by Cora Zane
WARNING: This story contains sexually explicit material, and it is intended only for persons over the age of 18. By downloading and opening this document, you are stating that you are of legal age to access and view this work of fiction.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Under A Midnight Moon
Copyright© Cora Zane, 2006
Cover Artist: Silma Pagán
This book has not been edited. It’s an “as is” work, and is available as a free download; however, no part of this story or its characters may be used, reproduced, or redistributed in anyway without expressed written permission from the author.
***
For Tempest and Cassandra, my broomstick sisters
and writing partners-in-crime.
Chapter One
“Ooh, lookie what we got here,” Adriana tittered as she steered the ancient, rust-brown Ford LTD into the parking lot of the Kwik Sack.
Betsey glanced up from the wad of bills she was counting to find out what her friend was snarling about, and saw a tangle of Harleys taking up over half of the parking lot, as well as most of the spaces along the front of the convenience store.
“Biker stallions,” Gemma said with a smirk as they pulled up into a parking space facing the newspaper machines. Adriana killed the engine, and Betsey craned her neck around her friend to get a good look at the group of male werewolves hanging out en masse with their bikes.
“Those are the new guys,” she said absently, and eased back in the passenger seat. She resumed counting the money they’d collected for the beer run as though finding some fifty-odd motorcycles parked anywhere inside the Silver city limits was a common occurrence.
“I’m surprised Ed hasn’t run them off yet,” Gemma murmured from the back seat, and Adriana gave a sharp laugh.
“Haven’t you heard? Ed Burke is in with the new pack leader like this.” She held up crossed fingers. “For whatever reason, he thinks this Cole guy can bring the pack back to its former glory. He’s not going to run off the man’s crew if he thinks like that.”
Gemma shook her head. “What a chump. Before you know it, there’ll be bikers hanging out here all the time, harassing the rest of us.”
“You don’t know that,” muttered Betsey. Adriana waggled a finger at her, her way of implying that Gemma was really on to something.
“What did I say? Remember? I told you Ivy should have re-mated. None of this would be going on now if she’d kept her status as pack leader—”
“Even if only over the females,” Gemma said.
“I don’t know. Laney seems okay.”
“Maybe she is,” Adriana told Betsey, “but she’s not true Alpha material. She’s not strong like Ivy.”
Betsey looked up. “Whatever that means…”
The new pack leaders had only been around for a few months. How could anyone know what the new Alpha Female was or was not capable of at this point in the game? Nevertheless, her defense of the new Alpha bitch sparked an instant uproar within the close confines of the car.
Adriana and Gemma went on and on sniping about the new Alphas, but they both seemed to forget the fact that Ivy handpicked her own brother and his mate to lead after her husband died. She made the conscious decision to step down—no one forced her to do anything.
Betsey sighed inwardly. While she went on counting bills in the dark, snatches of her friends’ heated conversation sank in, and suddenly she was glad the windows were rolled up. Deep down, she knew a lot of Adriana and Gemma’s argument came from listening to the disgruntled males that frequented the café where they worked.
“How do they think the pack is going to thrive with a ninety percent male population? Huh, Betsey? We didn’t have enough females before, and now—”
“Well, I’m not taking two mates, that’s for damn sure,” Gemma snarled. “So if that’s the grand plan this Cole Holbrook has for us—”
“Would you two listen to yourselves?” Betsey cut in. “I’m not sure about the breeding ratio, or what Cole’s plans are, but it definitely means better pickin’s for us females. Think about that. These guys will have to up their game if they intend to land a mate, and that can only benefit us.”
That shut them up—briefly.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Adriana said with a sniff. She checked her lip gloss in the rearview mirror, flicked her dark brown bangs from her eyes. She then leaned over and smacked Betsey on the thigh. “So, anyway, how much did we rake in this time?”
Betsey counted out the last of the bills into her lap and looked up. “Seventy-six dollars—most of it in ones.”
“We’re rich!” Gemma hooted in the backseat, and Adriana cackled.
“Cheap bastards…” she breathed. “It’s like milking onions, I tell you.”
Betsey sighed. “Well, we’ve got what we’ve got, and they want beer. Pop the trunk and let’s do this.”
They climbed out of the car and the hoots, laughs, and fragments of gruff conversation coming from the bikers died down to a low rumble. Betsey felt every set of eyes in the parking lot look at them in interest, and her heart did an anxious little flip. She smoothed back her sunny blonde hair with a trembling hand and walked around the car to stand on the raised walkway leading to the entrance of the store.
Gemma pushed forward the driver seat to climb out, but before she could set foot onto the pavement, Adriana blocked her exit and growled down at her, “Stay here and watch the car.”
“Why? No one’s going to steal your Ford POS.”
Adriana blanched. “Ha-ha, keep it up, sister. It’s a long walk out to Miller’s Landing.” She snatched out the keys and slammed the door. “Ungrateful wench…”
Betsey chuckled to herself, and watched the tall brunette stalk around to the back and open the trunk. The car might be a heap, but it had the trunk space to match a walk-in closet. Most of the pack jokingly referred to her car the beer run hotrod.
