Confusing Hearts (Westin Pack Book 4) Read online

  CONFUSING HEARTS

  CONFUSING HEARTS

  A Westin Pack Novel

  By

  Julie Trettel

  Confusing Hearts

  A Westin Pack Novel: Book Four

  Copyright ©2018, Julie Trettel. All rights reserved.

  Cover Art by, Desiree Deorto Designs

  Editing by, Sara Meadows of TripleA Publishing Services

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without permission from the author.

  Purchases should only come from authorized electronic editions. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Thanks and Acknowledgments

  So many people have helped me along the way with this series that early on I decided to not do dedications and instead just do thanks and acknowledgments. We’re four books in now and for the most part, those that stepped up and started this journey with me are still here. I will be eternally grateful for each and every one of you.

  There are 2 special ladies that I would like to give an additional shout out to, though. First, Rachel Young. I love you like one of my own daughters, and I am so thankful to have you in my life. Rachel befriended my Hope years ago. They are inseparable in most of life’s adventures. It has been a privilege to watch her grow into the amazing young woman she is becoming. Rachel is one of my biggest cheerleaders; my stylist for all book events; and my only Alpha reader for Westin Pack. Thank you for all you do.

  Finally, I need to throw a huge thank you out to a very special lady. She likes her anonymity, and I will respect that by not mentioning her specifically by name. You know who you are! When things started to fall apart, and issues arose with this book, she stepped up to the plate and went above and beyond for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Without you, this would have been a much harder and longer path, but we did it!

  Table of Contents

  Thanks and Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader,

  SNEAK PEEK

  Chapter 1

  Check out more great books by Julie Trettel!

  About the Author

  Chase

  Chapter 1

  I dropped my bag on the floor and collapsed onto my bed. Three weeks at home had been enough. I loved my family, but they had tried to cram so much into my Christmas vacation that I was exhausted. I knew they loved me and didn’t want to waste a second of it, but I was ready for the break.

  I had an easy semester of classes planned. My roommate was studying abroad, so even though I lived in the frat house with thirty-four other shifters, mostly wolves, I was looking forward to the space and the quiet. Okay, as quiet as a popular frat house could be.

  Archibald Reynolds College, jokingly called the ARC, was a college specifically for shifters, all kinds of shifters. Archibald Reynolds had been a big proponent of shifter integration at the turn of the century. He had worked closely with our Grand Council that governed the wolf shifters to bring peace among all shifters, yet only in the last five years had there ever been a place to truly encourage that philosophy.

  My brother, Liam, had been one of the first graduates of the ARC. I was in my third year now and loved everything about it. I had been raised in a wolf pack, like most wolf shifters. Going to the ARC had opened my eyes to so much I had never been aware of, or even thought about, if I were being honest.

  The pack gave us securities that other species simply didn’t have. I had known my pack, the Westin Pack, was better off than most. I just didn’t realize how much so, until I went to college and got to know people with very different backgrounds from my own.

  I groaned at the knock on my door. “What?”

  “Hey man, heard you were back,” Matt Williams, one of my frat brothers, said, walking in and plopping down on my roommate’s bed.

  Matt was a jaguar shifter, and while it was rare for felines and canines to mix, he had insisted on rushing Delta Omega Gamma his freshman year. We were in the same class and despite our differences, we’d hit it off immediately. He had put up with so much more as a pledge than I had endured. They even nicknamed him Kitty, and yet it never seemed to faze him. I asked him once why he was so determined to be a D.O.G. and he said that he had always admired the sense of group, of family, that was instilled in the wolf packs. Felines tended to be loners, and he craved that bond with other people like the canines had.

  “What do you want, dude?” I asked him.

  “There’s a new sorority that opened up two houses down. They’re having an open party tonight. You’re going, right?”

  “I just got back. I don’t know if I’m up for a party tonight.”

  “Chase Westin not up for a party? What happened to you, man? You’re the ultimate party animal. I’ve never seen you turn one down. Never.”

  “My nephews kicked my ass. You try keeping up with a one-year-old and a seven-year-old hellbent on spending every waking moment with you. I love them, but I don’t know how my brothers do it. I’m exhausted. Need a vacation from my vacation.”

  “You can sleep when you’re dead. Now get dressed and let’s go,” Matt told me, throwing my own phrase back at me. I had told my pledge class that every single day freshman year. It was what got us through to become full brothers of Delta Omega Gamma.

  I kicked him out, grumbling in protest as I got dressed for the evening. A few minutes later I met up with Matt and two of our other brothers as we walked down the short distance to the new sorority.

  “D.O.G.’s in the house!” Matt announced as we entered. Our friends scattered to check out the new place.

