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  Dire Desires

  ( Eternal Wolf Clan - 3 )

  Stephanie Tyler

  Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once they were many, but now only a few remain, a dangerous wolfpack forever on the hunt…

  Jinx is a Dire wolf without a pack. Kicked out of the house by his king, and living with a vampire named Jez, Jinx has been trying to undo the damage he'd unintentionally caused during the reign of the Dire ghost army, which unleashed some of Purgatory's worst monsters on the world at large. But when he hears that an unshifted Were is being held in a psychiatric hospital, he immediately drops everything to help her.

  Gillian Black has no idea what's happening to her—and Jinx discovers that she's not just any Were, but a Dire wolf from the original Greenland pack. He helps her escape and promises to keep her safe from the men—and wolves—who are hunting her, and teach her everything about being a wolf.

  He must also fight his feelings, wanting to claim her as his mate…at least until after he defeats the supernatural enemies that threaten all of them.

  Dire Desires

  Eternal Wolf Clan - 3

  by

  Stephanie Tyler

  For Sharon Muha, who is more help than she knows

  . . . you know love when you see it,

  you can feel its lunar strength, its brutal pull.

  “Facts About The Moon” by Dorianne Laux

  Glossary

  abilities: The now-immortal Dire wolves were all born with abilities, except for Rifter, who was cursed with his at birth. These abilities were looked at with fear by the Dire population at large. In fact, the Elders were once Dire wolves who were sacrificed to Hati, the creator of the Dires, because they had abilities. The abilities range from dreamwalking to communicating with the dead, and can often be seen as both a gift and a curse to the wolves trying to balance them out.

  Adept: An immortal, master witch.

  Brother Wolf: A Dire wolf is a dual-natured beast who lives with his Brother Wolf inside of him. These Brother Wolves are also depicted in a life-sized glyph on the Dires’ backs, the glyph coming out fully after a Dire’s first shift at age twenty-one. The Dires and their inner wolves have an even balance of power and a deep respect for one another. They both run the show, bowing to each other’s needs and wants when necessary. This differentiates them from Weres, who, when shifted into wolf form, cannot communicate or control their wolf sides.

  Catskills, NY: Place where the Dire wolves currently call home. Also home to the supernatural world of witches, vampires and other shifters who are not friendly and remain hidden; it coexists alongside the human world.

  deadheads: Old Dire wolf word for vampires. Current meaning: fans who follow the Grateful Dead.

  Dire wolves: (*Also see Brother Wolf) Dire wolves are alpha, immortal wolves who live in tandem with their Brother Wolf and take on human form to survive in the world. Dire wolves are differentiated from Weres because they cannot be killed by any means, thanks to a curse of immortality cast upon them by the Elders. When first in existence, the Dire wolves lived a long time, with an approximate one-hundred-year life span, but they were not immortal. The majority of the Dire wolf population—which was quite large, since it preceded the Were population—was killed during the Extinction, and the curse on the remaining Dire wolves with abilities was cast at that time.

  However, with their gifts, immortality is exhausting for the Dires—it forces them to remain in hiding and move quite often because their human sides will not age, unlike Weres, who, although immortal in theory, can be killed and will age, albeit slowly, in their human forms.

  The Dires were trained in the warrior ways. They are powerful fighters, far more powerful and violent than Weres. However, both Dires and Weres can shift at will and both are pulled by the full moon, although the Dire wolves will never fall prey to moon craze, which often happens to young Weres during their earliest shifts and can last from the age of sixteen until they are twenty-one.

  Dire ghost army: These are the Dire wolves killed during the Extinction. They are raised by Seb, the master witch, through a black magic spell and are intent on harming the living Dire wolves. They then plan on spreading their destruction outward to Weres and humans.

  the Elders: The Elders are a mythical group of otherworldly spirit wolves responsible for the creation of both the Dires and the Weres, and also responsible for meting out justice to both populations when necessary. One example of this was the Extinction. There were originally four Elders: Hildr, Eydis, Leifr and Meili. Hildr asked to be released from her duties (aka killed) when outvoted on an important matter concerning the Dires and their abilities rather than go against what she believed in.

  the Extinction: In Norway, the Dire wolf packs committed a massacre of humans (who will later form the weretrappers) in direct opposition to orders from the Elders. The Elders killed all Dire wolves except for five Dires who were out on their Running—Harm, Rifter, Vice, Jinx and Rogue. Later the Dires discovered that another pack of non-immortal Dires in Greenland had also been saved by the Elders. Stray and Killian are immortal, since they have abilities, but the rest of their Greenland pack isn’t.

  fated: In the time of the Dires, their word for love was fated, so when a Dire talks about being fated, he’s really talking about love.

