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

by Ana W. Fawkes

  “Son, listen to me carefully,” Vince said. “If we start shooting without really looking at things, it will turn the war bigger.”

  “Bigger than a dead body in Mercy with a message written on it?”

  “Yes,” Vince said. “Trust me, yes.”

  “Then we’ll take it to the conference room.”

  “Yeah, we will,” Vince said.

  The two then stood in silence. Vince wanted to bond closer to Lucas but he wouldn’t get through this thick wall without a fight. As much as Lucas wanted to fight the war outside Mercy, there was a big one right within himself.

  Vince put a hand to Lucas’s shoulder and squeezed. “Son, remember, I can sense it all. You don’t like to be called out on things. I get that. We’re men. We’re beasts. I get it. But we’re closer now, Lucas. You and I. I can help you, save you, and most of all, I can protect you. That’s my duty to you. So when that seat at the head of the table finally opens, it’s yours. Whether I leave on my own or I die with honor, I want you to have that seat, son. It means a lot to me you let me claim you. What you’ve given to myself and Mandy…”

  Lucas nodded. “I understand. We’re stronger now, Vince. I know that.”

  “Nothing out there can stop us,” Vince said. “It seems hard to think about and deal with, but take it one step at a time. The Reckingdune crew? That trash that lives up in the mountains? Don’t worry about them. The Oreno? I know what they did and they will pay for it. Just one step at a time, son.”

  The soft rumble of motorcycles kicked up in the distance. The rumbling grew louder and Lucas stood up. He leaned over the roof of the building and looked down. Vince stood next to him.

  “One step at a time?” Lucas asked as he stared at Vince.

  “That’s right, son.”

  “Well, here’s another step…”

  The two motorcycles cut down the alley.

  It was Cooper and Zayne.

  They parked their rides and when Zayne stepped off the motorcycle and took his helmet off, Vince saw the blood. So much blood. Cooper got off his motorcycle and rushed to Zayne’s side. He grabbed Zayne by the arm and pulled.

  “Come on, bro,” Cooper said.

  “Fuck,” Zayne said. “Hold on. I can barely move right now.”

  Vince knew what was happening with Zayne. The need to kill came with an intense sense of satisfaction. It was almost orgasmic, depending on the kill.

  Zayne closed his eyes and put his head back. He touched his face and wiped the blood away. It almost meant he was touching the wounds from the Oreno fight.

  “He killed one of the Oreno crew,” Lucas said. “He saved our asses by doing it. He saved Leah’s life, too. But it’s going to bite us in the ass.”

  “Yeah…,” Vince’s voice trailed off.

  Zayne brought his head down in a fast motion. It looked as though he tried to hit his own chest with his head. Instead, Zayne’s body rolled up and he shifted into a wolf. It happened too fast that Zayne stood on all fours, surprised.

  “Zayne, come on,” Cooper said. “That’s enough.”

  Zayne growled.

  “Christ,” Lucas said. “He’s really pissed off about his face, Vince.”

  “Yeah,” Vince said. “He needs to learn to control himself.”

  Vince jumped up on the ledge. He handed his beer to Lucas and then jumped off the roof. Halfway down, the rush of air helped him to shift. His clothing fell from his body and his large muscles became bigger. His heart swelled, hair grew, his eyes changed, and man became beast.

  Vince could have pounced on Zayne’s back, but that would have killed him. Instead, he crashed right next to Zayne, hitting the ground so hard, Zayne toppled over. Vince then put a hand to Zayne’s chest and felt the other wolf’s heart racing. It was way too fast. Zayne was losing complete control.

  When Zayne showed his teeth, Vince opened his mouth. Long, sharp teeth, Vince would not think twice of ripping Zayne’s throat out if it meant to ensure the safety of Full Moon Mercy.

  Vince backed from Zayne and watched him slowly climb to his feet. The two then stood almost nose to nose. Vince the alpha, Zayne a follower to Vince and the motorcycle club. Even in wolf form Zayne’s face looked messy, his fur cut up and animal skin torn.

