Whisper: Lords of Khaos: Ironwood

By K.O. Newman

You can't shove shifters back into their little box once a woman turns into a raging grizzly in the middle of downtown. The human world was about to be turned upside-down.

 

Whisper never thought her life would be so good. Living with LOKI, safe and sound from the horrors of her childhood and working as a tattoo artist with her best friend and savior Les was a dream come true. But that dream quickly turns into a nightmare when Paradigm stampedes into Ironwood on the back of dragons and monsters. Kidnapped and thrown into a cage in the depths of an underground facility, Whisper has lost hope. With each passing moment she slips further into her mind, letting her animal–Frigga–take charge to keep the fragile human from falling apart.

 

Theron (Scar) Aetos has been hiding in plain sight his entire life. There wasn't ever much choice, when you're the last of your kind. His animal–Scar–was his only companion. He thought all was lost when he was captured by Paradigm, but that all changed as he was tossed into a cell with his fated mate. Except something is very wrong with the mercurial eyed Whisper, and Theron just can't work it out. Putting his trust in her may just be his complete undoing as they are both shoved into the limelight when her grizzly comes tearing out of her skin.

 

Will they be able to escape the sudden celebrity and make space for their mating? Can Whisper come out of her shell and accept the man who claims to love her above all others? And what happens once the lights fade? Can humanity handle the knowledge that their myths and legends have really been lurking in the shadows the entire time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.O. Newman
• Release date: Feb 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798223434641

K.O. Newman

After growing up in the Midwest, I took flight to New England for University.  After graduating with a BA in English Literature from the University of Vermont, I moved back home to be close to family, work at a school during the day, and teaching creative writing at night.  I took my first creative writing class while in college, at St. Louis Writer's Workshop, and from there I was hooked.  Many years later, I found myself living in a small town in Illinois, and married to a wonderful man.  Together we have an amazing young son, who is absolutly the light of my life.  I work at a retirement community and write in my spare time.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Whisper

Ipressed myself into the corner of my room, peeking just over the top of the bed where I could still see the door. Twisting my hands in my night dress, I tried to keep quiet. The crashing of thunder outside my window was making my heart beat like a kick drum as lightning flashed, lighting up my little room in stark white and banishing any shadows that might be lurking in the furthest corners.

The door slammed into the wall, handle sticking. The figure illuminated in the dim light of the hall made my stomach flip. I thought I told you to fucking keep that mouth closed, little bitches are meant to be seen and not heard. His voice boomed through my head and echoed in the silent house. Tears dripped down my face.

Daddy hadn’t been mad at me when Mama was alive. He had been a good dad filled with nice smiles and love. But Mama left a hole in him. At least that’s what alpha’s wife said. Something had broken in him, and looking up at the twisted face of my father sneering down at me made my pulse race even faster.

I’m sorry, I whispered, looking down at my hands still wringing my dress between them. My back was tight into the corner, but I pushed back anyway, digging the wall into my skin, toes straining to make us as invisible as possible. I didn’t mean…

Shut your yapping mouth. 

His eyes had gone full black, like his polar bear. His animal was cold and hateful, so different from my grizzly that hummed warmly in the back of my mind. Typhon shone clearly from my father’s face. His bear hadn’t recovered when Mama died, neither of them had, and it had made his scent sour and painful. Alpha had urged him to take a new mate, but Daddy refused.

Bitch. Reaching down, he grabbed me by the front of my night dress, the claws slipping under his nail beds, ripping the fabric like tissue paper and staining my skin with his blood. You are to keep your fucking gob closed, can’t even do that fucking right. With a flick of his wrist, he threw me to my mattress. I didn't dare move, running would make things worse. 

Hearing the rattle of his belt had me shaking. Biting into my knuckles and pressing my face into the threadbare comforter I tried to keep my whimpers from reaching his ears, and waited to see what he would do.

That first crack of leather across the back of my naked thighs pulled a scream from my throat. I couldn’t hold it in. 

My teeth sunk into my knuckle too easily, my bear pushing at me to let her out. I could smell the bite of iron before the next blow hit. Crimson red mixed with my tears as they soaked into my sheets. I lost count of how many times he struck. My legs and bottom felt like they were on fire. But I would heal before the sun came up. I would heal and no one would know.

