Shadows of the Moon (Black Wolf Agency Book 2)

by Jessica Swan

  “I sorry for bring that up, Marcus. You look so sad when you were telling me.” Selene was mad at herself for bringing the sadden look to Marcus’ amazing eyes.

  “It’s alright. Even though I’ve learned to live with it, sometimes it still bothers me.”

  Just then, Marcus parked the car and opened Selene’s door, helping her out. She smiled and blushed. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had been so polite to her.

  Then, they crossed the street, walked a short distance, and made their way down an alley to an old, shabby building. Selene had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but what she didn’t know was that this was the agency Marcus had told her about.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. This is the safest place in the city for you right now, believe me.”

  “Sure, I’ll take your word for it,” she joked. Well, half-joked. This place really did give her the creeps. But she followed him into the building anyway, making their way through the second door and then to the black and white, checkered floor. She followed his directions closely, stepping only on the white tiles until they made it to the last door.

  When they stepped through the doorway into the main room, Selene couldn’t believe her eyes. The place was huge. After being nearly startled to death by the troll in the cage in the corner of the main room, she was greeted by Giselle, the magical fairy.

  Giselle had seen her early Saturday morning when she was brought in, unconscious, so she recognized her, but she seemed surprised to see she was back.

  “Am I really looking at a fairy right now?” said Selene, staring straight at the fairy, who was only a few inches from her face.

  “Yep, that’s Giselle. She’s a sweetheart,” Marcus said affectionately.

  Selene turned her head to look at him. She didn’t understand why she had the urge to smack him. She surely didn’t have any reason for feeling jealous. Did she?

  Then, right on cue, Giselle flew closer to Selene’s face and softly kissed the end of her nose, giggling as she flew away to dust the top of a high shelf.

  “This place is out of this world!” Yeah, and if Giselle would’ve kissed Marcus on the nose, she would have knocked her out of this world. ‘Where in the hell was this green-eyed monster coming from? I have no say on what Marcus does,’ she thought.

  “Well, out of your world, or what used to be your world. You better get used to all of this. Now that you’re a werewolf, there’s never any going back to your old life.” said Marcus, leading Selene to one of the back rooms. Inside was a comfy looking bed, small kitchen, a couch, an HD TV, and even a small bathroom. “Make yourself comfortable.”

  “This is nice,” she said, thinking, ‘Wow, I’m going to be staying in a studio apartment inside a secret supernatural agency? This is so unreal.’

  “I recommend staying here until we catch the murderer.”

  “No, wait, what if that isn’t for a week, or month, or even longer? I have to go to work.”

  “Well, when you go back to work on Tuesday, I’ll escort you there and have one of the agents stay there and monitor what’s going on until you get out. I’ll be there to pick you up.”

  “Um, okay, sounds reasonable.” She set her bag down beside the bed and sat down on its soft surface.

  Marcus knew he should have left at that instant to go hunt down the murderer, but instead, he walked over and sat down next to Selene, gently taking her hand into his. “You’ll be okay, Selene. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Selene looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you, Marcus.”

  At that moment, as they gazed into each other’s eyes, there was a magic connection between them, just like in the park; except this time, no one would break that connection. Selene glanced down at his mouth and lightly licked her lips as she slowly leaned in to kiss him. She was shy at first; she hadn’t kissed a man in a while, well, not like this anyway. She opened her mouth a little, letting his tongue slip into her mouth and mingle with hers. His kiss tasted minty, reminding her that he had slipped a breath mint in his mouth on the way into the building.

  As Marcus kissed the beautiful woman sitting beside him, he ran his hands through her hair, gripping the back of her head and pulling her deeper into the kiss. He loved the way she smelled of vanilla and how her moist lips tasted like strawberry; probably because of the lip gloss she was wearing.

  Selene snaked her hands around the back of Marcus’ neck, running her fingers through his short, dark hair, her nails grazing his scalp in a way that sent chills down his spine.

