Genesis: (Book One of the True Luna Series) Read online

  Genesis

  Book One of the True Luna Series

  Texie D. Freeman

  Copyright © 2021 Texie D. Freeman

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN-13: 9798551336655

  ISBN-10: 1477123456

  Cover design by: Art Painter

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309

  Printed in the United States of America

  For my grandmother, Louise, who sparked my love for reading and encouraged me when I decided that I wanted to be an author. I love you to the moon and back.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  GENESIS

  /The Hunter/

  /CHAPTER ONE/

  /CHAPTER TWO/

  /CHAPTER THREE/

  /CHAPTER FOUR/

  /CHAPTER FIVE/

  /CHAPTER SIX/

  /CHAPTER SEVEN/

  /CHAPTER EIGHT/

  /CHAPTER NINE/

  /CHAPTER TEN/

  /CHAPTER ELEVEN/

  /CHAPTER TWELVE/

  /CHAPTER THIRTEEN/

  /CHAPTER FOURTEEN/

  /CHAPTER FIFTEEN/

  /CHAPTER SIXTEEN/

  /CHAPTER SEVENTEEN/

  /CHAPTER EIGHTEEN/

  /CHAPTER NINETEEN/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE/

  /The Luna/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT/

  /CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT/

  /CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE/

  /EPILOGUE/

  Afterword

  About The Author

  Books By This Author

  GENESIS

  (Book One of The True Luna Series)

  By

  By Texie D. Freeman

  /The Hunter/

  /CHAPTER ONE/

  The sky was painted grey and there was a chill in the air as June Gilley waited. Her body was tense, every muscle taunt, as she watched the abandoned, two story sawmill. The double doors hadn’t budged in the last half hour, but June wasn’t taking any chances. Every hunter knew that if something could go wrong, it would.

  The thought had barely crossed June’s mind when a yell ripped the silence in half and a large figure plummeted through the second story window. Glass rained as the beast hit the ground, landing on its knees. As it rose, a pair of golden eyes locked on June, and then it charged.

  From the waistband of her jeans, June pulled out her handgun, and quickly switched off the safety. The weight of the weapon was familiar as she raised it, aiming at the creature. When it was halfway across the parking lot, she let out a breath and pressed the trigger.

  A few feet away from her, the beast collapsed as the silver bullet found a home in its heart. Still holding the gun up, June slowly approached the limp figure. Its head lolled her way as thick blood poured from the hole in its chest. She watched as the fangs protruding over its bottom lip shrank and its claws receded. The light in its glowing eyes was fading rapidly but this didn’t stop the hybrid from wheezing one strangled word, “Why?”

  It wasn’t the first time she had been asked this question. The other four hybrids that had come before had also been curious. Still, June wished they would stop inquiring because the answer never changed.

  Keeping her eyes down, her reply was simple, “Because you’re a monster.”

  The hybrid tried to speak but couldn’t. The remaining gold in its eyes had faded completely as it let out its final breath.

  She didn’t need a psychic to know what it was going to say and shook her head, ridding herself of its potential words. She kept her place over the hybrid until she heard a loud creak. The double doors of the sawmill had opened, and three men walked out of the building.

  Leading the group across the parking lot was June’s older brother, Brandon. Like their dad, he was tall and lanky with too long arms and stubby knees. Bran was a chameleon. His outer appearance was a trick on those who doubted his ability. On the inside, he was cunning. His success was as bloody as his red hair and as sharp as his blue eyes that always shined with malice.

  The man to Bran’s right was Alister Gilley, renowned genius and June’s uncle. He was a legend among the hunters for creating a spyware database that spanned across the internet. The system reported incidences such as when people saw a shifted hybrid. With the help of local news outlets and social media, hunting had never been easier.

  Last but not least was Jace Chandler, the enigma. No one knew Jace the way June did. While every hunter in the complex knew his story, they didn’t know the man it had created. On the outside, Jace was soft looking with blonde curls and blue eyes. Most assumed he had had everything handed to him because of his good looks but that was far from true. After the loss of his father, he had to learn how to survive on his own.

  “Next time, someone else is keeping watch,” June said, not hiding her agitation. She lowered her gun and switched the safety on. “If I wasn’t here the hybrid would’ve gotten away.”

  “Like you have anywhere else to be,” Bran scoffed, his eyes on the corpse. He nudged the hybrid’s shoulder with his foot as though he expected it to jump up. When it didn’t, his eyes fell on June and he snapped, “Another inch to the left and you would have missed the heart.”

  June’s hand clenched around the gun. A small part of her itched to put a bullet through him. Bran may be her brother by blood, but he certainly didn’t act like it. He never missed an opportunity to belittle her. It didn’t matter that they had the same skills and worked the same job, Bran liked to pretend that he was above her. There was not an ounce of love between them.

