Blood Moon

by Rose Marie Wolf

  Jason was surprised by the sudden development of Davis’ backbone, but he wasn’t intimidated. He pulled his hand free and shoved him to the side with a sweep of his forearm.

  “Where is she?” He cornered the woman. She pressed her back against the driver’s door.

  “I don’t know!” she cried.

  He lifted his gun, preparing to use it as a threat when someone seized the back of his jacket and forced him back. Davis had his hands balled into fists, ready to fight.

  “Leave her alone!” Davis demanded just as Glen shouted, “Enough!”

  He had finally reached them and even Jason had to admit he looked intimidating in his long black coat. Shadows hid most of his face from view until he neared them. He looked at the woman first, then to the others.

  “We don’t need senseless fighting, especially from you two,” he said, staring at Jason and Davis. “Cut it out. Put the gun away, Jason. We don’t need to threaten her, and there’s no one with her. She’s alone.”

  “Are you sure?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “No one came with me,” she spoke up. “I’m alone.”

  Reluctantly, Jason put his gun away, eyeing her as he did so.

  Davis shoved past him to stand beside her. “Let me have a look at your ankle, Claire,” he said.

  “Not now,” Glen said, interrupting him. “Where’s the hideout?” he asked Claire. “Where’s Rose and Aidan?”

  Claire’s face was very white and her eyes very dark. She shook her head.

  “Tell us,” Jason shouted. Glen shot him a look and he fell silent. He stared hard at the female, but she avoided his eyes. She looked to Glen.

  “Aidan is dead,” she said in a whisper. “They killed him.”

  Glen sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. His hand closed into a tight fist. His fingernails dug into his palm. “How?”

  “They shot him. They couldn’t get any answers from him. It was…senseless, horrible…” She stopped.

  “What about Rose?” Jason asked. “Is she still alive?” His heart pounded and the jacket stuck to his cold sweaty body.

  “I think so—” Claire started.

  “What do you mean? You don’t know?” Jason approached her again, but Glen pulled him back with one hand.

  “Let her finish.”

  “I helped her escaped. I had a plan. We were going to get out of there. Simon…he’s crazy. He’s a werewolf, and a madman…”

  “We know that,” Davis answered in a bitter tone. She looked at him sympathetically a moment, then looked back to the other two.

  “Rose escaped?” Jason felt his heart jump.

  “Let her finish,” Glen said. His tone was soft, but his face was very grave and white. He kept his hand on Jason’s shoulder.

  Claire took a deep breath. “I couldn’t stand and let him do any harm to anyone else. I helped her get out. I fell down the stairs in the process.” She gestured to her very swollen ankle. “She told me to run for it as Simon went after her. The last I saw, she was running for the trees.”

  “Where?” Jason asked. “Where is she now?”

  “I don’t know,” Claire said with a shake of her head. “There was a town a few miles away from the warehouse.”

  “Take us there,” Glen said. He looked to Jason. “If I know my cousin half as well as I think I do, she’ll head for shelter as soon as possible. We’ll search the town and the surrounding wooded areas. We can’t waste any more time.”

  “Let’s go,” Jason agreed. “You’re probably right. Rose knows how to survive.”

  Claire looked extremely pale. “I can’t go back there…I can’t…”

  “It’ll be all right,” Davis assured her.

  He offered his arm to support her as she walked. Glen was ahead of them and reached his van first. He started it up, turned on the blinding lights and pulled out from the hidden parking spot. Jason climbed into the front, as Davis helped Claire into the back with him.

  “Just tell me how to get there.”

  “Get onto the interstate,” she told him. “It’s pretty far.”

  “I think we can make it.”

  “I can’t go back,” she said in a whisper. She held her head in her hands. Jason watched her through the rearview.

  “Don’t worry about that. You’re safe as long as you are with us,” he told her. Davis nodded and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’ll guarantee it.”

  Claire gave him a faint smile. “Thanks. Now let’s go.”