She folded her arms over her chest and waited for Adriana to join her up on the walkway. No way was she going into the store by herself. She caught the faint scent of male lust lingering on the cool night air, and could tell by the look on Adriana’s face she smelled it too.
Tension tugged at her gut as they neared the door, but no one howled or spoke to them. No one tried to stop them from going inside the store. Adriana reached the door first and tugged it open.
In that same moment, Betsey felt a tingling along her spine and glanced over her shoulder into the crowd of males. Almost instantly, she met a pair of dark, smoldering eyes. It was him. Raven hair accentuated his finely chiseled face. He nodded at her, and heat rushed to her face. Betsey quickly lowered her lashes and stepped into the store.
“Whoa, what the hell was that?” Adriana asked when the door swung shut behind then.
“What was what?”
“That eye thing.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, come on. You think I didn’t see that? That thing with the eyes between you and the biker stallion back there.”
“There was no thing.”
“Yeah, right…” Adriana opened one of the cooler doors and yanked out a case of beer. She passed it to Betsey, and as she reached for another, she said speculatively, “Maybe there’s a reason why you and Jonas haven’t patched things up yet, hmm?”
“Yeah, there is—Jonas is a lying cheat.”
“That never stopped you from taking him back before,” Adriana said demurely.
Betsey’s blue eyes flashed with sudden fire. She yanked
the second case of beer from Adriana’s fingers. “I’ve taken him back twice. Forgive me for wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, but you can bet your ass it’s not happening again.”
“Yeah, okay. Calm down…” Adriana shrugged and tried to hide her red face. She tugged out a third and forth case from the racks and let the cooler door fall shut. “I was just saying—”
“We are ancient history,” Betsey snapped.
“I believe you.”
“Hey, Betsey!”
Her muscles bunched. Speak of the rotting devil… She turned on her heel to look at the handsome blond werewolf coming up behind her. “Jonas—”
“Where’ve you been all day? I’ve been trying to call you.” He leaned down to kiss her, and she turned her cheek just in time to avoid him planting a wet one right on her mouth. His lips grazed her cheek instead, and for a split second his blue eyes clouded with concern.
“What are you ladies up to tonight?”
“Well, there’s the pack run going on tonight,” Adriana told him. “It’s the first integrated run since the new guys rolled into town. It’s supposed to be a big deal.”
“Yeah, I heard about that,” Jonas snarled under his breath. “This town is getting a bit too crowded if you ask me.” He looked at Betsey, but she just rolled her eyes and looked away. She really wasn’t in the mood for more debate. Whining ass males… She stepped around him without another word and took her cases up to the check-out counter.
Jonas said nothing else, but Betsey was aware just how close he followed her and Adriana through the store. While the clerk rang up the cases, he stood to the side, watching and waiting by the chip rack. She knew he wanted a moment to talk in private, and he wasn’t going to get it. She’d had her fill of his excuses the last go-around.
“Thanks, and come again.”
Betsey smiled at the clerk and collected the change. Without a word or a glance directed at Jonas, she lifted up her two cases and started toward the door. Jonas rushed forward and held it open. Wise Adriana ducked her head and went out first. The second Betsey started through the door, Jonas closed it a fraction, capturing the two of them together in the doorway.
“Listen, Bets, I know you’re pissed at me, but maybe we can meet up later tonight—go for a run and talk it over.”
“I don’t think so,” she said stiffly, and glanced off toward the pack of bikers, looking for a familiar set of dark eyes. When Jonas still didn’t let her push through the door, she looked up at him with a frosty expression and slammed hard against it with her back. His fingers slipped and the door flew wide. “I mean it this time, Jonas—we’re finished. I’m not taking you back.”
Chapter Two
Miller’s Landing looked like a cramped, disorganized parking lot. Burn barrels threw off fire light every few feet, and music blared from any number of car stereos.
After no less than ten people asked her about Jonas, Betsey gave up the good fight trying to convince anyone that their relationship was over. Glad to be away from the constant questioning, she navigated her way through the maze of vehicles that took up most of the leaf strewn clearing. Her eyes strayed now and again to the jumble of motorcycles parked along the west-most stretch of the property. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise they kept to their own—so far no fights had broken out.
Despite the Alpha Council’s intentions to integrate the pack, Betsey didn’t envision any real blending for some time to come—not until the males started working together and living around each other outside the weekend meet ups and pack parties.
She made her way to the far left corner of the property, skirting the enormous bonfire closed in by the crumbling stone square that had once been the river rock foundation of the Miller home. She’d lost track of Adriana and Gemma hours ago, but she knew right where to find the car. Adriana always parked in the same place if she could help it.
At last she spotted the rusty behemoth and walked toward it. Nestled in the tall, grassy fringe of the neighboring tree line, the car looked a bit like abandoned wreckage. Betsey had never been more relieved to see it in her life.
