“I like the fucking part, but the waiting sucks,” I pout, and he sucks on my bottom lip. “I love you, Jackson Hughes.”
“I love you, Polly Lawrence.”
The debate is halted for now as he slides into me, but I know I’ll win in the end. Jackson has a hard time telling me no.
The End
About the Author
Movies, gaming, and books. Oh My!
Jaime Russell grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, but she currently resides in a smaller town in Indiana. She lives in the country with her husband, and she is a caregiver to her parents and mother in law. Jaime suffers from some autoimmune diseases, so on her good days, and is active and most likely shopping. But on her bad days, she spends time curled up with her fuzzy blanket, escaping reality with her puppy Annie.
Jaime is a stepmom to four adults plus a couple of kids that she unofficially adopted. She is a grandmother to two wild boys with a personality all on their own, a sassy granddaughter they have stolen her heart. She is an aunt to two crazy nephews and four nieces, as well as being the oldest child in a family of three and their spouses. Life has never been dull for Jaime, and family means everything to her.
She enjoys watching movies, shooting guns, and spending time with family and friends. She is an avid gamer when her internet permits, as she enjoys talking and goofing off with her online family.
Jaime Russell never liked reading growing up. Now she never goes anywhere without either a paperback or her Kindle because there is always a new book boyfriend that needs to be found and fought over.
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Twitter: @mamabear824
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Part XXIII
August Thunder
Chelle C. Craze
Dark Leopards MC
South Michigan Chapter
Book Two
August Thunder
© 2020 Chelle C. Craze
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.
Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
AUGUST THUNDER is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.
The character, Jackson used with the permission of Jaime Russell, Tyson used with the permission of Letha Gene. The characters Ivan and Snoop were created collaboratively by Letha Gene and Chelle C. Craze. The character Griller was created collaboratively by Jaime Russell and Chelle C. Craze.
Otherwise, hold on and enjoy the ride, you crazed lunatics!
Editing & Proofreading donated by: Maria Vickers
Dedication
If you are a beast at heart walking amongst the otherwise weak, this is for you. Don’t ever change yourself to fit into society’s image of perfection. Embrace your inner animal and let the world hear you roar.
Prologue
Trista
One year ago
The truth always found a way of making itself known. For me, it took a number of years, ten to be exact. I thought back to the day my life changed.
I ran as fast as my two feet would go away from the house, my breath catching in my chest as my breathing quickened. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. I had never done anything like this in my life. I was the good kid. Tatianna was the troublemaker. I wanted to take it all back, but I wasn’t given the power to bend time.
The sound of sirens wailed in the darkness of the night, and they were getting louder. My chest burned with panic, and my heart screamed with agony. It was only supposed to be a prank. No one was supposed to get hurt.
“But they did, Trista, and you liked it,” my liger whispered with satisfaction.
“No! You are wrong. You liked it. I didn’t,” I denied the very truth as it flooded the very depths of our body.
“Tell yourself whatever makes you feel better, but we both know the truth,” she sneered in disapproval.
“You still like danger, Trista,” my liger said, having no problem with taking the opportunity to remind me she was right all those years ago.
I should have fought the charges. I was a minor when it happened, but I didn’t know the legal system well enough to know my own rights. I didn’t have anyone to guide me. The evidence they had against me was circumstantial at best. I could have easily provided a blood sample and gotten the entire case dismissed. There was a problem with that, though. I was a shifter, and even though my liger and I didn’t always agree, I loved who I was. The world, however, might not share my compassion.
Our DNA was far more advanced than modern science could ever fathom, and if it were to land in the right hands, it had the power to cure illnesses. It wouldn’t anytime soon, though.
The world wouldn’t be at all welcoming upon the discovery of shifters. We were the unknown, and that was exactly what humans as a whole feared. There was no question about that for me because I was the humanity portion of my body. The part that carried most of the fears and worry. The other half was primal and
