The Dark Monster (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance)

by Ana W. Fawkes

  Leah whimpered as she shook. Lucas gritted his teeth. He had just gotten done promising Leah her safety. She had taken another chance by coming with him and now she was in the middle of a standoff. Lucas and Cooper could defend themselves from the bullets that seemed about to fly, but Leah couldn’t. Not again.

  Lucas hated feeling helpless and hopeless and he knew that being in love with Leah bore the potential of this happening quite a bit. He refused, however, to admit defeat. This could be settled one way or another.

  “Fine then,” Lucas said. “You want to stand here all damn day and prove a point, then do it. One of your bullets almost took the life of an innocent woman. Does that sit well with you?”

  “There’s plenty of women around,” the man said. “What the fuck do I care?”

  Lucas braced himself for a dumb move. He was going to find a way to launch himself from his motorcycle at this guy and hope Leah didn’t get killed. If Leah were to be shot at or shot, Lucas would go off the deep-end once and for all. There would be no stopping the carnage he would bring the Oreno crew. And that would just be the start.

  “So what do we do here?” the man asked.

  Lucas stiffened his body and stuck out his chest. He was readying himself when he heard a growl and picked up a familiar smell. By the time Lucas turned his head to the left, the giant wolf came crashing forward with its head down.

  It was Zayne, and it was unexpected.

  Zayne hit both men with all his strength, sending them into the air. Before the first one could hit the ground, he shifted. Zayne kept his focus on the other man. He lunged and came down on the man, taking his neck into his mouth and snapping it instantly.

  Lucas and Cooper put their guns to the other wolf.

  “Christ,” Cooper said. “What do we do?”

  “I don’t know,” Lucas said.

  Zayne turned his head and jumped, engaging the other wolf in a fight.

  This was not a good situation at all. A fight between Oreno and Full Moon Mercy on Oreno territory. If anyone else picked this up, Lucas, Cooper, and Zayne would be outnumbered ten to one in a heartbeat. There would be no way to save Leah then.

  “You have to go,” Cooper said. “Get Leah to safety.”

  “I’m not leaving you two.”

  Zayne attacked the other wolf, bringing it to the ground with ease. It would be a matter of seconds until Zayne could kill the monster. Zayne was just too big, too strong, and more than that, Zayne was angry. There was no defending it.

  Cooper shot his gun twice and Zayne looked back. His eyes were like embers, glowing with fierce determination.

  “Can’t do it,” Cooper said. “We have to go.”

  Zayne showed his teeth. He then slammed his head down on the other wolf. The wolf let out a shrill scream. Zayne backed away and stood up, shifting back into human form. He turned with blood running down his face and body.

  “Go, now,” Cooper said to Lucas. “There’s no helping you if anymore show up.”

  “Dammit,” Lucas growled.

  “I’m sorry,” Zayne said as he took deep breaths. “There was no other way…”

  “Hold on tight, baby,” Lucas said to Leah.

  He hurried from the gruesome scene and rode as fast as the motorcycle could handle it. As they sped through the streets of the Oreno territory, Lucas kept his eyes moving left to right, trying to focus on the road but also trying to see if there was a waiting attack on him.

  He managed to get through the Oreno territory and back into Mercy without anything happening. Once in Mercy, he slowed a little and cruised the streets back to the clubhouse. His mind and heart were battling each other and by the time he was back to the clubhouse, he was more than pissed off at the world.

  Lucas climbed off his motorcycle and looked at Leah. His initial thoughts and feelings when he looked at her threatened to crush his heart.

  “Lucas, talk to me…,” Leah said.

  “No,” he barked. “You’re going inside and resting. I have business to tend to. Move, right now.”

  Lucas saw Leah hesitate. The second she moved her eyes, he took that as a sign of disrespect. His emotions were out of control now. He moved at Leah and she flinched.

  “Afraid of me?” he asked.

  “No. Sorry. I…”

  Lucas grabbed Leah and lifted her. She was over his shoulder and he didn’t give a damn how this all looked. There was no more time to waste here. Leah needed to be safe and needed to rest to finish healing.

