Dark Moon Falls: Logan Read online

  Logan

  By

  Robbie Cox

  Dark Moon Falls: Logan

  First Edition

  Copyright @ 2020 by Robbie Cox

  All rights reserved

  Cover art & graphics by Glowing Moon Designs

  https://glowingmoondesigns.wordpress.com/

  Editing by CTS Editing & Weis Editing/Proofreading Services

  Formatting by SEA Creations

  www.robbiecox.net

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are strictly products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be reproduced in any form, except in assisting in a review. This book may not be resold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  For up-to-date news on Robbie’s latest releases, book signing events in your area, and giveaways, follow Robbie’s newsletter - http://bit.ly/23CFhQQ

  To my girls

  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

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Deacon

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also By Robbie

  One

  Logan Rafferty shoved his way out of The Wolf Inn’s doors, just wanting to be out of the noise and away from the people. Once he was out in the inky night of Dark Moon Falls, he ran a hand through his short-cropped dark hair as he blew out a breath of relief. He should have known better than to go in before last call to get his check from Lyall, especially on Thirsty Thursday when drinks were half-price for the ladies. Women filled the place as did twice as many men. It’s not like Logan could cash the check at that time of night, anyway.

  He heard the whoosh of the door behind him open and braced for more of what he just escaped. “You okay?” Lyall asked as he stepped up beside Logan, a concerned look pinching his dark brows. “I’ve never known you to be in such a hurry to get away, especially when I offered to buy you a drink.” He then turned, glancing back at the door. “You’re still not…?”

  Logan shook his head, then brushed his dark bangs out of his eyes. “I’m fine,” he said, cutting the other man off. He didn’t want the man’s pity over something that happened two years ago. “I just didn’t pay attention to the time, that’s all.” He shrugged. “It was busier than I thought. I just need a minute.”

  Lyall didn’t look as if he believed him, but just nodded his head. “All right. If you need anything, just let me know.”

  “I will. Promise,” Logan assured the other man. He wouldn’t, of course. Logan preferred doing things on his own. He had depended on others once, and the cost exacted was too high. Worse, they had counted on him and he failed them.

  Lyall just nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line as he turned back toward the bar’s entrance, still not looking convinced, but obviously knowing better than to push Logan.

  There was nothing Logan could do about that, however. Two years living as he did had molded him into the independent loner he was, and he had no intention of changing that. He was better off alone. Dark Moon Falls was also better off.

  Logan took a deep breath, sucking in the tranquility of the night and then exhaling the tension from his body. He hated crowds. His discomfort around people was the reason he worked nights when businesses were closed, cleaning up after the chaos people tended to leave in their wake as they went about their lives.

  And they left a lot.

  Careless. Selfish. They run through life in their self-absorbed pursuits, heedless of the flotsam and jetsam they litter the world with in their wake. Heedless of the pain they cause with their ignorance. Still, their disregard for their surroundings kept him employed and fed.

  Logan turned and slid into the darkness behind The Wolf Inn, weaving his way among the cottonwoods and maples as he left the brick building and the town behind him. He wanted—needed—to be back in his cabin and away from—everything.

  He didn’t venture into town often and almost never during the day, preferring the isolation of the woods and his cabin. He hunted in the forest for his meat, kept a garden on the side of his cabin for whatever vegetables he wanted, and fished off the nearby stream. When he needed other supplies, he left a note on the counter at Keesler’s and old man Darby would fill it for him, billing him later. A simple process that allowed Logan to maintain his solitary nature while still providing for the things he couldn’t do without, like toilet paper. A lonely existence, perhaps, but it worked for him.

  The night breeze rustled the branches overhead as he meandered through the giant cottonwoods, the forest quiet except for the night crickets that called to him as he passed. Everything changed once he crossed out of town and into the woods—his woods. The giant trees standing sentinel vanquished the noise around him as well as in his mind, replacing the constant chattering of the past with a soothing quietness that stilled his nerves, which threatened to snap with little provocation over the past two years. The scents transformed from those of life in the city to the lush fragrance of the trees and shrubs, the leaves and even the forest animals that populated the area. He never worried about where he stepped or what creatures might be around. These were his woods, his home, and he knew everything that dwelt within their perimeter. There was nothing to fear here, at least for him. Even the rogues knew enough to leave him alone, fearing the sharpness of his blade or the anger behind his fists.

  And there was anger. Too much perhaps, especially after two years, but Logan couldn’t control that, and because he couldn’t control it, he chose to avoid people. Elias Grant, alpha of the Dark Moon Pack, helped Logan find his place in the woods, getting him established with business owners for after-hours work that would provide for him as well as protect him from unnecessary interaction with outsiders.

  The snap of a twig jerked his attention to the west, bringing him up abruptly, nerves taut as he clenched his fists in preparation of a fight. It was a natural instinct for him, always battle ready. However, a whine broke the silence just before Dax, his German Shepherd, came padding out of the underbrush around some oaks, his tail tucked down, head lowered.

