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

by Ana W. Fawkes

  “What?”

  “Not at the same time. The second one happened late last night. The attacks are obvious that it’s a shifter and the messages are vague, but they’re for us. For the MC.”

  “Written…?”

  “By cutting flesh,” Lucas said.

  Leah put her plate on the nightstand and hugged herself. She then wondered if maybe she was safer with that strange doctor and listening to Debbie’s moans.

  “We’re going to find out who it is,” Lucas said. “And we will settle all this. Until then, I just need you safe.” Lucas reached for Leah’s hand. “You were almost taken from me, Leah. I then made a promise that it would never happen again, but it almost did.”

  “That’s part of life,” Leah said. “We’re all safe until we’re in danger, Lucas. I’ve seen it all the time. You know how many people I’ve cared for that have just suddenly died? People watching their favorite television show. People cooking food. It’s not all tragic, for the most part. It’s just life coming to an end. Maybe in your life, instead of a heart attack, it’s a bullet. But it’s life and death, and they’re always chasing each other.”

  Lucas turned to face Leah. He put his other hand to her waist and with a gentle push, Leah slid back on the bed. Lucas then hovered over her. The smell of smoke, booze, and man filled Leah’s nose and it made her toes curl.

  Lucas touched her face. “I don’t give a shit what’s meant to be in your life, my life, and the future. I give a shit about what I can control right now.” Lucas lowered his face to Leah’s. Their noses touched. “That’s why I want you right here, in my bed, safe. So when I get back from all this shit today…”

  Lucas kissed Leah. It was a soft kiss but with so much more implied. He kissed her again and again, flicking the tip of his tongue to her lips. Leah thrust at Lucas and arched her back, pressing her body tight to his. Without a bra on, it made her breasts extra sensitive to the touch of the cloth of her shirt and with the pressure of Lucas’s rock hard chest pressing down at her.

  “Just stay right here,” Lucas whispered as he ran his lips along Leah’s face to her ear.

  “I’ll never leave you,” Leah said. “You’re the reason I’m alive. I need you, Lucas.”

  Lucas’s right hand touched Leah’s waist. He then slowly moved his hand across and down, his fingers curling at Leah’s curve. The feel of his fingers between her legs made Leah sigh already.

  “Remember that,” Lucas said. “You’re mine, Leah. All mine.”

  “I know.”

  “When this is done, I’m claiming you forever.”

  “Claim me right now,” Leah said.

  Lucas’s fingers gently moved and Leah moaned.

  “Soon, love,” Lucas said. “I want it to be right. To be perfect. I want you healed. I want all this bullshit to be gone.” Lucas then looked Leah in the eyes. “But that doesn’t change how I feel for you, got that?”

  “Of course,” Leah said.

  “Good.”

  Lucas moved from the bed. His body was gone. His fingers were gone. His mouth was gone. Now he stood, leaving Leah with her hands holding the sheets on the bed and her body tingling.

  “I really have to go,” Lucas said. “We’re meeting someone important.”

  “I wish I could go with you.”

  “Trust me, this meeting stuff is all bullshit. Too much talking and way too much respect.”

  Lucas smiled and grabbed his leather cut off the bed. He then lifted Leah enough so he could kiss her bare skin. He then offered one more kiss to her lips and he walked to the door.

  “Lucas?” Leah asked as she remained in place, her body engaged and promising to wait as long as she needed for him to come back.

  “Yeah, love?”

  “Would you change any of it? Your life. How you became… all this…”

  Lucas looked back at Leah. “Every fight. Every war. Every bullet. Every life lost. Never. It all brought you to me. That’s something I’ll never go back and change.”

  With that, Lucas opened the door and left the room. Leah put a hand to her heart, feeling the thud of her heartbeat as a reminder she was alive. She closed her eyes to keep tears from spilling.

  12

  Zayne came back to his room and found Jane still in his bed. The covers were just below her shoulder with her back to him. This showed Zayne enough skin that he made fists, wanting to relieve some tension. Jane was a very interesting woman. Their hours spent in bed were certainly wild, and never once she did shudder at the sight or touch of Zayne’s face. It made his mind and heart begin a battle that Zayne wasn’t ready to deal with.

