Amber Eyes Glow

By S. Peters Davis

Morgan Redding faces evil in her mother’s new husband and ends up at her aunt and uncle’s animal rescue refuge, where she meets Rowan.

Rowan Marcus falls hard for the new woman who takes up residence at the wildlife refuge. The cougar inside him wants to make her its mate. Rowan can’t stop his need to protect her at all costs.

Then all hell breaks loose, animals get killed, a crime syndicate’s involved, and Morgan finds out she’s a shifter! Too many secrets, too many forces at work, too many dangerous threats that Morgan and Rowan must face. Thank goodness for the Marcus Pryde.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
• Release date: Jul 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9780228606208

Book preview

Amber Eyes Glow

By S. Peters-Davis

Digital ISBNs

EPUB 978-0-2286-0620-8

Kindle 978-0-2286-0621-5

Web 978-0-2286-0622-2

Print ISBNs

BWL Print 978-0-2286-0625-3

B&N Print 978-0-2286-0624-6

Amazon Print 978-0-2286-0623-9

Copyright 2020 by S. Peters-Davis

Cover art by Michelle Lee

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book

Author Note: Amber Eyes Glow is a New Adult, stand-alone novel of fiction, and a revision of the young adult novel Secret: Of Amber Eyes (written initially under my pseudonym, DK Davis). All of the characters, organizations, locations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. **Mature subject matter and sensual scenes.

Dedication

Dear Sharon, thank you for all of your inspiration, motivation, crits and edits, but most of all, for your time. You’re a true blessing and deeply appreciated.

Chapter One

Morgan

Morgan, here, take a hit. Kara handed me the twisted end of a joint. "Loosen up a little. You’re way too tight, Morgana."

Don’t call me that. I held the wrapped sprig between my finger and thumb. Not sure about this. Just sayin’. Even though I’d grown up watching my mom smoke the stuff, I’d never attempted it. Someone had to play the adult in the house.

Kara released a long-held breath. Smoke curled away from her lips. Are you saying you’ve never tried it? Her eyes widened, the flames of the vanilla-scented candles reflected across her pupils and made her curly black hair glisten.

I’ve never been good at it, I lied.

Kara had preoccupied me, seeming to fill a void, the last few months from Mom’s newest ‘man’ addiction, Jack, who’d recently become my stepfather. But still, I didn’t trust Kara, even if she played my only friend.

Suck the smoke into your throat and hold it there. Breathe in through your nose while the smoke’s still in your throat, then hold it as long as you can. Kara breathed in and stopped. She held her breath as I inhaled.

The end of the joint turned bright red on my intake.

Okay, let it out slow, and then do it again, she spoke at the same time smoke wafted from her lips.

I sent a billow of smoke into the air and inhaled deeper the second time. A burnt-flavor singed across my tongue and hit the back of my throat, forcing a cough of smoky breath into Kara’s face. Water streamed from my eyes.

She grabbed the mini cigarette from my fingers. Oh, boy. You’re in for it now.

Unable to catch my breath nor stop coughing, I hacked for several strained, tearful minutes, then laid my forehead on the cool marble countertop and closed my eyes. Why did I do that? Succumb to Kara’s stupid choices? My mind wandered, lighting on the fact that I sat on a barstool in the bar room of Jack’s mansion, a place I’d found two weeks ago. Correction, a place Kara found.

The refrigerator door opened, and so did my eyelids.

Kara grabbed a beer and popped the cap off, handing me the bottle from across the bar. Here, this will cool your throat.

I raised my head and took a sip of the cold brew, extinguishing the scorch. What just happened? I croaked, never witnessing anyone else with the same reaction as mine.

Movement on the mirrored wall behind Kara caught my attention.

Jack Rapter.

He stood stone-still at the doorway, glaring at me. His white hair bristled upward in the front and set off his dark goatee. My stepfather, youthful appearance, even with the white hair, and a fitness freak, ate and drank bizarre blends of foods in the name of nutrition, and also dedicated a couple of massive rooms to exercise equipment and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Yep, all about fitness, but from the look on his face, hatred rode him like an evil monster.

I set the beer bottle on the counter and swiveled the barstool around. My nose itched, of all times, so I lowered my head and scraped my knuckles over it.

When I glanced up, Kara scurried past Jack and down the long hallway out of sight.

A cloud of smoke hung suspended between me and the ceiling. My throat clenched around the lump that had settled there. Jack wore a crisp, cream-colored business suit. He had somewhere to be, and I just mucked it up for him. He strode over, stopping in front of me.

His silence deafened, and the fury shooting out his eyeballs attacked my heart. A tremor cracked through me. He doesn’t know me well enough to glare at me with such hate.

Mom had never asked me if I cared for Jack. Maybe because she already knew how he felt about me, or perhaps he hated kids in general.

My nose itched again. I wiggled it and scrunched my lips to deter the itch. Jack’s hands fisted like he wanted to punch my face. That would stop the itchy nose, possibly forever.

