Jessi & the Hyenas, page 1
part #1 of Book Four Series
Jessi & The Hyenas
The Wolf’s Mate Generations
Book Four
R. E. Butler
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
Excerpt
From Bram & Thea (The Wolf’s Mate Generations Book Five)
Books
By R. E. Butler
About the Author
Copyright
Jessamyn Gerrick sat on her bed with her laptop and watched a movie while aimlessly eating a bag of kettle corn. To her right, open and on the floor, was a suitcase, half packed and abandoned. She needed to pack but didn’t want to. In two days, she was supposed to leave for the trip she’d come to dread.
Why’d I even agree to go?
She tilted the screen so she could see it a little better and took another handful of popcorn.
There was a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.”
London, her roommate and friend, opened the door. “I’m heading over for full- moon duty. Wanna join in the fun?”
Jessi wrinkled her nose. Full-moon duty was assigned to a handful of pack members every month. The day of the full moon, the assigned males and females would clean up the clearing in the center of the pack’s hunting territory. It generally involved chopping wood for the big bonfire, sweeping debris from the area, and making things look nice.
She’d been helping out since she was a tween. It had been exciting when she was twelve; now it was a chore.
But if she helped out, she wouldn’t have to think about how she needed to finish packing and get ready for the trip.
Jessi closed her laptop and set it on the bed. “Sure.”
“Hey, don’t fall all over yourself in your excitement,” London said.
“It’s better than sitting around here and doing nothing productive.”
“True.” London left so Jessi could change from her comfy sweats to fleece-lined leggings and a thick hoodie. She dug out her hiking boots, a pair of gloves, and a stocking cap. January in Kentucky could be decent with mild temperatures, or it could be a frozen hellscape.
Lately, it had been the latter.
She found London in the family room of their three-bedroom house tying her boots. London opted to drive, and after they both filled up travel mugs with coffee, they were on the way.
“So you wanna tell me why you’re not packed yet?”
Jessi grunted. She’d known London her whole life. The wolf shifter had a mom who was a fairy, so London was not only able to turn into a wolf like her father but could cast some spells with her inherited fairy powers.
Jessi’s parents were different as well—her father, Michael, was a wolf, second ranked in the pack, and her mom, Shyne, was human. Jessi’s brother Micah could shift into a wolf, which had given Jessi hope that she’d be able to as well. But then she’d turned sixteen and no wolf. Not when she was seventeen, either.
Here she was at twenty-two without her wolf. Well, she could feel her wolf, and her fangs and claws would come out if she was highly emotional, but otherwise she was just human.
Which was hard as hell in the pack.
Most of the females her age didn’t like Jessi simply because she was a non-shifter. The males didn’t mind her for a tumble in the sheets, but they didn’t think she was worth having as a mate. She was the only one in the pack in their generation who couldn’t shift. Her self-esteem took a beating every full moon when she could feel her wolf wanting to be free, but nothing ever happened. At this point, it was unlikely she’d ever shift and for the most part, Jessi was okay with that.
But then there were things like this trip she was feeling pushed to go on.
A gathering.
A multi-pack get-together in Ohio, where unmated males and females would gather for a week to try and find their truemate. Or someone to mate with or have a pup with. She’d been going to gatherings since she was eighteen, and things would start out fine until word got around that she couldn’t shift. No male wanted to risk having a non-shifter for a mate because there was a good chance that any kids she had might not shift either.
“I’m dragging my feet about the gathering.”
“Ah. It’s too bad it’s January. It won’t be as much fun being so cold.”
“Well, they had some issues with the space they rented, so it kept getting postponed. I should’ve just said no when my dad suggested I go.”
London turned onto Main Street. “You don’t have to go.”
“I said I would. I already paid the registration fee.”
“Well, you have two choices. You either suck it up and go, or you decide to stay in town.”
“What would you do?”
“In your situation? I don’t know, honestly. I’m all for girl power, you know? I think you should embrace whatever you are—or aren’t—and love yourself. But I know how tough it is to be different.”
“Do fairy guys think you’re not worth being with in a forever way because you’re not a full fairy?”
“It’s never come up. I dated that fae soldier last year and he didn’t care. Maybe you’re not meant to be with a wolf, or maybe you’ll find a wolf at the gathering who doesn’t care that you’re not able to shift. You’re a great person and you’re gorgeous. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”
“Thanks,” Jessi said. “You’re sweet.”
London parked in front of the alphas’ home. The pack alphas were Jessi’s Uncle Jason and Aunt Cades. Cades couldn’t shift either because she was only half wolf. But their two sons and daughter all could. It seemed to just be the luck of the genetic draw, and Jessi had drawn the short stick.
