Moon of Curses Read online

  Moon of Curses

  The Blood Pack Trilogy: Book 3

  H. D. Gordon

  Copyright © 2018 by H. D. Gordon

  Published by H. D. Gordon Books LLC

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

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Christian Bentulan

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  For the girls

  Contents

  Story Summary

  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

  The End

  About the Author

  Sneak Peek: Blood Warrior

  Story Summary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Blood Warrior

  Also by H. D. Gordon

  Review, please ;)

  Story Summary

  Dita Silvers is not the typical female Wolf.

  She’s ambitious and ruthless, and has now become the Alpha of one of the largest Packs on the continent—a feat unheard of for most female Wolves.

  But this power has come with great costs, and the more Dita gains, the more others want to take it from her.

  Will she be able to hold onto this new power and still protect the ones she loves, or will she have to choose between family and authority?

  Moon of Curses is the final book in The Blood Pack Trilogy.

  Chapter 1

  “Why is he here? I specifically said I didn’t want him here.”

  Devon shook his head. “I tried, Dita. You know how he is.”

  My jaw clenched. “You didn’t try hard enough.”

  I pushed past my older brother, rounded the dilapidated building beside us, and strode over to the waiting group of Wolves. Their eyes swiveled toward me. I approached where Ansel Ward and the three Wolves he’d brought with him were waiting.

  Holding my hand out to Ansel, I said, “Mr. Ward.”

  Ansel glanced at my hand with disinterest. He did not take it. He looked up at me with cold gray eyes, too comfortable in his chair despite the fact that I was standing. The three Wolves behind him exchanged amused glances.

  I withdrew my hand and claimed the chair across from him. Around us, the train yard was empty save for our respective parties, the ground muddy from last night’s rain.

  “Thank you for coming,” I said.

  Ansel stared at me a little longer. He was an older Wolf, not the Alpha of the Ward Pack, but the father of the Alpha. His hair was cut short and neat, graying on the sides, and he wore fine clothes that spoke to his son’s success as the head of their Pack.

  Ansel spoke with an accent native to the western coast of Calla Camari. He looked over my shoulder, at where my father was standing along with Devon, Kyra, and Gio.

  “He threatened my niece,” Ansel said. “She turned down his advances, and he told her he’d rape her for doing so.” Cold gray eyes left my father and returned to me.

  Behind me, my father mumbled, “Stuck up bitch.”

  Ansel heard it. We all heard it. One did not need to yell in the presence of Wolves.

  I cast a look back at my father, but did not reprimand him, not in front of these people. This was the reason I’d told Devon to keep him away from this meeting. Dion Silvers did not know how to deescalate a matter, only the opposite.

  Ansel spat on the muddy earth beside his chair. “You need to put him on a leash,” he snapped.

  I leaned back in my seat, meeting the old Wolf’s gray gaze. I could not apologize, even if I did believe my father was fully in the wrong. People in my position never apologized.

  “Perhaps your niece should take it as a compliment and move on,” I said calmly. “For everyone’s sake.”

  Ansel’s thin lips twisted into a sneer. He leaned forward, the jacket of his fine suit falling open in the front. “Is that a threat, Miss Silvers?”

  I held his gaze, said nothing.

  “You’re fucking right, it’s a threat,” my father called from over my shoulder. “Bitch would’ve enjoyed it, too.”

  My fingers twitched near the duel irons at my hips. Sometimes I swore my biggest mistake in a life full of mess-ups was letting the male live. I’d left him behind in The Mound, an entire continent away, and he’d found me. Now, he was threatening the patriarch of the second largest Pack on this new continent, making powerful and unnecessary enemies.

  Ansel’s hands fisted, his face going red. He stood from his chair so abruptly that it tipped backward and splattered in the mud. “Too far,” the old Wolf spat. He pointed a gnarled finger at my father. “That’s too far.” His gray eyes shifted back to me. “The Wards will see you soon, Miss Silvers.”

  He buttoned his suit jacket with stiff fingers, uttering what I was sure were curses in a language I didn’t speak before striding off. Two of his Wolves followed, but the third offered me a wide grin. He kicked the wooden chair that Ansel had been sitting in, and it flew across the train yard before striking an old cart and shattering to pieces. He was the biggest of the lot, and his gaze ran from the tips of my boots all the way up me, his tongue snaking out over his lips before he followed the others.

  Then me and mine were alone in the yard, save for the workers some distance away, and the crows circling the area.

  I released a slow breath, climbing to my feet. When I turned, I met the eyes of my father, who looked pleased enough with himself that I had to bite down on my tongue to check my temper.

