Return to Blackcreek

  Quell T. Fox

  Fluffy Fox Publishing

  Copyright © 2021 by Quell T. Fox

  Internal Design © by Fluffy Fox

  Cover Design by Fluffy Fox

  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 permission in writing from its

  publisher, Fluffy Fox Publishing, except as permitted

  by U.S. copyright law. All requests should be sent via email to

  admin@fluffyfoxpublishing.com

  The characters and events in this story are fictional or are

  used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely

  coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Any and all brand names or product names used in this book

  are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective

  holders. Fluffy Fox Publishing is not associated with any product or vendor in

  this book.

  Published by Fluffy Fox Publishing, an imprint of Fluffy

  Fox, LLC

  PO Box 5433, Fall River, Massachusetts 02723-0408

  Contents

  1. Chapter One

  2. Chapter Two

  3. Chapter Three

  4. Chapter Four

  5. Chapter Five

  6. Chapter Six

  7. Chapter Seven

  8. Chapter Eight

  9. Chapter Nine

  10. Chapter Ten

  11. Chapter Eleven

  12. Chapter Twelve

  13. Chapter Thirteen

  14. Chapter Fourteen

  15. Chapter Fifteen

  16. Chapter Sixteen

  17. Chapter Seventeen

  18. Chapter Eighteen

  19. Chapter Nineteen

  20. Chapter Twenty

  21. Chapter Twenty-One

  22. Chapter Twenty-Two

  23. Chapter Twenty-Three

  24. Chapter Twenty-Four

  25. Chapter Twenty-Five

  26. Chapter Twenty-Six

  27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

  28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

  29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

  30. Chapter Thirty

  31. Chapter Thirty-One

  32. Chapter Thirty-Two

  33. Chapter Thirty-Three

  34. Chapter Thirty-Four

  35. Chapter Thirty-Five

  36. Chapter Thirty-Six

  37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

  38. Chapter Thirty-Eight

  39. Chapter Thirty-Nine

  40. Chapter Forty

  41. Chapter Forty-One

  Author Notes

  Chapter One

  Jensen

  I close my eyes as the cool breeze flows over me. There’s a bite to it that causes goose bumps to erupt along my skin. Summer hasn’t come quite yet, but it will soon. It’s too bad I won’t be here to see it. Summer in Blackcreek is beautiful. Not too hot and not too cold, and there’s just something in the air that makes you feel good. This place especially holds a special place in my heart. Not only to me, but all of us. It’s our spot. We’ve spent full days and nights here. Lying in the sand, swimming in the lake, basking under the sun. Talking, laughing, loving.

  I hate that I have to ruin it.

  Skye’s laughter floats through the trees around me, the sound causing a smile to creep along my lips. Jordy’s deep voice carries on, no doubt the reason she’s laughing in the first place. He always knows how to make her laugh. I can’t make out what he’s saying, or maybe I just don’t want to. I don’t deserve to know what they’re laughing about.

  “Jensen!” Luka’s excited voice has my body tensing. I take a slow breath, filling my lungs as much as I can before I let it out. As I turn to face them, I open my eyes and ignore the feelings stirring inside me as I set eyes on the three most amazing people in this world. Three people who deserve a happy life together. Three people who will be better off without me.

  I don’t want to hurt them, but I don’t have a choice. If I don’t do it now, it’ll only be worse later. That wouldn’t be fair. This has to happen. I have to do it before the bond really sets in. Before we end up so far gone that there’s no turning back. Before I end up ruining them beyond repair. They still have a chance if I do this now…

  I can’t handle more loss, can’t handle the pain of letting another person down, and after today, they won’t have to deal with any of that either. I’m making sure of it.

  Luka slaps me on the back in a friendly way as he gets to my side, his smile reaching his eyes, but I don’t return it. His blue eyes narrow and his smile falters. He turns his gaze to Skye, who instantly knows something is wrong. There’s already a frown on her lips as her eyes dart back and forth from him to me. She knows me so well. Better than I know myself. It’s always been that way, which is even more of a reason to get this over with.

  Jordy runs a hand through his hair and takes a step closer to Skye before setting his neutral gaze on me and his hand on her lower back. Always so protective. Not only of Skye, but to all of us. It’s who he is.

  “What’s going on, Jensen?” Skye asks, her voice trembling. “Did something happen?” Her hand twitches and I can tell she wants to reach out to me, but she doesn’t. She’s known something has been up with me for a while, but I kept brushing it off, fighting this war in my head, going back and forth over what to do. Well, I finally made my decision, and before I can change my mind, I open my mouth and speak the words before I change my mind.

  “Luka, Jordy, Skye... I reject the three of you as my mates.”

  The phone on my desk rings, causing me to jerk awake, and I lift my head from the plush pillow before sitting upright on my black leather couch. My chest is tight, and I know it’s from the dream I was having, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was about. I rub my eyes as the phone rings again, and I know immediately something is wrong. Everyone in this office knows better than to disturb me between twelve thirty and one thirty on any given day. If they expect me to function properly around here, working sixteen-hour days and picking up everyone else’s slack, then the least I can get is an uninterrupted nap.

