When a Wolf Howls: Sand Dune Bay

By Penny Elwin

Sand Dune Bay

Book 1

When A Wolf Howls

 

Tau couldn't remember a time before he had to start planning. His human mother had died, leaving him and his two brothers in the hands of their father. An Alpha lion shifter that had anything but love for his sons. Defects, that's the name that he called Tau's brothers. But to him, Tatu and Tam were anything but. 

 

Sand Dune Bay was where Tau thought that they could make a new life for themselves, but when he finally saw his chance to see the place for the first time, the last thing he expected was to find Noah at the bar he wanted to buy. 

 

Noah had always been a lone wolf. With no memory of the pack he must have once belonged to, he set up a life for himself, one that eventually led him to Sand Dune Bay. Owning the bar on the beach for the last twenty years had been a dream, but one he knew had to end. The pain of loneliness was not only hurting him, but it was killing his wolf side. He needed to find his mate. 

 

When Noah meets Tau, he thinks that the lion is the answer to everything. Little does he know, the man finding his mate is the last thing on his mind. 

 

Will Tau let Noah help with the rescue of his brothers, Tam, who is deaf, and Tatu, who is blind? 

 

This is the first book in the MM paranormal romance series. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: P. Macy
• Release date: Mar 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215115688

Book preview

Prologue.

Five years ago.

Tau blinked against the bright light that all of a sudden filled the space. He winced as the wooden doors of the barn creaked loudly as they were pulled all the way open. He looked down at the straw-covered floor as a figure stepped in the way of the blinding sun. He didn't have to look closely at the person in the doorway to know who it would be.

Tau turned his head to look at his two older brothers. Both of them were laid on the floor, resting now on their elbows. His middle brother no doubt reacted to the light that had lit up the barn, while his eldest brother reacted only to the sound of the door. Both of them, just like Tau, were keeping their heads down.

Runt. his fathers' guttural voice rang out through the space. It seemed to bounce off every corner of the barn. Tau felt his whole body go stiff as he knew that the man was talking to him. Tau was the only one the man called Runt. It was a name that the older shifter had given him from the moment he was born, and one that Tau knew his mother despised. He couldn't remember much about the human that was his mother, but her strong dislike of that name his father gifted him with, was one of the things. The other things were her hatred of the man that was their father and the love that she had for all three of her boys. Time hadn't been on her side though and she'd died leaving all her sons in the shifters' hands.

I said, Runt. The man said again, this time his voice even louder. When I call your name, you come to me. It's time we take that walk. He said.

Tau wondered how long it was going to take before his father asked for him to step outside. He knew exactly what the man wanted, and ever since the day before, he knew his time for the walk would come.

Tau was the last of his brothers to go on that walk. Him being the youngest of all of them, that wasn't exactly a surprise. With the memory of when his brothers had done the same walk with their father fresh in his mind though, he wasn't looking forward to what was about to happen. It had been a year since Tam had been called outside of the barn, but what had come after that walk still lingered in Tau's mind when he slept. The dreams he had most nights forced him to relive that day over and over again. Tam had never been the same since, and he wondered how long it was going to be before he became the silent ghost of a shifter he should be.

Knowing that he didn't have a choice, he pushed himself up onto his knees. The fact that all three of them had been awoken to the sound and sight of the light from the door opening didn't exactly tell them what time of day it was. Tau couldn't remember the last time he knew the time or stuck to a schedule. Nothing mattered when your home was a barn at the far end of a field, and you spent most of the time in darkness. And that was exactly what all three of them had done for over two years since their mother had died. The day the woman died was another thing that came up in Tau's sleep. There were so many things that he couldn't escape, and he knew that was all thanks to his father.

Tau winced as he straightened himself up from laying on the hard floor. His back arched and his legs shook as he took the steps forward. Just as he got to the door, the man that was standing in the mainstream of light stepped forward. Tau scrunched his eyes up. This was the first time in a long time that the door had been opened so early in the day. He felt his skin prickle as the sun hit it. God, it had been far too long since he felt that natural heat.

Tau's body wobbled slightly as he tried his best to get used to so much light. Darkness was now all his eyes were used to. Darkness and the small amount of moonlight when his father let them out of their home from time to time. The man had his reasons. He thought the open space of the field would help them. Help Tau to shift for the first time, but also help his brothers to heal. It hadn't worked though, and the man soon came to terms with that. Time outside of the barn was getting less and less, and soon, he was sure the door would close for the final time and all three of them would be left inside to die. Tau imagined his father would walk away all too easily if he couldn't get what he wanted out of any of them. They meant nothing to him.

Tau's arm rested against the wooden doorway. He knew that any second his father would bark another order at him to move, but for at least a few seconds he could get his eyes working again.

Tau jumped at the thud that sounded out from behind him, and he straightened up again as that thud was followed by a scream. He didn't have to turn around to know what was happening.

Another thud soon followed the first. A second scream came out. Again, Tau didn't have to turn around to see who had screamed first or second. He knew the sounds of his brothers and who made what sound when they were being kicked by their father. Tau had heard it so many times before. Hell, normally, his was the third scream that would ring out, but not today though. It looked like his father had other plans for him.

Move. Just as Tau's ears had stopped ringing from the screams of pain, his father's voice was next to him, finally ordering him to walk out of the barn. He did as he was told, stepping away from his two brothers who were still crying out from the assault they had just been subjected to. He felt his heart grow tighter inside his chest. Just because his father hadn't chosen that moment to kick him like the other two didn't mean that he didn't feel pain. He did. He felt the pain of his brothers just as strongly as he would have done if it had happened to him.

