Beneath a Blood Lust Moon

by Jodi Vaugn

Her stomach plummeted as she squeezed her eyes tight. “Beau, tell me this is a dream. Tell me this isn’t really happening.”

  “Which part? That I walked in on you? Or that you were about to molest my patient?”

  Her eyes popped open and the blood drained from her face. “Your patient? You know him?”

  Beau gave her a hard look, his lips pressed into an angry line. “Yeah. I dug that bullet out of his hide less than an hour ago.”

  Her head swam as she tried to make sense of Beau’s words. She looked down at Braxton. “But, that would…”

  Braxton held her gaze. “That would make me a werewolf.”

  ***

  Brutus shook the snow off his massive shoulders and cast a frustrated look around the log cabin that he’d managed to secure on short notice. The house was private and rested in the middle of nowhere, on the border of Missouri and Arkansas. They needed a place to set up base while they located their fugitive.

  “Where’s Killian?” Brutus turned his attention to Lorcan, who was scouring the fridge once again. The werewolf could eat half a side of beef and be hungry thirty minutes later.

  Lorcan tossed him a beer from the fridge in the kitchen. Brutus caught the bottle one-handed. “He’s in the shower. We scoured the whole city of Branson and there’s been no sign of the fugitive.”

  Brutus took a long pull from the icy bottle, letting the liquid soothe his parched throat. “I’ve run the whole length of the area where we saw him go off the cliff. There’s no body. Any prints he might have left are covered by this fucking blizzard. Snow’s covered any scent I might have picked up as well.” They lived in the South where it never snowed. Just his luck mother nature started mind-fucking him with the weather.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Lorcan leaned against the doorway, stuck a hand in his jeans pocket, and took a drink from his beer. “If we can’t find him, do we go home?”

  “Have we ever gone home with an unfinished job?” Brutus held Lorcan’s gaze and curled his fingers into fists. No fucking rogue wolf had ever gotten the better of him. Not ever.

  Lorcan slowly grinned, his white teeth glinting under the low lighting. “No.”

  “Quitting is for pussies.” Brutus stomped to the large picture window and glared out into the dark winter night. He didn’t have the patience to wait. It wasn’t in his DNA. He was made for tracking and killing. That’s what made him an excellent Assassin. This time he was going to have to change up his method of attack.

  “So what’s the plan, Boss?” Lorcan’s voice echoed through the room.

  “We wait and watch for him to fuck up. With someone as volatile as Braxton, it won’t be long until he makes trouble. When he does, we’ll be there. I’ve got a silver bullet with his name on it.” He turned and faced Lorcan. “And I never waste a bullet.”

  ***

  Damon Trahan slid out of bed, trying his best not to wake his slumbering mate, Ava. He’d spent the night explaining to her the assignment Barrett had put him on and why he was leaving at dawn. Assignment or not, he didn’t like leaving his woman. As fucked up as it sounded, Ava was the air he breathed. Since they’d mated a few months back, he’d yet to spend a night without her.

  But he was a Guardian, sworn to protect Arkansas territory. No matter how shitty he felt about leaving Ava, he knew he had to do his job.

  He didn’t really know Braxton that well, but he felt like he owed the werewolf.

  He let his gaze rake over Ava as she slept. Despite the thin sheet covering her nude body, he could still make out every lush curve and contour that he’d memorized with his hands and mouth. He groaned as he pulled his jeans up over his hips, encasing his stiff cock. Ever since he’d met her, he’d walked around with an erection. Good thing she was just as eager to jump him as he was her.

  He turned and grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the chair. Warm arms slid around his chest as Ava pressed her naked body against his back. He chuckled, forgetting how good she was at sneaking up behind him.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Her silky voice heated his blood to a level he didn’t think was possible. “I’m not done with you yet.”

  He turned and pulled her into his chest. Her silky black hair fell across her shoulders like the finest silk as her green gaze met his own. His hands roamed down her naked back to rest on her tight little ass. Damn, he loved how she felt in his arms. “I thought you’d be worn out by now, baby. We did it, what, eight times last night?”

