All of a sudden, hands reached inside and dragged her out of the car. When her entire body was finally out of the vehicle, the stranger flipped her up over his shoulder and began walking down the street away from town.
Great, another werewolf. Just what she needed.
Actually, what she needed was a bucket. The contents of her stomach, although not much, threatened to rise up as her vision still swam at the corners. She was vaguely aware of gagging noises.
“Don’t you dare hurl on me,” the new werewolf told her, smacking her arse. “You do and I’ll make you lick every drop of it off. Hmm, I like the sound of you licking me. I’d make you start with my toes and never get past my cock.” A hand started to caress her buttocks, sending another wave of revulsion through her. “Yeah, I like that idea alright. Maybe I’ll teach you a few things. Give ya a real introduction to our pack before the alpha makes you his. I reckon you’d enjoy yourself.” Luna shuddered at the undiluted lust in his voice. Bile rose up in her throat.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Luna muttered through clenched teeth. She sucked in a breath. Thankfully, he hadn’t discovered her dagger, now sitting on the side of her hip, dislodged from the crash. If only I could reach it …
But her arms refused to work. All she could do was hang over his damn shoulder gasping for breath like a fish freshly caught from the river. But as she dangled, a flicker of motion from the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head sharply.
Her captor mirrored her action a second later, but it was too late.
Luna was still trying to figure out what was happening even as she was thrown across the road. Her body exploded in a new wave of pain, her vision flashing from bitter darkness to blinding white light. Landing face-first into a patch of fresh snow, her mouth filled with the fresh powder as she cried out. Spitting the contents out, moans quickly followed, her head swimming from the pain that racked her entire body. Tears flowed freely from her eyes. In her ears, the blood echoed the sound of the restless ocean, each heartbeat a deafening wave.
From a distance, Luna could hear … something. A growl, a thud, a sound of pain. Blinking back the tears, the darkness, the brilliant white light that all competed to win, she finally made out two figures fighting only feet away from her.
A whimper slipped from her lips as she tried to push up from the freezing ground only to fail. Another wave of pain flowed through her as her chin scrapped across a rock. All she could do was lay there and watch the two figures go at it. Who would win, who would claim her … she couldn’t tell.
Lying there, Luna willed herself to concentrate. The bigger one was obviously her captor, his body substantial than what she realised, bulkier. Dark clothing helped him to blend into the night. Bad guys need to go to Macy’s and brighten up their wardrobe, she thought to herself, the image of the Crescent Moon pack shopping for lilac and pink shirts coming to her out of nowhere. Maybe it’s the blood loss …
The second figure dived to the side, narrowly missing a sharp kick. She couldn’t make out who it was, their hooded sweater and the shadows masking their facial features, but whoever they were, they were undoubtedly more agile and faster. Skilfully, the second figure jumped and struck out, a punch to the side, a kick to the knee. Quickly, the werewolf fell to his knees. Before he could get up though, his body twisted around, his face contorting into an expression of terror and surprise. Warmth splattered across Luna’s face, wringing a gasp from her exhausted body. A second later, his severed head landed in front of her, his open eyes staring lifelessly into hers.
A scream lodged itself in the back of her throat, but no matter how hard Luna tried, it wouldn’t escape. Instead, the scream echoed in her head, one that threatened never to fade.
A moment later, a warm hand touched the side of her face. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here,” the shadowy figure told her.
I know that voice from somewhere … but before Luna could place it, the figure collapsed on top of her. Raising her eyes, an icy fear gripped her heart. Another figure cloaked in shadows loomed over her.
“Thanks, but I’ll take it from here.”
Thirteen
Luna couldn’t keep her eyes off the figure sitting in front of her. Pale hands clutched a mug of steaming cocoa, the heavenly scent and steam wafting in front of them. An expression of pure joy stretched across their face, as though it held the answers to all their prayers. Not that Luna could blame them; a good cup of cocoa could certainly make all your problems disappear, for a while at least. But still, she never expected to sit across the table from her, watching her sip cocoa without wanting to dunk her head into the beverage. It took a severe amount of willpower to resist grabbing a handful of those lank black curls and smash her face into the cup.
