Wolf Other Side

1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-1-6678-8436-3
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, Band 1, 344 Seiten

Reihe: The Other Side

Wolf Moon is the first installment in The Other Side series of new adult fantasy books from Sea Elle Wolf. Set against the backdrop of the supernatural, where ghosts and werewolves run rampant inside the foreboding walls of a notoriously haunted New England hotel, Wolf Moon deftly explores themes including trauma, destiny, and the burden of choice. When a traumatic event upends Erika Navarro's life, she returns to her hometown of Nocturne, Massachusetts, attempting to seek solace and new horizons, only to find more confusion and chaos await. As long-held family secrets are revealed, a bewildered Erika attempts to seize control over her life but, to her dismay, only finds her situation somehow growing even more complicated . As Erika finds herself entangled in a centuries-old feud between rival werewolf families, can she navigate the tangled maze of wild expectations? Or will she end up becoming a pawn in a game of werewolf politics where everyone else seems to be making up the rules?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wolf, Sea Elle

Leseproben

Chapter One The Crime Scene Yellow crime scene tape, several police cars, CSI technicians, and worried onlookers comprised the Topanga Canyon crime scene ecosystem. The atmosphere was grim and quiet, save for the indistinct chatter between investigators and neighbors’ hushed voices as the arrival of the coroner around 11:30 AM confirmed their fears. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the sound of birds chirping and a toddler’s cry in the distance began to reintroduce a sense of normalcy to the scene. Suddenly, the screech of tires and a car accelerating down the cul-de-sac cut through the sullen sounds and caused everyone to turn their heads. Erika raced toward the scene after having been informed by Detective Frank Miller that something had happened to her fiancé, Ryan, but he wouldn’t provide any further details until she arrived, and advised her to leave work immediately. Now officers attempted to compassionately restrain and calm the distraught Erika, who was still dressed in the crisp white button-up blouse and pressed black pants she had worn to work that morning. She desperately tried to get past the yellow crime scene tape to get inside the house and next to her fiancé’s side. Det. Miller approached wearing a skilled poker face. “Ms. Navarro? I’m Detective Miller. I’m the officer who contacted you.” “Where’s Ryan?!” Erika demanded with panic and urgency overflowing in her voice. “What happened?! Where is he?? Is he ok?? Can I see him?” “Perhaps we should step over here so we can speak privately,” Det. Miller instructed, guiding Erika away from the congregation of neighbors who all respected the needed space. Once they had a little distance, Erika quickly snapped into attention, anxiously awaiting the update from the detective. “Ryan Wilson was found by his housekeeper this morning. I’m truly sorry to be the one to inform you…” but the detective’s words became inaudible at that moment when a stretcher supporting an occupied body bag came rolling out of her fiancé’s home. Then it seemed like all sound fell away as Erika’s sight fixated into tunnel vision at the appearance of the body bag. Her entire being sank. It felt as if the floor had dropped out from underneath her, and she was hurtling toward the ground from an unknown but endless height. She felt her mouth open as her eyes squeezed shut, futilely attempting to block out the reality playing out in front of her. Erika sensed she was screaming, yet as if she were in a dream, she couldn’t hear the sound of her own anguished wailing at the realization that Ryan, the man she was planning to marry… her person… was no longer on the same plane of existence as she. The time immediately following this moment seemed to fly by in a blur. Erika vaguely remembered being taken down to the police station, where she endured extensive questioning. Detectives immediately ruled her out as having any possible involvement after observing her cooperation and what they perceived was her genuine grief and anguish playing out in front of them. Investigators were all keen to find out if she had any insight into who could have committed such a heinous crime, but she couldn’t think of anyone. Her fiancé had no enemies. Everyone who ever met him only had positive things to say about him. Unfortunately, Erika had to learn that Ryan had experienced a terrifying and gruesome demise. In fact, the investigators informed her that he had been viciously and brutally torn apart, almost as if attacked by a bear or mountain lion. The crime scene boggled investigators’ minds, and despite their tireless efforts, no sufficient leads surfaced, and no significant evidence emerged. Nobody had any idea what had happened to Ryan Wilson. Following an exhaustive investigation, a thorough autopsy, and questioning everyone who had ever known Ryan, detectives were at a loss, and the county coroner’s office had no other choice but to mark the cause of death as “Possible animal attack.” After shedding