  “Nine. But I’m not counting.” Ava licked his neck. His cock twitched.

  “You know I have to go to work.” He gave her ass a firm squeeze. She moaned and rubbed against him like a cat, teasing him with her body.

  “I know.” She moved her hand underneath his shirt and scraped her fingernail across his nipple.

  “You’re not helping.” Despite his words, he pulled her closer and kissed her hard, sucking her tongue into his mouth. When he finally broke the kiss, they were both breathless.

  “So do you think you’ll be back by nightfall?”

  He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, stunned by her beauty. His heart tugged in his chest at how much he loved this amazing woman in front of him. She was fucking perfect. He was lucky as hell to have her.

  “Hopefully, if I can find Braxton. Hell, he might have already crossed into Missouri territory by now.” He shrugged, feeling the weight of the situation on his shoulders. “At least, I hope that’s where he’s at. The other option is dead.”

  She cupped his face. “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “I know that Assassins don’t miss. Ever. There’s been no word that he’s been seen. So the only conclusion is that they killed him already.”

  “He could be hiding. From what you told me about Braxton, he seems to be a survivor. Just like you.” She pulled him down for a heated kiss. “I love you.”

  “I love you, my female.” He pulled her close for one last kiss before forcing himself to take a step away. “I’ll be back before dinner.”

  She sat back on her heels, watching him make his way toward the bedroom door. “Any requests for dinner?”

  He stopped in his tracks, letting his smirk run across his face. Ava couldn’t cook worth a shit. He really couldn’t care less what her talents in the kitchen were. She more than made up for them in the bedroom.

  “I’ll give you one guess what I want to eat tonight.”

  ***

  Kate sat at the kitchen island, wrapped in her fuzzy robe and doing her best not to make eye contact with Beau, while he poured her a cup of coffee. She didn’t know if she were more embarrassed that she’d been caught naked on top of Braxton or that Beau thought she’d tried to molest a wolf.

  Wasn’t there a law against that kind of thing? She rubbed her temples at the sudden headache building behind her eyes.

  She was losing it. There wasn’t any such thing as a werewolf.

  She shook her head and looked up to find Beau scorching her with his stare. Geesh, he could melt ice with that look.

  “Please tell me he didn’t bite you.” Beau’s gaze hardened.

  She flinched. “Of course he didn’t bite me. What do you think he is? A dog?”

  “No, a wolf,” Beau spat out.

  Not only was this whole thing not a dream, but the man she was groping had turned out to be a wolf.

  Beau slid the creamer across the island to her. “I know this whole thing sounds crazy, believe me…”

  “You’re asking me to believe the man that’s in my bed is a wolf, an honest-to-God, shape-shifting thing you only see in the movies, werewolf?” She crossed her arms and studied her friend. “I mean, if there were such a thing, don’t you think I would have heard about it by now? Besides, if this is true, how is it that you know about this and I don’t?”

  Beau rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand and set his coffee on the counter. “I’m a vet. I’ve seen some weird shit.”

  She leaned forward in her chair. “Are you t
elling me you’ve seen this before?”

  Beau gave a quick nod and looked away.

  “You’re my best friend. I’ve told you things I never told my mother.” She gaped. “I told you the first time I had sex.”

  “I know.” He gave her a pained look. “That was a conversation I could have done without.”

  She stood up and crossed her arms. “The point is, I’ve told you personal things, yet you never even bothered to tell me that werewolves were real.”

  “Look, I’m sorry, okay?” His shoulder slumped forward as he eyed the floor with interest. “I didn’t tell you because I thought it would put you in danger. I thought the less you knew, the better.”

  “And now?” She slung her hands on her hips.

  Beau shot her a hard look. “Now you need to get rid of that guy in your bed. He was shot with a silver bullet.”

  “So?”

  “So, it means someone meant to kill him.”

