Wolf Moon

by A. D. Ryan

  The room fell deafeningly silent as I glanced between Marcus and Karl. My human conscience had returned and was beating itself up for my earlier violent outburst. While Marcus gave the impression that my rage was more than justified, I couldn’t let it go without feeling an increasing sense of guilt.

  The wolf paced in the corner of my mind, huffing and puffing and itching to be let loose again. It grew more and more anxious the longer I refused it access to my body. It was difficult to fight it, having already been in the passenger seat with it in control moments earlier, but I managed to maintain control. Barely, but I managed.

  “What are you willing to let her do?” Karl demanded, his fear tainting the air again. The wolf lapped it up, her eagerness startling me. “How far will you let her go?”

  With a growl of his own, Marcus approached the cage until the two men were nose to nose. “Whatever she deems a worthy punishment. This isn’t about what I would do, because if it were my mate, you know damn well what I’d do to you. Just be thankful I haven’t allowed Nick down here… Not that he hasn’t tried.”

  The tone in Marcus’ voice was chilling, but what made it more worrisome was that he thought I might be capable of killing Karl.

  You are, the wolf offered up. You won’t let him get away with what he tried to do to you, will you?

  I shook the thought off, knowing that if I gave into it I would be forever changed. I wouldn’t kill him—couldn’t kill him…

  But I could teach him a lesson.

  Behind me, the sound of something metal falling to the wooden table drew my attention. I turned, noticing Marcus had crossed back through the room and was heading for the stairs. My eyes fell to the table where I saw a large metal key on the corner. It wasn’t there before, meaning Marcus had just set it down.

  “Do what you need to do,” he told me as he ascended the stairs. “You’ve got an hour before the others return.”

  “Marcus, you can’t be serious!” Karl cried, anger and desperation both lacing his words. “You’re not going to just leave her down here with me! Marcus! This isn’t fair!”

  Stunned, I slowly turned my icy glare to Karl as he tossed his cot across the cage. It banged against the bars so hard my teeth rattled. My temper flared, and the wolf rejoiced when I dropped my guard and gave her access. “Fair?” I seethed. “What’s wrong, Karl? Feeling a bit…inadequate?”

  Karl sneered from his place in the middle of the cage, the look on his face transforming quickly to mask his apprehension. “It figures you’d wait until I wasn’t at full strength before confronting me. Afraid you couldn’t take all of me, princess?”

  His sexual implication made my lips twitch with anger as the wolf lunged forward, snapping, but I held it back. I wasn’t ready to let it take over; I didn’t think I could trust it enough to stay in control. “Coming from you, that’s almost hilarious.” Keeping my eyes on him, I walked around the small wooden table. “Ever since I arrived here, you’ve been watching me. Studying me. Don’t think I hadn’t noticed—that Nick hadn’t noticed. He knew what you were capable of. He warned me about how you operated, and I figured I’d be able to handle it, because I had been…” Pausing, I glanced down at the table and spotted the key. I picked it up, and the wolf exulted inside me, hopping around in anticipation of being released. “Until you overheard me tell the girls how uncomfortable I was as a wolf still. That was when you planned your attack, wasn’t it?”

  Karl didn’t say anything as his lips curled up into a sinister smirk. “Paranoia doesn’t become you, princess.”

  I took another step forward and noticed Karl balk slightly before recovering. Smiling, I tilted my head to the right. “Look who’s talking.” A low growl filled the room, Karl’s lips pulled back in an angry snarl, and I stopped before him, directly in-line with the cage door. He was trying to make me believe he wasn’t nervous, but the look in his eyes told a different story.

  “What exactly do you think you’re capable of doing?” Karl challenged. “Kill me? I don’t think you have it in you.”

