Illusory Moon

by Renee Jordan

“Sorry,” he said, standing up and walking down the hallway.

  His phone reminded me about my phone. I stood up and headed to the couch. I found my phone and turned it on. While it booted up, I dug into breakfast. It was good, particularly the hash browns. I hadn't had proper hash browns since I left my childhood home with...

  I shook my head and pushed down bad memories.

  My phone came on. I missed seven calls all from the same number, but they left no messages. I remembered vaguely someone calling last night when Thomas and I arrived. Curious, I dialed the number as Thomas walked back in, his phone in hand.

  The phone rang and rang. Then someone answered. A person breathed.

  “Hello?” I asked.

  “Penny,” a man's voice said. My heart clenched. I hadn't heard the voice in years. It was impossible. I had to be mistaken.

  “Who is this?” I asked. It couldn't be Axel. He was dead.

  No response.

  “Hello.”

  “Everything all right?” Thomas asked.

  I looked up at him and froze, my heart thudding. I shook my head. I hadn't thought about that day in Vegas in years. Kylie's screams, the puff of red, the loud crack. Memories crashed into me. I hung up the phone and set it down.

  “Penny?”

  “I'm fine,” I lied. “Just...just someone from my past. Someone I left behind. It's just...”

  Thomas reached across the table and took my hand. “I understand. You don't have to talk about it if it hurts you.”

  “Thanks,” I said, forcing a smile. I swallowed. It couldn't have been Axel. It was only someone that reminded me of him. I put the phone down. “Well, these hash browns are great.”

  As Thomas explained about his mama-bear's technique to make the perfect hash browns, I replayed the phone call over and over in my mind, nodding my head while I forced myself to eat the hash browns and his breakfast. Not to say it wasn't good—it was great—but my thoughts twisted. I tried very hard to forget about what happened in Vegas.

  My cowardice. I abandoned my friend and...

  It was the past. I had a new life, new friends. What happened wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault. I repeated it over and over, my anxiety dying. It wasn't my fault. I turned my attention to Thomas's face, studying the lines, the stubble, his perfect teeth, thick lips I remembered feeling so amazing as he ate out my pussy last night. His eyes, alert, hungry, light blue now, but growing darker as he talked and talked, showing his passion.

  “So, what should we do today?”

  I blinked. “Huh?”

  “Do. You know, go out. An activity. Unless you just want to stay in your house.” His grin grew. “That can be pleasant. But it's such a beautiful day.”

  Do? First my one-night stand cooks me breakfast, and now he wants to go out and do things. “You're breaking the rules.”

  “Rules?” he asked. He picked up a piece of bacon and popped it into his mouth. It crunched.

  “Yeah, the rules of a drunken, one-night stand.”

  He shrugged. “Then I'm breaking them.” He licked the grease from his fingers as he stared at me. “You're too different to let slip away.”

  “Different?” I arched an eyebrow.

  “Bold. Beautiful. You know what you want, you take it. I respect that. I'm the same way.”

  My smile played on the corner of my lips. “And what do you want?”

  “You know.”

  “And I want to hear you say it.” I leaned forward, staring at him as my heart beat. Flutters of excitement shot through me. Last night had been fantastic. Passionate. Explosive. Rapturous. Intense. My body shuddered at the memory of it. “Say it. Say that you want me.”

  His hand shot across the table and seized mine. His grip strong, powerful. The naked muscles of his arms and chest rippled. He carried me last night. Without effort. I had been with smaller guys, nothing wrong with a fun, if skinny guy, but they couldn't manhandle me the way Thomas could. And he wanted me. It was in his eyes.

  They were deep blue, verging on midnight. I wanted to look away. Something tingled in my mind, an imprint tingling about my thoughts. He was a shifter. They imprinted. When they fell in love, it was overwhelming, an almost psychic, primal bond forming between two people.

  “I want you.”

