Bad Moon Rising (Cole and Dana)

by Chambers, V. J.

  The woman gazed at Dana, as if she was trying to decide whether she’d let it go or not. Then she smiled. “You’ll know more after you meet Jimmy. Jimmy is…” She took a deep breath and got a far away look in her eyes. “He’s impossible to describe.”

  Great. This was beginning to sound less and less like a wolf pack and more and more like a cult. Dana wasn’t sure she was going to like this Jimmy guy either. Well, at least she had her phone with her. If she needed to, she’d call Avery, and he’d come in, tranq gun blazing if necessary. And the whole southern branch of the SF was waiting for her to come back and report on what was going on at the farm. Lots of people knew where she was. If anything strange happened, they’d be there to help her. It would be okay.

  Dana took a deep breath of her own. “So, Jimmy’s the only alpha?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Is he also the only, um, man?”

  Another laugh. “Of course not.”

  “Right. So, when you said that he was your lover and your husband, you said that because you’re his only lover, then?”

  “Well, not exactly.” The woman bit down on her bottom lip. “It’s hard to talk about that part. I’d rather wait until after you’ve met him. You’ll see, then, I think. You’ll see that Jimmy isn’t like other men. He’s larger than life. He’s more than just a regular person.”

  Uh huh. Right. He was sounding more and more like Jim Jones with every word that came out of this woman’s mouth. Hell, they had the same freaking first name.

  “But other men are welcome here?”

  “All are welcome here.”

  “Except for the fact that you have the gate locked. I mean, you don’t want just anyone wandering in.”

  “That is for protection, not because we wish to exclude anyone who truly wants to be part of the Pack. We welcome all.”

  “Really? Because I didn’t bring my partner, Avery, because we got the idea that you wouldn’t let men in.”

  The woman turned to her sharply. “Your partner?”

  Shit. Dana had forgotten that she hadn’t shared the fact she was from the SF. “Did I say partner? I meant friend. He’s sort of a partner, I suppose. He’s trying to help me with the pack bond. He’s kind of a partner in that way, but not really in any other way. You know?”

  The woman drew her eyebrows together. “What did you say your name was again?”

  “Dana.”

  “Dana what?”

  “Dana Gray.” God damn it, they would know who she was from the papers. She was practically famous these days, what with the business with Cole Randall. People knew who she was. Would the woman turn right around and force Dana out if the woman figured out who she was? Was that a bad thing? This whole place was making her nervous.

  “Dana Gray,” said the woman. She stared at Dana, her eyes boring into Dana’s own. “You’re her.”

  “What?”

  “The one he saved instead of Julia,” said the woman. “They call it… the Massacre, don’t they, in the outside world? The Brockway Massacre?”

  That was why she remembered her? “That was years ago,” said Dana. “I was a teenager.”

  “Yes,” said the woman. “But you survived it.”

  “I did,” said Dana. “But I became a wolf because of it.”

  The woman picked up her pace.

  Dana hurried after her. “Wait a second. When you said ‘he’ saved me, who did you mean?”

  “Cole, of course.”

  “You know Cole?”

  The woman turned to her. “Of course. He’s my son.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  when Cole was seventeen…

  Cole found himself in the big house with Julia after her first day of school. He hadn’t been back since the incident with Tasha.

  “You shouldn’t have done that today,” said Julia. “You shouldn’t have said those things to Mrs. York. Now, she’s got suspicions about Jimmy.”

  Cole shrugged. Half of him really wanted to see Tasha again. Half of him dreaded the thought. He couldn’t help looking around the kitchen for signs of her—the apron she’d been wearing that day, for instance. He kept an eye on the door in case she came in. He didn’t know if he’d run off if she did or if he’d stay to talk.

  “Jimmy won’t like it,” said Julia.

  “Well, then don’t tell Jimmy,” said Cole. “He doesn’t have to know everything.”

