Wolf Moon

by A. D. Ryan

  “Yeah, but none of them were my doing. They were all triggered by something—the moon or the scent of them.”

  “But you’ve been aware during it,” he repeated. “You’ve felt the fever, the ripple under your skin, the way your bones realign.”

  “It’s excruciating,” I interjected with a tremble.

  Nick’s head bobbed up and down. “It is, but you need to accept the pain and let it take you where you need to go. The pain reminds you that you’re alive, that you can handle it.”

  Hearing this calmed me in a way I hadn’t expected, and I started to pull my clothes from my body, adding them to the pile Nick had created with his shirt and then jeans. The wolf was still just below the surface, pacing the line that separated us, and when I closed my eyes, I granted it access.

  The fever burned through me. It was so hot, I feared my insides might melt or I might combust. I ignored the raging inferno that blazed inside me and focused on my bones shifting. The first crack in my spine sent me to my hands and knees, and my back arched toward the sky like a cat stretching—only this didn’t relieve the tension in my spine as each vertebra popped and grew beneath my skin. The bones in my fingers lengthened, cracking and shifting, before they pulled back and claws painfully split through the ends. I tried to rein in my cries of agony, accepting the pain like Nick had said and letting it take me to that final destination. Once I was there, I knew everything would be okay if I stayed with Nick. If we got separated, I didn’t know what I would do, so I would have to make sure that didn’t happen.

  Breathing heavily, I opened my eyes one at a time and looked around. My vision was warped around the edges and tunneling inward into crystal clarity. Everything seemed brighter and crisper like this; my vision, the smells, the taste of the cold Canadian air, the feel of the snow and dirt beneath the pads of my paws.

  I’d done it. I’d forced the shift without the use of a trigger. Did this mean I’d be able to do it every time? Probably not, but in that moment, I was proud of myself, and I turned around to find Nick had already transformed as well.

  We did what we’d always done after shifting and greeted each other. I recognized this as our way of memorizing each other’s scent in case we were to get separated. I familiarized myself with him, taking into my memory the sandy color of his fur, the cool woodsy smell of his sweat, and his blue-rimmed amber eyes.

  Giving my shoulder a gentle nudge with his nose, he guided me toward the frozen lake. I took a hesitant step onto it, waiting to hear the crack that would plunge me into the ice-cold water below its fragile surface. Nothing happened, so I placed my other front foot on it, slowly taking step after step until I was sure I’d be safe.

  Nick seemed a little more comfortable on the ice as he made better progress, pressing his nose to the ground and sniffing before pointing it into the air and inhaling deeply. I knew he picked up on something when he gave a little yip and took off across the ice with ease.

  I dashed after him, the first couple of strides clumsy as my feet slipped on the ice, but soon I found my footing and was able to catch up to him. When we reached the other side of the lake, Nick stopped and sniffed again. Frustrated, he grunted against the ground, a cloud of snow blowing up around his head.

  He didn’t give up, though, and his persistence inspired me to give tracking like this a shot. My sense of smell had improved as a human, and I knew it was exponentially more intense like this, so maybe I could find something…

  And I did.

  Not only did I pick up on the vampire’s putrid scent on the air, but I found a poorly hidden set of tracks. One or two had been missed in the hurry to hide the direction he’d run, and I took a moment to rejoice in this massive oversight before getting Nick’s attention and urging him to follow me.

  We picked up speed, stopping only occasionally to make sure we were still on the right track. Whoever this guy was knew how to cover his tracks, but he must have known we were on his trail, because he’d gotten sloppy. Nick and I traveled up the mountain. It wasn’t an easy feat, and I wondered if parts of it might be easier if we were human and could scale the side. Of course, we wouldn’t have any clothes, having left everything back by the lake, and our fur was the only thing keeping us from getting a raging case of hypothermia or frost bite.

  Nick knew shortcuts and there were a few paths to make our journey up the mountain a little easier. It was no less exhausting, and a couple more hours must have passed by the time we even made it a third of the way.

