11 comments/ 19622 views/ 51 favorites Shadows of the Moon By: Izzra Hello, This is my first submission. Be gentle with me. I'm nervous enough as it is. :) English is not my native language so there might be a few mistakes. I welcome corrections since it's the only way to learn. And I apologize if it tarnishes the story in any way. There will be no sex in this first part and probably not in the second chapter either, if that's what you're looking for then sorry. I like story above smut. There will be some violence. I usually try not to overdo it but if it's going to happen for the sake of the story then I will describe it. Hope you enjoy. ** Chapter 1 "I don't care how, just make it happen. Find her." The voice growled and the order was followed by a click as the man hung up. Liam lowered his phone slowly and looked at it with annoyance not liking the tone of voice. He didn't take orders from his brother. "Fuck off..." He muttered stuffing the phone back into the pocket from where it came, having absolutely no intention of following through with the supposed 'order'. Instead he shrugged deeper into his hoodie, pushed off the wall and aimed for the brightly colored sign of the strip club across the street. He had a new job coming up and it would require all his focus. His brother would have to search for the woman himself. At the door he gave the name of his contact to the bouncer and was led inside. Liam wasn't there to watch the girls. This form of place was usually murder on his senses and he avoided them if possible but work was work. Someone needed to be tracked down and there was no one with more expertise in that particular field than Liam. The deep-seated smoke, the smell of horny men and stale beer assaulted his sensitive nose as soon as he entered and he sneezed violently. The man he was following looked back at him when he sneezed for the fifth time and looked at him with concern. "You okay there?" Liam looked at him with watering eyes, covering his nose and mouth with his hand. "Allergic." He wheezed and sneezed once more. The bouncer content with the answer gave him a sympathetic look and nodded towards a door further down a short corridor. "That would be it." Liam dipped his head in thanks and stepped past the man towards the door. Snuffling, trying to quell the sneezing he knocked and the door was immediately opened by another big man who gestured for him to step inside. The office wasn't big, a desk cluttered with stuff, a bookcase looking misplaced in the corner, a couch and a small file cabinet was all there was to it and there wasn't room for much else. A man in a cheap gray suit sat in the office chair behind the desk and on the couch sat another man in a well-tailored black suit looking bored. There was an air of authority around the man on the couch and Liam fixed his attention on him, ignoring the other man behind the desk. The man in black eyed Liam's worn street clothes and rugged exterior with open skepticism then cast a doubtful look at the man behind the desk. "You don't look like much yet they say you are the best." Liam didn't bother to answer. He was well aware of how he looked with his torn jeans and baggy sweater with the hood up. If you moved on the streets of the slums it was better to belong than to stand out. Made life easier. The man behind the desk laughed nervously shifting his gaze back and forth between both his guests. "I assure you this is him. They say he can find anyone. Never fails." "Shut up Will." The man on the couch held Liam's gaze with the same measure of uncaring dominance as Liam himself projected. They measured each other silently before settling on mutual respect in an unspoken agreement. Nodding the mans hand slipped inside his suit and produced an envelope which he held out towards Liam. Inside was a big wad of cash and a picture of a man smiling nervously into the camera. "His name is Paul Wilson." "Wetwork?" Liam asked using the street term for elimination. "No, he has something I want. That's half the money-" he nodded towards the envelope. "-you'll get the rest when you bring him to me. The address of his last known location is at the back of that picture. I was told that was all you needed. Do we have an agreement?" "Yes." Liam respectfully nodded and turned to leave. Find the guy and bring him back. Sounded easy enough. He preferred it to the alternative. The guy who had originally opened door held it open for him and again the horrible cocktail of smells assaulted him. As he stepped out into the corridor a giant sneeze erupted before he could stop it. So much for gravitas he thought wryly, it was hard to look serious with a runny nose. He passed through the main hall of the club as he hurried towards the exit. His eyes strayed to the woman on display on the stage and he slowed down. A beautiful specimen he thought as he watched her slide down the pole upside down and he felt a tug of longing. It had been quite some time since he had a woman. Hungrily he licked his lips and... sneezed. With a growl he quickened his steps to reach some less tainted air. ** "Eyes to the stage my friends, and welcome Jade. She got herself caught by the naughty police and need your help with the ransom." The voice boomed out of the speakers and the music resumed. Natalie was led out on stage by a woman dressed in a very slutty police uniform, insanely high heels and heavy makeup. The woman led her by a thin chain connected to a collar around Natalie's neck. Her hands were cuffed in front of her and the black fluff around it tickled her naked stomach as she followed the woman out on stage. She was dressed in black and white striped stockings ending at her knees and a black thong with a matching black and white bra barely covering her nipples. The woman leading her cuffed the chain to the pole and picked up a whip from the stage. It was a black leather contraption with several long leather stripes doing the whipping. Natalie bent over holding the pole and displaying her backside to her captor while she circled her. The first slap of the whip landed on her ass cheeks and she sighed with lust. There was quite the crowd gathered at the club this night and she would act the hell out of this if it meant she would walk home with two nights worth of pay. Another slap and another sigh. Bending down even further until she touched the ground she grabbed the chain where it was attached to the pole and tugged at it as if she was trying to escape. The woman kept smacking her until the second part of the act started and Natalie was pulled up by her hair by the other woman and they shared a long deep kiss. The crowd whistled and hooted drunkenly at them. When the kiss was broken the woman left the stage and Natalie, or Jade which was her stage name, was left to carry out the rest of the act alone. As soon as she got backstage and the curtain dropped she kicked off the horrible high heels and slumped down in the chair of her makeup table. This act was getting old but it was widely popular and they earned a lot of money from it. Counting through the evenings earnings she shared some of it with Rose who did the act of the police woman. It was a good pay and Natalie was very pleased with the outcome. "Nat. Nat. Nat." Called the jovial voice of the stage manager, making a short melody of her name. "You are as lovely as always. They absolutely love you out there. Don't you ever grow old and change my lovely." Natalie stuffed her money away and turned to meet the irritating man. He had a wicked talent for shredding the confidence of the women working for him with his hidden taunting. It was always about age or weight or something similar to make the women doubt themselves. She didn't fall for it, the man was a weak minded fool and his insults were nothing but cheap means to feel powerful. "And you are just as pleasant as always Taz." She said plastering one of her better fake smiles on her face. "You know I can't stay away from you my lovely. I'm like a moth to your flame, you know that." Natalie unbuttoned her bra and threw it at the wardrobe rack, picking up a short top to replace it with she rolled her eyes while her back was towards him. "I have to give you this Taz, you sure are persistent but you know how this will end." "One day love. One day." She felt his hand caress her ass as she stood bent over to remove the stockings. She bit her tongue and it took all her willpower not to turn around and stab him with the heel of her shoe. Instead she whirled and playfully swatted his hand away. "Tsk. Tsk. You naughty man. A no is a no." The stage manager's sleazy smile faltered for a second and a dangerous gleam entered his eyes. She received a hungry predatory look up and down her body and quicker than she could fend off he reached out and grabbed a fistful of hair. Bending her back and pressing her to his chest he stared down at her. "I have put up with your shit for a long time now... I have given you the best shifts, I have given you pretty gifts and I have been good to you. Yet you continue to deny me. If you're going to continue like this I will turn nasty. And you my lovely-" he whispered into her ear, cupping a breast with his free hand. "-wont like me nasty." With a shove he pushed her away and she stumbled into the wardrobe rack. "You're lucky the boss wants to see you, love. Else I would get nasty with you here and now." He grinned at her. Natalie glared daggers into his back as he walked away and realized she had underestimated him. The man wasn't as stupid as he seemed and her job had suddenly taken a very dangerous turn. After the last act she would have to split again. She was suddenly extra thankful for the large haul of money from the previous act. It would get her a long way. ** As soon as her last act ended she hurried off stage, grabbed her clothes and purse not even wanting to waste time changing. Shrugging into the jacket and changing her shoes as she walked, or on some occasions hopped, towards the back exit of the club. She wasn't about to let that asshole Tomas get her. Stopping just inside the door she slid a butterfly knife out of her purse and with deftly fingers she swung it around to expose the blade. If she could just get to her apartment and get the rest of her things she would be gone from this town before dawn came. Pushing the door open with caution she looked around for any signs that something would be amiss but the alley was empty, not even as much as a street cat. Natalie wasn't fooled. She hadn't seen Tomas for the past hour, the man was up to something. Pretending to hug herself to keep warm she hid the knife between her arm and body, drawing comfort from it's presence. At least she wasn't going down without a fight. It was a long walk home and on any normal night she would have called it insanity to walk home alone. The girls working at the club had devised carpools or escorts of some kind to make sure everyone made it home safe. You couldn't expect to stand on that stage all night with drunks and creeps leering at you and to be left alone when you stepped off it. The world just didn't work that way. But tonight she didn't have a choice. The other girls would do a group routine after her performance and she would rather risk the street for a few minutes than be alone backstage knowing Tomas was coming for her. When she made it three blocks from the club, looking over her shoulder constantly, she began to relax. It was looking like she would make it home without incident after all. Cheering inwardly at her luck she slowed her step slightly. As she passed another side alley she saw the contours of a man from the corner of her eye and her heart stopped. In one panicky moment she was sure she was done for. The man was leaning against the wall his head bowed and his face hidden behind the hood of his sweater. He didn't as much as look up when she turned towards the dark looming opening and stumbled back in fear. With her heart hammering and her breath rushing in and out of her she slowly realized it wasn't the stage manager. Just a stranger talking on the phone. The stranger tensed and his gaze flickered her way. For a few seconds their eyes met and Natalie stared into mesmerizing green. There was something about those eyes that had her dumbfounded. The moment dragged on and she could still not break the contact. Was she really having a moment with a street thug? This is ridiculous! Her mind was screaming at her but still she did not look away. A car passed on the street behind her and honked. With a snap Natalie came back to reality. She was still mostly dressed as a stripper with her short slitted skirt and the revealing bra under her jacket and she was ogling a stranger who was hiding out in an alley. She had reached her limit of stupid for one night. Enough was enough. She started to run. It wasn't much further to her apartment and the faster she got there the safer she would be. Bolting down the street she made it another block before something stepped out from around a corner and grabbed her around the midriff. Feeling herself being hauled backward she kicked furiously trying to get free. With a powerful heave she was slammed back against a wall and her head bounced painfully against the hard surface. An arm pressed against her throat and she was pinned to the wall. Disoriented she tried to clear her head from spinning and when things came into focus the angry red face of Tomas was grinning menacingly at her. "Hello love. Thought I would leave you alone did you? You are mine. All of you girls are mine." She could feel his warm drunken breath on her face and an urge to throw up rose within her. The man was utterly disgusting. His greasy brown hair that he was so proud of was disheveled and the condescending smile he always used, now seemed cruel and predatory. He grabbed her chin to turn her cheek towards him while he licked her face from the corner of her mouth up to her eye. Realizing she still held the knife she angled it and thrust it upwards between his ribs. With a high pitched screech he let her go and backed away a few steps. She stumbled as she was suddenly free of his weight and made another dash to get away. He was faster and grabbed her wrist pulling her back. There was blood down the front of his shirt and a crazy gleam in his eyes. He wasn't about to let her go, blood or no blood. Natalie changed her grip on the knife and stabbed the arm holding her in the shoulder. With an angry roar he grabbed her hand and pried the knife from her fingers. Slamming her back against the wall again he grabbed her purse and threw it down the street, spilling it's contents all over the ground. A hand gripped her chin painfully and she could feel the blood smearing on her skin. "You little bitch!" He screamed in her face. "I will kill you for this!" The knife, her knife, was thrust in front of her face. "I will fuck you and I will kill you!" In the suspended moment of terror while Natalie's mind tried to process her dire future there was a shuffling sound to their left and Tomas turned his head to inspect the sound. Natalie could only see what was happening from the corner of her eye but it looked like the man from the alley squatting amongst her scattered belongings. He looked up and gave the man holding her a dark look. "I will have to call you back." He spoke into the phone he was still holding, his eyes never leaving her tormentor. Chapter 2 He was on hold waiting to speak to his friend when he heard the woman squeak as she noticed him. His first thought was to simply ignore her, she was no threat and by the sound of her heartbeat she was wound up enough as it was, but then her scent drifted by him and it was the most intoxicating smell he had ever experienced. As he looked up he saw it was the same woman that he had seen dancing on stage not even fifteen minutes ago. His wolf growled with pleasure but was left just as perplexed by the situation as he was. Neither of them had prepared for this and both were left baffled. He felt the oddest desire to lick her. Find out what she tasted like. If she tasted anywhere near as lovely as that smell... The blaring sound of the passing car had the woman sprinting down the street away from him. He stepped out from the alley and was about to follow when he heard a voice call his name. Still staring down the street after her he put the phone to his ear. "Liam?" "Yeah, It's me. Look can I call you back later? Something just came up." "Eh. Whatever man. You called me remember. I thought that maybe you have something new." The voice sounded hopeful. "I do." There was a pause as Liam distractedly stared at the corner where she had disappeared. "Paul Wilson. I need the usual info." "Geez." There was a scrambling noise as if someone covered the phone in a hurry. "Be more direct about it will you. For fuck sake, I can lose my job." The man hissed back. A scream of pain echoed down the street from what he had come to think of as her corner and before he really knew what he was doing he was running down the street towards the sound. As he rounded the building a man had the woman pressed against the wall. Liam was about to charge straight into them as his eyes caught on something on the ground, something that snagged his attention with it's freaky coincidence. Crouching he picked up a plastic card that said Natalie Bryant in big bold letters. The conversation with his brother from earlier that night drifted back to him. That had been the name of the girl he had been ordered to find wasn't it? What the hell did his brother want with a stripper? The struggle had subsided and when he looked up he found them staring at him. Realizing he still held the phone he lifted it back to his ear and told his contact that he would call him back. Something more important had just landed in his lap. The man holding the sweet smelling woman let go and threw her to the ground. She cried out in pain and cradled her hand close to her chest turning away from both the men. Liam rose to his feet and stood to meet the man who slowly stalked towards him. "This is between me and my bitch! You fuck off or I'll gut you!" The man yelled at him waving the knife around and splattering blood from his wounds across the street. Liam could smell the insecurities of the man. He was one of those men who had too much power but had no idea what to do with it. The man would never had made it past omega had he been a wolf. Looking down at the knife he started to laugh. "You couldn't hurt me with that even if you knew what you were doing." The man stabbed the air in anger but Liam didn't move. He wasn't even watching the hand holding the weapon, it was in the eyes. Whether you were ready to kill someone or not. This man didn't know how to fight and when challenged he would run with the tail between his legs. The mans resolve was clearly weakening as Liam refused him the proper fear and respect a knife should have brought him. He was pacing anxiously hiding behind his anger. Suddenly there was a shadow behind the man and a dull clunk sounded as something connected with the back of his head. The man fell to his knees and slowly pitched face first into the pavement. Behind the fallen man stood the woman. It was one of the sexiest scenes Liam had ever seen in his life. The woman stood dressed in her ridiculous skimpy outfit, white sneakers, her legs spread far apart and her hands clasped around a metal pipe. His mouth watered and his eyes were glued to her. The wind shifted and he was hit with the full force of her scent. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and felt his wolf press against his control. There was something about this woman who made him want to shift. A primal urge to be with her. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 02 Thank you for the feedback it's been lovely! I actually posted a lot more than I intended in the first part. I uploaded the wrong document and the second half had not been proof read, but hey if you liked it then I guess I can live with that. :D I tend to gravitate to the darker stories and this will likely be one of those. It might get a happy ending, it might not but the path there will be quite dark. ** Brian stepped closer and Natalie screamed for help again. Out of nowhere an arm suddenly wrapped around her from behind and a hand holding a mean looking gun extended past her shoulder. Yelping she tried to pull away but the arm pressed her tight into the body it belonged to. Brian staring into the muzzle of the gun backed away slowly, holding his hand up to show he was not a threat. Natalie squirmed around and stared into the face of a very grim looking Liam, the man who had come to her aid the previous night. Liam's rage had his eyes focused on the man backing away and for a moment she was sure he would pull the trigger. He was beautiful. At that moment she was sure he was an angel. An avenging angel of death. The picture of her sister fanned her hate again. "Liam..." She whispered hoarsely and watched as his eyes momentarily drifted down to hers. "Do it. They killed my sister." She pleaded, tears streaming down her face again. "They tied her up and shot her. Do it. Please. Shoot." Liam was struggling to control his shift. Not since his father had he wished someone dead like he now wanted to rip the man in front of him apart. They dared hurt her. It comforted his soul to have her pressed against him until he heard her whisper. Despite his best efforts to stay lucid he felt his wolf control more and more, weakening his resolve. Rage at what she told him made him loose it. The man being aimed at sensed the changed and turn to run. Liam's last lucid thought was to wrap the arm holding her around her shoulders and press her face into his neck, covering her ear with his hand as he pulled the trigger. The first shot sped past the man and thudded into the van. The second hit the man in the arm and he staggered the last few steps to the open door of the vehicle. The third shot crushed the driver seat window as the door closed. Liam growled in frustration and fired two more shots into the back of the van for good measure before he lowered the gun and watched the car speed away. Natalie was sobbing and shivering in his arms and he took a moment to just hold her before he carefully pushed her off his shoulder to make sure she was alright. Her first thought was to look over at where the van had been and finding no bodies she looked up at him accusingly. "They got away?" He nodded. "Are you hurt?" She leaned into him again and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "There is blood on the pavement. Are you hurt?" He pressed a bit more commanding. "My feet hurt. I think I might have stepped on something." He stuffed the gun inside the lining of his pants and pushed her away from him again. "Wait here." With a unhappy moan she settled her weight fully back on her own feet and winced from the pain. She watched him with curiosity as he walk back down the street and picked up a small package from the ground. With it in hand he came back to her and without breaking a stride he picked her up and carried her back towards the entrance of the house. Not stopping until he could set her down on top of the toilet again he knelt next to her just as he had the previous night and lifted her feet one by one to rest in his lap. There was a multitude of cuts, blood and dirt on the sole of her left foot, the right had a piece of a broken bottle stuck between her toes. Grabbing the right he lifted it over the rim of the small dirty tub and turned the water on. There was a comfortable silence between them and he was acutely aware of her eyes on him the whole time. She whimpered and winced as the water washed over her injuries and he spread her toes to ease the glass out. "You, half-naked and men on the streets don't seem to go good together." He said with a smirk looking up her long naked legs to the rim of her sleeping shirt that ended just below her butt. She narrowed her eyes at him and grimaced. "And you seem to be conveniently placed in my vicinity whenever it happens. Stalker." "Well... I was bringing you this." He reached for the package she had seen him pick up earlier. It was a dark green square bag with a red cross on it, inside was the basic equipment for cleaning and dressing wounds. He picked up a bottle of antiseptic and dabbed it on the wound. She tried to pull her foot away but he jammed her leg firmly between his elbow and body to keep it still. He had just finished dressing the foot when his ears picked up the faint sound of sirens drawing closer. If there were someone he did not want to deal with at the moment it was the police. With a somewhat checkered past and a gun tucked into his pants there would be some very unwelcome questions. Still he found himself unable to leave her side, instead he picked up the other foot and gave it the same administrations as the first. The sirens drew closer to stop somewhere on the street outside the building and fall quiet. Liam figured it would only be a few minutes before they came knocking on the door. He gently placed the bandaged foot back down on the floor and turned to look up at her. "Look... Uh." He shifted awkwardly. "I would rather not speak with the police if I can help it. Will you be okay?" Natalie who had been staring emptily into space sluggishly focused on him again with anguished eyes. She looked broken. As if the last pillar holding her world up had broken and the weight of it was crushing her. He couldn't help himself as he reached up to gently cradle her chin in his hand. With a tired and angry groan she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her forehead on her knees, hugging herself tight. "Just go." Liam almost choked. In her current position he could see all of her long legs and most of her black lacy panties. For a moment he was left speechless and he suppressed the need to put his tongue to the silky smooth skin of her legs. "Eh..." He cleared his throat, struggling for control. "Maybe you should get dressed before they get here." She looked up and rested her chin on her knees. "What the fuck for? A rape will hardly make this day worse." "They are the police, woman. Not the rape squad. I was just thinking you might want to keep some dignity but it's your choice." "Fuck off Liam. The moment I talk to the police they will know where I am and I'll have to split again. If I'm not taken into custody that is." "They? The men that was here?" "No." She sighed in annoyance. "It's a long story and one I'm not going to tell a man I met yesterday." He sat crouched on her bathroom floor looking thoughtful for a moment. "If you don't want to talk to the police then come with me." Liam's heart was pounding harder than he liked to admit at the thought of her coming with him. She gave him a long searching look and Liam felt the need to push the point further. "Come with me and lay low for a day, then you can come back here when they're gone. Can you walk?" She nodded. Helping her out into the main room he left her on the bed so she could get dressed and moved to look out the window. The police were standing just outside the building interviewing someone on the street. They kept looking over at the building and it was apparent they were talking about it. They didn't have many minutes before the police would come inside. Throwing a quick look over his shoulder he saw Natalie's naked back, her blond hair slung across one shoulder to free her back from hair as she put her bra on. God, she was sexy. A moan slipped from his mouth before he could stop it. She froze in the middle of rolling a top down to cover her breasts and turned to look at him but he quickly looked back out the window hoping she would think he was annoyed with what he saw on the street and not ogling her like a horny teen. "So... Guess I'm ready." She said and reached for a jacket. She was dressed in dark jeans and a bright red tank top. He helped her up again and eased her feet into her shoes. It was a much tighter fit with the bandages and it caused her some discomfort when she tried to walk. He suggested that they scrap the idea to run but she wouldn't hear it. They made it out to the stair and walking became a little easier with every step. "You have a back door or something?" He asked her when they reached the base of the stairs. "Yeah, if we go down past the storage and trash room we can sneak out the back." "Down we go." He nodded at her. The cellar area was dark and smelled vaguely of mildew. The lighting in the corridor didn't work and all they had to guide them was the slim strip of light from under the door at the end of it. Natalie grabbed his upper arm and leaned in closer to help her find a way through the blackness. There was a giggling sound and then her voice whispered from the slightly darker shape that was all he could see of her body. "I feel like a teenager sneaking out from my parents to be with a boy." She had no idea how much that turned him on. The thought that he was stealing her away. He was about to answer when the doors opened on the main floor and several people entered. Liam pulled her to him and stepped into the thicker shadows to make sure they couldn't be seen in case they came downstairs. "What are you doing?" Natalie giggled and tried to push away. Realizing she couldn't hear the sounds from upstairs he put his mouth next to her ear and hushed her. This put his nose in contact with her hair... ** Natalie fell silent straining her ears to pick up whatever it was that her companion had heard. There were muffled sounds coming from upstairs but it sounded like they were moving up and not down. Still Natalie stayed silent, pressed to the warm body of the stranger that had waltzed into her life so suddenly. Was it her imagination or was he breathing heavier? Was he smelling her hair? She leaned closer angling her face so he had better access to it and clearly felt him take a deep breath beneath her hand. There was something arousing about being in the dark, hiding from the authorities with a stranger and she was sure he felt the same. She shifted slightly angling her leg to come in contact with his groin and heard him hiss sharply. The hand around her waist tightened it's grip and his thumb made small circles on the small of her back. The situation was extremely erotic and after a few seconds she was soaking wet squirming uncomfortably in his arms. He had his face buried in her hair and was clearly breathing heavier now. She pushed slightly away from him and could have sworn she heard him growl. The darkness made it impossible to see his face but she angled her face up towards his and parted her lips hoping he would understand what she wanted. It was still dark but Liam saw much better in the darkness than she did. Her yearning lips parted, waiting for him to kiss her made him completely lose it. He flipped them around and pressed her hard into the wall while he pressed his lips hungrily to hers. Natalie threw her arms around his neck to pull him closer and their tongues battled for dominance. She lifted her leg and hooked it around his waist. His hand slid down her ass to rest on her thigh to hold her leg in place. Natalie moaned loudly against his mouth when he ground his hard-on against her most sensitive area. Her hands pulled at his sweater so she could slip her hands under it to feel his body. She gasped when she felt what was underneath. There was nothing but muscle, hard sculptured muscle. Moaning at the thought of having that on top of her she tipped her head back against the wall and his mouth traveled down to her neck. His hard jeans covered cock rubbed just right against her and the feeling was overwhelmingly delicious. Her moans grew louder and she clung to his sweater while she rubbed herself against him. "Don't stop." She whispered breathlessly. "Oh God..." With an unstoppable wave of sensation she climaxed and the force of orgasm made her loose all control of her body. The only thing holding her upright was his hands on her butt cheeks and his body pinning her to the wall. As her orgasm abated he stopped moving to allowing her to catch her breath. He was still rock hard and his need for release was evident in the tension of his body. She ran her hands up and down his muscular chest and sighed happily. Just as she opened her mouth to speak there was a noise from the stairs and a rough voice echoed down the short corridor. "Somebody down there?" It called. "Shit." Liam cursed. He grabbed her hand and then they were both running, throwing themselves out the back door. ** Since Natalie had been given no time for neither breakfast or lunch they decided to grab some food. There was tension between them but not exactly an awkward tension. Somewhere between awkward and sexual. Neither of them seemed inclined to discuss what had happened so they ignored it and ate in silence. When the meal was finished they drifted through the streets holding hands. Strangely it didn't feel weird. Natalie knew it should have been. She had only known Liam for a few hours, had the hottest sexual experience of her life in a dark cellar and now they were holding hands. It should be all manners of weird and that not counting all the other things that had gone wrong in her life the past twenty four hours. As a matter of fact she was so comfortable in his company she never questioned when he pulled her to him to bury his face in her hair and nuzzle her neck. For a few hours he made her completely forget the terrible events of that morning. For a few hours she could pretend like her sister wasn't dead. When evening came he brought her back to his motel to rest. Natalie had smiled at the suggestion knowing where it would most likely lead but spending the night in his bed suddenly seemed a lot better than spending the night in hers with a broken door and people looking for her. And she sure wouldn't mind having a taste of that sexy body she was sure hid under those ridiculous street clothes. They ordered Chinese take away and brought it back to the room. Sitting on the floor with their backs leaning against the bed they shared the food between them and for the first time they really talked. It was Liam that brought the conversation back to the events of that morning. "Why were you being abducted? What was that all about? And who were they?" Natalie shook her head chewing to clear her mouth. "The simple answer is; I don't know. They showed up outside my door, got angry when I asked for identification and broke the door. The guy you shot at..." She felt silent and put the food container down on the floor, her hands shaking slightly. "God... I can't believe you did that. You shot at them." Liam froze realizing where her mind was taking this. "Look." He said calmly. "It was the heat of the moment, you were crying and bleeding, I was angry. And I missed anyway." He didn't mentioned the fact that she had begged him to shoot figuring she didn't need that guilt. "Shit." She pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her fingers in her hair. "I wanted them to die." "I know." He put his own food package down and despite that every fiber in his body told him to comfort her he didn't move. "I still do." "I know." "How the fuck can you possibly know!" She lashed out at him. His calm impassiveness was infuriating. He was just about to answer when there was a knock on the door. Growling his head snapped around to face the door. He could smell three people on the other side. Wolves. Irritated he clambered up from the floor and yanked the door open. On the other side stood three faces he hadn't seen for a long time and they took a step back in surprise, sensing his hostility. The leader of the trio smiled disarmingly at him. Liam knew him as Dael, a good man, a family man, older than Liam by twenty years. He had close cropped dark brown hair, warm brown eyes, and was a quite short for a wolf. "Liam. Long time no see!" He exclaimed, eying Liam from head to toe. "You look... umh... well." Inwardly Liam cursed furiously but kept it from showing. He had completely forgotten that his brother would send people to collect her. Falling into his old pattern when dealing with the pack his demeanor changed into emotionless indifference and he gave the man a cold stare. "Dael." Was all Liam offered in ways of greeting. "The boss sent us to get the girl." Liam growled at the mans infuriating smile and cast a quick look over his shoulder at Natalie. She was still sitting on the floor staring at him in complete disbelief. What Dael had said hadn't been lost on her and he could see her mind processing it. "Liam?" Her voice was shaky. "Dael. Fuck off." Liam said and closed the door in his face. He could hear his pack member call his name in confusion from the other side but he ignored it and turned to the woman on the floor instead. Her eyes were wide in fear and confusion. "Who are you?" She whispered. "Natalie." He held his hands out to calm her. "I guess you could say I'm a PI of sorts. I find people." "You were spying on me? That's why you were just happened to be there." "No. Natalie. No. That's not how it is. My brother asked me to find someone named Natalie Bryant yesterday but I turned him down, then by some freak coincident I ran into you on the street and..." He trailed off not sure how to continue without telling her how he felt and what she did to him. "And you decided to seduce me... for what? Handing me over? Sell me? What the hell is going on here!?" She screamed the last words at him and climbed to her feet. "No woman! That's not how it is. I called my brother to ask what he wanted with you and he wouldn't tell me. I had completely forgotten he was sending people here to find you." "Bullshit! You fucking traitor! If you wont tell me what this shit is about then it's time I ask someone who will, seeing as I have no choice in the matter now anyway." She moved closer to him and spat the last words to his face before stepping around him to the door. Liam felt like he had taken the beating of a life time. Everything hurt. Not even his father had ever made him feel this bad. All he wanted to do was pull her close and tell her how wrong she was. How he had not purposely betrayed her. The wolf in him howled in despair. The door opened behind him and he heard Dael speak. "Hi there mam. I'm Dael. Dael Landon. Would you be Natalie Bryant?" "Yes." "A pleasure to meet you mam. I know this must be quite tumultuous for you and I'm not sure what Liam has told you but I can assure you we want you no harm. I'm afraid I must ask you to follow us though, the boss wants to speak to you." "At least you're polite. That's an upgrade from my previous would be abductors. Who is your boss and what does he want?" "Umh... Aarik Wyard, mam. Liam's brother." He said it like that would explain everything. "I'm not sure why he want to get a hold of you actually. He didn't say. He just said it was really important that we brought you to him." "And if I refuse?" Dael's face became uncertain. "Then I'm afraid we will have to bring you anyway. I really am sorry for this, mam." "So you're saying you're kidnapping me?" "Mam, please. Don't take it this way." "How the fuck do you want me to take it!?" "Calm down now." Dael patted the air with his hands looking up and down the row of red doors to see if anyone was paying them attention. