Blood Moon: Book 2 of the True Mates Series: A Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance

by Alicia Montgomery

  "I can see that," she said wryly. "Meh, I'm used to Lycan men talking over me." Still, coming from Nick's grandfather, it stung a little more than it normally did.

  "Let's go home, ok? Maybe pick up some dinner?"

  "I'm not really hungry, can you just take me home?" Cady pleaded.

  "Alright, let's go."

  ***

  Nick waited until they were out of Grant and Cady's earshot before turning to Vasili. "Grandfather," his voice remained respectful, but stern. "You practically insulted the Alpha's Liaison. The Grays are the most important Alliance family in New York. They've been with the Lycans for generations." He loved his grandfather, but he could be trying at times.

  "Bah," Vasili brayed. "Yes, Luther Gray was an excellent Liaison. But, a woman Liaison? In my day, the men were in charge of business."

  "Welcome to the 21st century then," Nick sounded exasperated. "Besides, she's capable and efficient, and just as good as any man."

  "And I'm sure she's good for more too," he leered. "Perhaps that's why the Alpha keeps her around."

  Nick was pretty sure if Vasili wasn't related to him, he would have punched him right then and there. Instead, he kept his hands in tight fists, his fingernails digging into the skin of his palm. "Grandfather," he warned.

  Vasili snorted. "Maybe he's not sleeping with her, but you must be blind if you can't appreciate that gorgeous face and body...and that fiery hair! If I was 20 years younger..." Vasili trailed off. "Don't tell me you've never thought of bedding that exquisite creature?"

  "She's just a colleague," Nick replied coldly.

  "Well it's too late now," Vasili reminded him. "Or you can do it later, after you father your pup."

  Nick groaned inwardly. "Let's just get this over with. Who did you want me to meet again?"

  Chapter Nine

  Cady decided she needed another day to recover, which Grant was only happy to give her. She came back in on Wednesday afternoon, and since she'd been following Dr. Faulkner's orders, was allowed a new phone and pad so she could continue her work. By 6 pm, she had actually gone through all the important emails from the time she was away and she shut down her computer.

  "Goodnight, Suzanne, thank you again for your help," she nodded to her assistant. She once again took the elevator down to the lobby, but she'd be leaving alone tonight. Grant had a late dinner meeting, and though it took a lot of arguing, she convinced him to let her take a cab, since they were already short one car and one driver.

  Cady didn't think she'd run into Nick again, but it was like déjà vu from last Monday. The Beta was once again standing in lobby of the Fenrir Building, but instead of his grandfather, he was talking to a woman. Not human, but Lycan (she seemed to have a sixth sense for telling, even from far away). The female Lycan was tall, lithe, with long brown hair that fell down her back. She was wearing a smart black suit that clung to her slim form, which matched her designer bag and shoes. The woman threw her head back as she laughed at something Nick said, touching him on the arm lightly. Damnit, did Nick have nothing better to do these days than hang around Fenrir's lobby? There was no way she could sneak around them, so she just had to walk past them. Maybe Nick would ignore her or not see her at all.

  Picking up her pace, she breezed across the lobby, and she almost made it without catching either Lycan's attention. Unfortunately, the woman chose that moment to step back, bumping right into Cady. "Excuse me, coming through," she said in a slightly annoyed tone.

  "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you," the female Lycan apologized.

  "Cady," Nick looked surprised to see her. "You're here."

  "Yes I am," she huffed. "I do work here, after all."

  "I mean, I thought you'd be resting at home."

  "I'm perfectly fine." Even without your help, she added silently.

  There was an awkward beat before Nick spoke. "Uhm, this is Madison Crawford. Madison, Cady Gray."

  The tall brunette offered her hand to Cady and smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you, Cady."

  Cady thought she was even more beautiful up close, with light hazel eyes, long lashes and sensuous lips. "Nice to meet you too, Madison. You're Senator Xavier Crawford's daughter, correct? I remember you from the Fenrir Foundation Gala last year."