  His words challenged the wolf, and before I knew what I was doing, I slid the key into the lock and was preparing to turn it. Before I could disengage the lock, Karl’s left hand flew between the bars, his fingers wrapping around my throat and preparing to choke me or pull me forward. My neck was still tender from his initial attack five days ago, and the unexpected attempt to grab me caught me off guard. Awareness and a hot streak of panic shot straight through me at the threat. My heart pounded, and I struggled for breath. Hundreds of self-defense moves ran through my head, but before I could properly carry any of them out, the wolf sprang free with a snarl.

  The key remained unturned in the lock as I brought my right hand up and slammed my palm into the back of Karl’s elbow. An angry scream echoed in the small dungeon-like room, barely covering the snap of bone as his elbow bent inward, effectively breaking it.

  “You bitch!” he shouted, pulling his limp arm back through the bars and cradling it.

  I tried to keep my composure, tried to let the human maintain in command, but I couldn’t. My anger returned, bubbling beneath my skin, and my hands trembled as the fever raged through me. It was like my body was preparing itself for the change, but I didn’t feel any of the other signs that it was going to happen. There was no burning in my shoulder, no pain, no breaking bones, no screaming as my body transformed. Instead, I felt in control of my body—powerful—and I realized I’d felt this way once before: when I killed Gianna.

  The wolf had taken over on the inside while containing itself on the surface. Wolves were hunters—I knew that feeling, even remembered enjoying the thrill of the hunt with the Pack—but something about this felt even more deadly. I was stronger and more confident in this body, and the wolf knew that. She was utilizing it to our mutual benefit; she wanted to avenge what had happened the other night just as much as I did. I could sense that it was in her nature to do whatever was necessary, but I knew I had to hold back a little. Just because it was in her nature, didn’t mean I would be able to live with her decisions. There had to be a line I refused to cross, but I had to admit, it seemed a little blurred at the moment.

  Karl continued to favor his arm as he struggled to reset it, and I turned the key. I pulled the cage door open, ignoring the burn of the silver on my skin as I stepped inside. The look on Karl’s face was a combination of pure rage and fear; he hadn’t been expecting me to act so impulsively—and, to be honest, neither had I.

  Blood dripped down his arm from where the bone had pierced his skin, but I didn’t feel bad. Instead, I latched onto his fear and let it fuel my vengeance. In that moment, I had no qualms about killing him. Was this how the others felt? Did this make their brand of justice okay? My humanity struggled to remain front and center, perhaps afraid of what it might bear witness to.

  Taking a deep breath, I regained some of my composure, letting my rage ebb a little, but this turned out to be my first mistake.

  Karl had managed to set his elbow—though the skin was still broken and bleeding profusely—and took the opportunity to rush me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground, and then slammed me into the concrete floor with a roar. All the breath was forced from my lungs, and my head hit the floor so hard it jarred me. I saw actual stars every time I blinked.

  As I struggled through each breath, I tried to roll over and get to my feet. My movements were slow and unsure, like I was paddling through molasses, and my fingers curled against the cold, hard floor as I pulled myself toward the cage door. Toward freedom.

  What was I thinking?

  I’d barely gripped the bottom of the cage, burning the tips of my fingers as I tried to use it to pull myself forward further, when I felt Karl’s massive hands grip my thighs and pull me back toward him. Blood from his elbow covered my jeans and sweater as he positioned himself above me, straddling my thighs until I couldn’t move. I was afraid of what might happen in the next few minutes, but more than anything
I was pissed off.

  “Get off me!” I shouted, squirming. I was able to move a couple inches, but it wasn’t enough and I continued to struggle. Sensing I might get away, Karl wound up and slapped me. It felt like the entire left side of my face exploded, and I tasted blood when my bottom lip split.

  Karl looked down at me, a cocky grin on his face. “What’s wrong, princess? I thought you came down here to show me how tough you really are.” He leaned down toward me, inhaling deeply as his hands started to move up my body and toward my breasts.

  The human cried, tears falling down the side of my face and onto the concrete floor as she bit back a sob of defeat, so the wolf leapt forward. With a loud cry, I locked my humanity away where it couldn’t be further victimized by this monster and brought both of my hands together, swinging them across the right side of his face. This forced him slightly off balance, and I was able to work my legs free, bringing my left knee to my chest before slamming the heel of my foot into his crotch and sending him to the ground in the fetal position. I stood up, slightly dazed as the room spun around me from when I’d hit my head, but looked down at Karl as he groaned in pain.

