Moonlight’s Gift
Book Two of the Moonlight Series
Ashlynn Monroe
Moonlight’s Gift Book Two of the Moonlight Series © 2016 Ashlynn Monroe
Cover crafted by Fantasia Frog Designs
No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
This ebook is 41,798 words. It is the second book in a series. Reading the books in order will bring the greatest enjoyment, but each of the books in the series can be read as a stand-alone story. If you enjoy the story, please leave a review. I appreciate you for taking the time to read my work. Check out my backlist at ashlynnmonroe.com.
WARNING: This book is not suitable for children and should only be purchased and read by adults. Moonlight’s Gift contains explicit sexual content, violence, and profanity. If any of those things offend you, please stop reading here. The love scenes are graphic and use frank language.
**Trigger warning** If you have endured kidnapping or have a missing child, parts of this book might be uncomfortable for you.
**Trigger warning** If you have suffered domestic abuse, parts of this book might be uncomfortable for you.
Back Cover Copy:
Joy Foster endured kidnapping and spent a decade in hell as a prisoner of a brutal pack. She’s survived enough violence to forget the feeling of security. Coming home to her family should be the best moment of her life, but it isn’t. She’s sure her childhood pack will never accept her return.
Nik Martin claimed Joy Foster to save her life, but he realized the moment he did it that he was in love with her. Law Foster, Joy’s brother, and Nik’s alpha forbade him from finalizing his claim. Nik never wanted to disobey Law, until now. Joy’s body is peppered with scars, but it’s the damage on her soul Nik longs to repair—if his she-wolf will give him a chance.
Bianca Archer and her mate, Law, are trying to figure out how to be a family and raise Bianca’s bitten teenage daughter. Can she think pack or will she make Law think human?
Dedication:
This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever had his or her life altered by abuse. If you are currently living with someone who tells you they love you, but hurts you, please visit thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. You are not alone.
Thank you to all the wonderful people who made this book possible. I want to give a shout out to my Saturday LAWG critique group. You kept my characters from making fools of themselves. I love you guys! Thank you Jessica, Beth, Lacey, and Amanda for all your amazing advice. I appreciate my family for putting up with the hours of me clacking on the keyboard. Most of all, I want to thank my readers. Without your support for book one, book two would never have been possible. I hope you enjoy the continuing adventures in Wild Rose Valley and that you’ll stick around for book three Moonlight’s Destiny. I’d like to thank my family. You put up with my long hours at the computer. I work all day at the day job and then I come home and sit at the computer. I write in the car on the way to whatever we’re doing. I write instead of watching TV or going to the park. You let me. You forgive me. You encourage me. I am blessed. Thank you for allowing me to live in Wild Rose Valley instead of the real world. I love you.
Note to my readers: If you missed book one Moonlight’s Peril you can pick it up today in print or eBook. You can read this as a stand-alone book, but if you want to read them in order here’s the link to the first book in the Moonlight series.
Amazon US http://tinyurl.com/h6sxb3z
Amazon UK http://tinyurl.com/jgvhuu4
Amazon CA http://tinyurl.com/zu9zrpk
Amazon AU http://tinyurl.com/j82fysa
Prologue
“Let me go!” Joy Foster struggled against the large male holding her. “Stop!” She stumbled through the woods behind her captor.
“You’re mine.” Clint wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her head back. “I claim you.”
Dread sent painful arrows of shock through her chest. Her stomach clenched as if his words had been a physical blow.
“No, not that,” Joy whimpered. “I’m only fifteen.” Cool air hit her flaming cheeks. Her stomach twisted.
“In the old ways, you’re old enough. I give you my protection.” Clint spoke without love or tenderness. “Say you accept my protection, or we’ll kill your family.”
Terror spiked Joy’s adrenaline, and she struggled harder. “Don’t go near them! I want to go home.” She’d snuck out to meet the older man because she wanted to make Nik jealous enough to claim her, but she’d never imagined how wrong her plan could go. “I’ll shift and fight you.”
