Primal Instinct is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
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* This book contains swearing and sexual content and is best suited for mature readers. *
Acknowledgments
Possibilities are endless, and with enough grit, determination, and consistency you make your own destiny.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who made this possible. Always to my husband and kids, who support me every step of the way.
Thank you, Jeanie and Suzanne and Jessica—you work wonders! This story wouldn’t be half as good if it weren’t for you.
Thanks to my mum and the rest of my family and friends for your words of encouragement and enduring my teaser spam.
A shout-out to Croco Designs, who crafted an instalove-worthy cover!
Last but not least, thank you, readers. If not for you, this would have all been for nothing.
Enjoy!
1
Everyone was destined to die. Only the cursed were burdened to lose their humanity one day at a time. Jaxx Reynolds was one of those creatures—a shifter cursed with an evolving glyph, each stroke representing a sliver of humanity lost, and Jaxx’s marking was pretty damned detailed. He clenched his teeth and stared out the window above the kitchen sink, his gaze scouring the bank of trees surrounding Shadow Moon territory.
“Where the fuck are you, Lucas?” Maybe letting his were protégé out in the wild had been a bad idea. He’s with Ethan. It’s fine. If the enforcer was tailing Lucas, there would be nothing to worry about. Nothing got past the male.
Jaxx glanced back at the microwave clock. Noon. So, why weren’t they back? It had been nearly twenty-four hours since they had been meant to pull in. Stop worrying like you’re his damn mommy. Lucas’s control was solid. The were was probably struggling to leave his family again. It hadn’t been long since Jaxx had broken shifter law to save the male. Now, Lucas was saddled with a wolf that would burst from his body every full moon. But at least he was alive—a feat considering he’d been stabbed and had been bleeding to death. And at least he wouldn’t lose his humanity. That privilege was reserved for shifters alone.
The butter in the pan sizzled, and Jaxx threw on one of the twenty cuts of meat. It wouldn’t be long until the rest of the pack moseyed on up to the pack house for lunch. After he’d finished his assigned duties he could swing by Lucas’s place and kick him up the ass for making him worry. Then they would knuckle down and start hunting for the female who’d witnessed him wolfing out and biting Lucas in an alley beside his club, Prowlers. It would make him feel a helluva lot better if he could start extinguishing the trouble he’d caused the pack. If all went well, maybe they could focus on discrediting the snapshot that some no-good, blackmailing mutt from the Dark Falls pack had taken of the whole thing.
The back door slammed open, and the subtle undertone of rogue hit Jaxx’s senses. He froze, lifting his chin and scenting the air. He’d know that sour stench anywhere. He swallowed down sorrow, and the muscles around his spine tightened. The frayed thread of life was about to snap for one of his pack brothers. Thuds banged down the hall as the male’s shoulders bounced off the walls. Currents tingled around him, a telltale sign someone approached. The scent grew stronger; Jaxx could make out the original