  Then, Marcus’ phone rang, interrupting their special moment. ‘Fucking phone!’ he thought. He felt like throwing the damn thing against the wall.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered as their lips separated.

  She looked down at the floor, gently touching her lips with her fingertips, trying to hold onto the feeling of him kissing her. That was, by far, the best kiss she had ever experienced.

  “This better be damn important,” he answered his phone, his voice laced with anger.

  “Hey, Marcus. I’m taking it I interrupted something. Sorry man,” said Johnny. Marcus could tell by the tone of his voice that something was dreadfully wrong. Johnny was probably calling about that murder he had just called in a little while ago.

  “What’s wrong, Johnny? You realize I’m on a vacation, right?” he sighed.

  “Yes, and I didn’t call about the murder in the park earlier, or the one we came across this morning,” he said slowly, and with every word he said, Marcus’ heart beat faster and harder in his chest. If Johnny wasn’t calling about the murder in the park, or one he didn’t even know had occurred, which one was he calling about?

  “Who is it, Johnny?” He was worried, and his partner could tell from the slight panic in his voice.

  “It’s your cousin, Sarah.”

  ~ Chapter Five ~

  It took all his strength to fight back the tears as he repeated, “Sarah?” For years, he had been close with his cousin, but lately with her hectic job and his job as a detective, neither of them had the time to get together and only called each other occasionally. At that moment, he wished he had made a better effort to stay in touch with her.

  Selene could hear every word of the conversation. She had noticed her heightened sense of hearing earlier in the day. It was an awesome thing to have, and at the moment she was glad she was there to comfort Marcus. She took his hand and squeezed it gently, letting him know she was there for him. He looked at her and actually smiled a little. Even in this sad moment of his life, looking at her had made him smile.

  “I’m so sorry, Marcus,” said Johnny after giving him a minute to accept the horrible news he had just delivered.

  “Where is she now?”

  “On her way to the morgue. Are you at your apartment?”

  Marcus couldn’t tell him where he actually was, so he answered, “No, but I’m close to my apartment. I’ll meet you at the morgue.”

  “Got it. See you there. I’m terribly sorry this happened, Marcus.”

  “Thanks, buddy. It’s not your fault though. No one could have predicted this, or stopped it from happening.” Except, perhaps him. If he had been with Sarah at the time, he would have been able to fight off the attacker, no problem. But he wasn’t, and he would have to live with that knowledge.

  Marcus pressed ‘end’ and slowly looked up at Selene with a look of regret on his face.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said.

  “No, don’t be sorry. I understand. You need to say goodbye. Don’t worry; I’ll be here when you get back. I’ll lock the door and won’t leave this room until you return.” She hated seeing him so sad. She knew this sounded strange, but it was almost as if she felt the pain herself. Not in the way she normally felt when she felt sorry for someone, but it was as if she was the one who lost a loved one. She’d give anything to take away his pain.

  He smiled as he looked into her eyes; he was glad she would be safe. If anything happened
to her, he wouldn’t forgive himself. Hell, he just met this girl this morning and he was already beginning to fall for her. He kissed her again; this time it was only a short, sweet kiss. Then he said, “See you in a little while.”

  “Take all the time you need.”

  Marcus pulled up outside the morgue in his black Crown Victoria. He sat there for a little while, afraid to get out of the car. He didn’t want to see her like that; he didn’t want to see her dead. He rested his head in his hands for a minute. He had learned to be tough at an early age, so he wasn’t one to cry, but he was truly feeling the pain inside. Luckily, until now, he had never lost a member of his family.

  Finally, after sitting there for five minutes, he slowly got out of his car and went in the building. Johnny was waiting for him by the door. They walked together into the morgue and Marcus greeted Samantha, the medical examiner with a nod. Normally he would have conversations about anything from the weather to what types of crazy things they’ve done lately, but he wasn’t in the mood to say anything, not even a simple ‘hello’. He knew Samantha understood what he was going through, though. She had just lost her parents last year and was in a grim mood for quite a while after that.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss, Marcus,” she said as the three of them stared at the body on the table, shrouded by a blue sheet. “Are you ready for this?”