  He carried her upstairs to the clubhouse. There were a few of the guys lingering around, drinking, playing pool. They stopped and stared at Lucas as he walked by. Lucas quickly stopped and pulled out his gun. He pointed it at the guys - his brothers - and snarled his lip.

  “Have something to fucking say?”

  They all shook their heads and went back to their own business.

  Lucas took Leah to his room and kicked open the door. He plopped her down on the bed and stared down at her. His hands then curled into fists.

  “Lucas, I’m sorry,” Leah whispered. “This whole thing has me…”

  “What?” Lucas asked. “What is it? You don’t think I see it in your eyes? You’re afraid of me. You’re afraid to be with me. You desperately want this life because you think it’s something romantic.”

  “No,” Leah said. “I want you, Lucas. Just you.”

  She reached up and touched Lucas’s legs. Her hands crept up and in until she touched between his legs. Her left hand tugged at his belt buckle, releasing its hold. Lucas remained with his hands in fists as he stared at Leah as she worked her hands to open his jeans. This was one way to rid frustration. Leah’s hands gripped around his jeans and started to pull. Lucas was thick and hard. He was ready for Leah.

  But then Leah looked up at him. Her deep and innocent eyes ripped through him like no bullet ever could. Lucas groaned and opened his hands. He grabbed Leah’s hands and tore them away from his body. He took two steps back and watched the look on Leah’s face. Her cheeks were flush. She looked ready to break down and cry.

  “No,” Lucas said. “No.”

  “Lucas…”

  “Get some rest,” Lucas said as he fixed his pants. It ached his body right to his bones to do this. To be so hard. To want Leah so hard.

  But he had to do this.

  He had to walk away right now.

  Lucas wanted to help Leah back to the bed and put the covers on her. He wanted to touch her, kiss her, caress her body as he did before.

  Instead, Lucas shook his head, turned, and left the room.

  He slammed the door and stood with his hands back into fists.

  All he wanted to do right then was shift and kill something. Anything.

  *

  Leah sat on the bed long after the door slammed shut and long after she heard what sounded like Lucas punching a wall a few times. Her hands tingled and she slowly turned them so she could look at the palms of her hands. Her lips began to quiver and she gently put her hands down to the bed. They made fists around the covers.

  Her mind went back to all she had experienced. The hot, searing pain of the bullet entering her body. The metallic feel that ran throughout her body as though the bullet was able to move everywhere, all the time, taking life by the second.

  Now, she needed Lucas more than ever and he wasn’t here. He had stormed away, angry at something. Maybe at Leah. Maybe at Full Moon Mercy. Maybe at those guys who stopped them. Or maybe he was mad at himself.

  Leah wouldn’t lie about the fear that raced throughout her body when she had been hugging Lucas on the back of his motorcycle. She didn’t want to offend him by not taking the ride, when in reality she would have preferred to fly over that area. Whatever enemies waited in the darkness and wars that waited to be fought, Leah hated to be in the middle of it. She was a casualty to all this. She had no way to defend herself. And even if Lucas gave her a gun, that wouldn’t matter. Leah had seen what bullets could and couldn’t do to the beasts
when they shifted. The massive wolves with thick muscles were only able to be brought down by their own kind. A kind that Leah was not and a kind that had once been best kept for nightmares.

  Sometimes it didn’t feel completely real. The achy feeling in Leah was very real though. She pushed on the bed and moved herself to the edge. She bit her lip and forced her feet to the floor. As she stood, her balance was very uneasy, but she fought through it. Soon, she was standing. She looked around Lucas’s room and felt her heart tearing.

  She loved him. Whatever he was and whatever would happen couldn’t take away that love. Man or beast, Leah’s heart belonged to Lucas. The pain from her heart was still hers, perhaps as a reminder that love wasn’t meant to be easy.

  One thing Leah did know was that she wanted to help. Even if it meant putting her fear and life on the line, she wanted to help. She didn’t want to be some hidden secret, kept in Lucas’s room. That’s not how she wanted her life to be. Being with Lucas made her a target during this war.

