“You had a thing with her, didn’t you?” I stare him down.
“You’re playing Ms. Jealousy, really?” he whisper-hisses this at me. “After I found out you’re fucking my best friend?”
“That was a little different.” I poke a finger into the cleft between his pecs. “I thought you were dead.”
“Yeah, well I was blackmailed into being with Brigette.”
One of the pack glances in our direction. We duck down behind the trees and Noah growls something about lowering our voices.
“Right, you were blackmailed into screwing her.” I can’t stop myself, even if it is no time for a fight.
He pulls me close against his hard leg. His hands graze over my cheeks and his face is inches from mine. “I didn’t screw her. They wanted that, but I broke out of this place before it could happen.” His face moves closer. “Because all I could think about, all I cared about, was you and the band.”
Before I can protest, his lips crush into mine. Our present situation is forgotten as he pulls me down to the ground and his tongue slides into my mouth. Rough bark scrapes my bare arm, but I barely feel it as I return the kiss. Our tongues entwine as we taste one another. His warm, callused palm strokes my cheek and my hands slip over his cool, naked skin. I trace the lines and curves of muscle in his chest as he lays me down on a patch of dry dirt and underbrush.
His teeth graze my bottom lip as his fingers fumble with my belt. Seconds later, my zipper is undone and those wide, strong hands glide under the waistband of my panties. My pussy tingles in anticipation of his touch. My whole body throbs with need. I reach down and shimmy my pants below my hips to give him better access, but before his thumb can stroke my aching clit, he stops.
“No, this isn’t safe.” He props himself up on his hands and stares down at me, eyes glazed with desire. A flicker of yellow moves through his hazel irises.
I think he’s referring to Andre’s reaction, as well as our dangerous location, but both are the furthest thing from my mind right now. My guilt can be dealt with later, and I’ll just hope we don’t get caught by the werewolves.
“I want this.” Raising up, I take his bottom lip between my teeth, tugging it before I kiss him deeply.
He pushes me away. “No, you don’t understand. High emotions can … make me change. It’s not just the full moon that makes a werewolf. I’m learning to control it, but I don’t want to hurt you.”
Reaching up, I brush strands of dark hair from his face. “Don’t worry. I trust you.”
He stops me before I can untie my jacket from around his waist. “I’m not sure I trust myself.”
It’s all I can do not to growl in frustration. “Fine.” I slip the jacket off his hips. “Let me tie you up then. You can’t hurt me if you can’t touch me.”
“But I want to touch you,” he protests between kisses.
“Let me do the touching.” I sit up and motion for him to turn around so I can tighten my belt around his wrists. If he does wolf out, it won’t do much good. I’ll be dog chow in a heartbeat, but my instincts tell me not to worry.
Once his wrists are restrained, I push him down to the ground, remove my pants and underwear, and straddle him. His skin against mine is heaven, and while I miss his roaming hands, the feel of his hard cock sliding against my wet pussy provide enough consolation.
I yank my shirt over my head, exposing my braless breasts, then I reach down to explore his sculpted flesh. No need to worry about condoms since I’m protected against pregnancy, and I’m pretty sure, after what Noah’s just told me, he’s been with no one since me. I position his hard cock and get ready to sink him deep inside my cunt when shouting interrupts us.
“I know you’re out there, Wilder!” Pierre refers to Noah by his last name. “I can smell you and your bitch.”
Noah sits up and I topple off him, falling in a disgruntled heap next to my clothes. I notice his eyes are now pure yellow and some fur sprouts from his neck and lines his shoulders. Apparently I turned him on enough to bring the beast out after all.
“Get your clothes on,” he whispers, scrambling to grab my jacket and tie it around his waist once more.
I grumble obscenities, annoyed by the intrusion of our dangerous reality, but I remind myself my friends are at risk. There will be time for getting off later.
“We need to get out of here.” Noah helps me to my feet, but we remain hidden in the cluster of trees.
“But we can’t lose them,” I say, looking toward the camp of werewolves. “We have to get Rita back.”