  "Oh yes, of course," Madison touched Cady's arm lightly, brushing away a lock of her hair, and leaned down closer to her. "I remember! You're the Alpha's Liaison. You were wearing that gorgeous violet Vera Wang ball gown. I thought you looked divine."

  Cady gave her a tight smile. "Thank you. How is the senator?"

  "He's doing well, thanks for asking," she turned to Nick. "Shall we head out? Dinner reservation's at 7 pm."

  "We have a few minutes," Nick stated. "Cady, are you headed back to The Enclave?"

  "No," she lied. "I'm actually headed to Blood Moon. Meeting a friend of mine there. Haven't seem him in a while, we're going to...catch up."

  Nick visibly tensed. "Well, you have a good night, then," he said coolly. "Let's go, Madison."

  The two Lycans headed out the door, though Madison turned around and waved goodbye to Cady.

  The redhead let out a breath as soon as they were out of view, but she suddenly felt out of breath. A vice gripped her chest and she had to brace herself against the glass doors as her knees threatened to buckle. Cady closed her eyes, opened her mouth and forced the air into her lungs. What the hell was that? The physical reaction when she saw Nick with another woman was unnerving. And why did I lie? There was almost a perverse pleasure in watching Nick become uncomfortable when she told him she was going to Blood Moon, implying she'd be meeting a male companion, maybe even that guy she had met there weeks ago. But it wasn't like they were...what? Nick Vrost was free to date whoever he wanted, after all. She almost wished Madison Crawford was an awful, spoiled bitch, rather than a perfectly pleasant young woman, then it would've been easier to hate her.

  "Ms. Gray!" the receptionist rushed towards her. "Are you alright? Do I need to call Dr. Faulkner?"

  "No!" she said quickly. "I'm fine, I just tripped. Uhm, could you call me a taxi please?"

  "Certainly." The young woman walked back to her station and picked up the phone.

  Cady sighed with relief. She needed to go somewhere - anywhere. Certainly not Blood Moon. She knew where she wanted to go, a place where she could find peace and calm and had nothing to do with Lycans.

  ***

  "And then, after I graduated, I went to Ecuador to volunteer at an orphanage," Madison said and took a bite of her salad.

  "That's nice," Nick replied absentmindedly, taking a sip of his wine.

  "Then aliens kidnapped me and put me on their spaceship."

  "I'm sure it was a lovely vacation," Nick looked at his watch.

  "It was. I highly recommend outer space."

  The other Lycan's head snapped up. "Sorry?"

  Madison started to laugh, a full-bellied sound that rang through the restaurant. Nick looked confused, which only made the younger woman laugh harder. When she started to choke, she grabbed her glass of water, taking a sip to help clear her throat.

  "I'm fine, I'm fine," Madison coughed. She finally stopped, took a deep breath and dabbed her lips with her napkin. "Oh, I wish you could see your face."

  Nick frowned. Madison Crawford was exactly what Vasili wanted - a Lycan from a prominent family, educated, beautiful, and of the perfect age to bear children. She was on the top of his list and it seemed the old man had already conspired her with father even before Nick called her. He and Madison had met several times before at various functions, and he thought she was pleasant enough, certainly smart and charming. By all accounts, she would make the perfect Lycan wife.

  "I think this was a terrible idea."

  "I couldn't agree more," he took his wine glass and downed the rest of it. "I apologize, Madison. For this. And for pushy old men. And for not giving you the attention you deserve."

  She sighed. "I'm sorry too. I was flattered when you called me, but I sh
ould have known that my father was behind this." She frowned. "He's been after me to find a nice Lycan boyfriend. I keep telling him that I'm just not interested."

  "In boyfriends?"

  "In boys."

  "Oh." It wasn't unusual of course. Lycans had the same urges and preferences as humans. But because of the difficulty of producing pups among their kind, homosexuality was usually frowned upon, a loss to their race. Seems like although Madison made her preferences clear, her father wasn't having any of it.

  "Actually," she took another sip of her water. "I was going to ask you if Cady Gray was seeing anyone. I've always thought she was gorgeous. But I think I have my answer," she said, her eyes twinkling.

  "Well, she's meeting a friend tonight," Nick said glumly. The thought of Cady and that guy made his blood boil. How long had they been seeing each other? Where was he when Cady had gotten hurt?