  “Already on it,” Glen said. He pulled the van out of the alley and onto the highway. The interstate was only miles away.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  She thought the morning would never come. Daylight seemed so far off and the clouds had begun to creep in. It had turned colder and she could smell rain on the air. Miserably, Rose lifted her head to the sky and searched for some light. The red moon that had once hung overhead was now only a fair glimmer behind the menacing clouds. It was very dark. She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself.

  She was alone. She was going to die here. She drew herself into an even tighter ball and rested her head on her knees. Her cuts and bruises might’ve healed already, but her heart had not.

  Jason was dead. Aidan was dead. She had no hope of returning to her job at the magazine office. There was no hope of returning to the life she once had. Rose closed her eyes and shivered as the cold air brushed her bare skin. The rain smell was stronger and there was more moisture in the air. It was going to rain and heavily.

  She could not stay here. She was too vulnerable, too open. She had been lucky that no one had passed by, walking or driving. She hadn’t been seen, but as dawn neared and people climbed out of their happy beds, she wouldn’t so lucky. She stood to her feet slowly. The coldness of the concrete stung them. She would have to find another place to hide.

  Rose moved quickly down the dark sidewalk. She stubbed her toe on the protruding cracks in the concrete and nearly tripped. She felt nothing though, as her feet were numb with cold. Her teeth chattered. She found shelter just as the rain hit.

  It came down in a stinging downpour and she ducked underneath the outcropped rooftop of a nearby building. She was in the dark now, and could be kept well out of sight if she ducked down.

  The rain came in sideways and her shelter did not keep most of it out. She was soaked in a matter of a few minutes. She was even worse than miserable. She was tired and completely exhausted but she couldn’t sleep.

  She covered her face with her hands to protect it from the stinging spray. Her tears fell in trickles down her face. It was over. She had nothing to live for.

  Rose sank to the freezing wet ground, pressed her back to the brick building and lifted her face to the stinging rain. It washed the tears away and hurt just enough that she knew she was still alive, even if her heart was broken.

  * * *

  “This is it?” Glen looked out the window through the swish of the wiper blades. Steam fogged the windows and he flipped on the defroster. “It looks smaller than I thought.”

  “I’ve never been here,” Claire said from the back. Davis had helped her to bandage her ankle and she now leaned in her seat with her leg propped up. Davis stared out the window and was silent.

  “I have,” Jason said gruffly from the front seat. He let out a breath the fogged his window. “It’s been a long time ago, but I used to live here.” He glanced to Glen. “With one of my foster families.”

  “Do you know it?”

  Jason shook his head. “Not enough, but it’s a start.”

  “It’s all we have now.” Glen pulled up to the curb and cut the engine. “It’ll have to do.” He looked over at Jason, but the man wasn’t looking at him. His attention was focused outside the car. He studied the sidewalk and the dark shadows. The rain pattered on the top of the van and drowned out all other sounds.

  “Do you see something?” Glen asked.

  Jason shook his head. “No, nothing.
We’ll have to get out.”

  “Right…”

  “Where are you guys going? What are you going to do?” Claire sat up a bit to peer to where Jason was looking.

  He glanced back at her. “Anywhere and everywhere.”

  “You can seriously expect to find her. That would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. It’s impossible—”

  “Never tell him it’s impossible.” Glen half-grinned. “It’ll just spur him on.”

  He switched his attention to Jason, who wasn’t grinning. His temple throbbed when he clenched his teeth, and turned back.

  “It’s not impossible. I’ll find her.”

  “See?” Glen said, still grinning.

  “But how?” Davis leaned forward, between the two in the front seat. “How can you find her? Claire’s right. It’ll be close to impossible. This town may be small, but it's still a lot of ground to cover for just a few of us. It’ll take us a long time to find her.”

  “Is there any other way to contact her?” Claire asked. She leaned against Davis’ shoulder so she could be closer to the conversation.

