Blue Moon

by Angela Colsin

  “On it, and I'll let 'em know.”

  Cade hung up his phone and put it back into his pocket, relaying the information to Caleb. His brother listened, then mentioned, “I can go scout around if you want, no problem.”

  Before Cade could consider his options, Aislinn spoke urgently.

  “Cade, go to the back lot right now. Something's happened to Ashley.”

  The words were unexpected, and at the same time, Sara was coming toward them in a hurry.

  She announced as she arrived, “Ashley's gone, Cade. Tyler told me she went to dump some trash, and he didn't see her come back in. He looked when he got the chance to, but she wasn't there.”

  “Shit,” Cade cussed. “Sara, go tell Hobbs he's off break. Caleb,” he added, then motioned for his brother to go with him.

  Caleb was right behind him as they headed through the kitchen to the exit where the dumpsters were. Neither of them took the time to shut the door as they emerged in the back lot, looking over at the trashcans first to see that nothing was really out of place.

  The scent of the garbage didn't make it easy to tell if someone else had been around either—even Ashley's scent was overwhelmed by it. So Cade checked the pavement for any signs of a fight, and his brother moved across the lot toward the woods lining the establishment.

  Cade couldn't locate a single trace of struggle anywhere. But Caleb called his name, so he went to see what his brother found.

  When he reached the edge of the lot, he picked up a stronger scent.

  “Smell that?” Caleb asked.

  “It's Ashley,” Cade replied, then took in a deeper breath. “And someone else.”

  Caleb looked at the ground, seeing fresh imprints in the grass, and he started to follow them.

  “One set of prints, too big to be Ashley,” he pointed out, moving further along the trail. Then he saw one of her hair ties and said, “She's being carried over the shoulder, and these prints are fresh, so they shouldn't be too far away.”

  Cade was listening, but as he moved with his brother, the scent of the second lupine got stronger.

  Suddenly, recognition dawned. Cade recalled running through trees by a wide dirt trail that led to Braddock's Field a year ago where he caught his father's scent, as well as Brady's—and another unknown lupine's.

  Later, he'd gone back to check the fields and found the same lupine's clothing laying in some tall grass not too far from where the murder took place.

  The scent on those clothes matched what he was picking up now.

  Caleb stopped moving when Cade grabbed his arm, looking over at his brother quickly.

  “What?”

  “It's him, Caleb,” he growled. “I'd know that scent anywhere.”

  Caleb didn't need to ask to know who his brother was talking about. This was the same lupine they'd been hunting for a year now, and Cade's expression was lethal. The scent trail was stronger the further away from Blue Moon they went, and he would never forget it.

  First his father, and now this asshole had Ashley. Cade felt a rage inside of him that he couldn't contain. If he's hurt her, or worse . . . He shoved the thought away when fear for Ashley took hold in a grip stronger than he'd ever experienced it.

  He and Caleb moved as quickly as possible while he focused on his rage instead of his fear, deciding that he may end up killing that lupine without letting anyone else take their own vengeance.

  But no matter what, there was no way this bastard was getting away a second time.

  ~*~*~*~

  Ashley's eyes slowly cracked open, and she was overwhelmed with dizziness and confusion. Reality was slow to surface, but she soon remembered dumping the trash before being rushed in the parking lot.

  Now, she was hanging upside down, slung over a shoulder and carried swiftly through the woods. There was a metallic taste in her mouth from being gagged with a bit—a silver bit making her lips sore and teeth ache.

  She was even sick on her stomach.

  Ashley attempted to move only to realize that her wrists and ankles were bound together. Her head was throbbing, and she had no idea how long she'd been out, but it couldn't have been too long.

  She lifted her head, trying to see her surroundings, but the person carrying her was moving too swiftly for anything to focus. So while her location remained a mystery, the identity of her abductor wasn't.

  His scent was no longer drown out by the dumpster—not that there was much distinction in her opinion. But it was familiar, and she knew he was one of the lupines who'd originally turned her.

  Ashley thought she'd feel fear over being abducted this way, and she did, but overwhelming it was a sense of uncontrollable rage. They were trying to take her away from the life she was attempting to set up for herself yet again, and she was so angry that her fear seemed like nothing more than an afterthought.

  Control was teetering on the edge. The more she thought about her current position and the further away from Blue Moon they got, the more intense her anger grew. I'm not gonna make it through this without changing.

  As if in omen to that verdict, Ashley heard a howl in the distance, and something wild inside of her responded. Someone's coming.

  Just when she had the thought, the man carrying her came to a stop at a clearing of trees where there was a small, gravel road with a short, cobblestone wall lining one side.

  Next to it was a pickup truck—a blue one—and she heard a voice.

  “Get 'er, Paul?”

  “Yep, get the others headin' out. We need ta move fast.”

  The voices she heard had drawls so deep that even though she was a southerner herself, they still sounded foreign.

  Paul, the name of the one carrying her, pulled Ashley over and dropped her into the bed of the truck. She couldn't help the grunt that came out of her on impact, her head still aching, especially when it hit the metal bed.

