Reunion: Moon Fever Book Two (Redfern Shifters 2) Read online

  From the Back Cover

  This is the second book in a new rejected-mate shifter romance trilogy by Olivia Concord, part of the REDFERN SHIFTERS universe.

  REUNION: MOON FEVER BOOK TWO

  Learning why her fated mate rejected her changed everything. Now they have some catching up to do.

  For the first time in her life, wolf shifter Stella has a nice home, a position of respect, and shares a bed with Jasper, the new alpha.

  The passion between them is even hotter than in her dreams—and she had a lot of dreams during her many months of exile.

  So what’s the problem?

  Their pack has been attacked, and new enemies conspire in shadow. Each hour brings the threat of more physical and magical danger. If they’re going to have a future together, first they'll have to survive.

  Reunion is a rejected mate wolf shifter romance filled with page-turning action, steamy love scenes, and a satisfying enemies-to-lovers romance.

  *Please note: This is the second book in the Moon Fever trilogy. Although you can start here, you'll enjoy it much more by starting with the first book, Rejection. Stella and Jasper's romance will be resolved in the next book, Redemption.

  Reunion

  MOON FEVER BOOK TWO

  REDFERN SHIFTERS

  OLIVIA CONCORD

  ETON FIELD

  Reunion: Moon Fever Book Two

  Copyright © 2022 by Olivia Concord

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design: Olivia Concord

  Cover Photos: Depositphotos

  www.oliviaconcord.com

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Redemption: Moon Fever Book Three

  About the Author

  Also by Olivia Concord

  Chapter

  One

  Stella was in love.

  After a lifetime of short, cold, drafty showers that had usually been interrupted by one of her half brothers banging on the door, Jasper Cross’s bathroom was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  There were multiple showerheads. A jet tub and a sauna. Heated air, heated floor. Exotic soaps and lotions. And the towels—heated on electric racks—were downy soft and smelled like mountain wildflowers.

  It was almost reason enough to live with him.

  Yes! Mate! her inner wolf cried.

  Stella sighed, tired of her alter ego’s blind infatuation. “Calm down,” she mumbled.

  There was a knock on the door. She jumped. Was it Jasper? Had he come to… to…?

  There was another knock, this one louder.

  As tense again as if she’d never showered, Stella tightened a thick towel around her torso and leaned her face near the door. Because of all the scented soaps and lotions she’d used, her nose couldn’t tell if it was him knocking.

  It had been eight months since they’d been linked as fated mates, the sacred bond between wolf shifters. And because of his rejection that night, they’d never… Other than a kiss or two, they hadn’t…

  They hadn’t sealed the deal. And as of that morning, she’d returned to live with him. To share his home.

  His bed.

  Finger-combing her damp hair, she licked her lips and called out, “Yes?”

  “It’s Chef,” a woman’s voice answered. “I’m setting your breakfast tray on the bed. I’ve also brought you some clothes.”

  Stella let out a long, uneasy breath. Just the cook. She opened the bathroom door a crack, peered out, and saw the white-haired older lady was alone, standing near the bed.

  Equal parts relief and disappointment washed over her. “Thanks so much,” Stella said. “I was in the shower.” She tugged her towel up under the woman’s sharp stare. Given the woman’s profession, Stella felt like a slab of meat being judged at the butcher.

  “I thought you’d never finish,” Chef said. “But I suppose you’re tired from driving all night. Jasper said you’d been in Seattle all this time.”

  Stella heard the distinctly critical note in the woman’s voice. From their small town of Redfern in Northern California, Seattle was hundreds of miles away. Perhaps she thought the fated mate of Jasper Cross, who had just become alpha, shouldn’t have gone so far. Since Stella had left, the pack had endured a run of bad luck. An attack by cat shifters had killed the ten most powerful men in town, including the alpha, the alpha’s son, Stella’s father, and her half brothers.

  Some were calling it a curse.

  “Yes, I was living in Seattle,” Stella said. “After Jasper rejected me under the full moon in front of our pack and the Hart and Rivera packs, I had to run away and hide.”

  “And why was that?” Chef asked.

  To be treated as the alpha’s equal, Stella knew she couldn’t let his servants bully her. All her life she’d been the timid daughter of a violent, unpopular man. Her nickname, particularly insulting among wolf shifters, was Poodle. It was past time for things to change.

  Leaving the security of the bathroom, Stella walked over to the older woman, who was still standing near the bed. “His father tried to kill me,” she said. “Now that Hugo Cross is dead, it’s safe for me to return.”

  Chef’s eyebrows rose, but Stella had no idea what the woman was thinking. Anger? Surprise? Approval?

