Cold Moon Rising: A New Adult Paranormal Romance (Cry Wolf)

by Sarah Makela

Besides, Kelly and I weren’t mates, nor were we headed in that direction from the way things had gone earlier. Turning humans into wolves was forbidden. Jared wanted more recruits for our dwindling Pack, which was part of his fall from grace, but none of my kind liked the idea of letting humans know about our existence, which was fine, except I might never see Kelly again if I couldn’t glean some insight into where she was or where those men were taking her.

  However, I wasn’t out of options. My thumb hovered over my brother’s phone number, but doubt clouded my thoughts. If they’d taken her from her apartment, which had to have been risky, then they really wanted her. This could be more than I would want to involve Shane with, but if it got too out of hand, I’d reach out to him. They were probably taking her somewhere secluded, somewhere on the outskirts of town, if not further than that from the direction they’d gone.

  I rolled down the window, hoping to get lucky and scent the van or anything that could prove helpful. To my surprise, the faint smell of familiar exhaust fumes hit my sensitive nose. The high grade diesel wasn’t typical in the city. Something about it stood out like a sore thumb as if the not all of additives were normal in the area. Breathing in deeply, I regained my inspiration to keep going outside of town. I only hoped I was headed in the right direction since I couldn’t see them anywhere, but a wolf needed to trust his nose.

  And right now, I needed to trust mine.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kelly

  I woke up to the sound of men’s voices and the low rumble of an engine. My cheek pressed against plastic sheeting that lined the floor of a utility van. That was unusual. I rolled to my side to get a better look around, but rope bound together my hands and legs. However, my skirt rode up revealing my bare ass.

  Shifting my weight to tug it down, the plastic crinkled beneath me. I froze as the slender man with glasses turning his head toward me. I closed my eyes feigning sleep. My heart pounded in my ears, nearly blocking out everything else.

  “Shit!” Lloyd’s panicked tone caused me to jump. “This girl is not the one from the file.”

  “What? Stop with the melodrama, Lloyd. We went to the address in the file, right?” Papers shuffled, and I peeked beneath my eyelashes, my curiosity getting the better of me.

  “Uhh... this says 535 Chestnut Street, Apartment 202,” Lloyd said, pushing up his glasses. “That’s where we went right?”

  I groaned. The Post Office always sent that woman’s mail to me. Why would a kidnapping be any different?

  “Girl, I know you’re awake. What’s your address?” For such a scrawny guy, Lloyd sounded downright intimidating sometimes.

  They couldn’t possibly think I would freely offer up my address. If those dyslexic kidnappers did, then they were crazy.

  “If you don’t answer in the next five seconds, I’ll pull this van over and come back there. Your hot little ass wouldn’t want that.” Baldie stared into the rearview mirror, and I shivered at the maliciousness in his eyes.

  “Come on, Brad. Do you really have to go that far? We did just kidnap the wrong woman.” Just like that, Lloyd circled around to being the ‘nice’ one.

  Brad shot a look at Lloyd. “Do you have any idea how our boss will react when he finds out we nabbed the wrong girl? Do you? He’ll make damn sure we never make the same mistake again.”

  “You’re kidding.” Even in the dark, I could see Lloyd’s skin pale at the veiled threat. If their boss scared these two, then I never wanted to meet him. “You don’t think he’ll have us killed, do you?”

  “How long have you known me? Do you really think I’d joke about something like that?” He snarled the words sounding every bit the predator. “No, I wouldn’t. If he’d kill us for making this mistake, he’d undoubtedly make us kill this little girlie, so don’t even think I’m fucking overreacting.” Brad cut his gaze back to me through the rearview mirror. “Now, tell us your damn address.”

  Nausea roiled through my gut, but I forced myself to remain calm. Puking would only leave me in a worse mess than what I already faced. The scents in the car didn’t help. Sweat, old coffee and fast food permeated the air. Did these guys live in the van? How long had they been stalking me?

