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  COLE’S SALVATION

  A Black Hills Shifters Novella

  ELISA LEIGH

  Copyright

  Cole’s Salvation

  A Black Hills Shifter Novella

  By Elisa Leigh

  © Elisa Leigh 2018.

  All Rights Reserved

  By the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for brief quotations used in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as an advertisement. Trademark names are used editorially with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  This book is intended for adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. The suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book Adult Romance due to language and sexual situations.

  ASIN:

  Cover created by Elisa Leigh using Picmonkey. Photo from Adobe Stock.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Meet the Author

  More Books

  Prologue

  Cole Major

  Something is wrong. Dad should be here in the living room watching the football game like he is every Saturday afternoon, but his chair is empty and so is his house. I’ve checked the entire house and even his shed, but he’s nowhere to be seen. All of us kids are supposed to meet up with him here for dinner to celebrate Mom’s birthday today. It’s something we do every year in remembrance of her.

  The way he talks about her, it’s like she’s still alive and with him. I’ll never know how he’s made it living this long without her. I was only six, and Slate was three when she died giving birth to the twins Gabe and Ruby. It tore him apart losing her, especially the way that he did. Shifters aren’t supposed to die in childbirth, we’re supposed to live longer, healthier lives because we’re made sturdier than humans. No one expected for her to die. There were no complications until she was in the middle of giving birth and things took a turn for the worst. Mom had all of us naturally at home, that’s the way it is for shifter kind. “Can’t let anyone know about us,” momma told me once when I asked her to take me to the doctor, just like the other kids at school. She shook her head and held my hand. “We do the best we can and rely on our bear to heal us.” Most times she was right, until that night. Dad had to decide, her or the twins, and Mom begged him to save their cubs. When the twins were delivered safely, he did what he could to save her, but nothing worked.

  His mate died, but he stayed behind because of us kids. If it weren’t for us, I know their mating bond would have had him passing not long behind her. For our kind, you really can die from a broken heart. I’d love to someday find a love like he has for my Mom, but at this point, I doubt that will happen.

  I shake my head, trying to get the thoughts of that night off my mind. Shifting into my bear. I decide to go for a run hoping to scent him. Before I make it to the end of the clearing behind Dad’s house, I see Slate drive up in his pickup truck. I shift back to my human form and meet him in the middle. “What’s going on? I thought we were doing dinner.” He asks.

  “Slate, Dad’s not here. I’ve just got this feeling that something isn’t right.”

  “Oh, now you’ve got a feeling?” He jokes.

  “Can you feel him?” I ask wiping the smile off of his face. “Because I can’t. I need to find him before it’s too late. Call the twins and let them know what’s going on. I want everyone together. I could be wrong, god I hope I am, but if not, we need to find him before someone else does.” He nods his head.

  Shifting back into my bear I take off and to the back of the clearing that butts up against the national forest. Catching his scent immediately I run deeper into the forest. As his scent gets stronger so does the metallic scent of his blood overwhelming my senses. I run faster trying to get to him, to save him before anything happens, but I’m too late. Following his scent, I stop abruptly when I see Sheriff Cusack standing with Ranger Jones. They’re looking down, watching the county coroner check the temp of the naked man lying in the forest covered in what I already know is his own blood.

  Without seeing his face, I know it’s him. My father has died alone. I let out a loud roar and turn in the opposite direction and start running toward my siblings. When I get there, Slate, Gabe, and Ruby are in the living room. Gabe and Ruby are sitting on the couch holding hands and talking in whispers while Slate paces behind them. They look up as I enter, and I can’t even get the words out. How do I tell them that we’re all that’s left of the Major clan, that we’re all alone in this world, all we have left?

  “We already know,” Ruby says and stands to walk toward me.

  I breathe out a sigh of relief, of course, she does. Ruby always knows. Knowing her and Gabe, he probably sensed it from her and then Slate, ever the observant brother would have caught on.

  “Do you know what happened?” Slate asks, interrupting my thoughts.

  I shake my head. “As soon as I saw him, I got out of there. Sheriff Cusack, Ranger Jones, and the coroner were all there. I couldn’t just shift on the spot and ask them what the hell happened. I got back here as soon as I could to let you know and wait for the call. I suspect they’ll be calling or stopping by any time to let us know.”

  There’s a knock on the front door not ten minutes later. Ranger Jones and the Sheriff are both standing there, hats in their hands. “Can we come in Cole?”

  “Have you found my Dad?”

  Ranger Jones looks at me suspiciously.

  “I suspect that’s why you’re here, he’s been missing for a few hours now. When we got here and hadn’t heard from him. We started calling around to all his friends. We’ve checked at the hospital and at Remy’s, but they hadn’t seen him either. Is he doing okay?” I ask playing along with the fact that I have no idea what’s going on.

