Whole-Hearted: A Malsum Pass Novel Read online

  Also by Kimberly Forrest

  Paranormal Romance

  Malsum Pass

  Until You

  For Her

  Meant To Be

  Whole-Hearted

  Historical Romance

  Forget Me Not

  Whole-Hearted

  By

  Kimberly Forrest

  “Whole-Hearted”

  Selected, Compiled & Edited by: Kimberly Forrest 2017

  Copyright © November 2017 by Kimberly Forrest

  This book is a work of fiction. Any reference to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover art created by R.L. Ortiz. Images used under license from Shutterstock.com

  Table of Contents

  The Fur Traders

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Thank you to all my readers who continue to encourage me. You’re my motivation and I am so happy you’ve chosen to stay with me on this ride.

  The Fur Traders

  For thousands of years, a group of humans known as the fur traders, has prospered on the exploitation of shifters and their abilities. Once thought of as friends, those humans had been trusted with the secrets that shifter clans and packs guard so closely. That betrayal cut deep, and instilled a long standing fear and loathing toward humankind as fur traders decimated entire villages to steal shifter children for monetary gain.

  Those children would be imprisoned in secret locations – training camps – tortured, and finally broken so that they could be retrained by the fur traders as soldiers, assassins, and spies to be sold to the highest bidder; a cog in the war machine.

  As time passed, the fur traders concentrated their efforts on small shifter packs that were out of the way. Areas where few people noticed or cared that an entire town had disappeared overnight. The shifter need for secrecy, only aided the fur traders to success. But in the summer of 2011, the fur traders made a near fatal mistake…

  A young shifter named Hector Fernandez was visiting his grandfather in a small fishing village on the Mediterranean when the fur traders came. The village was decimated in the attack, the grandfather killed, and Hector, along with two other shifter children, was taken.

  Upon hearing the news that his only son had been abducted, Alvaro Fernandez did not hesitate. He was a shifter who had wealth, influence, and powerful contacts. Two months later, the training camps and facilities utilized by the fur traders were raided on expected terrorist activities; the news coverage went worldwide. Hector had been rescued as well as the children and adults still held under the fur traders’ control while the heads of the organization were arrested for human trafficking. To shifters around the globe, it was a day of celebration, the boogeymen of the shifter world had been eliminated.

  But like a cancer, the tumor that was the fur traders, came back. With the rise of social media apps on smartphones and images of missing children going viral within minutes, the fur traders had to come up with a new plan. They had long known that children born within the organization were more loyal than those taken. It was a longer period of investment, but it could work. They could now concentrate their efforts on larger cities; cities that were so plagued with crime, the police force could not possibly give its full attention to a few young women who may come up missing. Especially when money was placed in the right hands… and the fur traders had plenty of investors.

  Prologue

  Twenty years ago…

  Constance Tully looked up from the castle of mud she was building when she heard her mother calling. A quick glance at the sky let her know she had stayed out later than she should have and the sun was rapidly setting. She looked at her playmates as dread filled her belly. She was going to be in trouble. Her mother didn’t like it when she got dirty and right now, she was covered in mud.

  She, Michael, and Timmy, had found a leaky hose out behind the bed and breakfast where Constance lived, and had decided to dig in the wet earth surrounding it. They had created quite an impressive mud pit, but her mother wouldn’t be impressed.

  “Constance Lynn Tully! If you aren’t in here by the time I count to ten, you are in big trouble, missy!”

  Both Timmy and Michael shot her wide-eyed looks. Her mother had used the dreaded full name bellow. Nothing said trouble quite like when a parent unleashed the middle name. Shooting her playmates a wince, Connie ran for the backdoor of her house where her mother was waiting with hands on hips and a scowl on her face. Connie tried to shoot past her mother, but was snagged by the back of her shirt. “Don’t even think of tracking that mud through my kitchen, young lady. Get those filthy clothes off right now.”

  Connie bent and tried to untie her sneakers but they were so caked with mud, the laces wouldn’t budge. Her mother huffed out a frustrated breath and knelt before Connie to pull the shoes off her daughter’s feet. “However did you get so filthy? It hasn’t rained all week.”

  “The hose out back.” Connie mumbled, as her mother pulled the socks off and grimaced. The white cotton was now brown from the ankle up. Her mother let out a heavy sigh, but was otherwise silent as she helped Connie remove her muddy pants. Margaret Tully then turned her attention to Connie’s hair which was braided in pigtails. The white blonde braids were streaked with mud as well and her mother shook her head. “Go on into the bathroom and I’ll draw you a bath.”

  Once Connie was again clean from top to bottom and dressed in her favorite pair of Disney Princess pajamas, Margaret Tully ushered her into a chair in the kitchen so that her hair could be brushed. “You start school next week,” Her mother began, “And I’m sure you are going to make plenty of friends.”

