Werewolf Nic La Croix has been nursing a bruised heart ever since he fell for his Alpha’s mate. The last thing he wants is to play white knight for a human female who has no business being in a shifter bar.
Mindy MacDougal has spent most of her life being her big sister’s keeper. Just once she’d like to do something for herself. When a night on the town takes a deadly turn, an unlikely hero comes to her rescue. One kiss is all it takes to draw her into Nic’s dark world. What will Mindy do when she finds out that the monster isn’t under her bed, he’s in it?
Moonlight Kin
NIC
by
Jordan Summers
Moonlight Kin: NIC
Copyright 2014 Jordan Summers
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Formatted by IRONHORSE Formatting
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Moonlight Kin 4: TRISTAN
About the Author
Other Books by Jordan Summers
Prologue
A shadow of ash spread across the highway, staining the asphalt a deeper shade of gray. Fissure cracks appeared, threading their boney fingers wide until the earth bucked beneath Jerry Seaver’s semi-truck. He clenched the wheel and fought to keep the heavy load from jackknifing on the road.
“Damn earthquakes,” he muttered under his breath, but his heart continued to pound.
Thunder cracked in a cloudless blue sky. Jerry poked his head out the window. He squinted against the sunlight and looked around, but the only thing he could see was a green ocean of trees rocking gently in the breeze.
The fine hairs on his arms rose, along with the pressurization in the cab of his truck. Jerry’s ears popped. His unease increased despite the natural beauty around him.
He wiped his hand across his grit-covered face and it came away moist. The highway stretched out in front of him with no cars in sight. There wasn’t a town around for miles. Jerry was alone. The sudden change in the air reminded him just how isolated he was on this back road. Suddenly the shortcut he’d taken wasn’t such a good idea.
He shifted gears and pressed his foot down. Smoke billowed out the semi’s exhaust pipes as the engine strained to pick up speed. Jerry didn’t want to be out here surrounded by oppressive woods any longer than necessary.
A half a mile in front of him the air shimmered like waves on a pond. It was too cool for the mirage to be heat rising from the asphalt. Jerry’s foot eased off the accelerator and the truck slowed, but he wasn’t about to stop. The glistening increased and the air yawned, opening wide to reveal its gaping black mouth.
“What the hell?” Jerry leaned forward to get a better look at...at...he had no idea what he was seeing. The sun gleamed off his red hood, but didn’t penetrate the dark entrance ahead.
It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.
“You’re just tired,” he muttered aloud.
Jerry rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He’d been driving for ten hours and hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night. He was determined to get to Vancouver today.
The crisp air worked to keep him awake, but wouldn’t prevent hallucinations. This had to be one, because what he was witnessing didn’t make sense.
He reached for his Red Bull and took the last sip. Moisture dribbled down his chin onto his shaggy beard. Jerry wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then crushed the can and tossed it over his shoulder before grabbing another out of his cooler.
Jerry pressed the cold can to his forehead, then popped it open. He took a deep swallow, then checked to see if the hallucination still hovered above the road.
The tear had widened, revealing more of the gloom. If it got any bigger, it would swallow his truck. Something moved in the shadows. Fear plunged its icy fingers into him, locking on to his spine.
The gap expanded and someone—no, something—fell out, then the opening snapped shut.
Jerry was too close to stop and too scared to react. His truck barreled down upon the...he squinted...creature, striking the black mass. A loud bang filled the cab as the shadowy thing smacked the grille and flew through the air, landing on the side of the road.
He glanced into his side mirror to see where it had gone. The black creature rose, took a few steps, then collapsed in the lane.
Jerry crossed himself and prayed that it was dead. Whatever he’d struck wasn’t human, wasn’t of this world. He had seen where it had come from with his own eyes and he wasn’t about to stick around to find out if it was okay. With his heart in his throat, Jerry shifted gears and tore down the road.
An hour later, he pulled his rig into the truck stop and washed the blood off the grill. By the time Jerry Seaver reached Vancouver, he had convinced himself that he’d imagined the whole incident.
* * * * *
Chapter One
Mindy MacDougal stopped her car next to the curb. Celina Gibson opened the passenger door and handed her the pepperoni pizza, then climbed in.
The aroma of tomato sauce, oregano, and sausage filled the small cab, making Mindy’s stomach growl.
“I don’t know if I can wait until we get to the house to have a slice,” Mindy said.
Celina buckled her seatbelt, then reached for the warm box. “If I can wait, you can wait.” She glanced at Mindy. “Isn’t that Izzy’s shirt?”
Mindy grinned. “Yep!”