  Unfortunately, by then we’d lost the scent. It was like everyone kept saying and like the journals had read: the trail went cold. There was no scent lingering in the air, no tracks. It was like he’d just vanished. How was that even possible?

  I took a moment, pushing aside my frustration and allowing my inner detective to come out while I sniffed around, hoping to pick up even a trace of his stench. I came up empty, and it only made me more anxious and angry. I paced, whimpering and searching, scratching at the ground, then standing on my hind legs and leaning against the side of the mountain, stretching to see if I could find something. Nick and I went up a little farther, headed into a cave, but it was also a dead-end. I didn’t want to give up, my desire to see this search through until the bitter end stronger than my exhaustion. Nick was adamant we head back down the mountain as the sun started to rise, though.

  We made our way back, but I continued to look behind me, wanting more than anything to figure this mystery out. Nick had to prod me onward several times before we hit the lake, and once we stepped onto the ice, all my focus was on getting across without falling through.

  Back where we left our clothes, I tried to focus enough to shift back. It took me much longer than I figured it might, because I was still experiencing the rush from our tracking mission. Nick stayed in wolf form while I tried, almost as though he knew that seeing him not struggle with his transformation might stress me out and hinder what I was trying to do.

  I reversed my thought process from a few hours ago. I focused on the fever again, only this time, I thought about how my bones would retract and shift to make me human, and how the fur would shed from my body.

  I shivered when the cold air touched my bare skin, and when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, I looked up to see Nick’s smiling face.

  “You did great,” he praised, picking up my clothes and holding them out to me before grabbing his own and redressing. Once we had everything on, he took my hand and nodded back toward the woods that led us to the lake and would, in turn, lead us home.

  “Come on. Let’s get back to the house.” Worry creased his forehead, but he tried to mask it.

  I could see the concern still etched on Nick’s face, and I knew it wasn’t about him or me; he was worried about Roxanne. Whatever he and I were didn’t negate that he and Roxanne had a history together. He cared for her once—still did—and what happened to her was upsetting to him.

  I grabbed his hand and turned him to face me. The whites of his eyes were red, the irises made bluer because of it. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he replied, trying to force a smile to his face.

  “Nick,” I whispered. “You care for her—I’d be worried if you didn’t given your history together. You’re allowed to feel angry about what happened. Be concerned.”

  Sighing, Nick stopped walking. The heat emanating off his body from our recent change turned to fog in the early morning air. “What she and I had wasn’t love,” he tried to justify. “It wasn’t like you and David.”

  Inhaling shakily, I shook my head and stepped toward him. He’d never acknowledged that my relationship with David might be more than infatuation or something to pass the time. “Maybe not, but you were close, so I understand being upset that something happened to her. Hell, she and I haven’t gotten along since I got here, and even I’m concerned for her.”

  “She could have died,” Nick said, guilt lacing his tone.

  “But she didn’t. We found her in time,�
� I reminded him, reaching up and running my fingers through his sandy blond hair.

  “No,” Nick interjected, bringing his eyes to mine. “You found her. If you hadn’t acted so quickly, she could have been killed.”

  “I’d have done it for anyone—regardless of how unpleasant they’ve been toward me,” I said, trying to inject a lilt of humor into my tone.

  “And that’s what I love most about you. You’re always putting the well-being of others before your own.” Wrapping his arms around my waist, Nick kissed me lightly.

  Smiling, I shrugged. “It’s kind of a desired trait amongst cops.”

  “It’s kind of a desired trait amongst humanity,” Nick quipped.

  Sensing his tension leave him, I nodded toward home. “Let’s go set that mind at ease.”

  Chapter 23 | intercepted

  The smell of breakfast and coffee greeted us as we walked through the front door. Some of the Pack was milling about the house while the rest of them were probably in the kitchen. My stomach growled in anticipation. I was suddenly ravenous—probably from my recent shift; I remembered the feeling all too well.

  “We should check in with Marcus,” Nick suggested when we heard his voice in the dining room.

