Blood Moon Rising

by Claire Marta

“Brat, even I know when a woman is obviously fighting an attraction for a guy. You’re not very good at hiding shit like that.”

  Rolling her eyes, she hooked an arm around his brawny shoulders for a one-armed hug. “Just because I’m attracted to him doesn’t mean anything will happen. He’s already burnt me once. I don’t need that complication in my life. Besides, you’re supposed to be posing as my boyfriend, remember? Keep Eric from getting too close.”

  Fergus’s amber eyes warmed as they held hers. “Love isn’t always complicated. Sure, it can sometimes catch you by surprise, but most of the time, it can be the simplest thing in the world.”

  Jasmine studied his features for a second. Had the wolf been in love? He was more like Gemma in relationships. Looking for easy sex with no strings or ties. Being immortal, though, and with more than a hundred years lived, he must surely have experienced it once.

  “Why are those dogs hanging around outside?” Caroline’s irritated sounding comment interrupted them. Standing by the window, she was staring out into the narrow back garden, which was accessed through the tiny courtyard.

  “Those are wolves,” Ellen corrected where she stood beside her.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. We don’t have wolves in Budapest,” their hostess retorted as she played with the pendant around her neck in agitation. “Ellen go and shoo them away. We don’t need a pack of stray dogs making a mess of the garden.”

  Striding swiftly to the window, Jasmine swept the area with a quick glance. There right at the back, she could make out at least four large beasts. Bigger than average, they were shaggy haired and dangerous looking. Lingering under the cool shade of a tree, they sat watching the place with their tongues lolling out.

  The nanny shot her employer a less than eager look. “I really don’t get on well with canines...what if they have rabies? They might bite me,” she moaned. “I could call the authorities. Maybe they can round them up and take them to an animal shelter.”

  “What if you’re the one with rabies?” Fergus grumbled under his breath in disgust.

  Blinking up owl like at him behind her glasses, Ellen’s brow pinched in a frown. “Is that some kind of joke?”

  Hastily fisting the front of her friend’s t-shirt, Jasmine walked him determinedly backwards towards the exit. “We’ll sort it out, don’t worry,” she called, flashing the others a reassuring smile over her shoulder. “Why don’t you go and relax?”

  The heat of the summer sun hit her the second they left the cooler interior of the building into the courtyard.

  Jasmine experienced a moment of dizziness. She still wasn’t used to it. It made her yearn for the cooler months. Sweaters and duvets. Hot chocolate in her favourite mug while curled up and reading a good book.

  Longing for the shade they’d just abandoned, she hurried Fergus out before he could make a scene.

  “They don’t know about werewolves,” she told the wolf as she finally finished pushing him out. The movement sent a trail of sweat snaking down between her shoulder blades. God, she wished she had time for another shower. At this rate, she’d have to change or walk around a sticky mess.

  Eyes tracking back to the door they’d exited as it banged closed, the werewolf scowled. “I know that, Brat. It just riles me that humans can be so ignorant. Shifters are immune to rabies.”

  Jasmine followed suit, checking they hadn’t been followed. They didn’t need an audience. Things were strained in the house. With Eric in the mix, she was already under enough pressure.

  “And as far as the world knows, shifters don’t exist until they decide it’s time to. Next time, remember that before you open your mouth. If you let the existence of your kind slip and anyone believes you, Mark will have your balls.”

  “I’d rather you have my balls.”

  A tingle of energy flicked across Jasmine’s skin. Before she could react to the feral raw power, Fergus had her pinned up against the wall of the building.

  Frame much larger and heavily set, he restrained her with ease. Hands spread wide over her hips, he dipped his head until they were nose to nose.

  Sexual tension was pouring off him.

  Jasmine had been around Asier long enough to identify the emotions linked with lust.

  Her friend’s actions stunned her. “Fergus, what are you doing?” she spluttered, unable to keep the shock from her tone. This screamed of sexual advances. It felt foreign and wrong.

  Stubble grazing her cheek, he nuzzled affectionately behind her ear. “When you get all aggressive like this, it turns me on. You also just complained I’m not playing up to my stud muffin material.”

