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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Rebel’s Claw

  Copyright © 2015 by Afton Locke

  978-1-61333-874-2

  Cover art by Fiona Jayde

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

  Look for us online at:

  www.decadentpublishing.com

  Black Hills Wolves Stories

  Wolf’s Return

  What a Wolf Wants

  Black Hills Desperado

  Wolf’s Song

  Claiming His Mate

  When Hell Freezes

  Portrait of a Lone Wolf

  Alpha in Disguise

  A Wolf’s Promise

  Reluctant Mate

  Diamond Moon

  Wolf on a Leash

  Tempting the Wolf

  Naming His Mate

  A Wolf Awakens

  The Wolf and the Butterfly

  Infiltrating Her Pack

  Omega’s Heart

  Coming Soon

  Claiming the She Wolf

  Uncaged

  Dangerous

  Worth Fighting For

  Promiscuous Wolf

  ~Dedication~

  This story is dedicated to the Facebook group The Wolf Pack: For Readers Who Like a Good Howl. Hanging out there is like attending a 24/7 Facebook party. These readers love wolf shifters. I ran a little contest to promote Alpha in Disguise and was amazed by the enthusiasm so many showed for a sequel. As a result, inspiration struck and I found the perfect heroine for Roark.

  Rebel’s Claw

  Black Hills Wolves

  By

  Afton Locke

  Prologue

  Wyoming, May 2012

  Carrie Myers dashed out of her ranch house in the driving rain. Except for the circle of brightness from her flashlight, blackness enveloped her. Dang storm! Why did it have to be so fierce and sudden?

  Even with the downpour, the strange noise she’d heard wasn’t thunder. She had to check it out, especially with so many cows close to calving time.

  Never go outside without the gun, girl.

  She stopped in her tracks as raindrops pelted the brim of her cowboy hat. Though Daddy had passed before Christmas, he still talked to her. Maybe she imagined it. No matter. It comforted her.

  Not willing to question a spirit, she raced inside and grabbed the rifle. Panting, she ran toward the pasture, but a flicker of movement in the darkness stopped her. Then a growl pierced the drone of rain. The hairs on her nape rose to full mast.

  The flashlight gyrated as she cocked the rifle. Her hands shook so hard, she almost dropped both. When she aimed the light in the direction of the sound, her stomach lurched to her throat.

  Oh, Lord! A dark wolf. Big and mean-looking.

  Its growl deepened. Intelligent eyes flickered green from the light she shone at it. Her heart slowed to heavy, throbbing beats as the animal crouched. Fear paralyzed her muscles. The beast was about to pounce on her, and she couldn’t move.

  Shoot it, girl. Now!

  Daddy’s words were all the encouragement she needed. Her eyelids involuntarily closed as she squeezed the trigger. The rifle kicked her in the shoulder, almost knocking her down into the mud.

  She opened her eyes, ready to flee or fire another shot to finish it off. But she didn’t need to do either. It lay on its side, still as a stone, as blood seeped from its abdomen. Still gripping the gun, she nudged its hind end with her boot—softly and then harder. It didn’t move. The beast was dead.

  Because it was no longer a threat, she realized how magnificent it looked with thick, reddish-brown fur and green eyes, still open. Its expression seemed almost human. She’d never killed such a big creature before. Nausea and sadness wrapped around her as the coppery scent of its blood pierced the rain.

  She sure couldn’t leave it sitting in her yard to decompose. The smell might draw other wolves.

  “What now, Daddy?” she called into the storm. “What do I do?”

  Soaked to the bone, she sank to the ground and cried faster than the rain. Why did he have to die and leave her with so much responsibility? She’d never get the hang of running a whole ranch.

  Get up, girl. Before you catch your death out here. Daddy was back. Thank God. His presence gave her enough strength to stand, anyway. Get my shovel from the shed. We’re going to bury it proper.

  She slapped the back of her hand across her mouth to force back the urge to vomit.

  “I can’t.”

  What was wrong with her? Hadn’t she helped birth a cow once? She’d even seen a carcass or two of cattle, which had sickened and died in the field. The wolf she’d shot was an animal like any other.

  So numb she could barely feel her fingers, she unlocked the shed and found the shovel. Daddy told her where to dig. She labored for hours until her arms were sore enough to fall out of their sockets. Her hair, long and sodden, hung in her eyes and tangled in her mouth as she gasped deep breaths of air. Every time she pleaded to give up, her father’s spirit chided her in his gruff voice to keep going.

  Luckily, the ground was soft and easy to shovel. Luck, ha. There was nothing lucky about her grisly task except for the Lucky Horseshoe Tobacco advertisement painted on the side of the barn. Daddy’s favorite brand. She imagined the aromatic scent of his pipe. He used to sit in the den and smoke while reading the paper. It sure smelled better than the sour mud coating her hands.

  It’s deep enough, girl.

  With a sinking belly, she stumbled over to the wolf and dragged it by the hind legs toward the fresh hole. The animal was so massive, trying to move it made her boots sink into the mud midway up her calves. When it tumbled in, the tobacco smoke intensified until it seemed she watched herself through a misty haze. Thunder grumbled and lightning flickered as if even nature disapproved of the kill.