  I turned to him, the exhaustion of a sleepless night finally hitting me. “Can I have a few minutes to freshen up? We’ve been out all night and I feel like I’m dead on my feet.”

  Grinning wide, Nick kissed the top of my head. “Of course. Go on up.” Jackson emerged from the living room, eyes inquisitive. “I’m right behind you.”

  “Morning, kid,” Jackson greeted with a slight nod.

  “Good morning,” I responded with a friendly smile, climbing the stairs. I was glad that I had been able to move past my resentment for him and find some common ground.

  I could feel Nick’s eyes on me as I ascended to the second floor, and I looked back once more before heading to our room. Roxanne’s bedroom door was closed, but I could hear her steady breathing as I walked by. It sounded like she was sleeping. Naturally, I wondered how she was since it was kind of my fault she was in this situation. The argument we’d had at the table the night before was why she’d left the house in a huff and why I followed her to apologize. I never meant for things between us to get out of hand, which was why I felt so compelled to find the monster that had done this to her.

  I continued on to my bedroom, stripped down, and tossed my clothes into the hamper. The crisp scent of winter rose off my clothes and filled the closet as I grabbed a new pair of jeans and a blue knitted sweater. I took them with me to the bathroom, set them on the vanity, and turned the faucet on to splash my face. I’d hoped the frigid water might help rejuvenate me just enough to get me through the next couple hours, but it did no such thing.

  Abandoning my change of clothes on the vanity, I continued to strip before stepping into the shower. Even though it was the last thing I wanted, I kept the water a bit on the cooler side, hoping it would do the trick and clear my head. I sensed a nap would definitely be in my future, but for now I needed to be sharp and alert.

  The cold water forced my skin to tighten, goosebumps rising over every square inch of flesh, and I clenched my jaw as I pushed my face under and then wet and washed my hair. I was just rinsing the shampoo from my head when the bathroom door opened, drawing my focus from the frigid water that trickled down my body.

  “Shit,” Nick muttered, quickly casting his eyes to the floor as though he hadn’t ever seen me naked before. “Sorry. I should have knocked.”

  I smiled as the tips of his ears turned pink. It wasn’t like him to be easily embarrassed, but every once in a while he surprised me when his softer side emerged. Don’t get me wrong, I loved how confident and strong he was, and his cocky attitude often made me smile—when it wasn’t driving me bat-shit crazy—but this was a welcome contrast. It was a fine line, but he balanced on it with precision.

  “No, it’s fine,” I said, trying to keep the shiver from my voice as I turned the shower off. “I’m done.” I squeezed the water from my hair. “Can you hand me a towel, please?”

  Nick’s embarrassment dissipated a little as he grabbed a towel from the shelf and handed it to me, his blue-green eyes lingering on my water-slickened skin. His stare was so intense, and I felt the hum of his desire when our fingers touched briefly. Warmth bloomed beneath my skin, displacing the lingering chill from my shower.

  Feeling unusually bold, I decided to let him ogle me a bit longer while I dried my hair and stepped out of the open-concept shower. The longer he looked at my naked body, the stronger my need for him grew. I suspected the adrenaline from shifting the night before was the root cause of my shameless flaunting. Nick had explained how our hormones ran a little hotter after shifting, and I remembered how I felt the night of the last full moon. This wasn’t much different. The wolf leapt forward and prowled the perimeter of my self-control. She had needs, and they were fast eclipsing any hesitation I may have had.

  Nick’s chest rose and fell with each heavy breath he took. I could hear his heart pound, watched as his carotid artery jumped with every beat. His eyes moved over my body before locking on my lips, then eyes. His stare was so intense that it thrust me into an unexpected vision of him reaching out and grabbing my hip to pull me toward him. I got carried away then, fantasizing about the way his lips would claim mine hungrily before moving down my throat, and how the dark blond stubble on his face would scratch my skin. I could practically feel his fingers move down my body before he grabbed my towel and threw me onto the cold, granite countertop. I was so deep into the daydream when Nick cleared his throat and startled me.

