First Moon (The Ternion Order Book 1) Read online

  First Moon

  The Ternion Order – Book One

  Daniel R. Marvello

  Published by Magic Fur Press

  An imprint of Logical Expressions, Inc.

  P.O. Box 383, Ponderay, Idaho 83852, USA

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business organizations, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2015 by Daniel R. Marvello

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher.

  ISBN:

  978-1-61038-033-1 (paperback)

  978-1-61038-034-8 (EPUB)

  Cover art by Victorine E. Leiske

  Print layout by Susan C. Daffron

  Ebook formatting by Logical Expressions, Inc.

  Digital Edition 1.0 – April 12, 2015

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Copyright Page

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  Chapter 1 - Dumped

  Chapter 2 - The Pickup Joint

  Chapter 3 - One-Night Stand

  Chapter 4 - Symptomatic

  Chapter 5 - Dr. Adolphus Rutlinger

  Chapter 6 - The Foundation

  Chapter 7 - Butterflies and Rainbows

  Chapter 8 - Boomerang

  Chapter 9 - Ultimatum

  Chapter 10 - Pagan Origins

  Chapter 11 - Sanctuary

  Chapter 12 - Hayworth Farm

  Chapter 13 - Moon Shrine

  Chapter 14 - In the Circle

  Chapter 15 - The Totem

  Chapter 16 - Sedated

  Chapter 17 - Standoff

  Chapter 18 - Bad Moon Rising

  Chapter 19 - Hunter

  Thank You for Reading

  Dedication & Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books by Daniel R. Marvello

  First Moon

  The Ternion Order – Book One

  by Daniel R. Marvello

  After being dumped by his fiancé, Kyle Nelson is ready for a rebound fling. But a one-night stand turns into a catastrophe that leaves Kyle with violent dreams and disturbing physical symptoms.

  Kyle is approached by an attractive witch named Amanda who tries to convince him that he is in danger of turning into a werewolf and that his only hope for a cure lies with her secret society, the Ternion Order.

  Initially writing Amanda off as a lunatic, Kyle reconsiders her offer after he attracts the attention of the local pack and learns that his fate will be sealed on the next full moon.

  First Moon is a contemporary paranormal fantasy adventure of approximately 78,000 words.

  Chapter 1

  Dumped

  The moment Kyle turned onto his street, he knew something was wrong. Sherry’s Subaru was backed into the driveway and the rear door was open. Sherry never backed in because she thought she might hit something.

  Kyle parked under the spreading maple trees that arched over their avenue, turning it into a long tunnel of green. The two-story house they shared in an older residential section of town was compact and didn’t have much of a yard, but it was close to work and shopping.

  Grabbing his backpack from the passenger seat, Kyle locked his Explorer and suppressed the urge to hurry his stride. Whatever Sherry might be doing, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it. As he walked up the driveway alongside her car, Sherry came out of the house with a box and tried to cram it into an available space. The back of her car was already loaded with other boxes as well as her luggage.

  Kyle’s heart dropped into his stomach. This didn’t look like a Goodwill run, and it didn’t look like she was packing for an emergency journey, either.

  “Taking a trip?” he asked.

  Sherry gave the box one last shove and stood to face Kyle with her arms crossed. “I’m leaving.”

  “You mean, forever? Without even talking to me about it first?”

  “We’ve talked about it a dozen times. You won’t listen. I’m not staying here another day.”

  Kyle had listened; he just didn’t agree. Sherry had grown up in Sandpoint, but the things that made this small North Idaho community seem peaceful and charming to most visitors had become boring and stagnant to her.

  “Where will you go?”

  “Fred and Barbara said I could stay in their spare room until I find a job and get back on my feet.”

  At least she would be going someplace safe. Sherry practically idolized her old high school buddies because the couple had managed to escape the area and set up a successful life in Portland, Oregon.

  His eyes dropped to the engagement ring she wore. “Just like that? What about us?”

  Following his gaze, she twisted the ring off her finger and held it out at arm’s length. “I’m done with us.”

  She dropped the ring into his open palm and turned on her heel to scurry back into the house with her head bowed.

  Kyle stared at the sparkling diamond ring. The term “solitaire” seemed inappropriate for something that was supposed to be a symbol of togetherness. He closed his fingers over the ring that was still warm from her hand.

  He knew she was unhappy, but he had no idea she was miserable enough to throw everything away. They had been working together on some kind of compromise. Just because they hadn’t found it yet didn’t mean they wouldn’t.

  He followed her into the house and dropped his pack on the kitchen table next to a small open carton. Peering into the box, he saw some of the kitchen items she had brought into the relationship two years ago. She was also taking a few of the things they had bought together, but it didn’t look like she was cleaning him out completely. Not that he cared. Things could be replaced. She couldn’t.

  Hearing a thump from the upper floor, he went up the stairs to try talking to her again. What could he say to change her mind? Would she accept anything less than his agreement to leave Sandpoint immediately? He’d have to quit his job and leave this land of lakes, forest, and mountains that he’d come to love.