  “The little bitch was rude to me, Dita,” my father said. Even from ten feet away, I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

  Within me, a switch flipped. I grabbed my father by the shirtfront, the material fine and funded by yours truly, and hauled him close to me. I spoke between clenched teeth.

  “You threatened to rape her? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  My voice was calm and low, and with most Wolves who knew me, this alone would have made them shit their civvies, but my father had never been afraid of me. The male was as stupid as he was stubborn. Kyra, Devon, and Gio were silent and tense as they observed.

  Dion Silvers smiled, looking at me in the same manner he had when I’d been a child, and had done something he found cute. “I was only joking, D,” he said. “Only messing with the bitch.”

  I shoved him back hard enough to make the big male stumble, pinching the bridge of my nose. “The Wards are not a problem I wanted right now,” I said. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

  “Fuck them,” my father responded. “They ain’t shit… You’re not afraid of them
, are you, D?”

  The taunting sound of his voice had me drawing down, pulling one of my long-barreled revolvers, cocking it, placing it to his forehead.

  Dion’s smile only grew, but I could hear the quickening in his pulse. He looked at me with eyes as cold as my heart. “You gonna shoot your own father, dear one? With the guns I gave you, no less.” he asked in a low voice.

  My hand was so tight around the barrel that my knuckles were white. Around us, the others held utterly silent and still.

  A moment passed. And another.

  I holstered the gun and straightened my jacket to conceal it. My father’s smile grew.

  I looked to Devon. “He’s cut off,” I said.

  Now the fucker wasn’t smiling. “Whoa, Dita, hold on there, babe.”

  My gun was out again in a flash, and I smashed the butt of it into my father’s forehead hard enough to bring him to his knees. He blinked up at me, stunned.

  I leaned down to make sure he didn’t miss the words. “I said you’re cut off.” I met Devon’s eyes again. “He gets nothing.”

  My older brother nodded.

  “Dita, you can’t be serious,” my father said.

  I turned on my heels, leaving the lot of them staring after me.

  “Where you going, D?” Kyra called out.

  I unhinged my jaw. “I have a Gods damned meeting, and now I’m going to be late.”

  It had been a year and a half since my father had found us, showing up on the plantation the night of Demarco’s funeral. A year and a half since I’d killed Carson Cartier and claimed his Pack, power, and possessions. A year and a half since my little brother had died, taking a piece of me with him.

  Many of Carson’s Wolves had left when I’d become Alpha, unwilling to submit to a female leader, but many had stayed, swelling the ranks of my clan to just over a hundred strong. This made my Pack not only one of the largest, but certainly the largest that had ever had a female Alpha, and this had come with its own share of problems.

  I stepped off the train and headed toward city hall. The streets of Cerys were bustling for the midday hour, vendors selling food and people scurrying from here to there. Elian met me on the corner of Chestnut and 8th, the Demon as handsome and dapper as always.

  He took one look at me and whistled lowly. “Rough morning?” he asked.

  I snorted.

  “Right, well, here are the plans,” he said, handing me a roll of parchment. “All we need is for the judges to approve them, and we can get going this week.” He checked his watch. “We might be a little late, though.”

  I nodded, keeping a swift pace as we strode up the steps of city hall. Eli caught my arm before I shoved my way inside. I looked down at his hold on me, and the Demon raised a brow.

  He leaned in close, his voice low. “You have a bit of blood on your chin,” he whispered, and his fingers hovered near my face. “May I?”

  I nodded stiffly. Eli rubbed his thumb on my chin, stepping back and nodding once he was done.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Eli smiled.

  I guess I’d hit my father harder than I’d thought, and good damn riddance.

  The Demon’s eyes travelled down to my waist, and a little heat spiraled in my belly. When he leaned in close, the smell of his cologne made me add a visit to his loft to my list of things to do later this week.

  “Maybe I should hold onto those for you while you’re in there?” he asked.

  My revolvers. Right. I nodded, and the Demon stepped closer, his arms going around me as if in a hug. I felt the weight of the guns leave me, always uncomfortable in the sensation, but I trusted the Demon. Sometimes I wondered if I trusted him too much.

  With swift movements, the irons disappeared into the black bag slung over his shoulder.

  “Now?” I asked.

  Eli nodded. “We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

  We entered the courtroom a moment later, and it was safe to say I’d never felt more out of my element in my life. While I may have the clothes to fit in with the upper class, I never forgot where I came from, and if I should, there was always something to remind me.