  Alister cleared his throat, drawing the groups attention to him. He nodded to the two black cars parked in the dirt lot behind them. “We’re through here. Jace you’ll ride home with June. Bran you’re with me.”

  “Perfect,” he quipped and walked off after giving his sister a scorching glare.

  Alister rolled his eyes and sighed as he followed his nephew.

  June waited until her uncle’s car pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street before facing Jace. Exasperated, she asked, “Did you see that? He is such an ass. I bet he goes back and tells our dad that I almost missed. Just for one second, can he act like a normal human being with respect for others—”

  She cut herself off as Jace’s arms snaked around her waist and yanked her forward. June exhaled softly as his lips met hers in a chaste kiss. Staring up at him, Bran was banished from her mind as she asked, “What was that for?”

  Jace’s lips quirked. “You talk too much.”

  She scowled but didn’t make a move to leave his embrace. “I should’ve let you ride with Alister.”

  His smile vanished. Be
grudgingly, Jace said, “No thanks. I don’t need another lecture on why we shouldn’t be together.”

  June grimaced at the bleak reminder. Her family had made it very clear on how they felt about her and Jace. Since announcing their relationship two months ago, everyone, even lighthearted Alister, suddenly wanted the best for her whatever that meant.

  In actuality, June knew they were stuck in the past. Her family would never accept her relationship because while it wasn’t against the rules for two hunters to be together, it was frowned upon.

  Hunting, unlike other jobs, was something a person was born into. Every hunter was backed by generations of skills and intense training. When two families mixed, it eliminated the possibility of bringing in new blood from outside the complex. In addition, two hunters that slept together, worked together since the pool of active hunters in duty was limited.

  And then there was the risk of being bitten.

  Every time a hunter left the complex they risked being turned. One bite or deep scratch from a hybrid mutilated a human’s DNA. In these cases, they are then locked away and executed by their closest kin be it their sister, father, wife, aunt, husband, or best friend. The tradition was as old as the hunters themselves. It was a way of reminding everyone that duty ranked over family.

  The thought of having to execute Jace had crossed June’s mind more than once. She had seen what the mantra did to people firsthand.

  Her own father was proof. Despite having to execute her mother over twenty-three years ago, Dale was half alive. He walked around like a zombie, simply living through the motions. June couldn’t recall the last time she had seen him smile.

  Time, June learned, did not heal all wounds.

  “What if my family is right? What if we are making a mistake?” June asked, her eyes going to the hybrid’s corpse. An image of Jace with gold eyes and fangs sent a chill down her spine. If their relationship progressed, the council would make her end his life if he was bitten. The mere thought of killing another person, especially the man in front of her, made June’s stomach roll.

  Out of all the other hunters in town, he was the only one she really cared about.

  Jace’s arms dropped so he could grasp either side of June’s face. His eyes shined with sincerity as he answered, “We aren’t.”

  “How do you know?” she asked, keeping her unwavering gaze on him. June wasn’t sure what she would do if he was uncertain about their future. Before Jace, the days and weeks blurred together. Now that June had a taste of what being wanted felt like, she wasn’t certain she could go back to her old, bleak reality.

  “Because I love you.”

  June swallowed the lump in her throat and looked away when his expression began to resemble that of a man searching for water in a desert. She stepped out of his embrace and pulled her phone out from her back pocket. “I need to call Phil. Can you keep watch?”

  Without waiting for his answer, June left Jace where he stood, walking away. She could feel his eyes on her back as she went around the corner of the sawmill. Out of sight, June put her back against the rusted tin wall and let out the breath she had been holding.

  Jace made her happy but June wasn’t in the same place emotionally. She liked him a lot, that was for sure, but love? Love was on a completely different spectrum; one June wasn’t sure existed.

  Dismissing the intrusive thought, June unlocked her phone and searched for Phil’s number in her contacts. Every complex of hunters across the United States had a team of specially trained cleaners. The man in charge their region was Phil Lamb. While she had never met him in person, June knew from the tall tales that Phil only left his home when the remains of a hybrid needed to be disposed.

  The line was picked up after the third ring. Not missing a beat, June said, “I heard gunshots at the sawmill.”

  “I’ll be there soon,” Phil responded dryly and hung up.

  June pocketed her phone with an eye roll. One thing the cleaner wasn’t known for was his conversation skills. She idly wondered what had made Phil the way he was, but quickly brushed off the thought. There were more important things to worry about than the life of a stranger.

  With reservation, June pushed off the wall and rounded the corner. She took her time getting back to Jace. He was leaning against the car with his back to her, watching the road. Feeling nauseous, she returned to his side, saying, “The cleaners are on the way.”