  I hate having to put on this charade, it’s not who I am, but it’s what I have to do. They’d question how we knew, and we don’t need that. If anyone ever found out shifters were living among them, I’d hate to see what happened to our kind. Their anguished faces are ripping my insides to shreds. I know what’s coming, yet I don’t want to hear the words they are about to say.

  We’re surrounding them in the foyer, waiting for him to tell us what we already know. “I’m sorry kids, there has been an accident. He didn’t make it.” The sheriff says.

  “Do you know what happened?” Gabe asks.

  “As of right now it looks like an animal attack. We can’t be sure, but we think it was a group of mountain lions. The coroner has taken your father and will be doing an autopsy to see what he can find out.”

  “An animal attack?” Ruby asks.

  Ranger Jones nods. “He was over ten miles deep into the forest. Do you have any idea what your fathe
r would have been doing out there?”

  All my siblings look to me to answer his question. “It’s my mother’s birthday, that’s why we were all here. They spent a lot of time exploring the forest together, I’m sure he was out there to remember her.”

  “We’re sorry for your loss boys, and Miss Ruby. It’s never easy to lose a parent. Cole, we’ll be in touch in the next day or so. We’ll need someone to come and identify the body.”

  “Of course. Whatever you need.”

  I close the door as they leave, and we watch from the big windows of the living room as they get in the sheriff’s cruiser and drive off.

  Ruby starts bawling into Gabe’s chest and Slate clasps Gabe’s shoulder. I rest my hand on the nape of Slate’s neck, and together we stand in solidarity, in pain. My father is finally with his mate, and we are left to carry on the family name.

  One

  Cole Major

  “Hey Cole, how was it out there today?” My sister Ruby asks, greeting me as I walk into Major Construction, our family-owned company. I rub the top of her head but keep on walking until I get to the bathroom. I face myself in the mirror, and I look exactly as I imagined I would, like a fucking train wreck. No wonder Ruby walks around looking worried, and my brothers keep asking me to hang out or go for runs in the Black Hills National Forest. I grab a clean washcloth and hold it under the hot water until it’s soaked through then wash my face clean from today’s job, but it doesn’t help much. I brace my hands on the sink and hang my head. Fuck, I’m tired.

  For the past few months, I’ve slept like shit, never able to get more than three to four hours a night. I usually toss and turn until I eventually get out of bed and putz around my cabin until it’s time for me to go into work. My days off are spent making improvements to my father’s cabin that I have claimed as my own. Since his attack almost a year ago, I moved out of my smaller house and into his. It made sense since I am now the alpha of our clan.

  The benefit of not sleeping or wanting to be around anyone is that my house has never been cleaner and all the projects I’ve been thinking about doing are starting to get accomplished. With all this time on my hands and little to no sleep, it doesn’t take much for something to set me off. Don’t get me started on my bear, he’s another fucking story. He’s been riding me hard lately to find a mate, but after years of not finding her, I doubt I ever will. At thirty, I’ve given up on ever finding my one true mate, the one soul meant to be mine in every way.

  My father found my mother when they were young. Growing up in neighboring towns, he scented her immediately the day she turned eighteen, he was only twenty-two. I know it’s not the same for everyone, but most shifters find their mates when they are young, or they never do. I guess I’m in the or category. Slate has been determined to find his in other bear clans in surrounding states. Every time he comes home from visiting a clan he’s even more grumpy than he was before he left. I’m not going to put my bear and me through all of that. I’d be ecstatic if I found her, but I’m not counting on it.

  Opening the door of the bathroom, I’m not paying attention when I walk right into Ruby. “Jesus Christ!” I grab her by the shoulders before she falls to the ground. She’s strong in her own right, but let's face it, I’m six foot three and two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle, out of the two of us she’s the one who is going down. I inhale trying to calm myself before I yell at my sister for something that isn’t her fault. I wasn’t paying attention. “Sorry Ruby, you caught me off guard there.”

  “I know a way you can make it up to me.” She says smiling in a way that tells me I’m about to hate whatever comes out of her mouth.

  “I know that look Ru, what do you have cooking in that head of yours?”

  “Can we talk in your office Cole?”

  I nod and lead the way to the back of the building where my office is situated. All four of us kids own equal shares of the company, but I run the company. Ruby went to school for business management and accounting. She handles all the bids and invoicing as well as payroll for the few guys we employ. She sits at the front desk and runs the office side of our business. Gabe and Slate both work the jobs we are on and lead the crew in side jobs when needed. They both have their own specialties they went to school for, and together we make a well-rounded construction crew.

  She sits in one of the two seats I have placed in front of my desk. “Promise you won’t be mad.”

  I eye her suspiciously, “What did you do?”

