The rogue began to run up the stairs towards where Lea now stood, a little howl erupting from his throat as his eyes locked onto his target. Before the wolf could make one more step towards her, a blur of something golden flashed before her eyes and ran into the rogue, sending him flying down the stairs to land in a heap at the bottom. He slowly got up from the ground, a new sort of anger in his eyes.
Lea took this chance to look at her savior, and her heart blossomed into something great when she realized who it was.
Finn stood in front of her, in his wolf form, staring down at the rogue with a snarl on his face and an aura of confidence that couldn’t be faked. If it was any other situation, Lea would’ve howled for joy.
Instead, she ran to be by Finn’s side with a new jump in her step as she looked down at the rogue, who had gotten the wind knocked out of him. With Finn by her side, they could take this rogue. It was still going to be a difficult battle, as this rogue was huge, but they could do it.
She just had to believe they could, and she tried to get as confident in her mind as Finn looked standing there on the steps, looking down at the rogue as if he was scum on the bottom of his shoe. Lea didn’t know what would’ve happened if Finn hadn’t shown up.
She didn’t even want to think about it. And technically, that could still happen if she wasn’t at her best.
In a matter of seconds, Lea realized she didn’t have to be at her best. Hann showed up before the rogue could even regain his strength, or before she or Finn could even move towards the shifter. Suddenly, Britta, Lukas, Ross, and Annie, were there with Hann, all of them surrounding the rogue who was now on high alert and on all fours, his eyes looking straight at the alpha.
Lea didn’t get to see what happened next. Suddenly, Michael, the Elder that had been working with the pack in Maine, and the arch-nemesis of Gabriel, appeared and walked to where the rogue was. The Elder did not shift into his wolf form, which was a pure-white wolf with white eyes like all the Elders, but instead walked to stand beside Hann, his robe and cape covering his whole body and hiding his face from view. Lea didn’t know if she’d ever seen Michael’s face, as he kept it hidden from everyone–even Hann.
Michael walked up to the rogue, and in an instant, they both were gone. Lea would’ve questioned it more, but she knew it had to do with the Elder’s magic. The Elders tended to be much more powerful than the regular shifters, and possessed a plethora of magic.
Lea guessed that was what happened when one was older than a millennium.
With the rogue gone, Lea and Finn were left looking down at Hann and the rest of the group. Everyone was still incredibly tense, and the realization of what just happened slowly came back to Lea, before rushing at her full force. She couldn’t believe that a rogue had just come to Maine with one goal: murder.
Hann was in front of Lea in an instant, looking her and Finn over, his eyes tense with worry. Lea knew her alpha was one of the better ones in America–even all of the world according to some visitors–and her heart felt like it was going to break from the way he made sure that an unimportant shifter like her was okay. It was like he was the father she never truly had. She didn’t know what to do, so she just stood in silence before her alpha finally spoke.
“Are you okay?” Hann asked Lea. All Lea could do was nod. She was much too shaken up about the whole ordeal to say much. Hann then turned to look at Finn, who was also watching Lea to make sure that she was okay.
“I was meeting up with Lea tonight for practice,” Finn explained as Hann glanced at him. “I noticed something was immediately off when I walked into the gym. It was empty, save for me, but something just felt off. I came from the back, so the closer I got to the front doors, the more my senses picked up something was off. When I got close to the door, I realized what was happening–and I could feel that Lea was out here. So, I came to help.”
Hann nodded, as if that was a satisfactory answer.
“I’m thankful that both of you are okay,” Hann told them through the mental communication link that they shared. “Michael took this rogue away to find out why exactly this happened. And if he was sent by anyone.”
“What do you mean?” Annie asked her father as she walked up to the three other wolves. The rest of the wolves stood back, though Lea could see them all with their ears perked up and looking in their direction, quietly listening from afar.
“There has been a rumor that Michael recently picked up on,” Hann explained. “Rumor has it that someone–more than likely Gabriel, because he seems to be running this sadistic show–has spread the word that rogues should start acting. They’re pushing the idea of lone wolf attacks, as in rogues coming to packs by themselves and trying to do the most damage in that sense.”
“That’s a suicide mission,” Lea managed to say. For a rogue to walk into pack territory? Yes, damage could be done to the pack, but that rogue would more than likely die before anything else happened.
“Exactly,” Hann replied. “But that doesn’t mean that, with the right push from their so-called leader, these rogues won’t do it. And I’m afraid that this rogue here might just be the beginning of a disastrous situation.”
“Where is Michael taking him?” Annie asked.
“He’s taking him to learn if he had any hidden motive or agenda here,” Hann said. “Or to find out who exactly put this idea in these rogues’ heads. We want to make sure nothing else is coming, too. Make sure this wasn’t some sort of team effort or plan.”
“Let’s hope we get some answers,” Annie said.
Lea sure hoped so. The idea that something like this could happen again scared her more than she wanted to let on. She was still in shock from the whole thing, but she was trying to put on a brave and confident face in front of her alpha and Finn.