  "You should go to her," Madison seemed to read his mind. "If you wait too long, you might have to fight me off!"

  "I don't--" Nick stopped as his phone rang. There was only one number that would trigger his phone to ring even on silent mode. "Sorry," he apologized as he fished his phone out of his pocket. "Alpha, what is it?" Nick answered.

  "Nick," Grant's voice was grave. "There's been an incident. At Blood Moon."

  Nick froze. Cady. "I'm on my way."

  ***

  Nick apologized to Madison, saying that there was an urgent matter he had to attend. Madison understood, of course, and offered her help. He declined, and saw her off as she took a cab home. He felt relief as soon as Madison's cab zoomed away, not just because he was off the hook, but now he could get to Blood Moon and Cady as soon as possible.

  He probably wouldn't escape the night without at least one speeding ticket, but he didn't care. He drove like madman to Blood Moon, parking in the empty spot in front of the entrance to the club. He opened the heavy black doors and was surprised to see all the lights on and the floor devoid dancers. In fact, the club was practically empty, except for a couple of Lycans lying down on the floor and around the couches, being attended to by various medical staff from The Enclave. He recognized a lot of them, including Tate Miller. He searched around, trying to spot any sign of Cady, and when he didn't see her, strode towards the bar where Grant, Alynna, Alex, and Dr. Faulkner were talking quietly.

  "Where's Cady?" He asked in a tight voice. "She said she would be going here."

  Alynna shook her head. "I don't know. Actually, I haven't seen her at all. Why would she be here? She's still recovering."

  Nick looked relieved. Cady never went to Blood Moon. Maybe she decided to go home, which meant she wasn't hurt. Or she's with that guy, a voice inside him said. He quashed those thoughts and turned to Grant. "What happened?"

  The Alpha shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Belladonna poisoning. We've got several Lycans down. A couple of humans too, but it's not lethal to them, though they'll probably think they have food poisoning."

  "Good thing we had belladonna antidote stocked up," Dr. Faulkner supplied. "My staff should have administered it to everyone who was poisoned. There are one or two who had particularly large doses and they've already been transported to infirmary."

  Alynna looked thoughtful. "This can't be a coincidence. The attacks on me. This mass poisoning. Maybe even Cady's accident."

  "Al Doilea," Alex addressed Nick by his Beta honorific. "Two Lycans from the security team were poisoned. Tate Miller and John Patrick. And another one of the trainees."

  Nick's eyes narrowed. "Were they targeted? Because they're part of my team?"

  "Possibly," Alex paused. "Maybe a bid to weaken our security?"

  "Someone's out to get us. All of us." Grant's jaw set in a hard line.

  "We'll find out who it is," Alex gritted his teeth.

  "Oh yes, we will," Nick vowed. Someone was trying to harm his clan, his family. He was going to find them and stop them.

  Chapter Ten

  "What did you find out?" Stefan looked towards Daric.

  "Several of them were definitely seriously injured, master," the taller man replied. "We don't have any reports of fatalities though, but we definitely have crippled their security force, making them more vulnerable."

  "Good," Stefan's lips curled into a smile. He turned to the other figure next to Daric. "Excellent work," Stefan placed a hand on Victoria's head as she bowed down before him.

  "Thank you, master," Victoria smiled. "I live to serve you. And it wasn't that difficult." She ran a finger over the empty glass bottle in her pocket. "Those stupid creatures. A little charm spell here and there was all it took. They're none the wiser."

  "At least not to your presence?"

  "Of course," the witch said smugly. "But they'll piece everything together. At least, the way we want them to."

  "And the security footage? You're sure they'll see her?"

  "Yes, my glamour spell should work well enough on the cameras," Victoria tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Besides, Cady and I look enough like each other that it shouldn't be too obvious."

  "Perfect," Stefan boomed. "We'll soon turn the Lycans against your daughter."

  "And bring her into the fold," Victoria finished.

  Stefan turned to Daric. "And as soon as you finish your part, you'll be on your way to becoming who you were meant to be. To fulfill your destiny."