  Jace nodded in acknowledgement and silence stretched between them for a long minute. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she exhaled, “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” Jace asked. His eyes went to the ground, watching his shoe dig into the dirt. “I wasn’t expecting you to say it back. I just thought you should know.”

  Relief flooded June. She reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “How did I get so lucky?”

  Jace’s lips melted into a lazy smile. “I ask myself the same thing every night.”

  “You’re a cheese ball,” June laughed, shoving his shoulder with her free hand. A thought crossed her mind, and she bit her lip, her voice low as she said, “The sawmill is empty, and there’s still an hour before curfew.”

  Jace’s brows shot up in surprise. He cleared his throat, “What about Phil? Shouldn’t we wait for him?”

  “No, I trust that he knows what a dead body looks like,” June quipped, stepping so close to Jace there was no room for air between their chests. Standing on the tip of her toes, June pressed her lips to his neck before asking, “Do you want to stay here or come with me?”

  He winced. “I’ll take the second option.”

  With that, June grabbed his hand and started for the empty building. Over her shoulder, she grinned, “Do you trust me?”

  Jace’s eyes went to the sawmill warily. “Are you sure?”

  “No,” she admitted. The sawmill was far from being a five-star hotel. “But we both know my father is going to be hovering over us the minute we get back. When will we have another opportunity to be alone?”

  June knew the second she had hooked him when realization passed over his face. No one in the complex was immune to her father’s overbearing ways, especially the two of them. Out of all her family members, Dale had personally taken it upon himself to break them up. He wasn’t above using his power to manipulate them from seeing one another. Behind the complex walls, Dale always found something for June to do from sunup to sunset to keep her busy, thus away from Jace.

  In retaliation, this was the result. June was going to spend every second she had away from the complex with the man at her side. She didn’t even care that they were about to do so in a place a hybrid had occupied. All that mattered was that they were together.

  June didn’t notice that Jace had taken over leading them until he was pulling her through the threshold of the sawmill. The door shut on its own, making the walls shake. Her eyes roamed over the floor which was covered in sawdust and what she hoped was not rat feces. Light poured in from the holes in the ceiling.

  Jace pointed to the shoddy loft above the door. “That’s where the hybrid was living.”

  “Then it’s probably the cleanest part of the building,” June commented, “I bet he at least had a blanket or two up there.”

  Without a word, Jace pulled her towards the wooden ladder. He dropped her hand and stepped on the first rung and then the second. When it didn’t collapse, he continued until he was on the platform. Looking down at June, he held up a finger telling her to wait and then dissaperead.

  June couldn’t see what he was doing but she could hear shuffling. Dust rained down on her as something heavy moved across the floor. It was like that for a solid minute before Jace’s voice echoed around her, “You can come up now.”

  “About time,” June grumbled as she put her foot on the ladder and started to climb. When she was on the top rung, Jace reached out and grabbed her by the arms. He pulled her on top of him, the platform groaning from their combined weight.

  Looking down at him, she
asked, “What were you doing?”

  Jace’s smile was sheepish. “Cleaning.”

  June’s brow pulled together in confusion as her eyes moved off his to scan over the platform. It was nothing special. In the corner sat a pile of clothes and the bed was nothing but a palate of blankets. The only furniture was a desk that tilted to the left.

  The sight of it made June’s heart clench. She wasn’t expecting the pity that filled her. She couldn’t imagine living in a space among rats with barely any possessions.

  Two warm hands slipped under her shirt bringing her attention back to the man beneath her. Closing her eyes, Jace’s lips covered hers and his fingers traced patterns on her bare skin. Still, even with his feather light touches, June couldn’t seem to banish the heavy feeling that had settled in her heart.

  /CHAPTER TWO/

  When June and Jace left the sawmill, the hybrid’s body was gone. In the star-studded sky, the moon shined bright, lighting their path to the car. Together, she and Jace walked hand in hand, sharing the same goofy, satisfied grin. Parting ways, June headed for the driver’s side, automatically reaching for the door handle only to pause in place. She exhaled heavily as her bliss was replaced with agitation.

  “What is it?” Jace asked, suddenly alert.

  Plucking off the slip of paper taped to the window, she emotionlessly read, “June, tell Jace he’s on patrol for a month starting tomorrow. See you at home, with love, Dale.”

  Jace let out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush. Running a hand through his already mused hair, he snarled, “Can no one mind their own damn business for five minutes?”

  “I’m so sorry. If I knew he was going to snitch I would’ve moved my car—”

  Jace held up his hand, stopping her. “It’s alright, June. I would do patrol for the rest of my life if it meant being able to spend even just a minute with you.”