Contents

  Cover

  FRACTURED

  Copyright

  More by ALN

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  Epilogue

  Connect with ALN

  Next in the Series

  Tempted by Evil

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  FRACTURED

  By

  Amber Lynn Natusch

  FRACTURED Version 1.0

  Copyright © 2013 Amber Lynn Natusch All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9891023-1-5

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

  Published by Amber Lynn Natusch Cover Design by Jamie Rosen Editing by Jennifer Ryan

  www.amberlynnnatusch.com

  More by Amber Lynn Natusch

  The Caged Series

  CAGED

  HAUNTED

  FRAMED

  SCARRED

  FRACTURED

  Novella 1

  STRAYED

  Novella 2

  BETRAYED

  The UNBORN Series

  Coming in 2013

  UNBORN

  The Light and Shadow Trilogy By Shannon Morton and Amber Lynn Natusch Tempted By Evil

  More Including Release Dates: amberlynnnatusch.com

  facebook.com/amberlynnnatusch

  Follow @AmberLNatusch

  Tweet your thoughts through the book

  To my husband,

  who mends all that is broken, rights all that is wrong, and loves all that is unlovable.

  Prologue

  Silence...

  It surrounded me, permeating the air while it clung to the trees. I felt hemmed in by it, claustrophobic. The sun was falling just below the canopy of autumn leaves far above my head, creating an eerie glow of fiery crimson and gold. I sat confused as I stared up at the ceiling of foliage. The trees hadn't started to change, not that I remembered.

  A flash of memory jarred me to my feet: my fear, Scarlet's passion, Sean's anger, Matty's death. I was suffocated by it, reliving the moment when Scarlet shoved me down, down so deep inside myself that I drowned in the darkness of my soul, tucked away. Never to be let out.

  Never to be found again. She told me this herself, told me I would pay.

  I had lived in a state of black suspension from that moment on. No sense of time or place or existence, lost in a perpetual tunnel of night.

  There was no escape. Scarlet had warned me several times that she wasn't to be trifled with, that her retribution would be epic. A liar she was not.

  So why had she suddenly let me out? Why leave me stranded in the woods, naked, left to the elements, helpless? Because she knew it would bring back the personal hell I'd once lived through, when my parents were murdered and I Changed, my werewolf side emerging. Out of all my nightmares, it was the only one that I had on a recurring basis. She wanted me to live it again.

  As if on cue, three darkened figures slowly wound their way towards me, weaving through the trees so fluidly that they nearly lulled me into a trance. Nearly.

  My fight or flight response kicked in when I heard the screams that were ripped from my parents' throats that fateful night echo through my brain. I took off in a flat-out sprint in the opposite direction of their approach. My skin stung as the thick underbrush bit me repeatedly, but the pain motivated me.

  I heard the rhythmic cadence of their running getting louder and louder behind me, but I didn't dare look. I recognized the sound. They weren't human. I was.

  Knowing that my attempt to escape was futile, I panicked, hoping that Scarlet, angry though she was, would come to my aid as she always had in the past. If not for me, then at least to save herself. She had a reliable sense of self-interest and an undying commitment to staying alive. I screamed at her, both inside and aloud, searching through my mind for her, desperately seeking my other half.

  The hit from behind me drove me face first into a fallen tree. The pain was immediate and fierce. As my vision narrowed and darkened, I had a very sobering realization.

  Scarlet was gone.

  1

  I stared blankly at the intercom in front of me, afraid to ring it. I should have wanted to run straight into my home and resume my life, but I didn't. Instead, I wandered the streets of Portsmouth, New Hampshire aimlessly, soaking in the final few rays of sunlight that dusk was willing to afford me until I found myself standing outside Sean's building. It seemed I couldn't bring myself to ring that buzzer either.

  I still wasn't sure how long I'd been gone, and I was even less sure about how warm the reception was going to be from those who were hurt by my absence, especially Sean. He'd nearly died because of me―or at least I thought he had nearly died. The jury was still out on his whole invincibility schtick. Cooper would have only been informed about what had really happened if Sean felt it was necessary in order to find me, and that was a big “if” considering he may not have wanted to find me at all.

  That left Cooper completely in the dark as to my disappearance, and I knew how mad that would drive him.

  Deep down, I didn't want to believe that Sean would have withheld that information, but I just wasn't certain. I also wasn't convinced that Sean didn't want to find me; it was what he'd do to me when he did that had me worried. My gut said he wouldn't harm me, but my gut had been proven wrong before. I hoped I wasn't having a relapse of that behavior.

  With a sigh, I focused my attention back on the buzzer beside the front entrance to the building. In my mind, I repeated the phrase just lift your finger and press it over and over again . But I couldn't. I wasn't ready for whatever dramatic scene that was sure to follow.