  I get to my feet and stomp to the phone on my desk, picking it up just as it starts to ring for the fourth time.

  “Someone better be dead,” I growl into the receiver, my hand tight around the plastic. I’ve lost count of the number of phones I’ve gone through, thanks to my shifter strength coming out when I’m anything less than happy. Which seems to happen often while on the phone because people don’t have the balls to tell me shit to my face. My bear is especially grumpy when he’s tired, and that only brings out his temper more, and then brings him close to the surface, irritating me further. It’s an endless fucking cycle.

  No one at this office, or in this life, knows about me not being human.

  And it needs to stay that way if I plan to get far. And I do plan to get far. As far as I can take myself. All the fucking way.

  “Mr. St-Stone, there is... uh... s-someone here to see you.”

  My eyes narrow as I turn towards my door, a chill running up my spine. Something isn’t right. Debra, my secretary, is extremely articulate, and stuttering and mumbling is not something she does. Ever. But of course, instead of showing any sort of concern, I shout, “Do you know what time it is? Tell them to fuck off!”

  “S-sir, this is, uh... an unusual request,” she whimpers. “He wants to see you now.” Her last words are rushed, and I clench my jaw.

  My anger is just about to the point of overflowing, and when that happens, I can’t control the shift. Which isn’t good. It wouldn’t be the first time I lost my temper in the office or the first time I shifted in here—if it came to that—but I’m trying to avoid it. Everyone around here knows not to walk in without knocking and then getting verbal permission to enter, but sometimes people don’t know how to follow directions. Honestly, it seems the easier they are, the less people like to follow them, and I can’t even imagine what would happen if someone walked in and saw a ten-foot-tall Kodiak bear in my office instead of me.

  Yeah, people know shifters exist, but they don’t hang out in office buildings—not around here, anyway—and I certainly don’t want to deal with the stares and whispers I’d get if they found out who I really am. It’s no secret that most humans aren’t fans of shifters. Humans fear what they don’t understand. Humans are assholes.

  I slam the phone down, hearing it crack, and move towards my door, ignoring the fact I’m going to need another phone. It’s the last of my worries. My grip on the door handle is tight enough my knuckles are pale. When I pull the door open, I’m so shocked by what I see that I can’t move.

  It doesn’t last long though, because the anger within me builds, and I act on it, knowing if I keep pushing it down, my bear is going to lose his shit. The anger needs to come out, and I know exactly where to put it.

  I storm over towards Debra and the douchebag sitting on her desk, flipping through a folder he has no business looking at. He’s the perfect outlet for the anger I’m harboring, considering a good portion of it is due to him.

  He drops the folder onto the desk with a loud slap just before I reach him, and he smirks, giving me more of a reason to tackle his ass to the ground. Which I do—sort of.

  I slam him into the bookcase along the far wall and we both go down
, causing Debra to scream and a shit ton of heavy-ass books to fall on and around us. Lifting my fist, I pull it back and slam it into his face. The face that looks so much like mine, making me hate him even more. So I punch him again.

  God, that feels so damn good. The fact he isn’t fighting me back, though, that’s annoying.

  “I don’t want to know what you’re doing here, Jase, so don’t even try to fucking tell me,” I growl, then throw another punch, hitting him in his left cheek and he doesn’t stop me, just keeps smiling at me like the crazy motherfucker he is.

  Of course, this infuriates me further and a deep, rumble of a growl builds in my chest. I give him one more punch to his face, this one hitting him right in the nose, and it’s the sickening crunch that satisfies me. A number of gasps fill the air around me. I have an audience—great.

  “Get the fuck out,” I snap at Jase, shoving him in the chest before getting to my feet and stepping away. “Now,” I add, standing tall and fixing my Armani suit jacket then running a hand through my hair. I focus on catching my breath and calming my heart before I shift. I feel eyes on me, but I don’t look at any of them directly, just continue to act casual. There’s no use trying to explain anything. Instead, I turn on my heel and head directly for my office.

  “Should I call security, Mr. Stone?” Debra asks as I pass her. She’s standing off to the corner with a group of other workers, all with the same looks on their faces—shock, fear, fascination.

  “No. He’ll leave. Don’t you worry about it,” I assure her.

  Her eyes are wide, full of fear, but she’ll do as she’s told. I may be a coldhearted asshole on the best of days, but I’m trustworthy and know what I’m talking about, and everyone here knows it. Without another word, I enter my office, shut the door, take a deep breath, and make my way over to the leather couch and lay down, fully prepared to get that fucking nap.

  The rest of the day goes off without a hitch. When I wake from my nap, I find the main room holds not a single sign of what took place earlier. I spend the afternoon and early evening going through emails, taking phone calls, and attending meetings.

  I’ve pushed away every thought of Jase and why he was here at all because I don’t care. That life is behind me.

  Whatever his problem is, it has nothing to do with me. His problems have never been my own and they never will be. He’s probably just causing trouble because he’s bored and has nothing better to do. Or he owes someone money again.