Noah and I watch as Pierre gathers the pack near the fire and speaks with them. Brigette emerges from the tent where she took Rita and comes over to him, speaking close to his ear. I can’t hear what is said, but judging by Noah’s concerned expression he can.
“Did it heighten your sense of hearing, too?”
He gives me a confused frown, then realization dawns on him. “Yeah, and my sense of smell. Which really sucks when you’re in a public toilet.”
“What’re they saying?” I glance back at the company of wolves.
“They’re moving out. Sounds like they’ve located Andre and Regina, and Adam is close behind them.”
“Adam?”
He nods in response to my bewildered expression. “A werewolf who has turned on Pierre and is trying to prove he’s corrupt. We need to get to Adam first.”
***
Chapter 6
Once the Dark Moon pack is a fair distance ahead, we move out. Catching up with Andre, Regina, and Adam is apparently more important than hunting us down at the moment, and while I’m grateful on one hand, I’m worried about the fate of my friends and this werewolf I haven’t met yet.
When we finally emerge from the forest, I find we’re on the edge of Cosmo City, but Noah explains to me that I shouldn’t expect familiar territory when we enter the mid-sized metropolis. What we’re about to walk into is pure Glamour, he tells me. Though it might look like home, the resemblance is only an illusion.
“So what’s the deal with you and Pierre and Brigette exactly?”
He draws his dark eyebrows down and gives me a glare, but after a sigh he reveals some more information as we walk down a pitted old highway that leads to the outskirts of the city.
“I made a deal with Pierre, but he wanted more. He wanted me to become Brigette’s mate. The werewolf world … well, it’s kind of interbred. Put it that way. I escaped and now they want me back.”
I shook my head. “This is all too weird.”
Before either of us can say more, a black Dodge Charger comes roaring up the pavement towards us. I run for the side of the road, but Noah doesn’t move. He stands in the car’s path and I scream at him to get out of the way. I run back to grab his arm just as the car stops two feet in front of him. Its engine purrs like a big cat as Noah strides up to the driver’s side.
The tinted window rolls down and an Asian-Canadian man takes off his sunglasses to look us both over.
“How did you know where to find us?” Noah says to him. “We were heading to the city to look for you.”
“Regina figured you’d head to the tunnels. She sent me. Get in,” the man says. “We’ve got things to discuss.”
Before Noah moves to the front passenger door, he points to our visitor. “Merry, meet Adam Stobard.”
Adam tosses a bag at Noah as he gets in the front seat. “Regina figured you’d wolfed out and shredded your clothes. Here’s some replacement gear.”
“Thanks.” Noah slips into a pair of jeans as I climb in the back and buckle my seatbelt. “What was up with Regina getting us a gig at Night Glamour? Please tell me she hasn’t turned to Pierre’s way of thinking.”
Adam snorts laughter at this before he pumps the pedal to the floor. “Of course not. The gig was meant to nail Pierre after we lost that evidence Malcolm had. Regina had a feeling he would come after Merry to cut out the competition. But she didn’t know you were back, too. Me and a couple other werewolves w
ere set up to grab Pierre when he tried to get Merry, but he brought more reinforcements than we expected. He wanted to get you back. How’d you get out of Glamour anyway?”
“When Pierre went for a meeting with Glamour leaders, Brigette broke the binding spell. You know she’s not cool with what her dad is doing. She only went along with it cause he manipulated her.”
“Yeah.” Adam sighed. “I know all about that.”
“Sorry about your brother, man,” Noah says.
“Thanks.” Adam’s voice is low and filled with grief. “I’m going to make sure Malcolm gets justice.”
***
Adam takes us to a small pub near the outskirts. In Cosmo City, the place is known as a trendy sports bar where a lot of college kids hang out. No Mercy has played the place a couple times when we were first starting out, before we became semi-successful. In the world of Glamour, the place looks like a spooky English pub pulled out of one of those 80s horror movies me and Mom loved so much. A wooden sign that reads “Troll Hammer Tavern” swings above the door.