  “I’m sorry,” I said through short, uneven breaths, pushing my disheveled hair out of my face and wiping the blood from my lip with the back of my hand. “You were saying?”

  In an effort to knock me off my feet, Karl swung his good arm out toward my ankle, but I dodged it, grabbing the front of his shirt and punching him in the nose. It broke—again—but instead of feeling satisfaction, I kept hitting him. Blood flowed freely from his nose and the skin of my knuckles split every time they connected with his face. It wasn’t until the pain in my hands registered that I stopped. I was pissed about the night of the full moon, and even more pissed about how I’d walked into this cage without realizing he might still be a threat—even with drugs in his system. I underestimated him, something I probably wouldn’t have done if I’d been thinking rationally. Thinking like a cop…like a human.

  Out of breath, my hand swollen and potentially broken from the repeated bludgeoning, I stood up. Sweat covered my entire body, as I stepped back through the cage door, slamming it shut and locking it again. I tossed the key back on the table for Marcus and watched as Karl struggled back to his feet.

  “Told you, you couldn’t kill me,” he rasped, spitting the blood from his mouth onto the floor like some kind of barbarian.

  “Give me time,” I replied, venom lacing each word.

  My legs trembled with full-body fatigue as I ascended the stairs, and I had to brace myself on the banister when I became a little light-headed. I assumed it was just my adrenaline waning, so I pushed through it, knowing I could probably make it to my bed before succumbing to it. The wolf was satiated for the most part, and while I could still feel its bloodlust for Karl bubbling deep inside, it seemed content knowing we’d done just a little bit of damage.

  The old wooden door at the top of the stairs creaked as I pushed it open, and I was surprised to find Marcus there, standing guard. At first, it seemed odd that he’d be there, waiting…until my eyes moved past him and I found Nick there, looking anxious and on the verge of murderous.

  “I told you she was fine,” Marcus said, stepping out of the way as I passed through the threshold. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading down there to assess the damage.”

  “He’s alive,” I said, turning my head to the side until I could see Marcus through my periphery. “I couldn’t kill him.”

  Marcus smiled. “Nobody expected you to, Brooke.”

  With Marcus gone, Nick rushed toward me. His hands were surprisingly gentle as he held my face, his thumb moving over my slowly healing bottom lip. “I’m fine,” I assured him, my voice trembling as I tried to pull my face away from his grasp.

  His eyes surveyed the length of my body, widening when he noticed all the blood on my clothes. “Brooke, did he…?”

  “The blood’s his,” I said. “Mostly, anyway. I broke his arm, and when he grabbed me, it spread.”

  “He”—anger raged across Nick’s face and thickened the air in a second—“grabbed you?”

  I inhaled deeply, dropping my eyes to the floor sheepishly. I was still ashamed that I’d willingly put myself into a position to be manhandled by him again. It didn’t seem to matter that I’d handled it in the end; I knew better than to let it happen in the first place. While I’d still picked up on Karl’s fear, he’d done a good job at concealing his true intentions once I’d stepped into his space like a fly into the spider’s web.

  “Only for a second.” I lost my balance, toppling toward Nick. The room started to fade into darkness, and a throb originated in the back of my head before spreading all the way through.

  He caught me in his arms, looking worried. “Brooke? What’s wrong?”

  “I… My head. I hit it when I fell.”

  Scooping me up in his arms, Nick carried me upstairs, and I vaguely remembered him calling for Miranda before I blacked out.

  Chapter 21 | human

  My eyelids were heavy, and my head throbbed as I came to. I looked around the room, my vision blurry at first, but slowly clearing. The curtains were drawn, the comforter pulled up around me, and I could hear water running in the bathroom.

