Rogue Shift (The Wolves of Rock Falls Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  Praise for AJ Skelly

  Rogue Shift

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  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

  A word about the author…

  Thank you for purchasing

  Also available from The Wild Rose Press

  Something clattered at the entrance to the shed. My body froze as a board scraped against the threshold. I willed myself not to whimper, to face my future with quiet dignity and as few hysterics as I could manage.

  The door creaked on its hinges, driving my blood pressure up to dangerous new heights. Light flared at the corners of my vision. My teeth clenched as I squared my jaw and I faced the door as my heart careened inside my chest, banging my ribs and making my breath painfully stuttered.

  Praise for AJ Skelly

  “ROGUE SHIFT continues the excitement readers found in FIRST SHIFT and increases the attachment to the characters of Rock Falls. Surprising drama and endearments keep you hooked at the turn of every page.”

  ~ T. Speicher

  “Rogue Shift dives deeper into the wolves of Rock Falls, peeling back the layers of characters and exposing their insecurities, heart, and drive. With new mysteries to unravel and life altering decisions to make, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.”

  ~ L. R. Scott

  Rogue Shift

  by

  AJ Skelly

  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.

  Rogue 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 978-1-5092-3752-4

  Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3753-1

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  Because the first needed a second.

  And for Sarah. Because Megan and Rachel wouldn’t have their friendship without ours.

  Acknowledgments

  Mihi Pater, gratias ago tibi quoniam donum verba.

  My wonderful husband—thank you for the time to write.

  Mom, Dad, Landon, and Grandma—thanks for all the support, ideas, help, and general encouragement. Landon, I can’t wait for that song.

  To my eternal cheering section. Ya’ll are the best! Tami, Lacey, Sarah, Jessica, Portia, Jo, Lindsey, Karen, and Brittany, writing would be so much harder (and less enjoyable!) without you guys.

  Those of you who have come alongside, contributed to this journey, and become friends, I’m so thankful! Teri, Jessica, Meghan, and Jordan.

  To the folks back home who have showered me with their unwavering support. I’ve never been prouder to come from a tiny, tight-knit community. I’ve been overwhelmed and astounded at the outpouring of love. Both for me and my characters in Rock Falls.

  The Wild Rose Press, thank you for making Rogue Shift a reality!

  And for my readers. If you read the book, purchased the book, told someone about the book, shared the book, left a review of the book, thank you. You’ve upped the stakes and made this writing journey so incredibly more than it was before. I’m grateful for and appreciate each of you.

  Chapter 1

  Rock Falls, Delaware

  November

  Friday Night

  Rachel

  I clicked the phone off, my fingers clenching around it so hard that pins and needles stabbed up to my wrist. I blinked. Once. Twice. Inhaled. Refused to feel. Refused to think. Would not, could not, accept the information the call had delivered. When my hand started shaking, I forced my fingers to release their grip and watched as my phone seemed to tumble in slow motion onto the fluffy purple comforter of my bed.

  Slowly my lungs drew in a shaky breath. My brain raced. My heart hammered. I shivered and watched my hands continue their shaking as if they were attached to someone else’s arms.

  The coo-coo clock downstairs chimed and my heart about leapt out of my chest as my body jerked at the sudden noise. Six o’clock. I glanced at my window. It was already full dark. There was a party tonight, and I knew he would be there. He would pay for what he’d done. I would make sure of it.

  ****

  Two hours later

  I was dressed to kill. I’d forced myself to raid my sister’s closet, knowing she would have things in there I needed tonight that I’d never have in my own wardrobe. I’d nearly lost it when I went into Joanie’s room, but held it together, focusing on tonight’s mission.

  Shutting the car door, I resisted the urge to tug down the black leatherette mini skirt and refused to scratch at the massive itch the fishnet stockings were causing on my inner thighs. Inhaling shallowly against the tight black crop top, I sucked in my belly. I wasn’t as small as my sister, but the skirt was high waisted and didn’t leave room for my softer curves to spill out. They were all tightly contained in my warrior dress. While I felt completely insecure and out of my element on the inside, the thick black eyeliner and red lipstick provided a sort of mask. I was simply playing a part. I was co-president of the drama club and excelled at all things dramatic. I could do this.

  Tonight, I was a dark temptress, a Fury, a Valkyrie, a woman who wanted to ensnare and bring pain to the one who had shattered my heart.

  My three-inch black heels clicked against the cement of the walkway, though the noise was drowned out by the blasting music and drunken laughter that spilled out of the house and into the front yard.

  Gratifying as it was when high schoolers and college students alike stopped what they were doing and stared as I walked past, I was terrified. I’d never played this role. This was no
t who I was. For a moment, my resolve weakened. What was I doing?