The tell tale snick of his zipper had Frigga clawing at my skin. She pressed me back into my body, pulling me away. Black filled my vision as my animal stole control of my body, holding me close until his anger disappeared with him out my bedroom door, leaving me less than I had been when he crashed in. My bear's warm dominance pressed me deep down until I could feel nothing. Just the blissful black tucking me up tight, while my bear held me close and hummed gently. Hummed the songs Mama used to sing to us when we were scared.

I woke to the sound of rain. The soft pitter patter of it hitting my window. My room was icy cold, but the first blush of dawn was seeping in under the heavy clouds.

My body was sticky and uncomfortable, raw when I pulled myself up and fixed my dress. I pushed those feelings that aside. My body always felt wrong when I slipped back in after Frigga had taken my control. Instead I focused on the sounds of the water hitting my window as I counted the seconds between the beautiful crash of lightning and the sound of the thunder.

Mama and I used to do that together, count moments, hold them close and cherish them for what they were. She would come into my room and slide under the warm comforter with me and bundle me up tight, surrounding me in her scent. I could barely remember it anymore. She would sing to me as we watched the light streak across the sky, and tell stories of when she was a little girl, the clan she had had, the grizzlies like me. Her stories felt like fairy tales, little brown bears in this enchanted forest far away. 

When I got scared of the noise, she would tuck me in a blanket and we would count how far away the storm was. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Until we heard the thunder rattling the windows.

Without Mama, the storm lived in the house. Lightning strikes the same place every time. And there was no one but the bear in my middle to hold me close. The bear like Mama’s.

Summer sun beat down on my face as I waited outside the house. The old lock was fucking tricky on the best of days, but today it wouldn’t even budge. Didn’t help that the door was warped in its frame, or that Daddy wouldn’t fix nothing. 'Cause it cost too damn much, and I ate all his fucking paycheck. The back deck was cracked and broken where Daddy hadn’t bothered to replace the boards, even though the new ones sat next to the deck, decaying in the elements. He seemed to have less and less time for things around the house the older I got. And spent far too much time losing at cards and drinking with his crew. 

I was the one who did the dishes and cooked all the meals. Those that I got to eat, that was. Laundry was done every morning before school. If he didn’t have his pants for work, his belt did the talking. And when it wasn’t the belt, it was the thing hiding underneath it.

My ass was sore where I sat leaning against the one standing bit of railing, waiting for the sun to go down and Daddy to get home. It should have healed while I was in class, but even bears needed fuel to heal, and skipping too many meals meant that my body didn’t do the things it was supposed to anymore, no matter how hard my bear tried.

I could feel my skin burning under the intense light of the Iowa sun, but there was nothing I could do except wait for someone to help me shimmy the lock, or for Daddy to get home. Daddy was off on a job, and no one in the Broken Oath Clan would help me. Daddy made sure of it. He was the Alpha’s second. No one dared cross my daddy. And I was the lone grizzly cub–though less like a cub every day–in a clan of polar bears. An outsider.

The sound of gravel crunching on the drive had my heart speeding up. If it was my father, I would get the breadth of his belt; if it was one of his friends, I would be getting something else. I looked down at my phone, but every text message I had sent went unanswered. Just needed one person to be brave and come to my aid. Couldn't call a shifter, but Daddy couldn’t keep me from making human friends at school.

Black edges framed my vision as three of Daddy’s friends made their way around the corner of the house. Frigga was already trying to push me back into my hiding spot. My beautiful animal thought that she was saving me. But I knew. She hid the horrors of what they did to my body, but I was far from stupid and she couldn’t heal my aches and pains, or clean off their touch, fingerprint bruises and blood painting my thighs. My animal was just as broken as I was and it was my fault for being weak.

Oh, girly. Brad, Daddy’s best friend, bit his lip and gave me a creepy look up and down. He made my stomach sick with the way his gaze lingered on my barely-there breasts, licking his lips as he sauntered towards me. Looks like someone got herself locked out of the house. He grabbed his crotch, shaking it at me like some limp snake. You know what that means.

You take it out, I’ll bite it off, I hissed, my voice shaking as I fought my animal to keep control. You’re pathetic.

You think so?

What, you can’t get a woman your own age, so you come after a kid? The smack of his palm hitting my face echoed in my head as I caught myself on the deck. My cheek stung and the scent of iron hit my nose, sending my bear into a frenzy. I didn’t lock myself out, asshole. I held up my key. Shoving it in the lock, I tried to twist it, but it wouldn’t budge. Just like it hadn’t an hour earlier when I had gotten home from school. Daddy changed the locks.