  Jane took a breath and rolled to her back. She opened one eye, looked at Zayne, and then opened the other. She sat up and moved from the bed, taking the sheet with her. She kept it wrapped tightly around her body. So tight that Zayne could see the outline of her slightly curvy body. Her hair was all thrown to one side, some of it covering her face.

  Zayne thought she looked ravishing.

  “We need to talk about this,” Zayne said.

  “I need a shower first,” Jane said. “Threw some extra clothes in my bag. Figured you wouldn’t be able to resist me.”

  Jane turned and dropped the sheet. Her back and ass sent Zayne’s mind into overdrive. She was tempting him, fucking with his mind, and it was working. That was the scary part. Jane didn’t know what Zayne really was or what the other option was besides throwing her on the bed and having her again. His mind wondered what her reaction would be to see a giant wolf standing in the room. A big, hungry mouth. Sharp, wet fangs. Deep, deadly eyes.

  “Hey, can you get me some coffee?” Jane asked as she looked over her shoulder and bit her lip.

  Zayne swallowed hard and nodded.

  He needed Jane right now, for more than one reason. She took away that empty feeling that had been running through his body since the attack. The worry of his face and the scars, the feeling of never having his old life back, all that didn’t exist when she was there. She threw her body at him and she spoke with such confidence Zayne couldn’t help himself. Plus, he needed to know everything she knew about this debt collection stuff with Debbie.

  Zayne went to the bar and poured coffee into a mug. He grabbed some creamer and packets of sugar and returned back to his room. The room smelled like his soap and was warm from the steam creeping out of the open bathroom door. He put the coffee mug on a nightstand and walked to the bathroom. He went inside and looked at the silhouette of Jane’s body in the shower. When she put her head back and arms up to wash her hair, Zayne saw the outline of her large breasts. Hell, he could even see the nubs of her nipples, that’s how big they were.

  “I know you’re there,” Jane said in a playful voice. “You coming in here or what?”

  Zayne swallowed again and hurried to strip himself. He wasn’t sure if he ever moved as fast as he did just then without shifting. He kicked everything he could off his body and pounced at the shower like a hungry animal. He was already thick and hard, and the urge to have Jane was pretty damn close to the urge to shift and hunt for a kill. They were dangerously close, leaving Zayne’s mind spinning.

  He tore open the shower curtain and found Jane standing with her back against the wall, knees slightly bent, legs open. She eyed his body, groaned, and reached for his body. Her hand gripped his hardness tight and she pulled.

  That was the only second of control she had.

  Zayne grabbed Jane by the hips and lifted her off her feet. He turned, put her down, and spun her around. Jane let out a small cry and then hurried to bend over. It drove Zayne wild that Jane moved so smooth and easily like this. She just bent over… she didn’t care… she wanted him…

  Zayne put two fingers to her sex, feelings the silky warmth of her body. He guided himself to her and thrust deep into her. As Zayne began to pump himself, the world started to spin. He quickly became lost in a haze of hot water, loud moans, and tight, pleasure-filled feelings rushing through his body. He felt h
is hands gripping tighter. He heard Jane tell him not to squeeze so hard. He couldn’t help it. His thrusts were long, and they satisfied him on a level so deep, it made his mouth water. It was almost as good as killing.

  The rush of climax came and Zayne slid his hands up to Jane’s shoulders. He gripped and pulled, keeping himself as deep as possible in her. He closed his eyes and lost himself again for what felt like hours.

  Jane slowly stood and Zayne fell from her body. She turned and stumbled back to the wall, out of breath.

  “Oh… fuck…”

  “Your coffee is getting cold,” Zayne said.

  He left the shower, dried, and dressed. He went back to the room but couldn’t sit down. He paced back and forth until the shower stopped and Jane came from the room a few minutes later. She had a towel around her body and her wet hair was everywhere.

  “You need to arrange a meeting and fast,” Zayne said to her. “My boss wants to meet your boss. Figure this out.”

