Alpha's Moon: A Dirigo Pack Novel (Dirigo Pack Series Book 1) Read online

  Alpha's Moon

  Dirigo Pack Book 1

  Sabrina Silvers

  Copyright © June 2021 by Sabrina Silvers

  Editing by Delilah Devlin

  Cover by Designrans

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or businesses, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Any mistakes are the author’s own and may be intentional and fictional.

  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.

  Dirigo meaning I Lead

  Latin Word

  Contents

  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

  Bonus Epilogue

  Read on for an Excerpt from Moon Madness

  Excerpt From Moon Madness

  Claiming Lyla: Dirigo Pack Prequel

  Also By Sabrina Silvers

  About Sabrina Silvers

  This book is dedicated to Gail Chianese, Jamie K Schmidt, and Melanie Jayne who inspired me, listened to me, and pushed me to write this book. Without you, I don’t know if I would have had the courage to write it. Thank you, ladies.

  And to Nalini Singh and Carrie Ann Ryan whose advice inspired me probably more than they both will ever know.

  Chapter One

  Sheridan Wells squatted in the spare bedroom in her apartment, ensuring the blackout curtains were firmly drawn, and lit the candles in the space. Jack Snyder had been ducking her and her partner for more than a week. His trial date was tomorrow, and his bail bondsman was concerned. Personally, Sheridan thought Mike was crazy for having provided bail for Jack, knowing the man had never once voluntarily shown up for his court dates, not even for simple things. Jack was one of her most reliable tracers but, this time, he was eluding even her, which pissed her off.

  So, she was going to pull out all the stops and try something she avoided at all costs. The risk was worth it, as was the payoff, since they were due ten percent of his bond, which would net them a solid ten thousand. No wonder Jack was hiding out. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he’d lit out of state, but he’d never once done that. No, she didn’t believe he’d skipped the state, even though, this time, he’d been arrested for domestic assault.

  Still, they’d checked all his old haunts, including his wife’s and girlfriend’s places, since they’d often provided him an alibi, but everyone swore they hadn’t seen him.

  Same old story.

  So now she was exploring her roots, the same roots everyone swore she’d never inherited from her mother and was a dud. She only had a trickle of magic, nothing that would get her any cache in any coven, and the way she was using it would probably get her censured by the high and mighty witches, but since they’d tossed her aside as not being worthy when her mom had died, they could kiss her ass if they ever found out.

  She set her circle, something she had taught herself. She wasn’t exactly sure if she needed it, but when doing magic, one could never be too careful. Then she sat in the center of the circle, nude, and reached for the elements, clearing her mind as best she could.

  First, she centered, seeking the earth beneath her, envisioning roots growing from her body as her mother had taught her when she was a little girl, until she felt grounded to the earth. Then she sought the air around her, the movement of the cool breeze in the room. Then she reached for the water in the bowl and ran her fingers through it, painting stripes across her breasts and letting it trickle down her chest. Finally, she passed her hands over the flame, letting the heat tickle her palm.

  When she felt centered and calm, as best as she could, she grasped her clear quartz pendulum in her hand and sent her will into it—her vision of Jack Snyder and her desire to Find him. When she felt sufficiently prepared, she opened her eyes to the map of the region in front of her and unfolded the dowsing pendulum above it.

  She chanted quietly with her eyes closed:

  Bound and Binding

  Binding Bound.

  See the Sight

  Hear the Sound.

  What was lost

  Now is found.

  Find me Jack

  Where he’s gone.

  Bound and Binding

  Binding Bound

  She slowly opened her eyes to see the pendulum lazily swinging in a circle over the map. It eventually narrowed to a location, pulling her hand to a spot near the docks, a strange spot for him, but her Finding had never steered her wrong. She quickly performed a cleansing spell and burned some sage as she cleaned up her space and dressed.

  She sent a text to her partner. I know where he is.

  Then she dressed for a takedown. Kevlar vest over a black T-shirt. Black fatigues and a black vest with plenty of pockets for assorted gear. Her vest clearly stated Bail Enforcement, since they’d been asked to formally bring him in, and she hoped he would surrender peacefully when he saw that, but Jack wasn’t known for his smarts. And rounding out her uniform, steel toed boots, her taser, and zip tie restraints.

  She was as ready as she could be.

  Barry pulled up a quarter mile from the address next to Sheridan’s battered Subaru and arched his eyebrow at her. “You sure about this, Wells? This isn’t his usual hangout.”

  “Has my intuition ever let you down?” she said as she did one last check of her gear and scanned the area for anyone watching them. It was quiet. Too quiet, yet she could swear she felt eyes on her, watching them, studying them, evaluating them as friend or foe. The feeling was damned disconcerting, especially when she couldn’t see or sense a watcher except by this niggling sense, and goddess knew, she couldn’t tell Barry about it.

