Blood Moon

by Rose Marie Wolf

  “You mean, werewolves?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You knew Marcus then?” Glen looked down at the papers. There was nothing left for him to read that wasn’t covered in blood and blotted out.

  “I knew him, but we weren’t friends.” Davis crouched beside Glen’s seat and studied the floor. “He busted me a couple of times. He’s the reason I got involved with Simon.”

  “Tell me.” Glen sounded interested. He clicked a few keys on the computer and Davis looked up to see he was typing. “For future reference,” he explained.

  “That’s fine.” Davis took a deep breath. He didn’t like delving too much into the past, but it was necessary. He gave himself a brief nod and began.

  “It was about a year ago. No, wait—it was more like a year and a half. I was caught up in some bad shit. Drugs—I don’t like to admit it, but I did them. I sold them. I was in the middle of it all. And Marcus was on my case almost day and night. He busted me one night and brought me along in his car, while he went on some errand.

  “I didn’t know until later that he was a hunter, using his resources in his department to get information. He was involved in Simon’s ring. He was second-in-command, and Simon had him doing all sorts of investigations aside from what he was supposed to be doing. He left me in the car while he stepped out to talk business with Simon. It was Simon that ordered him to let me out.

  “He talked with me for a while and seemed impressed with me.” Davis let out a little bit of a scoff. “I can’t believe I fell for it. He offered me a place in his circle if I gave up on the drug dealing. I agreed to it. I was fed up with the stuff anyway and I wanted out. It wasn’t until later that I found out what Simon was really all about. I knew nothing about werewolves. But Simon soon convinced me. He showed me the evidence, he took me with him on hunts. He had me kill for him.”

  Davis stopped a moment, took a deep breath and then began again. “Marcus left the detective work, but kept the pretense. Simon gave him a job to find out what he could about Rose Sullivan.”

  “Rose?” Glen stopped typing and looked down at Davis. His gaze was fixated on the floor and he didn’t look up at him. “He’s the fucker she killed, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah. That was a mistake. He wasn’t supposed to have gone after her,” Davis continued. “His job was to find out about her and get the information back to Simon. He decided that he would do more than that. He would find her and kill her. There would be no need for any more information. To make sure it worked, he sent me to find her boyfriend. I didn’t want to do it. I knew Simon wouldn’t like it.”

  “Why did you do it then?”

  “I guess I was intimidated by both of them. I bent too easily to what they told me. I didn’t want any part of it. If I had the choice, I would’ve rather gone to jail for the drugs than have ever met Simon.

  “I did what Marcus asked. Eric had found out about it and he tried to warn Simon, but it was already in motion. I confronted Jason, and he handed me my ass. He knocked me out cold. It wasn’t until later that I found out Marcus had gone after Rose and she had killed him.”

  “And that brings us to the PRDI massacre and to where we are now.” Glen stated. He typed it up on the ever growing file.

  “Right. Simon was pissed that Marcus had done that. We weren’t to harm her, he had said. He wanted her alive, but for what reason?”

  “I don’t know,” Glen said. He turned to Davis. “What else can you tell me?”

  “Um…” Davis paused and thought a moment. “Simon’s last name is Conner. I’m not sure about Eric’s last name.”

  “Eric’s the black guy?”

  “Yeah, and he’s ex-military, from what I’ve heard.”

  “I believe it,” Glen said. He scrolled through the database names again, looking through the C’s. “If Simon’s listed on here, through a werewolf parent, I’ll be able to find him.”

  “That thing lists werewolves?” Davis moved closer to the screen, renewed interest growing in him.

  “Yeah, what did you think the PRDI Database was used for? It lists werewolves, psychics, those with strange abilities, vampires and those that work with the institute and their families, if they so chose to be registered.”

  There was silence now as Davis digested this. Glen continued his search. It was taking a long time. A realization occurred to Davis suddenly.

  “Do you think…if one of my parents was listed…”

  “That it would pinpoint the origins of your were-gene? Probably.” Glen finished for him. “I plan on doing that after we get the hunters out of the way.”

