BrightBlueMoon

by Ranae Rose

  “No, I wasn’t. God knows I don’t want to have another baby at this point in my life. I’m glad you thought ahead.”

  His eyes shone. “I’ve been thinkin’ ahead ever since you showed up in these mountains and I laid eyes on you a week ago, truth be told.”

  Her entire body heated at the thought of him seeing her and thinking of the situation they were in now. After so long apart, it was nice to know that the spark that had flared instantly between them when they’d first met was still there. She couldn’t imagine that being the case after so long unless they were really something special together – soul mates, or just mates, as the Half Moon wolves would call it.

  As he continued to eye her with unmistakable desire, she realized she hadn’t removed so much as a stitch of clothing. Watching him undress had been mesmerizing – her hands hung uselessly at her sides, palms tingling with the need to be pressed flat against him.

  He drew toward her, and her breathing quickened with every step he took.

  “Now you.” His breath hit the side of her neck in a rush as he took the hem of her shirt in his hands. Instinctively, she tipped her head, letting her hair tumble to the side, exposing more of herself to his mouth.

  His kiss, pressed against the hollow between her neck and shoulder, was like a burst of electricity against her skin. It traveled beneath the surface, lighting up her nerve endings and flying through her veins, sparking a burst of sensation in her core. God, it had been so long – too long.

  The air hit her skin as he pulled her shirt over her head, cool, almost chilly. Then he was against her, his bare body heating her in the blink of an eye. A shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature raced down her spine as his fingers fluttered against her back, undoing the clasp of her bra.

  She let the straps slide down her arms, leaving trails of pebbled skin in their wake. He settled his hands on her shoulders and took half a step backward, his gaze so heavy on her body that she could feel it.

  When he lowered a hand to the fly of her jeans, her core tightened again. Before she knew it, she was slipping out of them, then her panties…

  He ran a hand over her body, caressing her from shoulder to hip, his fingers fanning across her thigh. For a moment, she forgot to breathe. He still stared at her – all of her – from her hardened, aching nipples to her belly and hips, where the faint scars of pregnancy stretch marks had been left, white ghost-tiger stripes against her skin.

  She wasn’t ashamed of the marks, but they were a reminder – of what he’d missed, and how she’d changed. She wasn’t the same girl he’d met in Nashville, even if being touched by him had a tendency to make her forget that temporarily.

  “God, I missed you.” He gripped her with both hands, holding her fast by her hips, sending ripples of expectation through her entire being as he pulled her close, so that her body was flush against his.

  His skin was hot against hers, his cock a steel rod against her belly, impossibly hard and pressing into her softer flesh as he met her gaze, locking her in eye contact that took her breath away. “My worst fear was always that I wouldn’t be able to protect you and Mandy from the bastards who were hunting me,” he said, “but fearing that I’d never hold you like this again was a close second.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, then surged ahead, flooding her body with heat and energy. “I missed you too. My worst fear was always that you were dead.”

  She didn’t even like saying it out loud, but if it had to be said, she felt safest confessing while she was in his arms. There was no denying that he was very much alive – not when he was hard and throbbing against her.

  “I hate that I had to let you think that,” he breathed, leaning closer, letting his jaw brush hers. “But I promise I won’t ever leave you like that again – not so long as you want me around, anyway.”

  She slid her arms around his waist, embracing him back, liking the feel of being linked that way.

  It only lasted for a moment before he moved, easing her onto the bed and joining her there. Their limbs tangled instantly, bodies entwined as they fell into another kiss. When it ended, he was between her thighs, gripping fistfuls of the quilt, poised to enter her.

  He took a few tense moments to put on the condom he’d withdrawn from his pocket, and she helped, liking the feel of his shaft beneath her fingers – so hard, the skin as smooth as velvet drawn tight over steel.

