Holiday Hunting
Table of Contents
Holiday Hunting (Shifter Seeker, #1)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Recipe
Glossary
Raven Rousting Excerpt
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Holiday Hunting
A Shifter Seeker Novella
Heather McCorkle
Holiday Hunting
A Shifter Seeker Novella
Copyright 2022 Heather McCorkle
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-939469-11-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-939469-12-0
Cover images from Thinkstock. Cover design by McCorkle Creations.
First Edition.
Compass Press release date: 11/24/2022
Author’s Note:
Thank you so much for picking up my novella. This story was first published in an anthology for charity. When I got the rights back I rewrote it, doubling it in size by adding all the material I had to cut for word count restraints required by the anthology. In essence, it is the same story, just more of it.
This is a bridge story, bringing together the Children of Fenrir series and the Shifter Seeker series. It tells the story of what happened the winter between them. Can you start with this story and jump into the Shifter Seeker series? Sure, but I don’t recommend it. If you haven’t read the Children of Fenrir series, I highly recommend reading that first. It starts with an inexpensive teaser novella as well, Clawed & Cornered. A lot of world building occurs in the first novel that follows, Bitten & Beholden, and this novella only brushes on those details, expecting that readers are carrying over from the first series and already know about the world. Will you still enjoy this novella if you jump into it first? I certainly hope so, but please keep in mind much comes before it.
On potentially triggering subject matter, I feel compelled to warn you my novels do contain elements that could trigger trauma. In this novella, some of the characters battle their inner demons in a fight that will end in madness, and subsequently their death, if they lose. Some physical fighting occurs as well. There is nudity, open door sexual content (completely consensual between both parties), forced shifting when an out of control werewolf is unable to shift back themselves, casual drinking of alcohol, and Odinism (worship of the Norse Gods and Goddesses). If you’re still with me after all those warnings, I hope you enjoy the read.
Recommended Reading Order:
Children of Fenrir Series:
Clawed & Cornered (novella)
Bitten & Beholden
Tempered & Turned
Bared & Betrayed
Shifter Seeker Series:
Holiday Hunting (novella)
Raven Rousting (novella)
Coyote Calling
Tiger Tracking (coming spring of 2023)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Recipe
Glossary
Raven Rousting Excerpt
1
A nearly full moon held court in an indigo sky dotted with more stars than I could count in a lifetime. It pulled at me, that moon, drove me to trot faster through the frosty forest. My big paws helped me stay atop the six feet of snow that transformed the mountains of northern Montana into both something utterly beautiful, and deadly. Despite the fact the third week of December loomed just around the corner, I had no choice but to be out here.
More pulled at me than the moon this night.
The frantic pulse of a troubled newly bitten werewolf called to my power. They hadn’t shifted yet, I could feel it. That was good. But, if I didn’t get to them before the moon was full, their wolf side could take over and drive their human side insane, turning them into a mindless killer. As if things weren’t bad enough with the snow and the waning night, their energy began pulling away from me. Soon it tingled at the edges of my reach—which I’d come to know was about a mile.
Head straight out, ears tucked against my skull, I ran with everything I had. Though I was much faster than when I’d been human, it was a sad comparison to most werewolves. Running had never really been my thing aside from a bit of jogging while I’d been in college. At least a nice crusty layer topped the snow, keeping my paws from breaking through and causing me to sink up to my belly. A second blessing of the snow was how it buried most of the underbrush that would have slowed me down even more.
Despite my efforts, in less than a hundred yards, the energy of the troubled disappeared. I cursed but it came out as a growl. Whispering a silent prayer to all the Norse Gods and a few of the Cherokee ones, I kept running. If I lost them now, I might never find them again. Moments later I felt the energy of the troubled one just ahead. Soon I caught a glimpse of a figure stumbling through the trees. Relief coursed through me. They tripped over something and fell face first into the snow.
The desire and intent to become human again set my atoms to vibrating and in moments I shifted, flowing from my wolf form as easy as pouring a beer into a glass. And that was where the graceful part ended because the moment I was human again, my feet plunged through the crusty layer of snow and I sank up to my knees. Being a werewolf meant cold didn’t bother me much, but being naked and encased in snow still wasn’t any fun.
Ignoring my misery as best I could, I trudged at top speed through the white stuff toward the figure. They weren’t getting up. The sound of their ragged breathing made me feel a little better, but the sobbing did not.
“Hey, it’s all right, I’m here to help you,” I said.
They pushed themselves up out of the snow. It was a guy, somewhere in his early twenties. A short mess of dark hair clung in wet strands around a haggard face that might be handsome beneath all the dirt.
With practiced body positioning, I hid most of my nakedness with my long, black hair. To his credit, they guy didn’t ogle me one bit. Though in a way that worried me. It might indicate how far down the rabbit hole of crazy he had slipped. But then, maybe I just wasn’t his drink of choice. I clung to that, hoping it was the case.