Clint yanked her hair, laughing. The five wolves behind them laughed too. “Are you going to take down all of us, sweetheart?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“You’re mine. I’ll call you anything I want. Say it, or we’ll sneak in and start cutting throats.” Clint slapped Joy across the face so hard her head snapped back, and her scalp ached from his tight hold on her ponytail.
Tears welled in her eyes. “I—” Joy sucked in a deep breath. “Accept your protection.” She finished the sentence on the end of a shuddering sob.
Clint and his cronies laughed. The malicious sound made Joy cringe.
She straightened her back and pulled herself together. Now isn’t the time to lose it. “My pack will hunt you down. Kort saw them take me.”
Clint stopped, yanking her close. Joy yelped. His eyes narrowed and his jaw set in a firm line. “That boy isn’t saying a word.”
Kort saw me fighting. Please, Kort please tell.
Joy awoke to someone pounding on the door. The memories tormenting her dreams left her sweating and her hands shook as she pulled the covers up. When she opened her eyes to gaze up at the bedroom ceiling, her vision clouded with unshed tears. “Come in,” she called softly, hoping they wouldn’t hear her and go away.
Laying in her mother’s bed Joy inhaled deeply, Janna Foster’s pillow smelled like the perfume she always wore. The scent was one of the few things she conjured up about home during her decade in captivity. Home. Such a simple word and yet those four letters held such complex definition.
I can’t stay in this room forever. I’ll have to face everyone some time. Can this be my home again or am I a lone wolf? Staying in bed seemed easier. Dying would have been the easiest, but her brother and her—Nik—saved her life even though it wasn’t worth saving. Her body was healing, but the wounds on her soul were open and festering. Joy wanted to die, but her body kept breathing.
No one entered the room. Another knock clattered against the varnished pine. Joy cleared her dry throat. “Come in,” she said a little louder as she sat up.
The door cracked open. The scents of tobacco and masculine musk hit her. Nik. He stuck his head in the room and her breath caught in her throat. He’s beautiful. Dark hair hung to his shoulders and needed a trim. I wonder if it’s still as soft as it was when I used to cut it for him? Ten years has changed him—and me too. If he has someone to do that now, she’s doing a shitty job. Please don’t let him have a mate. His green eyes blazed with intensity, and he wrinkled his brow and compressed his lips.
Nik cleared his throat. “I just wanted to let you know Bianca was shot. Chessa and Law are on their way to the hospital. He’s going to call your mother when he knows how his woman is.”
Joy’s heart leaped with a sudden painful beat. Bianca, her brother Law’s human
mate, couldn’t heal like a wolf. “Oh no. That explains why Chessa never came back upstairs.” That poor kid has been through so much. Seeing her mother hurt must be terrifying for her. She’s brave for thirteen. “She went down after the ‘all clear’ was called.” I’m glad those rogue wolves—my ex-pack mates were stopped. I wish I had the courage to get out of this bed and help.
Tired all the way to her soul, Joy took a deep breath. Bad news stole the little energy sleep gave her. “Could you sit with me for a while?” I need to know you’re near me. Nik shrugged and sat down next to the bed, and took her hand. “It’s been a long time since you held my hand,” Joy whispered. She noticed the lines on his face he hadn’t had as a teen. The urge to touch him was almost too much for her, but she managed to keep her hands to herself.
Nik’s face went from neutral to uncomfortable in the blink of an eye. “Yeah, it has.”
Joy worried her lip between her teeth. I need to change the subject. She let the first thing to pop in her head come out at him. “Are you still smoking?” His brow furrowed. “Those things aren’t good for you.”
Nik let go of Joy’s hand. “Werewolves don’t get cancer.”
He’s so damn stubborn. “Cigarettes can do more than give you cancer. We can get emphysema.” She sat up a little taller in bed and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Why is it we’ve never been able to have a conversation that didn’t include an argument?” Nik’s eyebrow rose.