  When he was sheathed, she wrapped her legs around his waist and arched her hips so that her pussy brushed the head of his cock, then lost her breath in an involuntary gasp. Even that little bit of contact felt amazing. When he moved, pressing into her slowly, her head spun.

  He slid into her in one long thrust, forcing her body to stretch in a way she’d only dreamed about for far too long. With a moan, she tipped her head back against the pillows and simply breathed, relishing the feeling.

  He didn’t let her savor the first moments for long. Soon he was pressing his lips to her neck, teasing her there with kisses and scraping teeth, eventually working his way down to her shoulder as he rocked into her, sending fresh waves of pleasure through her with each movement.

  Tension mounted in her core with each stroke, intensified by the way he teased her, biting her shoulder just hard enough to send a burst of shocked bliss through her. She opened her eyes and watched as he sighed, his head bowed over her body, his teeth abrading her skin again.

  It was unexpected, the feeling it gave her almost feral. And it was impossible not to like. When an appreciative moan escaped her, he let his gaze dart up to meet her eyes. “You like that?”

  She liked anything that involved his mouth on her body, not to mention the ecstasy of having him inside her. “Yes.”

  A gleam passed through his eyes just as a fresh wave of intensity passed through her, drawing her internal muscles tight around him. She was so close, and then, as he pressed his mouth to the side of her neck, she was there.

  Beneath him, against him, around him, she tensed, every muscle in her body drawing tight in response to a delicious pull, one that originated in the very center of her being, where he was. Pleasure swept through her in waves, white-hot and all-consuming, and she moved her hips to its rhythm without consciously meaning to, spurred on by the moan that escaped him.

  Several breathless moments later, the intensity was fading, giving way to a softer sort of pleasure. He persisted though, driving his cock deep into her, and each stroke brought a hard spark of ecstasy, an echo of her climax. She sighed, wrapping her legs tighter around him and placing her hands on his back.

  He brushed his lips across hers in a hot but quick kiss.

  A shiver of delight ran down her spine as he raised his head and thrust harder, each stroke deliberate as she clung to him, nails biting into his skin. He buried himself to the root each time, making her softer flesh yield to his hard cock. When he came he said her name, and hearing it felt every bit as good as he did inside her.

  When he stopped rocking into her, she pulled him down onto her. He was solid and warm against her, a weight she would’ve given anything to bear at any point during the past twenty-nine years. “I wish we had more time,” she said as he withdrew.

  He met her eyes, and the regret she saw there was genuine. “So do I. Being in this bed with you is making me second-guess my decision to help Jack out tonight.”

  She frowned, but not because he wanted to help their daughter’s pack. “When you’re out there with them, make sure you’re careful – the whole monster thing is ridiculous, but something was poking around that poor hiker’s body. If that film crew storms out into the mountains agitating wildlife, who knows what they might stir up.”

  “I’m always careful,” he said, pressing a kiss against her temple. “It’s a side-effect of living on the run for most of my life. You don’t need to worry about me, though. Truth is, real monsters don’t run around on four legs. They walk around on two and carry guns. I’d be a hell of a lot more worried if we’d found boot prints by t
hat body instead of paw prints.”

  CHAPTER 6

  The mountains were shrouded in darkness, but it wasn’t late enough that Kimberly could fall asleep. Not with Michael out in the woods with the Half Moon males and her mind whirling with thoughts of the next day, anyway. Jack and the others had set out on their surveillance mission at dusk, which was when the Monsters 24/7 crew had decided to start their nighttime “investigation”.

  At first, Kimberly had lingered at Mandy and Jack’s cabin, taking advantage of time to be spent with her daughter. But when she’d caught Mandy leaning against a counter and yawning in the kitchen, she’d left, knowing Mandy needed her rest.

  Now, she was wide awake at eight-thirty. Awake and too nervous to distract herself with a book or the TV set that sat in one corner of the cabin’s living area. She needed something to do – something that would keep her moving.