  It was a complete stare down that lasted a few minutes before Vince stood and returned to human form. He found his clothing, dressed himself, and stood before Zayne. This was a daring move, tempting Zayne to do something stupid. If Zayne were to even think of hurting Vince, the club would kill Zayne. Cooper stood just feet away from Vince, with Lucas above on the roof. They would have to come to Vince’s aid, especially Lucas. Once claimed, Lucas had to obey Vince on a deeper level, meaning Vince needed to be alive.

  Zayne took deep breaths as a wolf, growling, his ribcage expanding and contracting. When he finally stood on his back paws, he became human again. There was still blood on his face and hands as he stood naked before Vince.

  Vince opened his arms and waited. Zayne looked defeated as he walked toward Vince. Zayne fell to his alpha and Vince held Zayne tight.

  “It’s okay, brother,” Vince whispered. “It’s okay. The feelings will pass. The wounds will heal. I promise you, Zayne. I promise you.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve killed…”

  “I know,” Vince said. “We’ll take it to the conference room, together. Okay? We will talk this out and make it all right.” Vince took Zayne by the face. Blood pressed between Vince’s fingers. “But you need to gather your strength. You need to control it. You can’t turn on your brothers, no matter the anger.”

  “Okay,” Zayne whispered. “Okay.”

  Vince turned and looked at Cooper. “Help him get inside. It’s time to meet.”

  “I got it,” Cooper said.

  Vince then looked up at Lucas. Even from the distance he could read Lucas. The tension was satisfying, but it was almost starting to boil over. Vince took a deep breath and smelled the air. There was death in the air. There was blood in the air.

  It was only going to get worse… and soon.

  *

  Dr. Carane had the broken bottle in the kitchen sink. There was enough blood in the broken neck that it would take care of what Debbie wanted. After Lucas left, Dr. Carane made passionate love to Debbie as she groaned the entire time. Maybe for Debbie it wasn’t making love, but for the doctor, it meant everything to him. The feel of her body, the depths of her sex, and the way she made him explode.

  Now he would be able to help Debbie and rid her of all these problems. Once this was done, there would be no more need for Full Moon Mercy in her life. And perhaps it would be the same for the doctor. He could just call upon Vince if he needed anything.

  It was simple and perfect.

  Dr. Carane had set everything up. The procedure was very risky, but the results would be amazing. Injecting Lucas’s blood and flesh into Debbie’s would result in an instant birth. The baby wouldn’t want the birth, but it would be its instinctive nature to be born. Dr. Cararne would just need to keep Debbie alive during the process. That meant sedating her so she wouldn’t feel pain and she wouldn’t experience any of this.

  He had already injected her with the sedative.

  Dr. Carane carried a tray from the kitchen to the bedroom. He kicked the door open and found the love of his life resting on the floor, on her side. She took deep, peaceful breaths. She was very lost in a dreamland where she and the doctor lived together in happiness. Once this pregnancy was out of the way and Debbie had her perfect, stripper body back, their time making love would become even more intense. The moves she could do… the way she could touch him, taste him, show Dr. Carane what true sexual desire was like.

  It made Dr. Carane nervous to imagine.

  He walked to the bed and put the tray down. He crouched to his knees and touched Debbie’s bare thigh. She had a short shirt on and nothing else. The curves and folds of her body drove Dr. Carane wild. If Debbie hadn’t been sleeping right now Dr. Carane wo
uld have her again. His urge to keep making love to her took control of his mind like nothing ever had before.

  Dr. Carane took the tray from the bed down to the floor. He was now on his knees. He gently touched Debbie’s hip and pushed, forcing her to her back. She rolled and let out a whimpering breath. Her legs opened and Dr. Carane tried not to look, but he couldn't help it. Her body was sweet and seductive, the scent calling to him. Her stomach was massive, much bigger than he ever expected to see. All it would take now was the right injection into the right spot… then it would be over. This would just be a minor nightmare in Debbie’s life. And Dr. Carane would spend the rest of his life making sure Debbie never had to rethink the nightmare ever again.

  Touching her stomach, Dr. Carane felt how hard Debbie’s stomach was. He leaned forward and pressed. The baby inside kicked at his hand. Dr. Carane smiled.