Might be a hint, bitch. Brad grabbed me by my throat, cutting off my air as he hauled me to my feet. Daddy thinks you need to earn your keep. Seems you cost him more each year. All Broken Oath women have to earn to stay, you know that. It’s time you start earning.

He shoved me at Roman who grabbed my jaw so hard it felt like it would shatter under his fingers. Squeezing my eyes shut, I willed the tears to stay inside. Roman’s lips crashed down on mine, dry and cracked, he pushed his slimy tongue into my mouth, making me gag. All Broken Oath women had to earn, and Daddy and his friends had already chosen the way I was going to pay. 

Look at you, being all good for the boys. Daddy’s voice came from behind me. The kitchen door wide open. Bring it inside boys. Wouldn’t want to show off the girl to the neighbors. They might get ideas that they can sample our wares.

With a hard shove, I was pushed through the door, a hand in my hair holding me tight, a jean clad erection grinding into my ass. I fought with everything I had, tearing hair from my scalp as I failed to escape.

Frigga saw red. We had been set up. Not just punishment anymore. The scent of crumpled bank notes told me that things had changed. Daddy was selling me to the clan to pay his debts, and my bear wasn’t going to take it anymore.

Claws burst from my nail beds, my teeth elongating in my mouth until I couldn’t keep my jaw clenched any longer. The first swipe caught Brad’s throat, an arch of ruby red painted the kitchen cabinets as he clutched at his throat, frothing blood bubbled from his neck as his eyes went glassy, hands trying to close his torn windpipe.

A grin split my lips and Frigga cackled.

Ain’t gonna touch my girl with your pickle dick anymore, Frigga roared as she took control. Roman went down next, trying to grab me. She slashed down the front of his jeans, shredding the appendage that was still hidden behind his zipper.

His scream filled my mind as I retreated to the back, closing myself down in my little hiding place while Frigga did what she did best.

Tooth and Claw wasn’t a place where you went to find a beer with a friend or watch a game on big screen TVs. It was a shifter club, deep underground. None of the rules of human society penetrated down into the basement rooms. It certainly wasn’t somewhere to find a sweet girl from Iowa. No country bumpkins inside the sweating concrete walls of T&C. Innocence had no place. But it was better than living on the streets, which was where Frigga and I had found ourselves after leaving Broken Oath and Iowa behind.

Tooth and Claw made its money on cage fights and prostitutes. Both of the shifter persuasion. If you frequented the hallowed halls of T&C you were looking for blood or pussy, and Frigga was happy to supply you with both depending on your price and attitude. We had found strength in the things that Daddy had tried to force on me. Or Frigga had. She was my strength, and she ruled the roost while we scraped by in the underbelly of paranormal society.

She was so much better at it than I was. No one crossed Frigga. And those that did, rarely lived to regret it.

Whisper on the other hand? I was a fucking mess.  Panic and fear were bitter scents and the scent of my discomfort coated my skin. Some preds liked that. They liked their girls scared and timid. I was good at being prey. I wasn’t good at being pussy. The thought of giving my body away to strangers for cash made my stomach heave. My bear had no such qualms. Sex was a temporary discomfort, but cash would get us out of hell. Eventually.

I fidgeted with the hem of my hotpants, trying to tug them down enough to actually cover my ass cheeks. They never did, no matter how much I tugged. They never had.

Yo, girly. Across the bar a man in greasy jeans and a shirt that probably had a graphic on the front at some point waved an empty bottle at me. Could actually serve your customers over here. Might not need to bend over after hours if you tried for fucking tips.

I rolled my eyes. Tucking Whisper back from the edges of our mind, Frigga sauntered over to the dickhead. Baby, not a single night of fucking tips pays me as much as half an hour of my fucking time. I grabbed the bottle from his fingers and raised a brow. This your way of looking to see if my dance card is full, or you just want another beer?

Fuck, girly, I got a mate at home. He sat back, widening his knees just a bit, so I could see the meager length of him hardening along his thigh under his threadbear jeans. Vomit.

My condolences to her. I turned to leave. So, one Bud Light?

Heard you got the best mouth in the county, he said as he grabbed me by my upper arm. I swallowed back my rage, feeling the bloodlust bubbling up through my bloodstream like macabre carbonation. It wasn’t good to kill the clientele, but I hadn’t seen homeboy around before. And the boss man overlooked it if they were transient and paid upfront. As long as I took care of any mess. 

