Moon Dance

by V. J. Chambers

  She went to Ursula’s apartment and banged on the door.

  No one answered.

  Ursula must still be in the office. Sometimes, she worked late, after all.

  Dana went upstairs. As she stepped into the tracker’s office, she felt like she’d traveled back in time. She used to work here. She used to mean something to the people around her. She used to have a job that she was actually good at.

  She was a much better tracker than mother, and Dana knew that in her bones as she stepped into the office. She wished there was some way she could come back to work here.

  Maybe…

  Maybe, since she’d stood up to Avery, it was time to try working again. She could suggest getting a babysitter for Piper, maybe even hiring someone to come in and do a little cleaning. With both their salaries, they could maybe afford…

  “Gray?” Ursula was standing in the doorway to her office. “What are you doing here?”

  Dana took a shaking breath. “I want to help. I’ll talk to Cole.”

  * * *

  King called downstairs and asked if the workers could move Cole into an interrogation room.

  Dana watched, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. She felt antsy. The fear and excitement were making her insides feel like jello. She couldn’t stand still.

  Is this a good idea? she asked herself.

  No, she responded. But we’re doing it anyway.

  We? Was it a bad sign that she was talking to herself and referring to herself in the plural sense?

  She made fists and dug her fingernails into her palms.

  “It might take them a few minutes to get him moved,” said Ursula, “but we can start heading down if you want.”

  “O-okay.” Dana nodded. And then she just kept nodding, like she couldn’t stop moving her head.

  Ursula took her by the arm. “If you’re really not good with this, we don’t have to go through with it. You seem—”

  “Fine.” Dana tried to smile. “I’m fine. I-I want to do this.”

  “Okay,” said Ursula.

  Together, they left the tracker office, went to the elevator, and got inside. Ursula hit the button for the bottom floor and inserted her access card when prompted.

  The elevator lurched to life.

  It made Dana’s stomach knot up.

  She hadn’t seen Cole in two years. And he hadn’t seen her. The last time she’d spoken to him, he’d been bitter and accusatory. He thought that she’d conspired to have him killed. She’d tried to explain that she hadn’t known about Earl Lowell’s plans. In fact, no one had. Earl had been operating on his own, without the consent of the SF board. But she wasn’t sure that Cole believed her. What if he was still angry? What if he wanted to meet her only to punish her in some way?

  No, that didn’t seem right. He’d put himself in danger to contact her, after all. And now he was begging to see her. That was the one thing that he wanted most of all.

  She thought of his voice on the phone just a few days ago.

  God, she wanted to see him so bad. As the elevator descended, Dana felt it thrumming through her limbs, the desire for him.

  Oh, no, she thought. We’re in trouble, aren’t we?

  The elevator doors opened, and she and Ursula got out. Ursula spoke to the woman manning the desk, who said that they’d just gotten Cole secured in one of the interrogation rooms, and that the two of them should go ahead in.

  Ursula headed down the hallway, and Dana followed.

  Just outside the door, Dana closed her eyes. She could smell him.

  Damn it, she’d forgotten that smell. He smelled like the forest. He smelled like the small prey that cavorted under the leaves. Smelled like the blood that gushed out of them when she tore and ripped and—

  “You okay?” said Ursula.

  Dana gulped. “Yeah.”

  “Listen, if you want to back out—”

  “No.” No, dear God, she needed to be close to him now. She could smell him. She wanted to see him. She was dying for it.

  “Well, if you change your mind at any point, you say the word, and it’s all over. Got it?”

  Dana nodded. But she was afraid that she was going to throw herself on him, and that they’d have to pull her off his body.

  Ursula opened the door.

  And Dana saw Cole.

  He looked… different. All that hair. That beard. He was… She took slow steps into the room.

  Cole stood up. His chains rattled. He was shaking.

  She stared into his eyes, and he stared right back. She imagined she could see things in those depths—pain and fear and running and hiding and… wildness. He was so, so wild now.