After all, it was only natural to want to kill those who had been sent to assassinate your family, right?
Yet, despite the blood the female werewolf had shed – Michael’s blood, at that – Luna still found herself hesitating against the woman. The tight raven-black curls and sparkling seductive dark eyes were long gone, replaced by lifeless curls that seriously needed several washes and eyes which had lost their sparkle. Even under the loose-fitting jeans smeared with dirt and the baggy grey sweatshirt, Misty looked gaunt.
“When was the last time you ate?” Luna found herself asking in a quiet voice.
The other woman looked up from her cup but didn’t meet her eyes. “I managed to catch a rabbit yesterday. It’s easier to hunt in wolf form, but there’s not much around here during the winter months.”
“You’ve not had anything since then?” Michael asked. His tone betrayed nothing of what was going on within his head as he stared down at his former lover and pack mate from Luna’s side. Chase stood by the kitchen door, Pierre in the other doorway, in case she tried to make a run for it. Misty shook her head slightly.
Michael inclined his head towards Luna. Getting up, she quickly headed for the fridge where she found a plate full of steak. A second later, the sounds of meat sizzling filled the air, immediately followed by a rumbling stomach and low growls. Luna placed two rare steaks on a plate, grabbed some cutlery, and positioned them in front of Misty.
But she didn’t touch them. Instead, she quickly glanced at Michael’s face, trying to mask the desperation in her eyes but failing. Michael nodded, and within seconds, Misty had quickly stuffed a large piece of meat in her mouth.
Michael sighed. “You of all people should know you shouldn’t starve your wolf. There are consequences.”
Misty swallowed the contents of her mouth and then glanced at her former alpha. “It’s been difficult to find anything, Michael. I’ve been sticking to the cities as much as I can, trying to stay one step ahead of them. Not many deer or rabbits running around the streets of New York and Philadelphia.” Her voice was hoarse and broken as she stabbed another chunk of meat and began chewing it.
“What happens if you starve your wolf?” Luna asked, her brows knitting together.
Michael heaved a deep sigh once more. “The wolf takes control and kills anything and everything. It eats whatever it can find. Doesn’t matter if it’s your wife, your sister, your kids, your neighbours … it consumes everything until it’s full and retreats. Then it leaves you to deal with the consequences.”
“Does it happen often?” Luna asked, unable to mask the horror in her voice.
“Not much, thankfully. One of our first lessons is always to make sure you have enough to eat. Meat and protein are best, obviously, but anything will work if there’s enough of it,” Michael explained, his eyes not leaving Misty. “If you’ve been in cities, what have you been surviving on?”
Misty’s hand stopped mid-air, her full lips trembling. Slowly, she lowered her hand to the table, setting down the cutlery. “Restaurants throw out food after closing. I took what I could get.” Shame infused her words.
Luna watched as her brother’s eyes glazed over with some emotion she couldn’t pinpoint. “Eat,” he ordered
, the bite of command in the word. Without hesitation, Misty resumed cutting up her eat. Luna noticed that she wasn’t rushing quite so much on the second steak. “When you’ve finished, you will answer my questions.”
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked, her voice on the edge of breaking.
Flickering her eyes over to her brother and then Chase, Luna watched the briefest of emotions play over their faces before reverting to their expressionless masks. “I’ve not decided what to do with you yet. Though, I should kill you for trying to kill me.”
Misty looked up, fear blazing through the tears in her eyes. “I was under orders; I had no choice! They had her! And as soon as I broke free of that damn spell, I warned you they were coming. That’s got to count for something, surely?”