  “Will I ever be?”

  No, he wouldn’t, she decided. Identifying her parents’ bodies after the car crash was the most horrible moment of her life. She hated for anyone to feel even a small portion of the pain she felt. And Marcus was certainly feeling that pain now.

  Without a word, she pulled the sheet back to just below the dead woman’s neck.

  “Yes, it’s her,” he said, turning away.

  “I’m so sorry, Marcus,” said Johnny, resting his hand on his partner’s shoulder.

  “Try to catch this son of a bitch, okay?” he said, though he was certain that no average human would stand a chance at catching the killer.

  “I’ll try my hardest. You just go home and get some rest. Try not to think about it, okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll try.” He turned and walked away.

  Marcus walked back out to his car, and as he got in, he realized something. In all his years of being a cop, he never needed help catching a criminal, until now. What he needed was help from others of his kind, and he had the perfect plan.

  ~ Chapter Six ~

  On his way back to Black Wolf Agency, he made calls to each of the employees at the agency, asking them if they would come in for an emergency meeting. Lin was in Central Park with her boyfriend, but agreed to come in right away, concerned. Kate and James were out shopping, and dropped what they were doing right away to come in. Everyone else was free, too. Luckily, even his father, Charlie said he’d be able to make it. He needed them all to be there, especially him.

  When Marcus returned, he knocked on the door to Selene’s room, announcing his arrival, “Hey, Selene, it’s me.”

  She opened the door and looked up at him, a look of concern in her eyes. “How did it go? Are you okay?”

  “To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever recover from that. I’ll try not to think about it. Listen, my co-workers will be here any second. I’ll introduce you to them and then we’ll all discuss what we’re going to do about that bastard who murdered Sarah.”

  Selene grabbed his hand, squeezing it. She looked into his eyes and said, “It’ll be alright. I’m here for you, and I’ll do anything I can to help.”

  “Thank you.” He smiled back, squeezing her hand in return.

  They went out to the meeting table in the main lobby. Only two minutes later, Kate and James stepped through the door.

  “Hey, Marcus,” said James, eyeing the stranger sitting beside him. Kate eyed her suspiciously, too.

  “Hey, you guys. This is Selene. I’ll tell you how she got here when everyone else arrives.”

  “Okay,” Kate replied. She assumed there was a good reason for the woman’s presence, or Marcus wouldn’t have even considered bringing her in the facility. She trusted his judgment, but only because he was Charlie’s son. Charlie wouldn’t ever consider leaving a slouch in charge. Not even if it was his own son.

  Next, Yvonne and Lucius arrived, quickly followed by Lin, Damian, and Devon. They all took a seat and waited for the others. A couple minutes passed and everyone else arrived. Last was Charlie because he had to travel the furthest distance.

  “Does this meeting have something to do with the murders?” asked Charlie, eyeing Selene. He would make sure to ask about the stranger’s presence in a moment. “I read about it in the paper this morning.”

  “Yes, it does,” answered Marcus, grimly. “I read the article, too. Luckily, they didn’t mention about the bite marks on each of the victims.”

  “Bite marks?” asked Charlie, clueless.

  “Father, I have something to confess to you. In fact, I have to tell all of you something; everyone but Yvonne, Lucius, and Selene.” Marcus proceeded to explain everything that had happened early Saturday morning before everyone arrived at the agency, leading up until the present time, including Sarah’s death.

  Charlie was sad and angry to hear the news of Sarah’s death. He felt if they had been able to catch this killer after the first couple murders, she wouldn’t have died. Charlie wasn’t close with Sarah, but he knew how close his son was with her at one point in his life and worried for him; this was the first family member he had ever lost. He knew his son would take it hard.

  “I’m so sorry, Marcus. I know how close you were with her.”