  “Good. I’d like to find out the truth about it all.”

  “So would I,” Glen answered. “So would I.”

  It became silent, save for the clacking of keys and the occasional beep from the computer. Davis rubbed his eyes when the screen became a blur. He stood, feeling his entire body ache. He suddenly realized just how tired he was. The anxiety, fear and adrenaline of the past night had kept him fully awake, but now it was taking its toll on him. Glen caught Davis’ sidelong glance at him as he tried to stifle a yawn.

  “Listen, there’s a cot in one of the rooms down the hall. Get some sleep. I’ll take care of this.”

  “What about you? Aren’t you tired?”

  “Yes,” Glen said and he did sound weary. He shrugged. “I don’t sleep much though. Get some rest. You look like you need it. There’s a bathroom next to that room if you need it.”

  “Thanks,” Davis mumbled. He backed away from the computer and out the door. He moved down the cramped hall. He found the bathroom Glen had mentioned and then the cot in the adjacent room.

  He crashed on it without a second thought as to the cleanliness or the lack of the sheet. He stared at the cracked ceiling several moments until his eyelids grew heavy. He was asleep before he could think about anything else.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The voices died away behind them. Jason followed the kids as they ran through the shadows of the trees. A branch snagged his hair and he felt his scalp tear as it ripped strands away. He ignored the pain and moved on.

  Up ahead, he saw the girl stagger and nearly trip. The boy was soon at her side. He grabbed her good arm and hoisted her to a standing position. He whispered something that Jason couldn’t catch. He glared back, eyes full of contempt, and met Jason’s gaze for a moment. Then he turned his dark head and pulled the girl along with him.

  Jason knew they didn’t trust him and that they had little choice in the matter. They weren’t subtle on the hints either. The boy kept his distance and shielded the girl from him. She looked back at him now and again. Nervousness showed in her eyes.

  He didn’t blame either of them for their reservations of him. He wouldn’t trust a complete stranger either.

  The sound of cars roaring by indicated they weren’t far from a road. He wasn’t sure where they were, but he was farther off course than he had ever intended to be. His chest hurt with each intake of breath. A rib had definitely been broken. He could feel it. He slowed his pace and wrapped an arm around his injured side.

  “Wait a second,” he yelled at the kids. The boy looked back at him as both children paused in their tracks. The girl still cradled her arm close to her. Her sweater was saturated with blood, her face was peaked. Her blue eyes appeared wider than before.

  “Keep going,” he heard the boy whisper to her. The girl looked uncertain a moment, and a line formed between her brows. “Go, Rora. I’ll catch up with you in a second.”

  “No,” Jason said when the girl turned to obey the boy’s commands. “Don’t go. We have to stick together.”

  She hovered, unsure whether to obey the adult issuing commands or the insistence of the boy beside her. The boy reached into his waistband and removed the gun he had stashed there. He pointed it at Jason again. His eyes were golden hued and angry.

  “Don’t come any closer to us,” he shouted.

  Not this again, Jason thought bitterly. He
stopped completely and removed his arm from his side. He lifted both hands in surrender.

  “Look, I’m not going to hurt you.” His words had no effect on either of them. The girl stood behind the boy, nervous. She looked scared. Jason tried another approach. “Listen…your mom told me to come after you. She wanted me to help you.”

  This hardened the boy’s face and his grip on the gun did not waver.

  “Liar!” He shouted. “Leave me and my sister alone. We don’t need you.” The girl began to cry behind him. Her tears glistened on her cheeks. Her nose and cheeks had become splotchy red in places.

  Jason didn’t know what to do. They were young and if he left them, they would be utterly alone and lost. The girl shivered, now wiping at her eyes and nose with the ruined sleeve of her sweater. He couldn’t leave them out here.

  The boy was unyielding. He took a step back toward his sister, continuing to hold his gun at arm’s length. “Leave us alone.”