  “Eeww, no! So not happening.” Panicking, she squirmed. Hands slapping his rock-hard chest, her attempts to wriggle free were met with resistance. “And you’re supposed to act all possessive when Eric is around, not when we’re alone, dumb arse.”

  “I can’t help it, Jaz. The red moon is making me as horny as fuck. It’s all instinct. You can’t even imagine how badly I need a release.”

  “We’ll, you can take your instinct to Gemma. Go sexually harass her, not me!”

  Hand traveling down from her hips to her buttocks he cupped them with a growing male carnal aggression. “You know your kind of hot when your all embarrassed. I’d love to see you submit in bed.”

  Jasmine’s response was a squeak. Was this really happening? They’d have serious issues if he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Fuck, he should’ve been paired with Gemma. At least together, she could have helped him work off this need he had for sex. She regretted, now, not carrying the wolfsbane talisman on her person for werewolf repellent.

  “If you don’t back up. I’ll be forced to break your nose.” She’d do it too. Fergus wasn’t acting like his normal laid-back self. If it took drastic measures, Jasmine knew she could go through with it to snap him out of this.

  The threat penetrated whatever increased hormones had him in their grip. Blinking amber eyes, he gained some control. Backing up a few steps, Fergus gave her room to breathe.

  “Shit, sorry,” he apologised sheepishly, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “Normally, I’m not this effected.”

  “It’s all right. I know it’s not your fault, really.”

  “This is the hardest time of the year for shifters. You have no idea the focus we need to keep our heads around these few nights. It’s a constant battle not to just feed and fuck. When the moon finally rises, it’ll consume the last shreds. I’ve never experienced it this strongly before. I didn’t mean to come on to you like that, Brat. You know in other circumstances it wouldn’t have happened.”

  Was it just the blood moon soon to rise affecting him, or was it this place as well? Everyone was on edge. As if they could all sense the coming of an impending storm. A building of something that Jasmine couldn’t explain, yet every instinct inside her screamed out it was far from natural.

  “You’ll be safely locked away by then,” Jasmine assured him, recognising his worry. “Mark has agreed that the hidden room could act as the perfect holding room for you. It’s soundproof and reinforced. You won’t be able to hurt yourself or anyone else.”

  Fergus’s shoulders slumped with relief. “Thank fuck for that.”

  They didn’t need him loose and on the hunt with no rational thought. The core of what gave him humanity suppressed. She’d seen werewolves so immersed in their animal side before that they were consumed by their beasts. Predators who were near unrelenting.

  “Normally, I’d be on lock down in my panic room,” he confessed. “But being on assignment, it makes it more difficult, and it’s not like I can ask the local pack here if I can use their containment area.”

  “What does your brother do in this situation?”

  Her friend grunted. “Where ever A is right now, he’ll have something arranged. He’s always thorough about this lunar event. He has to be in his case.”

  Fergus mentioned his brother frequently, although none of them had ever met him. He was kn
own as the mysterious A. His full name had never been revealed. From the photos he plastered all over Instagram of tropical locations, he was constantly traveling. It made Jasmine curious. They had no idea of his job or even what he looked like. Where her friend was out going, his sibling appeared to be more cautious. With Fergus also being so vague, it made her wonder if he worked for the government in some capacity. An undercover agent or some sensitive area where his true identity had to remain concealed.

  The heady scent of honeysuckle filled the still hot air as Jasmine scanned towards their targets.

  Bees buzzed among the well-kept garden in the search of blooms. Someone had lovingly tended the patch of green.

  Jasmine found herself enchanted by the areas of colour. Hazy rays of sunshine shimmered before them. White splashes of honeysuckle hung from a wooden frame against a fence. The leaves heavily laden. Red and pinks of roses graced each corner. Flower beds exploded with different hues of the rainbow with the abundance of plant life.

  A wooden gazebo had been built. Within the interior, wicker chairs and a matching table had been idly left neglected. A spot for relaxation. Comfortable. Safe. Away from the lingering darkness that had the rest of the museum within its grasp.