Michael took a step forward. “What warning?” he demanded, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I woke up from that damned spell around seven weeks ago. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but when I did, I found half a dozen dead bodies around me. All I could see was blood and entrails. Then I realised I was back in Connecticut, back with them. There’s a place where the alpha keeps prisoners, the ones he doesn’t want to kill straight away. With all the guards’ dead, I was able to escape.”
“Where did you go?” Michael’s eyes narrowed, throwing them into shadows as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“My cousin’s house. Sharlene isn’t a werewolf – we didn’t know exactly what she was - but she has a touch of a seer in her. Not quite enough to save us from him, but enough to warn me about the really bad stuff occasionally. Before I left my pack for the one you found me at, Sharlene told me of a woman. Someone who could change everything, someone connected to werewolves but not one herself. Not yet. To be honest, I didn’t believe her at first, but when I saw her again and she told me what she’d seen, I started to. I told her that she needed to warn you, so she sent another letter to you. Said she had sent one before. A week after I escaped, Russo’s men found me. Told me if I didn’t return they’d kill Sharlene.”
“What happened next?” Michael asked, his arms falling to his sides.
“She’s the only family I have left. Was the only family I had left. Russo killed our family when we were young, but he found us both attractive, which is the only reason why we were spared. He kept me chained to his side for an entire year. Called me his pet,” Misty said, poison dripping from the words, the first tears finally spilling from the corner of her eye. Luna shivered at the sound of what the female werewolf had endured at such a young age. “When I was sixteen, he chained me to his bed for two years. Introduced me to adulthood, as he called it. The only time I was allowed out was when I had to change. Even then, they guarded me at all times.
“Sharlene was thankfully spared all that shit. She was sent away from the pack since she wasn’t a werewolf, but she was still kept under careful watch. Russo threatened to rape and torture her if I didn’t do as I was told. I had watched my parents, my aunt, uncle, and my older cousin die. When I told you last year that he made a leash out of the guts of one of the younger wolves, I wasn’t kidding. He’s a fucking sadistic freak. He loves blood, guts, and humiliating you in front of everyone. The few times I disobeyed him, I soon regretted it. I did my best not to after that.” Those dark eyes closed, and Luna watched as tears spilled from the corners, tiny rivers of pain and despair.
“The scars on your thighs?” Michael asked, his voice low and steady, almost calming, but Luna could see the noticeable streaks of amber shimmering in his eyes.
Misty nodded, angrily wiping the tears that continued to flow, trailing through the dirt on her face. “I loved Sharlene. She was the only thing that got me through that hellish time. She was the one thing in this world that I would kill for. I swore that I would be strong enough one day to free us both from his grip, but … I couldn’t save her!” Misty broke down into sobs.
Luna reached over and gently took the other woman’s hand in her own. “Misty, what happened to her?”
With her other hand, she wiped at her face again, smearing dirt across her cheeks. “After Russo’s men found me at her house, they gave me two choices: return, or they’d kill her. I couldn’t take them on, I was too weak. So, I decided to return with them. But just as we were heading out the door, Dwayne killed her. Ripped her arms off. I tried to get to her, but Lee held me down, forced me to watch her die. Told me it was my fault, and that I shouldn’t have run away. But she … she told me it wasn’t my fault, that she loved me. Her last words were that I needed to save you,” she said, looking at Luna with sorrowful eyes. “I had to save you if I wanted to save my soul. So, when they began dragging me out to the car, I partially changed and stabbed them with my claws. I think they forgot I could do that. I ran across the train tracks by her house just as a train was coming. It gave me enough time to escape. It took hours, but I finally lost them. I headed for the cities, just working my way down here to do what Sharlene told me to.”
“If that’s true, how come it took you six weeks to make it down here?” Chase growled.
“Along the way the Prince of Philadelphia caught me. There’s a power struggle going on. One of the dukes has been trying to knock him off his throne. They left me in their dungeon for weeks.” Exhaustion smothered Misty’s voice, as if she had been running on fumes, now disappearing and leaving nothing to fuel her.