The now muffled cries filled Tau's ears as he walked away from the barn. Tau's heart beat against the inside of his chest. He kept his head up and his neck stiff as he did his best to focus on where he was walking and not on the man that was by his side. He didn't have the first clue where he was being taken, but wherever it was, it couldn't be good.

Movement caught his eye on his left-hand side, but he knew better than to pay it any attention. It was no doubt just another member of the pack and one that Tau had no business looking at. Not like that member of the pack would want anything to do with him. He was nothing more than the runt of the litter. The third child of his fathers.

Tau's father was the leader of the pack and had been for the whole of Tau's life. Tau couldn't imagine his father not being the leader, but he had heard the stories of a time when that hadn't been the case. It was obvious to him that the pack had been better off before, but just like the member of the pack that had just caught his eye, that was nothing to do with him. This was the way life was, and it was the way life was going to stay.

Show me. Father stopped walking and grunted out the words. Tau felt his whole body stiffen even more as he too, stopped. By the sound of the man's voice behind him, he had accidentally walked a couple of steps away from the man. Surely that wasn't going to be good. If there was one thing that Tau had learned over the years was that his father demanded all the respect that he could get. In the older lion's mind, that was something that he'd earned. It didn't matter what Tau thought inside his mind, it was what he had to do to survive.

He turned slowly. He knew that if he didn't move soon, it would only be a matter of time before his father spoke again. And when those next words came, they would more likely be followed by a hand to the back of his head. That had always been his father's way. He liked things done when he asked for them done. He didn't like to wait. Being the Alpha of the pack, Tau supposed that he wasn't used to waiting. He was used to everyone doing what he asked. 

I... Tau paused. Tau knew exactly what his father wanted him to show him, but he wasn't sure it would be so simple.

His very first shift had come the night before. His body had burned and at first, he thought he was getting sick. Being shifters, that wasn't something that would happen, but living as he had been, he wouldn't have been surprised if those years had finally taken a toll. Tau had curled up on the floor away from his two brothers. He felt the heat cause drops of sweat to run down his half-naked body. He had felt the drops soak into the dirty sweats that he had worn for far too long. And then finally the heat had stopped. The cold had taken over then, but just before the chills could hit, his body was taken over. It was taken over by the lion that had laid dormant up until that point.

All Tau's senses came alive, and he roared against the smells and sights that surrounded him. His brothers had sat themselves up and moved over to the other side of the barn. They had been afraid. The lion had stood there for a while, looking over his two best friends. With his animal now connected to his human half, he could pick up so much about the two men that he hadn't been able to see when he had been laying there as a simple young man. Both looked bruised and battered. Both too thin for what any lion shifter should be. And both had a fear in their eyes that they shouldn't ever have for him. He was there to help them and keep them safe. As a simple man though, Tau hadn't known how. Now that his lion form had come out, a plan had started to work its way into his mind. The need to protect them grew in seconds, and he knew from that moment he would do anything it took to help his brothers.

I know you can, so do it. His father said again, and it was clear that his patience was growing thin. The first shift had just happened, and then it was over. Before Tau had even known what was happening, he was back to his human form and laying on the dirty ground again. He had been naked and breathing hard. That was how he was now. No other sweats had been provided for him, and he didn't think a new pair would come any time soon. He didn't know if he could just shift on command. He didn't know what type of control he had over that other half of himself.

I don't know how, Tau said, hoping that his father would see that he was telling the truth.

I know that you can do it because I saw you. He spat out. The cameras that his father had set up in the barn weren't a surprise. They had been installed a week after the brothers had been placed inside the barn. The wood hadn't been as strong as it was on the door in the beginning, and slowly it had been Tau and Tam that had been working it loose. When the wood finally gave out the two of them had made it through the gap. It was only when they had tried to help Tatu out of the gap that their father caught them. Within the hour the cameras had been set up.

I don't think I have control. He said, but already he could feel his skin starting to itch. It had been the same the night before. His skin had itched before the heat had started. God, was he about to get the fever again?

Close your eyes and think of the lion inside of you. I have high hopes for you, Runt. The man said, and Tau felt anger at being called by his nickname.

That anger seemed to shift something inside of him, and before he knew it he was standing on all four paws with his eyes firmly fixed on his father's face. As it turned out, he didn't have to close his eyes, the pure hatred that he had for the man in front of him was enough.

Easy now Runt, we don't want you doing anything silly. His father's voice floated towards him. It was only when the man took a step back did he realize that he was moving closer to the man. His body felt weak, and he felt like he had no choice but to stop moving. The lion sat down on his hind legs. The grass felt so strange under him. The animal raised its head and sniffed the air. His senses were just as strong as they had been the night before, but now there were no strong smells that made bile rise inside his throat. All there was, was crisp clean air, grass, and earth. It was heavenly. 

The air turned though and as a new scent floated towards him, the lion looked straight ahead to see that his father was stepping towards him. Tau's animal half growled slightly as its lips curled.

I said, easy, Runt. We don't want to get you into a situation that you wouldn't be able to handle.

The growling stopped just as quickly as it had started. The older man was right. If Tau didn't get that new half of himself under control he was sure that his lion would pounce. A fight after spending that long in a barn with little to eat and drink was not something he was going to win. He had no doubts that his father would kill him and that was not going to help his brothers.

"That's better. Let me get