  Julia drew herself up. “You can’t keep secrets from him. He knows everything. He’s omniscient.”

  “Bullshit,” said Cole. “He’s nothing but a horndog old man, with a broad streak for needing to control a lot of people. He’s nothing special.”

  Her jaw dropped open in shock. “He’s your father. How dare you say things like that?”

  Cole regretted it, actually. It always sounded good to say things like that about Jimmy. It felt good to call him that too, instead of thinking of him as his father. But once he said them, he felt uneasy. What if Jimmy did know somehow? What would Jimmy do to him? Cole didn’t think that being Jimmy’s son would count for too much if Jimmy felt threatened. That was how the business with Tasha had gone down, hadn’t it? Cole shoved his hands in his pockets. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

  “It sounded like you meant it.”

  “It’s only that it’s not fair. He doesn’t let any of the other girls go to school after eighth grade. And then he decides you can? Why?”

  “He thinks I’m special.”

  Cole snorted. “You’re young and pretty is all. You’re his favorite. I bet you begged him to let you go. Begged him while you were fucking him, right?”

  Julia’s nostrils flared. “Don’t talk to me like that.” But she was blushing too. “It’s not like that between us.”

  “Oh please,” said Cole. “Try and convince me that he’s not sleeping with you.”

  “I only meant it’s not… sordid. It’s not like that word you used. It’s something very special, something important. It’s not simply a carnal expression of lust.”

  Cole felt sorry for her, suddenly. She seemed very young, now that he really looked at her. He realized that Julia was just as manipulated as any of the rest of them were. It wasn’t truly her fault. It was Jimmy’s. He was responsible for all of this.

  “But,” said Julia, lifting her chin, “I did feel that because your father and I have something so special, that it must mean that I needed to be educated. I told him that he deserved to have someone who was intelligent by his side.”

  And just like that, Cole felt a little less sorry for her. Sure, she was being manipulated, but she was no slouch. She was doing her own manipulating. Well, she and Jimmy were made for each other, then. He glared at her. “You going to tell him?”

  “I have to,” said Julia. “I can’t keep things from him.”

  Cole met her gaze. “What if we tried an experiment?”

  “An experiment?” She looked confused.

  “Don’t tell him. See if he already knows. See if he really is omniscient.”

  She swallowed. “I couldn’t do that.”

  Of course not.

  “You see, he does know everything,” said Julia. “And he’ll know that I haven’t told him. He’ll know, and that won’t make him happy.”

  Cole wasn’t sure if Jimmy would know or not. But she’d would probably be so guilty around him that he’d suspect something. It wouldn’t be much of an experiment after all. Cole shrugged. “Tell him whatever you want, then.”

  Julia pursed her lips. “I will.”

  She made it sound like a threat. Cole swallowed, feeling anxious in spite of himself. He’d spent his whole life afraid of his father. But he didn’t want Julia to see his fear, so he pushed past her, hurrying out of the kitchen. He’d go back to see his mother. Maybe he’d tell her what he did, maybe he wouldn’t. She’d be disappointed in him.

  It seemed like everyone was disappointed in him these days.

  He rushed through the hallway of t
he big house, dodging a few other women. Sister Bonnie, carrying a laundry basket. Sister Marguerite, grasping the chubby hand of a crying toddler who was barely keeping up with her.

  Cole burst out the front door onto the wraparound porch. It was decorated with five or six handmade rocking chairs. They were all empty. No one sat out on the porch until after dinner—and then, it was only the people who weren’t on kitchen clean-up duty.

  He pounded down the stairs.

  “Cole.” The voice was quiet but urgent.

  He turned, looking around for the source of it.

  The door to the brides’ quarters was open. Cole could see the long stretch of single beds on either side of the narrow room. It was a simple building off the main house, reserved for the youngest, newest recruits to the farm. They were almost always teenage girls. Supposedly, they all slept out here as “brides” until they were of age. But everyone on the farm knew that Jimmy never waited for the girls to turn eighteen.