  “Fine, have it your way,” Jason growled. He removed his own gun from his waistband and held it out with both hands. Unlike the boy, his grip was steady and sure. He stared at him over the gun’s sight. “I wasn’t lying to you. She told me with her last breath to find you two and take care of you. I made a promise to a dying woman, and I’m not sure why, but I’m following it. I can take you down now, pup. Don’t think I won’t.”

  The boy stared at the barrel aimed at him and his hands shook. He said nothing. The girl made a sound like a whimper and asked, “Mom’s dead?” in a whispered voice.

  “Yes,” Jason answered coolly. He watched the boy. The golden hue was gone from his eyes and it was replaced with sure fear. Jason could smell it. “I couldn’t do anything to save her,” he added, trying to make his voice sympathetic.

  The girl renewed her crying and turned away from the males. She sniffled, holding a sleeve-covered hand to her mouth as it contorted in a frown. The boy shifted his feet slightly, unsure what to do.

  “I’ve used guns before, kid,” Jason went on. “I’ve shot men and I’ve killed them. I have that under my belt. This is your first time holding a gun, isn’t it?”

  “Go away,” the boy said, but his voice contained none of the vehemence of before. It quivered. “Leave us alone.”

  “Just put the gun down. I’m not going to hurt you unless I have to. I will have to, if you don’t put the gun down,” Jason explained. “Your sister is badly wounded. I need to take a look at it.”

  The girl sniffed again and looked toward him. Jason could already see a gash peeking through the torn shirt.

  “She heals fine,” the boy answered. He did not lower the gun. “She doesn’t need your help.”

  “Ryan…” she said. She lowered her hand from her mouth. Her bottom lip trembled. “Put the gun down.”

  The boy was apprehensive, but lowered the gun at her request. He looked back at her, stared at the bloody shirt, then his gaze drifted back to Jason. “Fine,” he said coldly.

  “Put the gun on the ground,” Jason told him. The boy knelt to put it on the cold ground. He stepped back from it. Jason approached, took the gun and put it in his own waistband. He lowered his own gun.

  “Now, I’m going to help your sister. Keep watch.”

  “You don’t have to order me around,” the boy snapped. Jason said nothing but penetrated him with a violent gaze. Ryan sucked in a breath.

  “Just breathe, I won’t hurt you.” He told the girl as he stood next to her. “Hold out your arm.”

  She did so without hesitation. He held her wrist in one hand and used the fingers of his free hand to pry the cloth apart. He examined her arm. There was a huge gash from her elbow to her shoulder, and it was deep. The bone wasn’t broken, as he had originally thought.

  “Does it hurt?” he asked. The girl nodded.

  “Okay.” Jason thought a moment. “It needs to be cleaned, but I think it’ll be fine. Do you heal fast?” Again she nodded.

  “Good. You’ll be fine. Hold it close to you and try not to move it so much.” She nodded once more that she understood, and then lifted her gaze behind him. The boy stared at him.

  “Who are you?” he asked. He watched Jason suspiciously, even after he stepped away from the girl.

  “My name is Jason.”

  The boy looked at him as if he didn’t believe it. He did not volunteer his own name, but the girl did.

  “I’m Aurora. He’s Ryan.”

  “It’s Rebel,” the boy shot back at her, with an annoyed tone. “Not Ryan.”

  “Sorry,” she said, softly. “Rebel.”

  “Rebel?” Jason lifted an eyebrow, trying to disguise an amused smile. Rebel glared at him.

  “Yeah. Do you have a problem with it?”

  “No,” Jason said, plainly. “No need to guess why they call you that. You seem pretty independent.”

  “Hell yes.”

  “Rebel,” Aurora whispered in a warning tone. He paid no attention to her. He continued to stare at Jason, a stubborn look on his face.

  “What are you doing out here? Were you following us? Were you following them?” he asked.

  Jason lifted an eyebrow slightly at the questions, but said nothing for a moment. He wiped the hand that had touched Aurora’s bloody shirt on his jeans and studied the boy.

  “You ask a lot of questions, pup,” he answered after a while. Aurora stood close to her brother, cradling her arm close to her. She watched Jason with a curious expression and shivered in the cold.

