Lunar Rebirth (Lunar Rampage Trilogy Book 3)

by Samantha Cross

  “Do vampires not make other vampires, then?” Daggett asked.

  “They do,” Melanie spoke. “I don’t really know how to do it, but I know it’s been done.” There was so much hesitance in her voice. I got the impression that she didn’t want to actually answer us, but was humoring us anyway. I wish she’d do a hell of a lot more, though, since she probably had details Cora didn’t even know about. There was a lot of information flying around in that room, but for the most part, I think we were all still pretty confused about it all. Probably because none of us wanted to believe it, or I didn’t, at least.

  I was suddenly running down in my head if I had ever accidentally killed someone. There were many months before I found Aga’s compound that I had to go old-school and chain myself up in a basement and hope the shackles were strong enough to hold me in place, so that I didn’t go out and hurt anyone. Most of that time frame was a blur, the events in my wolf form coming back to me the next morning like pieces of a dream you can’t quite recall. I could have done it. I could have killed someone. I figured the news not reporting any deaths in the weeks that followed meant I was in the clear, but Jesus, if they rose from the dead, I guess there would be no body to report on.

  “How long does it take for someone to turn into, you know,” Daggett inquired. I half expected him to pull out a small notebook and begin taking notes.

  Melanie shrugged again. “I don’t know. I woke up like this.”

  “She didn’t even know what month it was,” Cora added.

  “You said you were kept against your will?” Daggett asked.

  Melanie nodded.

  I chimed in. “How did you get out if you were in a cage?”

  Melanie’s pale baby blues looked directly at me, and I got a chill down my spine. It was like looking death in the eyes. “It was a cell,” she said. Like it made a difference. “And I didn’t get out…I was broken out. We all were.”

  “By who?”

  She swallowed slowly and then licked the corner of her mouth. Her lips were white and dry, and she was trying to moisten them. “He…he calls himself Master. I don’t know where he came from or why he was helping us, only that he’s just like us, but more powerful. Master broke into the building and killed everyone. There was blood all over the hallways and the walls, and he let us feed on the bodies.” Melanie turned to Cora, apologetically saying, “I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was so hungry.”

  Cora’s eyes were shiny and the skin across her neck was tightened, but her voice remained sympathetic. “It’s not your fault,” she said.

  “Tell me more about this guy,” I said.

  Melanie’s hands were shaking as she twisted them in her lap. “It was like he was collecting us. He only showed interest in me and three other girls.”

  “Molly, Veronica, and Tiffany,” Cora filled in.

  “Yeah, them. He promised that we would get stronger and more powerful with his help, and that he’d take care of us. But I didn’t like what he was trying to sell. The things he wanted us to do were...wrong. I tried to get away, and they’ve been hunting me ever since. My brain was in such a fog, but Cora’s number was the one thing I could remember. I don’t know why.”

  “What did this Master guy want you to do?” Daggett asked.

  Melanie began to wiggle in her seat as a tear streamed down her cheek. “I don’t…I don’t want to talk about it.” She threw her face into her hands and began running her fingers through her hair, tugging on the strands so hard I thought clumps were going to fall out. “He gets in my head. I want him to go away. He won’t go away.”

  She was getting worked up, and Cora inched closer to her so she could rub her back and comfort her. “It’s all right. Shhhh.”

  Melanie rocked in her seat. “They’re all looking at me. Can you make them go away? Make them go away, Cora. Please.”

  Cora looked up at us, and at that moment I realized how suffocating it must have been. We were a group of four huddled around her, staring at her like she were a circus act. “Can you guys give her a minute?” Cora asked. Cora ended up ushering us outside of the room, closing the door tightly behind her.

  As soon as we got to the living room, an eruption of conversation broke out.

  “This is absolutely amazing,” Daggett exclaimed.

  Priscilla scoffed loudly. “Amazing? Are you fucking high? People are coming back from the dead with a taste for human blood, and you think this is amazing?”