  Marcus tried his best to push his feelings to the back of his mind for now. He didn’t want to appear weak in front of his co-workers. He needed them to trust his judgment and to know he was capable of handling the position he held.

  Selene sensed his pain. It was as if she could feel it radiating from him. She didn’t know if that was normal for a werewolf to be able to sense emotions like this, but it seemed whenever he was feeling a strong emotion, she felt it, too. And the closer he was, the stronger the feeling was. She tried to comfort him by reaching under the table and grabbing his hand, squeezing it lightly.

  Momentarily, all of Marcus’ pain vanished as he felt Selene’s warm, gentle hand in his. He didn’t know how it happened, but somehow, he instantly felt a thousand times better when she held his hand like this. Yes, he greatly enjoyed her company, and he realized she was trying to comfort him, but that wasn’t all of it.

  “And poor you, Selene,” said Charlie, knowing and understanding what she was going through because of what had happened to his son years ago. “Having this forced upon you like this.”

  “Why, poor Selene?” asked Kate, smiling at Selene. “She’s far better off like this.”

  “Not if it was forced upon her,” Charlie argued. “Perhaps, if she was also a vampire, damned to an eternity of misery, she would have chosen to become a werewolf.”

  “It’s not so bad,” said Selene, smiling as she reached under the table and grabbed Marcus’ hand. “I’m getting used to it.” She thought about what she had said for a moment, and every word of it was the truth. ‘If it weren’t for my werewolf conversion, I probably would have died from the car accident. Not only that; the pros far outweigh the cons. In fact, I can’t think of a single bad thing about this whole experience, aside from being attacked and hit by a car. Perhaps it would have been different if I hadn’t had a kind, caring man to help me through all this.’ She looked up just in time to meet his gaze as he looked her way. They both smiled.

  Kate noticed the look between the two of them and recognized it. It was the way she and James looked at each other. Whether or not the two of them knew it, Marcus and Selene were falling in love.

  “So, what do you want us to do about this killer werewolf problem?” asked Lin, growing impatient. The constant interruptions during her dates with her boyfriend were causing them to grow apart. She feared that pret
ty soon he might break up with her because of it. “I’ve seen you all when you’re in wolf form. It would be pretty hard for us witches and mere humans to take down a werewolf.”

  “Good point, and I’ve considered that and thought of a plan to work around that issue,” said Marcus. “No mortal will go looking for this beast alone; they will be accompanied by at least one werewolf. Every mortal will be heavily armed with potions and weapons to defend themselves. We’ll go in shifts looking for this beast that defiles werewolf kind.”

  “Sounds good to me,” agreed Yvonne.

  “Me, too,” said Lucius. He would, of course, insist to be grouped with Yvonne to make sure she is safe.

  “Listen, Marcus,” said Charlie. “I want you to take the rest of the day off. You’re not even supposed to be working today. Now I know a lot is going on and you’re doing what you felt you had to do, but you’ve been through a lot. You need to go home, get some rest, and try to get your mind off things for a little while.”

  Marcus thought about what his father had said for a moment. It was a good idea. He definitely needed a little time to clear his head. And he could bring Selene with him to keep him company. That way, she wouldn’t have to spend the night alone in the guest room in the facility. They definitely needed each other’s company right now. He could sense her fear and need for a companion, while he was in need of cheering up. And being alone with her had its’ good points, too.

  “Yes, Marcus, after this meeting, please take the rest of the day off,” said Yvonne. “We’ve got things from here until tomorrow.”

  “Okay, I will. Thank you.”

  After that, everyone was assigned to groups. Charlie would stay at the agency. Yvonne and Lucius were paired together and were the first group to work a shift; between Yvonne’s advanced magical knowledge and abilities and Lucius’ strength and fighting skills, they didn’t need any help. Lin, Damian, and Devon were grouped together and made up the second shift. Kate took time off, due to her pregnancy, and agreed to help Charlie part time and do mild chores around the agency. James was the only werewolf in his group; the other members consisted of Tyrone, Lana, Rocco, and Angelina.