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 02 "Fuck you." Dael sighed shaking his head. "Fine mam. You don't have to like it. Just come with me." He stepped to the side and he gestured towards the parking lot." Natalie looked like she might argue but resigned herself to the situation and followed Dael out to the two black SUV's waiting in the lot. Another two people waited by the cars, a hard looking woman with steely eyes and a very fit body, and a bored looking man that at first sight seemed better suited in a Nazi gang than with his shaved head, huge bulk, heavy black boots, black cargo pants and a military style tank top. The size and look of the man made Natalie hesitate. Where would they take her? The picture of her dead sister entered her mind and she wondered if the same fate waited her at the end of the car ride. Dael felt for the woman. He saw her shrink back and he could smell her fear. Mace was a intimidating sight even at the best of times but being forced like this must be absolutely terrifying. He wished his alpha had given him some more information so he could offer her some peace of mind but all he could do was follow orders. He helped her into the car and divided the rest of the crew between the two vehicles. To ease her anxiety he sent Mace to the other car and settled with having Aeryn and Eldrick riding with them. Mace and Gared was to go in the other one. Not for the first time Dael wondered why it was necessary to have two escorts just to pick up a woman. He was informing Gared about the route they would take when Liam approached them. Without a word he opened the door to the back seat and threw a bag into the car. Dael raised an eyebrow and gave Liam a quizzical look. "You coming with us?" "Yeah. I am." "About time you came back to the pack. We've missed you." There was a grunt from Liam before he closed the door between them. ** The hours rolled by in the car and with every mile Natalie could feel herself loosing more and more of her composure. They were driving northeast and about an hour into their drive night had covered the world in inky blackness. The long hours left her plenty of time to think about everything that had happened that day. Questions were chasing themselves through her mind but there was no answers for any of them. Her would be abduction that morning had something to do with her father and after having asked her current abductors for permission she had tried calling him but no one answered. Her thoughts quickly drifted to her sister. All the happy memories of growing up. All the shared laughs and tears. She thought about her sisters last minutes of life and imagined the pain and horror of being treated that way. Angrily she tried to wipe the tears away before anyone noticed them. She hated crying in front of people, it just left everyone feeling uncomfortable anyway and it made her feel exposed in a way she was not comfortable with. She thought about Liam too and raged at her foolishness. Sexy strangers didn't show up out of nowhere to save maidens. She should have known he wasn't all he seemed. The thoughts of his betrayal sent more tears down her cheeks than she could wipe away so she turned her head to stare out of the window hoping no one would notice them. On the fourth hour they drove past a larger town and after another few miles they left the main road. As they turned up a long avenue she saw a big sign saying Luna Spring Country Club in a twirly Gothic font. The tall maple trees on either side of the road made it feel like they were driving in a cave. There was something claustrophobic about it but not in a scary way. Natalie stared past the trees to the fields on the other side and her breath hitched as she saw the light of the cars reflect in two pair of animal eyes in the darkness. Large predatory creatures. It made her skin crawl and she suddenly felt very small. Not knowing where she was, or who the people in the car was, or why she was being abducted left a feeling of hopelessness. How did you fight something you had no control over? There was a point in her life when she had felt much the same. Back then she had vowed to never to let herself be a victim again but here she was. The life she had worked so hard to get ripped from her because of something she knew nothing about. Her life had by no means been perfect or even that good but it had been hers. Freedom. That's what it meant to her. Her shoddy, day by day life was freedom and she wouldn't trade it for anything if it meant loosing that. The car stopped and she saw a big iron gate being pulled to the side. On either side of the gate the same black iron extended in a fence disappearing into the darkness and a lush green, well-groomed hedge ran along side it cutting the courtyard beyond the gate off from prying eyes. Driving up the paved stone driveway to the huge front stairs Dael turned to her. "Welcome to the Luna Spring mam. I think you will find we're not as bad as you think. We'll take good care of you." Giving Dael a baleful look she climbed out of the car when the woman opened the door for her. The night air was considerably colder here and she shivered, longing to be back in the warmth of the car. Dael ascended the stair and pushed open one of the big double doors. "Come, come. We can't keep him waiting." Natalie looked up at him from the bottom of the stair and at the sight of the dark looming entrance she felt a dark foreboding. Only rich depraved people visited places like this. People who care nothing about other people. She could disappear and no one would ever know... but there was nothing she could do about it. She was going to meet this man whether she wanted to or not. When she reached the top of the stairs the second SUV pulled up the drive way and parked behind the first. The man she thought of as Naziguy stepped out from the passenger seat and the last of her abductors from the drivers seat. They both looked grim and unnerved and both flinched as Liam pushed open the back door. Natalie met Liam's pleading eyes in a hateful stare before she stepped inside the building. ** It was a huge building. She hadn't grasped the magnitude of it in the dark but stepping into the massive three storey hall she understood the magnitude of the place. There was elevator in the middle looking like a golden cage and stairs twisting around it and leading up to balconies surrounding the big square-like hall. In awe she stared up at the beautiful wooden carvings and pillars decorating the place. Lit only by decorative wall-mounted lights. It was absolutely stunning. "This way." Came the chirpy voice of Dael from across the room where the elevator was. The woman from the car followed her as she made her way over to him but the three other men wandered off and disappeared down a corridor. Dael closed the gilded cage around them and pressed the top-floor button. Natalie's eyes were drawn to the door as the elevator started to rise. Liam stood alone watching her, his body outlined by the darkness outside. His gaze followed her all the way up. There was something there she couldn't quite place. His face showed no emotions but she felt a longing from him. Not that she cared of course. He was nothing to her. They stepped off on the top ring balcony and she was guided down a corridor while Dael cheerfully chatted away. He explained that the top floor was dedicated to the master of the house, the man she was here to meet and very few was allowed up here. The west wing was where the master himself stayed with his... wife and Liam, whenever he graced the place with his presence stayed in the east. From his description she understood that usually the masters whole family lived on the top floor but that there had been some sort of accident or something like it that had reduced the population to only the master and his... wife. Dael seemed reluctant to go into details and promptly avoided the subject when asked. Natalie was led into a big office. Heavy looking bookcases lined the walls from top to bottom and a massive desk was placed opposite of the door with a huge window as backdrop. Dael pulled out a well padded chair and gestured for her to sit. "Please. Have a seat. He will be here shortly. Can I get you something to drink?" Natalie shook her head and slumped into the chair. All she wanted was to get this over with. They all left and she was alone in the big room. She was emotionally exhausted to the point where the red carpeted floor looked like a good place to rest. Zoning out she didn't hear the door opening or someone approaching until a stern looking man lowered himself into the great desk chair on the opposite side. He had a dark blond backslick with steely green-grayish eyes that seemed to pierce right through her, hard angular features and a body language that screamed dominance. This was the man in charge there was no question about it. There was some resemblance to Liam, she could see that but not as much as you might expect from brothers. He leaned forward over the desk to study her closely. Natalie squirmed and despite every effort to defy him she was the one who averted her eyes first. He leaned back in the chair. "Where is your father?" Natalie sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in four years." "Talked to him?" "No." "How come?" "That is none of you business!" A long cold stare from him and a pressing silence made her give in. "It's personal. We had a falling out of sorts." "I see. Did you know much about his work?" "No. Some research crap. Look." She shifted to the edge of the seat and leaned on the desk. "All I know is that my father was a controlling ass, who was never at home and was never happy with anything the rest of his supposed family ever did. And frankly that is all I really care to know. Now I have fake agents knocking down my door trying to abduct me, people spying on me, I have been driven halfway across the country by people I have never met and I don't fucking know why!" Her voice got louder and louder as she spoke and she practically screamed the last words. The man seemed completely unfazed by her outbreak. The same cold eyes stared at her with the same cold expression until she calmed and shrunk back into the chair. "I can understand this is disconcerting." She gave him a disbelieving look. Disconcerting was the understatement of the year. "I'm sorry." He said with a slight smirk. "I have only seen my part in this hunt and maybe I have been blinded to other victims in this. You'll be given a room here and everything you need to feel comfortable. I was eager to talk to you but seeing how tired you are I'm thinking that it can wait another night. I rather we both be rested because this will take some time. How does this sound?" "Do I have a choice?" He grunted. "You do. But I recommend my suggestion else we won't be done with this until the sun comes up." Natalie was quiet for a moment and then nodded. "Some time alone would be nice." "Then lets leave this for now." He pushed himself up from his chair and escorted her to the door. Outside waited a young bright eyed woman with chocolate brown hair in a tight knot on top of her head. She bowed her head at the blond man. "Eileen will see you to your room." He gestured at the woman. "And if you have any other requests she will help you with them. Someone will come and fetch you tomorrow. Good night Ladies." He said and nodded at them. The woman, Eileen, gestured for her to follow her down the corridor and Natalie complied. ** Aarik watched the women disappear around a corner and turned towards his own rooms. He had been very eager to speak with her but h had changed his mind when he saw her. It was clear to him she was upset and exhausted and nothing good would come from pressing her further. He passed the first intersection of the corridor outside his office like so many times before when he heard a familiar voice from the shadows behind him and it made his skin crawl. "What do you want with her?" Aarik turned to face his brother. "Liam." He said coldly. It was very disturbing how his brother never seemed to make a sound. He was the best hunter in the pack of that there was no doubt. They started at each other for several long moments and the frosty tension in the corridor was palpable. "Liam, if you have no intention of sticking around then this does not concern you." "I found her." "Yes you did." Aarik turned his back to his brother intending to continue to his room. There was a low threatening growl from behind him and slowly he was forced to turn back realizing his brother would not back down. Another long frosty silence. "It is a long story. As I told her, it is one better suited for a rested mind. Go to sleep and if you by some miracle is still here in the morning we can discuss it." Liam seemed intent on pressing the subject but in the end he took a step back and turned, leaving Aarik at the intersection. "Liam!" He called after him and watched his brother pause. "If you want to belong to this pack then I am your alpha and you will treat me as such." Liam walked away. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 03 Thank you all for the lovely feedback I've been getting. It boosts morale and confidence to say the least. Would love to hear more if you have anything to say, both good and bad. This part will hint at some secrets. There is a lot to uncover though and we're only scratching the surface so far. ** "Liam!" He was shaken awake and blinked up into his sisters frightened face. "Uh. What?" The fog of sleep clouding his thoughts making his response sluggish. "You need to hide. Take the twins to the roof garden and hide!" She whispered urgently. A tortured piercing howl echoed down through the house and all thoughts of sleep vanished from his mind. He was up in an instant grabbing a blanket and hurrying after his sister down the hall. They woke the twins in much the same way as Liam had been awaken and rushed them through the east wing until they got to the a huge half circle balcony decorated with a garden. Kaleigh followed the walls of the house until she reached the handrail and gestured for Liam to hurry. He ushered the two very frightened and crying twins in front of him until they reached her. "Look Liam. Same as last time, okay? I'm going to help you down and then you catch them, okay?" Her head bobbed with every word. "You're the bravest I know Liam. You can do this. Whatever you hear and whatever happens do not leave the hiding spot until it's safe. You need to look after them." She nodded towards the twins, tears streaming down her face. All Liam could do was nod mutely. He grabbed the hand rail and swung his leg over, climbing out on the wide ledge stretching around the top of the building. Reaching out back to her he helped Lynn his youngest sister down on the ledge then did the same with Logan, her twin. Leading them one careful step at the time further out on the ledge he looked back at Kaleigh one last time and with a shared nod he rounded the corner of the building. Thankfully there was a full moon and they had plenty of light to navigate by. A cold wind assaulted them and Liam was grateful for the blanket he had brought. He pushed his siblings into the alcove they had usually covered in and wrapped the warming cloth around them to keep the cold at bay. Sitting on his knees on the windy ledge he hugged his siblings through the blanket to keep them shielded. Their father couldn't reach them here he would make sure of it. Another piercing howl made the glass of the windows close by rattle. They heard an angry roar and a crash as something toppled and smashed to the floor. "I know you're here! You can't hide from me!" Liam twitched with every crash and roar that followed until a eerie silence settled around them. He was holding his breath and hoping with every fiber of his being that it was over. "Where are they?!" Roared the enraged beast that was Liam's father. "Cover your ears and hum." Liam whispered to the twins while he desperately tried to hide his own tears. He wished he could do the same and not hear what would follow but he refused to let his sister suffer alone. If he wasn't brave enough to stand by her side he would at least bear witness to her pain. "Father please! See reason!" Kaleigh pleaded. "You shouldn't be around them in this state." "Shut up you dark haired witch! You are not mine! You! With your despicable darkness." "Father! Stop this madness!" The first sickening thud of something hard hitting a body and his sisters cry of pain was carried by the wind to the hidden sibling. Liam's tears ran unchecked down his face and he had to grab the ledge hard to keep from calling out or running to help. Blow after blow his sister endured, whimpering and pleading for their father to stop. Never did she give him the location of the hidden children and Liam knew she never would. Kaleigh was the strongest and bravest person he knew. She would face down any horror and take any blow to keep them safe. She was the closest to a parent any of them had. Liam had no notion of how long they sat like that, long after the horror of the roof garden had ceased and the stillness of the night had settled over the house again. When the moon began it's slow decent and no more sound had been heard for a long time he told the twins to stay while he climbed back to the garden. Pots and plants were smashed and strewn everywhere. Mud was piled high sticking to his cold naked feet when he cautiously padded to the doors leading into the building. Inside was a deathly silence. Someone had wrecked havoc with the furniture's and the wreckage of a cupboard and two chairs was strewn across the floor. Confident his father was not around he scanned the area for his sister. The moon had past this part of the house, casting the garden into darkness. With some difficulty he could discern what looked to be a dirty foot sticking out from behind a bench. Soundlessly he crept closer and found his sister horribly beaten and unconscious on the cold tiles. He knelt next to her the cold wet mud saturating his pajama bottoms and carefully with a shaking hand he caressed the hair from her face. One eye was swollen to a point where she would not be able to open it at all and there was bruises all over her face. Liam kissed her forehead tenderly and thanked her for her sacrifice. He was not blind to the fact that she did it for them. That he would be the one suffering if not for her. Quickly before the moon disappeared completely he clambered back out on the ledge to fetch the siblings he had left there. Once they were back inside and safe in their beds again he brought plenty of pillows and blankets out to the roof garden and spread them over her. She was to big for his small frame to move, all he could do was watch over her until she woke. Wrapped in his own blanket he sat in the darkness next to her and waited. For a brief moment she stirred and reached out to clutch his hand. "Liam." She whispered. "You did good." ** The huge hulking beast roared, throwing him to the ground with the force of his breath. Is body slammed into the mud and it clung to him, sucked him down into the floor, holding him in place. He reached out to grasp the monster with the flaming red eyes when the horrible creature swung his youngest sister out over the ledge, but the mud was holding him down, he strained against it to reach her. No matter how much he tried he could not reach. Could not help. "I give you back to the darkness from whence you came!" The beast roared and threw Lynn into the waiting abyss. Liam bolted upright in his bed, the wail of his sisters last seconds of life echoing in his head while sleep still clung to his mind. Clutching at his chest he tried to control his rapidly beating heart and panicked breathing. This was nothing new. Nightmares about this house and what had happened haunted his dreams most nights, it had became a part of him. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. For so long he had wanted it to stop. The screams. The images. The pain. ** The following day started much gentler for Natalie than the previous one. There was still a knock on the door but a soft one and as Natalie mumbled a tired "Enter." Eileen popped her head in, a cheery smile on her face. "Mornin' sunshine. We close breakfast in about an hour so if you want in on that deal you better hurry. If you want more time then I can ask them to make you something but it wont be as nice as the breakfast. We do have a really good breakfast." "Umh..." Natalie sat up in her bed rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Yeah, sure. I'll take that breakfast." "Excellent! I'll wait in the main hall. Can you find your way down by yourself?" "I'm sure I'll find in eventually." "Down the corridor to the left and you'll see the balconies." With a final wink she closed the door and was gone. Natalie was absolutely amazed. How could someone be so cheery this early? Grabbing her phone from the nightstand she unlocked the screen and it said eight am. She moaned. Mornings really were her nemesis. They had never agreed on anything and never would. There was a reason she stripped to earn her living. It had decent work hours. The room they had given her felt like a luxurious hotel with a very comfortable bed, her own quite large bathroom, TV and huge windows with a stunning view of a lake surrounded by a autumn forest. It was the most relaxing place she had ever been to. The ambiance of the surrounding vista made it seem like nothing existed beyond this place. The world with it's problems and misery was just a bad dream and hadn't reached this place. She hadn't gotten much sleep despite the beauty and comfort of her housing. She had been dead tired when she said her goodbyes to Eileen the previous night but as soon as she slipped between the sheets her thoughts started running laps in her mind. Her sister was top most on her mind and after a good portion of the night had passed and many tears had been shed she finally managed to fall asleep. A quick shower and she was ready. Having nothing else to wear she settled for the same clothes she had worn yesterday. It was either that or go naked. The corridor outside her room had a dark wooden panel reaching to her waist and a light creamy color for the other half. Walking down the corridor she passed two large glass doors leading out to a roomy balcony equipped with a benches and tables, a few pots and plants. She passed several doors she suspected led to rooms very much like her own and she passed a open space with comfortable couches and recliners arranged around a large fireplace. Reaching the balcony surrounding the large hall she had entered through last night she scanned the gathered people for familiar faces. Eileen stood by the stairs flirting with a group of young men and Natalie couldn't help but chuckle. The three men were absolutely captivated by her and she was well aware of it, playing in to it with enthusiasm. Nazi guy came out from a side corridor carrying a very angry looking Aeryn over his shoulder. They were both dressed as if they came directly from some sort of training and the guy had a wide grin on his face. There was a collective chuckle from the gathered crowd and Nazi guy gave his prize a smack on her very prone ass. With a string of curses she was carried out the front doors and out of sight. "Natalie!" Eileen waved to her. Answering it with a shy wave of her own she made her way around and to the stairs. Eileen met her halfway up, hocked her arm around Natalie's elbow and together they walked the rest of the way. Eileen leaned into Natalie and whispered conspiratorially. "You are my savior. Those boys just wont leave me alone." She giggled. "I saw you down there. You love it." Natalie smirked. "Pff... It's so much harder to fool women than men." "Tell me about it." "I do like their attention it's just that..." She rolled her eyes and whispered even more quietly. "... I like it a bit rough and I like a dominant man. Those boys are just like puppies." Natalie burst out laughing before she could stop it. She stared at the petite innocent looking woman beside her and her mind couldn't connect it to what she just heard. Eileen hardly reached her shoulder, was of a very slender build and had large eyes that seemed to scream innocence. "So you want someone like Nazi guy?" She said still with laughter in her voice. "Uh- What? Who?" She gave Natalie an incredulous look before something seemed to connect and she rolled her eyes. "You mean Mace? Well woman, who wouldn't want to have that mountain of pure muscle on to of her but to tell you the truth he's a puppy too. At least according to those who has been with him. He's always afraid he'll break something so he never really go for it if you know what I mean." "Do you know everything about peoples sex life?" "Nooo... Not everything. There is still the great big sexy mystery of the house." She smiled dreamily. "You'll have to point him out to me." Natalie said with a shake of her head at the woman's expression. "You've already met him." At Natalie's questioning expression she purred. "Liiiiaaam." Natalie's expression darkened instantaneously and she scowled. Eileen gave her a puzzled look but since they had made it to the great dining hall there was no time to continue the conversation. In the middle of the room was a huge buffet of everything you might want for breakfast and they filled their plates. Eileen was a great company and Natalie got the impression that the woman got along with pretty much everyone. She pointed people out to her, she introduced her to those worthy of introduction and she talked non stop. Natalie was grateful for it since she didn't much feel like being social. The day passed and she followed Eileen around the house. She was shown the workout area and a great big pool, the housing quarter, the kitchen, the garden and a few recreational rooms with games and other activities in. Another meal was served in the dining hall and this time it was more organized. There was a table set on a small dais overlooking the seating area and seated around it was the blond stern looking business man from last night. To his right sat a beautiful dark haired woman with warm brown almost yellow eyes. She looked out over the room as if she was the mother of all and Natalie felt a strange need to please her. As if she never wanted the woman to frown at her. To the mans left sat another huge grim looking man. He had short cropped hair and half his ear was missing on the right side. He looked like a man who would accept any fight despite the odds. He sort of reminded her of a bulldog. But it was none of these people who caught her attention. To the woman's right sat Liam. He was leaning back in his chair and you could feel the frosty atmosphere emanating from the table. When Natalie entered the room he straightened and his eyes followed her as she walked to her seat. Natalie tried to ignore him as best as she could but she felt his eyes on her as the meal progressed. From what Natalie picked up from stray conversations Liam seemed to be the talk of the day. Apparently there was a bet going for how long he would stay this time, but there was no scorn or ill-will in what was being said. On the contrary she got the impression that these people saw him as some sort of lost hero that had finally graced them with his presence. It was all very odd, the people were very odd. There was something off about this crowd she couldn't quite place. They seemed friendly and acted like a family, not the sort of people she expected to have membership in a country club. When the meal had finished and the majority of the crowd dispersed Natalie was still sitting listening to Eileen's flirting when she felt a commanding presence behind her. The table fell instantly quiet as if they all picked up on it and when turning around she found the master of the house and his brother approaching. "Natalie." Aarik nodded to her. "How about we have that talk? I'm sure you're as anxious as me to get some answers." Natalie nodded giving Liam a cold look making sure he knew she did not appreciate his presence. Liam reciprocated with an emotionless blank stare of his own. They both fell in step with each other as they followed Aarik out of the dining hall to the office. She felt as if she should say something or do something. She was itching for a fight with him but this felt neither like the time nor place for such a confrontation. Aarik took his usual seat on the other side of the desk and Liam slipped into one of the visitors chairs without being asked. Aarik frowned at his brother but gestured at Natalie to take the other. "Liam has told me how he found you and what happened to you yesterday. Whatever force brought him to you I thank them." The corner of his lips turned slightly upwards in a smirk. "Even if you don't seem quite as grateful. I don't blame you. He has that effect on everybody." "Yeah, well... Honesty doesn't seem to be his strong suit. Could you please just tell me what's going on?" She felt Liam tense and he gave her a wounded look. Aarik hummed thoughtfully. "Your father has been doing some... Lets call it 'unique' research. I'm going to tell you what I know without going into detail. I'm not sure how much of this I should tell you since you seem to know a lot less than I thought you would." He rubbed his forehead with the tip of his fingers. "Your father, together with a special group of people has discovered some very dangerous things relating to their research, your father stole the research data and simply disappeared from the face of the earth." He spread his fingers in a half-shrug. "Unfortunately some very bad people got wind of this and he has now become the most wanted man in the country in less than three days." Natalie simply stared at him dumbfounded. "So dad fucked something up. Nothing new in that. Why me and why... Lily?" She choked on the last word. "There is a recording of a conversation he had with a friend of mine the day before he disappeared that makes us think that he has given you something or... I don't know, maybe told you something. Natalie shook her head in disbelief. "We have hardly talked in four years. The only family member I still have any contact with is... was Lily." "Ah. Yes. Liam told me about your sister. I'm sorry. We were there at her place a few hours later but they had already taken her. I wish we would have been there sooner." "Yeah. So do I." Natalie looked away afraid that she would break if she saw the pity in their eyes. "On that note though I would like to ask you to stay here with us until we get on top of this and it's safe for you to leave again. Because- and I'm only going to ask this once, you better not lie to me. -I take it you know anything about all of this?" "I don't. I... Don't know anything." She said exasperated. "I figured as much from your confusion yesterday. Will you stay with us? Until this is finished?" Natalie shot a quick glance at Liam then back to his brother and shrugged. "I'm going to need my stuff." Liam snorted. "Two cardboard boxes and clothes. We can replace that." "They were my cardboard boxes and clothes." She bit back at him. "We'll see to it." Aarik cut in sharply, interrupting any further argument. "Liam. I'll put you in charge of making sure she have everything she needs. Maybe then she'll think better of you." Liam nodded. Secretly he was immensely pleased with the decision. There was a need within him to provide for her and his brother had just given him opportunity to do so, whether she wanted him to or not. "Any further questions Miss Bryant?" "Lots! What was my father working on?" "I can't tell you that." "Can't or wont?" "Wont." "Asshole." Her insult was met by a icy cold stare but beside her Liam chuckled. "Why is the data