  A pain shot through her heart. Why would someone try to kill Braxton? Better yet, what had he done to make someone shoot him?

  “Whoever shot him will be looking for a body. When they don’t find one, they’ll track him down. They will track him right to your front door.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  After a heated debate with Beau over whether or not Braxton should stay, Kate had finally had enough and made Beau leave. She stood at the window, watching her best friend drive away and feeling a little guilty because she’d chosen a stranger over him. She’d never done that before. Tonight held a lot of firsts for her, including making out with a hot guy who happened to be a wolf.

  A wolf. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around that one.

  She groaned. “Well, I guess I should be hoping for the best. Maybe he doesn’t remember me mauling him.” She flung herself onto the living room chair and buried her face in her hands. “Of course he’ll remember me doing that. Sex is the only thing guys can remember.”

  Her gut twisted as she realized she couldn’t avoid Braxton forever. She needed to go check on him. She stood and gnawed on a fingernail as she cast a furtive glance down the hallway. Sucking up her courage, she made her way to her bedroom. She peeked her head in. She let out a huge breath when she saw Braxton sound asleep.

  The sheet was twisted around his naked and chiseled waist while his right leg stuck off the side of the bed. His forehead glistened with signs of fever, and even in his sleep, he grimaced against the pain.

  She eased further into the room. Something about him pulled at her, urging her closer .

  She brushed his black hair with the blue tips away from his eyes. His muscular tattooed arms screamed bad boy. Trouble was the last thing Kate needed. She had enough trouble of her own.

  She touched her hand to his brow.

  “Ouch!” She sucked in a breath as she snatched her hand away from the sizzling heat of his skin. Glancing down, she expected to see a blister. It wasn’t humanly possible for a man to be that hot and still be alive. Wouldn’t his brain be fried from the heat?

  “Who are you?” she whispered.

  He grabbed her hand, his eyes still closed. She yelped, caught off guard by his quick reflexes. Maybe Beau was right. Maybe she should have kicked Braxton out.

  “I won’t hurt you.” He looked up with red-rimmed eyes.

  “How can you be alive and be so hot?”

  “Still think I’m hot, do you?” He managed a weak grin.

  She snorted. “I didn’t mean like that.”

  His grin faded and so did his grip. “It’s the silver.”

  She leaned closer and laced her fingers through his. “You mean the bullet? But Beau got it out.”

  “The silver’s been in my body, making it hard for me to heal.”

  “What do you mean? Can you heal yourself, like Wolverine?”

  He let out a weak laugh. “Not quite that fast.”

  “So you should be getting better, right?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve never gotten shot with a silver bullet before. I’m not exactly sure how quickly I can heal. Or if I can.” He looked down at their entwined hands and frowned. “I’m probably scorching your beautiful skin, aren’t I?” He pulled away.

  Kate looked down at her hand, missing the heat of his touch. “No burns. See? I’m good.” She held up her hand and smiled. “I didn’t even notice the heat,” she lied.

  He held his hand out. She didn’t need any more encouragement. She pulled the antique chair closer to the bed and sat, keeping their hands connected.

  He sighed and closed his eyes. “You feel so good.”

  She shivered at his gravelly voice. Her mind conjured up images of what it would be like to be naked and rolling around with this gorgeous man.

  He moved and the sheet shifted. She craned her neck, casting her gaze below his waist.

  He moaned, drawing her attention up to his face. His eyes were slammed shut, pain etched across his face. Here he was in pain and she was trying to get a peek at his package. She was a bigger jerk than her ex-boyfriend.

  “What can I do, Braxton? I’ve got some Tylenol for the pain.”

  He shook his head. “No. Tylenol is toxic to my kind.”

  “Really?” She frowned. “What about chocolate?”

  “I’m not a dog, Kate.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” She bit her lip. “I don’t have a lot of experience with werewolves. I don’t know how to help you.”

  “I’m teasing.” He was staring at her, a softness in his eyes. It made her stomach quiver.