“Because we’ve always cared too much about each other.” Joy pushed the yellow lace strap of her nightshirt back up on her shoulder. Nik clenched his fists. He’s furious. She looked away, shivering. This isn’t Tobias’ pack, and Nik isn’t Clint. Angry men hit hard. She wore the scars to prove it.
Nik chuckled. “Or enjoyed pissing each other off too much.”
Joy let out the breath she’d unconsciously held. Tension left her shoulders. “That too. I need to get out of bed, shower, and face everyone. I can’t hide forever.” But I wish I could.
Nik nodded. He took her hand and began stroking the skin by her knuckles with his thumb. “Eventually, but if you’re not ready don’t rush.”
Joy stared into Nik’s beautiful eyes. He means it. Her heart gave a little flip that had nothing to do with fear. I never wanted to leave forever. I just wanted you to see that I wasn’t a kid anymore. I was never one of them. Never. “The pack will assume I’m a murderer, but I swear to you I was never feral. I never let go of my mother, father, brother—you.” Please see who I am.
Nik scowled. “Why did you go to him? What made him better than me?”
Joy looked away, but Nik held her face, gently, pulling her chin forward.
“Tell me. I’ve been waiting a decade for the truth,” Nik demanded. His eyes glowed and his mouth compressed into a grim line.
Joy opened her mouth but said nothing before pressing her lips together. I didn’t want to leave. I just wanted you to wake up and see me as a woman instead of a girl. “It was never my choice. Why didn’t the pack come for me? Kort saw them take me.”
Nik’s eyes glowed so green and bright Joy had to squint. His wolf was at the surface, but he stopped his transformation. He still held her chin. “He never told us. I—I let you go because I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I didn’t go. I said some stuff that night, things I’ve regretted for ten years. Those words forced me to live through each beating as my penance instead of just letting my body shut down and die.”
Nik remained silent and awkward quiet stretched for an eternity of seconds.
Joy’s throat tightened with emotion, but she swallowed passed the pain. “I’m not looking for sympathy. I just need you to understand I’ve paid for what I’ve done.”
Nik paled. His glowing eyes changed from green to yellow. Hair sprouted on his face as it elongated and his body caught and held in a state between wolf and man. Joy gasped and cringed. He’s losing control.
“You haven’t done anything wrong.” He paused and his eyes darkened. Intensity. The way he looked at her made her soul feel naked. “You’re terrified. I won’t let Kort anywhere near you. I’m going to kill him!”
“Right now, we have the present to worry about so let the past go; it's gone.”
Nik’s nostrils flared. “That doesn’t mean it’s forgotten.”
Joy glanced up at him. You have no idea. “We need to think about Law and Bianca. I should get up so I can take care of Chessa.”
Nik scowled. “You need to take care of yourself. If you aren’t up to going downstairs, I want you to rest.”
I wish I could just sleep the rest of my life away. “I’m all right.” I’m not. “I wonder how Bianca is, humans don’t heal like wolves.” It’s easier to worry about Bianca than facing the pack.
“She’ll be okay; she just needs to give her body time, and so do you. I think you should wait to go downstairs until you’re ready, but when you do go down, I have your back. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, not ever again.”
She didn’t doubt he believed those words. But will you hurt me? She’d been forced to live with a man who beat her body, but Nik scared her a lot more. He could hurt her heart.
One
Bianca Archer held her breath. Terror sent darts of shock fluttering through her core, and she gasped. Her IV drip and the muffled sounds of television in the hospital room next door were the only noises she heard as she pressed the phone tighter to her ear trying to detect if her friend was still on the line. “What are you hiding from? Part of what?” After everything I’ve just been through can I handle the answer?
“Monsters,” Sabrina Johnson whispered into the phone.
Bianca and her mate—husband locked gazes. Law Foster looked like hell. His blond hair needed a comb, and there were big bags under his gray eyes. None of us will get rest and relaxation anytime soon.
“I heard,” He said. “I’m going.”
Chessa, Bianca’s teenage daughter, took Bianca’s free hand and gave it a squeeze as they watched Law rush out of the room.