  “None.” Glen turned to watch the rain falling onto the window. “She didn’t have a cell phone on her.”

  “Her scent will be weak, too,” Jason broke in. “The rain would have washed away any trail.”

  “Yes, but not if we were close enough to her.”

  “So, you guys are just going to sniff her out?” Davis asked. He lifted an eyebrow and looked to Claire. “Even with that, won’t it still be hard to find her?”

  “Not we.” And it was Jason who grinned. “Us. You’re coming with us.”

  Davis shook his head and balked. “No, I can’t. I don’t know anything about this whole werewolf thing. I can’t help you.”

  “How else are you going to learn, Davis?”

  “Glen told me he’d help me—”

  “I know what Glen told you, but you have to learn these things for yourself. You need to learn how to act, how to use the gifts you’ve been denying all these years.”

  “I haven’t been denying anything. I didn’t know.”

  “Both of you shut up!” Claire raised her voice and everyone fell silent.

  Davis looked at her and then quickly looked away. Jason sighed and turned away. Glen remained the only one looking in her direction.

  “What’s going on? What are you talking about, Davis?” There was confusion in her voice and Jason saw it in her face when he caught a glimpse of her reflection. Davis sighed heavily.

  “I didn’t tell you before, when I talked to you…before this whole mess, I didn’t know then,” He told her.

  “Didn’t know what?”

  “I’m—” He looked to Glen as if wanting him to finish, but he did not say anything. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes to avoid looking at her. “I’m half-werewolf.”

  Claire gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he added hastily. “I didn’t know.”

  She shook her head, blonde strands of hair fell down her cheek. Davis again looked helpless. He turned to Glen for advice.

  “Look,” Glen began, addressing Claire. “Now is not the time to talk about it. We have to find Rose. You stay here.” He took the keys from the ignition. “There will be plenty of time to argue about it when we get back.”

  Jason had already stepped out of the van. The rain was even louder with the door open. Glen stared at Claire, then at Davis a moment more before he opened his door. “Let’s go.”

  He stepped out and slammed the door. Claire looked at Davis. Her brown eyes misted with tears.

  “Is it true?” she whispered.

  “Yeah, I’m afraid so. And that’s not the half of it.” Davis sighed miserably. He was finally able to look at her. “Are you mad?”

  “No, I’m not mad,” she began slowly. “I’m just…shocked. There’s so much going on…”

  “I’m still the same guy.”

  “I know…”

  “We’ll talk later.” Glen was gesturing for him to get a move on. Already his dark hair was plastered to his forehead and the water beaded off the leather of his jacket. “Okay?”

  “Okay. Be careful…”

  Davis half-smiled and pulled open the van’s door. A gust of cold, wet air hit him and he plunged into the downpour. He slammed the door and jogged to where Glen and Jason stood.

  “We’ll split up. Davis and I will go north. You go south. Do you have your radio?”

  “Yeah,” Jason shouted over the clash of the rain. “Contact me if you find anything.”

  “All right. Be careful.” Glen began to run down the sidewalk. Davis followed close behind. They disappeared around a corner and were gone.

  This was it. Jason lowered his head against the sting of the rain and started down the first alley he came to. It seemed like a long shot, but he knew they were closer to finding Rose than ever.

  He just hoped she could hold out long enough for him to find her. He wasted no more time. He ran.

  “Rose!” he shouted. There was no answer. The rain pour was deafening. If she could hear him, it would be only barely, even with her preternatural hearing. But he had to try.

  “Rose!” Jason cupped his hands to his mouth as he called. Still, there was no response. He moved on, crossing a street to another alley. He plunged into the darkness and became lost in the shadows.

  There was no reminder of her scent. The water had washed it away. He sniffed the air just the same. If Rose was near, he’d be able to smell her. He was sure of it.

  The rain did not stop him. It soaked his hair and dripped down his back and under his shirt. It tore his face and he could almost imagine it was bleeding. But it would be worth it all if he could just find Rose.

