The Dark Monster (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance)

by Ana W. Fawkes

  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Chief Charlie said.

  “Why not?” Vince asked.

  “Found two bodies outside another nightclub on the edge of town. Murdered.”

  “What does that mean for us?” Lucas asked.

  “One man looked to be thrown so hard into a brick wall he died instantly. Takes a hell of a lot of strength to do that. Besides that, another man was attacked which could only be described as an animal like attack. But that wasn’t it. There was something written on his body.”

  “Written?” Vince asked.

  “Cut into his goddamn body,” Chief Charlie said.

  “What the hell?” Lucas asked.

  “Take a look,” Chief Charlie said.

  He pulled out an envelope and gave it to Vince. Vince opened it and there was a picture of a man on his back. There was blood all around him, his neck torn open. His shirt had been ripped off and across his body was a message cut into the man.

  more to come

  “More to come?” Lucas asked.

  “Christ,” Vince said.

  “Don’t think that was written with a knife, do you?” Chief Charlie asked.

  “What’s your point?” Lucas asked.

  “My point is that this is the talk of the station right now,” Chief Charlie said. “I can control this for now. I can say there are people on it. Tracking leads down. The usual bullshit. But this… this can’t be happening in Mercy.”

  “Where are the bodies?” Lucas asked.

  “The morgue.”

  “We need to get rid of them,” Vince said. “Can’t have anyone investigating anymore.”

  “Forensics tore through it all,” Chief Charlie said.

  “Fuck,” Vince said. He threw the picture and envelope into the car at the chief. “Where the fuck were you?”

  “Home. Sleeping. Didn’t know I know need to patrol twenty-four-seven because you have bullshit coming into town. You know how this works…”

  “We get it,” Lucas said. “We keep trouble outside the town.”

  “Bingo,” Chief Charlie said. “When do you take the table, son?”

  “Hey!” Vince bellowed. He slammed his hand off the roof of the car. “I’m the goddamn President of the motorcycle club. Don’t forget that.”

  “Then fix this,” Chief Charlie said. He put the car in drive. “Take care of your shit before this explodes. I can sense it all around this town. Something is very wrong. And it’s something beyond the jurisdiction of my badge… and my soul…”

  Chief Charlie took off with his tires squealing.

  The smell of rubber and exhaust flooded Lucas’s nose.

  “That’s not good,” Lucas said.

  “No shit, son,” Vince said.

  “What do we do?”

  “Start by checking it out,” Vince said. “Take Cooper and go for a ride.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Lucas took a step and Vince grabbed his shoulder. “Hey, son?”

  Lucas looked back. “Yeah?”

  Vince smiled a cocky grin. “Be safe. Don’t go get into trouble.”

  “Trouble? I’m pretty sure it finds us, Vince.”

  “Take it easy, son.”

  Lucas shook his shoulder and walked away. He knew Vince was dropping the whole son line as much as possible to piss Lucas off. And it was damn working.

  “Cooper, let’s ride,” Lucas said.

  “What was that about?”

  “Just ride first.”

  “I’m going too,” Zayne said.

  “No, stay here,” Vince said.

  Zayne’s lip curled and his eyes flared.

  “Come with us,” Lucas said. He looked at Vince. “Just trying to stay safe.”

  Vince crossed his arms. His face remained like stone as Lucas started his motorcycle and rode off. Cooper and Zayne were quick to follow.

  Lucas cut out onto one of the main streets and revved the engine. His blood was on fire, almost to a lethal climax. Hell, if he kept Vince’s image just a little closer in his mind he’d shift while riding his motorcycle. It felt like days since he had actually been able to hold and love Leah. His urges were running rampant and he wasn’t sure how long he could wait to have her. There were things he couldn’t control.

  The smell of the blood attracted Lucas two blocks before they got to the scene of the crime. Whoever the hell had tried to clean this scene up did a shit job. Lucas cut down alongside the building and slowed his motorcycle to a stop. There was a door to the right with a star missing one point on the door. That’s where the dirty club was. Lucas wished the building could burn down, but this was where a lot of druggies and dealers hung out. It was easier to keep them contained and deal with them there.