important to you?" "It has the potential to hurt people I care about." "It's a weapon?" "No, not as such." "What is it then?" "Can't tell you that." "Fuck." Another frosty look from the man behind the desk. "What did the recording say?" "What?" He looked surprised by the question. "The recording. Between my father and your friend." "Ah." Reaching into his breast pocket he produced a cell phone and fiddled with it. Hitting play her fathers voice sounded from the device together with an unknown voice. "Hi Josh, I know I'm calling out of the blue but I need your help." "Hey Professor. What can I do for you?" "I'm leaving. I need you to help me disappear." "What? What do you mean leaving?" "I must! This can't... I can't do this." "What's up Anthony? You're acting really odd. What's the matter with you?" Shadows of the Moon Ch. 03 "I've done something really, really stupid and I can't let them get to me. You must help me or I'll expose you." "Hey! Take it easy! Don't you dare threaten me again, man. I'll see what I can do, but not because of some stupid threat. But because you're my friend. Where do you want to go and who will come after you? "The people who bought the lab. They found the project Josh. They want to know what I did." "What project? What are you talking about?" "Project Moonlight. I didn't end it Josh. I did something stupid." "Project Moonlight? What the hell Professor! You told me it was a dead end and that it was discarded long ago." "It was, but I couldn't let it be. I was so stupid. The answer is in my blood and only she can sort this out-" The call was cut short with a sharp click and a deathly silence settled over the three people listening to the recording. The sobbing voice of her father made Natalie shudder. Never before had she heard her father like this. Desperate. He was an arrogant self-centered man and she had never seen him not in control. Aarik sighed and put the phone back in its pocket. "Josh was found dead shortly after this message was recorded." "Why did you record it?" "We didn't. This audio was sent to me four days ago from a disposable phone together with a copy of the remaining files of Project Moonlight." "The thing my father worked on that you wont tell me about?" "Yes." Natalie sighed deeply and buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe this!" Looking back up she blinked away the tears struggling to erupt. "Lily died for this crap? Shit!" "Maybe that's enough for now." Aarik gave her a sympathetic look. "Take the time you need to process this and if you need to talk to me again ask Liam or Eileen, they will know how to get in touch with me." Natalie nodded numbly. Aarik rose to his feet and nodded at Liam. "Come on brother, give the woman some space." Liam gave his brother a cold stare and Aarik accepted the challenge. The moment froze, their yes locked to each others daring the other to break first. What's the matter with you, brother? She needs to process this. Aarik spoke in Liam's mind. I need a moment with her. Don't. She is distraught right now and don't need you aggravating her further. Fuck off. I just need a moment. For what exactly? None of your business. Just... Please... Aarik blinked at his brother in surprise and broke the challenge. Casting a thoughtful look at Natalie he nodded at Liam. "Natalie. Will you be okay in Liam's company?" Natalie looked up from her curled up position and looked from one brother to the other. "Yeah. It's fine." ** The moment Aarik closed the door behind him Liam was off the chair and knelt in front of Natalie. He had been itching to hold her since they started, feeling her distress. It had been torture to sit there and just listen. Carefully untangling her hands from her hair he pulled her close. She tried halfheartedly to push him away but his strong arms enclosed her in a comforting embrace and she stopped resisting. Leaning her head on his shoulder she struggled to hold it together. Soothingly he stroked her hair and hushed into her ear, telling her it would be alright. A wail forced it self out between her lips, quickly followed by a heart wrenching sob. There was no fighting it. She clung to him desperately, balling her fist in his shirt and sobbing helplessly. Liam dragged her down off the chair and into his lap, rocking her back and forth. Burring her face in his neck she drank in the comfort he offered. She couldn't deal with this alone. If she didn't find something to hold on to she would give up. Her whole adult life had been spent on the run, forever alone. Even her father, no matter how much she disliked the guy he was still family. Neither of them knew how long they sat like that but neither was inclined to break it up. Her sobs abated but still she sat cradled in his arms feeling completely empty. Her world had plummeted into chaos in just a few days. "It's okay." He whispered softly into her curls. "I know it hurts." She snuffled and sighed. "Thank you." Her mother had moved away when she was twelve and her father had been distant her whole life. The only thing she remembered from that time had been a lot of yelling and fighting. The only one she had ever been close to was Lily. To be held and comforted was a new experience and she prayed no more pain would come of it. "I need to call my mother." She whispered, her voice still shaky. Easing up on his embrace he let her fish the phone out of her pocket. Still in his arms with her back against his chest she dialed the number and put the phone to her ear. It felt like years between the tones. He felt so warm and secure behind her it made her relax back onto him more, rolling her head back to rest on his shoulder while he buried his nose in her hair. Their breathing in a slow steady rhythm, she waited for someone to pick up. A click. "Hello. Lucy Bryant speaking." "Mom?" Natalie sighed in relief. "Nat, hun? Is that you?" "Yes. Oh god, it's nice to hear your voice." "Sweetheart where are you?" Liam's lips brushed past the ear not occupied by the phone. "Don't." He whispered so silently she hardly heard it. "Mom, I'm okay. I'll be fine. I need to tell you about Lily." "She's coming up here next weekend you know." "No, mom... I..." Her eyes welled up with tears again. "I..." "Nat? What is it? Is Lil okay?" "No, she's not. Mom, Lily is dead." There was a moment of shocked silence before her mother spoke again. "What did you do, Nat? What did you do?" "It wasn't me." She sobbed while Liam nuzzled her hair and rubbed her stomach with his thumb. "Natalie. Turn yourself in sweetheart. They were here looking for you. If you did something then you must turn yourself in." "No, mom. It wasn't me!" While her mother repeated her previous advice that Natalie turn herself in Liam brushed past her ear again. "Who is she talking about?" "Who? Who was looking for me?" "The FBI Natalie. They are looking for you." Liam closed his hand around hers and pressed the disconnect button. "They have her!" Natalie gasped unable to believe what she had just heard. "No. They are fishing for you." "We must save her." "Listen to me." He said with urgency. "Finding people is what I do. They are fishing for you. She'll be safe as long as she doesn't know where you are." "What am I going to do?" Pulling her knees up she pushed back into him harder, black despair threatening to overwhelm her. "Shh... You will get through this. She will be safe and so will you. I got you." Natalie didn't answer. She just sat there absorbing his calm. After quite some time he pushed her away slightly so he could stand up and drag her with him. "Come on. Let's get you to your room and your mind on other things for a while. There is nothing we can do right now anyway." ** Liam dragged her back to her room and while she tapped herself a bath he sprawled on the bed, flipping through channels for something to watch. The warm water did wonders for her stressed out body. Working through her muscles and easing the tensions, it made her feel a lot better. Her heart was still aching for her losses and worry for her mother but in the embrace of the warm liquid it felt like those worries could wait an hour or two. She was absolutely exhausted emotionally. She was tired of being confused, hurt, grieving, scared, hunted and afraid, one after another. Whatever happened to peace, safe and happiness? Someone had left hair products, toothbrush, hairbrush and other necessities in her room. They had not been there this morning so she figured someone had brought it just for her. Washing out her blond hair, brushing her teeth, something she had not been able to do the previous night, and shaving her legs made her feel almost human again. A sense of detachment settled in after the calming effects of the bath, the events of the past few days seemed distant and hard to grasp. Like her mind had shut them out and would not open the door no matter how badly they clawed on it. Looking herself over in the mirror she was satisfied with what she saw. Natalie was good looking and well aware of it. She had always been aware of it. Her blond hair and blue eyes had been her curse as a teenager. Getting boys had been easy, especially the wrong boys. They had swarmed around her and most of her young adult life had been one long row of wrong men. Abusive. Yes she had tried that. Lasted two weeks before she broke it off. Egocentric. Oh god yes. There had been plenty of those. Cheating. Of course. Looking back she couldn't for her life understand how she didn't see that coming. Not just once, but tree times. Violent. Yes. Not towards her but just generally violent. When she ran away from her controlling father and the mess she had made of her life back home, she had pretty much given up on men. It was easier to just keep running, never getting attached. Sure there had been brief hook ups every now and then but she made damned sure none of them stayed. The image of Liam aiming the gun at her would be abductor sent her in to turmoil. She remembered the feeling of relief, how she had seen him as her avenging angel. Strong and powerful he had sent them running. Then on the other hand, he had not hesitated long before pulling that trigger. What kind of man would shoot someone without thinking twice about it? For all he knew they could really have been agents. Yet Liam did not strike her as the aggressive type. He was clam and in control. There seemed to be some passive aggressive tensions between him and his brother but she had a hard time seeing any one of them hashing it out in a brawl. They both seemed so sure of themselves. She really liked Liam. There was no denying it. She needed him to get through this. Sighing she shook her head at the image in the mirror. "Girl you have taken chances on worse guys than him. Why get sensible now?" She told her own reflection. Turning off the lights she left the bathroom to join him on the bed. He was still sprawled across it where she had left him but the remote lay forgotten inches from his hand. His chest rose and fell slowly and his eyes were closed. "Liam?" She whispered but got no reaction. He was sound asleep in her bed. She was about to wake him when there was a knock on the door and a voice called out that it was the things sent for from the kitchen. Natalie frowned at the door and looked down at the sleeping form in her bed. Had he ordered something? Deciding to find out what, she opened the door and a young dark haired man rolled in a cart stacked with snacks. He smile at her pleasantly. "Will that be all, miss? We were told to take good care of you so if there is anything you need just let us..." He trailed off and his eyes went big as saucers at the sight of Liam in her bed. He blushed deeply and she realized what he must think. "Umh... Know." He finished and shuffled his feet as if eager to get away. "Yeah. No. I think you brought everything. There is enough on this cart to last us all week." He nodded. Eyes wandering between Liam and herself. "You may go now." Stunned he looked back to her. "Oh. Umh. Sorry, miss. Have a good evening." His eyes were shining from excitement as he backed out of the room and she closed the door behind him. Grabbing a bowl of ice cream from the cart she walked over to her side of the bed and looked down at the sleeping Liam. He was snoring lightly and it made him look absolutely adorable. Smiling to herself she put the bowl down, pulled the jeans down and crawled into bed with him. She could have argued that keeping pants on might be a good way to stay decent but weighing that against the fact that jeans were extremely uncomfortable to sleep in she choose comfort over decency. Picking up the ice cream she flipped through the channels until she found something watchable and cuddled in close, resting her head on his chest. It was heaven. It felt safe. Savoring every bite of the ice cream and the warm body next to her she was perfectly at ease. ** Sluggishly he lifted a arm to rub the sleep from his eyes. It felt heavy and disconnected from his body. Everything felt disconnected. Light flickered somewhere in the room but his half-asleep brain did not want to hold his eyes open long enough to look up the source. A weight pinned his right arm and part of his chest to the bed. Something warm. He moaned at the lovely smell from whatever it was and his body reacted instantly, blood flowing to the area between his legs. Inhaling deeply his eyes finally fluttered wide open and he stared up into the wooden ceiling. The TV was still on and Natalie was asleep lying halfway on top of him. The wolf in him howled in triumph and it was clawing fiercely at his control. His pulse quickened at the images flowing through his mind of their naked sweaty bodies entangled together. Breathing heavily he extracted himself from the sleeping woman with great difficulty. He rolled her over on her back and while posed above her he couldn't help but press his nose to her neck. What was it about this woman that made him so out of his mind? Mate? The wolf questioned cautiously in his mind. Liam frozen in place. Was this what it felt like? Was she his mate? He had never considered getting a mate. For him life was about survival. He never kept any close social contact with anyone, a mate had never even crossed his mind. ...But holy fuck how he wanted her now. Despite knowing how wrong it was his tongue found it's way out of his mouth and slowly stroked the smooth skin of her neck. She tasted divine. Better than he ever dreamed of. With a deep groan and all the willpower he could muster he pushed away and sat back. His erection strained painfully against the coarse cloth of his pants. All he wanted was to be with her, to be in her. Climbing off the bed he headed for the bathroom. How long have I been out? His body felt relaxed but his mind still clung to sleep, begging him for more. Once he had relieved himself and made it back to the bed he looked at his phone and found the time to be six in the morning. Roughly calculating he estimated he'd slept for at least eight hours. That was the most he had slept in one night for a long, long time and by the feel of it, it had been more qualitative sleep than usual too. He turned off the TV and smiling down at the sleeping form he grabbed the hem of his sweater and pulled it up over his head, it was soon followed by his jeans and lifting the covers he slipped into bed beside her. She hummed contently in her sleep and put a hand to his naked chest as he lay there just watching her. ** Natalie tried to roll to the side but something around her waist kept her on her back. Yawning and stretching she slowly opened her eyes. Liam was sound asleep on his stomach, his arm curled around her as if he was afraid to loose her if he didn't hold on tight. Carefully she blew on his ear until he lifted the arm to chase the annoyance away. Smiling she slipped out of the bed while the arm was lifted. She brushed her teeth again and made herself ready to face the day. The only problem was her clothes. She still had on the red tank top, that and her jeans were the only piece of clothing she had. There wasn't much she could do about it now but maybe she could get a ride into town to pick something up. Shrugging she left it at that. If it was the only clothes she had then so be it. The most important thing was getting her new underwear. That would go a long way. When she came back out Liam was sitting in bed, his elbows resting on his knees, and blinked at her sluggishly as if he just woken up. "Hey beautiful." He greeted her with a smile. "Good morning to you too. How did you sleep?" She smiled back at him. His smile turned wider and he chuckled. "Absolutely fantastic. I can't remember when last I slept this good. I should sleep with company more often." Natalie raised an eyebrow and crawled in between the sheets on her side of the bed. "Are you telling me that's unusual for you?" She tried to act nonchalant about her hidden query by grabbing the remote and turning the TV back on. "It has been known to happen." His lips turning upwards in a smug smirk. "But I can't remember any of my previous company putting me to sleep for-" He glanced at his phone. "-I'd say ten hours." "I'm sorry if I bore you. If you wanted me to entertain you maybe you should have been more clear about that." She huffed, pretending to be insulted. "And what would you have done if I had been?" There was a pregnant pause and she delayed her answer on purpose until his eyes flickered from the TV to her, looking for answers. Stretching her arms over her head she rolled her eyes innocently at him and bit her lip seductively. He tensed instantly and a feral look of wild desire entered his eyes. Natalie hesitated. For a moment she had been sure he would throw himself at her but then he pointedly looked away, breathing heavily. "Fuck." She heard him curse under his breath. "Liam?" Natalie propped herself up on an elbow and turned towards him but he would not look at her. "Liam." She tried again with more force and slowly he turned to look at her. "What's up? You're acting really weird and it's freaking me out." He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Nat. I just... It's been a while." "What?" She stared at him in confusion. "Since I had company bed-wise." Natalie burst out laughing and fell back down to the bed. "Oh shit, Liam. I thought you were going to reveal something seriously fucked up and all you're nervous about is that you might have forgotten what to do with a woman?" In a flourish of moment he rolled on top of her, straddling her waist and one hand on each side of her head for support. From his elevated position he looked down at her with a sheepish grin. "Don't poke the big bad wolf girl. You might wound my pride." "Why don't the big bad wolf show me how much he remembers then? Prove me wrong." She whispered seductively, pushing her shoulders back to accentuate her breasts. Liam gave her a hungry look and lifted his hand to caress her face. His thumb traveled lovingly down her nose to rest on her lips and she parted them to take him inside. Her eyes held his as she sucked his thumb suggestively. Remembering a dark cellar passage and this sexy man pressing her to the wall she knew she wanted more. There was some unspoken sexual attraction between them and she saw no reason to hold back. If this was the only good thing happening in her life right now then she would enjoy it any way she could. Now when his clothes were off she had a good view of his body and it was gorgeous. Finely toned muscles, broad strong shoulders and he moved in a way that screamed dominance. There was a long scar going down from his neck across his chest. As a matter of fact she saw several scars but nothing quite as prominent as the one on his shoulder. At the sight of his thumb disappearing into her mouth his eyes took on a whole new shade of fiery passion and the thumb was replaced by his hungry lips. The kiss wasn't gentle and using his thumb on her chin he pried her lips open to give his tongue access. Not that Natalie struggled, she was happy to open for him and let him explore. He kissed her like a man starving for her taste, like he had been drowning and she offered him the precious few breaths he needed to live. Quite possibly the best kiss of her life. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 03 Slipping a hand under her back he forced her to arch towards him and she could feel his erection against her stomach. He wasn't the only one aroused, the kiss had her juices flowing and an intense heat was rolling through her. She yearned for that special release and exhaustion an orgasm would bring. Liam cupped her face again and put his thumb to her lips, giggling she sucked it in and gave it a mock bite. A shiver played through his muscles and with the thumb still in her mouth he turned her head away so he would get unlimited access to her neck. The course stubble of his chin grated against her soft skin as he trailed kisses down her neck and collar bone which made her giggle even more and try to squirm away. Annoyed at her hand's attempt to push him away when the tickling became too intense he grabbed her wrists and held them in a firm grip above her head. "Mine." He breathed in a gravely voice, nipping the joint of her neck. Natalie yelped in surprise but stilled beneath him. Something about his possessiveness made her want to submit. Liam worked his mouth down her body until his lips rested on her right breast, just above the nipple. Letting go of her wrists he caressed his hands along her arms and down her sides lovingly until he reached the hem of her top. Sliding his hands under the obscuring material he pulled it with him upwards as his hands reversed direction, heading up her body again. Natalie arched her back to help him get the top off and he hummed approvingly. When the cloth slipped past her breasts to reveal her bra encased mounds he growled and nipped at her flesh. Suppressing her instinct to protect herself she closed her eyes and clutched at the pillow above her head. Feeling Liam shift above her she blinked her eyes open again and found his face nose to nose with hers. "I have encountered a problem. What do you suggest we do about it?" He purred and rubbed his nose against hers. "If you're not powerful enough to breach my defenses then maybe I should find someone who is?" She coaxed. Growling he grabbed her wrist still above her head and propping himself up by extending his leg, giving her room to move, he rolled her around to her stomach. Answering his move by grabbing the sheets hard and pushing her ass to his groin she was rewarded with a drawn out moan. She could feel the warmth and hardness of his manhood pressing in between her cheeks. Panting like she had run a marathon she pressed up against him again. God how she wanted him. The fact that she'd only known him for a few days meant nothing. The death of her sister seemed so distant in his presence. She was absolutely soaked and ready for him in every way. She wanted this. She needed this. And by the sounds he was making, he felt much the same way. Knock. Knock. Knock. ** I'll leave you with a little cliffhanger. I know I said I would only write three parts and then do a break before I finish the others but I already have half of the fourth part ready so I'll probably do that too before I take that break. And to clarify, that break isn't so I can stop writing but to give me time to finish several parts in one go and have the option to change the plot if I feel that something isn't working. Which will of course mean that when I do post them I will be able to post more than one chapter. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 04 Thanks everyone who has given input on my work so far. Some of you really came down hard on me for not having a editor. I take that as a sign you care, if you didn't like the story you wouldn't want it to improve. So now I got myself one. Actually I got two for good measure. Thanks Mandarabe and LiterKnight for the work you did. You were thorough, kind and patient. Much appreciated! Thanks to those who have taken an interest in this story. It warms my heart when you rate it and leave comments. Please keep it up. <3 In this chapter things heat up a bit between Nat and Liam. Enjoy. ** It was a good thing she was lying face down on the mattress when the sound of knuckles against wood sounded in the room. Liam was half way through a shift before he managed to force it back. What he didn't manage to control was the deeply frustrated growl rolling through his chest. How dare someone interrupt him? He was going to rip them to pieces if they didn't make themselves scarce real quick. "Liam? Are you in there?" A soft female voice with a heavy Russian accent. Fuck. The one person who didn't deserve his anger. Sitting back on his haunches he put a hand on the small of Natalie's naked back and felt the soft skin beneath his fingers. His lovely woman. The wolf in him howled in anger but recognizing his alpha he grudgingly submitted. Nadja was the only one of the leaders in this pack either of them would listen to. Nadja was the only one they respected. "Liam. If you are, I need to speak with you. It's urgent." He looked at the door with a mixture of hurt and anger. His brother's mate was a damn good woman and a good ruler. There was no way he could take out his anger on her but all he wanted was to stay with Natalie. Natalie squirmed under his hand and twisted to the side so she could look up at him. "Who is that?" She whispered giving him a curious look. "My brother's wife." Sighing deeply he looked down at her with longing. "I need to see what she wants." Leaning in over her, he gave her one last passionate kiss. Suddenly he was gone and when she opened her eyes he had rolled off the bed and was heading towards the door. Liam closed the door behind him as he stepped out into the corridor and Nadja took a step back to give him room. The woman was a head shorter than him but one of the most capable people he had ever met. With her big brown soulful eyes and her dark brown hair made into a long braid that usually hung down her shoulder she was also one of the most adorable people. It was hard not to like her. There was a moment of awkwardness between them and he knew it was obvious what had been going on behind the door from the way he smelled and the erection straining in his pants. He could feel her disapproval as she frowned slightly at him. Wolves were not shy, nor were they modest so he was not sure why she would object to his relationship with Natalie. "Come Liam." Hooking her arm in his she discreetly guided him away from the room. They walked in companionable silence for a few moments until they reached the rooftop garden where she perched on the balcony railing and Liam took a seat on one of the benches. This place made his skin crawl and his stomach turn, it was the scene of some the most horrible memories of his life. He was quite sure the bench he was sitting on was the same one behind which he had watched over his sister when she was unconscious all those years ago. "You know I'm very happy you're back don't you?" She started and gave him a warm smile. "It breaks my heart every time you walk away from us. The pack thinks so highly of you." There wasn't anything Liam could say to that. No question that needed answering and no action that needed justification. They had been through this before and he knew she would beg him to stay. She would ask him to settle his aggression against her mate, his brother, and live with them in peace. Liam winced at that. Her asking him for those things just proved how little they understood him. How little they knew of what had been going on in this house since the fall of their father. Aarik had been away in Russia courting Nadja for ten years and despite many attempts to reach him he had not answered his siblings' desperate pleas for help. "Having said that..." She puffed out her cheeks and had the decency to look a little guilty before she continued. "...That girl has gone through so much in the last few days Liam. She is in emotional distress and I fear you might be taking advantage of that. Is it possible you sympathize with her since she has lost her family too and that's why you're interested in her?" Liam was gobsmacked. An anger rose within him like a torrent of fire. How dare they belittle what he felt!? How dare they lecture him on the decency of his relationship like he was a child!? His hands balled into fists and a deep angry growl reverberated through his chest. Nadja quickly put her hands up in a disarming gesture. "Please Liam. We're not taking a stab at you. Can you honestly say that that girl's decisions right now are in no way influenced by her state of mind? Hmm? You are a good guy. You have always been the good guy and don't think I don't see it. I'm just asking you to be the good guy once more. Give her space until her life is in order and if you're still attracted to her then at least it will be on even ground." Their eyes locked, hers were pleading and his was seething with anger. "Why is it at all your business who I spend my time with?" "Don't take this the wrong way but... There is a concern that you might be doing this just to spite your brother. She is the only connection we have to her father and it's vital that we find him. It hasn't been lost on us that you very conveniently began courting her when you found out her importance." "This has nothing to do with her father or my brother." He rose from his seat and paced agitatedly. His wolf clawed at his mind to show them just how much their words offended him. She slid off her perch and came to stand before him taking his face between her hands. "I believe you Liam. I know you're so much more than your brother gives you credit for and I will never understand why you provoke him so. But right now Natalie is important to the pack. If you were to break her heart she might want to leave, or not cooperate with us. I really can't stress this enough; it is important that she stays with us." "Why? She clearly knows nothing about her father or this project he worked on." "You're right. She does not. But we find it hard to believe that the good doctor wouldn't check up on his daughters. He must have suspected they would go after her." "What's the project about?" "I'm not supposed to tell you Liam. Your brother isn't quite sure what side you are on at the moment. This Natalie thing has him quite... let's say, annoyed." "Fucking asshole." She shook her head in sadness. "Come. Let's get to breakfast before they close the dining hall. I trust you to do the right thing." Again she hooked her arm in his and led him down the hall towards the elevator. ** When the door closed behind Liam she rolled over on her back and glared daggers at the door. Would they never be left alone long enough to get it on? Now she was just hopelessly horny and unsatisfied. Burying her face in her pillow she let out a frustrated cry, somewhere between a scream and moan. Just a few moments later there was another knock at the door; a more tentative one. Now it was Natalie's turn to roll off the bed, grab some clothes and open the door. In the corridor stood a somber looking Eileen and she gave Natalie an uncertain smile. "Hey. Just wanted to check with you if you wanted breakfast again." Natalie poked her head out the door and looked left and right - no sign of her shining knight. "Yeah sure. Since my previous engagement seem to have abandoned me, why not." "Yay!" Eileen perked up in a somewhat exaggerated gesture. "We must hurry though. They close in just a few." Grabbing Natalie's hand the woman dragged her away from the room. Natalie had hardly enough time to pull the door closed behind her. Walking in silence down the hall and down the stairs she noticed a very significant change in her companion. She seemed more serious than the day before but from the little glances and the shy smirks Natalie could tell something was going on. The woman had a horrible poker face. "What's up with you?" She asked as they reached the second flight of stairs. "You look like a kid on Christmas who has been given the best present ever but not allowed to open it." "I know. I know. But the boss told me I couldn't, so I won't." "Couldn't what?" Eileen zipped her mouth with her hand and gave her an apologetic look. "You know. The more I hear about this boss and his secrets the more I dislike him. He seems so full of it." "Nooo! Don't say that." Eileen whispered urgently, looking around to see if anyone heard them. "He's a really good boss. The best we've had in ages." "I'll take your word for it." ** "Kaleigh!" Liam howled as he chased after his father through the forest. He could hear his angry bestial growl echoing across the valley and it made him cry in terror. His sister had lured their tormentor out of the house because tonight he had seemed worse than before. They had sensed the blood lust emanating from him as he stalked the halls in his hybrid form, calling for them, and decided that something had to be done. Liam had watched from a window as his sister bolted from the house and into the trees but their father had been close on her heels. With chilling clarity his fifteen year old brain had realized that his sister would not make it. She would be caught in the monster's clutches and he would never see her again. Chasing after them down the stairs he jumped several steps at the time to reach the ground floor faster. Out the door and without a moment's hesitation he set out after them. Now he was stumbling through the vegetation searching in desperation for any sign of them. Since he hadn't mastered his shift yet transforming was tough at the best of times. Now in this petrified state of mind his wolf just cowered within him and whined. "Kaleigh!" He howled again, snagging his foot on the roots of a great pine and fell face first into the dirt. Stunned he just stayed there, straining to fill his lungs and quell his panic. "Ka... leigh..." He sobbed quietly. A loud female whine of pain sounded to his left and what could only be his father's loud growling. He pushed himself up again and stumbled towards the sound. More whimpering and a tortured howl of pain cut short by the roar of a great beast. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest, his hands were covered in scratches and dirt and his clothes snagged in the underbrush, but none of that mattered. He could not lose Kaleigh! She was the strong one. She was their shield; their protector. He wouldn't know what to do without her. The trees thinned out and opened up into a clearing. A small brook snaked across it and it was above this his father straddled, one foot on each bank. In his left hand he held the small form of the wolf that was his sister. He was pushing her muzzle below the water and roaring down at her in anger. The change took Liam completely by surprise as his wolf surged forward in his mind and before he knew it he was struggling out of his clothes and sprinting towards his father's back on all fours. Liam wasn't a large wolf at the age of fifteen. He was agile and quick, but he did not yet have the body of a full grown male. Launching himself square onto his father's back he buried his teeth in the shoulder holding his sister under water and raked with his claws with all his power. His father howled in pain, grabbed the scruff of his neck and yanked him off. Now Liam was the one dangling from his father's powerful arm growling and twisting, trying to get free. "She hasss corrrupteeed youuuu..." The words came out slow and morphed by the hybrid form and it rose in pitch to end in a grieving howl. The beast raised his arm to throw Liam across the glade and sailing through the air he knew it was the end. They would not make it through the night. The last thing passing through his mind before he hit the tree was a deep worry for who would take care of the twins. Who would watch over Lynn and Logan now when Kaleigh and himself were no more? ** Walking into the great dining hall in the wake of his alpha's mate, he met his brother's angry glare from the dais and felt a twinge of glee. He hadn't set out to anger him this time but it pleased him to no end that it happened. The man had come waltzing back from Russia with a beautiful woman on his arm and happy as a sunny summer's day in the middle of the greatest tragedy that had ever befallen their family. Liam had buried three siblings and his father in the span of two years, and that before his seventeenth birthday. He had taken control of the pack when no one was around and the members so broken down that no one dared get up. The only good coming from his father's last years on this earth had been the fact that he hoarded money. Their trading and companies had done well and he had spent none of the excess on anything. The wealth was incredible and Liam had lifted the pack from its cowering broken down state to a proud community with it. Or at least he had started it. When his brother came home he had handed the alpha position over without objection. And he still didn't object to it in a way. Their feud was more personal. He could not deny that Aarik did well by the pack, his woman was a sterling woman and the pack seemed to do well. Liam knew he was broken in more ways than one and didn't consider himself suitable to be an alpha. Knowing all this didn't help. There was hurt and anger within him that refused to go away. It was impossible for him to submit until some things had been rectified. His brother's actions at the time of his return from Russia had infected wounds that would not heal and the man seemed completely oblivious to it. Liam took joy from every headache he gave his brother, no matter how petty it might seem. With a smug smile he passed through the room in the wake of Nadja. As they passed a row of tables he saw Natalie sitting at the end of it and every word of sense his brother's mate had spoken flew out the window. There was no way in hell he was giving her up. In his mind his wolf stirred with lust and possessiveness. Fuck his brother. He didn't care one bit what he thought. When they were about to pass her chair he stopped and gave a mental command to the young man that was seated next to her to move. The man yelped and cowered away from him. Silently the man slipped out of his chair without a word, taking his food with him. Pleased, Liam took the chair, slipped an arm around the very surprised Natalie and gave her a wink. The hall had fallen dead silent and Nadja was standing no more than a few feet away, her eyes wandering from her mate to Liam with pleading eyes. She had expected Liam to act better than this. His obvious disregard for her and her mate's wishes was worrying and she knew it would lead to serious repercussions. But the dining hall was no place for battle. Especially not with a human present. Aarik's voice boomed loudly in Liam's mind and he couldn't help but cringe just a little. "This is the last time you disobey me brother! You will meet me at the circle tonight and unless you can defend your actions you will be expelled from this pack!" "Aarik." Liam said with icy coldness. A loud mental growl was the only answer he got. "Fuck off." Liam had no doubt his brother would have challenged him then and there if it hadn't been for Natalie. The whole pack knew it. The tension in the room was so thick that even she picked up on it. Leaning closer to him she whispered quietly. "What's going on?" Her eyes scanned the quiet people with curiosity. "Nothing. I think my brother was about to say something but he seem to have lost whatever it was. Just ignore him." He squeezed the arm around her comfortingly. Slowly, very slowly conversations picked up again. The room was still thick with a nervous tension and it had everyone squirming in their seats. Nadja continued on to sit by her mate and he could see by their facial expressions that a heated debate was taking place mentally. Whatever they were discussing he didn't care. If he only had until nightfall in this house then he would make the most of it. Pulling Natalie closer he buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath. This was heaven. ** Having the whole room fall silent just like that was freaky to say the least. It had Natalie's skin crawling and she looked around she found that people nervously avoided her eyes. Looking up at the dais, hard cold eyes were staring at her and Liam with barely contained anger. Well, mostly they were staring at Liam but it still felt like she was the source of his ire. It was painfully obvious that the "boss" didn't approve. She could understand if posh people like that did not approve of a stripper but she couldn't explain the reaction of the room. These people acted like their "boss" wasn't just the owner of the house or a wealthy eccentric that let them stay here for whatever reason. They were not people who should be able to afford a country club membership, and even if they did it was weird that they lived here. They acted on his every whim and now they were acting on his mood as well. Like he had a hold on them that went way beyond money. It was truly unnerving, like they were a cult and he was their leader. Maybe that was it. She had gotten herself caught up in one of those crazy cults. They had money; that was not unheard of. Or maybe it was a secret society of some sort. They had power and influence. So where did Liam fit in in all this? He didn't seem to get along very well with his brother. Maybe he had tried to leave this cult before? The more she thought about it the more sense it made. And the more unnerved she became. She had been told that leaving a cult was extremely hard. They would cut you off from family and friends, isolate you... Was that what was happening? She hadn't been allowed to tell her mother where she was. Maybe they had staged her sister's murder just so she would comply and stay here? But why her? Why some random stripper from halfway across the country just so she would join them? What could they possibly want from her? Her father. The recorded conversation between him and the other man replayed through her head. Maybe he had been involved in this cult too and now they were trying to get to him. Feeling suddenly very alone and exposed she was grateful when Liam pulled her closer to nuzzle her hair. Catching a glimpse of Eileen's wide-eyed expression of awe from across the table she smiled. There was something special about Liam, they all knew it but he had chosen her. It felt good. Everything with him felt good. Even the crazy cult stuff didn't seem as bad when he was there. Still she was not comfortable staying in the dining hall with people staring and whispering. Finishing the last of her meal she turned to Liam. "I don't know about you but I could really do with some sunshine. Show me around?" Pushing back his chair he rose and pulled her with him. With an arm draped over her shoulders he aimed them towards the exit, seemingly unbothered by his brother's angry glare or the whispers that followed them out. They walked around the huge but beautiful building. Red brick walls with milky white pillars and décor, high windows, well kept-bushes and fine gravely paths going around it all. Everything was stunning. Walking around the east wing she found the lake before them. Liam was holding her hand and in the same companionable silence that she had experienced the other day while walking the streets they headed towards it. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 04 "Hey I was thinking... Could we make a trip into town sometime soon? I could use some clothes." She said as they reached the shore of the big beautiful lake. The water was still and calm, like a mirror reflecting the surrounding vista. Leaning back against a large boulder he wrapped his arms around her and turned her around until she faced the water. "Sure. I'll take you now if you like." "That would be nice." She leaned back against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "This is so beautiful. Why would you ever leave this place?" He froze as if surprised or uncomfortable with her question. "Something with a calm surface can hide dark waters beneath" he whispered, his voice slightly strained. His words sent shivers down her spine. Something was wrong with this place. It was too good to be true. After a moment of serene silence she spoke. "I can't believe it's only been four days since I met you. It feels like I've known you for a long time." She blushed at her own words. They sounded corny and naïve. Like something out of a sleazy romance novel. Liam buried his whole face in her hair and kissed the side of her head. "I know what you mean, beautiful. I have never wanted to stay put as much as I do now. I want to be where you are," he whispered softly. She twisted around in his arms until she could look into his face. Giving her a lopsided smile he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, snapping his teeth together in a mock bite as they parted. Natalie giggled and covered his face with her hand, pushing him away. Laughing and letting himself be pushed he released his hold on her. "Shall we go?" He held out his hand and she took it with a smile. ** They spent most of the day in town. Liam was incredibly good company and she could tell he did his best to keep her mind on good things. She volunteered to pay for her shopping herself but he refused, sending all costs to Luna Spring Country Club instead. They had a nice lunch in a park and on a whim they visited a small art gallery with local artists, which only resulted in them mocking the pieces and being asked to leave. They caught an early movie and ate a fancy dinner at the most expensive restaurant he could find. They ate until they were ready to burst, picking the most expensive things on the menu. Natalie could not help but shake her head when Liam charged it to his brother. It was one of the best days of her life. She had spent five years on the run, moving from town to town barely getting by; it had been ages since she had last had fun: relaxed, good, clean fun. Getting back to the mansion they had crashed in the big common room exhausted. Some of the others were watching TV, spending time together and they moved from the big couch leaving space for Liam and Natalie. Her mind registered the oddness of their behavior but she was too tired to ponder it and too content to care. The common room was a big two story open room with a balcony and stairs going up to the second floor. A huge fireplace in rustic stone reached towards the ceiling and two big windows going parallel on each side of the chimney all the way up. The TV was mounted on the gray stone pillar that was the chimney and was as wide as the stones. Liam was half lying on the couch with one leg stretched out over the seats and Natalie was draped over him resting her head on his chest. The movie they were watching wasn't very interesting and she soon found herself thinking of the man who had given her the happiest day of her grown-up life. Her hand found its way under his shirt to touch the warm hard muscles of his stomach. Looking up into his face she found him half asleep but his chest rumbled with pleasure and a half smile graced his lips. ** Aarik had been agitated the whole day. He couldn't believe the insolence of his brother. They had always had their differences but never had he so blatantly disrespected his wishes. Now it was only a few hours left until their showdown in the circle and as much as he hated to admit it he was nervous. There was no lack of confidence on his part but he did respect his brother's fighting prowess. He didn't have the same brute strength as Gavin or himself but Liam was fast. Faster than anyone he had ever met. And he was clever; Liam fought with his brain not his muscles. Had it been any of his betas Aarik would have known exactly what to do but his brother changed the rules and that unnerved him. He sighed and leaned back in his leather chair, pushing away from the desk. Where did his brother's spite come from? He had been eight when Aarik left for Russia. He remembered a bright eyed young boy making life hell for Kaleigh, the oldest of his sisters. It was hard to believe the morose, cold young man that had greeted him when he came back was the same boy. Aarik wasn't a fool. He knew some horrible things had happened in this house while he was away. Coming home to nothing but graves had been a traumatic experience and one that had scarred him deeply. In the tumultuous time following the discoveries of his return his first instinct had been to step into the role of a leader and lift his people out of the darkness. He also felt a huge amount of guilt having let his siblings down. Looking into Liam's eyes was painful; he saw the boy that was no more, he saw the blame and the anger. If it hadn't been for his mate he would have fallen apart. But Aarik was still the alpha. There was only so much defiance he could take before he had to show his strength. Liam had gotten away with a lot because of that guilt but now it had to stop. Whatever had happened had claimed Liam as its victim as well. He was consumed by hate and anger and no longer worked with the pack. Maybe his brother would find peace somewhere else if they cut the ties. It was a weak theory and he knew it, but something had to change. Sighing again he rose to his feet and left his office. It was time for him to warm up. Gavin, his strongest beta, was waiting for him in the training area. As he walked down the corridors of the third floor his mate's sweet voice spoke in his mind. My love. I need to show you something. Come to the second floor. The balcony overlooking the common room. I was on my way to warm up with Gavin. Can it wait? It can but I don't think it should. There is something you must see. Trust me. I'm on my way my Russian princess. I can't say no to you, you know that. A few minutes later he entered the corridor leading to the balcony and saw her at the end of it, her back towards him. Sensing his arrival she turned and gave him a wide loving smile. As he opened his mouth to speak she put a finger to her lips in a hushing gesture. Reaching her she slipped an arm around his waist and pointed down at the group of couches in front if the fireplace. Liam was stretched out on the biggest and the human was resting on top of him. He seemed to be sound asleep and the woman looked peaceful, her eyes locked on the TV. Rage flared within him again. The insolence of his brother would apparently continue to the very end. No love. Look. Truly look. He blinked and tried to perceive what his mate wanted him to see but it eluded him. When was the last time you saw your brother relax with the rest of the pack? He shook his head. I can't remember. Nor can I. I don't think it's ever happened. Now he's sleeping. Not just resting. I can't remember him sleeping either. It creeped me out how he would wander the hallways at night. So what's different now? He thought about it a moment. She is. Mhm. So what are you saying? That I should let this continue? Now it was her turn to shake her head and turn towards him. I'm saying that I think he has good reason to act as he did. She looked at him expectantly with a secretive smile. Remember how you acted when you courted me? My father was extremely frustrated. A short, explosive laughter escaped him and he looked down at his younger brother again. You're saying she is his mate? He has changed immensely overnight. It would explain a lot. But she's human. It has been known to happen, even if it's rare. Aarik stayed at the balcony a moment to study his brother. The implications of his brother getting a mate were huge. It had changed him completely when he found Nadja. Maybe now there was someone who could reach into those cold uncaring walls of his brother's and bring him back to them. Make him stay for more than a week. Giving his mate a wide smile he turned his back to the scene and started towards the stairs in the main hall. What are you going to do? Her voice was a mixture of happy and worried. What I have to do. Trust me. ** The movie ended and Natalie sighed in contentment. The clock on the screen showed her it was one more hour to midnight. The others in the room stretched and left, giving them odd looks in passing. "Liam." She whispered, trying to gently shake him awake. He stirred under her and smiled but his eyes stayed closed. Lifting her head above the backrest of the couch to make sure no one was still there she scooted upwards until her lips brushed past his ear. "This is happening with or without you..." She slid a hand under his shirt again to caress his stomach. "Mmmm..." She moaned, drawing her leg up over his, her foot sliding up his leg seductively. Still no reaction. Getting bolder she licked the ridge of his ear and reached higher beneath his shirt until she could caress a nipple between her fingers. "Liam." She purred, sucking his earlobe into her mouth. Was he holding his breath? With a mischievous grin she shifted position until she was basically poised on all four above him. "Are you being a naughty boy?" The hand on his chest slowly trailed downward over his abs reaching the lining of his pants. She slipped two fingers under it caressing the soft skin beneath. Her hair hung like a curtain and tickled his jawline. The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly upwards. "Mmm... Do you know what I do to naughty boys?" Her hand trailed even further down over the course cloth until she could feel his swollen member. Wrapping her fingers around it through the pants she squeezed and he gasped with pleasure. His eyes blinked open and suddenly she was reminded of the moment she first laid eyes on him. Moonlight bathed them in a soft silvery light from the windows and those beautiful green eyes seemed to glow a bright yellow at the edges. There was a fire in them and it was directed towards her, a hunger that needed to be sated. Squeezing his erection again she watched him sigh with pleasure. His hands caressed their way up her thighs to rest on her hip and she bit her lip, giving him a teasing smile. "I'm glad you could join me sleepy head. Is this going to be a recurring theme with you? Whenever I feel horny you will fall asleep?" "Will you wake me up like this every time I do?" "I'm sure I can find other equally pleasant ways." His hand shifted and slipped behind her neck, dragging her down so their lips could connect. He was warm and heated, his left hand squeezing her butt cheek and the other pressing her harder into the kiss. His lips had her humming with pleasure and heat engulfed her body. She hadn't realized how much she had wanted something like this. Reluctantly she let herself be pushed back when he sat up, still with their lips firmly locked together. The movement caused her body to shift and her sensitive, wet and wanting pussy was pressed down on his cloth covered crotch. They both moaned in unison and Natalie had to tilt her head up away from him to get air. Taking advantage of this he buried his fingers in her hair pulling her head back further to expose the white column of her neck. Her skin burned wherever he kissed her and she dug her own fingers into his short spiky hair, pressing him closer. After a few minutes of groping and kissing he shifted position again. Holding her tight he slipped himself off the couch onto the floor and positioned her sitting up on the couch in front of him. Natalie wrapped her legs around his waist to keep him close as he stood on his knees in front of her. "You taste so good, I must still be dreaming." He whispered hotly against her lips, his arms wrapped tightly around her body. "If you are, then don't wake up." She moaned as he rubbed himself harder against her. A hand found its way beneath her top, soon followed by the other. As he caressed her he brought the top upwards to remove it but she tucked in her elbows to stop him and he gave her a heated look thinking she was teasing. "Not here." She whispered, looking around as if expecting someone to be hiding behind the curtains. It actually took him a few seconds to understand what the problem was. He wouldn't have cared if the world was watching. He was having her tonight and modesty was such a trivial thing only meant for humans. But she was human. Giving her a puppy eyed look he pouted and tugged at the top playfully. "Foul play!" She burst out in a giggle and pushed him away. "Fine, we're doing it your way but know that I would rather take you on this couch here and now." Pushing his lips to hers again he rose to his feet dragging her up with him. "We better hurry though because I'll go insane if I can't have you soon." She stared into his beautiful green eyes and smiled. "Mmm... I'll hurry." She whispered seductively. "I just need you to do this one little thing for me first." He moved so close their foreheads were almost touching and she could feel his hot breath mixing with her own. "Anything." "Close your eyes." He did and the moment they closed she took off running for the stairs. She had a feeling he wasn't giving his all when they raced down the corridor because such a fit and strong man should have easily caught up with her. It wasn't until she was about to head down the corridor to her room that she felt his arm around her waist and his momentum carried them both spinning into the wall. He placed himself between her and the hard surface, shielding her from harm. "No you don't," he whispered, his voice thick with lust. "You're coming with me." Tilting her head to the side he kissed her neck and she rubbed her ass against him. In a swoop he had gathered her up and was carrying her down the hallways until they reached a part of the house she had never seen before. It looked more or less like the other parts she had seen with dark wooden doors, the wall half wooden panel and a creamy white. They reached the end of the corridor and he put her down to open the door, stepping to the side and holding it open for her so she could enter. His room was absolutely gorgeous! Or rooms to be precise. The first she stepped into seemed to be a living room with TV, couches, bookcases alongside one wall and an artsy chandelier looking like silver leaves wrapped around some divine light. Everything went in a stylish gray, purple and black theme, making it look directly from a catalog. "Wow Liam. This is beautiful." He grunted, spun her around and lifted her up on his shoulder. She squealed in surprise, trying to lift herself up enough to see where he was taking her. "I didn't bring you here to look at my wallpaper. I got my eyes on something better." She could feel his hand caressing her ass lovingly. They entered a dark room and without bothering to turn on the light he crossed it and threw her down on the large king sized bed. There was another squeal from her as she sailed through the air to land softly on the mattress. Her shining knight was surrounded by a backlight from the open door and it almost looked like a halo. He stood there for a moment looking down at her and she stared up at him in awe. Both knew what would come and both reveled in the suspense. Grabbing the hem of his shirt he pulled it up over his head to reveal his muscled stomach, chest, shoulders, arms... Oh god... Was there one part of him that wasn't gorgeous? Throwing the piece of cloth away as if it offended him he started unbuttoning his pants. "You better have those clothes off you by the time I'm done or you'll never wear them again." He warned. In a hurry she followed suit and she barely had enough time to throw away her bra before he was on top of her. She was about to complain about his brusqueness when his fingers tangled in her hair and standing on all fours on top of her he pulled her up into an intense kiss; giving her no room to speak. There was something feral about him. Something that just demanded she give in to him. To let him lead and take charge. Natalie wasn't usually that passive in bed but sensing his need she submitted, letting him do as he pleased, putting complete trust in his ability to satisfy her. This seemed to make him even wilder. A deep groan from the very depth of his soul rumbled through him and he lowered his midsection until he could rub against her. The sensation of his warm and hard erection rubbing against her had her gripping the sheets and moaning with need. Air rushed in and out of her as she lay there panting. She couldn't remember ever being this aroused. This utterly turned on by another human being. Liam had started moving downwards, trailing kisses along her neck and collarbone. He stopped briefly to give attention to her breasts but it was clear he had another prize in sight. Natalie knew this would be quick. The mere tension between them had her ready to orgasm; all she needed was a little push. He put his tongue to the region where her pubic hairs should have started if she didn't shave and licked her from one side to the other. She squealed in surprise at the tickling feeling and bucked her hips, making him grin in satisfaction. Giving him an angry glare she rolled her hips again to show how impatient she was. His grin turned wider and he put his index finger to her nether lips doing nothing but rubbing them up and down. "For fuck's sake Liam! You couldn't get me any more ready if you had the whole day." She cried in frustration. With a chuckle he lowered himself and put his tongue to her slit. She gasped with pleasure and he had to put a hand on her stomach to keep her still. That was all it took. A few flicks of his tongue was all she needed to send her over the edge. With a loud cry she let go and the waves of pleasure ran through her body. Still panting she opened her eyes to find his grinning face looking admiringly down at her. His thumb was still gently rubbing her sensitive nub between her legs, bringing her down slowly. "That was hot." He whispered with the smuggest grin she had ever seen on a man. "Wipe that grin off your face and kiss me." "Don't mind if I do." While their lips firmly locked together he pried her legs open a bit more and positioned himself for entry. She could feel his heat matching her own. "This is going to be rough." He whispered again, his voice thick with lust. She could tell he was struggling to hold something back; his muscles shook with the effort. Grabbing both her wrists he brought them up above her head to hold them in place with one of his hands. He put most of his weight on them while he slid his other hand under her ass, grabbing one cheek firmly. Lifting her up to align her just right he plunged himself in. Natalie moaned at the hot filling sensation and tugged at her arms. He was definitely a size large. There was no gentle warm up or caressing touches now. He set a steady rhythm with powerful thrust, his fingers digging painfully into the fleshy part of her butt cheek. Kissing her hotly he pressed her face to the side only to bury his face in her hair. She could hear him take a deep breath filling his lungs to the brim. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 04 Letting go of her hands he guided one down to his chest putting his hand above hers to hold it steady above his heart. She could feel the rushed beating of the powerful muscle beneath her fingers. He wanted her to know what she was doing to him. His heart was beating so fast and hard in his chest she feared it would explode. His other hand shifted and pushed her upwards, urging her to roll her hips against him. Happy to comply she met his every thrust. Nuzzling her neck he seemed to find a spot at the juncture of her neck and shoulders that he gave extra attention. She could feel his tongue licking her skin lovingly and then suddenly there was a dull pain as his teeth pressed down on her skin. He bit hard enough for her to feel it but not hard enough to draw blood. A deep-seated groan escaped him as he released her from his bite and pushed slightly away. Looking up at his face she saw pure rapture. His eyes were closed, his head tilted back as he pounded into her harder. This look, as the moonlight brightened his features, sent her over once more. Moaning his name her back arched and her body twitched beneath him. Her muscles milked him as he let go as well and with a roar he came inside her. He fell upon her as if his muscles all gave up simultaneously. It was by far the best sex she had ever had. Feeling completely sated she wrapped her arms around his head hugging him closer to her neck. He was slowly coming down from his high and he pressed his lips against her neck lovingly. As the moment passed he eased her leg down so he could roll off her. They both lay on their backs staring up into the ceiling for a moment. Natalie was the first to break the stillness of the aftermath as she rolled until she lay with her head and torso on his chest. With her head resting on her hands she stared at him. "Mmm... That was sooo good. You, my good sir must be the best lover I have ever had." His face split into the widest grin and he turned his head down to look at her. She was instantly mesmerized. The dazzling smile lit up his eyes like stars. The cold distant guarded expression he usually wore completely disappeared for a few moments. "And you, my lady are mine." He cupped a hand around her neck to drag her closer giving her a soft loving kiss. "Speaking of what is yours." She said and sat back up, tucking her knees under her. "Where's the bathroom? I'm making a mess in your bed." That feral and possessive look came over him as he realized what she was referring to, as if the thought had him instantly hungry again. But he pointed her towards a door and she slipped off the bed, his seed running down her legs, and headed for it. She was about to jump into the shower when she felt his presence by the door. He was dressed again and looked uncomfortable where he leaned against the door frame. "Hey... You going somewhere?" Concern sneaking into her voice. "Yeah... I sort of promised my brother that I would do this thing. I need to go and sort that out." "Now? It's midnight!" "I know. I'm sure it won't take too long. I'll be back before you know it." "Man, you people are weird." Natalie shook her head and stepped into the luxurious shower. ** Liam was racing towards what his people called The Circle. It was an ancient place where no trees ever grew. It was said that the ground grew around it as the earth shifted but the circle remained the same. Therefore the earth around the circle was elevated making a small hill surrounding the open space. There was a spring in his step that certainly had not been there before. His wolf took joy from the exercise and the forest around them, happy to be away from the streets and the slums they usually stalked. Truth be told he had not had much of a plan when he angered his brother. It had just felt good at the time and now he regretted every second of it. He could not part from her. His Natalie. He would do anything to stay. Even grovel at his brother's feet if that's what it took. Mmmm... Natalie. His wolf halted their step and turned towards the mansion again. She would be in bed waiting for them. The memory of her lust drifted by in his mind and a long tongue snaked out to lick his muzzle. With a whimper he forced himself back on track towards the circle. First he would deal with this. Then he would go back to her. Drawing closer he could smell the pack and hear telltale signs that others were close by. Inside Liam's resolve and new found strength wavered. Every step he took closer to his goal and the rest of his pack weakened his courage. By the time he put his paws onto the sacred ground of the circle, staring into his brother's eyes across the open space, the usual coldness swept over him and his walls were firmly back in place. Walls so thick he had no idea how to breach them. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 05 Hello again, To answer a few of the comments from the previous chapters I know this is probably not what you wanted between Aarik and Liam but I do have a plan for how this will play out. I do love reading your comments and it's really interesting to see what parts of the story people reacts to so please keep that up if you have anything to say. A big thanks to my editors Mandarabe and LiterKnight for the excellent work they do! Much appreciated! All I can say without revealing too much is that Aarik has his own story to tell. Things are never as black and white as they might first seem. ;) Enjoy! ** The torches around the circle flickered as a breeze swept through the forest. The two gray wolves circled the outer rim of the circle on opposite sides. Their eyes locked on each other. All around them on the elevated ground eyes reflected the light between the trees. The better part of the pack had come to watch this event. There was a susurration of leaves, shifting of bodies and padding of paws as the pack moved about. The bigger of the two wolves growled as he issued a command for silence. Immediately the surrounding forest became deathly quiet and nothing moved. Even the wind seemed to still. The moon was shrouded behind clouds and the only source of light was the torches sat on holders around them. We will settle a dispute this night! Aarik's voice rang out mentally among the gathered crowd. Liam watched his brother with mixed feelings. There was a mind numbing fear inside him at the thought of what he had to do to stay. For the first time since his father's insanity he wanted nothing more than to hurry back to the house. Back home. But the only way for him to do that would be to submit to his brother. Not just acknowledge his leadership but completely surrender any right to defy him again. The huge steel gray wolf moved forward towards the middle in hard powerful strides making sure everyone knew who was in charge. Liam's slightly smaller form stayed where he was, watching his brother with his hackles raised defensively. What he was about to do would require a huge amount trust in his pack and there was nothing in his past that told him that was a good idea. With his legs far apart and his chest pushed out in a dominant stance Aarik challenged his brother with a stare. Do you challenge me Liam? He spoke the ritual words. No. Then why have you defied me? This is your time to speak. Liam struggled to push out his answer for them to hear but he could not push past the defensive walls put up by his past. There was an overwhelming feeling that if he told them about Natalie, they would take her away. If he didn't keep her safe in secret something bad would happen. The rational part of his brain tried to convince him that this just wasn't true, told him to trust the pack but years of defensiveness had built up a sturdy defense against such emotions. After a few moments of silence his chest started to heave with anxiety. His tail dropped low to touch the ground and he met his brother's gaze with panic. The moment dragged on beyond what was acceptable. Having reached a critical moment Liam knew he had to do something. Anything to show how important this was to him. Pushing himself down on his stomach he inched forward towards his alpha. Just a few steps away he dropped to his side displaying his neck and stomach in surrender. It was their sign of submission. His brother closed the gap between them and looked down at him. Liam could have sworn he saw worry in his siblings eyes. Brother. He spoke for all to hear. I only have one question. Liam looked up at him in anticipation. Is she your mate? He twitched and lifted his head in surprise. Shocked silence followed the question before Liam managed to answer. Yes. She is. Then get up. Better men have done worse things for the sake of their mates. She is unclaimed and I know few men as deserving as you to find peace. Just don't let it happen again for the sake of both of you. Liam got back on his feet still eying his brother with wary uncertainty, looking for signs of mockery or a cruel change of heart. But his brother just grinned at him as Nadja came padding forward with a pleased air about her. Her wolf was browner in color and she was much smaller than her mate. Congratulation Liam! She greeted him. He dipped his head towards her. Thank you alpha. Alpha! I think she's gone! Natalie is gone! The mental voice of Eileen reached them and before anyone could react Liam had bolted towards the mansion, running as fast as he possibly could. ** After the shower Natalie was left with the choice of going to bed or trying to sate her hunger. Opting for the second choice she left Liam's beautiful rooms to find the kitchen. After a few wrong turns and general confusion she made it down to ground floor and found it. Eileen was sitting by the big kitchen isle in the middle with her nose in a book and leftovers on a plate beside her. "Hey." She chirped at the sight of Natalie. "Come and join me. You want something to eat?" Natalie nodded and pulled out a chair next to her. "Thanks that would be great." The brown haired woman bustled around and produced a plate with leftovers for her as well. When placing the plate before her she lingered just a second too long and Natalie could have sworn the woman was smelling her. "So you and Liam, huh? Didn't see that coming. You should have told me the other day." Eileen sat on the very edge of her seat looking at her expectantly. Natalie shrugged. "It wasn't a done deal yesterday." The woman grunted in response and looked away as if a sour thought spoiled the moment. "What?" "Nothing." "Is it that boss of yours again? Is he controlling everything you do or what?" Natalie asked between bites. This secretive behavior they insisted on was getting tiresome real fast. Eileen shook her head. "It's not like that, I promise." "Then tell me." "I..." Rolling her eyes and sighing she surrendered. "Okay, but promise not to tell anyone I told you this." Natalie nodded, spooning more food into her mouth. "I'm absolutely sure this isn't true okay, but there is this stupid rumor going around that Liam is just trying to piss off his brother. They have this feud going that no one really understands. It goes back a while-" "Hold on. What did you say about pissing off his brother? What exactly do you mean?" "Well, I mean with you. Apparently you are important to the boss and Liam swoops in to steal your allegiance. But really, you know how rumors work. People are probably just jealous of you hooking up with the cutest guy in this pa... House." It felt like someone had doused her with ice cold water. Eileen prattled on about something else but Natalie stopped listening. Could there be any truth in what she just heard? There was definitely something very wrong with the people here. The house felt almost deserted and it was in the middle of the night. Their leader kept her in the dark, withholding information that should rightly be hers; she needed to find her father more than anyone to make him answer for what had happened. How long had Liam been watching her before he made contact? Suddenly his very convenient save of her that day took on a new sheen. Maybe they just wanted her for her father. Had they been watching her hoping he would show? Maybe Liam was supposed to seduce her hoping she would tell them something. Looking back at the day they had spent together she saw it in a new light. She had thought that Liam charged his brother out of spite but maybe his brother had approved. Having lost her appetite she pushed the plate away. Eileen gave her a curious look. "You don't look so hot. You don't like the food?" "The food was fine." She pushed away from the table getting back on her feet. "I'm just tired and need some rest. Umh... I'm going back to bed. Good night Eileen." "Night!" Out of earshot she hurried through the house to get to her room. She didn't know what the hell was going on but if no one wanted to tell her then she was not sticking around to be used. She was in control of her life. Not this Aarik guy, not her father and not some murderous fake agents. If Liam was real and if he was everything she thought he was then she could apologize later for what she was about to do. If he gave a shit then he would just have to forgive her. Reaching her room she threw her newly acquired things in a bag and headed back out right away. Catching herself by the stairs she halted and stared back up with indecision. She needed to tell him something. Running back up she changed direction towards his suit instead. A few moments later she was sitting on his bed with her note in hand. It was just a few words but she hoped it would be enough. Setting it down on his nightstand she lingered for a moment. The drawer was half open beneath her fingers and her eyes caught a glimmer of metal. ** Liam slammed his whole body into the front doors shattering the lock. Pieces and splinters went flying across the room as his paws regained their grip on the ground. He pounded up the stairs of the great hall. He could smell her all over the place but he had to make sure it wasn't just a bad dream or a cruel joke. Maybe he would find her in his bed where he had left her. Maybe this time it would be different. The door to his suit was left slightly ajar and he was forced to slow down less he crash into the door frame. Beyond the room was quiet. With dread he approached the bedroom. He already knew she would not be there. She was no longer in the house, of that he was certain. Climbing onto the empty bed he sniffed the space where they had joined no more than an hour ago. A broken and ragged howl of grief escaped him. Why would she leave? What had he done? His eyes landed on the small piece of folded paper on the nightstand and he edged closer, shifting as he moved. With a human hand he reached out and picked up the note. My white knight, someday I want to be your maiden but there is something I need to do. Love Natalie Shaking he let the paper fall from his numb fingers. He had to get her back. There were no options. If he couldn't have her back, then to hell with it all. Picking himself up he grabbed some clothes from the wardrobe and reached for his gun in the nightstand only to find the drawer empty. Stunned he stared at it for a moment thinking he might have put it somewhere else. No. He clearly remembered putting it in the drawer his first night in the house. Natalie. She had it. Suddenly he knew where she was going. She was taking matters into her own hands and it would most likely kill her. Throwing his shirt on as he hurried out the door he headed towards the garage. He could still catch her if he hurried. Reaching the great hall he saw his brother standing naked in the middle of the great hall with a hysterical Eileen and most of the pack gathered around him. The girl was crying, trying to explain something. Liam couldn't care less. He aimed for the broken front doors without a word, pushing his way through the crowd. "Liam!" His brother called back to him just as he was about to reach the outside. He stopped, looking back to his brother. "Don't do this." "Fuck off." He was beyond caring. There was only one thing on his mind and that was getting to her. Nothing would stop him. "Hold it!" The alpha command clear in his brother's timbre. "I'm not saying you shouldn't go brother." Liam looked back at him questioningly, annoyed that he was being held up. "I'm saying you shouldn't go alone. I know the people who are looking for her. You will need some backup." He looked around the room at the gathered crowd. "My brother needs volunteers to go get his mate back. I know many of you appreciate what he did for you when our pack was fighting for survival. He saved this pack. Now he needs you." Liam looked around the room and the faces of the pack stunned at what he was hearing. Many of the gathered people nodded their approval at what his brother was saying and Aeryn was the first to step up. "Hell yeah, I'll join him. We owe him for more than just what happened after your father's death. We owe him for what happened when he was still alive." At this the pack fell silent; everyone shuffled uncomfortably, trying to forget the pain and suffering. One of the older males stepped up next Aeryn and nodded. "I'll go." "Me too." Dael called from the back. "And I'll take Mace whether he wants to or not." Aeryn grinned back at the big man. "See brother. You are not short on supporters. Five are better than one." He was humbled. Something within him softened and he looked at the people who had volunteered with gratitude. "Thank you." His words more a croak than speech. "Don't mention it, boy." Dael said with his usual cheery expression. "Just give us a moment to get our things in order and we'll head out. You have five minutes people! Chop chop!" With that they all dispersed and dazed Liam continued on to the garage to wait for his team. True to their word they were back when their five minutes were up and splitting up in two cars they set a route and headed out. Dael and the older man would be riding with him in the lead car and Aeryn and Mace would take the other. Having looked up the address for a certain Lucy Bryant he knew it was going to take them at least three hours to get there. Ralph Warden the oldest of the trio in Liam's car took the wheel despite Liam's objections. "How did she get out through the gate?" Ralph asked as the black iron gate was pulled aside for them. "There was no order for the guards to keep her in. They are there to keep people out not in. They asked why she was leaving in the middle of the night and she said there was someone she had to go and see. She was in one of our cars, they thought it was sanctioned." Dael answered from the back seat. Dael was a beta. One of the first new betas to be appointed by Aarik when he became alpha. At first glance you thought him to be this cheery sort of whimsical father figure but the truth was he had total and complete control of the staff, which was his area. Nothing escaped him. Liam growled at the thought though. How easy it would have been to stop her from leaving. "We'll get her back." Ralph said softly, casting a quick glance at him. All he could do was nod. ** The car sped through the miles, shortening the distance between her and her mother. She was thankful for the late hour easing the traffic. Her drive was less than legal and she thanked every god in existence for letting her get away with it. Through the first part of her flight from Luna Spring she had cried hopelessly, unable to stop the tears. There was a painful feeling deep in her chest that she was doing the wrong thing. That she never should have left him. Figuring she was just emotional due to all that had happened the last few days she pushed through it, ignoring the pain. Now she was closing in on the last stretch and nervousness replaced her decisiveness. She didn't really have a plan. She had grabbed the gun on impulse, now it seemed stupid. What was she going to do with it? Kill someone? She had little experience with firearms. Her uncle had let her shoot at cans when she was twelve but that was it. And she had certainly never killed anyone before. But she had to do something. Her mother might just be the only family she had left. Her dad had abandoned them in his mess, her sister was dead and her mother was in her killers clutches. It was time to fight back. Parking the car a block away from her mother's small but cozy suburban house she leaned her head on the steering wheel trying to gather what courage she had left. The tugging longing in her chest came back in force and struggling to quell the sobs she reached for her phone. She had to call him, had to hear his voice. A wail of pain escaped her as she flipped through her saved numbers realizing she never got his. She had no way of get in touch with him. Tears ran unchecked down her face like a flood gate had been open and she threw the phone in the passenger seat. There was no going back now. No cavalry. She was the only one who could save her mother. Grabbing the gun she stuffed it in her jacket but struggled to get it in a comfortable position. The big lump of metal felt awkward and heavy in her pocket. Drying her tears she took a few deep breaths to steady herself. "Mom. I'm coming for you." She said to herself in the rear view mirror and pushed the door open. The street was pitch black. Some light spilled out from the houses lining the road but other than that it was disturbingly dark. No stars were visible this close to the city, just a muddled cloudy sky reflecting the lights from below. She longed for the beautiful lake and the stars of Luna Spring. Blinking away new tears she made her way slowly towards the house, keeping to the deeper shadows and staying alert. The house was dark but that was to be expected. It was soon four am and she would have been surprised to find her mother up at this hour. Sneaking closer she hid behind the fence and scouted the building for a few minutes before she quietly padded to one of the side windows to peek inside. The living room was dark but from what she could see it looked much the same as she remembered. Moving around the house to the back she found it empty and nothing looked amiss. The same with her mother's bedroom window. What little she could see looked in order. Quietly she tapped the glass. Crouching below the window with only her eyes visible above the windowsill she waited for a reaction. Nothing. Again she tapped the glass and held her breath, straining to hear any sign of life from within. Still nothing. Knocking a bit harder the third time she got a reaction. The nightstand lamp switched on and the sleepy form of her mother sat up. Natalie tapped the glass again and waved, relief washing over her at the familiar sight. At first her mother looked terrified before recognizing her. The woman was visibly shaken but threw off her covers and hurried to the window. Natalie climbed inside when she opened it and hugged her mother tight. "Nattie! What are you doing here sweetheart? It's the middle of the night." It took her a few moments to get her speech back. The relief and the release of pent up anxiety had her shaking and speechless. Taking her mother's hands into her shaking ones she met her eyes head on. "About Lily. I... Dad..." Her mother's face fell and her bottom lip trembled. She carefully removed her hands from Natalie's. "How about I make some tea and you can tell me what happened." Natalie nodded, hurt that her mother would distance herself from her. In silence she watched her mother put the water to boil and prepare the mugs. A few minutes later the tea was put in front of her and the woman took a seat on the other side of the table. "Mom. What do you know of dad's work?" "More than I care for sweetheart. He never could let it go." "What do you know of a project called moonlight?" "I don't understand Nattie. What does this have to do with Lily? The feds asked me the same thing but they wouldn't tell me why." Natalie shook her head. "What did you tell them mom?" "I told them the truth. I remember your father coming home one day, it was in the very beginning of our marriage, he was so excited about getting funding for some ground breaking project. It must have been twenty five years ago now. You were about two years old at the time. The project was called Moonlight but it was classified so he couldn't tell me what it was about." Shadows of the Moon Ch. 05 "And you never picked up anything? You know... Conversations he had with coworkers or hints he might have revealed?" "They did a lot of testing on animals. I know that much. Once when you were five and Lily was two he left a folder with horrible pictures in it laying openly on the kitchen table. You were eating breakfast just next to it and when I confronted him about it he got angry at me for looking at it!" "What kind of testing was it?" "I don't know Nattie! The pictures were horrible! Dead animals, caged animals, some with horrible wounds." "That's horrible!" Natalie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had always had a bad relationship with her father but never would she have accused him of torturing animals. "What kind of animals?" "Dogs mostly. A few monkeys." "I can't believe this mom. I've always known dad was an asshole but this is insane! What kind of person would do that?" "Sweetheart, it's not like that. I don't think he expected it at first either. He sort of grew into it. Sometimes he had nightmares and the work he did haunted him. It was one of the reasons we split up. I would beg him, argue with him, do anything I could to make him walk away. But he never did. He buried himself in his work to the point where he was spending more time with his coworkers than with us. I couldn't take it." She sat in silence trying to piece her past together into something that made sense. "Who did he work with?" Her mother's outlook turned dark and she scowled. "Dr. Jessica Tiller. I suspected that they were having an affair but I could never prove it." The silence settled in between them again, both women lost in thought. "Nattie. Why are the FBI looking for you? What happened to Lily?" "They weren't feds mom. They were fake agents. I think they are looking for dad. He disappeared a few days ago and these really bad people are trying to find him. Apparently they think I know something about this shit, but I swear to you I don't. Neither did Lily." There was a loud banging on the front door and a familiar male voice called to them. "Ms. Bryant. This is agent Brian Cox open the door!" Natalie flew up from the chair so quick it tipped backwards and fell to the floor with a loud bang. Her hand went to the gun in her pocket and nervously she gripped it through the cloth. "Come on mom! We need to run." She hissed and grabbed her mother's hand pulling her off the chair and through the house to the back door. Another set of loud bangs from the front door and someone tried the handle trying to get it open. "Ms. Bryant! Don't do anything stupid. Open the door." Reaching the back door Natalie pushed it opened and without caution threw herself out of it. It never crossed her mind that they would be waiting. One arm wrapped around her torso pinning her arms to her sides and a hand slapped over her mouth before she had time to call out. She sensed another presence to her left. As her assailant turned them about and stared to pull her backwards into the house she pushed back and kicked the other man as hard as she could aiming for his head. There was a satisfying crunch as her heel connected with the man's nose and he roared in pain stumbling backward. The man holding her chuckled. "Yeah watch out for this one Trey. She's a fighter alright. No valiant strangers with guns coming to save you now bitch." The last part he whispered into her ear as they passed the threshold into the house. It was Neil. She had hoped she'd killed him with the stone but here he was, still standing. The gun. She could feel it against her wrist. The way he was holding her she had no way of reaching it but it was a comforting thought to know it was close. If she could just get her arm free she would be in control. Doing her best to tuck in her elbow to stop the weight in the pocket from banging against her side she calmed herself and let the man drag her back towards the kitchen without struggle. Her mother hovered next to them her eyes wide in shock. She begged the man holding Natalie to let go but the man with a broken nose roared at her to shut up as he pulled the door shut with a bang. Both Natalie and Lucy were forcefully pushed into a chair and Neil nodded towards the front door. Walking with his head tilted backwards and his hand holding his nose shut to keep the blood from flowing he moved to the door and unlocked it for Brian to enter. The three men stood side by side in front of the two seated women. Brian had a tired, annoyed look on his face, Neil looked at her with malice but also a fair amount of respect, the third unknown guy looked younger and more hot headed. He stared at her with unbridled fury and despite the blood running down his face he seemed more set on revenge than seeing to his injury. "Wow. You are one slippery bitch you know that? I can't remember ever working this hard before." Brian took a seat on the third and last chair by the table. "Believe it or not but I don't like to do this. If you would just cooperate, things would go so much smoother; both for you and for us. All we really want is Anthony Bryant." "And I have the same answer for you; I don't know where the bastard is! I haven't spoken to him in years." "Well... We believe he will be coming for you. If you can help us lure him out then we will let you go." "Who the fuck are you!? Who the fuck do you work for?" "If I tell you that I can't let you go now can I? You're better off not knowing." She glared at him with hatred but knew better than to argue. He wouldn't tell her. After a moment he cleared his throat and looked from Natalie to her mother. "This is what's going to happen. You-" He pointed at Natalie. "-are coming with me. And you-" His finger shifted to Lucy. "-will stay here. If he contacts you then you will tell him that we have his daughter and that the only way he will get her back is if he comes out of hiding. If you, for whatever reason, involve the police I will have Trey here kill this one too." Lucy nodded looking at her daughter with tears in her eyes. Grabbing Natalie by the elbow he pulled her up and yanked her towards the front door. "Remember this woman..." He whispered in her ear. "If you do anything stupid then know that we will set this house aflame and her with it." It was easier not to struggle. She let herself be led out to a van; she noted a missing side window and figured it was the same car as last time. Trey jumped in before them and pulled her in. There was a rubber carpet covering the floor but that was all they had to sit on. Natalie was pushed down on the floor and Trey took a seat next to her. Too close for comfort. Brian took the wheel and Neil took the passenger seat. Before the car even started Trey scooted even closer and it sent shivers down her spine. There was something disturbingly wrong with him. The energy he projected was like black tar trying to infect the people around him. "Hi." He said cheerily, blood still decorating the lower part of his face. "Don't be afraid. We'll take good care of you." He actually sounded friendly and his body language was open and innocent but when she looked into his eyes there was an insanity barely contained behind the glassy orbs. "Get away from me." She hissed and tried her best to move away. To counter her moving he slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "I'm sorry." He whispered almost lovingly while pressing his lips to her hair. "What the fuck for?" "For your sister. It was an honest mistake, I promise. Do you think you can ever forgive me?" The car started and they were both jolted to the side by the motion. Natalie was disgusted. She wished she could run as far away from this horrible being as she could. Wherever he touched her she felt tainted. "I will never forgive you and someday I will kill you." "Shh... Don't worry. You will like me just like your sister did." Natalie slipped her hand into her pocket and her fingers wrapped around the handle. His hand slid down her shoulder to rest on her back, the tip of his fingers brushing the side of her left breast. "Hey, Trey. You doing okay back there?" There was suspicion in Brian's voice and he shared a look with Neil. "Yes, boss!" He answered with enthusiasm. "We're just peachy." They shared another look in the front and Neil twisted around to look at him. "Hey shit for brains, come here." He motioned for Trey to join them and with an irritated sigh his hand left her, caressing her back for as long as he could before they parted. Neil grabbed the back of the man's head and pushed him closer so he could speak quietly in his ear. Trey's head bobbed up and down in agreement to everything his superior told him, pretending to cooperate. The golden opportunity was upon her. Easing the gun out of her pocket she leaned back until she was half lying on her back with her arms straight, aiming for Trey's back. It crossed her mind to aim for his head but figured she had a better chance of hitting the largest part of him rather than his head. "Oh fuck!" Neil exclaimed a fraction of a second before she pulled the trigger. He had spotted her and in panic he pushed his partner backwards straight into the bullets. Three loud bangs echoed deafeningly in the metal husk of the car and all three bullets hit Trey straight in the back, close to his spine. The car swiveled back and forth across the road as a very shocked Brian tried to get his bearings. They hit the sidewalk hard and Trey's body was flung upon her pinning her down. The next minute she and Trey's remains were both flung forward to forcefully slam into the back of the driver's seat. ** As they drew closer to their goal Liam grew more and more agitated. There was a nagging feeling within him that they would be too late. Before the car stopped outside a small one story house he was out the door slamming it shut behind him. On the front steps sat a middle aged woman crying. Her eyes widened in fear as he came running and she held up a hand to ward him off before he reached her. "Go away!" She screamed at him and climbed to her feet. Liam slowed his step holding his hands out to show he meant her no harm. "Lucy? Lucy Bryant?" Halting at the door she looked back at him with suspicion. "What do you want?" "Natalie. Where is she?" He knew the answer but hope was hard to kill. New tears burst forth and she turned away from him. "They took her." Ice washed over him, chilling him to the bone. Turning in a half circle he sniffed the air desperately. There had to be some trace of her. Something he could follow. He refused to come so close and then loose her. Three loud bangs rolled through the silent night and Liam was shifting before he knew it. Shrugging off his clothes in wolf form he raced towards the source of the sound. The terrified scream of the woman behind him didn't even register. Only a few seconds later there was another loud bang sounding very much like a car crash. His claws tore into the asphalt to propel him forward faster. ** The wind had been knocked out of her and something heavy weighed her down. Gasping for air she clawed herself out from under the body of Trey. The gun had been knocked from her hand; she had probably hit her wrist on something because it hurt badly. She managed to suck some air into her lungs and slowly her surroundings came back into focus. Neil was shouting something at Brian in the front seat but neither of them seemed interested in her at the moment. Getting up on her knees she reached for the back door handle. She half climbed, half fell out of the door and heard Brian curse loudly. Her only thought was to run away. Stumbling down the street she tried to coordinate her legs to move in the same direction. "Don't move! I'm not letting you get away again." Brian said behind her and she twirled to face him. He was leaning heavily against the car door aiming a gun at her. "What the hell do you want?" She screamed at him in anger. Waving her back with the gun he ordered her to come closer. "Come here! We'll have to move on foot now." A deep blood chilling growl coming from the darkness behind her had the air vibrating. Natalie turned towards the new threat. The blinking lights of the van reflected in a pair of predatory animal eyes. The eyes were fixed on the man with the gun and she could have sworn she saw hatred in them. Brian switched target and aimed for the eyes instead. The creature stepped closer and Natalie could see huge front paws and a muzzle belonging to the biggest wolf she had ever seen. In terror she backpedaled away from it, unwittingly moving closer to her would be captor. The wolf moved after her, matching every step she took and the growl grew even more threatening. Natalie's back hit the corner of the van and she closed her eyes, shaking from fear. With her eyes tightly shut she heard the beast moving closer. There could only be one or two steps between them now. What a bizarre way to die. She had been kidnapped, been in a car accident, almost raped by a glorified pimp but this was how she would go: eaten by a wolf. Something soft tickled her hand. Fur. Keeping perfectly still, her arm hanging limp down her side she felt the wolf move forward under her hand. Her fingers brushed past its muzzle, she could feel it vibrating from the growling. But the wolf didn't stop; she could feel his head passing, then soft thick fur on his neck. There was something comforting with burying your fingers in its softness. "One more step and I'll shoot!" Brian yelled, his voice shrill with fear. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," came a deep voice from the darkness. Natalie opened her eyes in surprise and found a man standing in the darkness not far away. The wolf was poised beside her in a protective stance, her hand resting on the scruff of his neck. "That bullet won't kill him. You will only make him angrier. Not that I think that is possible considering that you tried to kidnap his mate... Twice." "Holy fuck!" Brian cursed, his eyes shifting nervously between the wolf and the man trying to decide what to do. There was some rustling and the sounds of the other car door being pushed opened. A terrified Neil stumbled out and hurriedly ran into the night to be swallowed by the darkness. Just a moment later a shrill scream of pain came back to them and what sounded like several more wolves snarling and growling in the night. Brian was visibly shaking now, the barrel of the gun wavering back and forth. "We were just following orders. If it hadn't been us they would've just sent someone else. Please." "The only thing keeping my friend here from ripping you to pieces is that I suggested you might be of some value to us. Can you? Be of value?" "Yes." He opened his hand letting the gun dangle from a finger before it fell to the ground. "I can tell you things." "Good. I like people who value their life." The man stepped closer, entering the light. He was naked and gave Natalie a friendly smile. "You okay there Natalie?" Mutely she nodded. She didn't recognize the man but he seemed friendly. Still the surreal situation made it hard to grasp and it was difficult to formulate a coherent answer. The headlights of an approaching car suddenly flooded the strange scene with light. The black SUV stopped not far away. Relief flooded her when some normality entered her world again as two familiar faces stepped out of it. First was Dael from the driver's side and climbing out of the passenger side was her mother. "Nattie!" She cried as she spotted her daughter. Tears sprung to her eyes as she stumbled towards her mother. They hugged each other and Dael handed some clothes to the naked man. "We need to get a move on. Officials will be here soon enough." Dael said to the group holding a pair of pants out questioningly towards the wolf. "I sent the other two back to the other car." While the now clothed older man grabbed Brian around the back of his neck and dragged him closer to the group the wolf looked back and forth between the pants and Natalie as if he was trying to decide on something. "Come on Liam. She'll find out sooner or later and we can't have you in wolf form in the car." There was a moment's hesitation then Natalie's breath hitched as her world turned upside down watching the scene unfolding before her. The huge gray wolf morphed into the man she had slept with a few hours ago. The beautiful naked man with scars running all over his chest and the mesmerizing green eyes lit up by the headlights. Her eyes wandered between all the people gathered looking for some sign that this wasn't normal. That they had shared the insane vision but no one seemed bothered by what had just happened. Dael exchanged a few words with the older man holding Brian and Liam struggled into his pants casting anxious looks her way to see how she was reacting. Her mother was gripping her arms tightly looking at him in fear. "Liam." She whispered unable to believe any of it. He took a step closer to her and involuntarily she took a step back. ** He couldn't take her rejection. The wolf within him who had sent him careering into danger without a second thought refused to lose her again. Stepping forward purposefully, she backed away half a step for each one of his, until he was standing in front of her. She was still shivering and her eyes were wide with fear. He knew he must make a very imposing figure but he had had enough. They belonged together and he needed her to understand that. Never breaking eye contact he stopped only inches away from her. "Don't you ever leave me again." He growled and slipped his hand around her neck pulling her in for a kiss. She managed a surprised yelp before their lips connected and a shock of electricity raced through her. "Liam." She whispered breathlessly. It felt so damn right. It felt so safe. He wouldn't let her get hurt. She would stay with him forever and everything was going to be fine. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him closer into what should have been a perfect moment. The first punch hit the side of his head followed quickly by a series of punches against his shoulder and arm. "You let her go!" A furious and equally terrified Lucy wailed in desperation. Bewildered he held up his arms to shield himself, unsure of what to make of the situation. He couldn't very well hurt the mother to the woman he loved and he wasn't sure how to reason with her. Blows continued to rain over him until Natalie managed to pull her back. "It's okay! He's one of the good guys!" "You can argue in the car. We need to get going." Dael laughed before he ducked inside, adding privately to Liam; Rookie mistake boy. Everyone knows you charm the mother first. Now she will be on the defense. Good luck getting back from that. After some resistance from Lucy they finally climbed into the car. Liam first wanted the backseat with Natalie but Lucy wouldn't hear of it. It was either the three of them in the back or him in the front. With dismay he pushed down his need to be with his mate and gave the spot to her mother. Ralph and Brian got into the other car together with Aeryn and Mace. "Where are you taking us?" Lucy asked as calmness once again settled over the passengers in the car. "Where do you want to go?" Dael asked in his usual chirpy way. "What?" "You heard me." "Uh... Well I would like to go back home." "Can do, but they will find you and I can bet my left hand that they won't be as pleasant the second time around. I have a suggestion if you want to hear it." "Ah... Sure. I guess." His friendliness had her clearly confused. "How about we find a nice place to spend the night, at our expense of course, and then eat some good food, relax and talk some things through. I'm sure you have plenty of questions." Shadows of the Moon Ch. 05 "I'm not going anywhere with you!" Lucy hissed defensively. "Yes we are mom." Natalie interjected before Dael could answer. "I want to hear what they have to say." Shadows of the Moon Ch. 06 This part took me a while to do. Partly because of the holidays and partly because I wasn't sure in what direction to take it. I'm not very happy with this chapter but I'm going to put it out there as it is so I can move on, if I don't I will continue to be stuck and get nowhere. The next chapter will reveal a huge chunk of plot and hopefully bring the story forward. It's already in the making and will hopefully be done faster than I took me to finish this. A big thanks to my editors Mandarabe and LiterKnight for the excellent work they do! Much appreciated! Enjoy ** Liam was in absolute misery. Sitting on the bed with his back against the wall in a small but nice hotel, the object of his desire just on the other side of the wall behind him. The one hour car ride had been awkward and most of it spent in silence. Natalie had been absolutely exhausted and her mother had been extremely protective of her, making any form of conversation between them hard. Dael had done most of the talking, explaining to them about werewolves and what little they knew about the situation regarding Natalie's father. Liam had so much he wanted to tell her but he couldn't do it in the car with the others present. For the past hour he had sat there listening to them move about, talking and finally stilled on the other side of the wall. There would be no sleep for him tonight. Leaning his head back against the wall he stared up at the white ceiling. Dawn was slowly creeping into the room but there would still be several hours before they woke up. ** "Come on kid." The great alpha Thane Wyard laughed as he watched his son struggle through the shift. "You won't be a proper hunter until you get the hang of this." Liam gave his father a miserable look in his half-shift hybrid form. The alpha was a large muscular middle aged looking man with steel colored gray hair, a short cropped beard covering his chin and there were lines of laughter around his deep green eyes. Most of his children took after him with the blond hair and the green eyes. Only Kaleigh took after her mother, having black hair and brown eyes. Liam sighed and made another attempt to force his wolf through. There was like a tug of war in his head, the wolf on one part refusing to give ground and Liam on the other trying to push it forward. He wanted to be a hunter like his oldest brother who had participated in the great autumn hunt and had bragged about it ever since. Shaking his head Thane sat down on a stone and waved his son over. Liam clumsily stumbled forward, not used to his hind leg claws. "Look here son. You want to know a secret?" Liam nodded. "You can't force it. I know you want to run with the hunters so bad it hurts but your wolf can not be your slave. You can't push it forward; it will come when it is ready to be a part of you and when you are ready for it to be a part of it." "Aarik could shift when he was ten." Liam sulked looking comically miserable in his half-muzzle and shifted limbs. Thane laughed heartily. "Did he tell you that? True he did manage a full shift once when he was ten but did he tell you why?" Liam shook his head. "He and the twins from the Forshaw pack challenged each other to visit an old miners' camp in the mountains that is said to be haunted..." "Is it?" "No son. I don't think so. It's eerie for sure but I don't think any spirits linger there. Anyway, they hiked up there without permission when Ralph being on guard duty happened upon their trail and figured he would give them a scare to set them straight. Preceding them up there he hid in one of the caves waiting for them to get close. When they did, he howled making it echo through every hollow in the mountain. Your brother shifted in pure terror and ran all the way back to the house scared to death." Liam's face lit up in pure joy. It was the best thing he had heard all year. "You like that do you? Well I'm not done yet. We found your brother cowering behind a couch and had to coax him out. It took him three days to change back to his human form and another two years before he managed a full shift again." Shaking with laughter Liam imagined his annoying brother hidden behind the couch. Putting his hands on his son's shoulders Thane leaned forward and looked him in the eyes. "Remember this son: the best hunter is not the strongest. Do you know what makes a truly great hunter?" Liam shook his head. "Speed. You can be stronger than a bear but if you can't catch your prey it is useless. But speed is not always about how fast you run. Being faster than someone means using this-" He tapped Liam's forehead with a finger. "-if you think faster than your opponent then you will always be a step ahead of them. Let the other boys compete about who will be the strongest and who will be the best. If you're smart son, you study them, take your time and find what makes you the fastest." Liam nodded in awe of his father's wisdom. "Now relax Liam and turn back to human. You look absolutely ridiculous." Grinning he closed his eyes and tried to force the wolf the other way. "No. No. No. I said relax. Let the wolf go back to where it wants to go." "It won't!" "Yes it will son. Take a deep breath." He did but the wolf still refused to be pushed back. "It doesn't work!" "Yes it does." Thane hissed threateningly, towering up over his son. Liam took a step back at the sudden change in his father. There was something vicious in his eyes that hadn't been there a second ago. "It won't go back." "You will do as I say." The big man growled menacing. "I'm trying!" Liam wailed in fear. His father started to shift into his hybrid form; towering over him, growing and growing until Liam felt inches high. The wolf within him retreated back in fear of his alpha and Liam turned to run. The beast behind him continued to grow while Liam shrunk and the stones around him became bigger and bigger. He started to climb over the pebbles as if they were huge rocks. Something blocked out the sun behind him and the shadow of his father stretched out to engulf him, leaving the world in darkness. The ground shook as something heavy hit it not far away and he slammed into the ground as he lost his footing, landing hard on his side. He made it up on all four when the ground shook again and he was slammed back down. Sensing the approaching doom he twisted around and found his father's giant foot poised above him slowly descending. There was nothing he could do. Closing his eyes and waiting for death he held his hand up in a futile attempt to ward it off. ** Liam jolted awake. Apparently he had nodded off because he was still sitting on the bed with his back against the wall. Light was streaming in from the window telling him that it was close to noon. Yawning and rubbing his eyes he sighed, there was a headache working its way to the front of his head to add to his misery. Deciding anything was better than to sit there and pine for his wayward mate he opted to wash away the tiredness with a shower. The bathroom was cramped but had everything you could need and shortly he found himself standing naked with warm water cascading down his back. It felt good, easing the tension in his muscles. For a long while he just stood there leaning heavily against his out stretched arms letting the warmth and the water pelting on his muscles relax him. It didn't take long for his thoughts to turn back to Natalie. The previous night in his bedroom replayed itself through his mind and instantly he was hard. He groaned in annoyance that he could not seem to get even a few minutes without being tortured by her. Wrapping a hand around his erection he squeezed it gently, sighing with pleasure. With his head hanging forward between his shoulders and the picture of her lying in his bed firmly in his mind he stroked himself slowly. He conjured up all the sweet memories of their night together, how she tasted when he ran his tongue across her skin, the sounds she made when he touched her and the smell of her arousal. Air rushed in and out as his breathing became heavier and the caress on his member more urgent. A soft knock on his door snapped him out of his fantasies and back to reality. Slamming his palm into the white tiles of the wall in frustration he let go of his pleasure. What? He growled at Dael. Uh, what? Came the sleepy reply stating clearly that Dael was not the one by his door. Curious Liam grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around him. The erection was still straining uncomfortably against his stomach but it would have to wait. Stopping before he opened the door he took a deep breath to smell the air and was instantly hit by an overwhelming wave of desire. She was behind the door. His pulse quickened, hungrily he sucked in another deep breath reveling in the pleasure her smell brought him. It was weak because of the door separating them but he was starving and even the small whiff brought him immense pleasure. There was another soft knock and again he was snapped out of his blissful trance. Stepping back he pulled the door open all the way to invite her in. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes wandered over his wet semi-naked body as if embarrassed but unable to help herself. "Uh. I..." She started but lost whatever she had been about to say, her mouth moving but no words leaving it. Mumbling a silent "Oh god" she gathered herself and tried again. "We need to talk." Doing his best to hide a wide grin of satisfaction he nodded for her to enter. The short hallway beyond the door wasn't really meant for two people and she had to squeeze past him to get inside. Well inside she turned towards him, her eyes roamed over his body again and she licked her lips. "Actually... If you don't mind getting some clothes this will be a lot easier." Grinning openly at that he stepped close to her as if to seduce her with his presence and she took half steps away from him until she hit the wall. The look in her eyes told him that she was still afraid but her smell betrayed her arousal. There was a moment of suspense as she closed her eyes in anticipation and held her breath, pressing into the wall behind her. As he got close enough for their bodies to touch he twisted to the side stepping around her into the bathroom as if that had been his goal all the time and she was left standing just outside the door, blinking in surprise. A few minutes later he stepped out again and pulled the hoodie down his chest and stomach. "Did you sleep any?" He asked leaning against the door frame. She had been sitting on the bed staring out the window looking troubled; as he spoke she turned towards him with a sad little smile. "Not much. I had a lot on my mind." "I'm sorry. Anything I can do to ease it?" She fell back against the bed and stared up at the ceiling with a sigh. "Every time I have you figured out you turn into someone else. Don't!" She held out a finger to him, interrupting what he was going to say. "But here's the thing... I just... I... I can't get you out of my mind." She growled in frustration covering her face with her hands. Liam couldn't stop the joy bubbling up in him and it came out as a chuckle. Lifting one hand she glared at him in indignation. "Don't mock me, you ass." His chuckle became a full out laughter and he pushed away from the wall. Walking up to the bed he leaned over her from the opposite side and put one hand on either side of her, looking down into her beautiful face. "You've been the sole thing on my mind since that moment in the alley. I want you to stay with me. Forever." "You don't even know me." She whispered and stared into his eyes with wonder. He could see a faint taint of fear still hiding within her but she wanted to believe. "I don't need to." Gently he brushed a strand of hair from her cheek with his thumb. "Who are you? I need to know. No more secrets. Please." He stared down into her eyes for a long time before he spoke again. "Then I'll tell you. No more secrets. I promise." Turning her head she softly pressed her lips to his hand. The wolf within him jumped with joy again. There was nothing he wouldn't do to please her. A wide smile spread across his face. "Get up." She blinked at him in surprise but did as asked and sat back up. Liam planted himself at the head of the bed with his back against the wall and patted the space between his legs, looking at her expectantly. Laughing she climbed up on the bed on all four. Stopping just in front of him, her face only an inch from his she tried to make an angry face. "You keep those naughty hands of yours in place mister." "Kiss me." "Why I have ne-" He planted his lips firmly on hers before she finished and was rewarded with a pleased moan. Putting both her arms around his neck she tried to force him even closer into it. "My mother will kill me." She sighed when they finally came out of it for air. "Then let's make the most of the time we have." Gently he untangled her arms from his neck and turned her around until her back was against his chest. Holding her tight he let his hands slip underneath her top to caress her stomach lovingly. "Where do you want me to start?" Sighing happily she leaned back on him, nuzzling his neck. "Is everyone at that club like you?" "A shifter? Yes." "Is that why they are acting so strange?" He huffed amused. "Yeah, I guess so. We are called a pack." "As in wolf pack?" "Mhm. Aarik is the alpha. The leader of them all." "Ah. So that's what they mean with 'boss'. Isn't he your leader too or maybe you're not part of them?" There was a moment of silence before he answered. "Yeah. He's my alpha too." "Is that why you don't get along?" "Ah." He bit his lip and sucked air through his teeth. "This is a long and painful story, I will have to take you back to the beginning." She just nodded, waiting for him to begin his tale. "There is a mental illness that sometimes affects my kind. It has a medical term but we call it the Mooncrazies. We believe that most legends throughout history have been about weres afflicted by this illness. It's very rare but it happens, estimated four or five get it over a period of hundred years. Usually the pack handles them either by locking them up during their crazy periods or even killing them if it's bad enough. There has never been a case in all of our recorded history of an alpha getting it. That's why people refused to believe it when it happened." She twisted slightly to look at him. "Your brother?" "No. Worse. My father. I was about ten when the first symptoms started to show. They were mild and far between and usually only family noticed them. We simply did our best to stay out of his way back then, thinking it would get better. It didn't, it just got worse. Aarik was away in Russia on some grand adventure claiming his independence and of course his mate, it was Kaleigh, my oldest sister, Lynn and Logan my younger siblings and me who slowly watched the decline of our father." Burying his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply he took a moment before he continued. "By the time I was twelve it was really bad. The thing with the Crazies is that it only manifests during the night. Almost like the old tales of people turning into werewolves during full moon but as far as we saw the moon didn't have to be full. It was the sun setting that drove him insane. My siblings and me used to set up a schedule for how we slept, making sure one of us was awake at all times. At the beginning there was just me Kaleigh but as he got worse and as the twins got older we would have them take a few shifts." "What about your mother? Why didn't she do anything?" "She died when I was seven; shortly after Logan and Lynn had been born. There were those that said the depression my father slipped into after her death brought on the insanity. I'm not sure what to believe." Gently she caressed his hands resting on her stomach. "I'm sorry. Please continue." She whispered. "Yeah well..." His head thumped against the wall behind him. "Kaleigh took care of us. She used to draw his ire and he would beat the shit out of her, and me if he could get a hold of me. We did our best to keep the twins safe." "Is that where you got the scars?" "Some of them. I think I was about fifteen when Kaleigh died. He drowned her in a small brook not far from the mansion. I thought I was dead too but some time later I woke up with broken ribs and a nasty bump on my head." His voice choked up and he struggled to get the next part out. "I... She was still lying in the water. It reached just above my knees but that was enough for him. I tried to pull her up and did what little CPR I knew but she'd been dead for some time." "Your father killed your sister? And no one noticed?" "Ah." He nuzzled her hair again and rested his forehead against the back of her head. "For the most part we were home schooled, and what little we did attend to the public one we could not tell anyone that our deranged werewolf father abused us without the entire pack getting hurt. As for the pack... By the time Kaleigh died the pack was broken. A mooncrazed alpha is a very, very dangerous thing. He loses all sense of how and when to use his powers, forcing his will on people by brute force but what's even more dangerous is the Command. Ingrained in every wolf is the sense of rank and order. To challenge your alpha is not something you do unless you're ready to take his place. Therefore everyone that submits to him will take almost any abuse simply because he is their alpha and they give him the right to command them." "That sounds so absurd in the real world you know." "Yeah. I guess it does. Well at first there were quite a few who challenged him when they noticed what was happening. He killed all of them. Slowly he started to punish people who voiced objections and from there it just escalated until they were afraid to move less they draw his attention to them. He even implemented a system where you got rewarded for telling on your neighbors, making everyone fear the people around them. It was absolute chaos in the pack back then." "I can't get over this pack thing. It's just too absurd." Carefully she lifted his arms away from her and leaned forward burying her face in her hands. "I must be going insane. You can't be a... a... fucking werewolf! They must have slipped me something last night." Her reaction stung him, all he could do was stare at her back desperately thinking of something he could say to make her understand, but what could you say that would convince someone their real world wasn't as real as they had always believed. "I can show you." He managed after a moment of silence. Sagging visibly she shook her head but slowly turned it towards him, giving him a forlorn look through a thin veil of blond hair. "No, Liam. I don't want you to show me. Do you have any idea how completely and utterly fucked up my life have become the last few days? I can't tell what is real anymore." She sighed in frustration. "I came here to talk. To find some form of... I don't know. But all I find is just more of this shit that keeps my world spinning way out of control. Just please... tell me something real. Something I can hold on to because I'm trying my very hardest to cope with this." The words left him before he could contemplate them. They were out his mouth faster than he could stop them. "I love you. You want me to tell you something real then know this:" Leaning forward he encased her in his embrace, hugging her as close to his being as she could possibly be. His arms wrapping around hers, pinning them to her body. "I love you." Shadows of the Moon Ch. 06 She shuddered and he felt something wet land on his wrist. "Why?" Instead of answering he cupped her chin and turned her face to him, pressing her into a heated and passionate kiss. She responded instantly by throwing her arms around his neck and pulling herself up to better align with him. I found a very distraught Lucy by the front desk Liam. She's looking for her daughter... You haven't seen her have you? The humor in Dael's voice suggested that he already knew the answer. Never breaking the kiss Liam growled internally. Stall her. Natalie is fine. Dael chuckled but did as told. They stayed locked to each other for several minutes before Natalie, despite Liam's unhappy growling, pushed away and sat back. "Tell me the story of how you found me; I need to know how long you were watching me." At first he just stared at her in confusion but then it dawned on him what she meant. "You want the truth?" He gently brushed her hair back from her face. "Would you? That would be great." She said in over-dramatic relief. Giving her his best wolf's grin he leaned back against the wall and studied her closely as she sat between his extended legs. "My brother called me early one evening and being his usual charming self he ordered me to find a certain woman for him, a Natalie Bryant. Finding people is what I do so I can see why he thought it would be a good idea. But things being what they are I told him in my usual charming way to fuck off, and that was pretty much the end of that conversation." Receiving a thin smile and a shake of her head he continued. "After that I went to a strip club to meet with some very shady people, you know... work. I remember clearly the absolutely stunning woman on stage and how I wished she would spend some time with me." He pretended to loose himself in the lovely image it conjured and it wasn't until she slapped his thigh he snapped his attention back to her. "Sorry, but she really was beautiful. A few minutes later that very same woman came running by my hiding spot and I was absolutely smitten. That was the first time we met and on that stage was the first time I ever laid eyes on you." Leaning in he gave her a quick kiss and then rested his forehead against hers. "I promise." There was an embarrassed smile on her lips as if she was not used to being talked about in such a flattering way. "I don't care what you are as long as you are real." She whispered quietly wrapping her arms around his neck again. "A wolf isn't the worst thing you could have turned out to be." His heart took a few extra beats and he couldn't help but smile. "There is one more thing you must know. My kind, we have something called mates." Liam... She's making a scene. If you're not coming down here then I'm bringing her to you. Liam sighed. "I'll explain it to you later okay? Your mother is apparently causing trouble down stairs." "Oh shit!" Natalie rolled off the bed but stopped to kiss him one last time before she bounded towards the door. "You might be the most adorable man I have ever met Liam but that woman has lost one daughter already. I need to look after her." Liam just lifted a hand in acknowledgment and let it fall back down as soon as the door closed behind her. These interruptions were really grating on his nerves. He wanted... No! He NEEDED time alone with her. Next person who dared butt in on his one on one time with his mate was going to feel the full force of his wrath. Sending a message to Dael he told him that she was on her way down. Adorable... He huffed in indignation. ** After having spent some time arguing, explaining, discussing and convincing the four were again packed into the car, heading towards Luna Spring this time. Lucy had insisted on going back to her home to pick some things up and water the plants, but after a lengthy discussion attempting to dissuade her of the notion she finally agreed to go with them. The crash had happened not far from her house and the area would be a hotspot, crawling with police and quite possibly others as well. Lucy's reply had been that she had nothing to hide and that maybe they would have been better off contacting the police to begin with. Natalie had to play the upset daughter card to get her to come with them. Liam could feel his patience growing thinner and thinner, his wolf drawing closer to the surface with each passing argument. He had always considered himself to be a very levelheaded person, patient and slow to anger, but having found Natalie and constantly being torn from her side was pushing it close to the edge. At least he had a short history with Natalie making it easier for her to accept him. Lucy having no such connection was wary to say the least. In her eyes he was a monster who sexually assaulted her daughter the previous night, never mind that the daughter didn't seem to mind. It was an odd thought; of all the things he had dealt with in his life he never expecteds to be a problem. He never expected to have in-laws at all. Now they were in the car, Dael working his magic on Lucy, slowly wearing down her defenses with his friendly chatter. Three frustrating hours later they pulled onto the avenue leading up to the mansion. ** Tap. Tap. Tap. His fingers rolled in a wave, tapping the badly damaged folder that was all that was left of project Moonlight, at least everything they had gotten their hands on. Aarik, lost in thought and with a perpetual frown on his face, repeated the tapping as he had been doing the previous ten minutes. "Boss?" Tap. Tap. Tap. Gavin cleared his throat. "Boss?" The Alpha's eyes shifted from the window, towards which he sat half turned, to his highest ranking beta, but the rest of him stayed impassive. He did not want to admit that he had been so deep in his musings he had not registered the big man entering. "Dael told me they are on their way here and that they will be bringing the woman's mother with them. Apparently they have been informed of what we are." "Both of them?" "That's what he said." "Ugh..." His fingers ceased their abuse of the paper folder and he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "That's not all." Gavin continued. "The people that made it back this morning have given me their full report and I think you should listen to them yourself when you have the time. Fake agents apparently lay in wait and abducted her again as she reached her mother's place. Our people were not sure why but the car they drove crashed and they caught up to them." "This is more or less what I heard when they arrived. Did they tell you anything new?" Gavin shifted uneasily. "Well. It appears your brother shifted pretty openly. Of course it was in the middle of the night and dark but..." He shrugged. "Why am I not surprised?" He growled. "Well you know what to do when we risk exposure. Keep a good eye on the media and if any witness or evidence gets out then stick to protocol." Gavin nodded. "I have locked the man they brought with them in an empty storage closet in the basement." "Good let him stay there for now. Since Natalie knows about us anyway I think we might just as well include her in this mess." "It's funny, sir. According to Ralph he already knew about us. He did not seem the least bit surprised about finding shifters there." "Then he knows a hell of a lot more than he should." "That's what I thought too." "Keep me informed, I want to know the moment the others get here." "Yes, sir." Aarik watched him leave and waited until the door closed before he fished his cell out of the inner pocket. Flipping through the list of contacts he paused at one of the names. This was getting too big for him to handle. It was humiliating to admit that this was more than he could chew but on the other hand the consequences of project Moonlight was a danger to them all. It was time to call the council. Pressing the call button he waited for someone to pick up. ** As they reached the last stretch of road before their destination Natalie reflected on the first time she had been driven up this very same road only a few days ago. The avenue didn't look as imposing in daylight and she couldn't help but smile as she remembered the predatory yellow eyes in the darkness. Wolf eyes. It made sense now. Ok, so the man she thought was a drug addict, then a spy, then a cult member and quite possibly Mr. Right turned out to be a... werewolf? How did one go about settling their thoughts about that? It was insane. She belonged in a mental institution for sure. Maybe all of this was just her in her head. But... Liam. She could see him clearly in profile from the backseat and he was beautiful. Just looking at him made her want to throw all caution away and continue with the insanity. Surely this fantasy was better than her crappy life. The way he held her and talked about her felt more genuine than any of her previous male engagements. Still he was a werewolf. Someone could just as well have told her he was an alien, that's how surreal the situation felt. He was from another world stepping into hers and showing her things she didn't think was possible. There was so much she wanted to ask him, so much she needed to know before going into this; whatever this was. Unfortunately it seemed impossible to get time alone with him for any longer period of time. It was one of the reasons why she had so readily agreed to go back to Luna Springs despite her mother's complaints. She wasn't done with him yet and until she was her mother would just have to come with them. The cars reached the large gravely turn pad outside the main building and Liam was out the door before theirs came to a complete stop. She barely had enough time to unbuckle her seat belt before her door was opened and his hand offered to help her out. She had sensed agitation emanating from him the past few hours and now there was a sense of urgency to his movements. Accepting the proffered hand she climbed outside. As soon as she was standing, he was behind her; wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tight to his body, burying his nose in the crook of her neck. A startled yelp escaped her before she could help herself, eliciting a worried look from her mother as her head popped up over the roof of the car. She could feel Liam's chest rumbling against her back. "You're staying in my room tonight." He breathed into her hair possessively, barely loud enough for her to hear, while squeezing her closer to him. Holding her mother's gaze trying to reassure her she slowly nodded. This dominant streak in him was extremely sexy. Normally she would have railed at the thought of submitting to anyone but there was something about this man that bypassed all her defenses and the thought of objecting to his proposition never crossed her mind. Instead her hand inched back behind her rounded ass and cupped the fleshy protrusion of his cock, rubbing it gently with her fingers. He grunted in response, giving her one last squeeze before releasing her. Dael sighing in mock frustration shook his head and rolled his eyes at the somewhat uncomfortable Lucy who didn't seem to know what to do. On one hand her daughter didn't seem to mind the treatment but the man holding her was a... a beast. "Youngsters." He huffed and motioned a welcome with his hand to Lucy as if presenting the large building. "Welcome to Luna Springs." "What is this place?" She asked hesitantly, visibly forcing her protective gaze to the building instead of the couple. "It's our home. Everyone here is like me and Liam but rest assured that you will be perfectly safe. Come. I'll show you to your room." Offering her his arm like a true gentleman he led her inside. She's staying in my wing. Came a somewhat disgruntled statement from Liam in his head. Your wing? You have your own? You know what I mean. Natalie is staying with me and her mother should be close by. Are you sure you want her to hear some of the sounds you'll be making? Dael mocked. There was a thoughtful silence while Liam thought that through. Good point. Put her a few rooms away from mine just in case. ** "Liam. Natalie. My office. Now." Aarik's cold, commanding voice echoed down the big main hall from the third floor balcony. Instantly Liam's first reaction was to do the exact opposite but as their eyes locked and he met his brother's steely gaze he remembered his submission in the Circle. The hardest words he had ever been forced to utter left his mouth. "Yes, Alpha." It was so unexpected that Dael, standing next to him, jumped in surprise. He was about to say something when Lucy interjected. "What? No! You're not taking her anywhere." Natalie cringed. "It's okay, I promise. These people are the good guys." She gave Liam's hand a squeeze as she said the last to words hoping that it was the truth. "Go with Dael and we'll meet you there shortly okay?" "You sure about this Nattie?" "Positive." She gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek and a reassuring smile. "Enjoy this place. It's pretty nice and the best part is it's free. See it as vacation." Lucy, still skeptical, nodded and let Dael lead her away towards her room. Liam threw his arm around her and pulled her close. "Mmm... Nattie." He rumbled teasingly into her hair. "Shut it." "Let's see what he wants." She nodded and together they climbed the stairs to the third floor. When they reached the alpha's office he was already seated behind the dark wooden desk in his comfortable leather chair. His expression was completely devoid of emotions but his silence crawled over them, alerting them to his displeasure. He gave them a dark look, directing them to the visitor chairs with a nod. Natalie noted Liam's half step in front of her as if trying to shield her from the anger and although flattered by his chivalry thought it was utterly stupid. "Liam... Get your own space." She said in annoyance to his back. Surprised and confused he looked at her and then down at his feet, trailing the gaze over the carpeted floor towards his brother. The corners of Aarik's mouth twisted slightly upwards and the tension in the room eased considerably. "What did you plan on doing once you reached the chairs? Sit in her lap? You heard the Lady, get your own space so I can speak with the both of you." "I... Eh. Whatever." Looking as if he had been punished for a crime he did not quite agree with he moved to the side, letting her walk up to the desk without his overbearing protection. "Look. I'm sorry I took off like that. I just-" "Quiet." Aarik's commanding growl snapped her jaws shut in an instant. "What was done was done. You are not mine to command... Yet. Nor are you here as a prisoner. You have every right to do what you did but that does not mean I do not think you're a foolish young girl and if it happens again I will treat you as such." Stopping Liam's disapproving rumble with a hard look he continued. "Having said that, you now know what we are so I think it's time we put all the cards on the table." "I would like that." Natalie leaned back in her chair and saw the man before her with new eyes. He certainly seemed to have a stick up his ass but this conversation was the most respect she could ever remember receiving from anyone: no yelling, no cursing her name, not even anger. He respected her choice and that was the end of that. "Good. Then this-" He turned the worn paper folder around with his fingers and pushed it towards her. "-is for you. The notes and the papers marked with yellow marker are not from the original file but information we have managed to piece together after we received