  Tasha peered shyly around the doorway. “Hi.” She smiled.

  Cole looked around to see if anyone was watching. He didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean anything. Someone could be looking out the windows of the big house, watching it all. He closed the distance between them quickly. “I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

  Tasha’s eyes got big. “Why not?”

  “My father doesn’t like it,” said Cole. “He thinks I’m trying to move in on you or something.”

  Tasha giggled. “That’s silly.”

  Cole shrugged. “Tell that to Jimmy.”

  “I will.” She smiled. “I’ll tell him that there’s no reason for us not to talk. I liked talking to you.”

  Cole shook his head. “No, don’t do that. He’ll know I talked to you, then. He’ll be angry with me.”

  Tasha’s smile faded. She looked down at the floor. “Okay.”

  He wished she’d smile again. He liked the way she looked when she smiled. It made her big, blue eyes light up. “You aren’t going to tell me that he knows everything anyway?”

  She raised her gaze to meet his. “He doesn’t. Does he?”

  He wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Jimmy’s sweet,” said Tasha. “He’s very nice, and he’s got… something. You know, something that makes you want to make him happy.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “But I think that’s all it is, you know?”

  “You really think that?”

  “Don’t you?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Sometimes it seems like he… I can’t be sure.”

  Tasha’s gaze shifted and she got a dreamy look on her face. “He’s good, though. Through and through, he’s good.”

  And, in the end, Tasha was just as snowed as the rest of them. Hell, maybe Cole was snowed too. At least Tasha could still question something. Everyone else took Jimmy’s words as gospel. Cole shifted on his feet, feeling uncomfortable. “What if he isn’t good?”

  She gave him a funny look. “Well, of course he is. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t trust him. Neither would all these other people.”

  “Yeah,” said Cole. “And he’s convinced them that he’s omniscient.”

  “Oh, no,” said Tasha. “I don’t think Jimmy started that rumor. It’s everyone else who says it, you know? He wouldn’t lie that way.”

  “Wouldn’t he?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “You don’t think he’s good, do you?”

  “I… I can’t be sure.”

  “You aren’t sure of a lot, are you, Cole?”

  Cole shrugged again.

  Tasha’s blue eyes twinkled. “That’s the difference between you and him. You’re a lot like him, you know. You’ve got something too, Cole. But he’s sure of everything, and you’re not sure of anything. And until you’re sure…” She winked at him.

  His heart stopped beating for a second. Tasha was so pretty. And she was… she was flirting with him. Wasn’t she? There was something in the way she was looking at him… Or was he making it up? Seeing things that weren’t there? The girl was obviously hung up on his dad, anyway.

  She reached out, her hands brushing the front of his chest.

  It tingled where she touched him.

  He licked his lips.

  Her voice was soft. “You should probably go if you’re not supposed to be talking to me.”

  He nodded. He couldn’t find his voice.

  She leaned close. “Maybe you could come by later. He’s always busy with Julia at night. We’re all on our own out here. Sometimes all of us—the brides—we go out by the creek. You could come if you wanted.”

  His heart started working again, thumping in his chest. He managed another nod.

  She grinned again. “Midnight. Wait for me behind the old sideways tree. You know which one?”

  “Yeah,” Cole said, and his voice cracked.

  * * *

  Cole was her son?

  But that didn’t make any sense. Dana stopped walking, stood stock still in the middle of the dirt path, the long grasses fluttering in the breeze on either side of her. Cole had told her about his family. He said that they were frightened of the fact that he was a wolf, that they were angry with him for not having saved his younger sister.

  “Julia?” said Dana. “Was that the name of Cole’s sister?”

  The woman was still walking. She turned slightly. “That’s right.”

  “I’m sorry about your loss. I know that Cole would have saved your daughter if he could have. If you’d been in the gym that night, you’d know how horrible it was. It was mayhem. There was no time to do anything. My mother didn’t make it either.”