  “Sorry, little friend,” the doctor whispered. “Your time has come to an end. No more will you hurt my love… no more…”

  Dr. Carane reached for the syringe and he gently pressed it into Debbie’s belly. The deep red liquid that was a mix of Lucas’s blood and medications disappeared into Debbie’s body. Dr. Carane took the needle out and put it back to the tray. He then placed his thumb over the needle hole and waited.

  It would only take a minute now for labor to ensue. It would be abrupt and intensely painful for Debbie. Even in her sedated state she would feel pain. She would wake and be hurt and she would remember the pain. But then it would be done. All done.

  Dr. Carane waited. The tick of his watch counted the first minute. Then it counted the second minute. He touched Debbie’s stomach with his other hand and pressed hard. He felt the baby move.

  “What the hell…”

  He waited some more. Debbie slowly closed her legs, teasing Dr. Carane. He started to shake and then he took his thumb from Debbie’s stomach. He stood up in a hurry and stared down at the sleeping beauty before him. A small dot of blood collected at the spot where he had injected Debbie with Lucas’s blood.

  It was the father’s blood… that’s how this was done. That’s how Dr. Carane learned this. He’d done it before. Many times. And it never failed.

  Debbie began to stir and Dr. Carane found hope.

  “Yes, my love,” Dr. Carane said. “Yes. Do this…”

  Debbie’s hands reached for her large stomach. She touched it, her fingers spread wide. Dr. Carane nodded. Right now she would begin to press on her stomach. Then her legs would bend. She’d lift her lower half off the floor and the pain would become an avalanche.

  But she didn’t press on her stomach. In fact, Debbie now looked more comfortable. She looked happy, peaceful, enjoying her dreams. When she would awake, her nightmare would still be waiting.

  Dr. Carane made fists and fell to his knees again.

  “No, no, no,” he whispered. “This can’t be. This is terrible.”

  He reached and touched Debbie’s legs. He slid forward and then touched her face. This was the woman he loved. This didn’t make sense. He had done what was needed. He attacked Lucas. He got blood and a small piece of his flesh. It had been right there, right in the broken neck of the whiskey bottle.

  Dr. Carane’s mind began to spin.

  This made no goddamn sense.

  Unless…

  Dr. Carane felt his blood run cold. He slowly rose to his feet again and stared at Debbie. He was now beginning to feel heartbroken.

  If the blood didn’t work that meant only one thing.

  It was the wrong blood.

  And if it was the wrong blood… then that meant…

  “Lucas isn’t the father.”

  8

  Lucas looked at Zayne and the man looked tired, weak, and completely defeated. It was embarrassing what happened out back just a little bit ago. To not be able to control the urge to shift was a hard thing to have happen. But then to have Vince lunge from a building and keep him on his back, that was worse. Lucas wondered, though, if that didn’t just fuel the intense fire within Zayne. It could eventually boil over in a much more dangerous way.

  Vince sat at the head of the table and the rest of the crew filed in.

  Lucas lit a cigarette and smoked close to half of it in one big drag. He blew out a large cloud of smoke and then drank from his beer. It was warm.

  “Our problems are growing,” Vince said. “But I am happy to report that Lucas’s woman is back with us, healed from her injury.”

  The table tapped their bottles on the table.

  “Thanks,” Lucas said. “But we still have to deal with what’s waiting with the doctor. That means cutting through the Oreno territory again.”

  Lucas looked at Zayne and he looked down.

  “I fucked up,” Zayne said.

  “No,” Cooper said. “He saved us.”

  “The Oreno feel we’ve worn out our welcome,” Vince said. “Can’t argue with their feelings. They don’t understand what we’re doing and it’s none of their goddamn business. We will get through there again when the time comes. That much I know. But we need to go back a minute here. We had a murder in our town, directed right at us.”

  “A body was found outside a nightclub,” Lucas said. “That shithole at the end of town. There was a message cut into his stomach.”

  “More to come,” Vince said. “That’s what was written.”

  “Christ,” Nate said. “Who did it?”

  “We don’t know,” Lucas said.

