“Tasha’s not a virgin,” he said.
Julia’s eyebrows shot up.
Immediately, he realized what she thought. “Not because of me,” he said. “Because of… she wasn’t a virgin when she got to the farm.”
“Oh, well that doesn’t matter,” said Julia. “The moon restores virginity to the brides when they enter the farm.”
Cole snorted. He hadn’t heard that one yet. Did Jimmy make this stuff up as he went along? He must.
“It does,” said Julia. “And you are messing that up for Tasha.”
“I’m not going to have sex with her,” said Cole.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Julia. “By kissing her, you’ve already tainted her. Her innocence has been stained.”
“Give me a break,” said Cole. “It was her idea. She stained herself.”
“Cole—”
“No.” He twisted in his seat so that he could look at her more easily. “All of this is crap. He doesn’t get to have forty fucking women. He’s only one man, and you and Tasha and all the rest of the brides are too young for him.”
“You’re judging him the way you’d judge a normal man. And he’s special. He’s more than normal.”
“I don’t get why you care, anyway,” said Cole. “You’re his favorite right now. He spends every night with you. You really want him to be with Tasha? What happens if he decides he likes Tasha better than you? You think he’ll still keep letting you go to school if he’s not sleeping with you anymore?”
Julia’s nostrils flared. “You don’t understand anything. What kind of selfish person would I be if I didn’t consent to share Jimmy with the other women on the farm? He has brought so much goodness to me. I want them to feel that same goodness.”
“He sure doesn’t consent to share you guys,” said Cole. “So you have to be faithful to him, but he doesn’t have to be faithful to you?”
“He’s your father,” she said. “You must see what he is. Why do you insist on judging him like anyone else?”
Cole didn’t answer for a minute. The truth was, he’d been struggling with this same question for a long time. Everyone around him saw Jimmy as superhuman, as powerful, as their leader and alpha. But when Cole looked at him, he didn’t see the same things that the others did.
For a long time, he’d thought there must be something wrong with him. If everyone else around him thought it, then it must be true. He must be blind.
But no. He thought about the way he hid things about Hunter’s Moon Farm from the rest of the world. There was a reason he did that. Because he knew that people in the outside world would think that the place was crazy.
He’d been looking at it the wrong way. Sure there was a group of people that believed in Jimmy. But there was a bigger group of people—basically everyone in the outside world—who would think that Jimmy was a nutcase.
Just like that, he was sure.
The doubts about his father that had plagued him fell away. His father wasn’t some kind of spiritual leader. He was insane and manipulative. And the whole farm was as bad as Cole sometimes thought it was.
He took a deep breath. “He is like everyone else, Julia. He’s fooling you. Or you’re fooling yourself or something. But he’s not special.”
Julia sighed, looking deeply sad. “Oh. He was afraid you would say that.”
“He was…” Fear jolted through him. “You told him about Tasha and me?”
“I had to,” said Julia. “I can’t keep things like that from him.”
Cole sneered. “He didn’t already know?”
Julia raised her eyebrows. “Actually, he did. But he only pretended not to know to test my loyalty.”
“Sure he did.” Cole turned away from Julia. He shut his eyes and rested his forehead against the window on the bus. “When did you tell him?”
“Last night,” she said.
Which meant that Jimmy’d had all day with Tasha. What would he do to her? Would he hurt her?
Cole thought of the times his own mother had been punished by Jimmy. He thought of the time that it had been so bad that she couldn’t get out of bed all day. All the bruises…
He was afraid.
* * *
Avery Brooks clutched his phone. “No, King, it’s really bad. Harrison’s dead, so are two other guys. We need any reinforcements that anyone can spare.”
“Well, I’m sending down everyone I can,” said Ursula’s voice over the phone. “I can spare them until the full moon, I suppose.”
“No, this will be cleared up before then. We just need more men.”
“I’m still not clear on what happened.”
“They’re holding Gray hostage. They wanted to make demands, but Harrison thought we’d go in there and get Gray back. He underestimated them.”
“So, Gray’s still in there with them.”
“That’s right.”
“Is she okay?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Listen to me, Brooks,” said Ursula. “I’m passing this on to upper management. They’ll be the ones to ultimately make decisions about this situation, which is highly irregular. But until then, with Harrison gone, I’m in charge.”
“I understand that.”
“So, my feeling is that you get any wounded you might have—”
“No, we don’t have any wounded. If a wolf got its teeth on one of our guys, it finished the job.”
He heard Ursula’s sharp intake of breath of the other end of the line. “Okay. Well, I know that there’s probably part of you that wants to run in there and start slaughtering them all. But you can’t do that.”
“No, we’re outnumbered.”
“I mean it, Brooks. All offensive activity towards the wolves there stops now. You fall back to a position where you can observe and you wait. If anything happens—if they start moving, coming for you, whatever—you call me before doing anything, you got that?”
“I got it,” said Avery. “We’ve backed off a good bit already. We’re out of their sight, but we still have eyes on their house, and we’ve got the main way in and out barricaded.”