  Then I remembered Mom’s broken voice on the phone. The pain stabbed my heart all over again. Another breath and a toss of my straightened hair—I’d decided to forgo my natural riot of dark red curls in lieu of sleekness—and I sashayed up the front steps. Tonight I was using my curves to what I hoped would be my advantage.

  I was bumped and jostled as my fellow seniors, and quite a few older students I didn’t know, danced and swayed in drunken stupors, oblivious to the carnage inside my chest where my heart should have been. A shudder rippled down my shoulders as the stench of beer, sweat, and sex hit me in the face like a brick wall. I loathed everything about this. But tonight, I would not be deterred. Not by the couples scattered around the room in various stages of foreplay. Not by the cat calls when I moved into the living room of the huge house. Not by the keg in the kitchen and the tables of food and other drinks. No, I moved with the litheness of a panther through the chaos.

  Until I saw my prey. I stumbled in my heels, gripping the doorframe to the room where he had set himself up like a king. He sat enthroned in a decorative blue and white striped silk chair. He wasn’t a big guy, but the smallness of the chair made him look imposing. His arms were casually draped over the sides, his eyes admiring the backside of one of the girls clustered around him. His groupies. His junkies. I swallowed down the bile that rose in my throat. The base drumming through the speakers downstairs reverberated in my chest. Wiping my sweaty palms on my fake leather skirt and randomly hoping it didn’t show wet streaks, I dropped my eyelids so they were half-hooded. I relaxed my lips so the bottom one hung open just enough to hopefully appear sultry like in the magazine ads, not like I was trying to catch flies. Elongating my neck and pushing out my hip, I stepped into the role of dark temptress and strutted slowly into the room.

  The moment he saw me coming toward him, his attention was riveted. He looked me up and down, devouring me with his eyes. I refused to give way to the squirming dirty feeling it gave me and sauntered to stand right in front of his striped chair. His perusal finally made it to my face and confusion lit his eyes. His eyebrows drew together then his eyes went wide in disbelief.

  He belted out a horsey laugh and slapped his knee.

  “Rachel?” He snorted in a way that made my blood boil. “What are you doing playing dress-up?”

  “Hi, Lenny,” I ground out. I had to swallow down the bitterness that rose again, and he spoke before I could get anything else out.

  “Slut run in the family?” he asked as his eyes assessed my dress. His gaze was hard, cold, and disturbingly interested.

  “Excuse me?” was the only thing that escaped the tightening in my throat.

  “I’ll make an exception for you. First-time buyer and all. I’ll give you the same deal I gave Joanie last time she couldn’t pay.” He winked lasciviously at me. At his mention of my sister’s name, I lost all rational thought. This dirtbag was the cause of my sister’s torment, of my family’s pain, of my shattered heart.

  Blood raged through my veins and a wild, foreign rush took over me. Without another thought, I shoved my face into his space.

  “Don’t you ever say my sister’s name again.”

  “Yeah? Or what?” His voice was playful, but his eyes were slits. “You’re as worthless as she is.” He sneered.

  “My sister isn’t worthless! And thanks to you, she may die!” I shouted drawing my fist back. I slammed it into his nose, and pain rocketed up my arm as I registered that I had punched Lenny DiVen, drug dealer extraordinaire, in the nose.

  His head whipped back, and he touched his nose gingerly, bringing his fingers away red. His face turned to stone and my heart along with it. What had I done?

  Lenny jumped to his feet. The room hushed in shock. “You are dead.”

  Fortunately, my flight response was quick to kick in and I turned in time to see Lenny jerk his head at two guys standing at the glass door behind the striped chair. I didn’t wait around to find out if they chased me or not. I knew they were right on my tail. A cluster of kids played beer pong to the right of the door I’d come in. There was a loud cheer and then gasping when a ping pong paddle crashed to the floor. I glanced back just enough to watch the taller of the two men chasing me run into the kid who bent over to pick up the paddle. It was all the opening I was going to get. I kicked my heels off and stumbled down the stairs amidst shouts of annoyance as I carelessly bumped into people, sloshing drinks and stepping on toes.

  “Stop her!” one of the men chasing me shouted as I careened down the last step. A solid chest hit me like a wall of concrete, and wet poured over my head.

  I didn’t stop. My heart pounded against my ribs and fear was a metallic tang in the back of my mouth. Adrenaline surged through my limbs, making me equally fast and clumsy in the sea of gyrating bodies on the main floor.

  “Move!” Tall One shouted. I was short, and I ducked down even smaller, weaving in between the packed room. The backdoor was right off the kitchen. I hit the room and skidded on something slick. My arms flailed like a windmill and terror seized every part of me as a hand clamped down on my wrist.

