Taming the Moon

by Sherrill Quinn

“Miles.” Ryder’s voice was full of warning. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?” He sent Ryder a look of innocence.

  “I don’t know what you’re up to, except that it’s no good. I’ve seen that look on your face before. Whatever little secret you’re about to reveal, let it be.”

  Eddy lifted his chin. “Don’t tell me what to do, cousin.”

  Olivia recognized the stubborn look in his eyes, on his face. She shook her head. It was useless to plead with him. He was going to further ruin her life.

  It didn’t matter. She’d known it would happen sooner or later. She’d just hoped to be able to confess to Sully herself.

  She had Zoe, and once the two of them were safely away, that’s all that mattered.

  “She didn’t tell you, did she?” Eddy asked again.

  “Tell me what?” Sully’s confused expression turned to a scowl. “How you turned her three years ago and have used her daughter to keep her in line? How you’ve threatened to kill Zoe and tried to coerce Olivia into killing me?”

  Eddy’s delighted laugh chilled Olivia. God, here it was. The end of her hope for love.

  “She has been a Chatty Cathy, hasn’t she?” Eddy shook his head and clicked his tongue. He turned his gaze on Olivia, the dark glee in the depths of his eyes sending more ice through her veins. “Livvie, Livvie. How remiss of you.” He looked again at Sully. “Obviously she told you the sad story of her life in order to get you to help her. Did she tell you she was there on St. Mary’s? That she”—he paused, a slow smile curling his lips—“and I’m only guessing here, but it makes sense. Did she tell you that she’s the one that turned you?”

  Olivia briefly closed her eyes. Then she looked at Sully.

  He turned his head and stared at her, disbelief on his face. “He’s lying. Isn’t he, Olivia?”

  Miles laughed, the humor tinged with madness. “So she didn’t tell you. How lovely.” His affected New York accent completely fell by the wayside and his native British dialect colored his words. His upper lip lifted in a sneer. “She was supposed to kill you then, but she failed. Instead she turned you into one of us, which she never told me.”

  “Olivia?”

  She swallowed and drew in a shaky breath. She wished she could lie. Sully would believe her over Eddy any day of the week, but she couldn’t do that to him. He deserved to know the truth.

  But she couldn’t bring herself to verbally confirm it. When his expression darkened, she knew her silence had condemned her.

  “Son of a bitch.” His lips firmed. A muscle began to twitch in his jaw. “It was you?”

  She lifted her chin. She wasn’t proud of the road she’d taken, but she had changed her mind, after all, and hadn’t continued with the plan. “Yes.”

  His nostrils flared. Amber flecked the green of his irises, lighting them from within. His eyes narrowed. “You should’ve finished the job.”

  Vaguely aware of Eddy looking back and forth between the two of them, his smile growing ever wider, she fought back tears that sprung at Sully’s words. “You can’t mean that. Sully, you’re still alive! How can you not want that?”

  “How can I not want to be a monster?” He turned his back on her with a snarl. “Just…take Zoe and get out of here. Miles won’t try to stop you.” His next words were directed to Eddy. “Will you, Miles?”

  Eddy slowly shook his head. “I can find her when I need to.” He met Olivia’s gaze. “She belongs to me, after all.”

  Sully’s gut tightened. He didn’t want to believe Olivia was the werewolf that had attacked him on St. Mary’s. He wanted to believe that this cocky little bastard was lying.

  But he’d seen the truth in her eyes. Now all those little twitches she’d given every time he’d talked about the bastard who’d turned him made sense.

  Why hadn’t she told him?

  He glanced over his shoulder again and caught sight of her little girl. Zoe. That was why. Olivia had wanted to make sure she had help getting her daughter away from Miles.

  He shouldn’t blame her for that, but somehow he did.

  She should have told him.

  Sully looked back at Miles. “She doesn’t belong to you.”

  “No? Well, she doesn’t belong to you, either.” Mike’s face expressed the words that remained unspoken: I’ve seen to that.

  “No, she doesn’t.” Sully had thought she had, but he’d clearly been wrong. He drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Enough was enough. There was still an innocent life at stake. It was time to end this.

