First Shift (The Wolves of Rock Falls Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  Praise for AJ Skelly

  First Shift

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  A word about the author…

  Thank you for purchasing

  Also available from The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  I couldn’t move. I was rooted to the spot. The ramifications of what I’d done were astronomical.

  I bit Meg. While I was human. I’d never heard of anyone being turned unless they’d been bitten by the wolf, not the human. Of course, no one from our pack had bitten anyone in over two hundred years—in either form. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Please, let this not be as bad as it seemed!

  Praise for AJ Skelly

  “I loved the book! I was pulled into the fictional world & the characters’ lives & thoughts. I enjoyed the premise of the book & the storyline. I would certainly like to visit this world again!”

  ~A. Hoffman

  ~*~

  “OH MY WORD!!! It’s funny, cute, intriguing, riveting!”

  ~R. Doolan

  First Shift

  by

  AJ Skelly

  The Wolves of Rock Falls, Book I

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

  First Shift

  COPYRIGHT © 2021 by AJ Skelly

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Jennifer Greeff

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Edition, 2021

  Trade Paperback ISBN 978-1-5092-3497-4

  Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3498-1

  The Wolves of Rock Falls, Book I

  Published in the United States of America

  Acknowledgments

  Patet, gratias ago tibi, quia donum verba.

  Husband, thank you for the gift of time.

  Mom, Dad, Landon, Grandma—thank you for all your prayers, support, and cheerleading.

  Karen, this book wouldn’t have happened without you.

  Tami, you’re the best Fan Club President East of the Mississippi.

  Lacey, your friendship and creativity have been invaluable.

  Sarah, thanks for saying what you honestly thought about the book. Your insights made it better.

  To the most amazing beta readers in the world—Ayra, Robin, and Bonnie. You guys are the best.

  The whole team at The Wild Rose Press. Brilliant masters of your craft.

  And my AV kids who sparked the ideas in the first place.

  Dedication

  Hoc autem scripsi ad me.

  And for my AV kids.

  They know who they are.

  Chapter 1

  October, Friday night football game

  Rock Falls, Delaware

  Sam

  Megan snagged a cheese-laden chip from the plastic container on my lap. With a saucy smile and a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she popped it in her mouth. My eyes lingered longer than they should have as she licked cheese off her finger, oblivious to the way she twisted up my insides.

  The football stadium speakers boomed into the chilly night air, and I sighed. I shouldn’t want her. But when her big hazel eyes sparkled with excitement from the football game, kissing her was all I could think about.

  Brody Harrington sauntered by, and Wolf growled inside me.

  “Megan!” He wedged himself onto the metal bleachers between Megan and the girl next to her and slung an arm around her shoulders, trapping her long caramel-colored hair underneath.

  “Hey, Brody!” Did she lean into him?

  I wanted to rip his arms off.

  “Come to winter formal with me.”

  I stopped myself from growling outright.

  Megan laughed, and some of the tension riding in my shoulders receded. “Are you serious?”

  Brody’s eyebrows drew together. “Of course, I’m serious.” He winked as his hand slid to her upper arm. “So is that a yes?” He tightened his arm around her, drawing her closer. So help me, I would tear his face off if he tried to kiss her.

  Wolf stirred within me, reminding me of my limitations. Never mind that I’d been in love with Meg half of forever. Pack rules were pack rules. Unfortunately, they didn’t prevent Brody from kissing her. Stupid human.

  “I’ll think about it.” Megan put her hand on his chest and pushed away. I exhaled. Brody turned his eyes to me.

  “Help me out here, Wolfe. Convince her to go with me.”

  “Megan’s a big girl. She can make up her own mind.” Megan flashed me a smile as she ran a hand through her hair. My turn to wink at her.

  “Let me know, Meg.” Brody squeezed her shoulder again and mercifully hopped up and bounded down the stairs.

  “Aren’t you going to go with him?” Shelby Atwood sat one row behind us where she’d been digging her knee into my back half the game.

  Megan turned to Shelby, her leg brushing against mine and sending sparks up my thigh. “I don’t know. I can’t tell if he’s serious or just being a flirt.”

  “Are you kidding? He’s totally serious. You should go catch him and tell him you’ll go with him.” I resisted the urge to glare at Shelby. In the two years since Shelby had moved to Rock Falls, I’d never entirely been able to figure her out. She raised Wolf’s hackles.

  I swallowed hard and turned my attention back to the white-striped turf. It was the last quarter, and we were up by three. Nacho cheese and hot d
og remains littered the bleachers in front of me. A cold wind made me shiver until Megan inched closer, and my blood ignited. Why could I not get this girl out of my head?