it. I suggest you take this with you and study it and we can talk about it more tomorrow when you've had a chance to go through the material." Flipping through the papers she skimmed through the schematics, graphs and page after page with research data. "What is this?" She asked in a stunned whisper. "It's what is left of project Moonlight." Shadows of the Moon Ch. 07 So here we go again. Took some time to get this in order but finally it's done. A big thanks to Mandarabe and LiterKnight for editing. You guys do an awesome job! ** The shrill sound of the generic ring tone filled the dirty motel room. The phone's display lit up where it lay on the bed but Anthony could do nothing but stare at it, too stunned to remember how to answer. He'd been waiting for days for the phone to ring. Now on the eve of his surrender it chimed as if sent from the heavens. The gun he had been clinging to for hours while trying to gather enough courage to end it slipped out of his limp hands and fell to the floor with a dull thud. Climbing to his feet he staggered over to the bed and gripped the phone with his shaking hands. It was a disposable phone with an untraceable number and the only one who had the number was Josh. Pressing the 'answer call' button he put the phone to his ear. "Josh? I had given up hope." There was a long stretched silence before a voice answered on the other side. "No professor... I've missed you. Have you missed me?" The husky female voice seeped through the phone like a seducing smoke. Filling his senses. "Jessica?" "Mmmm... You've been a bad boy running away from me." "Just please. Let me be. I can't give you what you want." He sobbed into the receiver. Her twinkling laughter spilled from the speaker. "Tsk. Tsk. Anthony. That's a lie and you know it." "No. No. NO!" he screamed into the receiver. "You know that's not a word I accept." "Then I will end it! I will never give you what you want!" "Ah. The coward way out. You are so predictable sweetheart." "I have a gun! I will do it right now!" "Mmm... Do it. But first..." Silence followed her and when he removed the device from his ear he saw that the call had been disconnected. Confusion left him standing there staring at the phone dumbfounded until it pinged and a 'message received' symbol popped up. Dreading what he might find he pressed the icon and an image popped up on the screen. Shocked Anthony fell to his knees clutching the phone until his knuckles went white. "No. No. No." He mumbled in a repeating litany as tears streamed down his face. The phone pinged again. Pressing the icon once more he read the message. One down, one to go. Come find me and we'll make it all right again. Remember the first time we met? Remember what you told me? I can make that real for you. But first you need to do something for me. ** The rain pattered against the window of Liam's suite; the drops merging on their way down the glass pane creating mesmerizing rivulets and patterns. He was leaning against the wall, his head resting against the window frame, listening to the two women talk. They had been at it for hours now, trying to sort out the papers that were Project Moonlight. Despite the dark subject there was something soothing about the scene, they were here within the walls of his sanctuary and it soothed him, calming his aggression to a more manageable level. The three of them had shared a nice, if a bit awkward, meal. Lucy was obviously still not convinced he was suitable company for her daughter but considering what she had discovered recently he could understand why it would take some time to adjust. Admittedly he might not make the best impression either, being social wasn't his forte. But despite that he welcomed her. Lucy and Natalie was not Aarik's pack. They were his. His eyes left the darkness of the outside world and traveled across the room to where his mate and her mother sat. Natalie was on her knees next to the coffee table, all the papers and pictures of the project spread out before her, and Lucy was in the couch staring at the same papers in despair. This little part of his life had quickly become a haven from all the terrors that usually haunted him. Something inside of him was healing and he reveled in the feeling. But while his world looked a lot brighter hers became steadily darker. What had been revealed to them in the small nondescript folder was a horror hard to fathom. The purpose of Project Moonlight had been to develop a virus that targeted the shifter gene, and judging from the pictures it wasn't a very pleasant way to die. The fronts of the animals depicted were covered in blood, originating from their mouths as if they had been throwing it up. There were dogs, wolves, monkeys and most disturbing of all was the last three pictures of humans; humans whose teeth and mouth looked bloody, their hands were covered in it and the white in their eyes had gone completely blood red. They clearly lacked some of the data but if you put the pictures in the right order to form a time line it seemed to indicate that they had succeeded around two years ago. What had happened since then? Aarik had managed to get his hands on the financial records from the laboratory and even though Dr. Jessica Miller no longer worked there and the project had been finished her father had still received anonymous donations to keep the rest of his work going. "I just don't get it." Natalie moaned dropping her head to the table with what looked like a painful bang, making Liam wince. "He's such a fucking bastard!" "Hush Nat." Her mother prompted. "Don't speak like that." "I think this situation calls for some colorful language mother." Sighing deeply she turned her head to the side until her cheek rested on the tabletop, her eyes connecting with his. There was a lot of pain and sorrow in them; it was affecting her a lot more than she let show. Giving her a comforting smile he pushed away from the wall to join her on the floor, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. Surrendering to his presence she leaned into him with a relieved sigh, her head dropping back to rest on his shoulder. The warm fuzzy feeling of belonging enveloped him again, turning his lips up into a very content smile. Lucy squirmed uncomfortable and pursed her lips. "So... How long have the two of you been together?" She queried trying her best to sound unperturbed by his claim on her daughter. Natalie tensed in his arms and her eyelids fluttered open. "Umh... I..." Her mother cocked an eyebrow at her daughter's obvious hesitation. "Four days." A blush colored her cheeks. "Four days!" Lucy stared at her daughter in disbelief. "Are you serious?" "Oh come on, mother. You know I'm not a saint." "But four days honey..." She pleaded. "Can you at least try to get to know a man before you jump into bed with him? Maybe we wouldn't be in this situation if you would just show a little better judgment." "What?" Her jaw dropped and she stared at her mother. "How the fuck dare you!? This is not my fault!" She untangled herself from Liam's embrace and he let her, choosing to observe the interaction rather than intervene. Shaking with rage Natalie climbed to her feet. "Is this how it's going to be? Hm? It's always someone else's fault isn't it? If I want to sleep with Liam that's my fucking choice, you have no say in the matter! You don't get to put dad's fuck up on me because of it!" Her mother paled and looked away. "No. No. Nattie, please. That wasn't what I meant. Your father... He... I just meant that it is why we are here; at this place. I would never blame you for what he has done sweetie. I just don't like the fact that we can't go to the police and we are isolated out here in the middle of nowhere with..." She trailed off and her eyes drifted to Liam who studied her in silence. "... His kind." She finished weakly. Shaking her head in disbelief Natalie looked away, unable to stomach her mother's judgment. "I feel more at home the few days I have been here at this place than I've ever done with you or dad. All the fighting. All the controlling... You don't get to question the choices I make when you were the one who abandoned me and Lily in his care. You waltzed out the front door to be with your new lover, leaving us fend for ourselves. Do you have any idea how extreme he became after you left?" Lucy opened her mouth to protest but Natalie cut her off. "You got so caught up in your own happiness you forgot about us. You left us with a man who could do this." She waved a hand over the table, indicating the pictures and research papers. "He wouldn't let us leave the house. We were practically his prisoners!" Liam heard the long pent up pain and anger in her voice. This confrontation had been long in the making and had very little to do with Lucy's comment. But taking this fight now when she was still reeling from the revelations about her father was not a good idea and Liam decided it was time to step in. He climbed to his feet and as she was about to open her mouth again to spew more anger at her mother he stepped between them and encased her in his arms. Cradling her cheek in his palm he rested his forehead against hers. She was shaking from rage and tried to push him away until he captured her gaze with his own and she stilled. A shaky breath escaped her as they stood there looking into each other's eyes and he could see her well up with tears. The rage filled tremors turned to shivering and he stepped closer, wrapping her up even tighter in his embrace and letting her head drop down to rest on his shoulder. "I think you should leave." He told the older woman, not bothering to look back at her. There was a rustle of cloth as she got up from the couch and headed towards the door. Before leaving she looked back at them and Liam met her gaze calmly giving her a small reassuring nod. There was a deep sorrow in her eyes; Natalie was clearly not the only one hurting. Nodding back she left the room, closing the door behind her silently. Making soothing sounds and brushing his lips against the top of her head he did his best to comfort her. After a while she stilled and while wrapping her arms around his neck she pushed away enough to look up into his face with her red rimmed eyes and tear streaked face. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I don't know what came over me." "It's okay, baby. Don't worry about it. Maybe we should call it a night and get some rest. You're tired from last night and then this." He nodded towards the table. "Things will feel better in the morning. I promise." Nodding she gave him a small smile and his heart lurched with love. Bending down he crooked an arm around her knees and one around her back, lifting her up in his arms. "To bed it is." ** Natalie looked herself over in the mirror. She was an absolute mess. Her mascara made black lines down her face, her hair was disheveled and her eyes more red than white. The outburst towards her mother had come from nowhere. Sure there had been a time in her past when she had been angry with her. For a while in her teens she would even go as far as call it hate. Years of pent up anger and hurt had come bursting out. Turning the tap she let the water flow and plunged her face into the warm water that pooled in her hands, washing away the tears and makeup that stained her cheeks. The past few days had been an emotional storm unlike anything she could have imagined. Her life before this had been a big mess of disappointments, fights and heartbreak but nothing quite like this. Looking back at the five days of chaos the only island to hold onto to keep her sane had been supplied by the stranger whom she had nothing short of moved in with. Logic told her that this was insane. It was insane to stay with these people who could turn into monsters. It wasn't safe to throw herself into the arms of a man she knew nothing about... But here she was and there was no other place that she could think of where she rather wanted to be. The thought of going through this alone was chilling. What would have happened had Liam not been there? If she had gotten away from her captors where would she have gone? What would she have done? Slowly lowering the towel she used to dry her face she made another scan of her face. The makeup was gone and her eyes looked a bit better. They were still puffy and she felt raw and hurting which clearly shone through. Come morning she would have to apologize to her mother, not that Natalie believed she had necessarily done wrong because the hurt was very real, but because she did not feel like making an enemy out of the last family member she had. Putting the past away to be dealt with another time was preferable to going through this alone. Sighing deeply she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the counter raking her fingers through her hair to hold her head up. "Get a grip girl." She whispered without any real conviction. "You can do this. Fight. I need you to fight." The chant was something she had picked up in her teens when her mother had moved out and conflict with her father had been daily. Looking up once again to meet her gaze in the mirror she was pleased to see more anger and determination than the mind numbing despair. She wouldn't let them win. They wouldn't get away with this. She would sleep. She would eat. And then she would read every scrap of paper on the living room table until she could find her father and wring some truth from him. She would fight. "Don't let the world get to you." She told herself sternly. "It's a shitty place but you are stronger." Pushing herself up she straightened and did what little she could about her hair. When done with the cleanup she flipped the lock and pushed the door open. "Liam?" Within seconds he slipped inside and encircled her waist with his arms as if he had been waiting for her. "Hmm?" He hummed in her ear. There was something soothing in simply having him close and her anxiety eased considerably. Leaning back on him she let her head drop backwards on his shoulder. "Would it be okay if I use your bathtub?" She could hear air rushing into his lungs as he inhaled deeply, his nose buried in her hair, before he answered. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine. It was a stupid outburst. I'm sorry." "Don't be." His eyes met hers in the mirror and they both studied each other in silence. "Five days is very sudden." Her whispered words were filled with worry. "Do you think this is going a bit fast?" "No." "You sound so certain." "I am." He sighed happily. He wanted to tell her why, but she was exhausted and in emotional turmoil already, adding to her distress wouldn't do either of them any good. It would all just end up in confusion and more exhaustion. "Take that bath, it will relax you and then I suggest you get a good night's sleep. In the morning when you're rested everything will feel a lot better." She nodded tiredly draping herself back against him, running a hand through his hair. "That tub looks big enough for two. Join me?" He hummed his approval while kissing her neck softly, warm lingering kisses, each one making her breath just a little bit heavier. His hands were finding their way under her top, caressing it slowly upwards to rest just under her breasts. "Liam..." She whispered breathlessly as he slipped one hand under the cloth to continue his caress upwards, slowly stroking the area of her right nipple through the lace of her bra with his thumb. Feeling the heat build she rolled her hips against him, rubbing her butt subtly against his crotch in a circular motion, almost as if she was dancing. The soft rumble in his chest as he again hummed his approval spurred her on. Raising her arms above her head she rolled her hips even more, accentuating the seductive dance while he continued to explore. His hands lifted the top above her shoulders and slowly caressed it up along her arms until he could remove it completely. "You are too good to be true." She moaned softly. Turning while she slid down his body until her face was level with his hips but her hands still lingered on his torso, slowly she caressed her way down his stomach towards the hidden prize. Her fingers brushed by the button to his jeans and hungrily she sucked her lip between her teeth looking up at him teasingly. "Is this what you want?" Her fingers worked the zipper down leaving the button to hold the clothing in place, while she slipped her hand inside, her fingers squeezing his hard flesh. "Ugh." A sound somewhere between a grunt and a sigh. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it above his head, dropping it on the floor once he was free of it. "Say it." She teased, reaching out with her tongue to brush the course cloth with a lick. "I don't beg." He growled, his eyes heavy lidded and looking down at her. Giving him one last squeeze she extracted her hand, letting it rest outside. With one hand still on his erection and one holding his hip she lifted herself up a bit until she could run her tongue across his abs, mimicking what he had done to her on their first night together and making his cock twitch. "Say it." His fingers buried in her hair and his hand clenched in to a fist. "Is this how you want to play it?" Tilting her head upwards while parting her lips wantonly she let him pull her head backwards. "Mmmm... I love to play." "Undo the button." She grinned up at him wickedly. "Beg for it." "Undo it." She squeezed his erection again. Still grinning. "Oh fuck." He muttered. "Natalie." "You know what I want." Sliding one finger into her mouth, one of the fingers that she just a few seconds ago used to massage him with, she made an 'mmmm...' sound. There was a battle of wills as he looked down at her. He clearly wanted to be the dominant one but she would not let him. Breathing heavily he let out a frustrated sigh and leaned forward on his arm against the counter top. "Please. I... need you." With a flick of her fingers the button opened and she eased the pants down. His cock jumped out at her and she encircled it with her hand, caressing it lovingly. "Is this what you want?" She whispered, her hot breath against the head making it jerk. Then she leaned in closer and licked him from the base to the tip. Stopping with her tongue still connected to the swollen head to look up at him innocently as if asking for affirmation. He gasped at her treatment and another strangled moan passed his lips. "Ugh... Yes. Please." The last word he added after half a second's hesitation. Smiling triumphantly she opened her mouth completely to engulf him. The moan was one of pure pleasure this time and he leaned in heavier on his arms, standing there hunched over her kneeling form. With her eyes closed she enjoyed the feeling of him sliding between her lips. He tasted so good. With one hand she encircled his girth and helped rub the base while her mouth tended to the rest. "You're so good." He whispered above her and with her eyes still closed she could feel his fingers lovingly caress her chin, winding their way into her hair. How she adored this man. She wasn't exactly sure what was so different about him than all the other men in her life but he was unlike anyone she knew. Maybe it was the way he touched her or the feeling of safety he projected. Whatever it was she loved to hear him moan with pleasure. Her eyes fluttered open and with a last lingering kiss to the head of his cock she let him slip from her mouth's embrace. She gazed up at him until he opened his eyes to meet hers questioningly, wondering why she stopped. Understanding dawned in his eyes and the hand buried in her hair closed, taking a firm grip and pulling her up. Before she even made it all the way his lips were pressed to hers in a searing passionate kiss. Demanding entrance with his tongue and dominating her with his towering stance. Natalie didn't mind. She had gone past the point of control and he could dominate her all he wanted if she got release. While he held her face locked to his she fiddled with the buttons to her own pants and slid them down her thighs, stepping out of them gracefully. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 07 Her head was tilted back by a slight tugging in her hair and his lips moved off her mouth down her chin to stop briefly at her neck. "Did you enjoy teasing me?" He whispered hotly into her ear. Her mind was too far gone for a coherent answer and all she found herself doing was kneading the muscles on his chest and arms and giving off tortured whimpers of pleasure. "I should-" He kissed her just beneath the ear before he continued. "Punish you." When he nipped her neck with his teeth to accentuate his point she gasped and rolled her hips against him, which only made her feel his hardness against her stomach that more clearly. "Would you like that?" Panting like a dog she nodded with what little movement his grip would allow. Oh god she was so ready. Her skin was flushed making both of them clammy with sweat where ever they connected. All he needed to do was touch her and she would tumble over that edge into ecstasy. Both his hands left their post abruptly and landed one each on her thighs, hoisting her up. Automatically her legs wrapped around his waist and she clung to him with her arms around his neck. Moving forward with her securely in his arms he backed her up until her butt cheeks touched the counter top next to the sink, he poised her on the edge and angled himself up against her opening. "You want me?" She arched her back pressing her breasts closer to him and moaned, gripping him tighter with her legs trying to draw him in. "Say it." He teased, playing her game. With a growl she gripped a handful of his hair and pulled his head down until she could give him a stern look. "You stop this right now, you hear me, or I swear I'll deal with it myselfff..." The last syllable came out in a hiss as he pushed inside and she bit down on her lip. ** Twenty two years ago a new dawn found Liam the sole survivor of a family massacre. It had been the blackest night in a decade of black nights. Stepping into the Alpha role meant making quite a few changes. One of them had been moving from his neglected boy's room to the Alpha's suite in the mansion since it was more fitting to a leader. He hadn't lasted long though. Constantly being surrounded by memories of the man that had destroyed his family had been torture. Sleeping in the office or one of the more secluded recreational room had been preferable than his own bed. It had been a great relief when he had finally decided to redo the ill maintained east wing and move in there, leaving the west one untouched until his brother came home. One of the features the designer had insisted on when doing the remodeling was a big tub. Liam hadn't particularly cared either way back then but now he definitely saw the point. Sitting with his arms resting on the rim and Natalie sitting between his legs, her body draped back against his chest, he was in heaven. The warm water and the post coitus release had him more relaxed than he could ever remember being. Not a word had been uttered between them since their coupling and no words were needed. Both were completely at ease. Natalie lifted a leg above the surface and watched the water trickle down her smooth glistening skin. Trailing his fingers along her right arm as she grabbed the sponge he watched her absorb water and squeeze it out over her shoulder. With a satisfied sigh she continued to dab her neck with it. "I always hoped the man of my dreams would have a big tub." Gently nuzzling the space behind her ear he took his time before answering. "Is that who I am?" "Oh god no." She groaned and Liam's lips froze on her neck. "You're so much better than that loser." He chuckled and she twisted her head up to meet him in a loving kiss. They shared a long loving look into each other's eyes when she suddenly twisted back, facing away from him, her demeanor suddenly downcast. Just as he was about to ask what troubled her she whispered. "I'm sorry." "What? For what?" "I... My father... and stuff. By the looks of it he was trying to kill you. And your brother. And everyone else in this house. Everyone else like you." "That has absolutely nothing to do with you." What she was suggesting was preposterous. "I know. I know... But it still sucks that I finally find such a nice place as this where I feel so at ease and then my father manages to ruin it again. It's like that man doesn't want me to be happy. My life has become like one of those horror movies and my father is the creepy ghost child that will follow you everywhere. You can burn it, bury it, hack it and move house but at the last scene before it goes black it will still haunt you. Oh god..." She groaned and tugged at her hair. "Please tell me those don't exist. I hate those movies." For the first time in a long while Liam burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. She was adorable. At first she simply sat there glaring at him but once the moment of indignation passed, her lips curled upwards and she joined him with a chuckle of her own. "No but seriously. They don't exist do they?" She tried again once he stilled. "No, sweetheart. I don't think so. At least I have never heard of such a thing but strange phenomenon does happen. Maybe somewhere at some point a similar thing happened and that's where such stories come from, but it's not something that happens every day." He cupped her chin in his palm. "As for your father. Yeah. It might suck but I'm damned glad you're here. And if we stop him then no harm done." "Except for the people in those pictures." "They were dead before you got here. Before anyone of us knew anything about any of this." "If he ruins this place... I will kill him." She pulled away slightly, hiding her face behind a curtain of hair. Frowning he slid an arm around her waist puling her back to him. "WE will. Believe me when I say me and my brother might have our differences but I would defend this place with my life if anything were to threaten it." She was silent for a moment, lost in thought before she relaxed back against his chest. "Why do you fight?" "As in why I would fight for this place?" He asked confused. "No. Why do you and your brother fight? I agree the guy is stiffer than a construction beam but still... He's your brother." Liam huffed and shifted uncomfortably. His arm leaving her waist to rest back-up on the rim again as if drawing back from her. "It's a long story." "I'm not going anywhere. What happened?" The muscles in his jaw flexed as his jaw clenched and he growled at her question. Hearing him growl her body tensed up and fear emanated from her which immediately sent his mind reeling back from the annoyance he felt at her prodding. "I'm sorry." He whispered, kissing the back of her head gently. "It's not something I like to dwell on. I... Let's not do this tonight okay. I just want to enjoy this time with you." She nodded and together they sat in silence until the cooling water forced them to leave. ** Marcus lifted his head when he heard the door opening. About an hour ago by his estimation someone had fetched him from his closet and shoved him into a chair, tying his arms to the backrest. Now he was in a plain square box of a room with whitewashed cement walls and a heavy metal door. The only furniture was a table and two chairs. The heavy metal door opened slowly with a grating sound as if it wasn't used much and the bald stocky man from the previous day entered together with a tall blond man with a blond back slick and a fancy suit. The blond man slipped into the unoccupied chair like royalty taking to his throne and eying him with a thoughtful look, steepling his fingers in what Marcus would describe as a classical sinister look. It suited the man well and adding to the discomfort the bald man with the torn ear stalked around Marcus to lean on the wall directly behind. "Every Brian Cox ever employed in the agency is accounted for. But then again... You are not Brian Cox are you?" The blond man said getting straight to the point. "Who are you?" Marcus strained his ears and kept his head turned slightly to the side so he could see the big man behind him. It was unnerving to have someone of obvious thuggish nature in his blind spot. "I'm no one. Just some idiot that accepted a deal I shouldn't have." "Bullshit. You are not nobody. You seem well familiar with what we are so you have apparently been privileged to information you shouldn't have. Why don't you tell me about that?" Marcus shifted into a resigned slouch and gave up on keeping track of the man behind him. "You want me to tell why I know what I know?" The blond man nodded. "Okay. Here it is. I was in the military, we were stationed in Turkey two years back to keep the civil war in Syria from spreading into neighboring countries. Me and my boys got a shitty little outpost high up in the mountains and two of you fuckers started to... Hunt us. I guess. Picked us off one by one. We called for backup thinking there were hostiles in the area but when they arrived-" He shrugged with a snarl. "-nothing. They found nothing. A field medic took a look at the bodies and said there must be a bear nearby. We knew that wasn't true because no bear is that intelligent but we kept our mouths shut since we didn't want to be psyche evaluated." The cold green gray eyes of the blond man studied him in silence with an expressionless mask. Marcus felt a strange need to cower before him and surrender. He was in the presence of an alpha and it was becoming more and more evident from the aura of respect he projected. Which probably meant the man behind him was a beta. Fuck. "They stayed a while but eventually the backup was called away and we were left alone. Then just when we were ready to accept that a random fucking wild beast attacked and killed three armed fit men in full combat gear, it happened again. Me and another guy were making a routine check along the border when we split up only for a second. I heard a growl, a scream and wet crunching sounds. I rounded the tree and there it was. Grinning up at me as if he was taunting me." "I see." Aarik shifted back in his chair and evaluated the man before him. "The story doesn't end there does it? How come it didn't kill you?" "Bullet to the head and two in the leg. Think I took its eye out. The creature scampered off howling and I was left with a dislocated shoulder and scratches down my side. Want to see?" "I think I will manage without." "Suit yourself." Marcus shrugged. "When I got back to the camp we reported it in to headquarters but I was fucked if I was going to keep my mouth shut this time. I told them exactly what I had seen. A wolfman walking on two legs with claws as big as knives. Naturally I was discharged and deemed mentally unstable." "Is that when you decided to join the cause and kill all shifters?" "What?" Marcus was genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?" "We know about Project Moonlight." "Well I don't. What the fuck is it?" Aarik's eyebrow arched up in interest. "You want me to believe you know nothing about it? You come home from the war shamed and traumatized, no one believes you and you're telling me you did not hold a grudge?" There was a pregnant silence that stretched on beyond what was acceptable and Aarik shifted his gaze to his beta, who responded immediately. Marcus's head was slammed down into the table and held there, his cheek pressing uncomfortably against the cold surface. "Wait. Wait!" Marcus pleaded. "I was angry! I was pissed as hell! I looked for people who had seen the same. I sifted through a shitload of crazy people looking for that grain of truth so I could avenge my battle brothers. I got nothing. Then one day out of the blue a man approaches me and tells me I have a choice. Either go with him or die. I decide to go with him and he takes me to this warehouse. They had caged werewolves with shock collars on in it and this guy tells me that they hunt them. That was fine by me and I enlisted on the spot. He offered me good money and I really needed cash." Aarik motioned to his beta to ease up and Marcus was allowed to slowly sit back up in his chair. "He taught me stuff about how your kind works. Alpha." He met Aarik's cold gaze. "Beta." He nodded back at the man behind him. "Stuff like that." "Why were you looking for the girl?" "I don't know. I saw him talk to this woman and suddenly we are to drop everything we're doing to go find some Anthony Bryant." The corners of Aarik's mouth twisted up slightly. "Now. Here is what you will do. You will give me the name of the man, the address of the warehouse and any other little details you think might be useful. Do this and I will personally look into keeping you alive." ** The morning light spilled in through the curtains of the big window and Natalie stretched lazily with a wide catlike yawn. The bed was soft and the body whose arms were wrapped around her offered a warmth and safety that she wasn't used to. She snuggled into the pillow hiding a wide smile of happiness. How she loved this place. If she could wake up like this every morning she would be one lucky woman. Wiggling around until she lay face to face with her lover she stared into his face. Light stubble crested his chin and his hair was tussled from sleep, giving him a rugged look. Leaning in she placed a quick kiss on his nose and as an instant response his arm tightened around her waist pulling her closer. "Sexy boy." She sang blowing some air into his face. The arm holding her tightened even more while he attempted to roll over to his stomach, as a result he tucked her in under him with half his body sprawled on top of her. "Liam, you beast." She giggled trying to push him off of her. He grunted in his sleep and suddenly something wet slithered up her chin. "Oh god. Did you just lick me!?" Shifting his weight he nuzzled the side of her face and slid a knee between her legs. The hard length of his cock pressed against her hip as he rubbed slowly against her. "I thought you were a light sleeper." She grunted and pushed some more. He was starting to get uncomfortably heavy. "You're not a wolf. You're a damned dog. I've not had someone humping my leg since my friend's frisky terrier in high school." The hand that had been wrapped around her waist traveled down to her hip taking it in a firm grip and pressing her groin against him. The tongue came back stroking her neck with long loving strokes. A blissful sigh escaped him and with a mighty heave he shifted his weight up on all fours, blinking his eyes open sleepily. "Morning." He grunted lowering his lips to hers. "Hey there, mutt." With a snort he nipped her chin in punishment for the insult. "You know if I wanted someone to slobber all over me and hump my leg I would have gotten a dog not a boyfriend." "With me you can have both." He grinned against her skin. The lips continued their onslaught down her neck to linger on her collar bone. "So I'm your boyfriend am I?" "I'm not sure what else to call a man I'm enjoying certain night time activities with but met six days ago, and by the looks of it-" Her eyes traveled across the room. "-am currently living with. Uh... Do you mind?" She hated the uncertainty that sneaked into her voice making her sound insecure. Chortling he shifted until they were face to face. "Do I mind being your boyfriend?" The rough bristles of his stubble chaffed as he rubbed his chin against hers to reach her ear with his lips. "I intend to be much more than that." He whispered huskily his voice thick with lust. "I will be the