  Barry wasn’t fond of the supernatural community, and the last thing she wanted to let him know was that she occasionally dipped into the spell book for their skipped bonds, or that she sometimes got this weird feeling from another sense about any lurking danger. She didn’t know if the warnings came from the goddess or a god or something else. She hadn’t really grown up in any form of religion, not from her witch mom or werewolf father, so she was sort of agnostic. She didn’t not believe. She just wasn’t sure what she believed in, beyond her own abilities to survive. Nothing else or no one else had ever really been there for her, so she had no reason to believe in anyone or anything else. Until something appeared to her, well, she’d stick to what she knew.

  Barry grunted and checked his own gear. They worked well together since neither of them spoke more than was necessary and didn’t pry into each other’s business. Barry had been working with her
foster father when he’d retired, and he had no problem working with her, unlike several others in their profession who didn’t think a woman belonged in the field.

  When they were ready, they headed into the mass of industrial buildings that lined the dock area, along with the shipping boxes. The warehouse district was eerily quiet since it was a Saturday, so everything must have been done for the day or the week. She led Barry to the building her dowsing had pointed toward, a dark gray building that was dark, but there was a bright light above the main door that indicated the owners or workers expected someone coming back there during evening hours. They circled the building and didn’t see anyone around, but did find a pile of cigarette butts by the same door that indicated someone hung around outside.

  While they watched, the door swung open and their quarry stepped out for one of his cigarette breaks. Like her foster father had always said, criminals were rarely masterminds, except in their own minds. She waited in her hiding spot while Barry came around the back side, hoping to catch him in a pincer move. She threw a stone across the way, hoping to lure Jack away from his spot by the door, so he wouldn’t have anywhere to duck and hide.

  Jack obligingly ambled over to the other building, leaving the safety of the door, and Sheridan stepped between him and the door.

  “Jack, you’re going to need to come with us now. Don’t make it difficult, okay?”

  He whirled around, panic on his face, then derision. “I don’t think so. Not this time, sweetheart. I have friends this time, and I have things to do. They need me, and I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  Sheridan let out a deep sigh. “I’ve met your friends, Jack. None of them would even put up your bond this time. How the hell did you find enough for it? You beat the shit out of your wife this time. I doubt she put up the house.”

  He drew himself up, his face contorted in an ugly grimace. “I got new friends, bitch. They’ll fuck you up.”

  She shook her head and pulled out the taser, secretly glad to be able to use it and shut him up. “I wish I could say this would hurt you more than me, but I’d be lying.”

  Before she could aim it, something knocked her over from the back, and the taser flew out of her hands, clattering to the ground a few feet away. Damn, maybe Jack really had gotten some friends after all. Friends who were quiet on their feet and could hit with the impact of a two-ton truck. Where the fuck was Barry?

  She rolled just in time to avoid a nasty kick to her already sore ribs and leapt to her feet, facing a man who smelled oddly of wolf, though he didn’t belong to the local Pack, or if he did, she’d never seen him before. This one snarled and had a gleam in his eye that said he loved the violence he was about to inflict on her, plus a golden sheen that overlaid his eyes, indicating his wolf was close to the surface. She cursed under her breath. That was the last thing she needed, a hot-headed shifter with poor control over his wolf and no one in sight to help. Out of the corner of her eye, Jack was backing away, cackling in glee at the sight of her facing off against his colleague.

  “I told you to back off, Wells. I’m going to enjoy this!”

  Son of a bitch. Where the fuck was her partner? Had there been a third guy, or more, that took out Barry? She hadn’t anticipated this. Neither of them had. Jack had never had anyone willing to fight for him. Lie, cover, cheat, sure. Fight for him? Never. Though his girlfriend had thrown a plate at her the last time she’d dragged him out of her trailer. But that was mainly because Sheridan had outed the relationship to Jack’s wife.

  Meanwhile, she had to get through this gigantic wall of muscle who was almost salivating at her as if he could taste her flesh, his teeth bared as if his wolf was coming to the surface. Shit. She could only dance so much. She would’ve armed herself more if she’d known she was going against wolves.

  Suddenly, he rushed her, his body low and arms spread to catch her center of gravity and throw her off balance. His fingers were tipped in claws, to slash and cut her, but his eyes telegraphed his movement, and she was able to duck and leap over his movement, tucking and rolling to the other side, and coming up, ready to fight. Jack bellowed his rage that she had avoided his muscle and he started toward her as well, but she’d anticipated this, knowing his moves from years of hauling his lazy ass in, and her foot kicked out, catching him at the knee he’d injured years ago, so he collapsed to the right height for her fist to come up and plow into his face, sending him back against the wall and knocking him out.

