Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1)

by Samantha Clarke

  Jaden peaked into the kitchen and there stood Alex, filling up a cup with some water. Jaden rubbed Olivia’s side and kissed her cheek, “I’m going to tell Alex that I’m going to take you home…” He whispered in her ear, “But we can go anywhere that you would like.”

  Olivia smiled, “Well, a nice quiet walk in the park and then an evening at your house would be very nice…”

  He smiled and then made his way over to Alex, “Alex?” He said, leaning against the counters.

  She turned around and smiled, “What’s up?”

  “Olivia isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to take her home,” He lied, “I’m probably just going to stay the night there because Mrs. Cook is taking care of Grandma Pandev. They’re moving her out of the nursing home soon and Mrs. Cook is packing her things up sporadically.”

  Alex nodded, “I’m sure Meghan would appreciate that you’d take care of Liv in her absence. I hope that she feels better. Have a good night, Jay,” She responded, before turning back to the fridge, filling more cups with water.

  Jaden went back to Olivia’s side and wrapped his arm around her waist. He led her out of the house and to his car. She pushed open his shirt and ran her fingers through his chest hair while she kissed him. He kissed her back, and then got into the car. They drove to the park in silence, and once they arrived, Jaden helped Olivia out of the car.

  “This corset is too damn tight…” Olivia complained, making a face.

  Jaden laughed and helped her out of it. He grabbed a jacket out of his backseat and draped it over her shoulders. He put his hand on the small of her back, and they walked through the park, as physically close together as they could.

  “I love you…” Olivia whispered.

  Jaden smiled and pulled her close to him. He kissed her deeply and she pressed her body against his. He pulled away, biting her lip playfully. She growled and slipped her tongue into his mouth. They kissed like that for a long moment, Jaden’s hand cupping her breast, and her hand on his crotch. He pulled away, smirking and Olivia nibbled on his bottom lip.

  “I love you too…” He whispered in return. Olivia smiled and then continued to walk through the park, Jaden resting his hand firmly on her behind.

  After another few minutes of blissful silence, Olivia spoke again, her voice soft, “Do you want to move in after graduation? Mom wouldn’t have a problem with it… She knows your relationship with your dad is strained…”

  Jaden smiled, but before he could say anything a terrible smell reached his nose. He looked down at Olivia, who had covered her nose and mouth with both her hands. The smell was strong, a mix of rotting flesh and blood. It burned Jaden’s nose and it felt as though someone was shoving a hot iron down his throat. Olivia bent over and retched, the smell of human blood making her sick. Jaden quickly pulled her hair out of her face, shocked.

  She looked up and her face turned white. Her eyes widened. She had to stifle a scream. Jaden followed her gaze and covered her mouth. Across the park were three pale beings, practically gliding slowly out of the line of trees. Jaden could see that one of them was wiping blood from their mouth.

  Jaden pulled Olivia to her feet, “Vampires…” He whispered in horrified shock, “Babe, let’s go, we have to tell Alex…”

  Olivia nodded and they bolted towards the car, jumping inside as quickly as they could. Jaden sped away from the park, his tires squealing, as he went back to Alex’s house. He ran inside, pulling Olivia along behind him. He found Alex relatively quickly and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside.

  “Vampires are in town…” He hissed in her ear.

  Alex’s face flushed, “Wh-What do you mean?” Was all that she could manage.

  “At the park, I lied to you… I wasn’t taking Olivia home… Well, not her home anyway…”

  Alex stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. She furrowed her brow and shook her head slowly, “I have to call dad…” She ran up the stairs, Jaden and Olivia close behind her. She called for Charlotte as she ran, and in moments Charlotte, Kyle and Maia were all joining them in Alex’s bedroom.

  “Where’s my brother?” Alex demanded.

  “He went to bed after Runt went home with Kit…” Charlotte responded hesitantly.

  “Sam went home with Kit? Are you kidding? Can we even trust this kid?” Jaden snapped, turning to Charlotte, “You seriously let my baby sister leave with some guy we don’t even know?”