  “I got her! No one does Lenny that way.” Short One’s breath hit me like rotting garbage. Panic clawed my gut. In an adrenaline-fueled spike of desperation, I brought the heel of my bare foot down as hard as I could on the instep of his. He howled and I yanked my arm as hard as I could. His watch caught my skin and ripped a chunk off.

  The door! I wrenched it open and tore through the bodies on the back patio. The yard was completely dark past a row of tiki-torches. I ran through their glowing border, not caring about anything save getting into the darkness and away from my would-be captors.

  Darkness engulfed me and it took my eyes a minute to adjust as I ran blindly into the night, stepping on stones and bashing my shins against unseen undergrowth. Forest butted up against the back of the property and once I was past the first few trees, I leaned against the back of a tree to try and catch my breath and figure out the next step before I got lost in the woods.

  Would I never learn to think before I acted? My car was parked in front of the house. In the middle of the crowd of vehicles and drunks. I silently cursed my impulsiveness then choked back a sob. If only I could morph into a giant wolf and melt seamlessly into the forest to make my escape the way my best friend Megan would have. Werewolf though she was, Megan was much too sensible. She wouldn’t be here in the first place. I bit back a whimper and listened. I listened hard. Nothing but the din of the party filtered to my ears, but that could be masking other noises. Noises that people trying to catch me might make.

  Peeking around the trunk of the old tree, I could just make out the shape of Tall One by the tiki torches. And was that—yes! It was Short One loping up next to him. They were checking the crowd of bodies on the back patio. Tall One waved an arm toward the front of the house and my heart plummeted. I was safe for the moment, but there was no way I was going to be able to get to my car.

  I shivered, realizing that I was drenched in beer and it was freezing out. My teeth chattered as if in response to my thoughts. Relieved that I’d worn a tiny little cross-body purse only large enough for my phone and my keys, and that it was still swinging by my hip, I dug out my phone and ducked back around the tree, certain no one would see the light as it came on.

  I punched the number for the person I trusted more than anyone else in the world.

  “Rachel?” She picked up on the second ring and my best friend’s voice brought tears to my eyes.

  “Megan, I’m in trouble.” I gasped the words.

  “Where are you?” she demanded.

  “I did something really stupid. I’m hiding in the woods behind Darnell Thompson’s house. I need you to come get me.”

  “We’re at least twenty minutes away from there,” Sam, Megan’s mate, answered.

  “Please hurry,” I whispered.

  “Rachel, are you safe right now?” Sam aske
d, taking charge.

  “I think so?”

  “Okay. Kyp is only five minutes or so away from there. He’ll come get you and bring you here,” Sam said. A perk of pack life. Always someone around to help.

  “Rach?” Meg’s voice was all concerned. “What else can I do?”

  “I don’t know.” I bit back the sob that threatened.

  “Kyp is on his way. I’ll stay on the phone with you until he gets there,” Meg said, apparently having gotten confirmation from Sam who was probably on his phone with Kyp right then.

  “Better not. I’m hidden in the woods at the back—in the dark. Phone might be seen.”

  “Rachel,” she started.

  “See you in a few,” I rasped.

  “To the ends of the earth,” Megan whispered our childhood mantra.

  “To the ends of the earth,” I echoed.

  I hugged the phone to my chest and screwed my eyes shut, willing the tears to stay at bay. I wished I was a werewolf like Megan—like Sam, even Kyp, who was only half werewolf. I wouldn’t feel so helpless right now. And Kyp. I cringed as the red heat of shame crawled up my neck and pooled in my cheeks. How would I ever look at him again after he saw me like this?

  I’d only known Kyp a few weeks, but I really liked him. He was sweet and thoughtful, and after being thrown together several times among our group of human and werewolf friends, we’d become good friends.

  Dressed like a hooker with my hair frizzing back into curls from a beer bath, near hysteria, and heartbroken like I’d never been before wasn’t exactly the impression I wanted to leave with Kyp. But my safety outweighed the coming humiliation.

  Minutes passed in the darkness. Raised voices sent my heart racing several times. I stayed put behind my tree, shivering as the biting wind blew through the pine trees, making them creak and groan.

  “Rachel,” a voice whispered.

  I yelped and my feet left the ground.

  “Shh! Sorry, it’s me.” Kyp materialized out of the darkness right in front of me. He tentatively took my hand, like he would touch a spooked animal. I couldn’t help it. A sob escaped.

  “It’s okay. I couldn’t get my truck back here without drawing more attention, so we’re going to need to sneak back to it. I’m parked two houses down. We’re going to go through the woods and cut through a couple of neighbors’ yards.”