  Her view changed to see two lupines standing near the vehicle. Paul was tall and slender, but fit, with a head of stringy brown hair. He was facing two others, one of them moving away, and the last was more familiar, an older man with a scraggly white beard and a smirk that she wanted to slap off his face.

  But most notably, he had one brown eye, the other a lifeless, dull blue with a line of scars over it, saying he'd lost it in a wolf fight.

  One Eye.

  Sadly he wasn't just an imaginary part of an incredibly bad dream. She even recognized his scent more clearly than Paul's. It reminded her of that fucking basement.

  Can't handle this.

  Paul addressed him, saying, “C'mon, Johnny. Need ta get this bitch caged 'n go 'fore someone comes sniffin' 'round.”

  While Paul opened the cage, Johnny reached for Ashley and noticed that she was tensing, her canines growing sharp in her mouth, her eyes glowing.

  “Paul, gimme yer knife, she's 'bout ta change.”

  Paul grabbed a knife from his belt that he tossed to Johnny, who caught it in one hand. Clutching Ashley's throat, he raised the blade quickly.

  The last thing she consciously saw was something she couldn't have explained even if she wasn't on the cusp of change. A blast of electricity surged through the air overhead, slamming into Johnny and successfully preventing his attack.

  Just as he let go, the animal inside of Ashley broke free.

  Her human logic succumbed to the wild, instinctive nature of the wolf. The transformation took place too swiftly to be seen with the naked eye, the space around her wavering mystically. One moment she was a human, the next a white wolf with black fur dusting her ears and tail.

  Her wrists and ankles shrunk, becoming small enough to slip them free of the silver chains binding them, allowing her to escape.

  Though she was still gagged with a bit—one that had her feeling woozy—Ashley stood and leaped onto the top of the truck's cab quickly, stumbling as her head spun. But she looked back at her attackers regardless, her eyes glowing a silvery green color while emitting a loud snarl.

  There was no i
mmediate threat. Johnny lay sprawled across the gravel pavement near the truck after being hit with a bolt of unexplained electricity, and Paul was in the grasp of another assailant, one that Ashley didn't recognize with her presently wild mind.

  As a human however, she would've known him as Ulric, the draconian she'd met two nights prior.

  He'd just lifted Paul up by the throat with one hand, and a shock of electrical energy flooded from his arm and into the lupine, just enough to knock him unconscious.

  But Ashley's only focus was currently survival. So when she realized that neither were paying her any mind, she began to struggle with the bit in her mouth, swiping a paw at the back of her head to dislodge it.

  It took a few tries, but finally came free. She didn't recover from the contact with the metal immediately, but gained physical relief of the pain it was causing. Still, there was no time to wait for her disorientation to die down when she heard movement on the road.

  Two more lupines were running onto the scene, one a wolf while the other was still human.

  Her senses were heightened, ready to fight and kill in order to survive if she had to. But the odds weren't good, specifically when Johnny recovered from the shock he'd received and started getting up.

  Her best choice for survival was escape.

  Ashley turned around and jumped just before either of them could reach her. Bounding through the air, she landed on the cobblestone wall the truck was parked next to, stumbling a few steps with her continued disorientation before running up the incline between the trees.

  “Ashley! Wait!”

  Despite her primal thoughts, the voice calling to her was familiar. Ashley halted and looked back, seeing two men about twenty feet away.

  One of them was speaking as he slowly approached.

  She flattened her ears, slightly curious, but with the danger present, she became more concerned when a large silver wolf with glowing amber eyes jumped the wall behind her in pursuit.

  Ashley immediately forgot about her curiosity over the two lupines, turning around to dart off into the trees. Thankfully, the disorientation from the silver cleared up quickly enough, allowing her to run more swiftly from the wolf tailing her.

  “Shit!”

  Cade cussed when Ashley began running just as he and Caleb arrived at the roadway. But he knew why she'd taken off when he saw a large wolf following from another direction.

  “Mike's here,” Caleb suddenly pointed out.

  Cade looked to see Mike coming over the incline with two wolves from their pack flanking his sides, and William was just behind him. More were coming as well because of the earlier howling made to signal trouble in the territory.

  “Just get Ashley, we got it,” Caleb called as he went running toward the truck where the draconian was.

  Caleb knew letting Ashley face danger alone wasn't an option for his brother, and Cade didn't waste a second when he realized they had four of their pack to take care of matters there.

  “I'll call you,” was all he said as he took off behind the wolf following Ashley.

  Cade had never been more sure of his feelings than he was in that moment. Lethal instincts were in control, and he could already feel his canines becoming sharp as his eyes glowed blue.

  When he reached the wolf chasing his mate, there was going to be blood.

  Chapter 24

  Ashley didn't have a big enough head start to outrun her opponent.

  She could hear his footfalls, moving swiftly to catch up, and there was nowhere she could hide without being tracked and discovered, leaving her with two options—expend her energy trying to run before fighting, or face him down while she was still strong.

  Fighting gave her the bigger chance for survival.

  Ashley searched for an open area where she could get enough room to move if she needed it, finally coming to a clearing of trees not far from a stream of water where she stopped and turned to face her aggressor. She didn't have to wait either, the larger animal rushing into the area where she stood with her fur bristling, ears folded back, and fangs bared in a snarl.

