MOONLIGHT LEGACY

by Jewel Dartt

  Miranda gripped his hand tightly, her gaze locking with his. "I could have killed you last night, Hadden. I won't let that happen again. You have to lock me in the cellar, there's no other way."

  "But you didn't kill me," he said in a quiet voice.

  "Dammit, Hadden, don't you understand? I wanted to, and that's just as bad. Next time I might not be able to control the hunger. I won't take a chance like that again with your life. And anyway, even if I didn't kill you, who's to say I won't kill somebody else in the future? It's just too damn risky."

  "Miranda…"

  She jerked her hand out of his grasp, fighting hard to control the trembling in her hands. "Don't…fight me on this, Hadden. I mean it." She let out a tremulous breath. "Please…"

  Something twisted inside Hadden at the pain he saw on her face, and in the space of a heartbeat, she was in his arms. He kissed her, softly at first, wanting only to take away the heartache and the pain, but then his intention changed as he deepened the kiss, and he wanted nothing more than to love her…to push back the nightmare with their lovemaking.

  Miranda's breath tangled in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat, as he took her to a secret place that only he could. Her entire body throbbed with desire as he left a trail of fiery kisses down her throat. It had been so long since they had made love…too long, she thought dazedly, drowning in the exquisite sensations of his mouth and hands on her body.

  And then, suddenly, he drew back and let out a shaking breath. "Miranda, we don't have time." His voice was ragged and labored.

  His words brought her crashing back down into reality, her stomach taking a sickening plunge, as she remembered what lay ahead of her tonight. She felt horror twist to life in her soul. Dear God in Heaven, what if she had changed while they were making love?

  She moaned softly, and closed her eyes against the horrid pictures her tormented thoughts conjured up.

  Almost fiercely, he captured her hands in his, worry creasing his forehead. "Miranda, are you in pain? Is it happening now?"

  "No." Her voice was so low he could hardly hear her words. "But it won't be long now. I think we should go on to the cellar before it does begin."

  His expression became grim, but he only nodded as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He loathed the thought of locking her up like an animal, but he could see no other recourse if he wanted to keep her safe from Drake…and the sheriff.

  Silently, they made their way into the kitchen where an old-fashioned oak door led into the dank, dark basement. Miranda gazed for a long moment at the door, and then looked up at him with a haunted expression in her blue eyes that tore at his heart.

  "Do you think the door is strong enough to keep me inside?"

  "I hope so. It's at least six inches thick, with heavy brass fittings, and I thought I could chain and padlock it from the inside as an extra measure."

  She shook her head violently. "No…you're not staying in there with me."

  "Miranda, I'm not about to let you go down there alone, and go through this transformation without me."

  "No, Hadden, I won't put you at risk again. I can do this alone. I have to."

  His lips pressed into a tight line. "Miranda, there's nothing you can say or do to prevent me from locking myself in there with you. You need me, honey."

  "If you do, I swear, Hadden, I'll turn myself over to the sheriff."

  He gaped at her, unable to believe what he'd heard. "Are you serious? You can't mean to…"

  She gave him a grim smile. "Oh, but I do, Hadden. I would rather be behind bars than take another chance with your life."

  Their eyes locked in a silent duel of wills, then Hadden leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. "Okay, you win, sweetheart," he murmured, his lips caressing hers. "But I think it's lunacy on your part."

  "You promise you won't open the door until dawn?" she asked, leaning against the hardness of his body. "It's important to me, Hadden."

  "If that's the way you want it."

  He could feel the tension in her body as she stared at the scarred door in front of them. "That's the way it has to be," she whispered.

  Cold fear radiated out from her spine, as she stood on the dusty landing that led down the wooden stairs into the basement. But Miranda schooled her features to remain expressionless, until Hadden had reluctantly closed the door and she heard the rasping metallic sound of the bolt being shoved into place.

  She pulled the string hanging down from the light bulb overhead, and a feeble yellow light spilled onto the landing and down the rickety steps. Beyond the stairs, an inky blackness that reeked of mildew and dust stretched out endlessly before her.