“All right,” said Ursula. “I’m sending out agents right away, so you should have some fresh blood within an hour or two, and then you can go and get some rest.”
“No way, King. I’m not leaving this. I’m not running out on it. Gray’s still in there. She needs me.”
“Okay,” she said. “I know you two are close. Hopefully, we’ve got some marching orders from higher up by tomorrow morning. You’re in touch with me the minute that one thing changes, got it?”
“Got it.”
* * *
“Sisters,” said Jimmy. “Brothers.” He stood at the front of a large room in the basement of the house.
They should have brought the children down here, Dana thought. They would have been much safer. Why didn’t anyone think of it? Jimmy didn’t want the children to get hurt. Did he?
The rest of the members of the pack all gathered, sitting in folding chairs, staring expectantly at Jimmy, who was still holding Dana by the arm.
“I have warned you about this, have I not?” said Jimmy.
A collective affirmative rose up from the crowd.
“We are the werewolf race. The wolf is superior. The lessers know this, and they fear us. And as I have said, as I have promised, they have begun to take up arms against us, to try to destroy us.”
Dana rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”
Jimmy shook her. “You don’t get to speak right now.”
“But you’re making this up,” said Dana.
He backhanded her.
Dana winced at the stinging slap.
“Keep your mouth shut.” Jimmy turned back to the Pack. “The coming of Dana Gray was a sign to us. She is the wanton woman who led my son—my firstborn son—Cole astray. He saved her instead of our sister, Julia. This woman corrupted Cole, made him betray his family.”
Wow. He was saying that about her? That w
asn’t good.
“She has been brought to us now in order to strengthen the Pack,” said Jimmy. “We must take her into our number, because if she stays lone and separate from us, she will only serve to destabilize the Pack even further.”
What was he saying? Dana tried to pull away from him, but he gripped her tightly. She couldn’t get away.
Even if she did, where would she go? The surrounding wolves would stop her before she got very far.
She stopped struggling. It was hopeless.
Jimmy continued. “As you know, it is our sacred duty to populate the world with our superior blood. That is why I have been chosen to beget these special children on the women of the Pack.” He gestured to the kids, who were all sitting together in the front row, holding hands. “This is the first stage, sisters and brothers. Soon, the rest of the wolves will rise up and destroy the lessers. We will be the only ones who survive. We will be the natural rulers, due to our superiority. The new earth is coming, sisters and brothers. It is on its way.”
The gathering broke out into moans and calls of, “Let it come, Brother Jimmy. Let it come.”
“It is coming!” Jimmy raised his voice. His fingers dug tighter into Dana’s arm.
“It is coming!” the wolves chorused back.
Jimmy flung Dana in front of him.
Startled and off-balance, she landed on her hands and knees on the floor.
“It begins with Dana Gray,” said Jimmy. “It ends with the destruction of the world as we know it.”
Cheers and applause from the wolves. “Let it come!” yelled someone.
Jimmy’s hands were on the back of her neck. He was behind her, his voice at her ear. “This is what you wanted, Dana. You didn’t want to be an alpha anymore.”
Dana glared at him out of the corner of her eye. “You can try all you want, Jimmy, but you won’t be able to make me submit. Cole couldn’t do it. I won’t give in to you.”
Last year, when Cole had kidnapped her, he’d tried to make her a beta in his pack. But he hadn’t been able to make her submit. The wolves that didn’t submit were the ones that Cole always killed, so he’d attempted to kill Dana, but he hadn’t been able to do it. He’d been too drawn to her. The fact remained that Dana was not an easy wolf to turn into a beta.
Jimmy only chuckled. “I’m not Cole, darlin’.”
And then his hands moved against her neck, touching her expertly. “Shift,” he whispered.
It was happening before Dana knew it. She remembered that Cole had done something similar to her when she’d been chained up in his basement. His fingers had forced the shift over her.
Dana stood before the other members of the Pack. She was now in wolf form.
She turned to see Jimmy behind her, pulling off his shirt.
The wound in his side was deep and weeping.
How was he still standing with that much damage to his body?
Jimmy unbuttoned his jeans.
He removed them and shifted at the same time, all of it one movement that blurred together.
He stood behind her, also in wolf form.
Dana growled at him.
He lowered his head, raising the hackles on his back. He charged her.
Dana lowered her head too, snarling. She held her ground.
But then Jimmy’s teeth were on her, digging into the back of her neck. And something all-consuming jolted through her. She went limp underneath him, surrendering right away.
There was no fight in her. She couldn’t have struggled if she wanted to.
* * *
“He was trying to get in through the gate,” said one of Isaac’s men, who’d been guarding the driveway into the farm. He approached Avery, a handcuffed man in tow.
Avery looked the imprisoned man over. He shook his head. “Well, I’ll be damned. Cole Randall. You know, this has been a really bad day, but knowing that we caught you again makes it just a little bit better.”
Cole didn’t look the least bit ruffled by the fact that he was handcuffed. Of course he didn’t. Nothing bothered that asshole. “You should let me go.”