The tightly cinched yellow band of his lips released and clear, enunciated words powered out from between his clenched teeth, one-by-one, I believe you just sewed up your summer.

He grabbed the bottle of beer and stormed out of the room.

Within minutes, Mom marched in, carrying the same bottle of beer. Her glossy red lips pinched as tight as the Botox allowed. Her eyes and brows squinted with a look I recognized as anger, even though displaced without the depth of wrinkles she had erased a couple of months back as if she had many to eliminate in the first place.

What are you thinking? Mom yelled and slammed the bottle on the counter. Foam drizzled down the outside of the brown glass and pooled on the marble. You’re not. No. You’re doing your best to ruin my relationship with Jack, aren’t you?

I only had two puffs off of Kara’s joint. No idea what I expected from the so-called high, but my focus tuned-in to the tiny details of Mom’s flowing blouse, how the turquoise silk fit her shoulders and fell into a low V-neck across her breasts. Small white embroidered flowers marked the hem that floated around her narrow waist. Bare skin appeared between her blouse and the waistband of her capri pants whenever she moved.

Morgan Redding. Mom grabbed my chin with the tips of her long nails and turned my face toward hers. Unblinking eyes stared into mine. What have you got to say for yourself? It smells like pot in here. She pushed my face back, scratching my cheeks with her claws. First, I find out you smoke cigarettes, next I hear from one of your college professors that you’re not showing up for classes, and then I hear from Charlotte that you got caught shop-lifting. And now this. Right inside Jack’s house, she screamed the last sentence, ending in a high pitch.

"Isn’t this our house? I waved my arms to encompass the whole thirty-four rooms, as of my last count. And you’re listing stuff that’s hearsay, from people I don’t know, like Charlotte? Would you believe me if I told you that none of it’s true? I rolled my eyes and hopped off the barstool. You never asked me about any of this. You simply accuse me and believe it’s true. I studied her for a moment, hating the building burn behind my eyes and the moisture gathering in my lashes. Because your escort business takes up every damn minute like it always has, and now add good-old Jack to your never-ending schedule."

Don’t get smart-mouthed with me. Give me your phone. I pay for it, and apparently, you don’t deserve it.

I pulled my cell phone from my back jeans pocket and handed it to her. I had no real social life, more of a book nerd, no one ever called me anyway, except Kara, and I still didn’t know how she got my number.

You’re grounded for the next two weeks. No friends, no phone, no leaving. Her eyes narrowed. Jack has considered sending you to a strict college, one that dorms and reforms. These last few months, you’ve done nothing but prove you can’t be trusted.

That’s your argument? I can’t be trusted? You can’t ground me. I’m in college, for gods’ sakes, and if I did act out, it would be now. But you got me wrong on that. I stomped my foot, not the most mature choice of action, and then swiped away the moist dribble from my cheek. I’ve already received my Bachelor’s Degree, four years’ worth of classes accomplished in only three and have considered other colleges for my Master’s in veterinary medicine. I can move out and live in a college dorm. He can’t send me anywhere. It’s my life. He’s not my father.

You can’t stay here. Jack won’t permit it. And he’s adamant about you not going to any other college until you earn trust, respect, and your own money. A nasty grin stretched across her mouth, something I’d seen before, but never directed at me. Plus, you’re nineteen and still need Mommy’s money, even if you have been attending college for three years.

Technically, closer to twenty years old. You’re the one that told me my scholarships would take care of my college expenses. I can get a job. Maybe there’s a veterinary office that can use my help.

Her ruby lips pressed together, and then she said, We’ll be out of town soon anyway.

What? You never told me we were leaving.

Not you. Just me and Jack. Mom’s red polished nails tapped the marble counter, sounding like mini stilettos. He’s got business in Florida. Sounds like a new construction job, and Jack being the architect, needs to be where the action is, at least for a while.

You’re leaving, and you weren’t going to tell me? To Florida? A place I’d always wanted to go, but Mom never had that kind of time to take away from her ever-growing escort business.

You’re ungrateful and untrustworthy, why would you think we’d take you? Her long sigh ended as an impatient huff. I thought Jack’s housekeeper, Rhetta, could be here for you this summer since you decided to take the summer off. But she never sees you and tells me that you play hide and seek with her; you’re always gone before she can talk to you.

Right, avoiding Rhetta was way too easy with the house and grounds covering such a vast spread. I could get lost for days. If Rhetta had her way, she would have me cleaning every one of the rooms in this house that she gets paid to clean. She had her little crew of grunts come in to do the dirty work, but I could work for free, now that I lived here. No thanks.

What if I stay with Grandma Mary? That would leave me on my own most of the time, plus, I might be able to work with her.

Grandma’s too busy. She’s still a working veterinarian, plus she has to deal with Grandpa Luke’s drinking. You know that. Mom turned to leave, then stopped and whirled around. Her gaze met mine.

So, she does have a heart.

Maybe I’ll check with Aunt Becka. She arched a brow.