  She liked it. It called out to something wild inside her, the wolf that she let out to run in the woods.

  She stopped at the edge of the table, and the two of them simply stood there, staring at each other. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but something held her back. She saw Cole’s hands twitch, as if he wanted to reach for her too. But instead he interlaced his fingers, as if forcing himself to keep his hands to himself.

  Cole’s gaze swept her. Slowly. Greedily. He started at the tip of her head and then went down her body. Then he went back up. Then back down. Finally, he settled on looking into her eyes again. “I don’t like what he’s done to you.”

  It wasn’t quite the reaction she’d been expecting. She looked away, fingering the edge of her stained shirt. She looked the same way she’d looked when Ursula had come to see her earlier—unwashed and ugly. A frumpy mommy. There was nothing sexy about her anymore. She wasn’t the Dana Gray that Cole had seduced all those years ago.

  “I didn’t mean—” He moved his hands, and his chains clinked again.

  She looked back up at him.

  He gestured at himself. “Obviously, the way I look—”

  “Mr. Randall, if you could sit down, please.” Ursula was all professional courtesy.

  Cole was grim. “It’s in your eyes. He’s breaking you, Dana.”

  She flinched.

  “Please,” said Ursula. “Have a seat. We’re here to talk about—”

  “You’re not meant for this,” Cole whispered. “You need—”

  “Mr. Randall.”

  Cole sucked in a breath.

  Dana sank down into her chair.

  Cole glanced around the room, his movements quick, like an untamed beast. Then… he sat too.

  It was quiet.

  Ursula took her seat and cleared her throat. “You’d indicated to us that you wanted to speak with Dana Gray. She’s agreed to speak to you. But I must remind you that she is here only at my pleasure, and if I feel that you’re not cooperating—”

  “I still want the pardon,” Cole said.

  Ursula sighed heavily. “When you first arrived here, you were only demanding Gray’s presence—”

  “I won’t let you keep me locked up in here.” Cole leaned forward. “I can’t be in here, do you understand that?”

  Ursula pressed her lips together. She shot Dana a look.

  But Dana didn’t know what Ursula wanted her to do. Was she supposed to try to convince Cole to stay locked up? She didn’t think she could do that.

  Ursula took a deep breath. “I suppose nothing’s going to change your mind, Mr. Randall?”

  “Nothing,” said Cole.

  Ursula nodded, seeming to come to an internal decision. “Well, I thought you might say that.” She reached into her jacket and took out a piece of paper and a pen. She slid the paper across the table to Cole. “There are two copies you’ll need to sign. May I remind you that if you try anything untoward with this—” She held up the pen. “There are armed guards outside this room, and you will be dealt with.”

  Cole smoothed out the paper. He seemed startled. “You… did it.”

  “Yes, well, it didn’t seem that Gray was at all amenable to seeing you, so I was hoping to be able to work something out just with this.”

  Cole looked up at Da
na, and she could see hurt in his eyes.

  She looked away.

  “Give me the pen,” said Cole.

  Ursula handed it to him.

  Cole picked it up but seemed uncomfortable with it, as if it had been quite some time since he’d written anything. He scrawled his signature on both pieces of paper.

  Ursula took the pen back. She took one of the papers back.

  It was quiet again.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Well?”

  “Well,” said Cole. “I’m still chained up.”

  “If I unchain you, what’s to stop you from running and giving me no information?” said Ursula.

  “And if you don’t, what’s to stop you from ripping up this paper and pretending like this never happened?” he said.

  Ursula sighed again. She got up and went to the door of the room. She came back with one of the guards. “Mr. Randall, I’ll unchain your feet, but not your hands until you give us what we want.”

  Cole made a face, but he nodded.

  Dana watched as the guard unlocked the chains that tied Cole to the floor.

  “You understand that this pardon is dependent upon your future behavior. If you begin killing again, you’ll be locked up again. You understand?”

  “I haven’t killed anyone in a very long time,” said Cole.

