Derek

  DEREK

  Blackridge Haven Shifters

  Book 1

  A.F. MONTOYA

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2023 A.F. Montoya

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

  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

  Blackridge Haven Series

  Connect With Me

  Other Books by A.F. Montoya

  Chapter One

  DEREK

  “You can’t be fucking serious.”

  “What are we in high school or something?”

  They were bickering like old biddies and I was considering throwing a wrench at their heads. Lucky for them, I don’t like to mess with my tools like that. I ducked underneath the truck on the lift, trying to ignore them.

  “Come on, it’ll be fun. Derek, you in, man?”

  Theo ducked under the truck, giving me a pleading look. He was trying to enlist us to go to his girl’s birthday party. She decided she wanted to go to an amusement park, drink, and get on roller coasters. It sounded like a recipe for disaster to me.

  “I got work,” I grumbled.

  He made a face. “No you don’t. It’s on Sunday, the shop is closed. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

  I gave him a flat look before turning back to the truck’s alignment. It might be fun for him but because of my size I wasn’t going to be getting on any rides even if I liked that kind of thing. And Bear wouldn’t allow it anyway. Not that most of the guys knew that. Almost all the guys who worked with me were human, as normal as they come, and completely unaware of shifters. We wanted to keep it that way so I could only come up with some kind of excuse and hope no one questioned it too much.

  “Why the hell are you so bent about this? Just take her yourself,” Jackson demanded.

  “I can’t, man. She’s bringing her friends and–”

  That caught Ethan’s attention and he spun around. “Wait, friends?”

  Of course that’d sway his opinion. Ethan’s a pretty boy and women basically threw themselves at him. He’d never pass up an opportunity to get laid. The other guys wandered closer, finally giving Theo their attention. He was still standing next to me though, blocking my way, and I swallowed down a growl.

  “Got any pictures?”

  Theo pulled out his phone, frowning as he scrolled through it. “Uh, with a few of them yeah. I met them at her family barbecue thing a few weeks back.” Turning his phone over, he held it out to them.

  I almost wanted to point out how messed up it was that they were only considering going because they were looking to score but I didn’t want to get into it with them. Especially Ethan. He’s a dick.

  “Yeah, alright. They’re hot. Might as well shoot my shot. You’re buying though. I’m not wasting my paycheck on that shit,” Ethan called out as he strolled away. A couple other guys in the shop had similar attitudes and agreed before finally getting back to work, leaving just Theo and Jackson standing behind me.

  “Jackson?” Theo queried.

  He sighed, scrubbing at the scruff on his face. “I dunno, man. I’ve got shit to take care of.”

  “Please? To be honest, a few of her friends irritate the hell out of me. I don’t want to be there by myself.”

  Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Won’t you be with Hailey?”

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah but she’ll be distracted with her friends. I’ll pay for your tickets, just don’t make me go alone.”

  Jackson’s face warmed and I knew Theo managed to sucker him into it. Jackson’s got two younger brothers and he’s pretty protective of the younger guys, Theo included. Theo turned his focus toward me and I gave him my back.

  “Not gonna happen.”

  He whined, hovering behind me until a low snarl cut through the air. I ground my teeth, fighting off the bear. We were both getting irritated and if I couldn’t stay calm, I’d need a shift before I could finish my work.

  “Theo, man, get back to work. Let me talk to Derek.” Jackson nudged him away. He and Theo were the only other shifters in here and both of them knew not to piss off my bear. He’s a damn monster and sometimes I struggled to control him.

  Theo slunk away like a dejected puppy and I fought back a scowl, trying to keep my focus on the stupid truck.

  “That’s a hell of a reaction to an amusement park,” Jackson murmured. I shot him a dirty look but he just watched me. Dealing with Theo when he was whining at us wasn’t anything new. I was usually more patient about it. But with the way things have been lately, I felt out of control and pushing for a fight. It’s not who I am but it’s what the bear seemed to need. If I wasn’t careful, I’d hurt one of my friends.

  “You need a new way to sate the bear, man. Whatever you’re doing isn’t working.”

  Making an irritated sound, I walked away, waiting until he was safely out of the way before I dropped the lift back down.

  “I know that. I don’t got a lot of options.”

  He nodded slowly. “Maybe start with getting out more. We rarely see you outside of work anymore. Come to the party. At least it’ll be a distraction for a little while.”

  I glared at him. “You know I can’t go on that stuff.”

  “Yeah but they’ve got beer and girls and it’s better than sitting in your shitty apartment by yourself. And I’m sure it would mean a lot to Theo. I’m betting he promised Hailey he’d bring his friends and you know she’s got him whipped,” he chuckled. “Just think about it, alright?”