  At last, she began to cover the dead wolf in wet earth. Fresh strength returned to her limbs as she pushed and shoveled in the mud. When a flash of lightning revealed a pale hand sticking out of the grave, she gasped.

  What on earth? She’d shot a wolf. Hadn’t she?

  Her eyes must be fooling her. Although curiosity tempted her to brush away the mud to investigate, she tossed in more instead. Her heart pounded louder than the thunder.

  Lightning flashed again, revealing a man’s face with a short beard the same color…as the wolf’s fur. She screamed and gripped both sides of her cowboy hat, wanting it to swallow her head. How in the heck? Did a human lie in the hole? If so, where had he come from? What happened to the wolf?

  “Daddy!”

  You’re seeing things, girl. Just keep shoveling.

  “But shouldn’t I call 9-1-1 or something?” She didn’t have the stomach to dig the thing back up, but maybe someone should investigate.

  And risk losing the ranch I worked so hard to build? Finish the job and don’t worry. No one will ever find that thing here.

  Too stunned to argue, she obeyed. After shutting off her mind, she moved her arms like machine parts, shoveling and shoveling. When the task was finally complete, she patted the top smooth, reminding her
of planting the vegetable garden.

  “Lord, whatever that thing is, please have mercy on its soul,” she said gazing up at the black sky.

  She stood, every muscle aching and on fire. Her soaked jeans made her legs feel like they were encased in concrete. The carcass was hidden, but she’d never look this way without picturing it lying there. Wondering. Never, ever would she forget this miserable night.

  On her way back to the house, the light from her flashlight reflected from something shiny on the ground. With an aching back, she stooped to get a closer look. A gold chain.… One she didn’t recognize. Her stomach jolted. Had the wolf been wearing it before she…buried it? If so, dragging him had probably pulled it off.

  When she hooked it with her finger and held it up, some sort of animal claw dangled from the end of it. From a wolf or dog, if she were to guess. Despite the cold dampness around her, the chain seemed to burn into her flesh.

  She glanced back at the raw ground and shuddered. Even if she possessed the strength to return it to its owner, she couldn’t stomach the task. If she threw it away in Cody, someone might find it and connect her somehow to the mysterious creature. No choice but to keep it. Shivering again, she slipped it into her jacket pocket.

  As if she needed a reminder.

  Chapter One

  South Dakota, three years later

  Roark Archer stood with his hands on his cocked hips, gazing at the sorriest piece of land he’d ever seen. Hills bucked up and down worse than a drunk with the heaves. Too many damn trees and rocks. Even the dirt looked poor as shit. No view. South Dakota might be fit for birds but not much else.

  “You expect our pack to move to this hellhole?” he asked his cousin Lara.

  Drew Tao chose that moment to walk from the SUV, a roll of papers under his arm. Roark didn’t care if he’d heard him or not.

  “Keep your voice down.” She smoothed the red streak in hair as black as her cousin’s. “The Tao pack was generous to offer us land.”

  He kicked at the uneven ground with his boot. “There’s got to be another way.”

  “The Lamar Canyon pack is decimated,” she insisted. “Whoever stays in Yellowstone will eventually be killed off by the ranchers and hunters.”

  Tell me something I don’t already know.

  “I don’t want you there, either.” She gripped his arm, making the black leather squeak. “It’s not safe.”

  Drew politely cleared his throat. “Ready to look at the plat?”

  The dark-haired Alpha spread the papers on an old stump. While they rattled in the breeze, he indicated the land with a sweep of his arm.

  “We can subdivide it for each family, but first, we need to bring everyone here. They can stay in a common area temporarily.”

  Ogden, Lara’s Tao mate, grinned. “Those families will need houses. Looks like I’ll be busy at the lumber mill for a while.”

  Drew smiled, too. “What else is new, right?”

  Roark wrinkled his nose. The pack was more sickening than a 1950s sitcom. And he was supposed to join it like a good little boy. Pledge his life away and erase his Lamar heritage forever. How had Lara done it? She used to be Lamar’s Alpha, for fuck’s sake. One look at Ogden’s muscular arms and twinkly blue eyes answered his question. The mating call overrode everything else, even family.

  “I can help organize clearing the land for homes,” Ogden said. “I can use the timber to build them.”

  “And what about the pack schoolhouse?” Lara asked. “It might need to be expanded.”

  “True enough. As home building progresses,” Drew added, “the Tao pack members who moved here can loan their tents and RVs to the refugees.”

  Refugees. The word slammed Roark in the stomach. When would he wake up from this nightmare? He gripped the rough trunk of a nearby pine tree and leaned his weight against it.

  Lara studied the plat. “I hate to bring it up, but the project is going to cost money.”

  Drew nodded, his face serious in the morning sunlight. “The Lamar pack should sell as many assets as it can. Jobs in Los Lobos should be plentiful, and we can work out some loans, if necessary.”

  “Thank you again for your generosity,” Lara said, gripping his arm.