I was good at messes, and Whisper was more than happy to help me make them.

I’m a little insulted. I pasted my best seductive smile across my face. Only the county? Flipping my long ponytail over my shoulder, I let the neckline of my shirt slip down just a little. I thought I was at least the best in the state.

So?

Is this your way of starting a negotiation? I asked, putting the bottle down on the sticky high top table. It's a Benjamin to play. Three for privacy. And five to touch. I pulled out my notebook, girls weren’t allowed phones on the floor–not that I had anyone to call–and checked my appointments. Dickhead was right, I was sought after, even with the rumor that sometimes my Johns didn’t make it back to their vehicles at the end of the night. I was a challenge to them, a conquest. Frigga called customers back with her fierce presence, while Whisper drew them in with her innocence and fear. But they only ever touched Frigga. I have a three thirty open.

Fuck, ain’t paying a hundred bucks for a blowjob. He stood and dropped a handful of wadded up bills on the table. All high on yourself, ain’t you bitch?

I just shrugged and tucked the notebook away. The handful of crumpled bills went into my apron pocket. Whatever.

The cigarette shook in my fingers as I sat against the back door. I could still smell the scent of my clients on my skin, even after Frigga had scrubbed us down enough for my skin to redden in the tiny bathroom that I shared with the other girls.

Rain pelted down around me, soaking everything including the smoke perched between my split lips. The roar of thunder didn’t make my heart pound like it had when I was little. No longer needed Frigga to shield me from the storm. She was the lightning boiling in my gut and did the things we needed to survive. Bears needed clan, and once Broken Oath had pushed me out, we found the only one who would take me in.

Hannibal wasn’t the worst alpha. He was far from the best. He never once touched me–he wouldn’t touch the girls, that was his rule. Frigga thought she shielded me from what our alpha called on me to do, what we did after club hours. Thought I couldn’t see them or feel the dirty hands on our skin. I could, and it was slowly eating away at my soul and the hours of her holding our human skin were causing me to lose my control over my animal, little by little. But I was nothing if not a survivor. I would survive. I would push through each day if only to stick it to Daddy, long may he rot in his grave. And I would keep doing it until Frigga and I went mad with the strain, and Hannibal or one of his enforcers had to put us down.

The punishment that my father and his friends had beaten me down with had become our source of income. I could take a beating just as easily as a cock. Frigga made sure of it. And while more than half of everything I made went to the club and clan, I had a stockpile of bills tucked into a hole under my mattress. Nowhere to go. But I was squirreling away the funds in a desperate hope for someday. 

Grizzlies needed touch, they needed souls around them, and there wasn’t a clan in the country who would take a murderous prostitute with no real skills to speak of. Well, I could sling drinks and suck cock, and the other clans that would have me were worse than Tooth and Claw. Least I got my own tiny room in the bowels of the clubhouse.

I blinked the raindrops from my lashes as I saw a figure hunched under the deluge, coming right at me. Didn’t even give him a second thought. Even if the rain had dampened his scent, I wouldn’t have looked twice, it was a public alley. 

That was until there was a knife against my throat, the wild eyes of the man from the club boring into mine.

Knew you couldn’t hide in there forever. His thumb pressed against my windpipe, limiting my oxygen, the blade of his knife biting into the skin just enough to feel the sharp edge. Bitch thinks she can rob a man for a little head?

Whatever, Frigga choked out, pushing me to the back, but I wasn’t ready to budge.

Whores like you are what pulls our people down. You should be glad to get on your knees for your betters, beg us to use you. The knife nicked my throat, making the scent of my own blood soak into the humid and heavy air, bringing it close to my nose. Frigga roared up to the surface, shoving me back with both paws, filling every single inch of the water drenched alleyway with her presence.

You think you’re my better? my bear asked, my words struggling to form around where his hand was pressing into my throat. I beg to differ.

I got the knife.

You do, Frigga said as calmly as she could, letting our claws come out. Blood mixing with the rain on the pavement. But I have something else. I pushed Frigga aside. Bleeding men was my specialty.

The asshole didn’t even bat an eye. Looking down at me with disgust as he went to push the subject. I wasn’t interested in waiting. Grabbing a hold of his shirt, I dragged him further into the alley, deep into the shadows before I batted the knife aside and grinned, my teeth too long for my mouth already.