  With that, he loped off, heading back to the minivan he’d been working on. Sighing, I wiped off my hands on a rag before leaning on the counter and looking over the shop. An amusement park was the last place on the planet me and Bear wanted to be but maybe Jackson had a point. Sitting at home waiting to come back to work or taking a drive for a shift was pretty much how I spent my free time now. Usually Bear liked the routine but he was getting restless and I didn’t want to have to go back to the fighting rings the next town over just to blow off some steam. At least the park would be different.

  The rest of the day was busy, a few out of towners with car trouble demanding we make their cars a priority over the people who had appointments. We had to work doubletime to get it all done but when we finished, I was beat and that was one of the best ways to keep Bear calm.

  Stalking out to my truck, I didn’t even blink when Theo and Jackson climbed in. We lived in the same building and they didn’t bother driving if they didn’t have to. My truck was better than theirs anyway. I got behind the wheel, smacking Theo on the back of the head for putting his feet on the dash, and headed home.

  “So, did you think about the party? I know I said her friends are annoying but I bet you could–”

  A growl was the only warning he would get if he didn’t stop talking about it. Jackson sat in the back seat and was smart enough to stay out of reach. Theo always called shotgun no matter how foul a mood I was in. And bringing up chicks was the stupidest thing he could do. He knew women wouldn’t get anywhere near me. Even human women, their instincts told them I was a monster and they shied away. Haven’t even kissed a girl yet, which was beyond embarrassing at my age.

  “You aren’t gonna sway him with the potential to get laid, man. You know that,” Jackson drawled.

  Theo winced. “Sorry. I forgot. What about free food? I’ll pay!”

  I made an irritated noise. “You seriously lookin’ to go into debt for this chick? You already promised to buy everyone’s ticket.”

  Jackson chuckled and Theo looked a little green at the reminder. Shifters can eat, it’s just a fact. Even if he hadn’t planned on paying for people’s tickets, he’d go broke before I got even close to being full. It didn’t help that my animal was almost twice the size of Jackson’s and made Theo’s wolf look like a puppy in comparison.

  I was born big. Not fat, just… big. I’m tall, well over six feet, and wide. Built like a linebacker is what my mom likes to say. And Bear? He’s bigger. A dominant bruin that could knock out my alpha when I was still just a cub. He didn’t like how big I was growing so he tossed me and mom out of the crew and told us to get gone. She tried finding a new crew for us but the minute I got close they could feel the dominance radiating off me and immediately said no. We were stuck on the outside, skirting the edges of the crew until I was old enough to leave. At least with me gone, they let her back in and she was looked after.

  It used to bother me. I may be dominant but I wasn’t violent or dangerous. Bear and me were a good team and I had it under contro
l. But you get treated like a monster long enough, you start to act like one. People picked fights to try and establish dominance or prove they could take down someone my size. I got used to fighting. And I was good at it. So I was labeled dangerous and people started to avoid me. I left town, moved out nearer to the woods, kept my head down, and still people treat me like a damn monster.

  “Derek, man, you’re suffocating us. Chill out,” Jackson complained.

  Blinking, I looked around. They both had their windows down and Theo was leaning so far out of his, he could probably fall out. Swallowing the snarl that had been rattling in my throat, I forced myself to relax. The dominance was part of the issue, part of the reason people were afraid of me. And when I was riled up, it came off me in waves and made other people really uncomfortable. I tried to tamper as best I could but I felt guilty for making my friends deal with that.

  “Sorry.”

  Pulling up to our shitty apartment building, I threw the truck into park and scrubbed my hands over my face roughly. There had to be an end to this. Something to bring Bear back under control and get my life on track. Because the way things were going, someone was gonna have to put me down. No one was going to let an out of control bear on the loose. It was a threat to all shifter kind if our secret got out. Better to kill one of our own than put us on the radar for humans. We’d become experiments and lab rats and weapons and we’d never be safe.

  Jackson’s hand gripped my shoulder from the back. Theo hadn’t left either. They both looked sympathetic and it was a toss up between appreciating the support or wanting to hurt them for looking at me like I’m weak. They’re my only friends though so I masked my sour expression and nodded once.

  “I’m good.”

  For now, anyway.

  Chapter Two

  LIV

  “Almost done.”

  Okay, I was lying. Just a little. But the man had been whimpering since we started and it was starting to grate on me. Why did people with low pain tolerance think they could handle tattoos? You riding a motorcycle or having a lot of muscle had no impact on how you’d handle a tattoo. He should’ve taken the numbing cream when I offered it.

  “Liv! You got a phone call!”