  Logan glanced at the dog, then looked in the direction toward his cabin, eyes narrowed as if he could see through the darkness ahead to his front door. “What’s the matter, boy?” he asked as the dog reached his side. Logan leaned down and scratched behind Dax’s ear, still keeping his gaze fixed on the path leading to his front door. Something had obviously spooked the dog because Dax was usually a hyper, tail-wagging animal whenever Logan returned home, eager for his owner and some company. Logan took a deep breath, trying to determine if some rogues who didn’t know better ventured into the area or if Dax had just caught wind of a bigger predator than himself. However, while the breeze told him it was neither of those choices, it brought with it the metallic aroma of blood.

  All right, something is out there, Logan thought. Now to find out what.

  He scratched his dog’s head one more time before slowly making his way up the trail to his cabin, his senses on high alert as he strained his supernatural hearing for any sound out of place or some whiff of trouble on the night air. The wolf within him thirsted to shift to sniff out the possible danger, but Logan kept his animal tamped down, at least for now. Dax walked beside him, tail up and wagging now that they were together again, even though he kept his head down as he sniffed at the ground. Logan couldn’t imagine what had spooked the German Shepherd, but it definitely had to be something out of the ordinary to have sent him in search of Logan.

  The night took on an eerie silence with Dax’s unusual welcome, and normal sounds now seemed threatening. However, nothing out of the ordinary raised its ominous head, and soon, Logan began to feel as if the whole thing was just too much of his imagination running away with him, and that Dax had merely come across a larger animal that spooked him. The scent of blood tingeing the air was probably the leftover kill of some animal who had ate his fill and moved on and not anything to concern Logan.

  He paused in his walk and blew out a breath, hands on his hips as he shook his head. This is ridiculous. Nothing comes out here but some deer and a bear or two. He glanced down at Dax. Silly ass dog. Logan leaned down and rubbed the shepherd’s head as he allowed the tension from being on high alert to slip from his shoulders. “Let’s go home, boy,” he said to the dog as he started making his way a little quicker to his cabin.

  Feeling a little more relaxed, Logan turned his attention back to his abrupt departure from The Wolf Inn. The crowd wasn’t the main reason he had rushed out; it was more how cramped he felt amid all those people, unable to move quickly if it became necessary. The desire for a speedy escape was always at the forefront of his mind thanks to his time as a member of the Pack Hunters, a team like a special forces unit who took out rogues and other felons. Never allow you
rself to be blocked in and cornered or pinned. Always watch for an attack, even if an attack seemed unlikely, and prepare to counter it. Those cautions were ingrained into him to the point of almost paranoia, and that paranoia had made him step away from the Pack Hunters and into the deep woods to be alone, especially since those cautions failed him.

  An owl hooted off to the south as Logan’s cabin came into view, the light he had left on peeking through the window, offering him a warm welcome home. He stepped onto the walkway he had created just a few months ago to make the place seem more like a home than a hideout, but as he did, Dax started to whine again, his head straight up as he stared at the porch and the front door, his ears perked high on his head.

  Logan paused, taking a deep sniff of the air. Blood. A lot of blood, and this wasn’t from an animal. This was human.

  And female.

  Logan narrowed his eyes as he tried to see into the darkness, but the only thing he could make out was a large shape slumped over on his porch. Dax took off, bounding down the path to whatever—whoever—laid hunched over on the wood deck at the front of the cabin, the dog whining as he leaped over the two steps and raced to the form.

  Logan followed, still not sure what was there or why. When he stepped on the first plank leading up to his front door, the body against the wall slumped over, hitting the wood deck with a weak thud and sprawling out on the floor, arms splayed outward, face to the side facing the forest. Logan stepped closer, noticing the long blond hair draped over the woman’s shoulders, the full red lips and the rise and fall of her ample breasts even with her shallow breathing. He knelt down beside her, Dax sitting on his haunches on the other side of the woman. Blood soaked her top just to the side of her navel, the metallic smell filling Logan’s nostrils. Whoever she was, she was unconscious, but alive. How long she would remain that way, he didn’t know, just as he didn’t know how long she had been there or how much blood she had lost. All he knew was that she was a problem he didn’t want. Whoever had hurt her would look to finish the job, and that meant, they would more than likely track her to his cabin, especially if rogues were involved. That was a hassle he didn’t need or want.

  He stared down into her face, debating within what to do with her, when her eyes fluttered open—the deepest, darkest blue eyes he had ever seen. They were weak, their natural spark dimmed by her injuries as she stared up at him. Pain pinched her face as she struggled to reach out and clutch at his arm. “Please,” she whispered, her voice hoarse, strained with pain. “Help…me. Don’t let…them…”

  Her hand slipped from his arm, thumping on the wood deck and going still as her eyes closed once more.