  A cell phone rang and Leah jumped. She stutter-stepped, lost her balance, and crashed forward into one of Lucas’s dressers. She hit with a grunting thud and kept her feet flat on the floor. Leah realized then it was her cell phone ringing. She turned and hurried back to the bed. On the floor, she reached for her bag and found her cell phone.

  It was AnnMarie calling her, her boss from the retirement center. Leah rolled her eyes and reluctantly answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Leah, is that you?”

  “I’m here. Yes.”

  “Oh, good heavens…” AnnMarie’s voice was deep and rough, thanks to years of chain smoking. “I was worried sick about you.”

  You just want me back to work…

  “Thank you,” Leah said.

  “Everyone has been asking about you,” AnnMarie said. “They’re all so worried. I didn’t even know what to tell them!”

  AnnMarie laughed and it had the appeal of a growling frog or maybe a lawnmower starting.

  “I’m alive and getting well,” Leah said. “I don’t know what you heard…”

  Leah started to panic. Could she tell AnnMarie that she had been shot? Leah realized maybe she shouldn’t have answered the phone. At least not before talking to Lucas and figuring out what story they would tell.

  “I’m just happy you were able to walk away from the accident,” AnnMarie said. “And here I thought you were crazy for getting on the back of those motorcycles all the time.”

  “Accident…,” Leah whispered.

  “I heard the other guy ran a stop sign. Hit your side of the car. My goodness, Leah, my heart almost stopped.”

  “Who told you?”

  “Your… guy… friend… Lucas.”

  Leah swallowed. “Oh. Okay. Yes. It was a pretty bad accident.”

  “How are you feeling now? When do you get out of the hospital? I wanted to come see you. Some of the girls were asking, but since you were so far away…”

  “I’m fine where I am for now,” Leah said. “It’s hard to explain. Listen, I have to go now.”

  “Wait,” AnnMarie said. “Are you okay? Do you need surgery? How long…”

  There was a knock at the door. Leah’s focus and care was at the door and not at the flustered woman on the phone. In fact, she didn’t give a shit about AnnMarie. And in some ways, she didn’t give a shit about the center either. It hurt a little to admit that, considering so many people in that building were on their last few weeks - or even days - of life. But Leah had to save her own life first. It only seemed fair.

  “I really just have to go,” Leah said.

  She hung up the phone and forced herself to stand. She slowly stepped to the door as the knocking continued. It definitely wasn’t Lucas at the door. It was his room, he would just open the damn door and storm in.

  “Hold on,” Leah called out as she reached for the doorknob.

  She missed it by an inch and crashed into the door, shoulder first. She pushed herself back to standing and opened the door this time.

  There stood Mandy in all her beautiful glory. Tall, dark, wild eyes, and intimidating. Very intimidating.

  “Hello,” Leah said, her voice shaking.

  “Leah,” Mandy said. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I was shot to death.”

  Mandy smirked. “I guess you came pretty damn close, huh?”

  “Yeah, you can say that.”

  “Hurts to get shot, doesn’t it?”

  “You were shot?” Leah asked.

  “We all take our own beatings in life,” Mandy said.

  There was something so mysterious and beautiful about Mandy. She seemed to the be the kind of woman anyone would want to be if she was going to be involved with Full Moon Mercy. Her demeanor was threatening without raising her voice or even lifting a finger.

  “Are you feeling more welcomed into the club now?” Mandy asked.

  “I just got back here,” Leah said. “Lucas stormed out of the room.”

  “They’re having a meeting,” Mandy said. “Business before lust, sweetheart. You’ll learn to appreciate it.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I’m not here to waste your time,” Mandy said. “But I wanted to give you something. All this happening is not coincidence. I hope you’re smart enough to realize that.”

  “I think I am,” Leah said. “I’ve seen enough now…”

  “Please,” Mandy cut in. “You haven’t seen a thing yet.”

  “I’ve seen one of them die,” Leah said. “Bullet right between the eyes. I’ve seen enough of them shift, and kill. I’ve seen blood. I’ve heard the sounds of flesh tearing and bones crunching.”