  Warmth filled my cheeks as I met his eyes and wrapped my towel around my body tightly. Nick only smirked knowingly. “Breakfast is ready.”

  I couldn’t meet his eyes as I slid past him and picked up my hair brush. “Marcus wants all who are able to attend. Business to discuss in the library afterward, and he wants you there.”

  I only nodded, unable to find my voice, so Nick continued. “Get dressed,” he insisted. “I’ll see you down there in a few minutes.”

  After Nick slipped from the bathroom, I pulled my clothes on and styled my hair into a mess of damp waves. The circles under my eyes were pretty noticeable from hunting all night, so I applied a little makeup to conceal them. When I was ready, I grabbed my towel and tossed it in the hamper before stepping into the hall. I had only made it a couple feet when I heard the voices—Nick and Roxanne’s.

  “Stop defending her,” Roxanne said, her voice thin and hoarse. “I don’t trust her.”

  Nick sighed, and I pressed my back against the wall next to Roxanne’s bedroom door so I could listen further. I knew eavesdropping was rude, but was it still wrong if I was the subject?

  “You’re being paranoid, Roxy,” he told her, his tone cool and collected.

  Silence.

  “Weren’t we happy?”

  There was a slight hesitation before Nick replied. “We had our moments, but I’d be lying if I said Brooke wasn’t in my thoughts more times than not. I wanted her, but knew it would never work, so I sought comfort elsewhere.”

  “I thought we’d be mated.” Roxanne sounded crestfallen as she voiced her admission. “I imagined a future where we raised kids together.”

  “I’m sorry if I led you on,” Nick interjected.

  I imagined what their kids might look like, but was surprised to find my thoughts drifted to what our kids might look like. My eyes and Nick’s hair on a little boy, his eyes sparkling with delight as he played tag through the halls of the manor with his father. It caught me off-guard because I never thought I’d have kids—not after what happened to Bobby and everything I’d witnessed in my years on the force—so this newest fantasy rocked me to my core. Did I truly want that life? Or was it just normal curiosity brought on by Roxanne’s confession?

  Roxanne heaved a heavy breath, snapping me out of my strange musings. “I knew you didn’t love me,” she c
onfessed. “But I figured you’d learn to. And then you brought her here. Why?” she demanded

  “You know why,” he replied. “She needs to learn to control the wolf, and the Pack is beneficial to a new wolf. You know that. I couldn’t just leave her to be a stray without realizing her full potential.”

  “So, had she not been bitten, you wouldn’t have sought her out? We might have stood a chance, you know.”

  Another pause, and I strained my ears until I heard his heartbeat pick up in tempo.

  “Roxy,” he said softly. “You know how I feel about her. You’ve always known.”

  “Even after you learned what her brother had become?”

  Nick’s breathing shifted from calm to irritated. “You know that what Bobby was had nothing to do with her.”

  Her bed springs creaked as I assumed she shifted. “Maybe.”

  “Again with the paranoia,” Nick grumbled. “You realize how crazy you sound, right?”

  “All I know, Nick, is that one minute, I’m headed to the woods when she confronts and attacks me. I remember going off after you broke us up, and I was mid-way through the change when everything went blank. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in my bed, my wrists sliced open and my lungs on fire.”

  “And that’s somehow Brooke’s fault?”

  “I couldn’t stand to be in the same damn house as her any longer, so I decided to go for a run and blow off some steam…” Roxanne’s voice shook slightly. “She drove me out of my own home, Nick. How do I know she didn’t orchestrate the attack with the coven…or worse, follow me out there?”

  Nick took a deep breath, and then I heard him take a step forward. “You started that argument, Roxanne. You can’t blame her for standing up for herself.” He was still irritated, but I could tell he was trying his damndest to mask it. “Besides, she’s the one who found you. She got to you before Jax and me.”

  That seemed to surprise Roxanne enough to shut her up for a minute, so Nick continued. “Did you see who attacked you?”