  With a groan, I sat up. The pounding in my head only intensified once I was upright. It originated in the back of my head, but my brain felt like it was ten sizes too big for my skull. I tossed the blanket from my legs and turned to put my feet on the ground. I’d barely stood before Nick exited the bathroom and rushed to my side.

  I wobbled slightly as he slipped his arm around my waist and lowered me back onto the edge of the bed. “Hey,” he said softly. “You need to take it easy.”

  Glancing down at the bedside table, I noticed a glass of water and a bottle of Aspirin. Nick opened the bottle and handed me a couple. I chased them with a large gulp of water, handing the glass back and thanking him.

  “God, my head feels like it’s going to explode,” I moaned, my vision darkening around the edges as the light-headed feeling returned.

  The bed dipped next to me as Nick sat down. His hand moved up and down my back a few times before he brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “You’ve got a very mild concussion,” Nick explained softly as he trailed the back of his finger down my tender cheekbone. “You want to tell me what happened down there?”

  The events from the pit were somewhat hazy at first, but then everything came back to me in vivid, Technicolor clarity. “I let my guard down. I could smell his fear, but my ego had already gotten in the way.”

  Beside me, Nick chuckled. “The wolf can be cocky and impulsive.”

  “Marcus had left the key, assuming I would want the opportunity to exact my revenge on him for what he tried to do. Part of me knew I shouldn’t, but my desire to see Karl suffer was too great. I’d barely stepped inside the cage when he rushed me and slammed me into the ground.” I brought my hand up to the back of my head and cringed when I felt the swollen lump. “I tried to get away, but I was disoriented, and he pulled me back.”

  “Is that when he hit you?”

  My cheek throbbed at the memory, and I nodded. “How long was I out?”

  Nick picked up my hand and clasped it between his. “Barely an hour.” He turned his body to face me. “Brooke, I tried to get down there, but Marcus wouldn’t let me. You should know that.”

  I smiled as much as I could without pain blistering in my cheek and eye. “I suspected as much.”

  “He shouldn’t have left you alone down there.”

  Shaking my head, I turned toward him. “No, it was what I needed. I needed to face him alone after what he did.”

  Nick sighed. I recognized his submission for what it was, but I also sensed a smidgen of fear and anger for what could have happened. “I handled it. Yes, I slipped up and things looked bleak for a few seconds, but I regained the upper hand.”

  “How badly did you kick his ass?” he asked, the beg
inning of a grin audible in his voice.

  Smirking, I leaned in as if to whisper. “I broke his arm and nose.”

  Nick’s posture straightened, and I sensed a bit of dominance and, dare I say it, something very similar to Marcus’ Alpha personality traits rolling off him. “Good.”

  “What will you do to him?” I asked, not sure if I really cared one way or the other. The wolf knew how things happened in this world, and it was obvious it didn’t care if Karl died, but the human part of me didn’t want to be an accessory to murder.

  Nick shrugged. “Not sure. I guess it’ll depend on what he says and what you want to happen to him.”

  I paused briefly. “And if I wanted him dead?” Nick looked at me, seemingly shocked by my question. “Would you really be able to do that?”

  Nick contemplated this for a minute before resolution settled in his expression. “After what he tried to do to you that night? What he did to you this afternoon? I wouldn’t think twice.”

  His response hadn’t surprised me, but I let this confession roll around in my head for a minute, unaffected by it. Even though I knew I didn’t want to be involved in taking someone’s life, my willingness to accept this as the Pack’s way of life caught me off guard. The wolf justified it as something that just had to happen in this world. It would be no different in the wild; males fought for dominance within any wolf pack, and mates were not to be shared. Any male who tried to contest the laws of nature was seen as a threat and dealt with.

  “But you’d have trouble accepting it,” Nick continued, pulling me from my jarring turn of thought.

  “You wouldn’t?”

  Exhaling a heavy breath, Nick stood up and paced in front of me. “The rules are clear, and the consequences known. He may be a part of the Pack, but that doesn’t excuse what he did.”