  A tall, thin girl with long, straight, black hair approached us with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She was sleek and sexy as hell. Despite the off-limits vibe she was sending, my interest in the night immediately piqued. I was up for a little challenge.

  “Dogs are not welcome here,” she said with complete arrogance.

  I grinned just enough that I knew my dimples were showing. Most girls found them irresistible, but this one seemed completely unaffected.

  “You must be new here, 'cause I’m sure I would have noticed you otherwise.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t waste your breath. Your kind is not welcome here. My sisters and I just transferred. Most of us were forced to come to discourage this sort of nonsense and fraternization between species.”

  “Oh, now, come on, darling,” one of my brothers, Brett, said, approaching and putting on his best Southern charm. “This is the ARC, where we encourage interspecies relations.” He waggled his eyebrows and for a brief moment the ice queen thawed.

  Game on, I
thought. “Ignore the coyote. What’s your name, gorgeous?”

  She frowned at me. “You are clearly nothing but trouble.” She turned to Brett with a look of disgust. “Coyote?” She whipped her long, shiny hair as she turned and stalked away.

  “Come on, Chase. What was that all about?” Brett demanded.

  “Dude, you totally cut in on my game.”

  “What game?” Matt laughed. “Hey, Ayanna.” The ice queen turned and cocked her head in interest. “Don’t be such a bitch.”

  She hissed as she turned and stomped off.

  “Dude, you know her?”

  “Chase, my man, you are aware that jaguars and black panthers are basically the same species, right?”

  “Why would I know that?”

  Matt laughed. “Well, we are. Ayanna and her sisters”—he emphasized with air quotes—“are all black panthers—a bunch of elitist snobs. They even frown at fraternizing with my kind, even though the only difference is the color of our coats. Trust me, I did you a favor. Let’s go grab a drink and find something better to distract you with tonight.”

  Much of the remainder of the night passed in a blur, and my next fully coherent memory was waking up naked in bed and thankful I was alone. It wasn’t like me to get that wasted, and I didn’t like it. It made my wolf uncomfortable when I drank, and I could feel my skin crawling with the sensation I knew as the sign that I needed to shift.

  I threw on an old pair of shorts and used the bathroom before grabbing a cold bottle of water from the fridge and heading for the woods. One of the things I loved about the ARC was the massive one hundred and eighty-seven acre forest surrounding the college. It was the perfect getaway, and since everyone on campus was a shifter, I didn’t even have to hide when I needed time in my fur.

  Once inside the cover of the trees, I started to discard my shorts.

  “Chase Westin,” a sexy voice purred behind me, and I nearly tripped in surprise. Turning, I saw a girl that I didn’t recognize at all.

  “Um, hi. Have we met?”

  “Chase, you rocked my world last night. I’m Anita, remember?”

  Shit! I wracked my brain for any memory of the previous evening.

  She started laughing. “I’m just messing with you. You were pretty wasted last night, though. I really am Anita. You and some of your friends partied at my house last night?”

  “Oh, you’re a panther?”

  “You say that with disgust. I suppose my sisters’ reputations have preceded us. I really shouldn’t be surprised.”

  There was something different about the girl and I liked her immensely.

  “And, you’re not like your sisters?” I asked.

  “Oh God, no! I’m not a pampered princess, or think I’m the greatest thing ever to walk this earth. I actually love the interspecies policy here at Archibald Reynolds. My sisters are just a bunch of snobs and our king strongly encourages keeping our line pure, if you know what I mean.”

  “And you don’t? By the way, we call it the ARC. Archibald Reynolds College. A-R-C—kind of a pun from the, well, the ark.” I shook my head. It sounded stupid trying to explain it, but she laughed.

  “I like that. And no, I don’t. Well, I’m not against finding my true mate, of course. I just think it’s okay to friend other shifters. I don’t see the issue there. How about you?”

  I shrugged. “Never much thought of it. I assumed I’d find my one true mate someday and settle down. In the meantime, I wasn’t going to stress it. My brother went to school here, so I was exposed to all sorts of shifters before coming here. My nephew is half tiger. I guess I just didn’t think it was really that big of a deal anymore.”

  “You have a half-breed nephew?”

  “It’s a long story, and not really mine to tell.”

  “I didn’t even know that was truly possible.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, what is he going to be when he grows up?”

  “Not real sure. We have a theory that God only gives us one animal spirit, so I guess he has a fifty-fifty chance of getting either a tiger or a wolf.”

  “Wolf?” she shrieked. “I thought you were a jaguar. You were hanging out with Matt Williams last night.”

  “Yeah, he’s my brother. My fraternity brother.”