  It seemed Miles was in agreement, because he motioned to the sandy-haired man at his side, who slowly began to move forward. Miles, for his part, started humming a song that took Sully a moment to place. Ring around the rosie, pockets full of posies. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

  All the while, that bland face stayed expressionless. Sully turned his head but didn’t take his gaze off the man he’d come to kill. “Olivia, take Zoe and get out of here. Now.”

  She didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the little girl up into her arms. As she ran out of the room, he heard her whisper, “I’m sorry.”

  He saw Ryder shoot a sympathetic gaze his way, but his friend otherwise kept his focus on Miles.

  Sully wouldn’t be surprised if Olivia put Zoe in her car and took off, leaving them to survive or not, leaving Pelicia sitting in the SUV a quarter mile away wondering what was going on.

  For his part, Miles didn’t seem too concerned by her exit. The bastard was confident he’d win the fight and be able to track her down.

  Sully clenched his fists and fought back the wolf that yowled to be set free to chase after Olivia and demand explanations. To exact retribution. He pushed aside thoughts of taking vengeance on the one directly responsible. He’d deal with her later.

  For now, he had Miles to deal with.

  Or not, as the big behemoth started toward him.

  “Bon appétit, Walter,” Miles murmured.

  Sully backed away a few steps, putting some distance between him and the other combatants. He rolled his eyes. Walter. Sounded like the guy should be an accountant somewhere, not a madman’s enforcer. “I guess Miles is all yours,” Sully muttered to Ryder.

  Keeping his attention on Walter, Sully saw the man’s fingers morph into claws. Then his face changed, elongated, as he turned into something more than human and less than complete wolf.

  Shit. How the hell was he supposed to fight the wolfman?

  Sully focused and tried to do the same thing.

  All he got for his effort was a slight headache and a tingling in his fingertips. “Fuck.”

  A broad smile crossed Walter’s face. “Problem there, newbie?”

  “For you, maybe.” Sully wasn’t going to let this giant see just how much trouble he was in. How could he fight against a guy who could easily flatten him? In the few seconds it would take for him to shift to his wolf form, Walter could pound him into the floor.

  He saw Ryder launch himself at Miles, grappling with the other man. Harsh grunts came from both of them, then a low cry of pain as Miles raked across Ryder’s chest with razor-sharp claws.

  Damn it. Miles had morphed, too, into something not quite human but not yet wolf. From what he understood, Ryder couldn’t transform that way. His type of lycanthropy precluded being able to be anything but either human or wolf. Nothing in between.

  Sully dodged the clawed hand reaching for him and sent a hard-fisted punch to Walter’s face. The man’s head snapped back, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He gave himself a little shake.

  Shit.

  He punched Walter again, and all it seemed to do was anger him. The wolfman snarled and rammed his fist forward, catching Sully in the jaw hard enough to jerk his head around.

  Sully blinked his eyes, shaking his head to dispel the ringing in his ears. He ducked another blow and came up on the other side of the sofa in front of the large picture window.

  Declan sauntered into the room. “Looks l
ike I got here just in time.”

  Walter whirled to face the new threat, his head turning from Declan to Sully and back again, trying to keep his gaze on both of them.

  With a lazy grin on his face, Declan held up his hands. Covered in blood, his fingers were thicker, longer, and ended with sharp claws. He laced his fingers together and then stretched his arms forward, turning his hands outward to crack his knuckles. “Let’s play, laddies.”

  Ryder had one arm pressed against Miles’ throat, holding him against the wall, and glanced at Declan. “When the fuck did you learn how to do that?”

  Walter took advantage of the momentary distraction and reached for Sully again. Sully dodged out of the way. Sweat trickled between his shoulder blades, and he tried not to let the behemoth see how scared he was. If he couldn’t shift to wolf, and soon, the fight would be over.

  “I’ve been practicin’.” Declan did a little boxer’s dance, holding his hands in front of him in loose fists. “Come on, then, you bleedin’ sods. Show me what you got.”