Especially Finn. His confidence and the way he wasn’t fearful as he looked that murderous rogue in the eye was something that made Lea envious. And if she hadn’t been attracted to him before, she sure as hell was now.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you, Lea,” Hann told her, and Lea wanted to somehow comfort her alpha as he looked at her with such sorrow in his eyes. He took his pack members’ deaths seriously, and Lea was instantly reminded of how inconsolable he was after Kaiser had killed a few shifters in the pack. Everyone was devastated, of course, but her alpha really took it to heart.
“It’s okay,” she replied, hoping he could hear the reassurance she attempted to put in her voice. It was a bit hard because she wasn’t able to use her human voice. “We were able to handle the situation until you guys showed up. It could’ve been much worse.”
“Yes. It could’ve.” After exchanging a few other pleasantries and reassurances–from Lea and Finn’s part–that everything was indeed okay, Hann and the rest of his group went to find out where Michael was with the rogue. Lea could only imagine the questioning the Elder was giving the rogue.
Hann told Lea and Finn that he would keep them updated on the whole situation as it progressed, and Lea felt a bit special from the attention and care she was getting from Hann. And from Finn.
Lea mentally told Finn that she would meet him in the gym by the wrestling mats as she walked to the ladies’ room. She needed to change into her human form, and she needed a few moments to herself to get herself together. Her life had flashed before her eyes as she talked with that serial killer, and it was slowly catching up to her.
Lea didn’t live an exciting or spontaneous life. The craziest she got was her drunken nights with her girlfriends as they watched whichever trashy reality show was popular at the moment. So, to have an experience where her life was in danger? Well, it freaked her out. It was new. She wasn’t like some of the others in her pack that seemed to have a moment like this all the time.
As she quickly attempted to pull herself together, Lea changed into the basic clothes that the gym kept in supply in the ladies’ dressing room. Since this was a shifters-only exclusive gym, the need for clothes was constant. Shifters, if
shifting with their clothes on, would lose those clothes forever in the unexplainable magical realm that let them shift quickly in any given moment. Of course, when said shifter shifted back, they would be naked.
A lot of shifters didn’t care who or what saw them naked, but they tended to keep their naked selves to themselves to spare everyone the awkwardness that could become evident with a room full of naked shifters.
Lea walked back out into the gym, where she’d left Finn, in her baggy white t-shirt and black shorts. The shirt was so big and baggy on her that it looked like it was a dress, completely covering the little shorts that she was wearing. She didn’t care, though. She knew it was probably very unattractive, and she silently cursed at herself that she lost her favorite pair of yoga pants–that made her butt look so good!–in the process of dealing with the latest murderous rogue that came to hang with her pack in Maine.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Finn asked her as she walked up to where he was standing and waiting for her in the middle of the gym. Even in the standard gym clothes, he looked like a Greek god.
She hoped that she wasn’t drooling.
The gym was empty except for them. She was just lucky that Finn was there to help her out with the rogue.
The thought of what could have happened to her tonight crept back into her brain, though she tried to think of Finn instead. It seemed that even Finn’s gorgeous body wasn’t enough to keep her mind away from murder. She knew she was going to have nightmares about the whole thing later on tonight.
“I’m fine,” she finally told him, sighing as she sat down on the mats, resting her arms on her knees. “I’m just a little shaky about the whole thing, I guess.”
“You know, we shouldn’t practice tonight. Let me take you home.”
“No, I want to practice!” There was no way she was just going to go home alone, to her empty house, after everything that just happened. She needed to feel a little safe for at least an hour before she had the nerve to go home. “I want to practice now more than ever. I was so unprepared back there–and that’s the scariest thing about the whole issue. I need to practice, and I need to make sure that I’m the best fighter that I can be, both in my human form and my wolf form. I never want to feel that off-guard again.”
It was the truth, and she, for some reason that she couldn’t understand, didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed as she told Finn. For some reason, she knew that he would understand. Or, at least, she hoped that he would understand.
“Are you sure you want to practice tonight?” he asked, looking a bit unsure of the whole thing.
“Yes.” She stared into his blue eyes, unflinching. She needed to practice. And she didn’t want to be alone. It was that simple–though she would never tell him the second reason.
“Okay, let’s practice then.” Finn got up, helping her in the process by grabbing her arm. Lea could feel tingles where he touched her, and it was like electricity coursed through her veins, up and down her bones until she felt like she was lightly electrocuted. She turned around a little so that he couldn’t see how deeply, and quickly, her crush seemed to be blossoming for him.
“Thanks for being there, by the way.” Lea felt a bit embarrassed as she thanked him, but she knew that she would be bleeding out on the pavement outside if he hadn’t shown up. “Thanks for that.”
“Anytime you see a murderous rogue come your way, just shoot me a call.” There was that smirk that she had been missing since she saw him earlier that night. She laughed out loud, her eyes lighting up as he began to joke with her.
If they just kept things light and fun, then she would feel better. And then everything would be okay. For a little while, at least.
Chapter 9
Finn didn’t want to leave Lea alone. And when he found out that she lived alone, two thoughts came to mind. One: she really shouldn’t be alone after something like this had just happened to her. What if she’s really frightened and just won't be honest and tell me how she is really feeling? And two: that was good to know. For future scenarios, of course.