  “You’re one of us now. A good pack looks after its own.”

  “Are we about done here?” Ogden glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get back to the mill.”

  “Almost.” Drew pulled a penknife from his pocket and held it out to Roark. “If you’re ready to do the blood oath, swearing allegiance to the Tao pack, we can get the show on the road.”

  Roark’s head pounded hard enough to split open. “I-I can’t.”

  “You have to!” Lara stamped her foot. “Don’t screw this up for everyone.”

  He shrugged. “I’m not preventing the others from doing it.”

  Sunlight glinted off her red streak. “I’m ordering you to.”

  “You’re not my Alpha anymore.”

  But he did need one. Maybe he should be his own Alpha in a one-wolf pack. Speaking of Wolves, enough tension vibrated the air to send each of them into a shift.

  She stepped closer, facing him as she clenched her fists. “That was a low blow.”

  Roark glanced at the other two men. “Can you give us a minute?”

  Drew pocketed the knife and walked several yards away with Ogden, leaving Roark alone with Lara.

  “Don’t be an ass, Roark,” she hissed. “We’re out of options. If we piss Drew off, he might take back his kind offer. The Tao pack is very secretive.”

  “I know all that.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But I can’t do it.”

  “Is your reluctance because of Jared?” she asked in a gentler voice.

  The name of his lifelong best friend shimmered in the cool air, haunting him still.

  “I have to find out what happened to him. If someone took his life, I need to find his killer and make him pay.”

  She gripped the braids on each side of his face. “He’s been gone for three years. Time to let it go.”

  “Easy for you to say.” He removed her hands. “You had closure with Aunt Tara. A body to bury.”

  Instead, he had a void where his strong telepathic link with his friend used to be. After hundreds of tries to make contact, he’d finally given up and concluded Jared must be dead. Because so many Lamar had been mowed down by ranchers and hunters, he feared his buddy had suffered the same fate.

  Her gray eyes glittered as she enunciated each word. “There was nothing easy about my mother’s death.”

  Maybe she was right. She’d watched her mother die and had almost fallen prey to the killer herself when she’d pursued revenge. Jared could have merely had a health problem or an accident.

  He might believe that…if his best friend hadn’t sent him a telepathic image of a green horseshoe and the word Lucky before Jared disappeared. Bars were full of colorful signs like that. They were full of wolf-hating ranchers with guns, too. Roark must have checked out every bar in a hundred-mile radius of Yellowstone, searching for it, but he’d never found it.

  The other men approached.

  “I’ve really got to get back,” Ogden told Drew. “Maybe he can take the oath later?”

  “Or not at all,” Roark muttered under his breath.

  Drew rested his hands on his hips, too. “I can give you some time, if needed, but lose the attitude. We’ve all been through some shit in our lives.”

  His eyes were as haunted as Lara’s, making him wonder exactly what kind of shit he’d been through. Roark had to admit, the guy wasn’t a bad Alpha. Strong but not looking for a fight. For Lara’s sake, he’d try to play nice. After all, a pack with no identity was probably better off than a dead one.

  “Sorry, man,” he managed to say. “This isn’t easy, you know?”

  “Roark is very proud,” Lara added.

  “No one is forcing you to join the Tao pack,” Drew said. “But you’ll be barred from entry here if you’re n
ot one of us.”

  Lara fixed him with a pleading gray stare. Could he really turn his back on what little family he had left?

  Roark glanced up at the trees and let out a breath. “Give me some time, okay?”

  “No problem,” Drew replied. “I’ll inform Ryker, our Enforcer. Be careful not to piss him off, though, or you’ll wear out your welcome real fast.”

  “So, let’s get started,” Lara said, smiling. “We’ll need to go to Cody, rent a moving van, and load up the first few families.”

  Roark grinned, too. “You’ll never get a moving van up here.”

  “We’ll have to off-load the stuff into four-wheel-drive trucks,” Ogden said.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Roark offered. “It’ll give me a chance to see my home again.”

  And make one last-ditch effort to find out what had happened to his friend.

  “When do you want to leave?” Lara asked. “Tomorrow morning?”

  He shook his head. “I have to do this alone. Besides, Ogden needs you here.”

  Love flickered in the other man’s eyes. Lucky son of a bitch. Roark needed revenge, not a mate.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Drew said. “I prefer your pack mates agree to the blood oath before they arrive.”

  Ogden pulled his wallet from his faded jeans and held out several bills. For a moment, Roark stared then finally accepted the cash. Truck rental, gas, and food would cost more money than he had. Might be different if he could hold down a job. He’d done plenty of whoring, boozing, and drag racing with Jared when he was alive. Since his death, he’d done nothing.

  “One last thing,” Drew said. “Secrecy is critical to the Tao pack. You’re bound to keep everything you’ve seen and heard here to yourself.”

  “Deal.” Roark even shook his hand.

  “Don’t worry,” Lara said. “My cousin might be a pain in the ass, but his word is as good as gold.”

  Damn straight, which was why he refused to cut his arm and mingle his blood with Drew’s until he was really sure.