  “I know that,” said Ursula. “And that’s the only reason I’ve signed the pardon. Besides, Mr. Randall, it seems to me that you cause more trouble amongst my staff when you’re locked up in this facility than you do when you’re out. See to it that this trend continues, and you’ll remain free.”

  Cole drew in a slow breath. “I suppose it’s out of the question for me to talk to Dana alone?”

  “I can’t,” Dana whispered.

  He nodded. “All right.” He flicked his gaze over her. “Listen, I left you alone because you told me you were happy. You’re not happy.”

  She couldn’t look at him. “I am.”

  “No,” he said. “You’re not.”

  “May I remind you, Mr. Randall, that—”

  “Fine.” Cole glared at Ursula. “The man you want is named Enoch Borden. He is not, as you have assumed, a human. He is, in fact, a werewolf. And he has a rather large group of werewolves that are loyal to him. They are the ones who’ve carried out the attack on the west coast SF, and that’s only the beginning of what they’re planning.”

  Ursula looked stunned. “I don’t understand. Why would werewolves want to hurt the SF?”

  “They don’t like you.” Cole’s eyes flashed. “I don’t like you either, if it comes down to it. Everyone in this entire organization treats the wolf as if it’s some kind of disease to be fought off. But it’s a gift, and it’s meant to be surrendered to.”

  Dana looked at him, thinking of all the times that he’d forced her to shift in his basement, spouting things exactly like that. She thought that he’d gotten those ideas from his father, that he’d rejected them along with the idea of making another pack. But apparently not.

  Ursula furrowed her brow. “But that isn’t a reason to kill—”

  “It’s the wolf’s nature to kill,” said Cole. “To people like Enoch, killing is the only answer. He and I used to be quite in sync with that notion, as a matter of fact.”

  “You know him,” said Dana.

  “Very well,” said Cole.

  “His group of wolves,” she said. “They’re the ones you were in contact with when you were locked up here.”

  He smiled. “Very good, beautiful. Seems you haven’t lost your touch.”

  “So, these are friends of yours?” said Ursula. “Why would you give them up?”

  “I wouldn’t have,” said Cole. “Except for the fact that you captured me and put me in chains.”

  “But you called to warn me,” said Dana.

  “Yes, well, when I found out they were planning an attack on this headquarters, I thought of you, of course.” He curled his lip. “I don’t know if I could stand living in a world in which you were dead.”

  Dana’s heart lurched.

  “But now?” said Ursula. “You’re giving them up only for personal gain? Or do you care that deeply about Gray?”

  Cole smirked. “Enoch and I had a bit of a falling out after the situation at Hunter’s Moon Farm. It did happen to involve my feelings for Dana.” He gazed deeply into her eyes, and she felt hot all over. “But it went further than that. You see, Enoch claims to want nature to take his course, but he proves himself wrong by organizing something like this. This isn’t natural. This is human oppression. He thinks that because his quest to free wolves from the SF is noble, that it justifies organizing and acting. But wolves don’t organize. They don’t have objectives. And they don’t kill with guns. No, Enoch is no better than the SF. You’re both controlling. I don’t hold with that kind of thinking. In fact, my first attempt to create a pack was the same kind of twisted logic. But I’ve rejected that way of looking at the world. Being a wolf means being free of agendas and causes. I haven’t supported him in quite a while, and I don’t care what happens to him.”

  Ursula seemed to be absorbing this.

  Cole stood up. “Well, thanks for the pardon. I think I’ll be going now.”

  Ursula stood up too. “Hold on a second. That’s all you’ve got? A name? Some philosophy?”

  “Well, I know that their plan of attack is to take down the largest headquarters. West coast. You guys. Probably the southern branch. The few small branches out in the center of the country will probably crumble after that, and it will just be a mop up. I know that he intends to escape detection by pretending to be a group of wolf-hating humans.”

  “You have any idea when he plans to do these things?”