  Noise pounded all around us. Lights flashed, the crowd cheered, someone two rows over dropped their coffee. Cheerleaders waved their pom-poms down on the track while our team thundered down the field.

  Adrenaline raced through my veins, maybe from the game. More likely from Megan’s arm pressed against mine.

  ****

  With three seconds on the clock, we were in possession on the twenty-yard line and down by one. Half the town of Rock Falls was in the stands, surrounding the student section. We were on our feet, yelling loud enough to drown out the cheerleaders, jumping and wildly waving our arms in the churning noise. Energy poured from the crowd into the night skies as our quarterback was a streak of lightning on the field. Megan jumped beside me and squeaked as she slipped on someone’s spilled soda. With the wolf’s natural grace evident in my movements, I snatched her around her middle and brought her close. Big mistake. Her sunshine and roses scent shot straight to my head.

  Her eyes twinkled from the rush. Her hand rested on my chest, right over my thundering heart.

  She’s off limits. You can’t have her. My brain chanted.

  Her breath was warm on my face. I wanted to scent her. Drag my nose up the side of her neck. I swallowed.

  One kiss. Could it hurt?

  Yes. It could.

  My eyes still flitted to her lips, full and so close to mine. My other hand found her waist, and her eyes widened in surprise and her lips parted. Her hand pressed into my jacket.

  Wolf whined inside me, wanting to taste her lips, too, but wary because she wasn’t our kind.

  But when she stilled and didn’t pull away, my fingers curled around her. Her chest rose and fell against mine.

  With the crowd shouting around us, my resolve weakened. My head tipped without my permission, bringing my lips achingly closer to hers.

  She didn’t move, and the rest of the world fell away. Wolf picked up her accelerated heartbeat over the din of the crowd.

  Her head angled, and fireworks exploded inside me. Wolf nudged me hard, and terror seized me. What was I doing? I opened my mouth to say something—anything—to break the tension I’d created between us when a hard shove between my shoulder blades rocketed me into Megan. My face throbbed where our heads knocked together.

  Straightening, my arms still around Megan, I froze.

  Wolf surged inside me. The tang of her blood and the bitter aftertaste of my toxins mixed on my tongue. Fear roiled through me. Wolf howled inside.

  Jerking back in horror, I felt my stomach fall to the gravel below the bleachers.

  “Ow.” Megan rubbed her forehead.

  “You’re bleeding.” Shelby’s voice held as much horror as I felt. I shrugged off Shelby’s hand still between my shoulders. She’d tripped.

  Meg gingerly dabbed her forehead, her finger coming away bloody. I riveted on that tiny drop of blood on her finger. Light flared around the corners of my vision, and I thought for a second that my heart was literally going to explode.

  I bit her. I bit her.

  Panic burst in my chest. For a second, I couldn’t even breathe.

  “Meg, I’m so sorry.” My strangled words were lost in the crash of people flocking to the parking lot.

  “Wow, Sam, you’ve got a hard head and sharp teeth,” she stammered. Her face flushed red as a blood moon.

  Shelby stormed off without an apology.

  A popular fantasy theme song blasted from Megan’s pocket and broke the mounting tension.

  She swiped the rest of the blood from her forehead and fished her phone out of her pocket.

  “Rachel?”

  I couldn’t move. I was rooted to the spot. The ramifications of what I’d done were astronomical.

  I bit Meg. While I was human. I’d never heard of anyone being turned unless they’d been bitten by the wolf, not the human. Of course, no one from our pack had bitten anyone in over two hundred years—in either form. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Please, let this not be as bad as it seemed!

  “Oh. How much longer do you need?” Megan swayed, and the barest hint of perspiration shone on her forehead.

  Guilt and terror warred in my chest. This was definitely as bad as I thought. I had to get Megan out of there.

  Chapter 2

  Megan

  “Sorry, Meg,” Rachel said. “I didn’t expect play practice to take this long, or for Luke to knock over the can of red paint onto the stage.” My best friend’s frustrated sigh echoed in my ear. “It’s almost cleaned up, and then I can come get you.” Rachel was my ride, which wouldn’t have been a big deal normally. I glanced at Sam, his blue eyes piercing me with their intensity, then looked away as awkward anxiety slithered up my spine.

  “No problem. Just keep me posted. I’ll make my way back over to the school and meet you in the gym.”

  I stole one more glance at Sam, who hadn’t moved, before putting my phone back in my pocket.