  “I like to be careful.”

  “But you’re not that careful,” Jason retorted.

  “That’s just your opinion.”

  “No, it’s a fact. You pulled a gun on me. That’s not a smart move, not with anyone and especially not with me.” His voice rose a bit, and he lowered it. “You have a lot to learn,” he finished in an almost whisper.

  “I’m sixteen years old. I’m not a kid anymore. I know more about life and the world than most other kids my age,” Rebel shouted. He looked over at Aurora, silently begging her to agree with him. She gave a shake of her head, her eyes still on Jason.

  He looked at her a moment, then back to Rebel. “You’re still a pup to me, sixteen or not. Don’t act like you know everything. You’ll get your ass kicked for that.”

  “Goddamn it!” Rebel shouted. He pointed his finger at Jason. “What do you know? You don’t know me. All you know is that I’m one of you, and my parents were killed in a car crash because stupid hunters ran them off the road.” Rebel’s voice rose. “My parents are dead, and you had to get involved. You don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know what it’s like. The hunters have been following us for days. They’ve tried to kill all of us.”

  Tears rolled out of his eyes and fell in a steady torrent down his face. His cheeks were red and his eyes yellow. His hand shook, his finger still pointed accusingly at Jason. He could no longer find words to say, but stood there shaking. His sobs racked his chest.

  Aurora reached out her good hand and touched him on the shoulder, but he jerked away from her. He turned away from both of them and kicked at a nearby tree, expelling his anger and frustration on the helpless nature.

  Jason said nothing, but watched him. He knew the boy was upset and frustrated. He’d just found out he lost his parents and hunters were to blame. Jason did know what it was like to lose someone close. He was there now. He waited a long interval and exchanged pitying glances with Aurora before he said anything.

  “I understand where you are coming from…”

  “No, you don’t,” Rebel exploded.

  “Listen to me,” Jason insisted. “Let me finish.” He calmed himself down and then began.

  “I understand where you are coming from. I never even knew my parents. I was an orphan nearly my entire life. I moved from foster family to foster family because no one wanted me. I know what it’s like to lose your family. I know what it’s like to lose the ones you loved.” He stopped a moment, thinking of Rose. Anger welled in him suddenl
y, but he pushed it out with a deep sigh.

  “And I know about hunters. I know about them too well. Don’t make me the bad guy. I did not want to crash into your car. I couldn’t stop. The SUV swerved too quickly and I couldn’t avoid it. I did not know they were hunters until after, and I’m glad that every one of them died…”

  He paused. Rebel looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. Neither of the teens said anything.

  “Not long ago—maybe two or three nights, I can’t remember—a group of hunters targeted my mate. They tried to kill her and she fought back. I knew I had to get her to safety. I took her to the Paranormal Research and Development Institute safe house. But they found us. They killed almost everyone there, and they kidnapped her.”

  There was a few moments of silence, and he added. “That’s why I’m out here. I’m tracking them. I’m going to get her back.”

  For a while, no one spoke, then Aurora said, in a hushed voice, “That’s awful.”

  “No shit,” Jason replied. He felt suddenly bitter. He crossed his arms and let out a breath.

  Rebel stared at him. His tears had dried, but his eyes were still red-tinged. “What’s her name?” he asked.

  “Rose.”

  Rebel nodded solemnly. “You’ll get her back. I’ll help you.”

  “We both will,” Aurora piped up.

  Jason gave a half smirk. “That’s nice of you to say that, but it’s my fight, not yours.”

  “You took her to the PRDI?” Aurora asked. She looked thoughtful. “Our parents took us there a few times. It’s not a bad place.”

  “That’s your opinion,” Jason said callously. No one said anything else and Jason knew it was time to go. Again there was silence, broken only by the whizzing cars on the road nearby.

  “Let’s go.” He sighed and started in the direction of the road.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Footsteps outside the door made Rose instantly hush her crying and she listened closely. She sniffed and quickly wiped her face clean of all wetness. She was in a crouched position by the time the door opened, having moved back into the corner in the shadows.