  Going for a walk was out of the question. Jack wanted her and the rest of the pack to stay out of the woods for the night, ensuring that they wouldn’t run into the film crew.

  Not that she particularly wanted to go traipsing through the forest on her own after dark, anyway. With a shudder, she remembered what had happened to poor Braden Spencer. Thinking of what she and Michael had found – what Braden’s fiancée must be going through – always ensured a burst of heartsickness. Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky as she had been, being reunited with Michael.

  And that brought a whole new slew of mind-churning thoughts. She was leaving the mountains the next day – heading back to Nashville. Before she departed, she’d be having dinner at Mandy and Jack’s cabin. The whole pack would be there, plus her and Michael. Which meant that morning would be her only real chance for alone time with him, her only opportunity to discuss what she’d been putting off for the past week.

  She had to make the best of it. Had to finally sort things out – the strange, emotionally-charged honeymoon week she and Michael had just spent together, enjoying each other’s company in the mountains, was ending. And she wouldn’t carry any uncertainty back to the city, wouldn’t walk away from the new reality her eyes had been opened to without knowing – for once – what the future held.

  “Breakfast,” she sighed, eyeing the refrigerator. She and Michael would have breakfast together the next day, at least – they might as well make it a special one. He’d mentioned fried tomatoes – she could pick up things to make those and more. They’d cook up a storm in the morning … then figure things out over breakfast. Grabbing her purse and keys, she left the cabin behind.

  It took her half an hour to get to the grocery / department store. It was part of a large chain, the kind that carried a little bit of everything. Inside, she grabbed a cart and turned it in the direction of the food aisles just as something else caught her eye.

  Slowly, she wheeled her cart around, drawn to the display set up in front of the pharmacy area. The acoustic guitars resting there were nothing special – they were being sold at a grocery store, after all – but they brought back memories that resonated, filling every corner of her mind.

  She could still see Michael on that stage, knew his fingertips were still calloused, even if it was only from living rough now, not from guitar strings. When was the last time he’d played? Doubtlessly, it had been a while. It wasn’t like he could’ve toted around a guitar while on the run. And yet, he’d loved the instrument back when she’d first known him.

  On an impulse, she picked up one of the guitars and lowered it into her cart. It was on sale, extremely cheap – too good of a deal to turn down, even if it wasn’t anywhere near the quality of the instrument he’d once cherished. That guitar had been luxurious – the one expensive item Michael had owned. And after his disappearance, when Mandy had been a baby, Kimberly had been forced to sell it in order to buy diapers. The memory still hurt, even now – giving the instrument up had torn her heart in half.

  This supermarket bargain didn’t compare, but still, maybe if she bought it for him, he’d start playing again. Maybe music could play a role in building a bridge between their old life together and the new one they’d been given a chance at.

  Smiling, she wound her way through the aisles, picking up tomatoes, a fresh package of bacon, orange juice and even some potatoes for hashbrowns. By the time she neared the check-out area, she’d given up browsing the food selection in favor of observing the other shoppers.

  The store wasn’t overly-crowded, but there were still people in every direction she looked. Undoubtedly a mix of locals and tourists, they piled their selections in their carts. It was such an ordinary scene that the strange wonder Kimberly had been a part of for the past week struck her anew. The other shoppers didn’t have a clue about the secret world that existed in the surrounding mountains, had no idea how reality differed from everything they’d spent their entire lives believing.

  She was probably the only person in the entire store who knew there were people out there whose souls lived in more than one form, whose bodies could go from human to animal in the blink of an eye. If any of the other shoppers knew she believed such a thing, they’d think she was crazy.

  A smile stole across her lips as she steered her cart toward a check-out lane. She didn’t mind carrying the secret, knowing that even though she was completely human, her knowledge set her apart from others. She’d carried the burden of her grief over Michael alone for so long that this was a welcome change. It felt good to keep a secret that didn’t hurt, and after all, she wasn’t really carrying it alone. She had others to share it with – Michael, Mandy and the entire Half Moon Pack, not to mention the bear shifters who lived nearby.