  “It’s an amazing discovery, you can’t argue with that. This is a real, honest-to-God way to escape death. Is that not exciting to you all?”

  In unison, we all said, “No.”

  “Does that pale-faced chick in the other room look excited to you?!” Priscilla yelled, and Cora shushed her.

  “Come on, guys,” Cora began quietly. “She’s in the other room, not another planet. She’s fragile enough as it is, she doesn’t need you guys making jokes out of this.”

  Priscilla shook her head. “Nah, this ain’t no damn joke, okay? This is fucked up, and if we’re smart, we’ll book it the hell out of here pronto. Before that nutjob Molly shows up. You heard Melanie, they’re looking for her. Let’s get the fuck out of this dump.” She glanced at Dana. “No offense. But really, this is a shithole. There are hundreds of apartment listings online better than this, you know.”

  Dana looked at the gray carpeted floor, her face red.

  Suddenly, Priscilla gasped and her eyes enlarged. “Is that what the bloody steak was about? You were getting it for your blood-sucking cousin?”

  Cora pointed at her. “First, that’s rude. Second, you guys know about that?”

  “We did some snooping.”

  Cora nodded her head, impressed. “Man, you guys are really thorough.”

  Proudly, Priscilla said, “We are.”

  Daggett shook his head. “We’re really not.”

  “Take the fucking compliment, Waldo,” she barked at him as she slapped his chest with the back of her hand. Daggett winced and fell back like Priscilla’s fist weighed a ton. Jesus, Daggett really needed to grow a set.

  “Can you guys just shut up for a second?” I bitched. Both Daggett and Priscilla stared at me, shocked that I told them to zip it. I barely had a moment to think because they were running their mouths nonstop. I moved closer to Cora and asked, “Are you all right? You said they were trying to kill you.”

  She flung her head back and sort of rolled her eyes at herself. “I shouldn’t have worded it that way. They’re after Melanie, not me.”

  “You did kill Molly’s brother,” Priscilla said. “You saw how grossly close they were. She probably wants to boil your head for dinner.”

  “Shut it,” I snapped.

  “Priscilla’s probably not wrong, though,” Cora said. “From everything Melanie’s told me, they’re out for blood. They didn’t come back right.”

  “Have you actually seen them?”

  Fear took over her eyes. “From a distance. We saw them trashing my car when we were hiding out.” Her obnoxious, bright yellow Volkswagen was destroyed? I poked fun at her for it all the time, but it was almost a shame to think it was forever gone. “Max, it’s surreal. To see them walking around, to see them alive again…you’re not prepared for it until you see it.”

  Cora looked so small and fragile, and all I wanted to do was scoop her up and take her away from this. My head told me to chill the fuck out and let her speak so we all knew what was going on, but my body just wanted to drag her into another room and tell everyone to fuck off for ten minutes. God, I missed her.

  Priscilla, being the typical buzz kill, had to speak up and make things worse. “Man, Molly is gonna have such an ax to grind. You put her brother down and stole her ex-boyfriend? I’d hate to be you right now.”

  I shot her a pissed off glare. “Are you allergic to silence or something? For the love of God, shut up, please.”

  “You gonna let Prince Charming talk to me like that?” Priscilla
asked, but Cora said nothing. Priscilla then turned to Daggett and said, “How about you? You want to fight for my honor?”

  “Huh?” Daggett asked, spaced out. Priscilla rolled her eyes, because she knew she wasn’t getting anything out of him. “Sorry, I was just going over everything in my head. I wonder what kind of abilities these things have.”

  “We already know one,” Dana added, quietly. I almost forgot she was standing there.

  “What’s that?” Cora asked.

  “Some kind of hypnosis or mind control. Molly was able to force me into turning.”

  Cora’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding. You okay?”

  “Mostly.”

  “God, that’s not horrifying or anything.”

  Priscilla folded her arms and asked, “So, how do we fight against that? We wear sunglasses or something?”