  Only yesterday, she had accused him of loving Sandpoint more than he loved her. That wasn’t true, of course. It was just that, when they did leave, they needed to plan where they would go next and try to get a job there before making the move. Sherry argued that they had plenty of savings and could afford a little down time while they looked for new work. Her definition of “plenty” didn’t come close to his, but that was a different argument.

  He couldn’t accept that much uncertainty all at once. And apparently Sherry couldn’t stand to wait any longer.

  Kyle stood in the doorway to their bedroom, watching her pack a few last things that she had laid out on the bed. “Can’t we talk about this?”

  Although she wiped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks, she didn’t look up at him.

  She shoved the last few items into the duffel bag and zipped it shut. Picking up the bag, she stopped in front of Kyle. He was still blocking the door.

  Her moist, red-rimmed eyes met his. “No. We’ve talked enough. This is it. Either we leave together or I leave alone. It’s your choice.”

  His choice?

  “You aren’t giving me a choice! You’re giving me an ultimatum,” he said, trying not to shout but unable to keep the anger out of his voice.

  She took a step back from him and frowned. “Have it your way then. It’s an ultimatum. Do you love me enough to go with me?”
>
  How could she be so unreasonable? Of course he loved her. He had asked her to marry him, hadn’t he? But he couldn’t simply load up his belongings and drive off with her.

  “You mean just drive off today?”

  “It doesn’t have to be today, but I want you to promise me we’ll be out of here by the end of August.”

  The end of August. That gave him less than two months. Kyle would have to wrap up and throw away three years of career-building and new friendships. He’d have to start over wherever he could find a new job. They’d probably have to move to a city where technology jobs were more plentiful, and he’d have to fight traffic every day. When he needed to escape to somewhere peaceful, they’d have to drive for hours. He would be miserable from day one. And how long would she stay happy before she insisted on the next upheaval?

  An old saying popped into Kyle’s head. No matter where you go, there you are. He had a strong suspicion that the changes she demanded wouldn’t make her happy. She was running away from something she didn’t want, rather than moving toward something she did want. He would be throwing away his life here for nothing because eventually they’d have another conversation exactly like this one. And at some point, he would get sick of capitulating. With a stab of disappointment, he realized that she still had to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, and he didn’t want to go along for that ride.

  Sherry was staring into his eyes, waiting for his response.

  He moved out of the doorway to let her pass. “I can’t make that promise. I’m sorry.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded once, apparently expecting his response. She turned to the side to avoid brushing against him as she went through the doorway. Her feet pounded down the stairs and the contents of the cardboard box on the kitchen table rattled as she picked it up in passing. The thudding slam of her car’s rear door was quickly followed by the start of its engine. As she drove off, the weighed-down rear of her car scraped against the surface of the driveway with a loud screech.

  The house was utterly silent.

  Kyle turned away from the empty bedroom and went back downstairs to close the door that Sherry had left open in her haste.

  Kyle drove out onto the jetty and found a parking space that was shaded from the late afternoon sun. Sitting with his hands on the wheel, he took a deep breath and let it out. It was time to stop hiding.

  In the three weeks since Sherry left, Kyle had become withdrawn. He realized that most of his friends were really her friends, and he doubted they would still appreciate his company. He had one buddy from work, but the ashes of his engagement had settled upon him like a shroud and smothered his interest in social interaction. Depending upon the weather, he occupied himself with long stretches of reading, bicycling, and kayaking when he wasn’t working.

  Tucking his dry bag and deck shoes under his arm, he locked the Explorer and headed down the steps that descended the rocky slope of the jetty to the floating docks below.

  Boats bobbed gently in the slips along the docks from the subdued waves that rolled into the protected cove. The tall masts of the sailboats wobbled to and fro against a cerulean sky, and a cool breeze fluttered the wide leaves of the cottonwoods along the shoreline. It looked like a good afternoon for sailing.

  Kyle strode to the last dock of slips, the boards thumping and occasionally squeaking under his feet. His destination lay just ahead: a San Juan 21 with a light blue hull. His friend Greg Hopkins must have arrived early because the sailboat was mostly rigged.

  Greg heard Kyle’s approach along the dock and looked up from his work on the jib at the bow. Greg waved and shouted, “Just in time. I almost have her ready to go.”

  Kyle stopped alongside Sick Day Adventure and tossed his dry bag into the cockpit. Changing into his deck shoes, he said, “If you’d waited for me, I’d have been glad to help.”

  “But then we wouldn’t be ready to go,” Greg said with a wink.

  Kyle tightened his laces and called out, “Permission to come aboard?”

  Greg braced himself against the anticipated roll of the boat and answered, “Permission granted.”

  Kyle clambered into the cockpit, lobbed his dry bag and street shoes into the cabin, and looked around to see if he could do anything to help prepare the boat for departure.

  Greg stepped off the cabin roof and down into the cockpit. He pushed past Kyle and pivoted the little trolling motor down, submerging the propeller. He looked back at Kyle with a grin.