  “Fucking knock it off, Jay. You just found out she’s your sister, you can stop the protective big brother act any minute now,” Charlotte retorted in aggravation.

  “Both of you shut up!” Alex snapped, “It’s not important where Runt is right now, at least she’s inside somewhere… Probably. Just knock it off so I can call my dad…” She seethed as she punched her father’s number into her phone.

  “Hello?” Colin answered after one ring.

  “Daddy, we’ve got a problem…” Alex started, “Jay and Liv went for a walk in the park and there were vampires there…”

  “Are they alright? Did you call Samuel and Meghan?”

  “They’re fine dad, just a bit shaken, but they’re sitting right next to me. What do we do?” She lowered her voice to an anxious whisper.

  “I’m closing up Da Vince’s now, and your mom should be home any minute. Keep as many people as you can at the house, I’ll call Malcolm and see what we should do… Just sit tight, okay honey?”

  “Okay dad, I’ll talk to you when you get home…” Alex hit the end button and tossed her phone onto her bed, “Everyone get comfortable. We’re all locked in for the night…”

  CHAPTER 11

  Kedar shoved Samantha into his bedroom wall, pinning her up against it. He kissed her furiously, untying the laces of her corset. She tried to help him, but he pulled her hands out of the way and pinned them up above her head with his free hand. He finished untying her corset and tossed it aside, both his hands automatically moving to fondle her breasts. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, rubbing her tongue hungrily against his. He reached up her skirt and ripped off her panties before pulling away and quickly removing his own shirt.

  “I want you…” He groaned in between pressing passionate kisses into the crook of her neck. Before he could say anything else she dropped to her knees and pulled his pants down with her. She wasn’t down there for more than a few moments when Kedar pulled her to her feet and kissed her on her mouth, sliding his tongue passed her lips. He pulled away first, caressing her cheek as he did so.

  “I want you…” He repeated, placing more emphasis on ‘you’ than was needed. He lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. They stumbled over to the bed and fell onto it with a thud.

  As Kedar ripped Samantha’s dress from her body she let out a loud breath, nervous and excited all at the same time. She had forgotten all about Riley, about the ring, about everything Heather had said to her. All she cared about was Kedar, who had stripped and was pulling on a condom, which she didn’t even see him get. He crawled on top of her and crushed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into his back as he began to ravish her body.

  ***

  Samantha woke in the morning and stretched, sitting up. She looked beside her at Kedar sleeping peacefully and she smiled as she lightly ran her fingers over the scars on his back. He stirred, looked at her with sleepy eyes, smiled and closed his eyes again, rolling back over and falling back to sleep. She continued to rub his back, running her fingers over the multiple indented and raised scars, curling up against him and sighing contently. After a few long moments she reached over him and got her phone off of his night stand, to check if anyone had tried to contact her. She had fourteen missed calls and five missed text messages, all from Alex. She got out of bed quickly and pulled on Kedar’s t-shirt, going out into the hallway in order to call Alex back.

  “What’s up?” Samantha said as soon as Alex answered.

  There w
as a relieved sigh on Alex’s end of the phone, “Thank God you’re alright… We were beginning to worry.” Alex breathed another sigh of relief.

  “Why? I was with Kit, there’s no need for you to be worried about me?” Samantha responded, thoroughly confused.

  “Kyle and Maia were telling the truth. Jay and Liv saw vampires last night. You and Kit need to come to Malcolm’s, immediately. Mom and I are already almost halfway there…” Alex sounded exhausted, and Samantha wondered if it was because she was up all night worrying about her, or something else.

  “We just need to shower and we’ll be right there…” Samantha said in response.

  “Good, see you shortly.” There was a click on the other end and Samantha walked back into the bedroom, putting her phone back down and crawling back into bed.

  “We have to go to Malcolm’s…” Samantha whispered as she nuzzled into Kedar’s chest.