  Lucas got off his motorcycle and surveyed the area.

  “Hey, you get that sense?” Zayne asked.

  “What’s that?” Lucas asked.

  “Someone trailing us,” Zayne said.

  “Us?”

  “Yeah. I picked it up.”

  “You see anything?” Cooper asked.

  “No,” Zayne said. “Just sensed it, man.”

  “Are those urges getting to you?” Lucas asked. “Maybe we can work something out.”

  “Fuck that,” Zayne said. “I know what I feel. I know what I smell.”

  Lucas opened his mouth and Cooper waved him off. It wasn’t worth the argument and potential fight right now. Lucas turned and walked along the building. He found the spot where the man had been killed. To his right there were two holes in the bricks.

  “Looks like fists,” Lucas said.

  “Someone strong did that,” Cooper said.

  “You mean something strong.”

  “This isn’t good.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Who does it smell like?” Zayne asked.

  “I don’t know,” Lucas said. “He was covered up pretty good. Definitely another crew though.”

  “Of course it was,” Cooper said. “You think someone in Full Moon Mercy would go against the club?”

  Lucas chose not to answer the question by staying in silence. He crouched down and touched the ground. There were only three clubs close enough to raise hell and get away all in one night. Reckingdune, Oreno, and Saal. Oreno would be complete idiots to mess around right now.

  “Leaves two,” Lucas said. “Reckingdune or Saal.”

  “Christ,” Cooper said.

  “What do we do now?” Zayne asked.

  “We take it to the conference room and figure this out. We can attack Reckingdune, but we have no proof they did this.”

  “The only bullets that have flown were from Oreno,” Zayne said.

  “These were bullets though,” Cooper said.

  The door opened and a group of women came out. They all bumped into each other as they stared at the three bikers.

  “Whoa,” one of the women said.

  “Are you boys coming inside?” another asked.

  “Christ,” Lucas said.

  He walked to his motorcycle and started it. As he turned around, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There was a little black car at the end of the building. The passenger window was down and a man stared at him.

  “Fuck, you were right,” Lucas called out. “Let’s go.”

  He took off and Cooper and Zayne were right behind him. The car had since taken off. Lucas cut out into traffic and barely kept the motorcycle standing as he darted in and out traffic. There were so many damn cars on the road tonight. Up ahead he spotted the black car speeding away.

  Cooper and Zayne were on opposite sides of the road and they all sped at the same speed. It became really obvious that they were not going to catch the black car. Whatever the hell it was, the car was getting away for good.

  Lucas looked to his left and watched as Zayne cut to left. He was on a dirt path and out of sight in seconds. Lucas tried to cut across but there were too many oncoming cars. He slowed and when Cooper saw him, he did the same. Th
ey were soon on the side of the road and coasted until they could move down a different street.

  When Lucas stopped his motorcycle he looked at Cooper and shook his head.

  “What happened to Zayne?” Cooper yelled.

  “He’s gone, man. Off to do something stupid probably.”

  “Shit.”

  “He was right about being followed.”

  “Something’s up,” Cooper said. “And it’s bad.”

  “It’s just so much at once,” Lucas said. “And Zayne taking off isn’t going to help a damn thing. We just buried one of our brothers and we are supposed to be together.”

  “Then let’s be together,” Cooper said. He grabbed Lucas’s shoulder. “Zayne will come back.”

  “Trust me, I know he will. I’m not worried about that part. I’m just worried about he’ll do.”

  Lucas got back on his motorcycle and waited. He wasn’t going to return to the clubhouse until Zayne came back.

  *

  Zayne hit the throttle. The motorcycle revved. The tires bounced along a dirt path. None of this was good enough. None of it was fast enough. He could go faster. He needed to go faster. His mind thought of the black car. He thought of the scene of the murder. Two people were dead. He sensed it. Just like he sensed someone following them. And nobody listened. Lucas thought he was out of his damn mind. And Cooper didn’t stick up for him.