  Taking everyone by surprise, he launched himself at Walter, hitting him in the chest with both feet and knocking him to the floor. Declan bounded off him and went for Miles. “Now would be the time for the two of you to shift. Don’t hold back on my account.”

  By the time Sully was able to quiet his mind enough to focus, Ryder had gone wolf. He dove for Walter’s throat, but the big man was able to get his forearm up in time. Ryder latched on to his arm, worrying it like a dog with a toy.

  Neither Walter nor Miles could take the time to finish their transformation into their full wolf forms. Sully only hoped that would be to the good guys’ advantage.

  He took deep, calming breaths and focused his attention inward, calling upon his wolf. As bones, muscles, tendons, and sinew shifted, he groaned and hunched over. Fur sprouted from his skin, his skull flattened and lengthened, his teeth elongated. The agony was just as bad as he remembered it, and just as short.

  He drew in a quick breath and shook his head, chasing away the lingering pain. Getting his bearings, he saw Declan had Miles in hand for the moment, so, paws scrabbling on the tile floor, he went to help Ryder.

  Olivia reached the SUV and opened the passenger door. She glanced at Pelicia behind the wheel and set Zoe down on the seat. She took her little face in her hands. “Baby, I need you to go with Pelicia, all right? I have to go back and help the others.”

  Zoe’s bottom lip trembled. “Why was Uncle Eddy so mean, Mommy? Did I do something to make him mad?”

  Poor little sprite. She had such a tender heart, and loved Eddy like he was a real uncle. Olivia couldn’t bring herself to destroy the illusion. Not yet. But she wouldn’t let Zoe think any of this was her fault. “No, honey.” She smoothed hair away from Zoe’s face. “You didn’t do anything except be your sweet self. If he’s mad at anyone, it’s me.”

  “But why?”

  “I’ll explain later, I promise.” She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “But now I have to go back. You be a good girl and stay with my friend, okay?”

  Zoe looked at Pelicia, and the woman gave her a warm smile. “Hullo, honey.”

  Apparently put somewhat at ease, Zoe turned back to Olivia. “Okay.” Anxiety rasped in her voice, and Olivia’s heart broke to see that, even as slight as it might be, Zoe had suffered from being apart from her. She pulled her daughter into a tight hug for several long seconds. “I love you, baby.” She pulled back. “I’ll see you again, real soon, I promise.”

  Zoe nodded. “I love you, too, Mommy.”

  Olivia bit her lip and looked over Zoe’s head at Pelicia. “You should go back to your house now. Take care of her.” Her voice came out husky from a throat tight with love and fear and remorse.

  Pelicia’s fine brows drew down. “But what about Declan and the others? They’ll need a ride home.”

  Olivia glanced at Zoe. Pelicia was right, but Olivia didn’t want her daughter to remain anywhere near Eddy.

  “We’ll be all right here.” Pelicia gave her a reassuring smile and briefly showed her the gun she’d tucked in her waistband. “You go help the guys. And be careful.”

  Olivia nodded. With a last look at her daughter, she turned and ran back toward the ranch house. About halfway there she stopped at a pile of rocks and took off her clothes. She dropped them behind the rocks, careful not to disturb anything in case something venomous was hiding beneath them.

  She went down on her hands and knees and called upon her wolf. While the power of the supernatural went to work, her back bowed, her fingers and toes digging into the sand as pain lanced through her body. A feeling of a final slide, her mind going slightly fuzzy, and the transition was complete.

  She sprinted the rest of the way, much faster on four paws than on two feet. When she burst into the house, the sounds of fighting drew her back to the living room.

  Declan was on the floor in human form, bleeding from several deep wounds. She skidded to a halt, sorrow clutching her until she saw his chest rise and fall. Still alive.

  Good.

  Walter lay over by the picture window. He was still part wolf, part man. His chest wasn’t moving. Dead.

  Better.

  The fight had progressed from the living room into a sunroom. When she reached the doorway, she had to step over the body of a wolf. It wasn’t one she recognized. She paused and looked at the two remaining werewolves who were fighting. One was fully wolf—Sully—and the other was in his man-wolf form.

  Eddy.