  “Don’t know if that works,” Jane said. “You don’t quite understand what you’re dealing with here.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “Listen, I like you Zayne,” Jane said. “My mission was to get you and take you to him. But I wanted you to fuck me instead. And now here we are.” Jane walked by Zayne to the coffee. She drank some. “I’m going to have to call him today and figure out what to say.”

  “Tell him you met us and we’re rough guys that want a meeting.”

  “He won’t give a shit. No offense, but motorcycles aren’t going to scare him. He’s got a lot of firepower.”

  Zayne laughed. If you only knew what we were…

  “I can’t tell you anything about Debbie,” Zayne said. “I’m sorry. But if this guy keeps following us, it’s going to end pretty shitty.”

  “He won’t meet you, but he will be following you today,” Jane said. “The only thing I can do is not call him and make him sweat a little.”

  Zayne nodded. “And what do you get out of this?”

  “I’m not a squeaky clean woman. I have my own demons. This is a means to an end for me.”

  “What kind of demons?”

  Jane drank more coffee. “Listen, Zayne, we’re not together. We’re not getting married. We’re not having babies and opening presents under a damn Christmas tree, okay? You gave me what I wanted and I’m pretty sure you got something from me. Anything else doesn’t mean shit.”

  Zayne touched his face and gritted his teeth. “I was attacked. The crew was attacked. We lost one of our brothers and I had to kill someone before I got killed. That’s how I got all this on my face…”

  Jane put the coffee mug down and smiled. She walked to Zayne and touched his chest. She moved to her toes and kissed his cheek. “That’s hot. Maybe romantic. But I don’t care, Zayne. I need to find Debbie so I can get my fix and move on. I’ll help you because you need it. Just don’t make this any more than it is.”

  It hurt Zayne to hear but it didn’t change what Jane had done for him. As long as she was around, there was a chance. It could be a great thing that she was a beautiful mess. It would keep his mind off everything happening around the club and his own damn life.

  “Fair enough,” Zayne said. “If you need more coffee or something to eat, let me know. If not, don’t waste your time getting dressed. Because when I’m ready again and if you are dressed, I’ll tear all your fucking clothes off.”

  “That’s the kind of talk I love,” Jane said.

  She opened the towel and let it fall to the floor.

  *

  Vince was the lone man in front of Lucas and Cooper as they rode next to each other. The town of Mercy felt as though it were swelling, problems running out of town and worse yet, problems rushing into the town. Everything would be dealt with accordingly, but the bloodshed within Mercy needed to stop.

  On the outskirts of town, houses and buildings became flat land. Just beyond that, after another ten minutes or so, Vince spotted three motorcycles on the side of the road. He pointed and signaled to pull over. Keeping his eyes keen to any potential dangers, Vince sensed none. He did see Triel though, standing in front of the other two men he was with. His massive, tattooed arms were crossed; his face look annoyed.

  Vince killed the engine on his motorcycle and climbed off. He put a hand back to Lucas and Cooper, silently ordering them to stay behind for a minute. Vince took off his sunglasses and approached Triel with mild caution. He offered his hand to the second in command for the Oreno crew.

  Triel looked at Vince’s hand and instead of shaking it, he reached for his gun, cocked it, and placed it between Vince’s eyes. Vince hurried and put his hands out, still wanting Lucas and Cooper to hang back. He knew it was going to be hard for Lucas to do since their claiming bond kept it so Lucas would always protect Vince like a father.

  “I just wanted a handshake,” Vince said.

  “Yeah, and we just wanted some answers.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about one of your pups killing one of our men.”

  Vince sighed. Then he smiled. “Come on, what’s one brother in exchange for another. You killed one of ours and we killed one of yours. Where I come from, that balances things out.”

  “Fuck that,” Triel said. “You were going to use the roads a couple times, Vince. It’s not a fucking freeway. What are you moving? What are you doing out here?”

  “Just family stuff,” Vince said. “My son and I… it’s complicated.”

  “It’s done,” Triel said. “The road is ours. No more.”

  “Hey, I’d much rather discuss this with Eli,” Vince said. “He and I have a better sense of understanding. You know, so I can talk without a gun pointed at my head.”