  Greenland pack: A pack of non-immortal Dires kept alive by the Elders after the Extinction so that wolves in that pack could give birth to brothers who would have abilities and thus fulfill an old prophecy.

  hunters: A human antidote to the weretrappers, they’re a group of humans who are on the side of good and therefore trying to weed out the bad supernaturals from the good, rather than use them or kill them at will, as the trappers do. In the supernatural world, they’re seen as just as dangerous.

  mating: Weres can mate with humans or Weres and sometimes with other shifter species like lion shifters. For the Dires, it’s a very different story, as the old ways dictate that Dires can mate only with other Dires and it must be ceremonial. First and foremost, a mating can never happen during first-time sex. It’s too dangerous to try to mate with a new wolf because shifting for the first several times is too hard and new wolves are uncontrollable. Mating happens by consent on both sides during the third time a male and female Dire lay together—that is the Dire custom because they don’t encourage sex without mating. Sex for the last remaining Dires is painful, because it goes against their mating protocol. During the mating, the non-shifted male is chained and the female will shift uncontrollably at the end. Thus mating equals danger for the male—will he be able to handle his proposed female wolf? After a mating, the Dires must come before the Elders to have the mating blessed. Mating makes Dires stronger.

  the old country: The Dire wolves were created by Hati during Viking times and lived primarily in Norway, with a large pack also in Greenland.

  the Running: An adult Dire has a great responsibility to his pack. Even before his shift, he trains as a warrior, as Dire culture is a warrior one. Also, because the shift for a Dire requires great strength, their lives are devoted to gaining the necessary strength before they turn twenty-one. After their shift, there is an importance placed on sensuality and play. The Running happens after their first several shifts, while they are allowed to run and play apart from the packs for six months in order to see if they are truly independent and able to blend well with humans now that their wolves have emerged.

  Skinwalker: There are many myths about how skinwalkers are created. The Dire wolves know that they can become skinwalkers if they commit matricide and/or patricide. Since this killing is an unnatural act, they become unnatural beings, although they re
main, first and foremost, Dire wolves. A skinwalker can shift into other beings, taking on various personas for short periods of time. Some can see the future, and others are thought to be able to curse those who speak out against them. Some are seen as witch doctors, and typically, they are cast out and live alone.

  Weres: (See Dire wolves for more differences between Weres and Dires.) Were who are newly shifted can experience moon craze, in which they become uncontrollable and therefore dangerous to themselves, their packs and the human race. Many young wolves are put down because of this. The Dire wolves will often take in moon-crazed Weres they believe have the potential to become great warriors.

  werepacks: Werepacks are scattered across the United States and the rest of the world. The main pack is located in New York City, with other large packs being in Texas, California and Wisconsin. The outlaw pack that forms from the New York pack is now taking in rogue wolves from other packs to join their cause. They believed that if their king Linus sold out the Dires to the weretrappers, the Weres would be left alone. They are angry wolves, not very organized, and more intent on killing than following the old ways, which makes them quite dangerous. They like killing humans and have taken to selling their own kind to the weretrappers in exchange for protection. Some of them will work as bodyguards for both the witches and weretrappers.

  weretrappers: A paramilitary group of humans intent on destroying Dires and Weres, as well as using Weres for their own nefarious purposes. Their purpose had evolved over the years. At first, they were formed during Viking times; they were a tight-knit group intent on keeping humans safe from wolves. During the current century, they began to realize the power they could have if they were able to harness the power of the Weres. They capture Weres and experiment with ways to keep them under their control. They also create a pact with the witches, realizing they will need more supernatural help in order to gain domination over humans. Their goal is ultimate power and world domination, and they’ve begun to experiment with the dark arts (aka black magic).

  witches: Witches live in covens and stay among their own kind. Widely regarded with suspicion and hatred by the rest of the supernatural world, many have started allying themselves with the weretrappers for security, which will allow their race to survive.

  Prologue

  Two days earlier

  When she dragged in with the old blanket draped over her naked shoulders, she knew she still wore the wildness in her eyes like the chill of a winter night.

  She hated daytime the most. The other patients did as well, avoided the sun, hated to be pulled into the fresh air as if they were horses to be exercised in captivity. She wanted the air and exercise, no doubt, but unfettered.

  She wanted the moon. The small pad of paper she’d stolen during her last therapy appointment would be in its hiding spot, showing the beginnings of many crude drawings of the orb.

  In her mind’s eye, it was perfect, beautiful.

  She wouldn’t talk about it in the sessions with the man with the glasses. For five years, others had tried and failed. He would fail as well, because Gillian had stopped listening, stopped knowing what she once was.

  A daughter. Once loved, until something went wrong. She began to talk about wolves, to run in the woods alone. Naked.

  That was, apparently, unacceptable. Signaled illness.

  Since she continued to escape, that meant the illness was getting worse, not better. She felt it too. But she always came back voluntarily because there was no other place for her. And still, something inside her compelled her to look for others whenever the moon grew heavy—and lately, when it didn’t. The past two months had been a roller coaster of emotions. This time, she knew the wildness was too much for her—it threatened to overwhelm her, suck her into its madness, never, ever to let go. Maybe one day she’d allow herself to go all the way in, see that it was for the best.

  But today she returned. Last night she’d run and then she’d lain under the stars and she’d dreamed. The dreams were of another time and place—distant, beautiful—and she felt stately and wise despite the way the men looked at her when she strode in.