  Keeping her eyes straight ahead for fear she would panic and start screaming, Miranda reached the center of the room and groped blindly for the dirty string that she knew hung overhead. She pulled it once and a feeble light pooled around her.

  But the light didn't help to push back the suffocating feeling that swept over her at the sight of the native rock, windowless walls that surrounded her. Green mold grew across the length and breadth of the walls. Except for a few dusty shelves that once held her grandmother's homemade apple jelly preserves, the underground chamber was empty. There was the sound of mice scurrying away into the dimness, but mice didn't scare her, only dark spaces without windows frightened her. Darkness seemed to hover at the edge of her vision as she sank to her knees with a tiny sob of fear.

  She hugged herself and rocked slightly. "You can do this, Miranda," she whispered aloud. "It's only for a little while."

  She concentrated on breathing evenly, listening to the gentle ebb and flow of her breath. It worked for a few moments, and then her stomach twisted in fear as she tried to breath and found she couldn't. The room faded into a blurred unfocused mist and then memories…childhood memories she thought long gone, swept her into the past.

  * * *

  Mandy hugged her dolly tight against her. "Home, Mommy?"

  Cassandra turned in the front seat of the car and looked back at her tiny daughter. "Almost, sweetie. Why don't you lay down and take a little nap right now?"

  Mandy yawned but shook her head. "Mandy not sleepy."

  Her mother laughed, and said something to Mandy's father. She didn't hear it, but it must have been funny 'cause Daddy laughed, too. So Mandy laughed, although she wasn't sure why they were laughing.

  She'd found there were lots of things strange about big people and the world around her, things she didn't understand, things that scared her, like the bathtub when Mommy pulled the plug out after giving her a bath. Mandy always scrambled out quickly, afraid she would be washed down the drain 'cause she was little.

  Mommy and Daddy thought it was cute, and sometimes chided her gently about her fear, but she loved them anyway.

  Mandy stopped laughing and yawned again, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She wished daddy would hurry up and get them home. She didn't like the nighttime. It was too scary. She wanted to be in her own bed right now, snuggled in the comforter Mommy had embroidered with big white rabbits just for her.

  And then suddenly the world turned upside down. She heard her mother screaming and her father cursing. Bright lights flooded the interior of the car, hurting her eyes.

  Frightened and alarmed by the sudden chaos, Mandy's screams joined her mother's as the car pitched forward sharply. What was happening? Had Daddy somehow broken the car? Why did Mommy keep screaming like that?

  "Mommy!" she screamed, scrambling to get to the front seat. She had to get to her mother. Mommy would make everything better.

  She fell back, and a hot sharp pain shot through her head, and then everything went black…

  * * *

  Hadden paced in front of the cellar door, wishing he'd never promised not to go down into the basement. He didn't think he could bear to hear Miranda's tormented screams and not rush to her side.

  A frown furrowed between his eyes as he looked at the door. Tension created a cold knot in the pit of his belly. Pe
rhaps he should go on down anyway, despite his promise? What if she needed him?

  Yeah, right. He shook his head. She definitely didn't need him around during the transformation. He touched the back of his head gingerly. Hadn't he already learnt that lesson the hard way?

  The phone ringing interrupted his reverie. Oh God, he'd forgotten to give his mother a call. That was probably her on the phone, ready to give him an earful about the shameful way he'd been ignoring her lately. He should have told Alice not to give out his whereabouts, but knowing his mother, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. She had a way of tracking him down whenever she wanted to talk to him. He really didn't need this right now, he thought, as he debated about answering it or not, but if he didn't answer he'd feel even worse than if he did.

  He braced himself and picked up the receiver, saying hello in a reluctant voice.

  He heard a male laugh and relaxed when he recognized Steven's voice. "Bet you thought I was your mother, didn't ya?"

  "Afraid so," Hadden admitted with a grimace. "I haven't had a chance to return her calls, and you know how she is if she can't get in touch with me. I'm surprised she hasn't already come out here to see for herself what's going on."