Avery actually laughed. He hadn’t laughed about anything since he’d gotten that call on Dana’s cell phone. But the thought of letting Cole go was amusing. “I would never let you go. Are you crazy? I’m going to call King right now, and your ass will be back in a high security cell by dawn.”
“That would be an incredibly stupid move on your part,” said Cole, looking bored.
God damn him. Why did he always act as if nothing in the world was wrong? Was that why Dana got all hot for him? Because he was so unaffected? Cool and collected?
Avery glared at Cole. He hated him. “I’m through talking to you.” He turned to Isaac’s man. “You got a cell to throw him in at your headquarters?”
“I assume you’re here about Dana,” said Cole.
Avery turned back to him. “What? Did you track her here or something? Follow her scent? Were you that desperate for her?”
“I spoke to her on the phone,” said Cole. “Although, I couldn’t get through after our initial conversation, which led me to believe that something bad had already happened.”
“She doesn’t talk to you on the phone. She tells me every time you call.” Avery didn’t want to think about Dana having conversations with Cole on the phone. He hated the way she flushed whenever anyone so much as said the jerk’s name. It was disgusting. Really.
Cole smiled. “Now, that’s not really true, Brooks. She always tries not to talk to me. But she has… difficulty resisting me. You really ought to let her go. Whatever you could have with her could never be anything like what she and I have.”
Avery clenched his jaw. “Who says there’s anything like that going on between Gray and me?”
“Uh, sir,” said Isaac’s man. “You still want me to take him to headquarters?”
Avery sighed. He must look like an idiot, trading insults with a wanted criminal, treating him as if he was an actual rival for Dana’s affections. The problem was that Cole Randall got under his skin. He wanted to smash the man’s pretty face right in. Maybe it was because of Dana. Maybe it was because he felt attracted to her. Of course, he didn’t know if anything he felt for Dana was genuine. Right now, it felt pretty genuine. He really didn’t like the idea of Dana doing anything with Cole. “Sure, take him away. I don’t want to look at him anymore.”
“Wait,” said Cole.
Isaac’s man didn’t. He tugged Cole along with him, forcing him to turn away.
Cole twisted to look at Avery as he was dragged away. “You’re going to need me to get her out of there.”
“I have never and will never need you for anything,” Avery spat at him. He really wished he could come up with some excuse to kill Cole. Maybe if he claimed that the man had tried to escape or something? Avery could say he’d had to slit Cole’s throat in self-defense.
“You do need me, though. And I think you’re going to need to move quickly, because there’s no telling what Jimmy’s doing to her already. I don’t know if he’ll keep her alive.” Cole was being dragged further and further away.
Avery ignored him. Cole would say anything to try to get free.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with her, you know,” Cole called. “It has to do with me. He thinks of it like a game. He took one of mine. I took one of his. It’s his move.”
Avery was confused. “Hold on.” He signaled for Isaac’s man to stop and approached Cole. Why would James David Hadley give a shit about Cole Randall? As far as Avery knew, the two had nothing to do with each other. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Get these cuffs off me,” said Cole.
Avery snorted. “I don’t think so.”
“You have to let me go in,” said Cole. “I have to talk to Jimmy.”
“How do you even know Jimmy?”
“He’s my father,” said Cole.
Avery raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Your father?
”
Cole grimaced. “That’s right. I grew on this damned farm. I grew up under Jimmy’s thumb.”
Avery considered. That meant that Cole had an inside track on what might be going on inside the farm. As much as he hated to admit it, it meant that Cole might be useful. Damn it.
“Get these off me, let me go in,” said Cole. “I’ll have Dana back out safe and sound right away.”
“If you think I’m going to work with you—”
“Listen to me.” Cole’s voice was desperate. His nonchalance dropped away. “You have no idea the things he did to the last girl I so much as looked at. He’s kind of pissed off that I left the Pack in the first place. And when I got out, I saved Dana, not the other Pack member that was in the gym. You understand that? I can guarantee you that didn’t make him happy. I don’t know what he’s going to do to Dana, but I know it isn’t good. Now, we don’t have to work together, but you have to let me do everything I can to save her, because I am not going to let him hurt her. I’m not.”
Avery turned to Isaac’s man. He was going to regret this. “Get his cuffs off.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
when Cole was seventeen…
Cole burst into the brides’ quarters the minute he got off the bus after his conversation with Julia.
But Tasha wasn’t there. Instead, his father Jimmy stood at the end of the narrow room, between the beds, staring out the lone window. His hands were clasped behind his back.
“Where is she?” said Cole.
Jimmy turned. He appeared calm, even kind. But Cole had seen his father this way before. Jimmy wasn’t like other people. The angrier he got, the quieter he got. And when Jimmy struck, it was cold and precise. “Where is who?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know,” said Cole. “Julia told me. I know you did something to her. Where is she?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Listen, Cole, I realize that you’re a young man, and that you’re going through a rebellious phase. I understand you want to separate yourself, to go out on your own. It’s actually very normal for a young wolf like yourself. You have an urge to create your own pack.”
Bad Moon Rising (Cole and Dana) Page 9