  Pausing, I rolled backwards in my stool enough to peek out the door, raising an eyebrow at Gigi, the other tattoo artist in the shop. Rolling back, I tipped my head at the sweaty, red faced man in my chair.

  “I’m gonna take a little break. It’ll give you a minute to relax. Yeah?”

  He scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m fine, it don’t even hurt. But… if you need a break, don’t let me stop you… take all the time you need.”

  Rolling my lips between my teeth, I tried to hide my smirk. Patting his shoulder, I decided to feed the lie to help him out. “I appreciate it. I could use a minute to stretch. You want some water or something?”

  After getting him a paper towel to wipe his face, I gave him a minute to cool off while I went to meet Gigi by the front desk. She handed me the phone, loudly popping her gum as she turned her focus back to the massive amount of emails we had to go through for potential clients. We’re the only tattoo shop in town so we stayed busy.

  Tucking the phone between my shoulder and my ear, I squatted in front of the mini fridge to grab the customer a water and an energy drink for me.

  “Yeah?”

  “Hey, you.”

  A slow smile spread across my face. “Hailey! Where the hell have you been?”

  She snickered. Hailey and I have been best friends since we were kids. We were attached at the hip until she decided to go to college and I went for an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop. We stayed close though and normally we called each other a few times a week. She’s been quiet this week though.

  “Sorry, I forgot to tell you Mom wanted to go camping just the two of us. She wanted to celebrate my graduation and my birthday all at once. Kinda sprung it on me actually.”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “Sounds like her. So what are we doing this year? Tattoos and trashy tv?”

  We’ve done the same thing since we turned eighteen. The first two years we scrimped and saved so we could go to a shop together. Once I felt confident enough, I brought my supplies to her and saved us a decent amount of cash. All her tattoos were tiny and cute but it was still fun.

  “Actually, a few of my friends from school mentioned going to an amusement park. It sounds like a lot of fun. Will you come with me?”

  I grimaced. I can’t stand Hailey’s college friends. They’re all high society socialites who care more about the designer on their bags than anything substantial. They liked to look down on me because I didn’t have a college education. I wasn’t interested in wasting my time or my money on shit like that but to them, if you didn’t go to their hoity toity university, you were a lesser being.

  “When?”

  “Sunday. Theo is coming, you can finally meet him. Please?”

  Rolling my eyes, I chuckled. “You know I’ll be there. Does that mean I’m not doing a tattoo this year?”

  She hesitated. “No… I didn't say that…”

  I laughed. She wanted me to be there but she wasn’t the type to outright ask me to spend money on her. I didn’t mind though and I wasn’t hurting for cash. I make good money and I’m pretty thrifty. And doing her tattoo was a tradition, I wasn’t going to break it now.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be there and we’ll set up a time for your next tat before I grill your boyfriend and see if he’s good enough for you.”

  “Be nice, Livvie,” she warned.

  Pursing my lips, I pretended to check my nails. “I promise nothing. Send me the info. I’ve got work.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you Sunday! Love you!”

  “Love you too. Bye babe.”

  Hanging up, I put the phone back on its charger.

  “Who was that?”

  Gigi was spinning in her chair, avoiding the computer like usual. I didn’t blame her. I could only manage to get through a handful of those emails at a time before needing a break. Between the customers who were asking for something insane on their first attempt and the ones who couldn’t tell us what they wanted, it was a tedious affair to line up appointments.

  “A friend. I’m gonna be out Sunday.”

  She made a face. “Yeah, whatever. Why doesn’t she call your cell?”

  Rolling my eyes, I gave her a significant look. “Because some of us don’t text during work. It’s quicker to call the shop. Shouldn’t you be working right now?”

  She stuck her tongue out at me. “Shut up. How much longer on yours?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “At least an hour. You heading home early?”

  When Gigi and I set up shop, we decided to get an apartment together to save money. It worked out for us and even after we started making decent money, we never bothered to change the arrangement. I’d rather pay half rent and share the chores than have a place to myself.

  “Nah, I don’t wanna have to drive back here. I’m gonna order pizza though. You want in?”

  Pulling a few bills out of my pocket, I tossed them to her. “No fucking pineapple. That shit is just wrong.”

  She cackled, tucking the money in her shirt before she pulled up the app on her phone. I headed back to the private room where the client was waiting, nervously looking over his shoulder at my approach. I handed him the bottle of water and sat down next to him, raising my eyebrows and giving him a significant look.

  “Ready to start again?”

  The guy managed not to cry through the whole appointment and he laughed his ass off when I handed him a lollipop. It’s a little joke I use to ease people’s mood after I’ve been stabbing them with a needle for a few hours. He gave me a big tip too, which was nice. Handing him the receipt and the care instructions, I waved him off with a grin.