  Rows of seats took up the first half of the room, then there was a railing, and a bench. Behind this bench sat three old males, all of different races. From the smell of them, there was one Wolf, one Vamp, and one magic user. The Vamp spoke first.

  “You’re late, Miss Silvers,” he said.

  “My apologies, your honor.”

  “I suppose you’re used to people waiting for you,” said the Wolf.

  I held my tongue. They knew about me, then. Of course they did.

  Eli spoke on my behalf, much better suited to such dealings. “Your honors, we have the plans in place, and we’ve received all of the permits. We only require your signatures to proceed with the renovations.”

  Silence filled the courtroom. The three judges stared down from their higher position.

  The magic user among them said, “Why would you want to open an orphanage, Miss Silvers? Why take on the expense?”

  I thought this was a stupid question, but Eli responded for me.

  “There are many children in need on the streets of Cerys,” the Demon said. “Miss Silvers wishes to give back to the city that has been so generous to her.”

  “And the city has been generous, indeed,” said the Wolf, watching me with hooded eyes. “Miss Silvers now owns half of Cerys as far as we know.”

  Eli spread his hands. “All the more reason to give back.”

  “Can Miss Silvers speak for herself?”

  Eli looked at me, warning me with his eyes to keep calm.

  I cleared my throat. “I came from nothing, your honor, so I sympathize with the struggles of the orphans.”

  “And look at you now,” replied the Wolf.

  I said nothing.

  “You have my approval,” said the Vampire.

  “And mine,” replied the magic user.

  Only the Wolf eyed me warily, perhaps the most capable of seeing what lay beneath my soft surface, glimpsing the monster beneath.

  Finally, he said, “I suppose I’m overruled, Miss Silvers. Congratulations. You’ve secured your approval.”

  Chapter 2

  “You hungry?”

  I glanced at the Demon. “Always.”

  “Can I take you to lunch?”

  Reaching into my pocket, I checked my timepiece, sighing. “I have to be somewhere.”

  Eli nodded. “Okay. Tonight, then?”

  I shook my head.

  “Busy?”

  “I’m sorry. Things are…tense right now.”

  “Your father?”

  I snorted. “My father among them, yes.”

  The Demon stepped close, his hands going around my hips, making my heartbeat pick up in pace. His lips were near enough to kiss, and if he kept on, I might say to hell with the rest of the day’s tasks.

  “Why don’t you just let me know when you have time then, Miss Silvers?” Eli said, and I felt the familiar weight of my revolvers as he settled them back into the holsters around my hips.

  Eli took a step back, and grinned when my eyes flashed Wolf-gold. I cleared my throat, willing my hormones to check themselves.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said.

  “Smart boy.”

  With this, he strolled off down the street, disappearing into the bustle of the city. I hurried toward the train station, and was back on my own land within an hour. The sight of the old Dog plantation always soothed me, as I knew it was crawling with Wolves loyal to me. The main house sat in the center, far statelier than I’d ever imagined a domicile of mine would be.

  John and Richard nodded to me as I strode up the drive.

  “Hey, boss,” John said.

  I jerked my chin so that they would come closer, and kept my voice low. “Double the Wolves on the perimeter and at the main house until further notice,” I told them.

  The two Wolves, both former members
of Cartier’s Pack, nodded. “Is there gonna be trouble?” Rich asked.

  I blew out a breath. “There’s always trouble…. Did my package arrive?”

  John nodded. “Waiting in the barn, as you requested.”

  I clapped him on the shoulder. “Good.”

  I reached the barn a few minutes later, as it was set far enough from the main house to ensure privacy. Cecelia and Gio were already there waiting, along with the package.

  The priest was tied to a chair in the center of the space, and from the bite marks on his neck, I knew that Cecelia had taken the liberty of having a snack prior to my arrival.

  I raised my brows at the Vamp, and she grinned and shrugged. “Sorry, D,” she said. “I was hungry. The bastard put up quite a fight.”

  Grabbing a chair from the side of the barn, I placed it in front of the male, taking a seat and adjusting my jacket. I nodded to Gio, and he removed the gag around the male’s mouth.

  “What in the name of—”

  Gio punched the male hard in the jaw, making him swallow the words. Red spittle flew from his lips and landed on the toe of my boot. I slipped my hands into my pockets, leaned back in my seat.

  “You want to try again?” I asked.

  “I am a male of God, Miss Silvers,” the priest said. “Do you really want my blood on your hands?”

  I nodded slowly. “So you’re more afraid of them than you are of me.”