The bartender—a giant of a man with bulging biceps and light green skin—is, in fact, a real troll. The air is thick with bluish smoke, which tells me we’re definitely not in the human world anymore. No one has been allowed to smoke indoors since I was a little kid. Strange people fill the chairs, some with pointy ears, others with glowing eyes, and a rainbow of skin colors. They eye us warily as we move toward the troll tending the place.
Adam points toward a hall at the right end of the bar and shouts to the troll over the booming music I don’t recognize. “We’ll be in my office.”
The burly monster nods and wipes down the counter.
Adam locks the door behind us with a dead bolt placed at the top and bottom. He indicates we should sit in the black leather chairs in front of a small wooden desk. The area is cramped and overflowing with booze and shelves lined with what appear to be ancient books.
“I know where the others are,” Adam says, then he takes a seat behind the desk. “After Regina slipped the werewolves at the club and contacted me for help, I started doing some digging right away. They’ve taken them to the Dark Moon lair.”
“We saw the pack with Rita in the woods,” Noah tells him. “It’s a good sign. If they haven’t killed her yet, they’re using her as a bargaining chip to get me back, since I stopped them from taking Merry hostage.”
Adam nods. “I found out who tipped Pierre off about you being at Night Glamour with Merry and the band.”
Noah sits forward. “Who? I was afraid something like this would happen after I left.”
“It was Andre.” Adam tents his fingers and leans forward. “I went back to clear my stuff out of the lair and I overheard him cutting a deal with Pierre. He’d bring you back to Dark Moon to be with Brigette so he could be with Merry.”
“What?” Noah and I say in unison.
“Wait a sec.” I hold up my hands. “What’s going on here? Enough mystery for one day. Spill.”
Adam looks between me and Noah. “Have you told her about the deal?”
“Not the full details, no.”Noah scratches the back of his neck and looks uncomfortable. “You’re sure it was Andre? I should’ve suspected this when he kept showing up at the lair.”
“Positive,” Adam says.
This is where I have to interrupt. One, I’m tired of not being in the know, and what they’re saying indicates there is a lot I don’t know. Two, I hate it when people talk as if I’m not in the room. “What about Regina? How does she know Adam?” I look between the two of them.
Adam informs me that our band manager is a dryad who can controls trees and vegetation. Yeah, color me shocked.
“How’d she get that way?” I ask, as I feel a headache coming on.
“Regina was born a halfling. Part fae, part human. Her mother got knocked up by a green man.”
“Green man?” The headache grows worse.
Adam looks at me as if his explanation should be clear as reading the “do no immerse in water” warning on a hair dryer. “Yeah, wild man of the woods.” When I still appear confused, he spread his hands. “What, haven’t you ever read a book on folklore?”
“She got busy with a fairy,” Noah says. “Put it that way.”
“Regina grew up in Glamour,” Adam continues. “Being part human, she’s always interacted with your world, too. But Glamour has one rule for all monsters who hang out with humans: never expose us to the mortals. So she couldn’t tell you who she really was. If she had, you’d have been sworn to secrecy, and the penalty for breaking that secrecy is usually death.”
Noah picks up the thread, “Pierre was blackmailing Regina. He threatened to expose her to you and Rita if she didn’t mate with him. It’s one of the reasons Brigette helped me break out so I could return. To help Regina keep the secret and see what we could do to put a stop to Pierre.”
I give him a look. “I thought you said you came back for me?”
Noah lets out an exasperated sigh. “That too.”
“What Pierre is doing goes against the rules of Glamour,” Adam says. “He’s blackmailing and coercing halflings and humans to build up the Dark Moon pack’s dwindling population. Glamour law says humans can only be made or mated with their consent. Same with taking a halfling mate. But Pierre doesn’t like to play by the rules. I think he’s desperate to get the pack’s numbers up so he can rule Glamour and make some changes.”
“Wait a minute.” I rub my throbbing temples. “I thought you became a monster through a bite or scratch or something like that?”