  “How poetic,” Mandy said. “Here, I brought something for you.”

  Mandy reached into a small bag that hung from her shoulder and pulled out a black gun. She gave it to Leah and shrugged her shoulders.

  “Might do good, might not.”

  “You can’t shoot them when they shift,” Leah said.

  “Then shoot before they shift,” Mandy said. “Now go heal yourself some more.”

  Mandy turned and walked away. Leah put her hand around the gun and wondered if a bullet to Mandy’s back would kill her. She gasped at the thought and hurried to shut the bedroom door. Again, Leah found herself slowly moving, step by step, back to the bed. She put the gun on the nightstand and then sat back on the bed. Her body hurt and her nerves were frayed to pieces.

  Tears came to Leah’s eyes and she didn’t bother stopping them.

  It was okay to cry, if only just to be in the comfort of one’s self.

  Leah promised herself a really good cry and then a really hot shower.

  7

  Vince stood at the bar, waiting for his drink. Everyone seemed tense and there was good goddamn reason for it. It was the kind of tension Vince could take care of with the simple command for revenge, but he felt it was best to leave this tension lingering. The tension kept everyone in line, for the most part.

  When Vince spotted Lucas charging from the conference room, he knew Lucas would always be trouble. The kid who used to question the world was now the man who challenged it. Lucas sped by Vince and stormed out of the clubhouse.

  “Come on,” Vince bellowed and slammed a fist down. “Give me a damn drink here.”

  A beer was quickly presented to Vince, along with several apologies. Vince took the drink and went after the number two of Full Moon Mercy. He needed to figure out what the hell was going through Lucas’s mind. Vince hadn’t expected to see Lucas for some time considering he should have brought his girl back from Dr. Carane’s.

  Outside, Vince found Lucas climbing the fire escape ladder that went to the very top of the building. The view scanned all of Mercy and beyond. Lots of land and lots of enemies.

  Vince climbed the ladder using one hand while the other ensured he didn’t spill a drop of his drink. At the top, he saw Lucas sitting in a chair with his feet up.

  “Trouble,
son?” Vince asked as he planted his feet to the roof.

  “Always trouble,” Lucas said.

  “Very true.” Vince stood and drank from his beer.

  “I brought Leah back here,” Lucas said. “We ran into trouble on the way.” Lucas looked at Vince. “Oreno trouble.”

  “Shit,” Vince said. He stepped toward Lucas. “What happened?”

  “Two guys blocking our way. No idea who they were. Wanted to know why there was so much movement on the road. Said our deal was to use it a few times.”

  “That was the deal,” Vince said.

  Lucas slammed his feet down. “But Leah taking a bullet wasn’t part of the fucking deal.”

  “Agreed. How did you handle it?”

  “I didn’t,” Lucas said. “Zayne did. He and Cooper will be back soon. Then we need to discuss business. This shit has gone too far.”

  “So what’s your plan, son?” Vince asked. “It’s just us up here talking. There’s problems everywhere and how do you think we should handle it? Having a human woman is not going to make anything easier.”

  “Leah is my problem.”

  “Until she’s shot and you beg for help,” Vince said.

  Lucas turned his head. “Yeah.”

  “Look, son, I’m not suggesting you don’t love that woman. I’m not going to tell you what to do either. You just need to consider it all. We still need to use those roads. Debbie will be giving birth soon. We need to get to her. We need to get your child. We need to come up with a plan to care for that baby.”

  “We will get there,” Lucas said. “Not today. Not right now. We need to settle these wars around us first.”

  Vince smiled. These wars were raging for years. There was no settling a war. There was riding through the hard times, ending the tension with bloodshed, and then appreciating the calmness that followed. That calmness would last weeks, months, or years. It had been years since Vince remembered this kind of stuff happening. And most of it he placed on Lucas’s shoulders. Because of Leah.

  If only that bullet hit her in a better spot…

  If only Seth had done his damn job…

  The reality was that Seth was dead and buried, Leah was alive and healing, and Lucas was pissed off and defiant.