  Steven laughed again. "Perhaps she's giving you and Miranda a little time to work out your problems, before she descends upon you and starts giving you her motherly advice."

  "Maybe," Hadden agreed. "Have you had a chance to do any more research on Miranda's condition?"

  "Some." Hadden heard his friend sigh over the telephone wire. "But I still haven't run across anything useful. I'm trying to run down a lead about a witch I heard about years ago. There was a lot of hoopla about her in the papers. Something to do with her putting a curse on somebody, and that person taking her to court over it. Of course, it was thrown out of court if I remember correctly."

  "What the hell does witchcraft have to do with what's happening to Miranda?" Hadden asked.

  Hadden could almost see his friend shrugging his shoulders. "Perhaps nothing, but then again, perhaps everything. It's definitely worth a try to locate her. Who knows? She could know something that might help us. I'm going to the newspaper morgue after Bobby's funeral. Are you and Miranda coming to the service? Whadda ya say we meet up at my house about three o'clock?"

  Hadden rubbed his forehead with a weary hand. "I don't know yet about attending the service. After tonight, neither of us will probably be in any condition to attend anything."

  "What do you mean, after tonight? I thought that with it being a moonless night, you both would be able to relax a little and get some sleep."

  Hadden stiffened. "The moon isn't out tonight?"

  "Of course not. I thought you knew, Hadden. It's a moonless night."

  Hadden cursed softly. "I gotta go, Steven. I locked Miranda in the basement. You know how she is about dark tight places. I have to get her out of there."

  "Good Heavens, man. Hurry," Steven said, his voice heavy with concern and dismay. "I wish I'd called sooner."

  "I do too," Hadden muttered grimly.

  Coldness nipped at his spine as he fumbled with the lock and raced down the wobbly stairs. Miranda was huddled in the center of the room, rocking back and forth. He knelt down beside her, feeling sick with guilt.

  "Miranda?" He pushed her name past the huge knot in his throat.

  When she didn't respond, he cupped her chin and tilted her head toward him, drawing in a sharp breath at the glassy, faraway look in her blue eyes.

  Dear God, was he too late? He had to get her out of here, and get her out now.

  Chapter 9

  * * *

  Mandy couldn't catch her breath. She struggled desperately to suck air into her lungs, but terror held her firmly in its grip. She managed a few swallows of breaths that made her head spin, and caused her to see funny black spots in front of her eyes. She remembered falling in the back seat of the car and hitting her head, but beyond that, her memory was a curious blank. What had happened? Where were her Mommy and Daddy? She let out a tiny whimper. Why had they left her alone in the car? Overwhelming darkness and silence pressed in on her from all sides, causing her fear to grow by leaps and bounds.

  She wanted her Mommy. But for some reason Mommy wouldn't come to her like she usually did, when Mandy had a bad dream. Or when she was very, very scared, like now, and Mommy would make the bad darkness go away.

  Suddenly, as if from a great distance, she could hear Hadden's voice calling her from the dark abyss she'd fallen into, and Mandy, the frightened child, became Miranda again.

  * * *

  Her vision cleared, and she was back in the basement of her house. Hadden was holding her. She automatically relaxed against his strength and warmth, letting the horror of the past go. Then, she remembered, and jerked back with a gasp of alarm.

  "No. Are you insane? Get out of here, Hadden…now."

  Hadden's mouth went tight. "It's okay, baby. There's no moon tonight. The change won't take place again until the moon is in its first phase. I'm sorry, Miranda, if I had known…"

  Miranda stared at him in disbelief, feeling greatly relieved, but also strangely enough, she felt let down. She squashed the feeling immediately, stirring uneasily. "No moon?"

  He helped her to her feet. "No moon. Come on, let's get you out of this hell hole."

  Almost as if she were in a trance, she let him lead her out of the darkness, into the warm glow of light that spilled through the doorway.

  Nothing seemed real to her, until Miranda felt the softness of her bed beneath her, and she realized that she'd escaped her fate, for at least tonight.