  The urges rolled through his body. Images of blood, teeth, and flesh ran through his mind. The smells of women, men, dirt, and death tempted his senses. Soon, Zayne was shaking. The motorcycle wasn’t going fast enough, no matter what he did. Then he thoughts of what happened with Oreno crew. It was supposed to be a simple trade. Full Moon Mercy gives them bodies and they give Full Moon Mercy access to their roads. But bullets flew. Seth was shot. Leah was shot. Zayne defended his leather and defended Full Moon Mercy in a wicked fight. The fight resulted in his face looking like it did now.

  It suddenly became too much for Zayne. He stopped the motorcycle and barely managed to get off it before his body started to change. The swell from deep within himself began and when he jumped into the air, his muscular arms grew a thick coat of fur and tripled in size. He hit the ground on four legs with a thud. His eyes were glowing in the approaching darkness. His mouth was opening, hungry. Any rational thought as a human stood no chance to the urges as a wolf.

  Zayne began to run.

  He was much faster than his motorcycle. He covered ground with his nose smelling anything he could, hoping to find a meal. Cutting between trees, jumping over logs, and knowing every inch of his surroundings left Zayne feeling empowered. He need to kill, and fast.

  Animals sensed his presence and they all scattered away. That was just fine, Zayne wasn’t interested in an animal right now. He wanted something bigger, something more dangerous.

  A few minutes into the run, he smelled something. It caused him to stop dead, bringing a scary silence around him except for the pounding of his giant heart. He scanned left to right and saw a soft glow.

  Two eyes.

  The scent was that of another wolf.

  The other beast growled and Zayne snapped his jaws. He wasn’t sure what enemy this was, but it was an enemy. He knew the perils of starting a fight without the club behind him and what it could do for Full Moon Mercy. But he couldn’t help himself. There was revenge to be dealt and why not start now?

  Zayne lunged forward and the glowing eyes revealed themselves as a massive wolf. The wolf quickly turned and tried to escape. This only made Zayne more excited. This was a hunt now. He was going to chase down a meal to feast.

  The other wolf wasn’t nearly as fast as Zayne. He caught up within seconds. Zayne jumped and made his pounce. His large front paws came down on the back of the other wolf. The wolf growled and turned, snapping at Zayne. The two were then rolling on the ground as Zayne bit at the beast, taking bites of flesh from its ribs. The other wolf let out a cry but didn’t stop fighting. It clawed and bit at Zayne, hitting Zayne in his strong shoulders. He felt himself bleeding but the urge was too much to care.

  Zayne opened his mouth wide and came down at the other wolf’s neck. He wanted to go for the kill and right now. The wolf quickly turned its head and bit at Zayne’s face. The move came as a surprise and if it weren’t for the healing wounds on Zayne’s face, it wouldn’t have hurt so much. Zayne tried to claw at the wolf’s face, but it was no use, the other wolf had just enough of a swing with one of its paws, that it tore open Zayne’s face.

  That’s when Zayne rolled from the other wolf. He hurried to all fours and watched as the wolf quickly took off. Zayne took a few steps, growled, and stopped himself. It wasn’t worth it anymore. He’d gotten the thrill of the chase and a fight. He could’ve killed the other wolf. He knew it. But a more sane thought came to him.

  What crew was that wolf part of? And why was it in Mercy?

  Zayne turned and ran back to his clothing. He shifted back to human form and dressed himself. He rode his motorcycle with his mind still full of thoughts. Once he was back on the main road, he sensed where Lucas and Cooper were. They were waiting for him. He cut through the traffic and turned down a street to find his brothers leaning against their motorcycles with their arms crossed.

  Zayne slowed and stopped. “I’m sorry.”

  “You were right about being followed,” Lucas said. “We’ll take care of it, okay?”

  Zayne nodded.

  “Did you kill anyone?”

  “No. I…” Zayne felt something touch his lip. He licked and tasted blood. His own blood. He realized he must have been a bloody mess. “There’s trouble, Lucas. There’s big trouble around here.”