  There was no denying it – it felt good to have a secret that made her different while including her in something special at the same time. Even if it was something so crazy she wouldn’t have believed it herself if she hadn’t seen it again and again over the past week. Given that, maybe it wasn’t completely bizarre that she felt more at home in the mountains than she did in the city she’d called home for the past three decades.

  With that sobering thought in mind, she paid for her groceries and made her way back to the mountain where her rental cabin awaited her last night in the Smokies. With any luck, the next morning would bring a fresh start – one she’d been waiting on for twenty-nine long years.

  * * * * *

  “Braden Spencer’s last meal would’ve been breakfast for dinner, if he’d lingered just a little longer at his campsite before wandering alone into the wilderness of the Great Smoky Mountains,” Gus Oliver said, giving the camera a grave look. “According to the fiancée he left behind, he fried a package of bacon before leaving her to cook a batch of pancakes on their camp stove. After promising to be back within half an hour, he never returned.”

  Gus took a slow step, sweeping a hand in a broad gesture that encompassed all of the area he stood in, just below the ridge Braden Spencer had fallen over. Alex had a camera trained on him – presumably one equipped with night vision.

  The moon shone down, round and full – the second full moon of the month, a spectacular orb hanging high in the sky, bidding a special farewell to October. Gus treated it like his own personal limelight, his chest puffing as he walked a leisurely circle around the area where the hiker’s body had been discovered.

  “What brought Braden to this remote neck of the woods, miles from his campsite? Was he chased – did he perhaps stumble over the ridge above while running in a blind panic? No one knows for sure, but one thing is certain: after he fell to his death, he was not left to rest in peace.”

  Gus paused, and even from where Michael waited and watched in shadow with Jack, Noah and Daniel, he could practically smell the self-satisfaction rolling off of him.

  “Tonight, we embark on a journey intended to answer questions raised by Braden’s tragic death. Are the shadow wolves that left marks at the scene of his demise still out here, hunting for their next victim? If so, what will it take to stop them from striking again? Join us as
we head deeper into the Great Smoky Mountains and expose the monsters that took a life here where I stand, just last night.”

  A low sound broke the silence, the closest noise a wolf could make to a sigh, and Michael didn’t have to look to his right to know it came from Daniel.

  Truth was, though he wasn’t vocal about it, he pretty much shared the younger wolf’s sentiments. Gus Oliver was an idiot. To think that if he and his film crew hadn’t shown up, Michael would have Kimberly in his arms right now… He had to suppress a growl as he shifted his weight from one paw to the other, letting the aging pine needles crackle softly beneath his feet.

  The monster hunters wouldn’t hear. They’d focused their dull human senses on their work, which, at the moment, consisted of trudging forward, their equipment in tow. Gus led the group of five, and Alex brought up the rear, filming as they went. They made about as much noise as a herd of elephants, crushing sticks and underbrush, even talking.

  A low growl rumbled from beside Michael, and he turned to look at Jack, knowing exactly why he was upset – the Monsters 24/7 crew were heading toward Half Moon Pack territory. Jack turned his golden eyes on the others, gave them a meaningful look and started forward, each step deliberate as he paced in the same direction.

  Michael followed, as did Daniel and Noah. Keeping up with the humans wasn’t hard – in fact, they padded along at a snail’s pace, deliberately hanging back.

  “Here,” Gus said after about fifteen minutes of hiking. They’d traveled almost due west the entire way, drawing even closer to pack territory – the forested acres that Jack owned. Was their direction random, or were they going that way on purpose, planning to make their way back to the road that wound down the mountain? If that was their plan, depending on where they exited the woods, they could end up right in Jack’s backyard.

  Maybe – hopefully – they wouldn’t be that stupid. If Gus Oliver cared at all for his own safety, he’d emerge elsewhere on the mountain.