  Connie hoped so. She enjoyed playing with Michael and Timmy, but they were boys. They had no interest in playing with dolls and dressing them up to look pretty or styling their hair. They wanted to play with trucks or race and wrestle. She enjoyed those things too, but she would like to make friends with another girl who might enjoy tea parties, and walking around in her mother’s high heels and playing dress up. Unfortunately for Connie, Malsum Pa
ss seemed to only have boys.

  Her mother smoothed a hand over Connie’s hair and looked deeply into her eyes. “You know you’re special, Connie. You are one of the only females born in the last several years. It’s important that you make the right choices.”

  Her father entered the kitchen, gave Connie a warm smile and dropped a kiss on her head before moving to the refrigerator and opening the door. Her mother looked at him, “Who is showing alpha potential in the juveniles?”

  David Tully pulled a beer out and twisted off the cap. He shrugged, “Riley Cooper so far.”

  Her mother tapped a finger against her pursed lips and let out a thoughtful hum. “He might be a bit too old for our Connie. He’s already transitioned so he may take a mate in as little as seven or eight years.”

  Her father choked on his beer and looked at his wife like she was crazy. “Jesus, Maggie. She’s five! Can you at least let her be a kid for a few years before you start pushing a mate on her?”

  Her mother drew herself up to her full height and placed her hands on her hips. “Our daughter has the distinction of being the only female wolf born in the pack in years. She’ll have her pick of any male she wants. So she’ll need to pick well. She could mate an alpha, David.”

  Connie’s father looked at his wife like he didn’t even know her. He waved a hand and shook his head. “I can’t even believe you right now.” He said as he left the kitchen.

  Her mother frowned at the door for a few minutes and then turned back to Connie and smiled. “Conner Pierce.” She said with a nod. “He’s about your age and bound to take after his father. He’s sure to be an alpha.”

  Her mother continued talking, something about inviting the Pierces over to dinner and making friends with Sherry Pierce, but Connie was only half listening, her attention snagged by the pink crayon she had thought she had lost but had rolled just under one of the kitchen cabinets. It was her favorite crayon and she was itching to get out of the chair and retrieve it. “Connie, are you listening?”

  Connie jumped, startled, and returned her attention to her mother. “It’s important that you make a good impression on Conner Pierce. You must always look pretty and make sure he notices you. Do you understand?”

  She didn’t, not really, but she nodded. Her mother hugged her. “Nothing would make me prouder than for you to mate an alpha. Nothing, Connie. No more playing in the mud. You are beautiful. You need to let that beauty shine. The sooner you gain Conner Pierce’s attention, the easier it will be. All right?”

  Connie nodded. She wanted to be a good girl. She wanted her mother to be proud, and if that meant looking pretty and making friends with Conner Pierce, she could do that. “All right, Mommy.”

  Chapter One

  Present Day…

  Constance Tully watched from the window in her bedroom as Conner Pierce left the diner with his mate Elizabeth, her son Jeremy, and Lillian, a cat shifter who had requested sanctuary from the pack along with her sister, Daisy. For almost twenty years Connie had had one goal: do whatever it took to marry Conner Pierce. She had failed.

  Blowing on her tea, she took a sip from her mug. She had done everything her mother had told her to do; had followed every piece of advice. She felt her cheeks heat and her stomach kick with the now familiar feeling of humiliation. Conner had never encouraged her advances, yet she had continued to throw herself at him at every opportunity, so sure that if she just tried a little harder, made herself even prettier, he would finally fall in love with her. It had never happened. She had even gone so far as to attack Lillian because Conner had shown an interest in the other woman. She had been punished, and rightly so. She had been completely out of control.

  It had taken time, but she had come to realize how little she had actually liked, or respected, herself. She may have looked beautiful on the outside, but she had been an ugly mess on the inside. Things were changing in that respect. Oh, she still liked to dress pretty, and she had a kick-ass regimen for her hair and skin, but she was also doing more things that she liked because she enjoyed them rather than trying to impress a certain male. For so long she had cultivated her interests with Conner in mind, but no more. It was like having a clean slate and it was refreshing.

  She discovered that she liked to paint. She wasn’t very good at this stage, but it was fun, and she was improving. She also enjoyed reading. Her mother had never encouraged reading for fun, telling her that being shut up inside the house with her nose in a book was nothing more than a missed opportunity.

  Because of something she’d read in one of her books, Connie had thought horseback riding might be fun. She’d talked her human friend Tanya into coming with her, signed up, and then had kicked herself for her foolishness. When they had arrived at the stable, all the horses had shied away from her. One horse even started bucking, its eyes rolling back in its head as it tried to get away. They could sense what she was, and wanted nothing more than to escape. The stable hands had muttered and scratched their heads in confusion while Connie apologized profusely before fleeing. Tanya, luckily, hadn’t questioned the odd behavior and had merely pointed out, “I’m kind of glad that didn’t work out. The smell.” She’d said, her nose wrinkled as she’d waved a hand in front of her face.