  This evening just kept getting worse. “553 Chestnut Street, Apartment 202.” Even to my own ears, I sounded weak, but who could blame me in this situation? From the hostile look in Brad’s eyes, I knew weakness would secure my death. I couldn’t be helpless if I wanted to make it out alive.

  “Oh God, we went to the wrong street number. What’s your name, girl?” Lloyd unbuckled his seatbelt, but Brad grabbed him by the front of the shirt keeping him in place.

  “Sit back down. There’s a cop about to pass us. We don’t need to be pulled over.” Brad narrowed his eyes at me. “And you, shut your mouth, or I’ll snap your neck.”

  Lloyd gave me a sad smile as if he knew what Brad was capable of. They were partners, but Brad was stronger. He had no chance against Brad, so he refastened his seat belt returning his gaze to the road.

  Within moments, the tension balling up in Brad’s shoulders lessened, and he rolled his neck and shoulders. He muttered under his breath, “Damn police.”

  “Your name?” Lloyd asked, drawing my attention back to him. Maybe he’d regained some self-confidence with Brad calmer.

  “Kelly.”

  They already knew my address. Besides, Lloyd was being quite nice. If I could get on his good side, it wouldn’t hurt, and Brad was already bullying him, so why make his life worse? He was the only one who might consider helping me.

  He scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry you’re in this mess.”

  “We should’ve known.” Brad huffed and shook his head. “She’s not as strong as any of the shapeshifters I’ve seen in the past. When she saw your tranquilizer gun, she bolted. Any real shifter probably would’ve attacked us.”

  My eyebrows drew together. I didn’t just hear what I thought I heard. The van’s engine muffled their voices a little at times. It was possible I mistook what Brad said. “What? Shapeshifters?” They had to be on drugs. That was the only logical excuse for them to have thought I was some kind of supernatural being. Those were creatures of books and movies, not the real-life victims of kidnappings.

  “I meant exactly what I said. Shapeshifters as in werewolves and wereleopards. Yes, they’re real, and we’re taking you to a laboratory full of them.” He sneered at me. “You’ll be a guinea pig for the rest of your life, at least until our boss tires with you.”

  “What the hell, man? You shouldn’t have opened your big mouth about this. Now what will we do?” Lloyd crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the passenger window. “Besides, she’s human. Like you said, they’re not going to want her.”

  “You sure about that? I overheard one of the lab rats say the shifters might be able to infect humans with either a bite or scratch. They’re not exactly certain about it, but...” Brad chuckled, the sound grating on my nerves. “We just might be able to keep ourselves alive after all.”

  Icy sweat trickled down my back. This had to be the worst evening ever. If these jerks had anything to do with it, I wouldn’t live to see another sunrise or sunset. If they didn’t kill me, I would be locked away until someone did.

  I fidgeted with the ropes secured behind my back, but the men, probably Brad, had tied them tight. These two knew what they were doing.

  Would Jacob notice me missing tomorrow at our Physics exam? Would he care?

  I bit my lower lip, trying to hold together my emotions. Tears threatened to spill across my cheeks, but I kept them back. Just barely though.

  “Have any more tranquilizer darts?” Brad said, his rough voice breaking through my thoughts.

  Oh God, I had to get out of these ropes. If I didn’t, my life would change forever.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jacob

  I shifted in the seat. I’d been driving for what felt like hours, but the faint scent of exhaust lured me on like a siren
to a rocky shore. The police officer behind me had finally decided to stop driving on my tail and pass me. Maybe he realized I hadn’t been drinking, and there would be no DUIs or speeding tickets handed out.

  If the cop hadn’t been behind me, I would’ve been able catch up to the teasing fumes with no problem. I leaned over to hit the power button for the radio but stopped when the cop’s headlights spotlighted the same van I’d seen earlier in the distance. My heart leapt in my throat.

  I hung back, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. Who knew what they’d do to her if they suspected I was following them. Damn, she had to be okay.

  The van kept at a steady pace until the police car was a faint red light in the distance, then it sped up making it hard for me to follow without looking too suspicious. My hope rested in the driver not being too bright. Perhaps the dark night would obscure my black car aside from the headlights.