  The words were powerful. They frightened me. Here was a man that didn't know me, didn't know my past, didn't know about Axel, and yet he wanted me. He wanted to love me. Hold me. Give me such screaming delights.

  But he didn't know me. I looked away, retreating from the imprint. His hand tightened on me, reassuring me. Such big hands. They could engulf both of mine, holding me safe. I could relax into his gaze. I could let him take me. Own me. Love me.

  The red puffed.

  “What do you like to do with a girl?” I asked. It was safer. “If we're gonna do something.”

  His hand withdrew. I wanted to grab it, to keep a hold of him. I didn't.

  “Well, it's a lovely day. There are plenty of trails. In fact, I know this beautiful spot.”

  “Oh,” I said, daring to look up, a smile on my lips. His eyes had mellowed, a light blue. “Where?”

  Chapter Five

  Moonrise bustled as Thomas and I walked from my house back to the VFW. Both our vehicles were there. I held his arm as we walked through the town, the churchgoers streaming by in their Sunday best while others were just out to enjoy the beauty of the morning. The Rocky Mountains rose behind us, covered in furry coats of green trees until the peaks' bare heads towered above, tinted with a purple hue. I loved Moonrise. It was such a quaint, small town, still with its frontier charm despite the modernization. It comprised two streets, the highway that ran through it, and main street that branched off of it.

  We passsed the Sheriff's Department. Veronica, lounging out front sipping a coffee, gave me a wolfish grin. All of Forrest's deputies were werewolves, his pack. Veronica was a fun one to party with. She was wilder than me, always on the prowl for a hot stud to enjoy.

  “Sergeant Wilson, you're still in your dress uniform,” grinned Veronica. “What were you two up to last night?”

  “Something naughty,” I giggled, then mouthed, “Look at the size of him.”

  Veronica winked at me. I frowned. Had she and Thomas...

  I shook my head, not wanting to think about that. He was with me today. It didn't matter if he fucked the entire female population of Moonrise before me. After all, I had done my share with the males.

  I looked away from Veronica and froze. Across the street, leaning against a traffic pole, stood Axel. He lounged with the same ease he always did, his hair still long, shaggy, a rocker's wild mane. Sunlight glinted off his many piercings. His jeans were faded, one knee torn out, and the silver chain connected to his wallet dangled at his right side like it always did.

  A startled gasp escaped my lips. I jumped and blinked.

  Axel was gone. No one leaned against the traffic pole. I clutched my right hand to my chest, my heart beating a mile a minute. I struggled to breathe. Deep, ragged gasps wheezed out of me. He had to be dead. I saw it. The puff of red. The fall of his body.

  Lexie's scream of anguish.

  “What's wrong?” Thomas asked. He cast his gaze across the street.

  “Just...startled myself,” I said, shaking my head. “Thought I saw someone.”

  “Who?”

  I shook my head. “Someone dead.” I gave a half-hearted laugh. “Stupid. He's dead. Just...you know, thought I saw him.” My heart slowed. I was on edge from the phone call and now my eyes were playing tricks on me. I let out a gigglish, relieved laugh as my tension bled out of me. I leaned against him. “Sorry for being so stupid.”

  “It's okay,” he said, glancing across the street. “Who did you see?”

  “I...I don't...”

  He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. “Come on. Why don't we keep walking? Just a trick. The dead don't come back.”

  “Well...” I trailed off. “
I'm a witch. A powerful practitioner of death magic can conjure ghosts.”

  “And is there anyone like that in Moonrise?”

  “As far as I know, I'm the only witch in town now that Kotie's on her honeymoon,” I answered. But the Moon Tear Spring attracted weirdos. It may have even guided me here. It was a powerful pool, a terminus of three separate ley lines. Only a few weeks ago, Kotie's bastard of a father had tried to use his daughter and Forrest to get at it.

  He even took me hostage for a day. Asshole.

  “Now you're getting angry,” Thomas said.

  “Are you smelling my emotions?” I complained.

  He nodded his head.