  Instead, I walked away as the darkness of night began to settle in, and cut back through town to my place. All I wanted to do was slink into my apartment unannounced, crawl into my bed, and sleep for days, without having to explain myself to anyone. Not that I could, even if I had wanted to.

  After a chilly walk home in the crisp fall air, I arrived home and reached my arm out for the door handle. I knew it would be locked, but I just had to check. Much to my surprise and extreme delight, it wasn't locked at all. Cooper had apparently picked up the same absentminded habit that I'd had of forgetting to lock the door once it closed. Or maybe he'd just left it open in the hope that I'd wander into the apartment one day. Either way, I was going to find out.

  I crept up the stairs slowly, trying to detect whether he was home. I saw no lights from the street, but that didn't tell me a whole lot since only my bedroom faced out onto the road. If my door was closed, no light from the rest of the house would be seen. Once I reached the landing, I put my ear to the door, looking down at the floor. Still no light, and definitely no sound.

  Anxiously, I tried the knob, which too was unlocked. I froze for a moment, wondering if something was wrong. It was such a knee-jerk reflex to assume the worst, though my history warranted that behavior.

  With a deep, cleansing breath, I quickly talked myself down off of that ledge, reminding myself that all known threats had been eliminated before Scarlet had run off. Feeling more at ease about any pressing danger, I pushed the door open into a darkened living room and made my way quietly to the kitchen.

  The fridge was full of leftovers; Cooper had clearly been home. He always cooked as if he was feeding twelve, but he usually ate two-thirds of it himself. I grabbed a bowl of noodles covered in sauce and started to inhale it, shoving fistfuls at a time into my mouth with my bare―and questionably clean―hands. It wasn't until I saw the contents of the fridge that I’d realized how hungry I actually was.

  When did I eat last? Was she trying to starve me to death?

  I stood up, closing the door as I stepped back out of the way. When I turned around, I slammed into a very muscled and extremely tense Cooper. The container of noodles crashed to the floor.

  My eyes slowly worked their way up to meet his. His hands were balled into fists at his sides. His chest pumped, rising and falling at breakneck speed. His eyes glowed a dangerous yellow. He was close to Changing, his wolf trying to take over. My tears welled and spilled over, but I made no attempt to wipe them away. I kept my gaze fixed on his.

  “Cooper, I—”

  “Three weeks,” he growled, eyes still blazing.

  “What?” I blurted involuntarily, totally confused.

  “You've been gone for three weeks and you j
ust waltz in here like everything is normal?” He inched towards me and I backed away from his anger.

  “Three weeks!” I exclaimed. “How is that possible?”

  “I searched night and day for you,” he continued, completely ignoring me. “I didn't sleep. I found your car, your phone, your clothes...”

  “I'm sorry, Coop—”

  “But not you,” he said, sounding suddenly mournful. “Never you.”

  I reached forward to touch him, but dropped my hand immediately.

  His rage was palpable, and I didn't want to stoke that fire any further.

  “I didn't know,” I protested softly. “I still don't know what happened.”

  “That makes two of us then, doesn't it?” he snarled. “Sean wasn't very forthcoming about what had occurred that night when he showed up here, encrusted in dried blood, and dragged me back to his place. All I pieced together was that you were gone and he was livid. I've been looking for you ever since.”

  I dropped my eyes to the floor. Sean hadn't told him about the attack or Scarlet's involvement in it. It seemed cruel, even for Sean, to leave Cooper so far out of the loop.

  I racked my brain for anything I could possibly say to smooth things over a bit with Cooper. Had it been up to me, I never would have left without filling him in, but it hadn't been my choice. Scarlet did what she did against my will, leaving me with a mess to clean up. I hated knowing how distraught I had made Cooper with my disappearance. Nothing felt right when he was angry with me.

  And he was pissed.

  Just as I opened my mouth to offer some placating remark, he snatched me into his arms and hugged me violently. A rush of emotions emanated from him, relief being the primary―anger and love were right behind. As happy as I was to know that my empath abilities from childhood still remained intact even though Scarlet was missing, I would have preferred a much more pleasant way to test the waters.

  As quickly as he'd taken me in, he let me loose, turning on his heels to walk away and grab his phone off the kitchen island. He rounded the corner to the hall, dialing as he went. Once my head stopped spinning and my vision sorted itself out, I followed behind, mute, still unable to formulate a defense of any kind. I didn't think claiming head trauma was going to help my case for very long.

  “She's back,” he said gruffly. “Nope. About ten minutes ago.” He paused for a moment. I tried to hear the words that were being shouted at Cooper, but I couldn't make them out. The owner of the voice, however, I could.

  “She says she has no clue...well, I think it's very interesting too,” he said, drumming his fingers along the wall, his back still to me. “She's skin and bones, but she doesn't look injured, if that's what you mean.

  She's right here if you want to—”

  He pulled the phone from his ear and hung up. The line had gone dead before he’d even finished his sentence. A knot immediately formed in my stomach, twisting tighter and tighter with every passing second.