I have to express my condolences to your mate, I hissed, pushing him until he hit the back wall of the club. Not only does she have a piece of shit like you bound to her soul, I ran my thick six inch claw down the side of his head, taking in the acrid scent of his fear. Musty like bird feathers. Bird boy, and now she’ll have to live with a broken mating bond.

My claws drew down his throat, shredding the delicate skin there. Warm blood hit my face and chest, mixing with the rain water, and staining my dress.

Threatening me isn’t acceptable, I told him, my claws deep in his chest the only thing holding him upright. I ripped straight down until his body lay split down the center at my feet. Well, shit. I looked down at the dead man bleeding out at my feet, and then down the alley. Maybe Jasmine will let me borrow her truck. I kicked the still warm body. Couldn’t have waited until I went out for my run in the woods, could you? 

With a sigh I pulled my claws back into my human hands, the sting of the partial change worse than the little nick he had given me with the knife. Water gushed down from the overflowing gutters, and I used that to rinse the worst of the ichor from my hands. Fucking ruined my dress.

It took far too long to drag the John’s dead ass into the swamp lands behind the club. Even with Jasmin’s truck, the sun was coming up by the time I had pushed the corpse into its shallow grave.

Leaning against the shovel I kept for just such occasions, I watched as the sun peeked up over the horizon. Covered in blood and dirty, my hair slicked to my face as the winds kicked up, I could smell predators in the air.

The growl of motorcycles filled the forest, the sound bouncing and echoing off the trees until it felt like it was all around me. Frigga pressed at my skin, looking to defend us, but I held strong. Shredding my dress before I got back to my room wasn’t something I was interested in. Walking down the halls of Tooth and Claw naked was just asking for trouble, and I was all done with dealing with men’s bullshit for the night.

Four figures emerged from the drizzle, tall clad in leather and denim, and smelling like grizzly.

You boys lost? I asked, tossing my shovel into the back of Jamine’s truck and slamming the gate.

Seems like we found exactly what we were looking for, actually, one of them said, kicking his leg over his bike and swaggering up to me. Name’s Kai.

Don’t do names in my line of work, friend. I knocked his hand away and went to get into the truck. And it's after hours. Come see me tonight if you want to get booked in.

Ain’t what we’re here for. Another man stepped up to me, and his scent made me sit up and listen.

You sure as hell ain’t. I leaned in and took a good long sniff. Even under the damp and leather I could practically taste his mating bond. Grizzlies mate for life.

A friend sent us.

Don’t have any of those, I hissed, fisting my hands into my hips and looked the four of them up and down. Try again.

We were tipped off that a grizzly needed a safe place to land. Kai raised a brow at me, taking in my blood stained dress and muddy everything. A place that ain’t taking from her, and harming her bear.

Your friend is far too late. I pulled the keys out from where I had hidden them in the wheel well of the truck, and flipped them in my palm. I take care of myself.

And you’re doing an admirable job of it. He ran his hand through his hair, pushing water out of his face.

Ain’t blowing you for your unneeded heroics. Frigga started to melt into me as the adrenaline crash had me shaking. I leaned against the truck, looking down at the mud covering my boots. Hannibal don’t like it when outsiders try and poach his talent.

Not poaching. The mated bear crowded me. Instantly my body relaxed as I swayed towards him. I’m Les, and I can smell from here you aren’t well. Your bear is too big, too human. You need to get out of TC, he told me, tipping my chin up.

Hurt and fear slipped into my carefully controlled mask. Tears dripped down. Everything Frigga had been trying to hold back flooded through me as I met the scent of safety, home. My chin dipped, and I pressed my face into the man’s palm. No, I hiccuped. I’m not okay.

Let’s get you home, sweetheart. He tucked me up under his arm and steered me towards his bike, clipping a helmet to my head.

Don’t have one.

You fucking do now. His hug filled me with warmth. Safety and home sank into my skin and the tentative brush of a bond pressed against my mind. You have a home with the Lords. He helped me swing my leg over the bike, and showed me where to put my feet. What’s your name, baby?

Stella, I choked out as the tears bled down my cheeks, mingling with the rainwater.

Let’s get you warm and dry, little bear.

I can’t explain the feeling of going through the gates of Ironwood Heights the first time. I was soaking wet, clinging to the back of Les’s bike, shivering, cold and wrung