  They shoved her to the ground unceremoniously. Checked her for weapons.

  I am a weapon, the rustling in her ears told her. But the men who held her down didn’t know that, and she knew better than to tell them.

  After she felt the initial prick of the needle, she waited for the familiar poison to work itself through her body. Her muscles relaxed. The rustling in her ears stopped.

  But in her dreams, she ran.

  Chapter 1

  Vice swore he heard something slam to the ground in the woods outside the Dire house right after four in the morning. He’d been out running the woods and had just showered and prepared a snack fit for a king, but his curious Brother Wolf wouldn’t not let him check it out. And since he was the only one either not on his honeymoon or in a coma, he went. Left the house naked and shifted the second his foot touched grass.

  The nighttime air was cool and soothing. For an hour, he ran through the brush and remnants of snow, searching for whatever it was that made the noise.

  He ended up at the tree he thought of as Eydis’s, since he was always drawn to it when that specific Elder called for him. Vice listened when called, because he was compelled to do so.

  Still, he couldn’t control what he said in front of any of them, but hey, he was immortal, so what could they really do—kill him? That would be a fucking relief.

  The tree was a massive, thousand-year-old oak that had been split straight down the middle by lightning. Like the Dires themselves, it had survived centuries, still standing healthy and straight.

  The tree blossomed during springtime, stayed green until the worst of winter. Even barren, the tree stood out. It was magnificent.

  Now it was entirely destroyed—one half lying on the ground, the other bent and broken—and he felt sick.

  It would take something powerful to do that. Or something magical. He saw a hole in the ground close by, shaped as though something—or someone—had been thrown from the heavens.

  He looked at the shimmering white glow that lined the empty space and sucked in a breath. There was no way that could’ve happened.

  He wanted to call out her name, crawl into the hollow and wait for her. . . .

  She hasn’t come looking for you. And she won’t.

  With that last thought, he gave a howl, long and loud, the most mournful one he’d ever heard his wolf make. Not since Eydis was sacrificed and was picked to be an Elder.

  He’d been sixteen when that happened.

  Brother Wolf circled the tree, stared at it for hours, trying to think of a way to repair it. But there wasn’t one. Nothing could handle this kind of wrath and survive—no one could.

  Except you.

  And then something inside of him stirred that made the wolf break into a dead run toward the house.

  Something he hadn’t felt for six months.

  Rogue was awake and at his window, staring down at him. Vice howled with approval and relief, and he saw Rogue smile a little.

  He shifted quickly and took the stairs two at a time, all the while trying to tamp down his emotions so they wouldn’t be too hard for Rogue to deal with. It wasn’t easy. He took a deep breath, then slammed the door open, raced to Rogue and hugged the crap out of him. “Dude, you’re really up.”

  Rogue hugged him back, didn’t say anything for a long moment, and Vice was pretty sure he was crying. When they pulled away, Rogue wiped his cheeks. “You look good, wolf.”

  “You don’t look half bad for what you’ve been through.” Indeed, Rogue’s chest still bore marks from the mare who’d held him in a supernatural coma for six months. She’d been under Seb’s spell—and Seb was a powerful witch who’d once been friends with the Dires. “You know Seb’s gone?”

  “I heard. I knew what was happening around me. I just couldn’t do shit about it,” Rogue confirmed.

  “Did you call Jinx
?”

  “Not yet. Just give me some time, all right?” Rogue said and Vice cocked his head and stared into the wolf’s eyes.

  Finally he said, “Gotta at least tell Rift. Gwen will need to check you over.” Although they were all alphas, Rifter was their king, and they owed him that respect.

  “I’m fine. Really. Cover for me, Vice. A couple of hours and then I’ll tell them. I want to shower. Clean the hell up.”

  How could he turn Rogue down after what he’d been through? And of course, that was what Rogue was counting on. “Yeah, all right—coupla hours but that’s all. And don’t tell Rifter—no need for him to have my head again.”

  “Deal.” Rogue hugged him again and man, it was good to have Jinx’s other half back. Although Vice hated to leave him, he did so out of respect, and closed the door and went downstairs.

  He rounded the corner to the kitchen and found Rifter and Stray standing there.

  “Hey,” Vice said in what he hoped was a normal voice. Then again, he’d never been normal, and Stray and Rifter had apparently been trying to fuck themselves to death with their mates, so the last thing they cared about was how Vice sounded. And by the looks on their faces, they weren’t angry at all. “I was just out running and—”

  “Kate’s got the wolf—the glyph,” Stray interrupted him. “It’s my Brother Wolf—smaller, but it’s there.”

  “So she’ll run with us under the blue moon,” Rifter said with a great deal of satisfaction. “It’s a good day.”

  Indeed it was.

  When the dust had settled and the Dire ghost army was put down, they had all been relieved. Leo Shimmin, newest head of the weretrappers, was taken down, and so was the biggest facility where the trappers experimented, along with the castle where Seb was kept.

  Seb had disappeared. Vice had blown the place sky high and Jinx had done some binding spells with Kate’s help.