  He always felt superior being in a form between that of wolf and man. She knew it was because his cousin didn’t have that ability, which meant she was standing over Ryder. She chuffed and nuzzled him, and he opened his eyes on a whine. He looked toward the fight as if telling her to help Sully. She gave Ryder a quick lick on his muzzle and then launched herself into the fight.

  Her attack caught Eddy by surprise, flinging him off his feet and onto the floor. The fall made Sully skid across the tile. He banged up against the wall and slid to his belly, panting.

  Eddy knocked her away before she could fasten her teeth around his throat. “Bitch!” He scrambled to his knees and grabbed her by the scruff.

  He was bleeding from several wounds, some made by claws and some from teeth. Some deep and some superficial. None mortal.

  Yet.

  He brought one hand around, claws extended. She yipped and struggled in his hold. If he had a chance to rake those claws across her vulnerable throat, she was done for.

  Sully charged to her rescue, teeth and claws bringing more blood as he latched on to one of Eddy’s inner thighs.

  Eddy screamed, a loud, shrill sound that echoed in the glass-encased room.

  She saw blood spurt and knew that Sully had bitten into Eddy’s femoral artery.

  They just had to hold on for another few minutes. If she could get at him, it would take even less time to finish him off.

  Eddy kept one hand on Olivia’s scruff, holding her at bay, while he pounded his fist on the top of Sully’s head, trying to dislodge him.

  Sully held on, growling low in his throat. Blood streamed over his muzzle, the coppery smell strong in the air. Eddy finally threw Olivia away from him, but not very far. He was fading fast.

  She charged back at him, dodging his swipe at her, and fastened her teeth in his neck.

  Hot blood filled her mouth. She bit down harder, locking her jaws, and began shaking her head back and forth. The bastard had done this to her, turned her into a monster. Made her afraid for her daughter’s life every damn day over the last three years.

  Made her witness things that would haunt her dreams until the day she died.

  She and Zoe—and Sully and his friends—would never be safe until Eddy was dead. And she aimed to be the one to do it.

  He’d wanted to turn her into a murderer, after all.

  Be careful what you wish for.

  Turn the tables.

  Sweet justice.

  She fe
lt a blow to the side of her head, heavy enough to make her wince, but not strong enough to dislodge her. Another blow, and she snarled and violently shook her head. She pulled free a big chunk of his throat, spit it out, and went after him again.

  Bastard. Enemy.

  Die.

  The blows against her head came more slowly, and were much softer. After several seconds, they stopped altogether. Still she kept her teeth in his throat. He had to die.

  Now.

  Forever.

  She vaguely became aware of Sully’s voice, murmuring to her, soft over her own deep-throated growls.

  “It’s all right, Olivia. You can let go now.”

  When had he shifted back to human? She’d been so intent on finally stopping Eddy that she hadn’t noticed. But what was he saying? She should let go?

  Only when Eddy was dancing with the devil.

  She growled again, tightening her jaws. He had to die. She wouldn’t let go until he did.

  Fingers stroked through the fur along her back. “Let him go, sweetheart. He’s dead.”

  She paused and listened. Her heartbeat. Sully’s heartbeat.

  Nothing from Eddy.

  Olivia slowly released her grip, realizing for the first time her jaws ached from being clenched so tightly. She ran her tongue along her muzzle, licking away sticky blood.

  Eddy’s eyes were open. Staring.

  Dead.

  She lifted her head and howled, closing her eyes as emotions roiled through her.

  Sorrow.

  Gladness.

  Remorse.

  Satisfaction.

  Human.

  Wolf.

  She let the howl trail off and lowered her head to look at Sully. More sorrow.

  Because he’d shifted back to his human form, most of his wounds had healed or nearly healed. He was naked, as they all would be after they shifted, which was why they’d packed extra clothing in the SUV.

  The look on his face laid his emotions as bare as the rest of him—loathing, confusion, regret. Deep unhappiness.

  She backed away from Eddy, never taking her gaze off Sully. He hated her and rightly so. She’d taken something from him that he’d never get back. And, seeing how much of a monster she was, he most likely held her in revulsion as well.