  Again, Jason called for her. His voice was carried on the wind, far away from him until even its echo was lost. He listened, stopping in his tracks. Nothing.

  And then he caught the scent. It was the familiar, musky aroma of the female of his kind. It was a full-blood. It was Rose.

  Jason felt his heart leap in his chest and he turned in the direction of the scent. He ran toward it, her scent flooded his nostrils. There was nothing else but her.

  “Rose!” he screamed over the rain and the thudding of his boots in the puddles.

  And then he saw her. She was running down the middle of the alley. She was a white beacon in the shadows. Her bare feet slapped on the hard concrete. She was running from him.

  He shouted for her and called upon all the strength of the wolf to aid him. His feet flew. Jason grabbed for her shoulder.

  “No!” She screamed, “Let go of me!” The desperation in her voice shocked him. She struggled, but he dug his fingers into her shoulder and spun her around.

  “Rose! It’s me!” He held her, shook her until she stopped screaming. Her wide blue eyes stared at him. She finally saw him.

  “Jason,” she breathed. Rain poured down her face and she blinked to keep the water from her eyes. “Jason?”

  “Yes,” he whispered. He released the grip on her upper arms. He knew he was hurting her with his strength. She was pale, her cheeks and nose red from crying. Her eyes seemed wider, more scared. Her clothing was soaked and he could smell the fear on her and the last traces of blood from something he could not place.

  “I thought…I mean…” And she sobbed before Jason knew what had happened. She threw her arms around him. Her body was cold, but he held her tightly to him.

  It was over. She was safe. She was in his arms once again.

  He breathed against her neck and squeezed her. “I thought I had lost you.”

  “I thought you were dead,” she cried almost unintelligibly against his shoulder. She pulled back and began kissing him. Through the kiss, she spoke, “I thought you were gone. I’m so sorry, Jason.”

  “Don’t.” He ran a hand down her cold, wet back, trying to soothe her. She rested her head once again against his shoulder. “There
is no need for that. We’re alive, Rose. We’re safe.” And he began to laugh.

  He found the radio and contacted Glen. “I have her,” he said, and he knew he his voice betrayed the smile on his face. “She’s safe.”

  “Thank God.” Glen’s voice crackled over the radio. “Meet you at the van.”

  “I want to go home,” Rose said softly, her hot breath against Jason’s ear. She sounded exhausted with relief.

  “We will, baby.” Jason lifted her in his arms and pulled her close to the warmth of his body. He carried her through the rain, back to the safety and warmth of Glen’s van. There were many tears as she was reunited with her cousin once again.

  It was a happy time, but Jason watched as Glen held Rose close, embracing her as a brother would a sister. She began to sob in happiness and relief. Her nightmare was over, but Jason was somber. There was still one more thing left to do before the nightmare would truly end, and he was more than ready for it.

  “Simon,” he said under his breath, so low that none could hear him. “You had better be ready, because I’m coming for you.”

  Then he led Rose to the back of the van and helped her inside.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  They arrived at the storefront well after sunrise. Jason carried her inside while Davis lent a helping hand to Claire. Glen held the door open for them.

  “I can walk fine, Jason,” Rose told him once he had carried her inside the door. He set her down reluctantly and she turned to face the room. Four unfamiliar faces peered at her.

  “Who are these people?”

  “Friends, fellow weres,” Glen answered as he walked past her. “They’ve helped us, and in some ways, we’ve helped them.”

  The blonde woman stood from the couch, her face wide with a smile. Rose watched her apprehensively.

  “I’m glad you found her, Jason,” she said as she strolled over. She hit Jason on the back in congratulations. She looked to Rose. “Don’t be threatened by me. My name is Cheyenne and I helped Jason procure that sweet set of wheels out there. It’s nice to meet you, finally. I’m glad you’re safe.”

  Rose could only nod at her. She turned her attention to right where two teenage boys and a teenage girl stood. They were all weres. She could smell it.