  Triel smiled and pushed the gun harder against Vince’s head. Vince eyed the other two men, wondering just what it would take for this tension to go away. Before he could say the right words and talk his way out of this jam, he caught Lucas from the corner of his eye.

  Shit.

  Lucas grabbed Triel’s arm and pulled. He spun and Triel started to fire the gun. Lucas worked him to the ground and twisted his arm so Triel’s hand opened and the gun was on the ground. Vince quickly pulled his gun and pointed it at the other men. They had their guns drawn but Cooper was now with Vince.

  Full Moon Mercy had the control now.

  “Do it,” Cooper said. “Do it… pull the trigger. Shoot me.”

  “Calm down,” Vince said. “Everyone just calm down.”

  “You done?” Lucas growled at Triel.

  “I’m on the ground,” Triel said in a cold voice.

  “Lucas, that’s enough,” Vince said.

  Lucas let Triel go and stood up. He kicked the gun away and then fell in line with Cooper and Vince. Instead of pulling his gun out though, Lucas stood with his arms crossed. The anger that went through Vince made him want to hit Lucas. Whatever the hell was rushing through his mind, it needed to be left back in the clubhouse in Mercy. Not here at a meeting.

  Triel got to his feet and pointed to his men. They lowered their weapons.

  “Look, this isn’t easy for us,” Vince said. “You ambushed us. Killed one of our brothers. Almost killed a close friend to the club. I would be wise to put a bullet through your head right now and then pay a visit to Eli. But I’m not here for that. I’m here to settle this dust for now.”

  “Then settle it,” Triel said.

  “I’m going to ask something simple. Have you or anyone else been in Mercy lately?”

  “No,” Triel said. “We have no business in your town.”

  Vince squinted his eyes. “What if I said… more to come… or it’s the time…”

  “What are you talking about?” Triel asked.

  “Christ,” Lucas said. He turned and walked away.

  Walking away was sign of disrespect to Vince, to Cooper, to Full Moon Mercy, and to Triel and the Oreno crew.

  “Okay,” Vince said. “If you need to
talk, you arrange a meeting. Not a blockade. We were bringing home the woman that was shot by your crew. And if she had died, I couldn’t stop what Lucas would have done. Just know how close you were…”

  “Just know our arrangement has served its purpose,” Triel said. “Word from Eli and word from me. No more trouble in this territory because of you. Someone came through and killed one of our men to set you up. And just this morning we found a trail of blood along one of the roads.”

  “What?” Vince asked.

  “You heard me,” Triel said. “That’s where Eli is right now. Get it? We’ve got blood in our town, just like you, brother.”

  Vince curled his lip. He could officially rule out the Oreno crew as the ones writing messages on dead bodies.

  Triel wasn’t done talking. He walked to Vince and put a finger to Vince’s heart. “And I know it has to do with you. I know it has to do with whatever the fuck you needed our roads for. I told Eli not to take that fucking deal. We could have hunted on our own.”

  “Hey,” Vince said, grabbing Triel’s hand and squeezing, “don’t assume what you don’t know.”

  “Come on,” Lucas said as he approached Vince. He put a hand to his shoulder. “This isn’t for us. We need to get out of here.”

  “Good call, boy,” Triel said.

  Shit.

  Before Vince could say a word, Lucas threw a fist and connected with Triel’s face. The second in command to the Oreno crew spun around and fell to one knee. The other men drew their guns, but Triel called them off. He stood and turned, his lip bleeding.

  “It’s only fair,” Triel said. “Right?”

  He lifted his fists and Lucas nodded.

  “Christ,” Vince muttered and took a step back.

  Lucas and Triel went after each other. Triel threw a couple quick punches, landing to Lucas’s eye and nose. Blood sprayed but Lucas didn’t fall back. He hit Triel in the gut and grabbed him by the back of his leather cut and pulled him down while throwing an uppercut. The punch was sick and it looked like it snapped Triel’s neck.

  Vince’s cell phone rang. He looked at the screen and quickly took the phone call. This was the last call he expected to get right now.