  “It’s not like they’re Medusa, Priscilla,” Cora replied.

  Daggett added, “Technically, that wouldn’t work with Medusa. If you looked at her directly, sunglasses or not, you’d turn into stone.”

  “I never really understood that. How would anyone know if that were true? The people that turn into stone are dead, they can’t relay that information.”

  “Yeah, but anyone who witnessed them dying would.”

  “But how would they know it was from eye contact? Wouldn’t they just assume she could shoot stone beams out of her eyes?”

  “Stone beams?”

  I grumbled. “Is this really a conversation we need to be having right now?”

  “No, but it doesn’t hurt,” Daggett replied with a shrug.

  I was over this juvenile conversation the second it began. I reached out and took Cora by the hand, and asked, “Can we talk in the other room?” At that moment, I didn’t give a shit about the rest of the room. Cora was my main priority. I needed to be alone with her. I craved it like I craved air, and the longer we delayed it, the more unbearable our physical distance became.

  Her eyes softened as she replied, “Okay.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  CORA

  Max had me by the hand as he practically ran into Dana’s bedroom. Once we were inside and the door slammed behind us, I prepared myself for the scolding of a lifetime. He had been searching for me for God only knows how long, probably running through a million different scenarios where I was dead in a ditch somewhere (something my mom loved to say whenever I stayed out after eight). I knew I was a big dummy for letting him worry like that, but if he’d let me explain better, I knew he’d understand.

  “Max, I know you’re mad,” I said, and before the next sentence could even come out, Max pulled me to his body and crushed his mouth against mine. His kiss was hungry, intense, and all-consuming. Max’s hands dragged across my waist, to my upper back, and then back down to my butt, all the while holding me so close there wasn’t even an inch dividing our chests. Max has always been a powerful kisser, but I don’t think he had ever been all over me to this degree. I felt like I was going to be swallowed whole. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back, and I felt my feet lift from the floor. If we didn’t slow down, we’d never leave this room.

  I pulled my mouth away from his and reminded him, “There’s people in the next room.”

  He bit his lip and pressed his forehead to mine. “There are?”

  I giggled. “It’s good to see you, too.” I was out of breath and flushed. What I’d give to pretend there was no one else around.

  “I ought to tie you to the damn bed,” he breathed.

  “Easy now, tiger.”

  “After what you’ve put me through, I think it’s only right.” The lust in his voice faded, and he sounded angry. “You running out in the middle of the night like that, making me think you were missing, or worse. If I wasn’t worried so much, I would have wanted to strangle you.”

  I locked my fingers together behind his head. “You’re so cute when you’re worried.”

  “Don’t call me cute.”

  “Okay, you’re so ugly when you’re worried.” He was fuming, but a smile still trickled through. “See, I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me.”

  “It’s not fair, you have me at a disadvantage. It’s hard staying angry when you scrunch your nose at me like that.”

  I was scrunching my nose up? I hadn’t even noticed. “So if I do this,” I began, and wiggled my nose like a bunny rabbit. “Then I’ll win every argument?”

  “Goddamnit,” he groaned, and unwrapped my arms from his body. He walked to the bedroom window and stared out with his hands on his hips. “Don’t joke around. I thought you were dead, and I’m sort of pissed off at you to tell you the truth.”

  “Pissed off seems kind of extreme.”

  “You let me think you were kidnapped or dead for almost ten hours!”

  He was upset. I didn’t mean to make him upset.

  I came up from behind him and gave him a hug, nestling my face in between his shoulder blades. The flannel he wore smelled like his cologne. “But I’m okay,” I assured him. “I’m okay, you’re okay, and we’re together. That’s all that matters.”

  Max took a deep breath, and I felt his chest rise and fall beneath my hands. “You don’t know the kind of things that have been running through my head all day. I tried to keep my shit together, but I was having doubts. I hate that feeling.”

  “I’m sorry I did that to you. I wasn’t thinking.” I laughed to myself and added, “I never think.”