  “So how am I supposed to keep any secrets from you?” I huffed in mock outrage. “Huh?”

  “I guess you can't,” he grinned as we walked down the street.

  “Hardly seems fair.”

  He shrugged. It brought a smile to my face. I was being silly. Axel was dead. I thought I heard his voice, then I thought I saw him. I needed to stop being so jumpy.

  We reached the parking lot and hopped into Thomas's truck. You couldn't live in Montana without owning a truck. His was nicer than mine. People called mine beat up, but it had character. I understood every bit of its damage and had a story to go with it. But a pristine truck like Thomas's had no stories to tell.

  It hadn't lived.

  We drove to Olson so he could change. He had a small house on the outskirts. Olson was a bigger town than Moonrise, about double its size, which still made it tiny. It was lower in the mountains and set in a large valley, giving it more room to expand. Changing didn't take long for a guy. They were so lucky. He didn't even think about his outfit. He just grabbed a pair of camouflaged BDU pants, thick socks, his boots, and a t-shirt he pulled at random from a drawer stuffed with t-shirts. This one was nice, it molded to his muscular body.

  He might as well have been naked. It made my fingers flex and want to dig into his muscles.

  Boots on, we headed back to his truck and to a trailhead another hour's drive into the mountains. We talked, casual stuff. I regaled him with funny bar stories—I was a waitress at the Moon Tear Roadhouse—and he with funny cop stories.

  It became a competition.

  “So we kicked in the door,” Thomas said, one hand casually on the wheel, the mountain terrain flashing by our windows, “and there he was, sitting on his couch. He had on a stained wife-beater covered in Cheetos grit.”

  “Ooh, that shit gets everywhere,” I giggled.

  “His fingers stained orange. No underwear, his junk just out for all the world to see, and his feet kicked up on the stolen TV.”

  “He was using it for a footrest?” I gaped.

  “Well, it was one of those old TV's, so it was a big rectangle.”

  “I thought he stole it to watch TV?” I frowned. “Did he get lazy? I can attest that Cheetos will do that.”

  “No, he had a TV. A big, 50” plasma screen. He was watching it, using his neighbors TV as his Ottoman.” Thomas shook his head. “Well, he looked up at us and said, 'Evenin', Officers. Beer?' He had a cooler beside him. 'Got me a whole case of Pabst Blue Ribbon. More 'n enough to go 'round.'”

  “Pabst?” I blanched. “So nothing good.”

  “I told him I was Coors man. Well, that didn't go over too well. He threw his bag of Cheetos at me and lunged. All 130 pounds of methed out rage, screaming about his piss tasting better than Coors. Didn't take much to subdue him. I had him handcuffed as he kicked and screamed on the ground. When he calmed down, I asked him why he stole his neighbor's TV when he had a big screen already. You know what he answered?”

  “He needed a footrest?”

  “Nope. His neighbor was a Coors man. 'Asshole don't deserve no fuckin' TV if he drinks Coors. Had to teach 'im a lesson.'”

  “How much meth had he smoked?”

  “A lot,” Thomas grinned.

  “Only methhead we ever had at the bar was one we found in the women's bathroom licking the toilet seats clean.” I blanched. “Told us he had to make them sparkle so the ladies could pee in safety. I had to scrub every one of those toilets three times before I could bring myself to use one. At least he didn't have his junk out.”

  “Licking the toilet?”

  I nodded my head. “Yep. He said they tasted sweet. Then he started talking about his mama in ways that turned my stomach. Forrest and his wolves overlooked the bruise Miss Maggie left on his face. She did not appreciate his language.”

  “I'm surprised she didn't wash his mouth out,” laughed Thomas. “Miss Maggie is not a she-bear to be messed with.”

  “That's the God's honest truth,” I nodded. “I think she would have, but the deputies arrived before she had a chance.”

  Thomas turned off the road onto a gravel turnaround. A wooden sign stood by a trailhead, left by the forest service. He put his truck into park and grinned at me. “Well, this is the trail.”