  “And you’re willing to accept your bond to the Fates’ chosen alpha?” Chef asked. “Many in Redfern believe you’re responsible for their children being terrorized during the cat shifter attacks. Not just wolf pups but little bear cubs and human kids as well.”

  Stella bit back her anger. How could she possibly be blamed for any of that? Jasper had rejected her—unthinkable among shifters—and his father had then tried to kill her. Was she supposed to have apologized for being unworthy of love and respect, then stuck around for more abuse?

  “If I’d stayed, Hugo would’ve killed me.” Stella pushed her shoulders back, no longer caring if the towel slipped lower and exposed her body. She refused to be ashamed anymore. “Just imagine what kind of bad luck that would’ve brought to the pack. The alpha killing his son’s fated mate. But I survived, heard what had happened, and now I’m here, practically naked in Jasper’s—”

  She clamped her teeth together. In Jasper’s bedroom. She hadn’t intended to say so much. The woman was the cook, not Jasper’s mother. It was none of her business.

  Chef continued staring for a long moment, then nodded and even smiled. Stella felt as if she’d passed some
kind of test.

  “Well, it’s good to have you here at last,” Chef said, brushing past her. “The scones are still warm. I hope you like the clothes I picked out for you. I thought maybe you’d appreciate some real shiftable ones since you’ve probably never owned any.”

  Stella felt embarrassed to have her relative poverty pointed out. “Thank you. I— I’m sure they’re fine. Better than fine. You’re really nice to think of me.”

  She hoped that wasn’t too much of a “Poodle” thing to say, but she really did appreciate the witch clothing. Not until recently had she ever worn any, and now she never wanted to shift any other way again. Stopping to take off all your clothes or risk tearing them during a shape-shift—possibly bruising yourself—was no fun. And very uncool among other shifters.

  “Of course. Well, enjoy your breakfast.” Chef walked to the door, opened it, and turned, offering another smile. “By the way, I want you to know that if you hurt Jasper, you’ll have to answer to me.”

  Her tone was cheerful, but it sent a shiver down Stella’s back. Her threat had teeth. And among wolf shifters, that had a literal meaning.

  Stella offered her a nod to show she’d heard, but no more. She needed to end the visit before she lost her cool and started groveling.

  When Chef finally left, Stella locked the door behind her—she’d thought she’d already done that before showering—sighed deeply, and went to the bed to investigate the clothes and breakfast.

  She tried not to study the bed itself, which was a four-poster, king-sized monument of a structure that hinted at all kinds of pleasant activities. Steady as granite, soft as a cloud. Sex would be—

  Want him now, her wolf said. Now, now, now.

  Stella pushed away the voice. If she let herself fantasize about sex with Jasper, she’d be too nervous later when they actually did it. She had to keep chill. Light. He’d made it clear he only wanted her there out of duty and desperation. If she started caring about him too much, it would break her—and being broken once had been more than enough.

  She lifted the folded clothes and shook them out. They were simple but expensive, enchanted with the properties that allowed the shifter to change into their animal form without undressing. They would disappear—Stella had no idea how, but the witches charged a fortune—then reappear when the body regained human form.

  Glancing at the door, she dropped the towel and pulled on the bra, panties, T-shirt, and jeans. Each item molded to her shape perfectly. She’d expected it but was still amazed; she went over to the mirror to get a complete look.

  The bra was a miracle. She cupped her hands over her breasts, whistling. How did it hold up her double-Ds so easily?

  Magic, obviously.

  Then she twirled around to admire her ass. “Fuck yeah,” she said aloud, staring at herself. Even after trying on thirty pairs at a dozen stores, no pair of jeans had ever fit her so well. She was short and round, the opposite of a fashion model.

  She couldn’t stop staring at herself, giggling a little. It would be worth paying witch prices even if you weren’t a shifter.

  The impulse to see Jasper flared. She closed her eyes, feeling a wave of desire wash over her. Once they just did it, she could relax. After the bond was formalized, the rest of the pack would have to stop blaming her for the curse.

  Her throat went dry. She didn’t even know where he was. And there was the breakfast from Chef, who would be offended if she didn’t eat it.

  She hurried over, poured herself coffee, then drank it with two scones slathered with melted butter and thick apricot jam that had come in a ceramic jar and looked homemade. Of course it was.

  Licking butter off her fingers, she forced herself to leave the bedroom and go looking for Jasper before she lost her nerve.

  The house seemed empty. He’d told her there were lots of servants, but she went down the stairs, across the living room, through a carpeted foyer, past the kitchen, and reached the back door without running into anybody.

  But when she touched the doorknob, Max, the butler-like man she’d met that morning, suddenly appeared. He seemed to have been waiting for her.