  Just beyond, the metal gate that led into the back of the garden lay open.

  Four massive forms observed them. Tongues lolling out, the wolves sat lazily. Their fur was glossy and thick. They looked almost tranquil as they napped, yet if it wasn’t for the sliver of amber that flashed in their half-closed eyes, you would never realise it was a trap.

  “They haven’t exactly been friendly,” Jasmine studied them. “Maybe we can get some answers out of them this time.”

  Fergus nodded. “Let’s hope they’re here to talk then.”

  Moving with purpose, Jasmine stepped onto the well-kept grass. If the main pack here in Budapest had a problem with them, they needed to know. It could just be a misunderstanding. Even though they were there undercover, someone might have tipped them off to their presence.

  Wolves were territorial. They needed to approach this with caution and diplomacy.

  Recalling an earlier conversation with Mark, she hoped it had nothing to do with the artefact he feared could control shifters. If anyone got their hands on it and used it for the wrong reasons, it could jeopardise every breed of supernatural it had sway over. Something like that had to be protected or destroyed.

  “Jasmine wait. Let me get in my pelt first.” Turning, she discovered Fergus had moved around the side of the building out of the view of the windows and was already stripping off his clothes. Ropey muscles bunched and rippled as he bared himself. When his fingers reached for the waist band of his jeans, Jasmine looked away. He liked to go commando. Apparently, it saved time when he needed to shift. Seeing his dick, though, wasn’t something she needed emblazoned into her memory.

  Fergus chuffed. “You spend your evenings in a vampire BDSM club with plenty of naked people, but you get embarrassed when I’m in the buff.”

  That was different, and he knew it.

  “You’re practically a big brother to me, so no, I don’t feel comfortable staring at your cock,” Jasmine groused, her attention pinned to the stone brick wall.

  He didn’t answer. At least not with words.

  A chuffing sound came again, but this time it was deeper. Chancing a look, she discovered a large white wolf, watching her intently. She’d seen plenty of werewolves before, but Fergus’s beast was by far the most beautiful and majestic she’d come across.

  The other werewolves watched them intently. Lean and big, their manes were black and shaggier than her friends.

  A delicate butterfly dipped and dived around one of the creature’s heads. In response, it’s ear jerked at the gentle touch of the insect as it played its tiny wings beating rapidly in the air.

  Keeping her fingers tangled in the soft fur of Fergus’s back, Jasmine moved with slow watchful steps beside him.

  He trotted, giving her the time to keep his pace.

  They both knew they needed to look non-threatening. Although the shifters had the instincts of animals, they also possessed the intelligence of humans. It made them much more cunning and calculating.

  Adapted to the modern world, they could move like ghosts. Blending in mostly. Their kind was known for living undetected in packs. Although sometimes, you’d find a lone wolf or two.

  Jasmine was fully aware of the danger they presented. She’d had a few run ins with this breed of shifter before. Fast, inhumanly strong. It took severe fatal damage or silver to bring them down.

  Even though they had humanity, they still held the concept of predator and prey. It was in their nature. Something they couldn’t escape. Coded into their DNA.

  With Fergus in alpha mode, she had no doubt she’d be well protected.

  As they tread closer, the wolves rose. Slinking, they moved as one, retreating through the garden and out into an empty side alley.

  “That’s really weird,” Jasmine paused. “It looks like they’re just watching the place…but why? To keep an eye on us?”

  Fergus’s massive head tilted to the side as he observed her. It wasn’t like he could talk back in his wolf form. Yet, it didn’t stop her from having a one-sided conversation with him.

  “Why go from attacking us to retreating? Maybe they’ve realised we’re not so easily beaten?” she theorised. “Could they be after the artefact the professor had too?” she asked, voicing her concern. “And why the hell aren’t any of them talking to us? Surely they have an Alpha? Why come in their pelts and not in human form? It makes no sense.”

  Whining in his throat, Fergus’s long pink tongue rolled out in answer.

  “I know. I know. We need to tell Mark.” Jasmine ran her hand over his thick, soft fur.