Adam nods. “For some monsters, that’s how it works. But others can also mate with turned humans or halflings to produce offspring. When a human is turned, or a halfling takes a werewolf’s bite, it changes their DNA. It’s like an infection, only it doesn’t kill you, it transforms you. Too much interbreeding has watered down the DNA in the Dark Moon pack.”
“So can a werewolf die?”
“A werewolf with unhealthy DNA can die, yes, but more often they go insane from the bad genes swimming in their system. They become erratic. Can’t control their changes, their emotions. An erratic werewolf can be dangerous. Silver can kill a werewolf also.”
My head is woozy from this flood of information. “What about Andre? You think he betrayed us? How does he even know about Glamour?”
Adam’s mouth pulls down in a concerned expression. “I don’t think it. I know it. I’ll let the big guy fill you in on how Andre knows about us monsters.” He points to Noah, who gives a frustrated groan. “Let me show you where to crash and you two can talk more in there.”
He gets up to leave, but Noah stops him. “It’s convenient that you just happened to pick us up after the ambush, and that you know so much after leaving the pack.”
The two men glare at one another, then Adam speaks, “Come on, Noah. You know I left the Dark Moon pack because of what they did to my brother. You really think I feel any loyalty to Pierre anymore? You tried to save Malcolm. I owe you.”
Noah still doesn’t appear convinced, but he steps back and we leave the room. “It’s because of you, I’m a werewolf. I haven’t forgotten that. I want more details on Andre tomorrow.”
“We had to ensure your secrecy, and turning you was the only way. I didn’t want to agree to it. You know that. But we have to protect Glamour no matter what.”
Adam takes us back through the pub, which has almost emptied now. Less than six monsters remain at two different tables. The troll, who is introduced to me as Sean, ushers these stragglers out as we head upstairs.
The wooden staircase creaks as we ascend. Globe lamps stick out of the pale green ceiling, and some have burnt out along the corridor. Three doors down, Adam pulls out a ring of old fashioned keys and slips one in a lock. He shows us into the room and hands me a key on a leather fob.
“Me and Sean will take turns keeping watch tonight. Get some sleep. We’ll head for the lair in the morning.”
***
I go to the cross hatched window and stare through a diamond of glass at the moon. It’s now slowly waning as the new moon approaches. I wonder if this too will affect Noah and make him turn, since the full moon was only yesterday. When I turn to look at him, he still appears human.
Anger and hurt surge through me and spike my heart, making it hard to breathe for a moment. Everyone I care about has betrayed me, kept secrets from me, except for Rita. Even Regina is some sort of half fairy! And now Andre has apparently betrayed us, and has links to this monster world? This is like a bad nightmare after I’ve eaten a taco salad way too late, only this is 100 percent real.
I walk toward where Noah stands by the bed. “So tell me about this deal. Apparently there’s more to it than you’ve said.”
He sighs and rakes a hand through his long, black hair before he sits on the bed. “You aren’t going to like it.”
I scoff at this. “You think I like what I’ve learned already? Trust me, it can’t be any worse.”
“Oh, it can.” I don’t like the gravelly tone of his voice. It hints at way too much guilt.
I plonk down beside him on the bed and my shoulders sag. “Just get it out.”
“Did you ever wonder how No Mercy became so successful so fast?”
I shrug. “We worked hard. And it’s not like we’re mega rich. We just signed a record deal and started really making a name before you disappeared. What, you signed a deal with monsters?” I smirk.
“Yeah, we did.”
This shouldn’t surprise me after the last two days. Remaining quiet rather than blowing another gasket, I wait for him to continue.
“Andre and I kind of stumbled across Glamour through Regina. We weren’t supposed to get in, but we did. We saw what few humans see. A werewolf from the Dark Moon pack attacking a human so they could add to their population.”
“Pierre?”
Noah nodded. “We threatened to expose him. Turn him over to the Glamour leaders. He made a deal with us. He knew monsters who could guarantee the band’s success, but only if we kept our mouths shut.”
BDSM Mega Boxed Set Page 43