  The canine returned the aggressive sounds in a brief stand off. He was much bigger, but Ashley's only choice was to stand and fight.

  Knowing it, the enemy lunged to strike.

  Ashley darted to the side, her speed coming in handy to get out of harm's way. Just as the wolf landed where she'd been, she turned to attack, standing on her hind legs to tear her claws across the silver canine's back.

  He let a growl and faced her, ready to snap when another wolf rushed into the fray. The newcomer was even larger than her aggressor, and was heading right for him.

  Ashley jumped back just as the opposing canine was intercepted with an angry snarl. They went tumbling away, right into the stream beyond some brush where they engaged one another with feral growls and forceful strikes, water spattering around them.

  The new wolf had black fur running from his head and across his body to his tail, but the rest was silvery white. Ashley couldn't get a scent to identify him then, but watched their fight closely while listening to the surrounding area for more danger.

  Getting between the two big canines, even to help, seemed like a bad idea after all. They were vicious, giving and receiving blows, including a hard swipe of sharp claws across the biggest canine's neck.

  He retaliated by knocking their enemy back with a blow of his own, which gave him the opportunity he needed, lunging just as the opposing male tried to take off, being no match for the stronger canine.

  But he couldn't quite get the room he needed to escape when fangs ruthlessly sank into his throat, drawing blood with a vicious snarl. The larger wolf mercilessly tore at his flesh, offering his struggling opponent no quarter, only letting go in order to get a better grip on his throat with blood spurting over him before the enemy finally went still, laying lifelessly in the flowing water.

  Everything grew silent except for the snarls of the victor, who didn't let go until he was certain his quarry wasn't getting back up.

  Finally, the wolf lifted his head, and Ashley backed away slowly, keeping her distance as he emitted a howl while standing over the defeated. It seemed like a way of letting other wolves in the area know that they had one less enemy to worry with because a confirmation was received from another in the distance.

  When that sound hit the big canine's ears, he finally turned his head to look over at Ashley, his eyes glowing blue.

  She was still trying to scent him, but when he slowly padded out of the stream toward her, she backed away quickly. Seeing this, the large wolf stopped, lowering his head in a sign of submission, which told Ashley that he wasn't intending to threaten her.

  So she began to scent him more openly, moving forward slowly. Then the wind picked up, sending her a stronger hint of who this was, and recognition hit her wild mind.

  Cade.

  Ashley lifted her head when, for the first time, a bridge was formed between her human nature and her animal instincts, making her aware of herself as more than just a wolf.

  Memory flooded her feral thoughts, and the influx of information weighed heavily, making her settle down in the grass.

  In confusion, she threw back her head and let a forlorn howl up at the sky.

  Cade lifted his head when Ashley began howling, trotting over to her quickly. She didn't move away, didn't even growl at him, only settled there and let another bleak cry as he nuzzled her neck. It was a sad sound, confused and uncertain.

  Unlike Ashley, Cade was fully aware of himself in this form, and figured she was bridging the gap between human and animal. Sitting back from her just a bit, Cade's body tensed, ears flattening as his transformation started.

  His shape mystically returned to normal, crouched in the grass with the glow of his eyes fading. A few blood trails ran down his neck from scratches he'd received in the fight, but he paid them no attention.

  Placing a hand on Ashley's nape, he murmured, “Don't make that sound, sweetheart. Just l
et it come back.”

  Cade hated that sound, but needed her to remember and gain a facet of logical thought as a wolf so she would have an easier time in the future.

  Ashley finally stopped and turned her glowing eyes over to him. Then she pushed herself up and sidled closer.

  “That's it, relax. You need to change so we can go tell everyone you're fine.”

  He was idly rubbing her nape as he spoke, knowing she'd change back when she tried to calm down and think more rationally. It wasn't uncommon for newborns to turn back into a human without control when they started becoming aware of themselves as a wolf after all.

  So he urged her on with gentle words until she tensed, and surely enough, finally changed back into the woman he was more familiar with, settled next to him with her legs folded beside herself.

  “That wasn't so hard, was it?”

  Ashley was facing the stream, but she looked back when she heard his voice, asking, “Huh?” before glancing down to realize she was a human again. “Oh!”

  He found a smile, asking, “Do you remember what happened?”

  Ashley lifted her arms to cover her breasts, replying, “Yeah, your scent brought some things back.”

  She wasn't looking at him, probably due to embarrassment when she'd never had to parade around naked in front of others—something most lupines couldn't avoid from time to time.

  But his eyes were riveted by her feminine curves and her smooth, bare skin.

  Cade had to force himself to look away, make sure they were actually as alone as the silence would have them believe. While listening to the forest, inhaling the air, Ashley inquired quietly, “When did you get here?”

  She'd spoken through chattering teeth, and unable to detect any threats looming about, Cade decided it was a good time to get dressed before he did something impulsive.

  He stood and helped Ashley up, leading her to the place where he'd changed before jumping into the fight. His clothes were strewn across the forest floor, and he handed Ashley his shirt while explaining what happened, from realizing she'd been abducted, to finding her with Ulric.