Aunt Becka used to take me for overnight visits. I played board games with her and Uncle Charlie, or they spent time at the park with me, and then, suddenly, when I turned eight, that had all stopped. They hadn’t shown up for Mom’s wedding to Jack either.

Last I heard, Becka is somewhere in Michigan’s great north, operating a wildlife refuge. Wonder if she’d want you…now? Mom’s eyes stared off. She’d practiced expressions in the mirror for as long as I could remember, but her face looked different from any of her self-training, as though something festered beneath.

"What do you mean now? From what you told me years ago, Aunt Becka never wanted to see us. Why would I go there? I don’t even know her anymore." I held Jack responsible for this. Why couldn’t Mom see he was tearing us apart?

Exactly. Mom watched as I rubbed my nose. And, scratching your nose, like you always do when you’re in trouble, isn’t going to solve anything. She spun around and left the room.

What happened to me taking care of our household and sometimes picking Mom up from work, but more than that, when we did see each other, she used to hear me. I had a voice and cautioned her against some of the men she escorted. Call it a sixth sense, I knew the good guys from the bad ones, even with no experience of my own. She trusted my instincts, until Jack.

I needed out on my own. Jack’s hatred of me fed Mom’s anger, and nothing good would come from that. I had to leave.

Chapter Two

Morgan

A few days ago, Mom had contacted Aunt Becka and Uncle Charlie, and they wanted me to stay with them. So, Mom scheduled to drive me there tomorrow morning, as if I wanted to go. Her way of sweeping me under the rug. Jack’s way of shoving me out the door.

After I finished packing everything, I headed outside to the back landscaped gardens. The sun filtered through the purple lilac bushes, warming me. I plopped down on one of the brick pathways near a pond and curled my legs underneath me. Leaning back against a replica of the Statue of Venus, I closed my eyes and waited for the Universe to tell me ‘why.’ Why did my life have to change? Smart made me different, and being a loner always felt comfortable. I wasn’t changing, only my situation.

The breeze rustled the flowers and leaves of the lilacs, sending a sweet floral fragrance into the air around me. I am alone for now. That’s my life in a nutshell.

Damn, girl, what the hell you doin’ out here?

I jerked and knocked the back of my head against the statue. Ouch! Geeze, Kara. I rubbed my head and straightened my back, stretching my legs out in front of me. "I’m grounded. You, especially, can’t be around me."

Yea, ’cause I’m the only one ever around you. Kara pulled out her tiny purse of joints from the back of her denim shorts and squatted beside me. Her hazelnut-colored eyes narrowed. Or is this you tellin’ me that I’m bad for you?

Kara, I can’t do this stuff. Gods, Jack would freak if he saw you out here with it. I stood and then held out my hand to Kara. She grabbed it and pulled herself up.

How come you ain’t got any of your momma’s good looks? Are you even sure she’s your momma?

What the hell do Mom’s looks have to do with anything? Sometimes Kara came up with the most off-the-wall crap. I studied her, wondering exactly how old she was and realizing I had no clue where she even lived. And she acted like she knew everything about me, and some things she did know without me telling her.

She’s got no right takin’ your rights away like this. I’m tellin ya straight up; you need a smoke. Kara grabbed a skinny joint and lighter from the mini purse. She flicked a flame, held the lighter to the joint, hanging from her lips, and inhaled deeply. The joint glowed to life. Her eyes closed as she held her breath, and then she exhaled, holding the thing out to me.

You’re crazy. I took it from her and just held it. How often do you smoke this stuff? How come you even have it? I glared at her and got no reaction.

Oh, take a puff and get over yourself. She jutted out a hip, and her eyes narrowed.

I threw it on a brick and smashed it with my shoe. I was leaving tomorrow and unsure how I felt about that. The crap matted to the bottom of my shoe wouldn’t make me feel better.

Kara shoved me to the ground, jumped on top of me, and slapped my face. Then she stopped and scowled at me. There, now I feel better, how about you?

I bucked her off me, and then shoved her away as I got to my feet.

How come you don’t have a boyfriend? Kara eyed me like she knew a secret about me. You just graduated from college for God’s sake. Don’t you like boys?

I still have more college, not that it matters to you. And I don’t see you with any guys. I wiped my fingers over my swollen lips and noticed blood. Why would you do this? I held my wet, red finger in her face. Darn, look at how much blood.

Kara didn’t comment but grabbed my hand and wiped the blood off with the bottom of her shirt, creating a good-sized stain.

I yanked my hand away.

She forced her arms around me and pushed her body against mine.

What are you…? I turned my face away from hers and heaved her back, hard. Stop it.

She stumbled away, but not far enough for my liking. My nose itched, like radar picking up signals whenever I got nervous.

Kara shot forward and slammed me into the statue. She pressed her hips against mine and wrapped her arms over the sculpture so I couldn’t move. Her breasts smashed into my chest. I felt blood drip down my chin.

"Get away