  The woman stopped moving. This time she didn’t turn around. “Julia wasn’t my daughter. But I am very sorry about your loss.”

  “I thought that Julia was Cole’s sister.”

  “We are all brothers and sisters in the Pack.”

  Wait. What? Dana hurried to catch up with the woman. “You’re saying that Julia wasn’t biologically related to Cole at all?”

  The woman shook her head.

  “Then everything Cole told me is a lie,” she muttered.

  “I’m sorry about that,” said the woman. “I haven’t seen him in years. He was always a good boy, at least when he was younger. Then he got to be a teenager. He changed. I know that boys that age are often rebellious, but Cole…” She furrowed her brow, shaking her head.

  “What did he do?” said Dana.

  The woman took a deep breath. “That’s the past. It’s not important.” She squared her shoulders and gave Dana a bright smile. “Listen to me, going on about all of this. I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Rhoda.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” said Dana. “But about Cole, it would be important to me to know whatever you could tell me.”

  Rhoda raised her eyebrows. “Would it, now? You’ve had contact with my son since the incident at the school?”

  “Well, yes,” said Dana. She started to explain, but then remembered that she wasn’t revealing the fact that she worked for the SF. So, she just settled on, “We kept in touch.”

  “Even after he murdered all those werewolves?”

  Dana swallowed. “Even after that.”

  Rhoda looked askance at her. “How well do you know my son?”

  She avoided the woman’s gaze. “Not as well as I thought. I think he lied to me about a lot of things.”

  “That surprises you. He struck you as an honest person?”

  “Well… no, not really. I mean, I guess at first, he did. After I got to know him better, I realized that he was… manipulative. But I didn’t think to question…” Dana realized that she was getting worked up. Her hands were trembling. She pushed them into her pockets as she walked. “Answer me this, Rhoda. Was Cole born a werewolf?”

  Rhoda nodded. “Of course. All of the children born to the Pack are.”

  Dana squeezed her eyes shut. What? If Cole had always been a werewolf, then he hadn’t been changed at the massacre, li
ke she had. He’d lied about it. But why?

  And why hide his family?

  They rounded a bend in the road, and on the other side, the road ended. It opened onto a cluster of buildings. One huge one in the center, surrounded by a wraparound porch. Various smaller buildings flanked it. In the distance, Dana could see a few trailers and a large barn.

  Women milled about, hurrying to and fro between the buildings. They were dressed like Rhoda, in long skirts. They stepped around five or six chickens, which were roaming about—cage free. A few children raced around the porch, dodging rocking chairs, screaming in delight.

  Rhoda turned to Dana and smiled. “Welcome.”

  * * *

  Cole Randall toyed with the new cell phone. He’d activated it only a few hours ago. He knew that once he called Dana on it, it would be useless, that he’d have to trash it. And for that reason, he tried to hold back. Tried to keep from dialing her number.

  Enoch knew why he went through phones so quickly. Cole had been staying with Enoch and the others for months now. Enoch headed up a group of werewolves who weren’t keen on SF intrusion into their personal business. Cole’s own philosophies intersected often enough with theirs that he was comfortable being there.

  Enoch didn’t like Cole’s attachment to Dana. “Dangerous,” Enoch said. “Leaves you exposed. The woman’s going to get you killed someday. She already got you held for months in werewolf prison, didn’t she?”

  Enoch was right, of course. Dana was bad for him. Cole knew it.

  There was nothing about him and her together that made sense. Not a thing. In fact, she was a weakness. She was an enemy.

  They were on different sides of this whole mess.

  She wanted to keep wolves suppressed and buttoned up.

  He wanted to free them.

  It wasn’t going to end well.

  But the thing about endings? They were short.

  Middles, on the other end, could stretch out for a very, very long time. As long as things never ended between the two of them…

  He dialed.

  He put the phone to his ear.

  He listened as it rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Four times.