  “Don’t apologize, just…promise me you won’t run off like that again. At least not without me. If you’re gonna thrust yourself into a dangerous situation where you might die, do me a favor and let me have the option to die with you.”

  I smiled. “That’s sort of demented. I love it.”

  He turned around and cupped my face with his hands. “I don’t know what I’d be without you.”

  My heart fluttered. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

  Max kissed me, but this time it wasn’t eager. It was slow and tender.

  When we parted, he said, “Your day must have been a little smoother than mine. All things considered, you seem weirdly chipper.”

  I laughed. “It seems weird, I know. Those first few hours after I found Melanie were absolute hell, and I was scared out of my mind, but I think I’m just so happy and relieved to have her back that it sort of trumps everything else. I watched her die, I grieved her, and now she’s here. I want to enjoy it, you know? I’ll take her any way I can, even if it’s…this. You don’t get many second chances in life, especially when it comes to death. I have to find the good in this.”

  He listened to me intently, and then nodded. “I guess I can’t really argue with that. If I found you in the same condition, I’d just be glad to have you.”

  I was glad he understood. “That’s what I’m saying. I know everyone else thinks this is some horrifying thing, and maybe it is, but I wished for her to be alive so many times and I’m going to be grateful that my wish came true.”

  Max made a face.

  “What?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m a little surprised at how comfortable you’ve gotten with weird shit. All the madness I exposed you to kind of prepared you for this, I guess.”

  I sarcastically laughed. “Oh, boy, nothing prepared me for something quite like this. You best believe that. I think it just helped me accept it quicker.”

  “Even I’m having a hard time swallowing this.”

  “After this, I think I’m gonna have no issue swallowing anything.” I stopped myself. “That sounded oddly perverse.”

  Max lowered his head and chuckled. I could hear him, mid-laugh, mumbling to himself about my stupid humor. I think he missed it. Man, how lucky was I to find someone who was endeared by my awkwardness? Or maybe the thought of me being dead made me more tolerable.

  Suddenly, he reached into his jeans pocket and dug around. “I almost forgot,” he said.

  I took a step back.
“You’re not gonna whip it out with people in the next room, are you?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You really think I’m gonna whip my dick out?”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “I’m trying to be sentimental, dammit,” he exclaimed, and then lifted my hand and placed a necklace onto my palm. It was the necklace he had given me the night before! I gasped when I saw it. “How did you…? I thought I lost this forever.” I wasn’t even completely sure when it had fallen from my neck. I only realized it was gone sometime before we broke into Dana’s apartment.

  “Dana and I were in the woods looking for you, and she apparently found it.”

  “Bless her little heart,” I said. I placed the necklace against my chest, right above my heart, and closed my eyes as I happily swayed with it. I was gutted at the thought I’d never get to wear this again, and now I didn’t have to be.

  “What were you even doing out there so deep in the forest?” Max asked.

  “Trying not to be found,” I answered. “And trying to get here in the process.”

  He grumbled to himself. “I can’t believe I couldn’t find your footprints.”

  “It’s snowing like a mother out there. Everything’s covered now. It’s not a big deal.”

  “I know, it’s just…I should have found you.”

  “Hey,” I said, hushing him. “You found me now.” I hung my necklace from the tip of my finger and let it dangle, then flashed him a mischievous smile. “Now onto more pressing matters. Would you do the honors?”

  Without answering, he turned me around and swept my hair to the left and over my shoulder. He clasped the necklace together with one click, and then kissed the side of my neck. I closed my eyes and moaned. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he purred into my ear. The heat from his body enveloped me, and I didn’t want to move.

  “Of course I know,” I breathed. “Because I missed you just as much.”

  The eagerness inside him returned, and he whipped me back around and kissed me. We fell into a heated makeout session, where our hands were all over each other and our lips smeared across each other’s faces like excited teenagers. Against my mouth, he whispered, “I don’t know how I’m gonna stop touching you.”