“Right, sure, by putting me out of my misery,” he said with a sniffle.
“Ugh. Why does everyone think that? I need a publicist or something,” I muttered to myself as I walked closer. Louder, I said, “No. Whatever you’ve heard isn’t true. I am here to help you make peace with your wolf side.” I left out ‘so when you shift for the first time you don’t go crazy’ because I thought that might tip him over the edge.
“I change my mind. I don’t want to be a werewolf,” he said through a sob.
My heart broke for him, but... “You did want to be, though? You consented to being bitten in?”
The guy’s gaze zeroed in on me and he flinched as if I’d yelled. I remembered all too well how shocking the heightened senses were while going through the verða—becoming. “Yeah, but I didn’t think it would be like this,” he said.
“The overwhelming instincts, everything being heightened, I get it. It’s a lot,” I said in a soothing tone.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to control it,” he said. Sitting in the snow, dressed only in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, he looked so fragile, so close to being broken that it pulled at the deep need in me to help.
“I thought the same thing at fi
rst too,” I admitted.
At that he looked up from his lap and met my gaze. “You? The seeker chosen by the Gods, didn’t think you could control your wolf?” He snorted. “Yeah right.”
“It’s true. I knew nothing about this life or werewolves before I was bitten.”
He perked up a tiny bit at that. “Really?”
“Really. I’m Sonya. What’s your name?”
“Dax.” After a moment, he let out a long sigh. “This was not how I envisioned spending my holiday.”
“Eh, it’s pretty much how I imagined mine.” Seeking wasn’t exactly a profession that allowed for time off. The fallout of megalomaniacs biting in random people to wake up the power in myself and my counterpart—the reaper—meant a lot of people like Dax needed my help.
Scooting away a little, Dax looked up again. “Are you really the chosen of Odin?” he asked in a small voice.
“A lot of people think I’m chosen by Frigg and the reaper is chosen by Odin, but I don’t know about all that,” I said.
“So they’re real,” Dax whispered.
I gave a one shoulder shrug. “It seems that way. I haven’t met them, but I have met a valkyrie.”
Sitting up straighter, he looked at me like I’d grown another head. “No way.”
“Way.”
In a sort of wave-like motion dogs were so good at, he shook his entire body, starting with his head. Eyes narrowing beneath his dark brows, he finally looked at me as though he saw me. “You aren’t cold?” As he said it, I realized he was shivering a bit.
“Not really, just slightly uncomfortable. One of the perks of being a full werewolf is a higher body temperature after your first shift.”
His brows grew closer together. “But your standing naked in the snow.”
I shrugged.
“Not even your feet are cold?” he asked.
“Nope.”
The wrinkles between his brows eased. “That’s kind of cool.”
“It is. There are a lot of perks—heightened strength, speed, hearing, smell, longer lifespan...” I let my voice trail off, indicating the list was endless.
The guy shook his head. “I know, I know. But...” As he mimicked me trailing off, he looked skyward, toward the nearly full moon.
“But the moon is full two nights away and you’re feeling the instincts of your wolf side amplified. It’s freaky, I get it,” I said.
I walked up to him and held my hand out. “Give me a chance to help you understand your wolf, and we’ll go from there.”
Gaze moving from my face to my hand, and back, he hesitated. Silence stretched between us thick as a banana daiquiri. Finally, he took my hand and let me pull him to his feet. I turned and started walking.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Somewhere with a fire.”
At that he smiled and followed me toward his future. The tumultuous feel of his energy made me worry that it might not be the optimistic future I hoped for, but that didn’t mean I was about to stop hoping. Holiday miracles could still happen.
2
Having been up all night talking, we slept through most of the next day. The crackling fire in our little cave helped. The smoky, sweet scent of burning fir logs combined with the popping sounds of the flames slowly devouring the fuel soothed both me and Dax. Every time he rolled over on the ground or even moved a limb in his sleep, my eyes popped open. I couldn’t chance losing him. The full moon was tomorrow, which meant our time was running out and I couldn’t waste any more of it tracking him down if he decided to bolt again. And I was not about to let a troubled slip into madness on my watch on the holiday.
Around noon when the heat of the fire on my toes relented, I woke and crawled from my sleeping bag. From my duffle I grabbed a pair of insulated yoga pants and a warm flannel. As I pulled them on, I listened for Dax. Soft snores came from the back of the cave in a steady rhythm.
It took a few long breathes blown onto the coals to get the flames to spring back to life. Once they began to eat at the wood I grabbed my phone. The flashing light on it told me I had a text, but I already knew that. The buzzing notification had awoken me just as much as the loss of heat from the dying fire. I unlocked my phone and clicked on my texts.
Ty: How is everything going?
My insides warmed just seeing his name. A few months ago him checking up on me would have irritated me to no end. But now I was glad for it. Too many people in our world knew about me and weren’t exactly happy about my existence, so it felt good having someone looking out for me. I still valued my independence fiercely, which was part of why Ty wasn’t out here with me. But being abducted changed a girl’s outlook a wee bit.