  “Matt’s in a fraternity with a, a dog?” She must have seen the look of surprise on my face because she immediately began backstepping and talking really fast. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded. I’m just surprised. Until yesterday I had never even met a shifter that wasn’t a black panther, or the occasional jaguar, and we were discouraged from even talking to the jags. So yeah, other species are kind of new to me. I guess I just assumed Matt hung out with other cats.”

  I snorted. “Nah, Matt was insistent he was going to be a D.O.G. Trust me, he took a lot of shit when we were pledges, but now, he’s just one of the brothers.” I smiled enough to flash my dimples. Unlike the ice queen Ayanna, Anita reacted to them.

  “Wow, this is, well, kind of cool. I’ve been excited to meet other kinds of shifters, just wasn’t sure my sister was going to let me out of her sight long enough to make any friends here. Ayanna can be a little, well, okay—I’m not really sure how to describe her without it sounding horrible.”

  I laughed. “Ayanna is your sister? Like real sibling sister or sorority sister?”

  She sighed. “My real sister.”

  “Wow, it must really suck to be you.”

  She grinned. “You have no idea. So, what are you doing out here anyway? I was just getting ready to go for a run.”

  “As was I. Want to join me?”

  “A wolf? You want a panther to run with a wolf?”

  “I promise not to eat you, and I’ll even go slowly enough for you to keep up.”

  “In your dreams, dog-boy!”

  I wasn’t sure why, but I turned away from her when I stripped out of my shorts and shifted. She was still in human form, staring at me in shock. She put her hand out like one would when meeting a stray dog. I quirked my head to the side.

  “What? I’ve never seen a wolf this close before. Okay, I’ve never seen a wolf in real life before. You’re all black, just like me.” I nodded and finally gave in and walked towards her outstretched hand. “Wow, your fur is so soft, too. Okay, so turn away or go over there or something while I change. I can’t believe you just stripped right in front of me like that. Clearly dogs have no sense of civility.”

  I laughed, and she jumped. I had no doubt it sounded creepy coming through my wolf. I ran a short distance away, and keeping my back to her, I waited for her to shift. My heightened animal ears let me easily track her even without seeing her.

  I was surprised to find she was as large as my wolf. I nodded my head towards the woods and took off. She easily kept pace with me. When we heard movement approaching, she disappeared into the treetops. That is definitely not something a wolf could do, I thought.

  Recognizing a small pack of my brother wolves running with Matt in his jaguar form, I nodded and barked, then joined them on their run. Anita would find her way back home, of that I was certain.

  Jenna

  Chapter 2

  Half my closet was strewn across my bedroom. It was my first day of classes and I had no idea what to wear. I had never been allowed to meet anyone outside the family and panther community, and an occasional jaguar or other big cat. My parents had kept my sister and me close to them. Even my old school had been only panthers in every class.

  I was just a kitten when the panthers organized. Felines were already at a disadvantage because of our loner personalities. We didn’t run in packs or even prides, like the lions, but as our numbers dwindled, particularly the black panthers, we banded together and formed our own unit. My father was the king and my sister and I were considered the princesses.

  It wasn’t easy growing up as part of the royal family. While Tessa had rebelled starting in our early teen years, I had never even considered it. I was the epitome of t
he good girl. It was exhausting at times. I just wanted to be me, and sometimes I wasn’t even sure who that was.

  When I had applied to Archibald Reynolds College, it was the only act of rebellion I had ever displayed. I hadn’t considered Daddy would send Tessa and relocate our entire sorority to the other side of the United States just because I wanted to attend a different school. I tried not to resent them all. It wasn’t their fault. When the king issued a command, everyone followed. That’s just the way it was.

  I finally settled on a pair of jeans and a dark-green shirt. I grabbed my backpack, shoving my new books inside, and stepped out into the hallway. Tessa was there. I stared at her, noticing she had on nearly the exact same thing, like my own reflection in the mirror staring back at me.

  “Dammit, Tess. Now I have to change.”

  “You don’t have time, we’re going to be late for our first class,” she scolded.

  “Wait, we’re in the same class?”

  She shrugged. “Daddy’s really worried about you, Jenna. He wants me to keep an eye on you.”

  I sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue. We headed across campus to our first class. I was excited despite the bomb my sister had dropped on me.

  “Wait, I have calculus this morning, Tessa. How did you even get in the class?” I loved my sister, but Tessa wasn’t exactly known for her brains. I had always been a nerd. I loved learning and got good grades. Tessa, well, she liked to cook, play sports, and was a phenomenal singer. Basically, she hated all core classes, and only excelled in the electives in high school.

  She grinned back at me. “I’m pretty much banking on you doing all the work for us in this class.”

  “Tess, I can’t take two tests at the same time.”

  “Why not? It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

  I looked at her like she had two heads. “That was high school. This is college. It’s not that simple. Plus, we weren’t in the actual same class. Remember?”