  “Why?” Kedar grumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

  “Jaden and Olivia found vampires last night… The whole pack has to go and Alex specified that you needed to be there as well…”

  “We can’t just stay here?” Kedar protested.

  Samantha shook her head, “No. Come on, we have to shower.” With that Samantha got up off the bed and ducked into the bathroom.

  ***

  Thirty minutes later Kedar and Samantha were pulling up in front of Malcolm’s house. His daughter led them to his office and they stepped inside. Malcolm motioned for them to sit, so they did without saying a word. He ran his hand down his face, then shoved his hands into his pocket as he took a deep breath.

  “You had an encounter last night?” He finally asked, turning to Jaden and Olivia.

  Jaden nodded slowly as he rubbed Olivia’s back, “Yes, sir, we did.”

  “Tell me what happened. Exactly what happened,” Malcolm demanded as he started to pace.

  Jaden took a breath and swallowed hard, “We were walking through the park when we saw them. They smelled terrible… They must have been fresh from the kill. It was awful,” Jaden said. He pulled Olivia close to him and she buried her face in his chest.

  “How do you know that they were vampires?” Malcolm inquired, clearly skeptical.

  “I just did, sir. I just knew. Like it was instinct.”

  “Shit…” Malcolm mumbled under his breath. He wasn’t prepared for this. None of them were. “Fuck. We need to formulate a plan of action.” He was silent for a moment, then he turned to Kedar, “Your grandfather taught you everything he knew about vampires, didn’t he boy?” Everyone turned to look at Kedar and he looked down at his lap, clearly uncomfortable with being the center of attention.

  He hesitated, “Not everything. But it’s enough to keep you alive if you ever encounter one close up.”

  “Good,” Malcolm said, “Could you help Colin with our current situation? None of this generation know nearly enough about vampires.” Malcolm had worded this request as though it were a question, but the tone of his voice implied that it was more of an order.

  Kedar looked over at Colin and nodded after a moment, “Fine, sir,” He said softly.

  Malcolm nodded, disregarding the apprehension in Kedar’s voice, “Excellent. I have a lot to think about and quite a few phone calls to make. Kedar will be training you all in, what, vampire survival?” He closed his eyes and shook his head, frustrated, “Colin, I need to meet with you later today or early tomorrow. I will give you a call in a few hours. You’re all dismissed.”

  At that, everyone filed out of Malcolm’s office. Riley grabbed Samantha’s arm as she approached the stairs and he pulled her aside. Kedar glanced back at her, but she simply nodded. He walked away, stealing glances back at her as he went down the stairs.

  “Where were you last night?” Riley grumbled.

  “I spent the night at Kit’s. He’s modeling for a painting I’ve been working on and I decided to crash there,” Samantha lied.

  Riley brushed Samantha’s hair out of her face and ran his fingers down her neck. He went to move the collar of her shirt down, but she pulled it back up, not before Riley caught a glimpse of a hickey that he most certainly did not leave on her, “Don’t lie to me, Runt…” He buried his face in her hair and she stepped back, giving him an aggravated look, “I can smell him all over you…”

  “I slept in his bed, which so happens to reek of him. Because, y’know, it’s his bed,” Samantha glanced down at Kedar who was at the bottom of the stairs. Guilt made her stomach churn. She wasn’t sure if it was guilt because she was lying to Riley about cheating on him, or guilt because she knew Kedar would be hurt, “Nothing happened, I swear…” She looked down at her feet.

  “Right,” Riley spat, “Don’t forget, I know you. So I know when you’re lying. Go finish your fucking ‘painting’.” He stormed away from Samantha and down the stairs. He purposefully shoved Kedar with his shoulder as he walked by him and he slammed the door on his way out.

  Samantha trotted down the stairs towards Kedar, putting on a front, although the guilt had already set in. He put his arm around her shoulders and walked with her to his truck.

  “So, what did he want?” Kedar asked smugly.

  “He wanted to know where I was last night…” Samantha’s voice was quiet. She was very clearly ashamed, but of what, she didn’t know.