Instead of texting him back, I clicked the call button. The holiday must be wearing my independent streak a bit thin. Rising, I walked from the cave to get a bit of privacy.
“Sonya,” he said my name like a lover’s caress, deep and slow enough to make my insides melt.
“Hey gorgeous, thanks for the clothes and supplies,” I said.
“Of course.”
“Things are going good so far. He seems open to listening,” I said as I watched him sleep.
“Do you think he’ll fight you tonight?”
It was always a strong possibility the night immediately before the full moon. “I don’t think so,” I said, remembering Dax on his knees in the snow, sobbing. Even if I thought he would, I wasn’t about to say so. At the first hint of danger Ty would white knight over here and inadvertently interfere.
“I can be close just in case,” he offered. Point proved.
Knowing it would not only drive him crazy if I refused, but make him suspicious of how safe I really was, I said, “Sure, but you cannot interfere until I tag you in. If he feels threatened I think he’ll bolt.”
“I promise I will stay downwind, out of sight, and will not interfere unless you call for me. He’ll never know I was anywhere near,” he promised.
“Please make sure he doesn’t. He is skittish and I don’t want him to feel threatened.”
“I swear on Mjölnir.”
The man took his gods and their weapons very seriously, so that was good enough for me. “Okay, chat tomorrow then,” I said, voice dropping as Dax rolled over in his sleep.
“Tomorrow,” Ty promised, sexy tone dancing all over my libido.
We ended the call at the same time. Sighing, I stuffed the phone into my back pocket and dug the camp stove and percolator out of the bag of supplies Ty had left in the cave for me. From an insulated cooler that was probably helping keep the food warmer so it didn’t freeze solid, I took eggs and bacon. Minutes later I had a hearty breakfast scramble and coffee going that stirred Dax to life. By the time he returned from taking care of his morning necessities I had two plates overflowing with protein rich foods.
“Wow, is some of that for me?” Dax asked, hope heavy in his tone.
“Of course,” I said as I handed him the bigger portion. More waited in a covered pan because I recalled all too well how ravenous the verða made a person.
While he literally wolfed his food down, I ate mine slow enough to take breathes and drinks of coffee between bites. In minutes he had licked his plate clean and turned big eyes toward my food. The desperate look on his face told me he might just be out of control enough to—
A growl tore from his lips as he leaned toward me. Lips curling back from my extending fangs, I let out a ferocious sound that made him shake his head, drop the plate, and scoot back so fast he fell backwards off the rock he sat on.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he said, hands held up to show he wasn’t a threat, despite the fact he very much was, whether he knew it or not. “I didn’t mean to do that...I just... Oh man, I’m so embarrassed.” He buried his head in his hands.
Setting my own plate aside, I picked his up, dusted it off, and carried it over to the pan of leftovers. I filled it to overflowing and returned to where Dax sat on the cave floor. Plate in one hand, I held my o
ther out to him. He stared at my open palm like it was something foreign, like no one had ever offered him a hand up.
“It’s okay. You slipped, but you didn’t lose control. That’s a good sign,” I told him.
Some of the shame melted from his expression. He accepted my hand. After helping him up, I gave him the plate. “Plus, you’re literally starving because your body is burning fuel in overtime as it works through the verða.”
I motioned to the rock, then returned to my own seat and the remainder of my breakfast.
“They say you’re a doctor, right?” he asked as he sat.
A sarcastic laugh slid from me. “The rumors about me are greatly exaggerated. I changed majors to psychology, but then had to drop out because, well...seeking.”
“Oh. Well, do you know what’s happening? To my body, I mean,” he asked, fork poised over the plate.
As he ate, I delved into an explanation. “My best educated guess is that your dormant wolf genes were awakened by being bitten in, and the atoms in your body are rearranging themselves accordingly.”
He listened raptly as he ate, but didn’t slow until he’d consumed half his plate.
“That takes a lot of fuel,” I said, pointing to the remainder of food with an encouraging nod. Finished with my own, I set it aside and picked up my rapidly cooling coffee.
We sat in silence for a few moments as he cleaned his plate and I drank my magic liquid. When he finished he picked up my plate and carried it over to the camping table I had set up near the wall of the cave.
“Thank you for breakfast,” he said as he turned back to me. “What’s next?”
A grin spread across my face. “Next we talk about instincts, the reasons for them, and how understanding the reasons can help you think through them.”
The eager look on his face gave me hope that maybe tonight—the night of his first shift, whether he wanted it or not—wouldn’t be a complete disaster.
3
Contrary to horror movies, this time of year the moon started to rise in the afternoon, not at night. Which meant we had less time than I wanted. But after hours of great conversation in which Dax not only listened, but participated animatedly, my optimism had only grown.