  "Yes, Master," Daric bowed his head.

  ***

  "Ms. Gray, line 2 for you," Suzanne's voice crackled through the intercom.

  "Give me a minute, ok, Suzanne?" Cady sounded frazzled.

  "Yes, Ms. Gray."

  The redhead huffed, blowing a strand of stray hair away from her face. She was in full crisis mode, and despite the protests from her overly protective Lycan friends, she insisted on going back to work. Cady was having breakfast at home the next day when she received news. Grant had come by and told her. She was furious that he didn't call her the moment it happened, but he reasoned that it was already handled and that she needed her rest.

  Cady immediately went to work. There was much to be done, but for now, she was now working with Alynna and Alex to find out how the poison had spread and how to track down any humans who might have been affected.

  Of course, she also had other things on her mind. Her blood ran cold when Grant told her the exact poison. Belladonna, a favorite poison and drug among witches. Also the same poison that was given to Alynna at her coming out ball. It was a good thing the Lycan was already pregnant at the time she was poisoned and carrying a True Mate child gave her super invulnerability. So, was her mother's coven behind all of this? It can't have been a coincidence. Victoria's warning rang through her head. It seemed her mother really would do anything, even kill Lycans, to get her back. But what was Victoria's end game? Threaten to kill Grant? Alynna? Nick? She bit her lip, contemplating telling Grant. No. She couldn't bear it, what it would mean. She'd just have to stop Victoria herself, somehow.

  "Ms. Gray, line 2," Suzanne reminded her.

  "Right," she picked up the phone. "Cady Gray."

  "Hi Cady, this is Claire Fenton, the director for Arch Manor Women's Shelter in Albany. I've been trying to reach you for days, but your assistant said you were unavailable."

  "Hello Claire," she greeted. Cady had never met the woman, but they'd exchanged a lot of phone calls and emails. "Yes, I'm sorry. I had a medical emergency," she gave the standard reason she'd been telling everyone.

  "Oh no! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

  "Yeah, a minor injury," she explained. "What can I do for you?"

  "Well, I just wanted to remind you that you and Mr. Anderson are set to attend our annual meeting next week up here in Albany. We still have you on our program to receive one of our awards for helping us raise all that money. We'll be naming the new halfway house after Fenrir, of course. "

  Cady cursed in her head. "Oh yes..."

  "If you can't make it because of your injury..." Claire began.

&
nbsp; "Oh no, no of course not!" Arch Manor was actually her pet project, a cause she had brought up to Grant, which he happily offered to fund through the Fenrir Foundation. They made Grant and herself board members because of their contributions. "I'll be there. Of course." She felt a headache coming on. "Can you send me the details, please? Yes, to Suzanne. Thanks Claire!"

  The phone clicked off as she hung up. Cady sighed. One more thing to add to my plate.

  ***

  Cady was swamped with work, so she actually didn't get to telling Grant about the event until the following Monday.

  "Cady, what is it?" Grant asked as soon as he picked up the phone.

  "Grant," she began. "I wanted to remind you about the Arch Manor event this Friday. We're still on for that, right?"

  His brow wrinkled. "Isn't that next week?"

  "No, it's this Friday. Did you forget?" she asked. "They're giving us an award."

  "As I recall," Grant began. "The award is for you. And you deserve it, considering all the work you put in."

  "Well, it's for me and Fenrir," she said. "But you did put up the money."

  Grant sighed. "Can't we cancel? Or send our regards?"

  "Grant," Cady warned. "Look, I forgot about it too, with everything going on. But we can't not go, they're also naming one of their houses after Fenrir."

  "Why don't you go?" Grant suggested. "I mean, you did all the work. I don't have to be there, right? It's just way too busy and you know the security situation will be a nightmare."

  Cady paused. "I suppose I could drive up."

  "Not alone though," he said. "I'll have one our guys drive you up."

  "Can you really spare them? I can always rent a car."

  "Don't be silly, I'm not letting you go alone, not with what's going on. I'll take care of it ok?"

  "Fine," she sighed. "Just tell them to be ready to leave by noon on Friday."