“Prince?” Luna asked, her brow knotting in confusion.
“Werewolves have alphas; vamps have princes. Over each continent is a King or Queen who rules over all the vamps. Each major city will have a prince or princess to govern it. I believe Prince Gregory rules over Philadelphia, but he’s not that popular amongst the vampires,” Pierre explained, finally speaking. Even with ripped clothing, he looks so damn aristocratic, she thought.
“I did hear a few rumours, but since werewolves tend to stick to the more rural areas, I don’t pay that much attention. Vamps and wolves don’t really mix,” Michael said.
“They do when it suits them,” Misty spat out, removing her hand from Luna’s, the sound of disgust unmistakable. The plate of uneaten meat sat in front of her, discarded. I would have trouble eating, too, Luna thought. “For a price, vamps will mix with wolves.”
“And what price did you pay?” Chase asked, his arms folded across his chest, leaning against the door. Luna watched as an angry expression etched on his face.
“What I had to!” she told him, her eyes burning with rage. “You have no idea what I went through, or what price I had to pay to get out of there. And I’d do it again if I had to. So don’t you dare look down your nose at me, Chase, not when you’ve not been through a fraction of the pain and the shit I’ve had to endure. I got out, and I made my way down here. I’ve had Russo’s men on my tail for the last week. They even had a witch working for them.”
“A witch?” Luna asked, confusion drawing her pale brows together.
Sniffing, Misty nodded, brushing back the lank curls that had fallen across her face. “Some freaky bitch from abroad. She’s a real nutcase. Not sure of her name but Dwayne uses her when he needs to track someone. Unlike other witches, she likes to kill with her hands. Up close.”
Michael turned to Luna. “That must have been the witch who attacked you.”
Luna nodded. “Oui, she seemed insane to me.” Then a thought came to her. She looked at Misty through narrow eyes. “Was that you who saved me?”
Misty nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been sticking to the pack’s territory when I could. Helps me to blend in. Sharlene told me to protect you, so that’s what I’ve been doing. All I have left is redemption. So each night, I stand guard in the forest, waiting.”
A look of suspiciousness stretched over Chase’s face. “How come we didn’t smell you?”
“One of Sharlene’s abilities was potions. She could make any potions you needed. Russo used that ability many times, but she hated it. One occasion, she made one that repelled him from me for a week. That was one of the
best weeks I ever had in there, but he soon found out, and I paid for it. When I went to her, she created a potion that would disguise my scent.”
“You did say the scent was unusual,” Luna told her brother.
Michael nodded. “Like brownie and goblin and other things, but with a faint trace of werewolf underneath it.”
“That’s right. It won’t take the werewolf scent away completely, but it does help.” Shrugging, Luna detected a sense of pride in Misty’s tone for what her cousin was able to accomplish. It warmed her to the werewolf, something Luna hadn’t thought possible of the woman sent to kill her family.
But then, as she was finding out, life was never as black and white as she thought.
“Where is this potion now?” Chase demanded.
“In my pocket. There’s not much left now.”
“Give it to me.” Releasing a heavy sigh, Misty reached into her jeans’ pocket, producing a small tub. Michael opened it and sniffed. “Yeah, this is what we scented out there alright.” He tossed it back to Misty, who quickly stuffed it back in her pocket.
A heavy silence stretched across the room for a moment, although for Luna that moment seemed like an eternity. Finally, Michael heaved a deep sigh and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. “What am I going to do with you, Misty?”
Chase took a step towards the table. “I say we kill her and be done with her.”
The female werewolf looked up at Chase, gulping audibly, and then back towards Michael, panic in those dark eyes. “Don’t kill me, Michael, please. I know I was sent to kill you, but Russo had Sharlene. You’ve never seen true torture the way I have. The things he does would have you bent over sick. I couldn’t let him do them to her, I couldn’t!” Panic echoed through the room, and Misty’s eyes went wide.
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