  “Oreno,” Ethan said. “I’m telling you, they can't be trusted.”

  “Of course they can’t,” Zayne said. “They killed one of our brothers… they tried…”

  “That’s enough,” Vince bellowed, commanding order at his table. He had his fists on the table. “We’re not going to point fingers like that. What’s done is done. Our brother is at rest. Now goddamn leave him there.”

  The room fell silent. Vince nodded at Lucas.

  “There was someone following myself, Cooper, and Zayne when we went to check things out. We tried to get the asshole but couldn’t. They drove a sleek little car and sped away.”

  “Oreno,” Zayne growled.

  “Why would they come into Mercy?” Vince asked.

  “They’re pissed enough to do anything,” Zayne said.

  “They’re going to be even more pissed now that you killed one of their own…”

  “You did what?” Ian asked, as he held his beer bottle an inch from his lips.

  “Had my own incident,” Zayne said.

  “We all have them,” Lucas said. “Call it an eye for an eye on that one.”

  “The point is this,” Vince said, “we have trouble in our town. We have to manage that trouble before it explodes. Chief can only do so much at this point for us. There’s a lot of talk and it’s going to get louder. If we manage this, it will quiet down. If we don’t, fingers are going to be pointed at us.”

  “What’s the plan?” Lucas asked.

  “We don’t travel alone,” Vince said. “Eyes open, use our damn brains before anything else. That car that was following, I want that son of a bitch here. We get information and then we attack. Whoever is doing this will regret it. Nobody is going to come into Mercy and try to take us down.”

  “Pretty smart to do it through bodies and police,” Lucas said. “Hit us without hitting us.”

  “Should we patrol the streets?” Cooper asked. “Keep our presence known and constant. I dare someone to come into town then.”

  “We’ll work out the details,” Vince said. “I want more information from Chief and then we can proceed. What I’m saying now is that we all stay put in Mercy. We protect our town first. Protect the town means protecting ourselves. When we’re together, we’re strongest. Remember that.”

  Vince looked at everyone. When he got to Lucas, he stared longer. Lucas sensed the complete bullshit pouring from Vince’s mouth. There always seemed to be a side story with Vince, something that maybe benefited him more than the good of the motorcy
cle club. It was something that Lucas sort of always knew, but with the truth inside him that Vince had wanted Seth to kill Leah, it made that truth greater, and personal. It tore Lucas up that he couldn’t have Seth with him, alive, to tell the rest of the club what Vince had wanted him to do. But even then, it would be damn impossible to believe.

  “We will seek our revenge,” Lucas said. “Remember that. This will balance out someday soon.”

  “When the time is fit,” Vince said.

  Lucas stared some more and then finally returned to his cigarette and beer.

  “I will take care of the Oreno crew,” Vince said. “I’ll arrange a meet up with Eli and we’ll work out the details. Zayne, with all you’ve been through, this shouldn’t rest too hard on your shoulders. Some urges are just far too great.”

  “They are,” Zayne said. “And I apologize.”

  Lucas wanted to break the beer bottle on the table. Vince was calculative and it was damn working.

  “I’ll keep an eye on Zayne,” Ian said. “I know that wicked feeling.”

  “Good idea,” Lucas said.

  “Now just…”

  Lucas slammed the beer bottle on the table. “As you said, Vince, we need to be together to stay stronger.”

  “Then it’s done,” Vince said.

  The business meeting was called and Vince was the first to stand. He folded his arms and Lucas leaned back in his chair. He was in a vile mood. He ached for Leah but wasn’t sure how to handle that situation just yet. Putting that life in danger all the time was going to get old, and fast. But taking his annoyances out on Vince was actually kind of fun.

  “You coming, brother?” Cooper asked and put a hand to Lucas’s shoulder.

  “No, I’m good right here for a minute,” Lucas said.

  “Suit yourself.”

  The room cleared out, leaving Lucas and Vince alone.

  Vince looked at Lucas and unfolded his arms. “Anything else you’d like to add here?”

  “We just can’t let all this blood go,” Lucas said. “You saw Zayne. That’s going to be all of them soon.”