  As much as I’m pissed at him for showing up at my work, he’s lucky he did. If we were anywhere else, I’d have killed him. Despite the fact he’s my twin brother, we have nothing in common. In fact, I have nothing in common with any of the shifters back in Blackcreek. When I left, I told myself I have no reason to associate with them ever again.

  And that still stands true.

  So whatever it was Jase wanted, he can figure it out himself.

  By the time I leave my office, it’s close to ten at night and there isn’t a single soul on this floor but me. I like it best this way and wish this company could function with me and me alone so I wouldn’t have to deal with anyone else; but if I want this place to run without me someday, I need to put in the time now. That way I can spend the rest of my years doing diddly-squat, except for maybe watching chicks in bikinis run across the surf of some elegant beach while I sip expensive whiskey from a real crystal glass.

  I lock up like I normally do, testing the front door to make sure it doesn’t budge, and take the elevator down to the parking garage.

  The elevator makes no other stops, though I’m sure there are a few workaholics lingering in their own offices, as it brings me to the bottom floor from the twenty-fifth, and when the doors open, I get out and pull my key fob from my pocket. I click it twice to unlock my car as I round the corner to my parking spot, only to once again stop dead in my tracks when I see what’s waiting for me by my car.

  The key fob cracks in my hand, and tiny pieces of plastic fall to the asphalt.

  “What the fuck—”

  Jase holds up his hands in surrender, his face already healed from earlier.

  “Just hear me out, Jensen.”

  “No,” I state firmly, bending down to pick up the small pieces of the fob. He better hope this still works. If I have to go all the way back up to the office to grab my spare, he’s really going to catch a beating.

  “It’s—”

  “I said no!” I shout as I stand straight, my voice echoing through the mostly empty garage. I try my best to ignore him and move to my car on quick feet. He steps to the side once I get close, allowing me by, and I pull my door open. Just as I’m tugging it shut, ready to find out if I can still get it to run, he says two words that make my blood run cold.

  “It’s Skye.”

  Chapter Two

  Jensen

  The food tastes bitter in my mouth as I force down half of the Ropa vieja, mostly because I’m starving and also because I assumed it would start to taste better. It doesn’t. It’s only making my stomach churn and pissing me off.

  I know it has nothing to do with the food—I’ve been ordering from this place every week since I moved here six years ago—and has everything to do with the ache lingering in my chest over hearing Skye’s name, and the thought that something is wrong.

  Sure, I’ve heard her name spoken since I last saw her. It’s common enough around here, but it never did anything to me, never affected me in any way, because I always knew it wasn’t that Skye being mentioned. But when that name comes out of my brother’s mouth, he can only mean one. The one, and even though his two words had me wondering if I was having a heart attack, I didn’t stop to ask him what he meant.

  I shut the door in his face and sped off, not giving him another glance.

  She could be dead for all I know. Or worse. She could be dying and needing me...

  I force myself to swallow the bite of rice in my mouth and then toss my fork onto the walnut coffee table in front of me and lean back on the couch, my stomach twisting with the thought of Skye lying on one of the beat-up twin-sized beds in the healer’s cabin, begging for me to save her.

  If only I’d stayed. If I’d just chosen differently, maybe I could have helped…

  No, I growl to myself. None of that matters now.

  That isn’t the life I chose. They aren’t the life I chose.

  Skye, Jordy, and Luka are doing fine without me, just the same way they’ve been fine the entire six years I’ve been gone. Jordy and Luka can handle whatever Skye is going through, and they can take care of whatever it is she needs. They don’t need me.

  Yet... I can’t help but wonder what is going on. Jase came all the way here, across the country, and to my job, no less. It’s probably something serious...

  Or it’s just Jase being Jase...

  He’s always been dramatic. That, along with all the issues he has, I wouldn’t be surprised if he name-dropped Skye just to catch my attention. She’s probably fine, happier than a pig in shit with her two boyfriends and tiny-ass cabin they squeeze into. Jase is the one who needs something. Probably pissed off the wrong people again and needs me to bail him out. Pay off a debt. Have someone offed.

  Well, not this time. It’s not happening. I’ve saved my brother’s ass enough over the years, and I put a stop to that when I left.

  In fact, I put a stop to everything to do with that pack when I left six years ago—especially the people—and that ain’t about to change today.

  Jase can kiss my ass with whatever his problem is, and fuck him for making me think, for even a second, that something is wrong with Skye.

  I pick up my food and head to the kitchen to toss the container into the trash and the fork into the sink. I head back to the couch, sit down, and grab the remote to turn on the TV. Stock info scrolls across the bottom of the screen that catches my attention, but then my cell rings.

  Pulling it from my pocket, I hit the answer button, but before I can say hello, Marco is already screaming in my ear.

  “Where you at, bro?” The noise in the background tells me he’s at a bar and not alone. I smirk.

  “Home. Where you at?” I lean forward, resting an elbow on my thigh.

  “Denvers, obviously! And you better get your ass down here. I got a fine piece of ass waiting on you. Isn’t that right, honey?” His last words are meant for whichever girl he found for me this time. The one and only thing Marco is good at, other than being a complete dickhead to his employees, is finding women who will do anything and everything you ask of them. Sometimes you don’t even have to ask—they offer.