“Can’t believe she let you wear it. I tried to borrow it one time and she threatened to break my fingers.”
“Yeah, Izzy is weird about sharing things. She never wants anyone to wear her clothes or use her stuff. Said it made them smell funny.” Mindy laughed and put her blinker on, then pulled away from the curb. “If she didn’t want me to wear her clothes then she shouldn’t have left them in the closet when she moved out.”
“I still can’t believe she’s gone,” Celina said.
Mindy squeezed her hand. �
��I know you miss her, too.”
Celina and Isabel had been best friends for a few years, then this last year Izzy pulled away. It was a pattern she repeated when anyone got too close. To soothe Celina’s hurt feelings, Mindy had stepped in as a surrogate for her sister. She wasn’t as good company as Izzy, but she did her best.
“She was always threatening to move. I just didn’t think she’d go through with it. I mean, where else is she going to get such a sweet setup?” Celina asked.
“What do you mean?” Mindy glanced at her.
“You paid her rent. You did her laundry. You bought all the food. Isabel never had to do anything while you were around.” Bitterness tinged her tone.
Mindy’s face heated. “It was my choice. She never asked me to do any of those things.”
“She never had to,” Celina retorted. “Wish I had a younger sister like you.”
Mindy sighed. How could she explain in a way that Celina would understand?
She hadn’t always been the responsible one. There was a time when she and Izzy had been footloose and carefree. That was before Izzy’s penchant for outlandish storytelling took a dark turn, before the expensive psychiatrists, before the psych meds, before all the experimental treatments.
Nothing their parents tried could eliminate Izzy’s “visions” or quell her talk of monsters. To this day, her sister was utterly convinced of their existence.
The treatments did succeed in one area. They successfully changed Mindy and Izzy’s relationship. Her role in the family dynamic evolved from close ally to her sister’s keeper.
The change hadn’t been easy for Mindy. At first, she’d chafed at carrying so much responsibility. She missed her freedom. She missed having fun. But there was only room for one bad girl at the table and Izzy had claimed the spot.
Now that Izzy was gone and Mindy was finally free, she didn’t know quite what to do with herself.
Celina chewed on her bottom lip. “Did she at least say goodbye before she left?”
She did her best to hide her pain, but Mindy didn’t think she was successful. “You know my sister. Goodbyes are so...responsible. She called you, though, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, but she didn’t tell me that she’d moved out,” Celina said.
“Then what did she say?” Mindy asked.
“She told me to watch out for the monsters,” she said.
Mindy rolled her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Celina shrugged and looked away, but not before Mindy saw fear in her eyes.
“Don’t let her freak you out,” she said.
“You know, this might turn out to be a good thing in disguise,” Celina said. “You’ve been taking care of your sister for years. Izzy could do with a serious dose of reality.”
Mindy knew she was right, but it would take some time to adjust to all the changes.
“She’s your big sister. It’s past time that she acts like it,” Celina said.
“We’re only a year apart,” Mindy said. “Not exactly a huge gap.”
“Doesn’t matter. She’s still older,” Celina said. “Have you heard from her since she left?”
“She called Wednesday night, but I was at school,” Mindy said.
“Did she at least leave a message?”
Mindy hesitated. “Yeah, sort of.”
“Uh-oh. What did she say?” Celina asked.
Mindy sighed. “Maybe you can make sense of her message. She said the winds told her it was time to move on. That there was darkness coming.”
Celina’s perfectly shaped brow shot up. “The winds? Darkness? Last time I checked, wind didn’t talk. And darkness”—she looked out the window—“comes every night. Did she tell you anything useful? Like where she was going?”
The question surprised Mindy. She thought for sure Izzy would’ve told her best friend where she was going. But one look at Celina’s face made it clear that she hadn’t. Weird. Should she tell her? She couldn’t see any harm in letting her know.
“Apparently, the winds gave my sister directions to New Orleans.” She laughed.
Celina gasped.
“What is it?” Mindy asked.
“Nothing,” Celina said.
“Tell me.”
“I just always wanted to go there. Izzy and I talked about it a lot. She said we’d run away there one day.” Celina grew quiet. “Guess that won’t be happening now. She’ll fit right in down there.”
That was what worried Mindy. What if Izzy didn’t come back? What if there was no room in her ‘new’ life for her sister?
“I hope she’s okay,” Mindy said.
“You need to stop worrying about her,” Celina said. There was sternness in her voice that hadn’t been there a moment ago.