  “Sean doesn't want to talk to me, does he?” I asked sheepishly.

  Cooper turned to face me slowly.

  “No, he doesn't,” he said with a pause. “And I'm not entirely sure that I'm ready to either.”

  He at least had the decency to look remotely pained while sharing his sentiment, his eyes returning to their human, hazel color. A moment later, the door to his room slammed shut, announcing the official end to my homecoming. I hadn't thought that much about how I'd be received upon my arrival, but I would never have guessed that hostility and the cold shoulder would be the options of choice.

  Embarrassed, I schlepped my way to my room and quietly closed the door. I turned on the small lamp just inside, shying away from brightness it emanated; my eyes were having a hard time adapting to the light. Three weeks of virtual darkness seemed to have real-life lasting effects.

  I made my way over to the bay window that faced the downtown streets of Portsmouth and looked out over them. Since it also faced the apartment of the one I wanted to talk to most, I quickly located the grand windows on the top floor of Sean's building. It was only two streets over from mine, and though dimly lit, there was just enough light to outline a figure hovering. A figure that immediately turned and walked away.

  Darkness fell on his apartment only moments after. He had refused to speak to me only moments earlier. I guess he didn't want to see me either.

  My stomach lurched at his actions, but I couldn't analyze the situation any further. I was thoroughly exhausted, and all I wanted to do was climb into my bed and sleep until the sun woke me. Stripping off the clothes given to me by my rescuers, I threw them in the trash. I scanned the floor for something to wear to bed, but found nothing. Someone had tidied my room in my absence, preparing it for my return. Too tired to rifle through my drawers, I threw back the covers on my bed before I plopped my naked, weary body onto it and wrapped the duvet up tight around me. I liked the feeling it gave me―warm and secure. I hadn't felt that way for a while.

  I plummeted into a deep sleep instantly, but regretted it almost as quickly. An auditory montage of screams plagued my dreams. I saw nothing, but felt everything. The horror enveloped me, coming to a crashing crescendo of fear and pain that I could not escape.

  When I finally broke free, I shot up out of bed, only to be greeted with more darkness. Frightened beyond measure, I launched myself to the wall switch, squinting tightly when the deluge of light assaulted my still-sensitive eyes. My breath came shaky and rapid while sweat poured down my face and back. I ran to my closet, pulled out a white robe and threw it on, fastening it snugly around me before heading out of the room.

  I tiptoed up to Cooper's door, leaning my ear against it as soundlessly as I could. He'd told me once that I had the grace of an elephant, and he could hear me coming from miles away. I didn't want to wake him. What I did selfishly want was the feeling of safety he could offer in times of distress. Just being close to him helped, and that was exactly what I needed.

  The door was shut tightly, so I carefully turned the knob, creating as little sound as possible, and pushed slowly inward. Cooper's back was to me, lit only by the moonlight penetrating the gap in the curtains. I really needed to get him some that fit the window better. He never stirred, so I continued my way in, stopping at the edge of the bed. I eased my way on as gingerly as I could, thankful that foam mattresses didn't transfer much motion.

  Once on top of the comforter, I inelegantly scooted my way backward towards him an inch at a time. He'd have laughed if he'd been watching me; I'm sure I looked utterly ridiculous. Stopping just before I made contact with him, I balled myself up into the fetal position and tried to go back to sleep.

  “Did you get lost on your way to the bathroom?” Cooper asked over his shoulder. His tone was cold, but his humor was back.

  “Sorry,” I said, sitting up. “I'll go. I just—” I cut my explanation off at the start. He didn't want to hear my excuses. In fact, he'd been pretty clear that he didn't want to hear anything from me. Not for a while.

  I moved to push off of the bed when his hand caught my wrist, turning me to face him as he rolled towards me. We shared a long moment eyeing each other in that lone sliver of light that shone across his bed.

  “You 'just' what?” he asked, his voice noticeably softer.

  “I can't sleep. The sounds in my head...,” I said, trailing off.

  “Sounds of what, Ruby? What happened when you were gone?”

  I wanted to offer him something concrete, something to help end the agony he'd clearly felt during my absence, but there was nothing to give.

  Whatever horrors Scarlet had inflicted on the world while she’d held me hostage were unknown. All I had were occasional soundbites and audio snippets, none of which were encouraging.

  “I don't know, Coop. Honest,” I said, tears again rolling off my face.

  “All I know is that two days ago I was sitting in the woods, naked, freezing, and scared shitless. It was like—” I choked on the words that I couldn't bring myself to say. Cooper, seeing my distress, finished them for me.

  “When your parents were killed?” he said softly, wiping the tears from my face.

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  “And you don't remember anything before that?”

  “No. ”

  His face scrunched up in confused frustration.

  “What happened with Sean? Why did you leave in the first place?”