  “And what did you tell him?” Kedar asked, sensing Samantha’s guilt. She didn’t answer. “Did you lie to him?” Silence was Samantha’s response, “You fucking lied to him.”

  “I didn’t want to cause a scene… Not here…”

  Kedar huffed and took his arm away from Samantha, shoving his hands in his pocket, “I’m taking you home…”

  “Kit…” Samantha whispered in protest. He didn’t say a word, he just climbed into his truck. “Are you mad at me?” She continued once she was in the truck as well.

  “I’m taking you home… I’ll see you at the next pack meeting…” Kedar mumbled as he sped down the street.

  Samantha hesitantly put her hand down on his thigh.

  “Stop it.” He snapped, “Don’t touch me.” He moved her hand back to her own lap, and floored it.

  CHAPTER 12

  Weeks passed. Regularly scheduled pack meetings were held at Kedar’s house, where he taught the pack basic combat skills that they would need to survive against a vampire attack. Samantha had been once again allowed to join in on pack activities. Unfortunately, she and Kedar didn’t speak very often. Some weeks she didn’t talk to him at all. Other’s she only spoke to him at pack meetings. Rarely, however, they would talk and see each other as though nothing had happened. Kedar made every attempt not to touch her, however, even when correcting her stance or posture when he was instructing the pack on a new survival technique.

  Shortly after the meeting at Malcolm’s house, Kedar began to smell like another woman, near constantly. Samantha couldn’t pinpoint exactly whose smell it was all over him, but it hurt. When he came around with the mysterious woman’s scent on him, Samantha wasn’t able to look him in the face. It caused knots to form in her stomach and a lump to work its way into her throat. She secluded herself from the pack when she wasn’t at meetings and for the first time in a long time she felt truly alone.

  Samantha wasn’t the only one distancing herself from the pack. Charlotte had begun to spend more and more time with Zachary and the whole pack feared that Charlotte was going to tell him their secret, without getting to know him completely.

  ***

  One day in late January Samantha and Maia were leaving Da Vince’s. Samantha had thought it would be a nice gesture to take her out to lunch, seeing as how Maia had yet to make friends in town, and although they were temporary pack mates, Samantha knew very little about her. It was nice for Samantha that she didn’t spend the afternoon alone, and she could tell that Maia was thankful for the company as well, regardless of how awkwardly silent lunch had been. Samantha was terrible at making new friends, and she had a feeling that Maia wa
s the same way.

  They got into Samantha’s car, which she had parked in the far back of the lot. She pulled her phone out of her purse to check her text messages before she began driving. She had one missed text from Alex and another from Kedar. Her heart almost skipped a beat when she read his name on her screen and she quickly unlocked her phone to read what it said.

  “I want to see you. Please come over. –K.” It read simply.

  Samantha smiled wide and quickly text him back, “I’m bringing my friend home. I will call you after.”

  “Is that Riley?” Maia asked, noting the huge smile on Samantha’s face.

  Samantha looked up from her phone at her shocked, “No… It’s my friend, Kedar…”

  “The one teaching us how to fight vampires?” Maia replied as she raised an eyebrow. She looked Samantha up and down with her big brown eyes.

  “Yeah, him.” Samantha responded simply.

  “No offense, but you two don’t seem like friends.” Maia stated frankly.

  “Yeah. It’s complicated.”

  “Well, you guys are either friends or you’re not.”

  Samantha just shook her head, but she didn’t feel like arguing. She simply checked the text message from Alex.

  “Dad wants us on patrol tonight. Hurry back.” Was all that it said.

  Samantha sighed, started her car and began driving away from the restaurant, “Alex says that we have to patrol tonight…” She said softly after a few moments of awkward silence.

  Maia didn’t respond. Samantha frowned. She hoped she hadn’t lost a friend before a friendship could even be formed. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and she dialed Kedar’s number.

  It rang four times before he answered, “Hello?”

  “I got a text from Alex. We have to go patrolling. Meet me in our old spot?” Samantha asked softly.