She was right, but the saying about old habits dying hard was true. “It’s what sisters do,” Mindy said quietly. She was surprised Celina wasn’t more concerned given how much she knew about Izzy, but maybe she was in shock about New Orleans.
“I know you love her, but your sister is a flake. You have to live your own life now,” Celina said. “It’s past time Izzy learns to stand on her own two feet.”
Mindy didn’t want to think about Izzy anymore. It would mean examining her own sorry life. “So what’s on the agenda tonight?” she asked.
“I thought we’d go for a Ryan double feature.” Celina reached into her purse and pulled out two DVDs. “Dibs on Gosling.”
“Man,” Mindy said. “That’s not fair.”
Celina laughed. “Like settling for Reynolds is such a hardship.”
Mindy glanced at her and smiled. “True. I wouldn’t exactly kick him out of my bed.”
“No woman with a brain in her head would.”
Lights faded away as they drove out of town and made a right onto a back road that would eventually lead to Mindy’s home.
Thick woods on both sides of the road swallowed what little light came from the headlights. Mindy cranked the radio and pressed on the accelerator. The miles rolled by.
Celina was doing her best pop princess impersonation when Mindy spotted the entrance to a long drive.
“Hey.” She nudged Celina. “Is that the road you take to get to that club you’re always talking about? Pits or something.”
Celina stopped singing and looked out the window. “Yeah, that’s it,” she said reluctantly. “The place is called Sticks.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sank down in her seat. “Izzy never really liked it. She said the place made her feel uncomfortable. She only went there a few times.”
“Really?” Mindy asked. “I was always under the impression that Izzy liked it. Well, as much as she liked anyplace.”
“No!” Celina said. “The only time she ever wanted to go there was when she had the urge to dance.”
Dancing was one of the few passions she and her sister shared these days, but they rarely indulged in the activity at the same time.
“Can’t believe that I’ve driven by the entrance so many times and never noticed it before,” Mindy said. “For some reason, I could’ve sworn that you and Izzy told me it was on the east side.” She was positive they had.
Celina laughed off her comment, then shifted in her seat. “You aren’t exactly Ms. Observant,” she remarked.
It was common knowledge around the animal clinic that Mindy was driven and focused, but only on work and school. What little time remained had gone toward caring for Izzy and protecting her.
Mindy stared at the entrance through her side mirror until it faded into the night. “Now that I know where it is I’ll have to go,” she said.
Celina cleared her throat and picked at the edge of the pizza box. “I’m not sure Sticks is your kind of place.” She stared out the window as she spoke.
Mindy frowned. “What do you mean? You said it was fun. You told me there were tons of good-looking men. I know you’ve been going there just about every weekend with your friend Erin. Izzy went with you last week.” She took a breath. “I
n fact, you’ve gone there with everyone but me.”
“Isabel didn’t have a good time,” Celina said softly. “She hated it so much that she made me promise not to take you there.”
Why would her sister do that? Mindy vaguely remembered Izzy coming home freaked out, but since that wasn’t unusual, she hadn’t been concerned at the time. Now she was.
Though she’d never shown it, Mindy’s feelings had been hurt that Celina had never invited her to go with them to the bar. Had she asked, Mindy may have very well declined the invitation, but Celina had never bothered.
“Why would Izzy ask you to make that promise?”
“Why does Izzy say or do anything?” Celina asked, smoothly deflecting the question. “To find out the answer, you’d have to ask your sister.”
They both knew that would never happen.
“Did anything unusual happen the last night you guys were there?” Mindy asked.
Celina readjusted the pizza box on her lap. “Not that I recall. It was a blast like always.”
“Then I don’t get why you and Izzy think I should avoid it,” Mindy said.
“I can’t speak for your crazy sister,” Celina said. “But knowing you and knowing Sticks the way I do, I can honestly tell you it’s not your type of place.”
Why is Sticks great for Celina, but not for me?
Appearance-wise, they were polar opposites. Celina was tall, had long, dark hair, sun-kissed skin, a stunning face, and a trim figure that models would kill for.
Mindy had learned to live with being vertically challenged. Her curvy body was made for a different era—an era that didn’t give side-eye to a woman who enjoyed eating a whole sandwich and a side of chips.
“Don’t think you’re going to get away with that answer without explaining yourself,” Mindy said.
“You know what I mean,” Celina said.
Mindy shook her head. “No, I don’t. What exactly is my type of place?” She immediately pictured a library and rolled her eyes. How long had Celina and her sister been conspiring behind her back? It made her angry that between them they’d decided what was and wasn’t good for her. How dare they after everything she’d done! She was the poster child for responsible behavior.
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