  Two

  Madison Cross clenched her eyes, the pain in her head screaming at her, making her nauseous. She went to move her arm to clutch at her head, keep her skull from splitting open, but even that movement sent her into a dizzy spell as the pain sliced through her, matching the raging pain in her side. She lowered her arm back down, keeping her eyes shut as she inhaled slowly, trying to calm the pain that screamed at her from within her head.

  And her stomach, which churned like the spin cycle on her washing machine.

  She swallowed as memories flooded through her mind, adding to the anguish already churning inside of her like a blender on margarita night at that Mexican restaurant she liked back in town. God, she wished she was back in Dark Moon Falls now, wished she had never left, actually. Her trip to the state park hadn’t gone as planned.

  But she had, and now, she suffered because she had wandered from the safety of her apartment and seen things she never should have seen. But, she had seen it. She could never forget it, either.

  She felt a tear snail its way down the side of her face, falling into her ear, but the pain pulsing through her body was too much for her to reach up and wipe it away. Instead, she laid there, trying to figure out where she was, trying to figure out the last thing she remembered after being stabbed. No. She wasn’t stabbed. It felt like a stabbing, sharp, piercing, like something ripped her open with a can opener. Her eyes fluttered open as the final memory hit her. Claws, a wolf’s paw slicing through the air trying for her throat. If not for her clumsiness, she would have taken the rogue’s attack across her throat and be dead already. As it was, his claws ripped into her abdomen, instead. There were bodies on the ground, two, maybe three. She couldn’t remember no matter how hard she strained, the pain making her memory fuzzy. The lump on the back of her head reminded her of her fall as she tried to escape, the branch she struck her head on as she tried to avoid the claws to her throat. The blow to her head had almost knocked her out. Almost. That it hadn’t was probably the only reason she was still alive, and she knew she was alive because of the pain that caused her to want to vomit. She was alive, but she was no longer in the woods.

  So, where was she?

  She tried to open her eyes again, but the light that hit her eyes felt like tiny pins being shoved into her head. She kept her eyes closed, her breathing shallow as she tried to use her other senses to determine where she wound up after escaping the attack back at Dark Moon Mountain Park. She was comfortable, and by that she meant she was not cold from a night in the woods or warm from being out in the middle of the day. The light, which had forced her to keep her eyes closed, had not caused sweat to bead up on her brow, so she wasn’t outside. Inside then? But where? Had the rogues taken her? Maybe she hadn’t escaped like she thought. Maybe she passed out, and they took her. Why would they do that, though? Why not just leave her for dead, discarded with the other bodies? She wasn’t on a hard floor or a medical table. She felt as if she were in a…bed?

  She moved her fingers slightly and felt the crispness of sheets underneath her, felt the give of a mattress. Yes, a bed, but where? A hospital? And how did she get here? Who took her to the hospital? Who had found her?

  What happened to me after I fell?

  “You could have taken her to the hospital,” a female’s voice filled the room, the shuffling of feet on a wooden floor accompanying her. “Why call me? Why bother the coven at all?”

  I’m not in a hospital? Madison kept her eyes closed, tried her best to keep her breathing calm so she could hear the rest of what was being said. She wasn’t in a hospital, so where? And who would have found her and offered to take care of her? Why would they take care of her? She didn’t know, but at least she wasn’t in the hands of the rogues. Or so she hoped.

  “Because whoever hurt her may very well still be looking for her.” A man’s voice, and one she didn’t recognize. Did he know the people who had hurt her? “If I take her to the hospital, they’ll know they didn’t kill her. They may try to remedy that. I need to know what happened to her first before exposing her to whoever she meant when she said ‘them’.”

  “This isn’t like you, Logan,” the woman said. “You could have dumped her at the hospital and wash your hands of her and whatever nonsense she involved herself in, but you didn’t. Hell, you could have called Sheriff Templeton and made her his problem. You brought her here, instead, to your cabin, a place you don’t bring anyone. Why? If whoever tried to kill her finds out, you may very well have brought them to your door.”

  “I didn’t bring her here. I found her here on the porch. Or rather, Dax found her. And I can handle whatever rogue has done this,” Logan said, confidence filling his tone. “You know this, Dara. I can’t permit them to find her while she’s weak and finish her off. Old instincts are hard to break, no matter how hard I try.”

  “Bah,” the woman, Dara, Madison assumed, said. “You’re no longer a Pack Hunter. You’re a hermit, someone who hides from the world. You don’t help people. Not any longer. So why now?” Silence for a moment, then Madison heard the other woman say, “You’re not looking for some feminine companionship, are you?”

  “Don’t be crude,” the man said, and Madison heard the other woman giggle.

  The shuffling of feet moving along the floor combined with the rustling of fabric as someone moved closer to her. She also heard something sharp scraping across the wood floor, like claws or talons, the sound making her body stiffen as fear gripped her. The rogues did have her!