“You really didn’t have to drive me home,” Lea told him for the thousandth time. Finn didn’t feel comfortable with her going home alone, so he made her hop in his truck. He couldn’t help the protective instinct that he had coursing through his veins. His wolf was protective already, and when he was in his human form, it was like his other half was screaming to be let out so that he could protect the gorgeous lady beside him.
“Yes, I did,” was all Finn would say. He didn’t want to leave her. He hoped he wasn’t intruding on her personal life or anything, though he knew that she would tell him if he was.
He couldn’t get the image of her standing there with the rogue out of his head. When he came rushing out of the gym, quickly shifting into his wolf form in the process, so many things were playing in his mind. He could smell her fear, and he could smell the rogue’s anger. They got lucky this time.
The idea of what would have happened had he not been there, or if Hann and the rest hadn’t shown up, refused to leave his mind. He was just thankful that she wasn’t hurt in any way. He was just thankful that no one was hurt.
It could’ve been much worse. Finn didn’t have to ask Lea if she knew that. Her face and the emotions that she was trying to hide from him were telling enough. It took everything in him to not reach out and tell her that everything would be okay. He would protect her. The wolf in him would make him protect her.
‘Are you nervous?” Lea suddenly asked him. Finn looked over to see that she had swiveled around in the passenger seat, with her feet up on the seat. She was holding her knees to her chest and looking at him with those blue eyes as if she could see his innermost thoughts. Her blonde hair was tied up into a sloppy bun on the top of her head, little flyaway hairs surrounded her temple everywhere because of their practice session earlier. She had never looked as gorgeous to him before that moment.
She was stunning, in that simple, understated way. And he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to deny her for much longer. She had cast such a spell over him. He had never felt this way about anyone before.
Suddenly, everything that he and Ethan had talked about came rushing back to him, making him stare at where he was driving and no longer look into her blue eyes. He had to focus on the road. She couldn’t be his mate . . . . There was no way, and he didn’t even want to think about any of the possibilities of why he felt this way. It would make it too real.
“Why would I be nervous?” he finally asked. He was nervous. He didn’t know if it was because he was so close to her, her flowery scent surrounding him as if he was buried in it, or if it was because of everything that had just happened. Maybe it was a combination of the two. He didn’t want to leave her, for the fear that something else could happen when he was gone. It was a long shot, of course, but when he had fears, he couldn’t just will them away. They stayed in his mind for a while.
“I don’t know,” she finally said, and when Finn looked over at her, she was resting her head on the top of her bent knees, staring at him. “You just look a little tense.”
Finn realized after she motioned to his tense shoulders and tight grip on the wheel, that he was incredibly tense. He decided, before his brain could tell him to shut up, that he was going to be honest with her.
“I just don’t want anything else to happen to you,” he said, then let out a breath that he seemed to have been holding in. He wasn’t going to tell her how he felt about her. Now was not the time or place. Plus, if he said anything like that, he would find himself in a downward spiral full of lust that would only be satisfied by one thing. “The idea that rogues are just walking around, attacking anyone when they see fit to fill some weird ideology that they have? That doesn’t make me feel good. Especially, when you live alone.”
“I’ll be fine, Finn,” she said quietly, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. “I’m fine. Michael and Hann have everything under control. Everything will blow over soon. H
opefully.”
“Hopefully.”
He looked over at her again as he pulled into the driveway of her house. She was still staring at him with the weirdest look on her face. The need to pull her to his chest and kiss her suddenly got stronger, and he quickly got out of the car before he did something stupid. The cold night air felt good against his tense skin, and he quickly walked around his truck to open the door for Lea before she could for herself. She smiled at him as she hopped out of his truck, and Finn had the need to walk her to her front door.
Like a gentleman would. He wasn’t a gentleman, though. However, he could pretend for a few seconds that he was.
“Do you want to come in for a drink?” Lea asked him as she unlocked the door. She looked over her shoulder at him, and her front door light lit up her tentative smile.
Finn knew that if he said yes, it would be a bad decision. A horrible decision. Something that he would regret, simply because he wasn’t good enough for her. What she was suggesting was just an innocent, late night talk; over coffee or alcohol. Nothing more. She wasn’t sending him any signals about what it could lead to, or what she wanted it to lead to.
But that didn’t mean that Finn wasn’t imagining what it could lead to. If he walked into that house, there was no promising that he wouldn’t make a move. And he was still trying to figure out what her feelings were, regarding him. He knew that something had changed between them, but he couldn’t quite figure out what those changes entailed.
“Okay,” he nodded before he could stop himself.
It seemed he had an issue with acting against his brain’s wishes. He kept on doing it, but when he looked into Lea’s eyes, he didn’t want to do anything else but be with her.
She smiled as she pushed open the door, turning her head back around so that she could turn on the light in her house. Finn found himself on high alert as he walked through the house with her, afraid that a rogue would jump out and surprise them. He couldn’t help the protective way he was with her. His wolf wanted to be let out, wanted to check the whole house and turn it upside down in the search for something that wasn’t right.
Moonlight Wolves Box Set Page 41