more tears than she had ever shed in her entire lifetime—including after the passing of her mother and grandmother—after a rushed closed casket funeral and after some futile grief counseling, Erika was completely lost. She felt like an astronaut who had become untethered and was now giving up, allowing herself to float out into space. One Month later Erika awoke with swollen eyes again. She was exhausted. And not even because she had stayed up late crying yet another night, but because she was just so tired of crying. Life felt too hard to do again today. Deciding to stay in bed, she lay there and allowed her gaze to drift over to a photograph on the nightstand. The picture was of Erika and Ryan holding each other on a bridge by the canals in Amsterdam. The pair looked happy and natural together. She studied the look of joy she had worn on her face back then. And now she laid there staring out hollowly past this picture and morbidly reminded herself—we won’t ever have the chance to be happy like that again. I won’t ever be happy again… Not like that… Not without him... The dark despair of grief brought the now inexhaustibly familiar sting of moisture back to her eyes once more. Squeezing them shut, the tears spilled out and streamed down her cheeks as she rolled over, away from the picture. A tentative knock sounded from Erika’s bedroom door, soon followed by the entrance of a mousy woman wearing a Cal State Long Beach sweatshirt and holding a cup of hot tea. The person delivering the cup of small comfort was Nicole Ramirez, Erika’s once college mate and now roommate. Erika sat up while wiping her tears away as Nicole sat down on the bed and handed her friend the steaming mug. “How are you feeling this morning?” Nicole asked in a quiet and comforting tone. Erika shook her head and shrugged, dismissing the question. Nicole compassionately persisted, wearing a look of deep concern for her grieving friend. “Do you want to talk about it? I mean, I know you’re already talking about it in therapy and in a grief group, but I’m always here if you need someone else to talk to.” Nicole sighed, “I just can’t imagine losing anyone close to me at all, let alone losing a partner. Poor Ryan,” she said sorrowfully. Ryan. Erika’s gaze went a thousand miles away at the mention of his name. She again began searching her memories, as she had been doing on repeat since the day he died. Erika thought if she could just figure out how to put all the pieces together in the correct order, she would be able to make sense of all the turmoil and pain she was feeling, then, somehow everything would be alright again. Obviously, this was not true, and solace did not come. The fact was—Erika had no memory of any of the horrible events Ryan had encountered and endured during his final moments alive. Her memory ended the moment she had driven away on that fateful evening. She had gone home and gone to bed, then woken up on time and conducted that stupid morning work meeting. But there was something else. A small voice inside nagged at her. Aside from the early crew meeting, Erika knew deep down she had left that night for another reason. She almost did not want to shine a light too brightly on this latent feeling because she dreaded what it might reveal. It was too late; the tenacity of her mind surrounding this musing felt like a dog with a bone. She could not relinquish this little nagging thought, so she futilely tried once more to reject it by spinning it—maybe my intuition made me leave that night, she silently speculated. But Erika knew this was not entirely the case as she felt the truth come flooding into her heart, causing it to break just a little bit more. In truth, she knew she had left because she had not wanted to stay the night. And now she found herself wondering—What would have happened if I had stayed? She, too, most certainly would have been killed, but maybe not? Maybe her presence would have stacked the odds in the couple’s favor. Together, maybe they could have somehow escaped or fought off whatever had attacked him. In her heart of hearts, she knew it was foolish to desire that she would have gone inside with him that night. She most likely would have been met with the same horrible fate. But at least she wouldn’t have been left behind feeling this heart-squeezing mixture of grief, mourning, and survivor’s guilt, all coupled by undealt with uncertainty surrounding her relationship altogether. “I mean, do you think it’s a good idea right now?” Nicole asked. Apparently, she had been talking the entire time as her words interrupted Erika’s reproachful thoughts. “Huh? What?” Erika squinted and blinked away a headache as her awareness returned to the present moment. She had not fully heard her friend’s question, nor really anything she had been saying for the past several minutes, for that matter. “Moving back to Nocturne?” Nicole clarified. “Of course, I support you doing whatever will make you happy.” This sentiment did not land, as Erika stared back hollowly in response. “Ah, ah… whatever will make you feel better?” Nicole quickly tried to remedy, then clarified. “Whatever you want to do, but your support system is here! Your friends are here, in California. Are you sure...