  Another activity she had attempted was yoga at the fitness center in a nearby town. She was too bored to stick with it, but it led her to find a Zumba class that she absolutely loved. She’d even made a few new friends as she sweat to the music.

  “He’s not married to that human yet.”

  Connie jumped, sloshing tea over the rim of the mug onto her hand. She had been so deep in thought, she hadn’t heard or scented her mother’s approach. Sucking the tea off her hand she looked out the window to see that Conner was standing by his truck with his mate and her son while he laughed at something Lillian was saying. Connie sighed. “It’s done, Mom. His wolf chose her. Let it go.”

  Margaret Tully let out a little disdainful sniff. “A human. I can’t even fathom it. Perhaps it’s for the best. He obviously has a flaw to pick a human over you.”

  Connie resisted the urge to roll her eyes and remained quiet. She wasn’t going to argue with her mother again. It was like banging her head against a wall – pointless and bound to leave her with a headache.

  “I haven’t seen Jacob Pierce in a while. I thought he was interested in you. He’s only a beta, but perhaps you’re just not cut out to hold an alpha.”

  Connie grit her teeth and counted slowly to ten. She had heard it all before. It was obviously her fault that she hadn’t attracted the mate her mother had deemed perfect for her. She hadn’t tried hard enough and obviously hadn’t put her mother’s excellent advice to proper use. The last thing Connie wanted was for Margaret Tully to fix her sights on Jacob and start badgering. Mostly, because Connie actually liked Jacob Pierce.

  An image of Jacob’s face formed in her mind. With his dark red hair and brown eyes, he took after all of the Pierce children who favored their father, Tarvahl. Unlike Conner who was frequently serious, and Zachary, the youngest, who was the jokester of the family, Jacob was easygoing with a subtle humor that she appreciated. He was Conner’s younger brother by two years and owned his own residential construction business; a skilled carpenter and electrician among his assorted other skills.

  She and Jacob had gone on one date and it had been wonderful. They’d gone fishing and had spent the entire evening talking and laughing rather than catching any fish. He’d actually listened to what she had to say as if he was truly interested. When the temperature had dropped, they’d huddled close under a blanket, neither one of them ready to end the evening. Connie had come home that night with stars in her eyes as she had imagined the possibilities. Things with Jacob had just felt so right, and natural, unlike how things had been with Conner. She had gone to bed that night feeling like she was floating on a cloud. Only to thump back to earth, hard, the very next day.

  It had started with her beloved Flora who owned the salon
where Connie worked. Connie had been excited to share the news of her date, only to see Flora’s eyes narrow as she shook her head. “Shame on you, Constance Tully, using that sweet boy to get at his brother. Everyone knows that boy has always loved you. I never thought I’d see the day that I’d be this disappointed in you, girl.”

  It had felt like a kick right to her gut. Wait… What? Everyone knew that he loved her? Well, it was news to her! And she certainly hadn’t had ulterior motives when she had agreed to go out with him – had she? She had tried to protest her innocence but the older woman had just eyed her skeptically. Flora hadn’t been the only one. Two more clients that day had shared Flora’s belief that Connie would stoop to using Jacob to get to Conner.

  Their absolute certainty in her duplicity had led to a steady buildup of doubts. Had she used Jacob? Was it possible that subconsciously she had had ulterior motives? She didn’t want to believe that, but those thoughts were like a spider in her head, building its web. If she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure of her motives then wasn’t it possible that Jacob might believe it as well? Would they date only for him to wonder if she was secretly picturing his brother instead of him? That thought was like a nightmare she couldn’t bear. She did the only thing she could think of to fix the situation, and had told Jacob to stay away.

  He had persisted for a time. He’d come to visit her at the bed and breakfast or at the salon, he’d sent her little notes to let her know he was thinking of her. He even prepared a romantic little basket with snacks and a DVD for them to watch. It had broken her heart, but she’d stayed strong in her refusal. He’d finally stopped coming around. And that hurt even worse.

  Logically, she knew it was for the best; she never wanted him to think he was merely a replacement for his brother. Logic sucked. She missed him. She missed his sweet smile. She missed that giddy feeling that she got in her belly when she found one of his notes or when he popped in to say hello. Now, to make matters worse, she’d learned that his mother, Sherry Pierce, had invited some females from her former pack to visit Malsum Pass for an extended stay. Would Jacob find one of them attractive? Would his wolf respond to one of them as his chosen mate? Plus, to add insult to injury, those females would be staying right here at The Cedars. Would Connie actually have to be a witness to a romance unfolding between Jacob and one of those females?