  As soon as I had a good distance between the van and myself, they took the next exit off the highway, leading to the boonies for all I could tell. This part would be critical. If they saw me... Well, I needed to make sure that didn’t happen.

  Hanging back to the point of nearly losing them a few times, I let my nose continue to be my guide. This would all be much easier if I were on foot. With the speeds I was capable of versus what they were doing now, I had little doubt about my ability to keep up. Plus, I’d look a helluva lot less suspicious, but by the time I got out of my car, they might be long gone.

  The van slowed before turning into what looked like a military or secured research facility with spotlights and guards. What was this place? The vehicle stopped at a guard post, and a bald man flashed his ID before the guard waved them inside.

  The fence along the perimeter was high, ending an inward curved lip with barbed wire to deter any curious humans. However, something about the fence made me wonder if it was more to keep people in rather than keeping them out.

  I shut off my lights and turned around. Now that I knew where they were, I was better off finding a way in on foot than let myself be caught attempting to go through the front door. Kelly was such a normal girl; I couldn’t see how she’d been wrapped up in something as dangerous as this.

  Driving back down the road, I didn’t see any place where I could hide my car. There had been an abandoned gas station a mile and a half back, but nothing closer than that. Damn it. Hopefully no one would disturb my only transportation out of here.

  When I got there, I parked behind the rundown building. The full moon lit my otherwise dark surroundings, so I didn’t have any trouble seeing. My eyes adjusted, letting me see the world in vivid color as if daylight prevailed instead of night. Werewolves possessed better sight than most humans. However, we really excelled with our sense of smell and hearing.

  Thank God for that. If I didn’t have my sharpened senses, Kelly could be out here all alone without anyone trying to find her until it was too late. She never spoke about family either. Who else would realize her disappearing aside from me and her teachers?

  Running back to the facility through fairly dense woods didn’t take long, but when I got there, the buzz around the place had escalated. More guards combed the area and more people in general were around. I noticed several guys in white lab coats heading into the building with a pair of guards. The man who seemed to be in charge held his shoulders back and chin high in such a self-important manner. I immediately took a dislike to the guy. People like that were bad news, and the fact Kelly was in there with them made my skin crawl. What were they doing to her?

  My beast boiled beneath the surface of my skin, and I clenched my fists straining to hold back the red haze threatening to take me over. If I didn’t calm down, I would rip out everyone’s throats. While that would help release some of the rage within me, it wouldn’t help find Kelly.

  It wasn’t too late for me to reach out to the Pack or my brother. However, they might tell me to back down and let her face whatever fate she had coming. I couldn’t allow that.

  Security cameras, guards, and bright lights abounded, making a stealthy entrance almost impossible. It’d be lucky if I hadn’t been caught pulling into the driveway and backing out earlier. I should’ve been more careful. If only I’d known what I was getting myself into.

  An idea hit me. A really stupid, really dangerous idea, but potentially the only way I’d be able to get into the facility from what I could see.

  I would go through the front door.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Kelly

  I jerked awake, a shiver chasing through me. Someone had stripped away my shirt while I was knocked out, leaving me in my bra and skirt. Fucking perverts. My bare shoulders pressed tight against cool metal bars, and I looked up to see a familiar face.

  Brad held me upright with thick gloves covering his hands up to his elbows. His shiny baldhead almost glowed from the bright florescent lights. It seemed like he was doing everything in his power to keep his distance. This couldn’t be the same man from my apartment or the van. That man would’ve been all over me, flexing his need to intimidate. The last thing he would’ve done was stay the heck away from me.

  Suspicion warred with relief. Why would he do that?

  He flicked his gaze over my shoulder. A feral growl sounded behind me, and Brad’s face went white as if he’d just seen a ghost. Maybe it was better that I faced away from whatever it was. I bucked and shoved at Brad, but he hardly registered my struggle. His gaze was locked on whatever prowled in the cage at my back.