  She cleared her throat as her body heated. “I’ll go get you some more water.” She hurried into the kitchen.

  Gripping the edge of the deep kitchen sink, she sucked in a deep breath. What the hell was wrong with her? How could someone she barely knew physically affect her so much?

  She filled the glass with water and headed down the hallway.

  “Get over yourself, Kate. It’s not like he’s going to jump you the second you walk into the bedroom.” She sighed.

  So much for wishful thinking.

  ***

  Kate stayed close to the house for most of the day, wanting to be near in case Braxton’s condition worsened. He’d drifted off to sleep and rested for the better part of the day.

  With nothing else to do with her nervous energy, Kate took the opportunity to clean. With no paying guests, that particular job was over quickly. The sheets on the beds were already clean. So she went through each room and polished the furniture and swept the floors. After cleaning out the refrigerator, she cleaned out her cabinets and even organized her junk drawer.

  Despite her cleaning frenzy, she was too nervous to sit still. She found herself gazing down the hall toward the bedroom with Beau’s words of warning about Braxton echoing in her mind.

  Was Braxton dangerous? Apparently, someone had thought so or they wouldn’t have shot him. It was complicated enough that he’d been shot, but finding out he was a werewolf just added to the mix.

  Unable to resist, she gave in to her longing and tiptoed down the hall to the bedroom. She opened the door and peeked in on him. His massive chest rose and fell as he slept soundly. He was all muscle and brawn, and his large frame looked very out of place in the feminine wrought iron bed. Her gaze drifted over the many colorful tattoos that encased both arms, from shoulders to wrists, wondering what each design meant.

  Kate licked her lips, feeling a pull in the pit of her stomach. His tattoos were hot. Normally she didn’t like tattoos. She preferred clean-cut golfer types.

  But on Braxton, she liked them a little too much.

  Shaking her head, she headed back to the kitchen and turned on her laptop. Putting her cursor in the search box, she typed in werewolf.

  The massive numbers of results for werewolves surprised her. She scrolled and clicked, reading everything she could and quickly losing track of time.

  A hard knock on the front door startled her back to reality.

  Who co
uld be out in this weather?

  She pulled back the lacy curtain at the window overlooking the porch and groaned when she saw who it was.

  “What does he want?” She let the curtain drop and clenched her hands. The last thing she needed was Mr. Bigsby poking around and finding Braxton.

  Straightening her shoulders, she opened the door.

  “Mr. Bigsby, I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Looks like you weren’t expecting anybody.” His thin lips slid over his too-perfect teeth as his gaze raked across her jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt.

  “Excuse me?” Kate tightened her grip on the doorknob, prepared to shut the door if he couldn’t be polite. If he thought he could intimidate her in her own house, he was very mistaken. Until the bank took possession of the property, this was still her home.

  “I meant I didn’t think you’d have anyone here with the weather like this. I didn’t even think I’d be able to make it up your driveway.” He glanced over his shoulder at the snowy yard.

  Kate narrowed her eyes. “How did you manage to make it up my driveway?”

  Bigsby’s smile widened and he shoved his thumb over his shoulder. “Four-wheel-drive, of course. It’s the latest model.”

  Kate glanced at the blood-red pickup truck with enormous knobby tires. “Of course it is.”

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Bigsby took another step closer and Kate instinctively stepped back, putting as much distance between them as possible.

  “Actually, I have a guest and…”

  “Sure you do.” Ignoring her, he stepped across the threshold and into her living room. He brushed the snow off his jacket and onto her clean hardwood floors. He gave her a smug smile. “See, this is much better than standing out on the porch and talking.”

  She gritted her teeth and slowly closed the door. Bigsby wasted no time and headed for the kitchen, making himself at home on one of the barstools near the island.

  “Doing a little research?” He nodded toward her laptop.

  Her stomach lurched. She quickly closed her computer.

  “I’m afraid, Kate, that’s not going to help you.” Bigsby leveled a serious glare at her.