only man you ever think about." His thumb rubbed against her hip and the other fingers squeezed her firmly, accentuating his claim on her. With her fingers buried in his hair she hummed her agreement. Dragging his head up away from her by his hair she captured his gaze. "As much as I love the thought of you ruining me for other men it will have to wait. I need to go to the bathroom." His jaws came apart in a wide yawn and he blinked sleepily at her. "That means letting you leave this bed." "Uh-huh." He frowned unhappily, sticking his lower lip out in a pout. "But I was having such a good morning." "Which will undoubtedly be ruined by me peeing the bed anyway. Either way this will not end happily for you." With a heavy sigh he rolled off her and flopped down on his back with his hands behind his head. "Thank you." Giving his lean muscled chest a loving pat she scooted of the bed and headed for the bathroom. After having finished her business, picked up her clothes from the previous night and put her hair up in a messy ponytail she stepped back out into the bedroom. The bed was empty and Liam was nowhere to be seen. A twinge of worry jolted through her mind. What if he left? What if this, whatever this was, wasn't what she thought it was? It was only for a millisecond and she pushed the thoughts away in anger. She wasn't that insecure. So what if it wasn't real. She had been alone before. It wouldn't be a big deal. ...But this was so good. With a sigh she sank to the bed and rubbed her face. Her life had never been roses and rainbows and she was sick and tired of the constant struggle. Liam was the first good thing in a long while and in this mess of a life she needed good things. Lost in her own thoughts she didn't notice the covers of the bed rise behind her. Not until a cloth wrapped head of a wolf was put on her shoulder offering comfort did she react. There was a high pitched squeal and Natalie flew off the bed, jumping away and grabbing the closest weapon she could find. With the heavy glass vase hefted she turned to fend off the bed monster. The thought that the vase was probably an expensive art piece costing more than what she could make in a year did cross her mind, but survival overruled it. The covers wiggled and danced from side to side comically while the wolf underneath it searched for the edge. Getting closer it sat up straighter and stuck its snout out from under the edge, its eyes still covered. It whined and bounced its head to get the covers away. "Holy shit..." Natalie lowered the vase back to the table as she took in the humorous sight before her. The covers slid back some more and a pair of soulful golden eyes peered up at her. A long pink tongue flopped out and she could have sworn there was a mischievous smile on its face. "Liam?" The wolf huffed and the covers slipped further to rest in a cowl around his head. The scene was ridiculous and as his puppy eyes stared up at her, laughter bubbled up from some hidden place deep within. It wasn't a laughter you laugh when you hear a funny joke or have a good day. It was a laughter sprung from relief and years of anxiety suddenly lifting. Tears sprung to her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hands while laughter continued the pour out of her. She wasn't sure why she was laughing. It made no sense. She wasn't sure why she was crying either, it was just like a bubble bursting and a cleansing flood washed through her, forcing out tears she had stored for almost ten years. Shuffling closer to the bed she wrapped her shaking arms around her lover not thinking twice about the wild animal in his place. She needed comfort and if he chose to attack her so be it. Tucking her knees under her she crawled up on the bed and dragged him down with her. He didn't fight it; instead he twisted as they sank back on the bed and ended up on his side while she buried her face in the thick fur around his neck. The tears subsided but neither of them moved. She lay there with her face buried, stroking his soft gray coat for a long while until the wolf sighed heavily and rose back up to his feet. Natalie let her arm slide off him and rolled over to her back which put the wolf directly above her. The wet nose tickled as it pressed against her neck and face as if it was examining her for wounds. Unwillingly Natalie started to giggle again. Shadows of the Moon Ch. 07 "Stop it." She said and playfully attempted to push him away. Liam huffed again and buffed her hands away from her face so he could land a long slobbery kiss up her cheek. With a disgusted wail Natalie grabbed his snout and held his face still, staring determinedly into his eyes. "No! You do not do that again. Keep your slimy wet tongue to yourself." The golden feral eyes of a wolf stared into the sad blue eyes of the human woman beneath him. Locked in that stare her hands shifted their grip to gently brush by his powerful jaw and caress his ears. "You are magnificent." She whispered in awe of the powerful animal. He nuzzled her neck lovingly, pressing the side of his face against hers. The spell was broken when suddenly the wolf's ears flicked and it squirmed out of her embrace to jump off the bed and disappear into the closet. It was so sudden she sat up with a perplexed look. "Liam?" There was some rustling and a moment later the man walked out barefoot dressed in low hanging gray sweatpants. All he did was smile at her as he made his way to the living room door and made a beckoning motion with his hand. Eyeing the doorway with suspicion she pondered what the man could possibly be up to now, but curiosity spurred her to follow. Scrambling out of bed she joined him in the living room. He was in the kitchen area preparing coffee as if nothing was going on but a mischievous smile tugged at his lips. "What...?" The rest of her question never reached her lips as a loud knock echoed through the room. Without hesitation as if he had been waiting for it Liam called "Enter." and Dael stepped through together with Eileen carrying two big boxes. "Your shipment has arrived milady!" With a grin Dael put his box down on the couch. "What's this?" Natalie carefully lifted the lid to peek inside. The box was filled with her stuff from the apartment she had left behind. In the commotion she had completely forgotten that she had put the return of her things as a condition to stay the first day she spent at Luna Spring. "How did you get these?" Her eyes flicked from Dael to Liam who shrugged. "I put some people on it. They called your landlord who was in the process of cleaning it out anyway. According to reports he was pretty pissed about the broken door and the commotion we started but when offered compensation he was more than willing to give up your things." Stunned she stared at them in shock. "I'll pay you back as soon as I can. You didn't need to go through all this. I was angry and I didn't want to go down without a fight when I said I needed my things. There is nothing here of value." Dael's bubbling laughter took her by surprise; at the very least she had expected them to be annoyed. "Don't worry about it girl. This one is on the house. If it will make you feel more at home then I would consider it a good investment. But do me a favor and stay put from now on." His attention shifted to Liam. "The same goes for you. I think it's time everyone stopped running and faced up to their past." Liam scowled but did not object. Grabbing two cups from the counter he poured the coffee and joined them at the table, handing one of the cups to Natalie. Eileen stepped forward with a guilty look and gave a small apologetic shrug, still holding the box she had been carrying. "Look I'm sorry. I have a really big mouth. I'm so used to the gossip of this place and I never meant to scare you away." "No. It's okay." Natalie put her mug down and lifted the box from the smaller woman. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight. Seems like things turned out okay so no need to dwell on it." Breaking out into an adorable smile Eileen leaned in with her hands clasped in front of her and her shoulders drawn up. "Promise?" It was evident the woman could charm her way out of anything. Natalie nodded her consent with an enthusiastic "Uh-huh." but in truth she was holding onto her sanity by a thread. It was overwhelming having these people she knew so little about care so much. Rolling her eyes and biting her lip in a cute innocent gesture Eileen shifted her attention to Liam. Natalie could have sworn the other woman almost seemed star struck. "Sooo..." She began hesitantly. "You know the autumn hunt is just a week away. Will the two of you still be here by then?" "What's that?" Natalie's eyes wandered from one to the other questioningly. Liam opened his mouth to answer but Eileen beat him to it. "It's about the only celebration we have. Once a year all of the pack gathers and we... ah... you know." She shrugged, doing her best to avoid the word but finally opting to whisper it to cushion the impact. "We shift." Her eyes made a round around the gathered people making sure no one would scold her for speaking to a non-shifter about their dual nature. "Then we hunt together. Bring back food and have a great big barbeque." "And you want me there? I don't know first thing about hunting." Eileen's face immediately took on a very comical 'Oh no!' expression while Dael chuckled and she could feel Liam's smile against the side of her head as he kissed her hair. He lifted the box from her and put it down on the couch next to the other. "Not everyone joins in the hunt. The children who can't shift yet stay at home, so do the wounded and some of the omegas who make the preparations. There will be plenty of people left at the house until the hunters come back." "Great. I'll be staying here with the children and the wounded?" "Do you want to hunt?" "Uh... No. No. Not really. I just don't like being left behind." With a wide smile Dael winked at Liam. "If I didn't know any better I would say that mate of yours has some alpha material in her. Good luck with that." "Mate?" It was a simple word but it subdued the atmosphere in the room considerably. "What's that?" After some uncomfortable shifting Dael cleared his throat. "It would seem the two of you still have some things to sort out. Why don't we leave them to it Eileen?" He motioned for her to precede him out. The door clicked shut and Natalie was forced to lean down to catch Liam's eyes as he did his best to avoid hers by staring into his cup. "Something you want to tell me?" "I might have neglected to mention something." At the alarmed expression on her face he hurriedly put the coffee down and framed her face with his hands. "Don't worry. It's not dangerous. I just didn't want to stress you out. You have enough shit to deal with." "Get to the good part and hurry up about it will you?" "A mate is... You could call it partner or maybe husband to make it easier to understand. A shifter, with a few exceptions, can smell compatibility in a partner. Humans do too, on a subconscious level, but nowhere near as well as we can. The better someone smells the more compatible you are. Of course that's only physical attraction but it goes a long way to determine how well you will get along. Then, if you're lucky, you happen upon that certain someone who smells just absolutely divine. It's then that you know there will never be anyone more perfect for you. Your mate." Still with his hands framing her face she stared up at him in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" "It's what compelled me to follow you when you ran past me in that alley. I didn't know your name until I found that name tag on the street but I knew I had to investigate." "This is so fucked up! What am I supposed to do with this information?" Collecting his hands in hers to free her face she leaned in slightly, stress radiating from her. He mimicked her movement and leaned in. "Why do anything at all? You were fine just a moment ago and nothing has changed. You wondered why I was so certain five days was not moving too fast and that is because you smell absolutely positively divine. I'm not asking you to feel the same." She searched his eyes for any deception and after a few seconds of silence she straightened and gave him a peculiar look. "So you're saying we are perfect for each other?" Lifting his shoulders in a half shrug he gave her a short nod. It almost looked like he was saying; I apologize but there is nothing I could do about it. "Like soul mates?" "That's not really what we would call it but if it helps to look at it like that." A well-trimmed eyebrow arched its way up her forehead. "I've been with a lot of men for a lot of stupid reasons. That sounds... Quite nice actually." She eyed him closely from head to toe. "Good looks. Wealthy family. Big house. I could do a lot worse." Picking his cup up from the table again he took a last mouthful before the content got too cold and gave her a sidelong affronted look. The laughter trickling from her was genuine and any concerns regarding mates seemed to vanish. "Sooo..." Liam hid a wicked smile behind the rim of the cup. "How many?" "Hm?" She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Men. How many men?" A thick silence descended in the room and he quite enjoyed watching her squirm. ** "Let her in." His finger left the com unit and he turned back towards the glass wall, studying the city sprawled beneath him, its night lights sparkling, mirroring the starlit sky that was hidden behind the dark clouds. The door opened and the tall leggy brunet was ushered inside the huge office by the neatly dressed secretary. She walked with the confident sexy swagger of someone who knew she would turn every head in the room. There was a smug smile on her ruby red lips and as she reached his desk she slid a naked leg over the corner of his desk in that all too familiar way. It annoyed him that she thought he would accept such liberties, even from her. "What do you have for me?" He asked. Not bothering to turn around to look at her. "Mmm..." She purred. "I found him." He turned his head slightly and his eyes snapped to look her way from the corner of his eye. "Anthony?" "Am I good or what?" She grinned, stretching a long smooth leg his way. Slipping the front of her slick black stilettos under his belt and resting the sharp heel against his butt cheek painfully. It was punishment for ignoring her. With a growl he turned and grabbed her leg as it was about to fall back down. His fingers dug into her ankle painfully and he gave a small tug pulling her to the very edge of the desk. She yelped in surprise and for a brief moment there was a delicious flash of fear in her eyes. Bracing herself on her elbows she watched as the cloth of her tight pencil skirt slid up her thigh as he brought her leg straight up and out to the side, spreading her legs. Leaning in above her he rested his weight on a hand next to her head. "You lost him to begin with." There was a slight taint of disgust in his growl. Anger replaced whatever fear had been there. "I was done babysitting him. You gave me no orders to keep tabs. I did what you asked of me." He sneered. Letting go he pushed her leg further out to the side abruptly and she slid off the edge ungracefully with a surprised yell. Twisting around mid-fall she cushioned her landing with her knees. With a sharp breath of pain she glared up at him. "You're such a bastard." "And you don't know your place. My desk is not for you to sit on." Getting back on her feet she rolled down the skirt and corrected her silky purple blouse. "Fair enough." Giving him a sickly sweet smile she sauntered closer and traced a red manicured nail around the top button of his shirt. "Have your desk. But remember this... I'm the one with the cure. It would be a shame if you got sick." She pouted with a wicked grin. "Is that a threat?" He tried to grab the hand poking at his chest but she snatched it away and stepped out of his immediate reach. "Tsk. Tsk. Give me the respect I deserve and we don't have a problem. You might want to remember that." The finger she was wagging at him like he was a naughty boy was replaced by her middle finger as she flipped him off over her shoulder as she walked away laughing. "I hate that woman." He growled to the empty room once the door closed, but her warning had not gone unheard. He would have to step carefully, she might be below him but that made her no less dangerous. Hitting the speed dial and call button he lifted the phone to his ear. "Boss. We are ready to start phase two. You want us to go ahead?" Shadows of the Moon His eyes fell again on the plastic card in his hand and he held it up for her. "Natalie Bryant I presume?" ** Natalie stared at the card still holding tight to her weapon. Of course it was her. Did he see any other women the card could belong to? His eyes were beautiful though even if he seemed a bit daft. She had seen him face down Tomas without as much as a flinch and now he was standing there smelling the sewers like he had a bouquet of flowers under his nose. He was dressed in worn jeans and a baggy black hoodie which didn't seem to fit him at all. He really did look like the street thugs that usually loitered this part of town. "Look now. I don't want any more trouble. All I want to do is go home. What I want you to do, is pick up my stuff, put it back in the bag and hand it over." She tried to sound commanding. Bemused he looked at her but did as requested and knelt to gather her stuff. "Let me walk you home at least." He offered and held the purse out to her when he was done. "Oh no you don't." She shook her head at him. "You will turn around and walk away. That's what you will do." She answered reaching out for the offered item. Liam held onto it as she tugged at it and turned his face to catch her eyes. "Please." He said softly. Natalie's hand rested on the purse next to his and she found herself staring into those mesmerizing green eyes again. His voice was smooth and dark and she shivered with pleasure. "I... Uh... What? No." was all she managed. Annoyed at her reaction. His eyes drifted down to the hand still holding the pipe and saw blood dripping from a long gash on her arm. "You're hurt." He said releasing his grip on the purse. "Yeah, there was some glass on the ground." She turned the arm to inspect the wound. There hadn't been time for her to inspect it earlier and now when she looked at it now, it looked horrible. It would likely leave a scar. "Look. Lets get you back home and have that looked at." He grabbed the pipe carefully and eased it out of her hand. Strangely she didn't feel compelled to resist him. Letting the pipe fall to the ground he put a gentle hand on her elbow and guided her down the street. "So where are we going?" "Err... I thought I told you no?" She stumbled over the unconscious Tomas as they started towards the corner. Liam stopped and looked at her again from the now dirty sneakers to the short skirt and jacket. Damn... She was good looking. "You really want to go alone looking like that?" Natalie squirmed at his scrutiny and tried to pull her skirt down to cover more skin with her uninjured hand. "Look. I'm very grateful for your help and all but you're a stranger and I'm not in the habit of taking strange men home." "I get that. Smart woman, but how about this." He stepped out in front of her, lowered the hood of his hoodie to expose short blond almost white hair. "My name is Liam. Liam Wyard. And there is no way I'm letting you go alone. That wound needs be attended to-" he lifted her hand, angling it to expose the wound. "-and you, as fierce fighter as you seem to be, is in no shape for another battle. Just let me be the good guy here and make sure you get home safe." Natalie stared into those beautiful green eyes until the silence turned awkward. Hesitantly she nodded. He seemed pleasant enough but there was something dangerous about him. Dangerous and handsome. To her own surprise her eyes wandered down and she caught herself wondering what he hid under those baggy, ill-fitting clothes. Accepting the nod he turned back and looked up and down the street. "Which way?" "That way." She pointed him in the direction of her apartment. ** With the adrenaline leaving her body the shock of her injuries caught up to her. By the time they made it to her door her hands were shaking and she had trouble aiming for the lock. Liam held his hand out without a word until she gave up and handed him the key. Once they got the door open to her small one room apartment Natalie immediately regretted her decision to let him follow her in. It was a total mess. The building was a rundown wreck and wall was in desperate need of new paint or wallpaper. She hadn't planned to stay here more than a few months and pouring any money into it had seemed like a total waste of time. On top of that her clothes were scattered around the room and old takeout boxes were stacked in a corner. She hadn't cleaned since moving in, since she hadn't planned on anyone ever seeing it that too had felt redundant. Now she wished she had. And she should have made her bed before she left. The bed and covers she had bought at second hand and they looked well used. They made it to the bathroom and he eased her down on the seat of the toilet. "You have anything to clean this with?" Natalie shook her head. "No." "Ok, anything to bandage it with?" He was kneeling next to her holding the arm. She shook her head again. "No." He looked up at her in astonishment. "Do you have anything that might be useful?" She bit her lip and held back a smile, shaking her head for the third time. "I guess not then." He muttered looking around the small dirty bathroom for anything they might use. "Got any tape?" "Yeah, I do actually." She rose to her feet to get it but he beat her to it and stopped her midway easing her down again. "I'll get it. You should wash that." Turning on the water so she could clean he stepped back out into the main room. "It should be in the box next to the bed." She called after him, cheeks burning with embarrassment at the state of her apartment. Washing off the blood and dirt from her arm she got a closer look at the wound. It wasn't quite as bad as it had looked before but it was still a nasty cut starting at her elbow and going half way down her arm. Cleaning out the wound carefully she grabbed a towel to dry her arm when he came back holding a big roll of silvery tape and one of her new unused socks. "Since you're somewhat lacking in supplies we will have to improvise." She grunted with annoyance. "Hey, I was saving that." Looking up at her with a smirk he pulled out a length of tape and secured one end of the sock at her elbow. "A good thing you did. Wouldn't want to tape a dirty one to you." With a dry look his way she inspected the makeshift bandage. It was quite a primitive solution but it was better than getting blood all over her apartment. Nodding in approval she looked down into his green eyes and felt butterflies taking off in her stomach. "Thank you... Liam was it?" He grinned back up at her. Her smell really was intoxicating and being this close to her in the small space she lived, her smell was everywhere. He couldn't take a breath without getting a lungful of it and it made the hair on his arms rise with pleasure. It wasn't the only thing awakening either. Her presence caused quite an embarrassing swelling in his pants and he was reluctant to move in case she noticed. It took him a moment to realized she had spoken and he turned his eyes away from hers to break the spell. "You're welcome. It will do until we can get you some proper medical supplies." He said and patted her naked leg comfortingly just above the knee. They both froze at the touch and an uncomfortable silence stretched between them. He removed his hand swiftly as if it burned and cleared his throat awkwardly. Natalie wasn't sure what she felt about his touch. The butterflies in her stomach went absolutely wild but the rational part of her brain warned her about the folly of what she was doing. Another thing snagged at her attention and she narrowed her eyes at him. "We?" She asked suspiciously. Was the man assuming they would be together for that long? Would she object to that? He held up his hands defensively opening his mouth to answer but nothing came out. In a sudden move he rose and left the bathroom. Natalie was left sitting there with her mouth open and a wave off annoyance swept through her. She wasn't sure if it was disappointment that he hadn't tried harder or if she was annoyed at her self for not wanting him to leave. Hurriedly she cleaned up the bathroom and followed him out. He was leaning against the wall next to the outside door waiting for her. He raised his head to look at her chills went down her spine. There was something hungry and feral about them and she backed away in chock. With short agitated movements he pushed himself off the wall and gave her a short curt nod. "It was a pleasure meeting you Natalie. I hope you have better luck in the future." His eyes drifted to her bandaged arm. "Bye Natalie." And just like that he opened the door and left. His wolf was practically clawing at his mind to be let lose. Liam had no idea what was happening or why he was reacting so fiercely to that woman, all he knew was that he had to get away before he tore what little she had on off her and claimed her. Cursing his wolf every step of the way back to his motel he tried to convince himself that it was only because he had been without a woman for so long he reacted like this. It had nothing to do with Natalie. Natalie. His mind purred back at him before he could stop it and again he felt his mouth salivating at the picture of her standing there with the pipe. He groaned as the the scene kept repeating itself over and over in his mind. Getting back to the motel he fell down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The fan rotated slowly and he followed it around in circles trying to clear his mind. Frustrated at the situation he fished out his phone and looked at the time. 3 am. The perfect time to call his brother. Flipping through his contacts until he found the name Alfa Dick he pressed the call icon. After a long wait the very sleepy and angry voice of his brother growled into the phone. "What?" "Why are you looking for a stripper?" "What?" His brother sounded confused. "The woman. Natalie. Why are you looking for a stripper?" "You found her? Already?" There was an urgency to his voice now. "Maybe." "Fuck Liam. This isn't a good time to act like an ass. Have you found her?" Liam frowned and briefly considered hanging up. "Why are you looking for her?" "It's a long story. Can you bring her here? No wait. It's better if I send someone from the pack." Inwardly the wolf growled in anger but Liam refused to let his brother get to him. To be fair no one knew if Liam was part of the pack or not. He hadn't officially left it, he was just never around. Liam didn't really consider himself a rogue but nor did he really consider himself as part of the pack. He was lost somewhere in between. "Whatever." He answered his brother dryly. "I'll call you tomorrow when they arrive, ok." Liam disconnected the call and dropped the phone next to him on the bed. Sighing deeply he kicked off his shoes and crawled backwards until his head rested on the pillow. The phone slid off the bed and landed with a thud on the floor. He didn't care. Tomorrow after he gave them Natalie he would look into getting a woman to release some frustrations. Tomorrow. ** Natalie blinked her eyes open. Had someone knocked? She looked over at her phone. It said 11 am, she must have slept through the alarm. With a curse she sat up looked around. Her plan had been to go up early, pack and be out of this shit hole before lunch. That would clearly not happen now. Bang. Bang. Bang. With a start she looked at the door. Someone had knocked, it hadn't been a dream. She raked her hands through her hair and tried to pull the large t-shirt further down over her small frame. Moving soundlessly to the door she peek through the peephole. Two guys in black suits were standing in the hallway looking slightly annoyed. They looked very out of place in the rundown building. Putting on the chain she slowly opened the door. "Can I help you, gentlemen?" "Miss Natalie Bryant? I'm Brian Cox and this is Neil Fisher. We're from FBI. Mind if we have a word with you?" "I do. What is this about?" "We rather not speak about it out here ma'am." Natalie frowned. "We'll I rather not have you in here without a good reason." "Why? Are you hiding something?" He tried to peer above her into the apartment. "What is this about?" She asked again sharper this time. "It's about your father." "Dad? What about him?" "Have you had any contact with him recently?" "No." The men shared a look. "Mind if we have a look inside to make sure?" "I believe I have already answered that." "Now listen here girl..." The man who had introduced himself as Brian said, his voice dropping to a threatening timbre. "...The faster you cooperate the more painless this will be. If he's not here then you have nothing to hide. This is going to happen even if you want it to or not." The frown on Natalie's face deepened. She was quite sure they were not allowed to threaten her. And they had no right to demand entry without a warrant. "Do you have identification?" Brian's eyes surged with rage and Natalie barely had enough time to close the door before a heavy weight hit it from the other side, flinging her backward onto the floor. She heard wood creak threatening to break but still holding. She scrambled up and away to reach her phone when another thud hit the door and pieces of the lock and chain was sent flying across the room. The phone was yanked out of her hand as she was about to press the call button and she was thrown onto the bed. "Now you stay there." Brian growled at her. "Watch her while I search the room." The last statement was directed at his partner. Neil, who hadn't said a word so far, nodded and calmy sat down on the bed next to her. Natalie stayed on the bed glaring at them with anger. This was wrong! So very wrong! What the fuck did they want with her father? She hadn't seen the man in four years! This was all too unbelievable to be true. "Who the fuck are you!?" She hissed at the man called Neil. With a condescending smirk he patted her naked leg and she kicked at his hand. "There, there now." His voice was dark and smooth and had she heard it in any other situation she would have said sexy. "Who we are is not really important. What we want is more interesting, and what will happen to you if we don't get it." It was like a line from a bad gangster movie and Natalie felt more offended about the fact that they thought they could intimidate her with such a cheap line than she was afraid of them, which her mind somewhere in the back of her head kept telling her was insanity. She should be absolutely terrified. "Really? That's the best you got?! Fuck off!" She spat at him and screamed for help at the top of her lungs. The walls were thin and her scream would probably be heard by the whole block. Hopefully someone would call the police. Neil scrambled to climb on top of her on the bed and pressed a hand to her mouth to quiet her. He was so forceful her whole head was shoved deeply into the mattress. "Fuck woman. What the hell is wrong with you? Your sister was such a demure and meek little thing. One would think you shared some traits at least." Natalie fell instantly quiet and still, looking up at him questioningly. What had they done to her sister? Lily was the good girl of the family. Lily was polite, well mannered, sweet looking and successful, everything Natalie was not and Natalie loved her to death. With trepidation she stared up into the mans face looking for an answer. "Sorry love." He gave her a sheepishly apologetic look and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. "We didn't mean for it to happen but..." He turned the screen of the phone towards her and there was a picture of her sister sitting tied to a chair. She was slumped to the side against the rope, her head back in an awkward angle and there was a red dot oozing blood from her forehead. Empty dead eyes stared up at her from the picture and Natalie felt her heart break into a million pieces. Not just her heart, her life, her being. She would have gladly died for Lily if it would have given her life back. Sweet beautiful Lily. Tears streamed down her face and she sobbed helplessly. The man studied the picture for a second and shrugged, the same sheepish expression on his face. "We told the new kid to take care of her and he sort of misunderstood. Sorry 'bout that." A rage like nothing she had ever felt manifested within her. She was going to kill them. One day. It might take a week or a hundred years but she would find them and avenge her sister. "Now be a good girl and we wont have any more misunderstandings." He smiled down at her. "Neil." His partner was poised next to the bed frowning down at them. "We're out of here, I found nothing. We're taking her with us." Natalie was hoisted off the bed by Neil and with a painful grip on her arm her dragged her out of the apartment. The man called Brian lead the way downstairs and when curious neighbors stopped to stare he wold urge them to move a long with his agent persona. Natalie still in chock and with the picture of her dead sister seared into her mind didn't fight. She just let Neil pull her along down to the bottom floor and out of the door. Outside, parked in front of the building, was a black van. Of all the things wrong with this scenario the look of the very ordinary black van was the last straw. Unable to stop herself she grabbed the handrail to the stair and burst out laughing. A hysterical manic laugh. Clutching the rail she crouched on the stair, one hand covering her mouth. "What the fuck is wrong with her!?" Brian called back over his shoulder while he pushed the side-door open. Neil yanked her arm trying to get her back on her feet but to no avail. "Be damned if I knew. Think she's having a breakdown." "Well pick her up and bring her then." Still laughing Natalie looked up at Neil. "You got to be kidding me! I'm being kidnapped by two guys who got their whole act from the movies. The van! It's a fucking van!" "What?" Neil looked from her to the van in confusion. "What's wrong with the van?" Brian moved around the car and paused before seating himself in the drivers seat. "Neil. Stop mucking about. Get her in. Now." Neil reached down to pick her up but Natalie had been waiting for him. Grabbing the stone they used to hold open the door in the summer she slammed it into his temple as he was bent over her. He staggered back with a roar and fell as his feet lost purchase on the stairs. Natalie didn't stick around to find out how much damage she had done. Jumping up over the rail she landed painfully with her bare feet on the pavement and tried to run. Brian was out of the car in a second and took up pursuit. Natalie didn't make it far before the pain in her feet became excruciating, something was wrong but she didn't dare stop. Limping down the street she heard Brian closing in and slowing his step, walking towards her with caution. She whirled to face him still backing down the street. "Call the police!" She screamed at the neighborhood hoping that someone would comply. Scared, hunted and in pain her brain registered blood on the ground. She must have stepped on something.