara
My darling Luna,
I’m sorry for keeping this from you, all I can say is that I had my reasons. Your grandma, my mother, lives in Vermont, and I want you to meet her. She can help you…find yourself.
Don’t be sad that I’m gone, kiddo, we knew this was coming, we were prepared. Go and live your life, my shining moon and stars. Be everything you want to be, and more than anything, be unapologetically yourself.
Please forgive me for the secrets I kept, my darling. I love you forever.
I didn't even know my grandmother was still alive. I knew that my dad's parents died when I was a baby, but nobody ever spoke about my mom's parents. I was hoping that meeting my grandma would shed some more light on the secrets Sarah mentioned in her letter, and maybe she would be able to tell me more about my parents.
Be unapologetically yourself. That was so not like Sarah. Growing up, I always felt like she tried to squash my weirdness. Not in a horrible way, she just really wanted me to fit in with everyone else at school. But I never did. I was too shy, too different. Not cool enough for the cool kids, and not focused enough for the smart kids.
Jasper whined up at me from his spot on the couch. He always accepted me for whoever I was, as long as I fed him chicken.
“Are you excited to move to Vermont, buddy?”
He contorted his body like one of those women in the razor adverts and started licking his bum.
“Yeah, me neither. But, we can meet this mysterious grandmother and maybe find out more about my parents.”
So, to honor my aunt's dying wish, there I was, packing up my life and moving to flannel-loving Vermont. I needed to be careful that I didn't start putting maple syrup in my coffee, reusing saran wrap and driving a fucking Subaru.
Thankfully, my boss was letting me work remotely. Amongst all the editing work he threw my way, he actually wanted me to write some pieces about rural life in Vermont.
There was more paperwork in Sarah’s will detailing that my grandma lives in the actual forest off a trailhead somewhere, so I'd be experiencing a lot of rural life. She has a small cottage and was a total recluse, which kind of explains why I've never heard of her before. So, I found a place to stay in the closest town so I could visit her but still keep my distance. She obviously liked her privacy, and I didn’t want to come barreling into her life and mess it all up. I’d already turned my aunt’s life upside down all those years ago.
I found a woman the same age as me, looking for a roommate online. Anna said her internet was great, and she was happy with a cat, so at least that's one thing I wouldn't have to worry about. After signing the contract, I discovered she was looking for a roommate as her boyfriend had just broken up with her.
That's all I needed, a sobbing girl just out of a relationship.
“You better watch out Jasper, our crazy new roommate might become attached to you and your squishy face.”
I never understood how people become so obsessed with their relationships that they become a blubbering mess when it ends, which they all inevitably do. I would never base my happiness on some guy's opinion of me, or whether he likes my outfit, or if I'm pretty enough. No guy has been lucky enough to have me, and I doubt any guy will soon. I had too much of my own shit to deal with and a career to focus on. My phone dinged, who the hell was texting me this early?
A: Can't wait to see you later, roomie! I'll order pizza, buy ice cream and wine, and pick a movie. You just get your butt to Vermont! Xxx
Great, Anna's a morning person.
A: Disney, rom-com or straight-up romance? Xxx
Fucking hell, who am I moving in with?
L: Your choice. See you soon.
You'd think someone fresh out of a breakup would prefer a revenge movie or something less…filled with love. I'd have to introduce her to Kill Bill and John Wick.
A company was arriving at 10am to take Sarah's stuff into storage, so I had a few hours to organize the last of my belongings and be ready to leave my home. I didn't want to sell everything as I was hoping to move back to Boston, and I wasn't sure how long I would spend in Vermont.
Thankfully, one of Sarah's friends owned a storage company and said he'd store her things for a year so I could get my stuff together and decide what to do with my life. I was upheaving my life and moving to Vermont in Sarah's old BMW with just a couple of suitcases, a few boxes of household stuff, and a fat ball of ginger fur.
After getting dressed and roughly toweling my long, curly hair, I chucked it in a bun on top of my head, knowing that it would dry frizzy and I'd look like a reject from 'Annie.' As I threw some random bits and pieces into the last box, something caught my attention.
I reached my hand in and pulled out Gray, my stuffed wolf. He was the only thing I had left from when my parents were alive. He'd been completely forgotten, I couldn't even remember how long ago Sarah packed him away. She had said I was too old for cuddly toys, but I think she just didn't want anything else around that reminded her of my lost parents and lost life. She never really liked talking about my mom, and I think it was really hard for her to grieve. That’s why she set me up with my own counselor to talk to from the age of seven until I went to college. But she never let it affect how she raised me, and she had been like a mother to me these past sixteen years.
Suddenly, the weight of everything that had happened and how much my life was about to change hit me and I struggled to take a breath. Tears filled my eyes as I stuffed Gray into my backpack and slumped onto the couch that was halfway in the kitchen and halfway in the hallway. I hadn't let myself cry after Sarah died. She had always taught me to have a strong grip on my own emotions. You can’t control how someone acts toward you, but you can always control your reaction. Never show you were upset or angry, men would just call you emotional and not respect you. Women would use it against you. Sarah’s advice was harsh, but I understood. You could never rely on anyone but yourself.
Despite this, we both cried when she got the diagnosis, I cried each time the chemo failed, and I cried silently as I held her hand when she passed away. But since then, I had put up my carefully crafted walls, I knew this was coming, and I had cried enough. But these tears, these were different. These were for my lost past and the life I was now losing.
Jasper yowled at me and headbutted my leg. “Fine, time for breakfast, fat cat.” He made happy cat noises as I retrieved his bowl and poured some kibble in. “Sorry, buddy, no chicken this morning.” Jasper looked at me reproachfully and stalked away to hide among the boxes. His wet food was packed, and he was a stubborn bastard. But I don't know what I'd do without him. We got him as a baby when Sarah first got diagnosed, and he'd been with me every step of the way. Now, he's a grumpy four-year-old who has random spurts of energy at 3am. Fuzzy asshole.
With the last box taped, I decided I should run out and grab myself some breakfast before the storage people arrived. The sun beat down as I exited my apartment building and made my way to a local donut store. I may as well have my city's most popular treat as my last meal here.
The line was out of the door, so I leaned against the store's window and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the city that I was going to miss so much. Cars rushed past, and people made their way to work, head's bobbing to whatever music they were listening to. A guy on a bike zoomed past, almost knocking into the woman and her toddler in front of me, causing the woman to step back into me.
