Sage's Mystery
Shifters of Mystery 1
Sage’s Mystery
When Sage is made an outcast in his pack for being gay, he travels to a town he purchased online, a town called Mystery that was sold to him dirt cheap. The place looked as though it was ready to fall down around him, but Sage was determined to call it home.
William roamed aimlessly for years, never having a place to call his own. When a stranger shows up in Mystery and states that he’s the new owner, William is ready to grab his bag and run. But when Sage invites him to stay, William knows that he has found the man of his dreams.
But Mystery holds a dark secret that Sage is determined to find the answer to. When howls erupt on the night of his shift, Sage fights to find out Mystery’s past and keep William from becoming one of them. But plans don’t always work out the way one would want them to when William is pulled violently into Sage’s world.
Welcome to Mystery.
Genre:
Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal,
Vampires/Werewolves
Length:
36,376 words
SAGE’S MYSTERY
Shifters of Mystery 1
Lynn Hagen
EVERLASTING CLASSIC
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove
SAGE’S MYSTERY
Copyright © 2012 by Lynn Hagen
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-271-1
First E-book Publication: January 2012
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Sage’s Mystery
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SAGE’S MYSTERY
Shifters of Mystery 1
LYNN HAGEN
Copyright © 2012
“I will not have a gay son!” The alpha roared as he knocked the cabinet over, crystal and fine china crashing to the floor. Glass shattered everywhere. “Get out!”
Sage looked over at his mother, who was weeping in a corner. He wanted to go to her, comfort her, but he knew his father wouldn’t allow it. He squared his shoulders and glared at his father. Sage knew it was a challenge, but if he went by the alpha’s words, he was no longer a part of this pack.
“I’ll leave, Father. But you should know that some of the pack disagrees with you. They have decided to leave with me.”
His father roared as he leapt across the dining room, pinning Sage to the table. His nostrils flared as his canines gleamed in the fluorescent lighting. “You will not take anyone with you. If so much as one person leaves with you, I’ll hunt them down, along with you, and kill whoever it is that was stupid enough to defy my orders!”
Sage clenched his jaw as he lay on his back, staring up into his father’s angry blue eyes. “Very well.”
His father reared back and slashed Sage across the face with his claws and then held his hand out. The beta hurried forward, handing the alpha a small red satchel. Sage fought to get free, but his father
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Lynn Hagen
was stronger, more determined to kill what love Sage still held for him as he reached into the small bag and pulled out a sprinkle of silver.
Sage howled as his father ground the silver into his wound, cementing it for life.
“You bear the mark of an outcast now. Go, and never return!”
Sage pushed up from the table, giving his father a heated glare one last time before storming from his parents’ home. As he walked through the small village to his house, pack members scurried away, unwilling to be associated with an outcast. Sage clenched his jaw as he made his way home.
Once inside, Sage gathered his belongings, shoving various items into suitcases and duffel bags. He knew he wouldn’t be returning, so he had to get what he could fit into the bed of his truck.
He stumbled slightly at the raw pain radiating from his face as he walked outside and tossed a few of the bags into his truck.
“Sage!”
He turned to see his best friend Jeremiah heading his way. Sage walked back into his home, grabbing a few more bags when Jeremiah walked inside.
“Leaving without me?” he asked as he leaned against the living room doorframe.
“You can’t go with me. My father said that anyone leaving with me will be killed.”
Jeremiah snorted. “Since when did that stop me before?”
Sage grinned at his best friend as he picked up three duffel bags, tossing them over his shoulder. “I know you’re crazy as fuck, but don’t go against your alpha.”
Jeremiah pushed away from the doorframe as he grabbed a bag from the living room floor. “You’re not going this alone. I won’t let you.”
Sage knew Jeremiah would be stubborn. He had to stop his friend from having a hunt called down on him. He sat the bags down and
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9
fished a small piece of paper from his front pocket. He looked around to make sure no one was near before lowering his voice. “I bought a small town about five hundred miles east of here. If you can find a way to get away from the pack without raising my father’s suspicion, join me.”
Jeremiah curled his fingers around the paper and nodded. “I’ll find a way. You won’t be alone for long.”
Sage gave Jeremiah a quick hug before grabbing the bags once again and loading his truck. He gazed over the small village that he once called home, seeing a group of men standing off to the side. The four gave a slight nod, telling Sage that they would soon be joining him.
Sage sighed. Sometimes it sucked being the next in line for alpha.
But then again, he no longer had to worry about carrying that mantle.
He was an outcast, no longer accepted in his pack, or anyone else’s. Sage grinned as he saw his father step out onto his front porch.
He might be an outcast, but he had plans for his life and the small town he now owned. And god help his father if he was ballsy enough to come after him.
Because Sage didn’t plan on walking away the next time they crossed paths.
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Lynn Hagen
Sage stopped his truck, looking at the wooden sign hanging from one hinge as it blew carelessly in the gentle wind. He cocked his head to the side so that he was better able to read the faded words.
Welcome to Mystery
.
Population zero
.
Sage got out and grabbed some dirt from the ground, smearing the sign to make it read
Population one
. He wiped his hand off on his jeans as he took a step back and admired his work.
“Welcome home,” Sage mumbled as he climbed back inside his truck and slammed the door closed. He drove past the broken sign and headed into what should be the downtown area.
It was a sad sight as he slowly rode down Main Street. Businesses were in disrepair, sagging and basically falling apart. He drove past the buildings, heading for his new home on Highway 114.
There was a post office, a barbershop, a diner, and a general store that he could see. The buildings looked as though they hadn’t been used in hundreds of years. Most buildings were missing shutters or windows. Some doors hung loosely from their frames.
All of the buildings needed repair or a damn jackhammer, a stick of dynamite, and maybe a bulldozer. Sage looked at the sidewalks in disbelief. Were they really made out of plank? Who made sidewalks out of plank anymore? He knew he had a hell of a job ahead of him in repairing the sad state of his town.
He made a right when he reached the edge of town and drove down Highway 114, heading to his new home. Sage had memorized
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11
the map of the town from his printout on the dashboard. Too bad pictures hadn’t been posted online with the sale of his town. He could see why they hadn’t now.
It had been an impulse buy, one he was grateful for now that he no longer had a pack backing him up. Although he wasn’t sure how grateful he was as he looked around the small town, wondering if he was ever going to get it up to par.
Maybe he should have thought twice before buying a town off of the Internet, but it was such a bargain that Sage couldn’t pass it up.
Sage’s jaw dropped when he saw the sad-looking structure in front of him as he drove down the dirt road leading to his new home.
It looked like it was frowning from the way the second floor sagged at both ends.
What the hell had he gotten himself into?
He had thought buying the town online was a steal. The price was so low that Sage had thought he had stumbled onto a gold mine. Now he could see why the town was practically free. The whole damn town and outlying homes needed to be bulldozed.