She let out a deep groan. “I need to get out of my head. The full moon always makes me miserable.”
London turned off her truck. “You know what? I say go to the gathering and tell any guy who says you’re not worth getting to know that he’s an asshole and you don’t need any more of them in your life.”
“I’ll probably go, just because I don’t want to get the hype speech from my mom.”
They got out of the truck and London looked at Jessi across the hood. “What’s the hype speech?”
“You know, she’s all ‘you’re amazing, you’ll find the right guy when the time is right’.”
“I agree.”
“Yeah, well I wish the time would go faster. I want to get to the next part of my life. I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels. If I even get a truemate.”
“I think everyone does.”
“Even half wolves?”
“Yep.” London nodded seriously.
The front door opened, and Cades waved at them. “Come in for a refill of coffee before you go freezing your tails off out back. The others are already chopping wood.”
Jessi kissed her aunt on the cheek as she passed by. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. You excited for the gathering?” she asked as London walked past her and then shut the door.
Jessi looked at London who smiled encouragingly. She could do this. It was just a week. If nothing else, she’d get a vacation away from her work in the Senior Community Center’s office and get through her to-read pile. “You know what? I kinda am.”
“Good. I’ll keep my fingers crossed you have a great time and maybe find your Mr. Right.”
Jessi hoped for that too.
Gavin Stone held the tablet with his client’s exercise routine on the screen and watched the older female as she held a dumbbell and did some squats.
“I hate this, Gavin,” she wheezed.
“Two more, then you can take a break.”
“I hate you.”
He laughed. “Sorry, Eileen, but it’ll be worth it. You asked me to help you get back in shape and this is how that happens.”
“Two. Finally!” She put the dumbbell on the rack and stretched her arms. “So this is our last appointment for a week, right?” she said, picking up the water bottle.
“Yes,” he said.
“When are you leaving for your thing?” she asked, then took a long drink from her sparkly leopard-print water bottle.
He finished entering the details of her exercise and then looked at her. She’d been trying to fix him up with her thirty-something daughter since he’d taken her on as a client six weeks ago. He explained—briefly without too many details—that he was a hyena shifter and their people believed in truemates and also multiple partners. The female he chose for his forever girl would also be the forever girl for his brothers Jett and Rubin.
Her reaction had been comical but also typical for humans who didn’t understand shifters, particularly hyenas who preferred three males to share one female. For Eileen, and a lot of humans, it was scandalous. Hell, it was scandalous for most shifter groups too. Did anyone share a mate besides hyenas? He wasn’t sure.
“In two days,” he said. “I’d like my dad Cairo to take over while I’m gone. He’s also a personal trainer and can kee
“Sure.” She closed the lid and sighed dramatically. “What’s next on your torture list?”
“Treadmill.”
“Oh Gavin, I really hate you.”
Once he finished with Eileen and introduced her to one of his three dads, he put the tablet on the charger at the front desk and sat at one of the empty chairs.
His mom, Alyssa, spun in the chair and smiled at him. “How was your training session?”
“Good.”
“Are you guys all packed?”
“Yeah.” Gavin scrubbed a hand through his hair. They were leaving for the Fresh Water Campground in two days for their annual gathering. Normally the gathering was held in the fall, but it had been postponed to January because the owners had revamped the entire gathering. Instead of being exclusive to hyenas, it was now open to any shifter group who wanted to come. They’d opted to change it because there weren’t enough people signed up in the fall, so they postponed the gathering and sent out flyers to other shifter groups in surrounding states.
“You look worried.”
“I’m not really, I’ve just been thinking a lot about what inviting other shifter groups will do to the gathering. I mean, at least with hyenas everyone knows the deal with how we like our matings to look. But who else does multiple matings like us? What if we really like a female and she’s turned off by the fact that it’s not just me but also Jett and Rubin?”
“Well, the short answer is that it means she’s not the right girl for any of you.”
“What’s the long answer?” he asked.
She smiled. “That you can’t rush fate. Ally and her mates want to make the gatherings inclusive to all shifters because the reality is that there just aren’t enough hyenas showing up. The one you guys went to last year had crazy low attendance.”
“Yeah, only three females in the whole place.”
The phone rang. “You’ll find your truemate when the time is right. Maybe it’ll be at the gathering, but maybe just like what happened with your dads, your Miss Right will walk right through the front doors.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She gave him another smile and then answered the phone.
Gavin knew his mom was right. They were eventually going to find their truemate one way or another. Maybe at the gathering, but maybe not. Whatever happened, he just hoped she’d show up soon. He was very ready to start the next chapter of his life.