  “No.”

  “You have any idea where he is?”

  “Not really,” said Cole. “He and I don’t keep in touch. I only heard about his plan through some mutual acquaintances.”

  “Well, that’s not very much, Mr. Randall.” Ursula didn’t look pleased.

  “This the part where you rip up my pardon?”

  She folded her arms over her chest. “You really don’t know anything else?”

  “Well, I might be able to find out where he is, but I’d need to convince him that I was back on his side, and I really don’t know…” He turned sharply to Dana. “Maybe if I had your help.”

  “My help?” Dana stood up too. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, as I said, part of my falling out with Enoch had to do with you, and the way I felt about you. If I could convince him that I—”

  The door to the interrogation room burst open, and Avery rushed in. His face was red, and he was out of breath. “What the hell, Dana?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Brooks, get the hell out!” said Ursula. “I told you that you’re not helping things with Randall, didn’t I?”

  Dana chewed on her lip, staring at Avery. He was so angry. Were they going to be able to fix this, or did Avery see this as betrayal writ large?

  Avery stalked over to her and took her by the arm. “Come on, we’re getting away from him.”

  She let herself be dragged, feeling the familiar tug of connection now that they were close. Avery was her mate. She loved him. She hated that she had hurt him.

  “Hold up,” said Ursula. “Let go of her, and get the fuck out of here.”

  Avery stopped, stunned. He looked at Ursula in disbelief. “What do you mean? You brought my wife down here and forced her to confront the man that nearly killed her—”

  “Am I done?” Cole held up his pardon. “Can I go now?”

  “You see what you’re doing, Brooks?” said Ursula. “You see?”

  Avery let go of Dana. “I’m trying to protect her. I’m trying to protect my family.”

  Cole went over to the guard at the door. “Unlock me, why don’t you?”

  “Wait,” said Ursula. “I want to know more about what you were saying before. About how you could find this
Enoch Bordon’s location.”

  “You don’t need Dana, then,” said Avery. He reached for her again.

  Dana ducked away. “No, he said he needed my help to do that.”

  Cole rattled his chains at the guard. “Let me out of these, maybe I’ll talk some more.”

  “Why is he getting out of his chains?” said Avery.

  “I got myself a pardon.” Cole gave him a nasty grin.

  “You didn’t,” said Avery, glaring at Ursula.

  Ursula ignored Avery. She nodded at the guard. “Go ahead. Let him out.”

  The guard busied himself with Cole’s shackles.

  Cole was still grinning. “Well, I don’t know if it would work, and it probably wouldn’t be easy. I’d need Dana to come with me. It would sort of be… undercover work, I guess. But I think if I had her, Enoch would believe me.”

  Avery whirled. “Come with you? You and her? Together? Alone?”

  Cole glared at Avery. “I don’t see why it’s such a big deal, Brooks. You two are mated, remember? It’s not like she can actually cheat on you.”

  Oh. Right. Dana had forgotten about that. The mating bond she had with Avery would mean that letting any other man touch her would cause her extreme pain.

  “Unless you’re afraid I’ll mate her away from you,” said Cole. “And I wouldn’t worry about that. Not my style, raping women to make them love me more. Besides, I’m in no rush to be bonded to your brat.”

  Brat?

  Piper.

  Dana turned to Avery. “Who’s with the baby?” In periods of high stress, Dana always referred to Piper as the baby, even though she was two years old. It was habit, something burned into her brain from when Piper was tiny.

  “You did not just say that I raped her.” Avery’s teeth were clenched.

  Ursula got in Avery’s face. “Stop it. Don’t engage with him.” She whirled to face Cole. “Would you do it? Would you find them for us? I know you said you don’t like the SF, so once you’re free, I don’t suppose you’d have any reason—”

  “I’d do it,” said Cole.

  Ursula turned to Dana. “And you? Would you help?”

  Avery’s nostrils flared. “Dana, if you go away alone with him, you and I are done, you hear me?”