  “Promise me first.” She folds her arms across her chest and squares off with me until I roll my eyes and nod in surrender.

  “Fine, I won’t be mad.” I grind out already pissed in advance for whatever she has done.

  “You have a date tonight. A blind date.”

  I thought she was going to tell me she set the copier on fire or backed her car into my truck again. “Excuse me?”

  “You promised Cole, you said you wouldn’t be mad.” She says wringing her hands together.

  “Explain.”

  “Her name is Aubree. We met a couple months ago, and I think you two would really hit it off. She’s new to town, and even if she isn’t your mate at least, you’ll have someone to keep you company.”

  “What kind of company do you expect me to keep with her if she isn’t my fucking mate, Ruby?” I bark and regret it immediately. I love my sister and would do anything for her, but this is pushing it. Ruby is the baby of the family and the only girl meaning she usually gets away with everything. I take a deep breath. “Call and cancel the date Ruby, I’m not going.”

  She glares at me. “No. It took me a week to get her to agree to a date with you. I’m not canceling now.”

  I quirk my eyebrow at my sister. “She didn’t want to do this either. Just perfect, two people who don’t want to be on a date are stuck together because you get a wild hair up your ass. This is going to go great.” I muse sarcastically.

  My sister beams. “So, you’ll go?” She asks excitedly.

  “No. The only dates I’ll ever go on will be with my mate. Is she even a shifter?”

  Ruby looks down at her hands and doesn’t answer. “Ruby?”

  “No, she’s not okay. Is that such a crime? She’s just a nice person, and I thought you needed someone nice in your life right now, even if it’s only a friend. I’m worried about you Cole. You’ve been walking around here for months like all the life has been sucked out of you. You rarely ever smile or laugh, and you’re always in a pissy mood.”

  I know she’s right. Ruby just said everything my brothers haven’t had the balls to bring to my attention. As their alpha, I need to be good, so I can take care of them. If I’m off, and my bear is off, I can’t be any good for them. I rest my elbows on my knees and hold my head in my hands. Jesus, how did we even get here? “Where am I supposed to meet her?”

  “At Remy’s.” When I look up, she’s got a twinkle in her eye and is holding back a smile.

  “Remy’s? Why the hell would you have me meet her there? The place is crawling with horny men who- Fuck. What time am I supposed to be there?” I growl. I know exactly why my sister had me meet her Remy’s, it’s the town bar, the only one we have. Ruby knew I wouldn’t stand up her friend in a place teeming with guys looking for their next score.

  She looks at her watch and bites her lip. “A half hour.” She says shrugging her shoulders.

  I stand immediately, I don’t even have enough time to go home and grab a shower. “You owe me for this little sister.” Ruby follows me out as make my way to the door that leads to the parking lot. “How will I know it’s her? What does she look like?”

  “She’s short, long brown hair has a pretty smile. She has this really nice bear necklace she always wears too, I told her to make sure and wear it.”

  I’m about to walk out when Ruby grabs my arm. “Be nice Cole. She doesn’t know many people in town, and she could use a friend too.”

  “Ruby, I’m going to save her from the place you sent her
and send her on her way. This isn’t a date.” I say, emphasizing the word date.

  “It could be.” She calls after me as I make it to my truck and get in. “It won’t be,” I mutter and gun it to Remy’s. I might not want to date her, but I can’t in good conscience leave her hanging in a place like that.

  Two

  Aubree Hannigan

  “Why did I agree to this?” I ask myself for the fifth time as I look around Remy’s Bar. What was Ruby thinking having me meet her brother in a place like this? We haven’t known each other long, but she should know I don’t go to places like this often. There must be a better place for a date than here. It’s six thirty and the only people in here look like they came straight from work to drink their night away. What makes it worse is besides Caity behind the bar, I’m the only other woman. The only reason I know Caity is because we used to play together when I would come and visit my grandma during the summer, many years ago. I’ve seen her a few times since I’ve been back, but as is life we grow and change and are different people than we were when we were nine. Maybe I should see if she wants to grab coffee sometime.

  I twist the bear pendant hanging from my neck, the one my grandmother gave me when I was only five. She told me to never take it off, and one day it will bring me luck. My life has been good, I guess, but that luck she was talking about hasn’t exactly happened yet. I had nice enough parents, but I never felt like I fit in with their perception of what a perfect daughter should be. My Mom and Dad are both lawyers at an expensive law firm in the city, and they encouraged me to follow in their footsteps.

  That was the last thing I wanted. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a family that I would take care of. My parents worked crazy hours, and I usually spent my nights and weekends with a nanny. Instead of doing what they wanted, I went to culinary school and got my degree in baking and pastry arts, yes, it’s a thing, and no it’s not like underwater basket weaving.