  In response, he turned his head and licked her fingers. He nuzzled his muzzle against her and rubbed his head against her side.

  She knew he was marking her with his scent. It was something she’d read that shifters did to pack mates. They we’re his. The team. Close as family even though they weren’t blood related. Well, except her and Twitch.

  God, she missed the techno mage. They could’ve done with his expertise. Instead, they we’re stuck with her second-rate attempt at what he’d taught her in a four-hour window before he’d left on his trip two weeks ago. His dirty sense of humour would’ve also relieved some of the tension among them.

  Jasmine sighed, glancing back at the museum.

  Ellen and Tabitha stood inspecting them from the large bay window.

  The little girl’s brown eyes were fixed on the canine standing at Jasmine’s side. Instead of apprehension, her gaze was filled with child-like wonder. Wooden puzzle box clutched in her hands, her fingers were caressing the edges.

  Her companion was chatting animatedly to her. Pushing her chunky glasses up her nose where they had slid down, the nanny ruffled the child’s hair with affection.

  Jasmine had no idea what they were talking about. These wolves were far from the norm and did invoke fright and awe when spotted. She just prayed they could convince them they were stay dogs.

  Ellen was smart and bright. With all the knowledge she unwittingly had at her fingertips, here, it wouldn’t take much for her to piece things together. The world wasn’t ready to learn about shapeshifters. Vampires were having a hard-time being accepted now they’d come out in the open as it was. Distrust at something different bred fear. Her department and others like it around the world were trying to prevent that from happening.

  When the nanny waved, Jasmine reciprocated awkwardly. Fuck. They had to be wondering where Fergus had vanished to and what she was doing with a large white mutt.

  Spying a tennis ball discarded on the grass, Jasmine bent and scooped it up. She couldn’t let on that he was the wolf. If they worked that out, they’d be up to their eyeballs in unwanted questions. Not to mention, Mark would have a fit.

  “Play along, Mutt,” Jasmine told her c
ompanion as she wiggled the ball in the air. “Hopefully, they’ll get bored, and we can get you back to the house to shift before anyone wonders where the fuck you’ve gone. Now, be a good boy and go chase this. You’ll have to wait out in the alley until the coast is clear.”

  Tossing the ball, she aimed it perfectly through the open back gate.

  Fergus dashed after it. In a flash of white fur, he took off in a fluid movement. Footfall silent, stealthily, he was gone before she had time to blink.

  Wandering across the lawn, Jasmine headed for the gazebo. She knew she needed to sweep the area. Be sure that nothing was still lurking. They didn’t need an unpleasant surprise.

  Poking her head within the door of the structure she was satisfied to find it empty. Moving round the back, she made sure nothing was lying in wait.

  Circling to where she’d started, she chanced a glance back at the house. She discovered they were no longer being watched.

  Fergus’s clothes were still in a pile tucked up by the wall where he’d left them.

  Something wet and firm nudged her hand. Startled, she looked down to find the male in question with his muzzle beside her arm. Green ball in his jaws, he was gazing up at her playfully.

  “Who’s a good boy? You are. Yes, you are!” Jasmine praised as it was dumped at her feet. As she bent to retrieve it she felt a gentle nip on her arse.

  Squealing, she spun to confront him. “Stop that mutt.” She swatted at his long hairy snout.

  Large furry head tilted to the side, she swore his lips curves up in a wolfish grin.

  Jasmine was starting to hate it when the evenings drew near. With it came darkness. As the sun grew lower and the shadows merged with the night, the ghosts became stronger. They lingered in the rooms, invisible presences that were there on the edge of her senses. Whispers that she rarely caught. They watched her. She could feel their stares roving over her whenever they were near. It left her off balance and jumpy.

  The worst was the creature she’d encountered in the hallway. Whatever it was had begun to stalk her. Jasmine could see it sitting by the door. It wasn’t in direct line of sight. No. This was in her peripheral vision, the corner of your eye kind of thing, and it was staring right at her. Inky black, it was a long-limbed shadow, which moved unnaturally. She has no clue if it was Della or some other nightmarish being bound to the place.