  The snarl became a deafening roar of one pissed off beast. It carried the scent of blood and terror, something that resonated with the primal side of my brain. If I didn’t get away as fast as possible, I would live to regret it.

  “Let me go, you ass—” Pain seared me from my shoulder to the small of my back, and I screamed.

  Brad covered my mouth with his hand, which gave me just enough leverage to leap away from the cage once the sizzling agony allowed me to move. The torment was almost more than I could bear. My vision blurred, and I crawled a few feet before collapsing to the tile floor. The creature continued to growl, but it backed away from the bars, not giving me a good view of what attacked me.

  A small pool of blood spread out around me. So this was it. This was how I’d die.

  “You, idiot. You nearly alerted everyone.” Brad threw me over his shoulder. “Get a mop and bucket, Lloyd. Clean up that puddle before someone walks in here and sees that mess.”

  The movement shot intense pain through me, darkening my vision and making my limbs go limp.

  When I woke up again, I was alone in a cage very similar to the one where I’d been mauled. This time, all of my clothes were gone. I pushed into a sitting position, wincing as my muscles ached in response. Droplets of blood splat on the floor, but not nearly as many as I would have imagined after the brutal attack.

  How long had I been unconscious?

  The anguish in my back had faded a little. I wasn’t dead, and I wasn’t sitting in a huge puddle of blood. Reaching around my back, I touched the area where the beast had attacked expecting an open wound, but my fingers brushed against a thick, slightly bloody scab. Constant pain pulsated around the scab barely masking an itch that crept outward over my body.

  The smell of the cage around me reminded me of the many times I’d visited the zoo as a child. A strong feral scent engulfed the small area, barely covered by bleach seemed more fitting in a wildlife rescue than anywhere else. Otherwise, the concrete floor and bright white walls greeted me in every direction. I couldn’t see any windows, but the wall opposite the cage had a large mirror that reminded me of an interrogation room in cop shows, as if purposefully set there to observe me whenever they wanted to.

  From the mirrors, I saw my dark hair sticking up at all angles and bruises on my arms from where Brad must’ve dragged me into the cage. I groaned and turned away, not wanting to see the horrible state I was in.

  It didn’t make sense. I’d have to ha
ve been unconscious for weeks for the injury to be in this state. The conversation in the van drifted back to me. The shifters might be able to infect a human with either a bite or scratch. “Shit.” I’d been scratched, or bitten. I didn’t know which, but it had hurt like hell.

  “So good to see you’re awake, Caitlyn.” The man in a white lab coat held a file in his hands and smiled. “You were good. I have to admit it, but we were better. No more running. Now I’ll be able to begin my tests. Finally.”

  I pressed my knees to my chest, cradling my legs and trying to hide my nakedness. “You’re mistaken. I’m not who you think I am.” Caitlyn wasn’t my name. I couldn’t even be sure if that was the same name from the wrong mail I kept receiving. It sounded familiar, but I had stopped paying attention.

  “Tsk, tsk. Sorry, dear, that’s not going to be work. I know who and what you are.” Smugness radiated from his satisfied smile. “My boss will be pleased. The next super solider will be created in this very lab, and I’ll be the one who pulled it off. The world will be a better, safer place from your sacrifice.”

  Super solider? What had I stumbled into? Was this some kind of sick joke? The military couldn’t be behind something so disgusting as this.

  “One thing I’m curious about is that I don’t see you’ve become as beastly as the others so far. You must have impeccable control, especially since the full moon will be at its peak tonight.” He looked me over again, his gaze lingering before he turned back to the clipboard. “My research has proven time and again that your kind must shift to your animal forms during the full moon. There’s no way to escape what will come, Caitlyn. I’ll get what I want.”

  “I’m not Caitlyn. I have no idea what you’re expecting from me, but you’ll see soon enough that I’m not what you’re after.” I rested my chin against my knees, hoping beyond hope that they would realize their mistake and let me go, but the more time I spent here, the more it became crystal clear that the men in the van were right. Letting me go was out of the question. They’d be more inclined to kill me than let me leave.