She slammed the yawning trunk closed, and boosted herself up on the back of the car. It felt fantastic to be off her feet for awhile, and the break from the persistent questioning about Jonas was even better. She leaned back on her elbows, content to hang out and stargaze for a while, when suddenly her skin prickled and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
She sat up a little and glanced around. A few small, scattered groups lingered here and there—a group hung out around one of the burn barrels, and a few others were sitting on the tailgate of someone’s truck. But they weren’t paying any attention to her.
She glanced toward the motorcycles then, and that’s when she saw him. He was leaning against the seat of his bike, and having a beer with his crew.
Betsey met his eyes and swallowed thickly. Her mouth felt dry as powder. It looked as though he was discussing her with his friends, but that didn’t deter her from staring back at him. She couldn’t help it. He was all dark hair, leather, and hard male muscle—a potent combination. Her heart kicked into overdrive as their gazes locked and lingered. He licked his lips and her stomach flipped anxiously.
“So are you going to introduce me? Or do you plan to wait until after the mating pact is issued?”
Betsey jumped at the unexpected voice, and looked up to find Adriana stalking slowly across a patch of soft ground. “Bitch, would you give it a rest already?”
“You give it a rest. You’ve been staring at each other all night.”
“We have not. I didn’t even know he was here until five minutes ago!”
“Yeah right…” Adriana glanced across the clearing at the raven haired biker. “I have to admit, though, it is kinda hard not to stare. He’s pretty hot.” She hopped up on the back end of the car next to Betsey and slipped off her heels. “Who knows? Maybe the two of you could pair up one night… sneak off and practice making some puppies.”
“You really think so?” Betsey asked flippantly, holding back a snarl when Adriana offered her a wicked grin and shrugged.
“Well, actually, I was thinking Jonas might not like—”
Betsey growled under her breath. Tired of Adriana pushing her buttons, she leaped off the back of the car. With her eyes fixed on the sexy, dark-haired werewolf, she grabbed the hem of her cotton shirt and yanked it over her head.
The male paused with his beer bottle inches from his lips. He did a double take, and a feral light crept into his eyes. A small smile flirted at the corner of Betsey’s mouth as she tossed her shirt onto the back of the car.
“Betsey—”Adriana gasped at her in shock. “I was just kidding! What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m doing what we came here for,” she said as she slowly unbuttoned the fly of her jeans. “I’m going for a moonlight run.”
“With him? Are you serious?”
Betsey didn’t bother to answer her. She slipped off her boots and socks, and every male close enough to see her stopped what they were doing to watch.
When she slowly slid her jeans down her smooth thighs and kicked them off, her dark-eyed angel tossed down his beer. He leaned up from his bike and hastily tugged off his leather jacket. The black T shirt he wore beneath it quickly followed.
Betsey unhooked the catch of her bra and slid the silky, pale peach straps down her arms in a silent invitation. He narrowed his eyes a fraction, and hastily kicked off his boots. Her breasts were small, but perfect—a fact she knew without need of any male telling her so. She bared them to the moonlight, and shook back her long pale hair. A few of the other males began to shuffle and snarl at one another, but she offered them no illusions—she had eyes for only one male.
Heart pounding, she walked around the car, and while Adriana squawked and tittered and tried to talk her out of it, Betsey slipped out of her lacy thong and tossed it on the trunk of the car with the rest of her clothes.
“Are
you crazy?” Adriana hissed at her. “He’s going to follow you, do you realize that?”
“Of course he will,” said Betsey.
Completely naked now, she glanced over her shoulder at him again. He was breathing so hard she could see the rise and fall of his chest. He worked at the fly of his jeans, and all the while his eyes never strayed from her face. Betsey rewarded him a come-hither look that promised him paradise.
A frenzied fight broke out among members of his crew, even as a chorus of mating howls rose up into the night air from somewhere across the lot. Betsey closed her eyes as the notes sparked along her nerves and vibrated through her soul. Moisture trickled between her thighs, and her pussy clenched in anticipation.
A knot of need coiled low in her stomach, and Betsey stopped resisting her inner beast. She lifted her face to the moon, and embraced the change.
Chapter Three
In the body of a sleek white wolf, Betsey raced through the forest of oak and spruce and pine. She knew this stretch of woodland like the back of her hand, every turn and drop off, every fallen tree and patch of scruffy fern.
It would likely take her male a few minutes to catch up, so she slowed down as she reached the peak of a low hillock. She lingered there a moment, sniffing and pawing the ground. She then chased a rabbit into the brush.
The moon cut through the night blackened trees, creating shafts of soft blue light that fell broken over the leaf covered ground. She heard a distant rustling and lifted her head.
Her ears pricked. Someone was fast approaching.
She dashed off before the male could close in on her. She had a specific destination in mind, and couldn’t afford him to catch up with her before she reached it.
Betsey heard the rippling water before she saw it. She raced toward it, leaping over a series of fallen limbs and scrubby undergrowth until she reached the edge of the ridge. She carefully kept her weight balanced on her front paws and made her way down the steep, rocky embankment to the shimmering creek below.