  Hadden sat down beside her, watching her with wary eyes, as if he wasn't sure what would happen next. She let out a tiny sigh. She really couldn't blame him because she felt the same way.

  "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, Hadden. I know I really freaked out down there in the basement, but I'm okay now. You don't have to stay with me. I'll be fine on my own tonight."

  He shook his head; his mouth set in determined lines. "No way. I'm staying and that's final. How many times do I have to tell you that we are in this thing together, so quit trying to get rid of me."

  "I'm not trying to get rid of you," she said. "I'm just trying to save you from yourself and your good intentions. Go home, Hadden, and get some rest."

  He reached out and touched her hair with a gentle gesture. "Good intentions have nothing to do with why I want to stay with you, Miranda. I love you and no matter what happens, I'll always love you. Don't you know that by now?"

  She reached out, unable to stop herself, and touched the hard line of his jaw, tracing it with a trembling finger.

  "Hadden," she whispered, "we have to let go of the past."

  The intensity in his gaze sent the blood racing through her veins. He let out a ragged moan, and then he grabbed her arms and pulled them up, forcing them around his neck. Crushing her to him, he claimed her lips, moving his mouth over hers, devouring its softness. He teased her unmercifully with kisses of such heat; a tingling fire crept through her blood.

  To hell with Drake and his damn werewolves. Tonight belonged to Hadden and her, and no one was going to take it away from them. She felt that God was giving her a last glimpse of the happiness she'd found in Hadden's arms, something she could keep close to her heart for always.

  Miranda pressed her body to his as he eased her down onto the bed, loving the hard muscular length of him, reveling in the way her whole being seemed to come alive at his touch.

  She offered no protest as he unbuttoned her blouse, and unsnapped her lacy bra, kissing a fiery path against the coolness of her skin, nor did she offer any resistance as he quickly stripped off her slacks and panties.

  Longing swirled inside of her as he pulled away momentarily to strip off his own shirt and jeans. She tried to absorb of every part of him into her memory…into the very depth of her soul. She loved every minute detail of him, from the way his hair fell into his eyes to the sensual shape of
his mouth.

  And then he was back in her arms, and Miranda moaned in delight. Waves of sensation washing through her, making her forget everything but the touch of his hands and mouth on her all too willing flesh.

  God, how she wanted him, wanted his mouth slanted over hers, the taste of him beguiling her senses, while his hands caressed her in a way only he could…

  No other man had the same arousing scent of spice and male musk; no other man had the power to melt her bones with his touch.

  Miranda's hands found the soft steel of his neck, the soft curls at his nape…she buried her hands into the dark silken mass as she pressed herself against him wantonly, achingly aware of his coarse, wiry hair brushing against her nipples.

  A throbbing commenced deep inside of her, taking on a sharp needy edge as his mouth and hands continued their explorations down the length of her body.

  She knew without the slightest doubt there could never be, would never be, any other man for her. Only Hadden…always Hadden. Even if she lived a thousand years, it would always be Hadden that held her heart, her very soul.

  Anguish ripped at her heart at the thought of a life without him. A life without hope, and only despair and heartache to keep her company in the endless years stretching out in front of her.

  She moaned his name and reached for him, fighting back the bleakness of her future, and reaching out in desperation for what was in the here and now.

  Hadden rose upward and pressed her against the bed. A shiver tore through his body at the bold invitation in her stormy gaze. The world seemed to right itself as he entered her, and he knew a happiness and contentment like he'd never known before. They were one and the same, always and forever. Nothing would ever come between them again. Nothing would ever keep them apart. Not even that bastard, Drake, who wanted to claim Miranda as his own.

  Her cries of delight pushed away his dark thoughts and were like music to his ears, driving him onward as he worshipped her body.

  Again and again, she shuddered in ecstasy, calling out his name as he moved deeper within her. Until he too was swept away…joining her in her final flight to the summit, awashed with hot stabs of pleasure; leaving him shattered and then whole as he floated back to earth with her held securely in his arms. And in that split second, he made a silent vow…he'd never let her go…never…