  “Ready to cast off?” he asked.

  Kyle answered with a mock salute. “Aye aye, Captain.”

  Greg got the motor running while Kyle jumped onto the dock and loosened the mooring lines. He stepped back aboard, and by the time he had the lines coiled, Greg had backed the boat out of the slip and they were chugging away from the docks.

  Once clear of the cove, Greg manned the rudder to keep them headed into the wind while Kyle hoisted the mainsail. Kyle then turned off the motor and locked it into the raised position.

  With the motor off, the only sounds were the waves splashing against the hull of the boat and the sails luffing in the wind. The quiet was what Kyle liked most about sailing. It was so much more peaceful than bouncing across the waves with a massive engine roaring in your ears. A sailboat worked with the elements, while a powerboat tried to beat them into submission.

  Kyle took hold of the main sheet and sat on the starboard bench. Greg eased the bow to port until the wind started filling the sail. Working with practiced synchrony, Kyle let out the main sheet and Greg adjusted the rudder until the sail was thrumming without a ripple in perfect trim. Adventure sliced forward through the waves at a comfortable heel.

  Their course took them along the western edge of the bay. They cruised past the graffiti-covered concrete ruins of an old lumber mill that squatted on the shore. Greg was careful to stay far away from the rotting pier supports that jutted above the surface of the water. Tall pines, cottonwood, and quaking aspen crowded the rocky shoreline. The same breeze that powered Adventure rushed through the tree leaves, mimicking the sound of a waterfall.

  The ruins were a reminder that the lumber industry created most of the towns in the region, although several of the big sawmills had shut down over the past few decades. Now, with the exception of a few technology and manufacturing businesses, most area merchants relied upon tourism for their survival.

  “Stand by to come about,” Greg ordered.

  “Standing by,” Kyle confirmed.

  “Coming about.”

  As Greg turned the rudder, Kyle ducked under the boom and shifted to the port-side bench. Kyle trimmed the main sail and Adventure leaped forward on a port tack while he adjusted the jib.

  Now that they had a long stretch of lake in front of them, both men were able to relax and enjoy the voyage with only minor adjustments to course or sail.

  Greg broke the companionable silence first.

  “So, how are you doing? I haven’t seen much of you lately. Have you heard anything from Sherry?”

  When Greg called and invited Kyle to crew on his sailboat, Kyle’s initial reaction was to maintain his solitude and refuse. But Greg knew him well enough to insist. Kyle loved sailing and would normally never miss a chance to go out on such a perfect day. The down side was that he’d have to answer questions like the one Greg had just asked.

  Kyle nodded and answered his friend. “I called to make sure she got to Portland safely. Haven’t heard anything since then.”

  Greg gave Kyle a sympathetic nod. “Sorry about the breakup, man. That’s always tough. How are you holding up?”

  “I’m fine. I needed some time to sort things out. It’s not like I didn’t know we had problems, but I thought we mattered enough to each other to work things out. I guess she was right. I love living here more than I loved her.”

  Greg shook his head and grimaced. “Don’t take this all on yourself. Another way to look at it is that she loved the idea of getting away from here more
than she loved you.”

  Kyle nodded absently. He’d gone round and round in his own head arguing these points a dozen times over the past few weeks. His conclusion had been that neither one of them loved the other enough to make the necessary sacrifices.

  Greg’s voice took on a delicate tone. “I’ve had a few conversations with other people who know her…have you considered the possibility that she was using you?”

  Kyle glared at Greg. “You think she would agree to marry me just for a ticket out of town?”

  Greg held up one hand in apology. “Sorry. No, I don’t think that. But if she got her hopes up, she’d be doubly disappointed when you rained on her parade.”

  Kyle fell silent, looking up at the sail and thinking through what Greg was suggesting. Yes, it was possible that Sherry had originally been attracted to him because he had a decent job and it was likely that he would move on before too long. When he took the job as an Internet developer for a local sporting-goods retailer, he had planned to do exactly that: get a few years of experience and then move somewhere with milder winters.

  In the meantime, he and Sherry had fallen in love, or so he thought. She sure seemed giddy enough when he proposed to her. But then he screwed it all up by deciding he wanted to stay here.

  Greg interrupted his thoughts. “Sorry I brought it up. Deb thought talking about it might make you feel better. I told her guys don’t usually work like that, but she made me promise.”

  Kyle chuckled and hung his head. Deb was Greg’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. Both of them prized their independence, which was why they rarely stayed together for long. But they couldn’t seem to stay apart, either.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Kyle said. “She’s probably right. I’m sick of thinking about Sherry and what might have been. It’s over, and I’m moving on.”

  Greg grinned. “Glad to hear it. In that case, you should go out to the Pickup Joint tomorrow night with Deb and me. You might find a new filly to break in.”

  Kyle frowned doubtfully. The Pickup Joint was always loud and crowded. After so much peaceful solitude, it sounded positively nauseating.