  “I know there is,” Lucas said. Lucas looked back at Cooper and then at Zayne again. “Someone is assuming weakness within Full Moon Mercy. They’re wrong, very wrong. This will come to an end and soon. But we have to make sure we survive it. I don’t want to attend anymore funerals.”

  “Agreed,” Cooper said.

  Zayne wiped the blood off his face and nodded. If he wouldn’t be able to kill to satisfy his urges, then he would need a woman. It was the only way to stay sane.

  5

  Leah hated the house. She hated the way it smelled, the way the bed felt, and she hated the noises she heard. The walls weren’t soundproof and weren’t very thick. That meant each time Dr. Carane and Debbie decided to come together, Leah had a front row sound show to it all. At first, it drove her mad wondering why the hell the doctor felt he had the right to sleep with Debbie, but that feeling soon passed. It didn’t matter to Leah what - or who - Debbie did. What came next though was jealousy. Hearing Debbie’s long moans of pleasure. Being able to pick up on the moment when Dr. Carane and Debbie were about to finish made Leah’s toes curl. She needed Lucas to touch her in so many ways and places.

  Sleeping wasn’t enjoyable because it only brought dreams. Horrifying dreams. There were some dreams that were complete darkness with sounds. Sounds of wolves howling. Sounds of growling. Gunshots going off, leaving Leah covering her head in her dream, hoping another bullet didn’t come straight for her and finally kill her. Other dreams were of all those who died when she was at work. It amazed her that should could remember so many of those who died in the care center. Right down to the first woman she found dead in bed. In her dream, the woman, named Rosie, was alive. She was cooking eggs in a small frying pan. The eggs were crackling and then burning, smoke rising from the pan in thick, black billows. The smoke alarm was going off in the small room and when Rosie saw Leah, she smiled her big, toothless smile.

  “There you are!” Rosie yelled.

  “You’re burning…,” Leah whispered.

  “Yes, I am.”

  Rosie then had a gun in her hand. She shot at the smoke alarm, killing the sound. Rosie smiled again and this time she had a mouth full of teeth… no, fangs. Large fangs. Fangs dripping with blood. Rosie then pointed the gun at Leah and pulled the trigger.

  Each time she was abo
ut to be shot, Leah jumped and woke up.

  She vaguely remembered someone once telling her that you can’t die in a dream. That if you do die in a dream then that means you’ve died in real life. She had no idea how true it was, but Leah knew one thing though. She should have died. The bullet that tore into her body should have killed her. She was ready for death when the bullet hit her and she began to go. To slip away. To say her goodbyes to the living world and say goodbye to Lucas.

  But she didn’t die.

  Leah found herself on her left side when she opened her eyes. Her mouth was dry and her head hurt. She tried to move but couldn’t. She looked and saw fingers at her arm, gripping tight.

  “No,” she said. “No…”

  “Stop it,” Dr. Carane said. “I’m helping you.”

  Leah still shivered when the doctor touched her. She always feared he was going to do something bad to her, but he never did. When it came to Leah, he was only about medical care and saving her life.

  “What are you doing?” Leah asked.

  “Checking the wound,” Dr. Carane said. “You can easily infect. I have to make sure it doesn’t infect. If you want to get out of here, then you need to be healthy.”

  “Can I leave?”

  “Soon,” Dr. Carane said.

  Leah felt pressure running up and down her back. The bullet had gone almost through her body. To imagine what the bullet did to her insides made her want to vomit. But somehow her wounds healed. Somehow she survived.

  “Move to your back,” the doctor ordered.

  Leah did and winced at the aching pain. It wasn’t an intense pain anymore. It didn’t steal her breath. She just felt sore. Very sore. And very alone.

  “I’m going to touch your shoulders and chest now,” Dr. Carane said. “Please don’t move.”

  Leah stiffened and took a deep breath.

  The doctor gripped her shoulders and squeezed. His hands came down to her chest and Leah gripped at the sheets on the bed, fearing the doctor was going to touch her breasts.

  He didn’t.

  He took his hands off her body and nodded.

  “Looks good,” Dr. Carane said. “You’ll be able to leave.”

  “Today? Right now?”