  He’d wanted to kiss me. A part of me was secretly relieved that Shelby had ruined that, even though part of me had always wondered what it would be like to kiss Sam Wolfe. We’d been good friends since sixth grade. A kiss would mess that up.

  But now we had almost-but-not-really kissed. And my head hurt. And it was getting awkward. I blinked as a wave of nausea swept over me. Worry twisted my belly.

  All the anxiety must be getting to me. Cramps hurtled through my middle, and I flinched. Sweat broke out my forehead, and I chilled as a night breeze rushed over the dispersing crowd. Was I coming down with the flu?

  Sam cleared his throat. “Are you going home with Rachel?”

  “That’s the plan. But it’s taking longer than she expected.” I swallowed down another roll of nausea. Although, with the way my stomach was rebelling, maybe I should go home.

  Of all the days not to drive myself to school.

  “Are you okay?” Sam watched me carefully; his fingers grazed my arm. And just like that, we were back on friendly footing. It was the touch of my concerned friend, not the impassioned touch of the blond-haired Adonis he might have been a few minutes ago.

  “No. Actually, I’m not feeling good at all. I hope it wasn’t your nachos and cheese.” I attempted humor to cover how bad my body ached.

  “Call Rachel, and tell her I’ll run you home.”

  “My house is out of your way.” I didn’t want to inconvenience him, and the thought of being alone with him in the car brought back the uncertainty of the did-we-almost-kiss that still simmered under my skin. I rubbed my head.

  The breath left me in a rush as my intestines tied themselves in knots.

  “Megan, let me help you,” Sam said softly. I glanced up at him. Another stab of lightning jolted through me. The salty stale smell of leftover concession-stand food littered on the bleachers around us made my already-queasy stomach revolt. I swallowed, the bile staying in my stomach for now. Something was definitely wrong with me.

  “You sure you don’t mind?”

  His smile looked more like a grimace. “I’m sure.”

  Maybe he was afraid I was going to puke on his shoes. I hoped I didn’t.

  Chapter 3

  Sam

  Megan did not look good as I slid into the driver’s side of my car. Her skin had a greenish cast, and her forehead was beaded with perspiration. I had to hand it to her. If what I feared was happening, she was in agony and not saying a word.

  I, however, was in the fast lane toward full-blown panic. I broke one of the sacred rules. Never bite a human.

  My father was going to kill me. That paled in comparison to what I’d done to Meg. Her whole life, her whole world, would no longer be what she thought it was. And I had ensured that any feelings of security, her understanding of what was real and what was fantasy, would be ripped from her with mind-altering force. If she changed.

  The moon was
full—it would be tomorrow, too—illuminating the road and giving the approaching meadows and encroaching forests an ethereal beauty.

  I glanced at Megan. We’d been quiet for about five minutes, lost in private thoughts. Or private pain for Meg. I sighed. I’d made a fine mess of things. Guilt squirmed in my gut. If I’d been allowed to date her—beautiful, perfect human that she was—knocking heads and accidentally biting her wouldn’t have been my chosen method to express my interest.

  “How you doing?”

  “Actually, I feel a little better. My stomach just hurts still. I appreciate you taking me home. Thank you.” Taking her home was the least I could do after I bit her. I glanced at the tiny cut on her forehead. Dread cramped my gut.

  I caught a whiff of Brody Harrington’s smell still lingering on her. I squeezed the steering wheel, Wolf curling his lips back, remembering the way his gaze had devoured her.

  Shoving thoughts of Brody aside, I focused on the positive. She was feeling better. Excellent. I hadn’t seen the telltale signs of the shift. Could it be possible that it was some random fluke? Could we both be that lucky? After all, I’d been human when I bit her…did that matter?

  Hundreds of years of untarnished pack history and I might have just destroyed it. I swallowed thickly.

  “Glad you’re feeling better. And it’s no problem to run you home. How’s your head?”

  She chuckled and then winced and ran a finger over where we’d collided. “I’ll live.” She forced a smile.

  My gut unclenched a fraction of an inch. Her belly hurt. First shift was insanely intense. I tried to convince myself that maybe she got a bite of bad nachos. My hands released their white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. I was about to breathe again when I saw it.

  Her shoulders heaved.

  We were in the middle of nowhere on the back roads between school and the other side of town. Open meadows hugged the road, flanked by forest.

  A strangled noise choked in her throat. We were out of time and out of luck.

  I slammed the brakes and skidded to a stop on the gravel shoulder of the road.

  “Sam, I’m going to be sick.” She fumbled for the latch.

  “It’s a lot more than that,” I muttered, racing around to her side of the car.