Bianca turned her attention back to the phone. “Stay on the line with me. Help is coming. Law Foster, he’s a good guy. When he gets to you, trust him.”
“I don’t know who I can trust anymore,” Sabrina whispered. “Officer Gibson just turned into something terrible. Oh…” A strange mélange of noise rattled across the line.
“Sabrina! Sabrina. Answer me,” Bianca pleaded, but the line went dead.
Being part of this world is never going to be easy, or boring. Come back to me Law; I love you.
Bianca didn’t want to face a tomorrow without him. The mental admission sucker punched her in the heart. Her husband rushed off to face some random threat. She started to stand up.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“I—I don’t know. I just don’t want to be stuck here when they need me.”
“You’re hurt. You can’t help. Besides, you’re just human.” Chessa crossed her arms over her chest narrowing her blue eyes. A lock of blonde hair fell forward, and Ches blew it out of her face.
Hearing her daughter say the word human, like she wasn’t one, brutalized Bianca’s soul. Yes, Chessa was a werewolf now, but she’d been born normal. Normal. Bianca grabbed the arms of the chair and lowered herself back down. Normal. She had to stop thinking of Chessa as broken. Werewolf is who she is now, and I have to get used to it.
Bianca clenched her fists. “I might be just human, but I’m not afraid to protect what matters to me.”
Chessa blanched. “I didn’t mean it like that, really, sorry. You’re just fragile.”
“Fragile! This bullet wound will heal, and I’ll be fine.”
“You still won’t be werewolf strong.”
Bianca turned sharply to look out the door into the hospital hallway. “Shh, you have to be careful about throwing around the ‘w’ word.”
Chessa rolled her eyes and snorted. “Yeah, sure, like this whole town isn’t wolfing o
ut.”
“Not everyone is, and not everyone knows. I’ve lived here most of my life, and I had no idea.”
“Whatever. I’m not ashamed of what I am! I—” Chessa made a sound that was like a strangled growl. Her face lengthened, and her blonde hair grew. Chessa’s whimper made Bianca cringe. How much pain is she in? Sharp teeth protruded as Chessa bared her fangs.
“Calm down. I see you’re hurting. How can I help you?” Bianca’s soft words were almost a whisper as her throat tightened painfully.
Chessa’s face changed so much she looked ready to star in a bad B-movie. Her blue eyes brightened, almost as if they were glowing. Bianca couldn’t speak. She knew her daughter was different, but seeing Chessa’s metamorphosis changed something fundamental in Bianca’s soul. Chessa’s features contorted with agony. Adrenaline made Bianca’s heart beat faster. Chessa’s—muzzle—that was the only word for her mouth—snapped, and she growled a low menacing rumble as she wrapped her claw-like fingers around the arms of the chair. Bianca could hear the vinyl puncture.
“You need to take a breath. Think about this,” Bianca said. She used her stern-mother voice, hiding her fear. She couldn’t even remember what set her daughter off. “Calm down.”
Chessa’s fearsome eyes narrowed. Bianca gulped in a big breath, waiting, there was no bringing her daughter back.
Chessa lashed out, slapping Bianca so hard her head snapped back. One of her claws left a long thin cut across Bianca’s cheekbone, and the sharp sting made her hiss through her teeth. Deep, terrible shock kept Bianca from reacting as she watched her daughter. Mute with horror, a single tear ran down Bianca’s face, stinging the wound, as she tried to see the child she’d lost behind the angry eyes of this stranger.
Chessa tilted her head to the side and her brow furrowed. She shook. There was a confused quality to her expression as her face became a little more human. “You made me do it!” The teen’s voice distorted with an inhuman cadence. Chessa let go of the chair and stood up. Something unspoken hung between them as mother and daughter tried to understand the surreal moment. Chessa blinked, whimpered, and turned running from the hospital room before Bianca came out of her daze. The sound of a howling sob made the hair on the back of Bianca’s neck raise.
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