  But the other man grabbed her around her body, trapping her arms against her sides and pushing her forward. She continued forward, surprising the man until he was slightly off balance. Then she abruptly shifted her direction and flung back her head, connecting with his nose. Blood spurted, and he yelled, his hands reflexively releasing her to cover his nose. She whirled and aimed a kick to his groin and, when he bent toward the ground, she used her elbow on the back of his head to lay him flat.

  She bent over, sucking in breaths, the back of her head and ribs throbbing in sync. When she’d caught her breath, she grabbed her zip ties and restrained the big guy, noting his face for her mental records, and then she tied up Jack so she could haul his ass in and pocketed her taser. Now, to find Barry.

  Just as she rounded the corner, her partner came panting around it, looking a bit worse for wear, an eye growing puffy and his lip split. “What the hell, Sheridan? Where did Jack find these guys?”

  She shook her head wearily. “I’ve never seen them before, but my guy was a shifter. Yours?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t stop to ask. Should we call the Pack or the authorities?”

  She frowned. “And have to answer questions about all of this? Nope. Let’s haul Jack in and let his bondsman know. They can figure it out from there. I don’t know what the hell Jack’s involved with now, and I don’t think I want to know.”

  Barry nodded, looking thoroughly pissed off. Jack was rolling on the ground, moaning about his injuries and struggling against the ties, making threats against her, her dubious parentage, and what he was going to do when he got out. Whatever.

  Barry shrugged and slung Jack over his back in a fireman’s hold and trudged out to their vehicles, not caring about the other man’s injuries. Sheridan followed more slowly, feeling a niggling sense of discomfort about the entire situation and wondering if maybe she should do something. But she’d lived her life as far away from the local Pack as much as possible. She didn’t see a reason to start reporting to them now.

  Chapter Two

  Kane MacKinnon snarled at the other man circling around him in a half crouch, his eyes already reflected a gold circle around the pupil. Stupid pup. Couldn’t even control his damn wolf, and he thought he’d be good enough for his sister. The scent of stale sweat, coppery blood, and acrid fear rose in the cool night air, but Kane ignored all of it in favor of the Challenge in front of him. Samuel, the Alpha-Heir from the Sacramento Pack, smirked and peeled off his shirt, flexing his muscles for the she-wolves who lounged on the Pack house porch. Dumbass. He was here to impress Kane’s sister and tempt her into a possible mating. Flirting with other females wasn’t the way to a she-wolf’s heart. He’d be more likely to get the sharp edge of her claws and teeth instead.

  Luckily for Samuel, he’d pissed off Kane first because Kayleigh would fight dirty and probably go for the male’s balls. Kane would at least keep to the rules of the Challenge. Probably.

  “Are you going to flirt or fight?” He kept his tone deliberately bored, suppressing any edge of anger, not wanting to give away how pissed off he was by these constant supremacy issues since his father had invited these dominant males into their territory.

  Samuel narrowed his gaze, and a low growl emanated from his chest, doing nothing to intimidate Kane. He’d had scarier wolves come at him, and Samuel was too pretty by half to pose much of a threat, though complacency made a situation most dangerous. He kept his senses open, aware of the other wolves arrayed around them in a loose circle, several of his own
Pack and enforcers keeping the peace, but there were enough outsiders that he wanted to guard against a sneak attack. Not all wolves were honorable. He’d learned that when he was just a pup, a lesson he’d carried to this day.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, old man, not in your own territory.” A couple of the other males guesting in the territory chuckled, but only a few. Many had already felt the sharp edge of Kane’s temper and weren’t keen to feel it again.

  Kane’s own wolves remain stoic, arms held loosely at their sides, seemingly bored by the whole affair, but they were alert, prepared for anything that might occur. These men and women were soldiers, not playing at being enforcers. They’d been honed by fire, tested in battle, and were well-prepared to fight at a moment’s notice. These wolves posed no threat to Kane and were watching their Alpha-Heir’s back.

  Samuel suddenly lunged, but his eyes telegraphed the move, and Kane easily shifted to avoid the motion, but his wolf growled, pushing to be set free and teach the young male a lesson in dominance. He itched for a fight, to be let loose and prove once and for all who was the Alpha.

  A scent travelled on the wind, and he stiffened. He glanced over to see his father, the Alpha of the Dirigo Pack standing next to Kane’s second, Damien Hastings, his face impassive, his arms behind his back. Next to Damien stood an elder of the Pack, Damien’s father, Graham Hastings, a frown of disapproval on his face, though he often wore that look especially around Kane.