Rubin Stone watched two young males spar in the boxing ring on the second floor of Stone’s Gym and listened to his brother Jett and their dad Cairo shout encouragement. Rubin was setting up another heavy bag to add to the section of the open second floor where a half dozen of them hung from the ceiling. His dads had decided to start a kickboxing class and the interest had been high, so they needed another few bags ready to go when classes started.
After the gathering.
Which was in two days.
He and his brothers were heading to a campground to hang out for a week and hopefully find their truemate. They’d been going to gatherings since Jett, the youngest, was eighteen. In the last few years, attendance had dropped, so this year it was open to any shifter of any kind. He expected a lot of wolves, since they were the largest shifter group. He didn’t think wolves shared, but then again, his mom was a wolf and she had three mates.
“I like the new bags,” his dad said, coming to stand next to him. “How many did you get?”
“Four.”
“Nice. What’s on your to-do list after this?”
“Nothing here,” he said. “Once I hang these up, I’m heading over to your house to check out the sink in the den bathroom.”
Hyenas liked to den-in in the winter, which meant they preferred to spend the colder months in a secure basement. Their parents’ home, nestled in a large, wooded piece of land in Dalton, Kentucky, had two stories and a full basement. The basement was set up like an apartment with several bedrooms, laundry, kitchen, office, and family room. The den had a special steel security door. Once the lock was engaged, no one from inside the house could open the door without the code.
He and his brothers lived near their parents in a home they’d built themselves. It was a big ranch with a finished basement. Their sister, Jordyn, still lived at home with their parents. She was going with them to the gathering. He and his brothers were staying in a cabin, and Jordyn was staying with her friend Isolde, who lived and worked at the campground.
“I’m glad you’re getting to that sink. It’s been such a pain in the ass.”
“I’ll get it fixed.”
Cairo clapped him on the shoulder. “I know you will.”
Rubin was the family handyman. Or, rather, not just the family handyman but for the whole baro—the group of hyenas who called their territory home. His parents had started the baro and invited their cousins to live with them. Their baro consisted of their clan, and three sets of cousins and their clans. Of the four unmated groups, only Gavin and his brothers were going to the gathering in Pennsylvania. All their cousins had gone to a hyena-only gathering in October in Michigan but had come back without mates.
He finished assembling the heavy bag’s hanging apparatus and then rose to his feet, hauling the bag behind him. He climbed up a ladder and dragged the bag up, hanging it from the hook he’d installed earlier that day.
From his high vantage point, he turned to look down at the first floor. It was filled with equipment of every variety, from treadmills to weights to machines for just about any exercise someone might want to do. Rubin enjoyed working out, but he hadn’t wanted to be a trainer like his brothers. Gavin liked being a personal trainer and Jett liked being a boxing trainer. For Rubin, his joy came from fixing something that was broken, whether it was in the gym or someone’s house. He liked being the go-to guy when something went wrong, and he could fix it. He saw Gavin at the desk talking to their mom. The gym was mostly empty, it was a weekday afternoon which meant most adults were at work. There would be more people after five, but Rubin didn’t plan to be around for much longer. He had a sink to wrangle after he hung up the rest of the bags.
Getting back to work, he pushed away thoughts about the gathering. He wanted to find his truemate, but he wasn’t sure if he thought it would happen at a gathering. Maybe this wouldn’t be a year like all the others, where they were just three brothers living together in a house without a female to love and care for. Because really? That’s what Rubin wanted. He was their clan’s caretaker, and he couldn’t wait to take care of his mate.
Wherever she was.
Whoever she was.
He hoped they met her soon.
Jett Stone held up his fists and the young human male he was training pressed his gloved hands against his.
“He almost got me!” Andy said. “But I remembered what you said.”
“You did great, kid,” Jett said. “I’m really proud of you. You ready for the speed bag?”
“Yes! That’s my favorite.”
“We’re going to the heavy bag,” Jett’s dad said. “We’ll switch in ten?”
“Sounds good.”
Jett jumped up into the ring and pressed his foot against the bottom rope and grasped the other two to make a space for the nine-year-old boy. Andy climbed through and hopped down. Jett followed, encouraging him to hydrate before they moved on.
“Remember that I’m not going to be here next week,” he said as he pressed the button to lower the speed bag to Andy’s height.
“You’re going to find a wife?”
He blinked in surprise. “Who told you that?”
“My mom. She said you were looking for a lady shifter like yourself, but you have to leave town to find her. Why is that? Aren’t there ladies in Dalton?”
He laughed. “Yeah, there are, but not a lot of shifter ladies.”
“Ah, okay. Who’s going to train me?”
“Cairo.”