  “The alpha has asked me to keep you here in the house, my lady,” he said, bowing his head slightly. He was old enough to be her grandfather, at least seventy, but not as old as Chef.

  My lady? The Cross family had very different manners than the one she’d grown up in. “Asked or commanded?” she asked.

  “Please,” he said, lowering his head another inch. “I don’t want to displease the alpha. I am pledged to obey the alpha’s instructions.”

  Until a couple of weeks ago, Jasper had been a twenty-one-year-old college student who nobody had expected to take over the leadership. Although his father, Hugo, had been a tyrannical, ruthless man, Jasper was thought to be a nice guy, hardly the type to inspire fear in servants who had probably changed his diapers when he was a baby—even though he was demonstrating some inherited alpha powers already.

  “Of course, Max,” she said, opening the door. “Where is he? I’ll talk to him about it myself so you don’t have to get involved.”

  “But—”

  “Is he on the property?” The Cross estate was a sprawling compound up a mountain slope overlooking the rest of town, complete with tennis court, pools, guesthouse, gardens, and other luxuries. Until that morning, she’d never been allowed inside the fenced boundaries and so hadn’t realized quite how filthy rich the Cross family was. They’d hidden it well from most of the pack.

  “They’re repairing the front gate. It was damaged in the attack,” he said.

  “They? Who else?”

  “Dee and Rafe—” he began.

  The mention of Dee’s name plunged a dagger of jealousy into Stella’s heart. Before Max had finished his sentence, she was running down the driveway with her claws erupting from her fingertips to keep the slut away from her mate.

  Kill Dee, her wolf said.

  Chapter

  Two

  For a few long seconds, Stella gave in to her wolf’s jealous instincts and ran. Dee had kissed Jasper that morning. She’d put her lips on his. She’d run her fingers through his hair.

  But as she sprinted past the tennis court, Stella’s rational brain scrambled to cool the emotional fire. Dee had only been testing Jasper’s bond with Stella. She hadn’t kissed Jasper out of love or lust. It had been a game. A tease.

  Kill Dee, her wolf said.

  Stella jogged around the edge of the tennis court and saw figures standing at the bottom of the hill where the old gate had stood.

  Dee was there with Jasper, but so was Rafe Cisneros.

  Kill—

  “Calm down,” Stella told her wolf, stumbling to a walk. She stopped and bent over, breathing heavily. She wasn’t suited to running in her human form.

  Clenching her fists—claws and all—she resumed moving toward them, this time at a walk. She expected them to see her, but they were busy with their own conversation. Rafe, turned partially away from her, was broader than she remembered, with muscular arms and narrow hips. Dark tattoos in an abstract pattern covered his left bicep and extended over his shoulder blade, giving the illusion of a decorative cape clinging to his back.

  His body was easy to study as she approached because he was currently naked. Nudity was accepted in their world, at least among the males. She wasn’t the only wolf in Redfern to be too poor to buy shiftable clothes; he must’ve just shifted.

  Because he and Stella’s father, Johnny Nightrock, had both worked for the alpha, Rafe had come over to their home on occasion, and she’d served him food and drink. He’d always seemed less violent than the men at the top of the hierarchy, but he’d also been ambitious to climb the ranks, so now she felt uneasy to see him.

  Dee had guessed instantly that she and Jasper hadn’t consummated their bond. Would Rafe see the same thing and then tell the rest of the pack? Would he mock and abuse her like the alpha’s other enforcers had?

  In a wolf-
shifter pack, politics were even more important than physical strength—and he obviously had that too.

  “Look who’s here,” Dee said, turning to Stella with an amused smile. She was tall and voluptuous with powerful thighs and broad shoulders, a classical statue come to life. In human form, her short chestnut hair was contrasted with the lighter skin of her face. When she was in her wolf shape, she displayed similar coloring—white fur around her nose and eyes with dark red fur on her torso.

  Growing up, she’d been able to wrestle and compete with the boys. In both forms, she was large. Strong. And even worse, under the circumstances—beautiful.

  Stella tightened her fists, wincing as her claws dug into her palms. She’d probably lose any fight with Dee, but she had no choice. She couldn’t stop herself.

  Mate! her wolf shouted inside her, thrilled to be reunited with Jasper, who was turning toward her.

  “I asked Max to keep you in the—” Jasper began, then stopped as his gaze swept her from head to toe and then lingered in the middle. “You— Where did you get— Those— Your—”

  Stella’s face felt hot. “Is something wrong?” She tugged at the T-shirt. It was cut lower and tighter than her usual style. Rafe was staring at her too, which he’d never done before. “Chef gave me the clothes. Do you have a problem with me wearing them?”