  “Not much of one,” I said.

  “Don't let looks deceive you, Penny. They always lie.”

  I glanced at him. “Then what does that say about your gruff, masculine, hunky body? Is that a lie?”

  “Except with me,” he laughed.

  Chapter Six

  “Holy shit,” I gasped when the trees parted and the trail ended at a wildflower meadow with a small, azure lake at the center. The breeze blew through the alpine field, ruffling the flowers, making a kaleidoscope of reds, blues, purples, oranges, whites, pinks, and more. I let my senses see the air spirits dancing over the meadow, wisps of clouds playing on the winds and swirling around the petals. Blobs of green clung to the flowers, glowing bright with life while water spirits skated happily on the lake's surface.

  “I thought you'd like it,” Thomas said. He took my hand and pulled me out into the field. “It's beautiful. There are always such wonderful surprises to find in the mountains. I walk them when I can. Exploring, sniffing out new wonders.”

  “Roaming?” I asked with a grin. “A big bear roaming through the woods.”

  “Yes,” he said and then peeled off his t-shirt and set it down on the ground. His hands went to his belt, loosening it before he dropped to untie his boots.

  “Thomas?” I asked, my voice cracking with uncertainty.

  “You've never had the urge to strip naked and let your inner beast out in nature?”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Well, in your case, your inner beast is literal.”

  He shrugged, his eyes flashing at me, daring me.

  Daring me? I put my hands on my hips. “You want me to strip naked with you?”

  “Only if you have the lady balls.”

  “Oh, I have a big stainless steel pair,” I grinned and grabbed the hem of my own t-shirt. “Good thing I know a spell to act as sunscreen, or you'd be the only one walking around naked.”

  He pulled off his first boot as he watched me. I peeled off my t-shirt, folded it, and set it with his clothes. I wore a sports bra beneath—with boobs as big as mine, hiking in a normal bra was murder. His grin grew as my big mounds popped out, heaving before me. His growl brought a smile to my lips.

  “You do like these, huh?” I asked, cupping them, my fingers sinking into my flesh.

  He licked his chops, his eyes growing almost black. He huffed and snorted. His chest grew hairier. The change stole about him. His muscles bulged as he ripped off his other boot, hurried to strip naked before he ruined his clothing. With one motion, he ripped off his camo pants and boxers, his cock thrusting hard before him.

  Excited for me.

  And then he changed.

  My hands dug into my breasts as primal passion unleashed before me. He roared like a bear as his body swelled, his muscles growing thicker, his hair sprouting into fur. It covered him as his arms grew longer, claws sprouting at the tips of fingers and toes. He fell over onto all fours, his back arching, his jaw stretching into a bear's fierce muzzle. Then he rose on his hind legs, standing like a man instead of the awkward pose of a bea
r rearing upright.

  He towered over me. He had grown at least two feet taller. Then fell on all fours before me with a boom. He nuzzled into my belly, his warm, rough tongue licking me for a moment. I shuddered, a hot heat forming between my thighs.

  I peeled off my shorts and panties. They bunched around my stupid boots. I fell onto my naked ass, the grass blades and flower petals tickling my excited flesh as I squirmed and fumbled with the knots. Why had I tied the stupid things so tight?

  “Yes,” I grinned as I undid the lacings. I cast my spell, summoning forth the light spirits to protect my skin from sunburn as I kicked off my boots, shorts, panties, and socks. I rose barefoot as he waited for me.

  I grabbed handfuls of his shaggy fur. I hauled myself onto his back. His fur was so soft. My excited sex rubbed against him, my clit throbbing. I leaned over, letting my nipples graze his fur. The hairs tickled them.

  I groaned, my eyes squeezing shut.

  “Hold tight,” he growled.

  I grasped his fur, stretched over him, pressing as much of my body into his soft fur as I could. I breathed in his primal musk mixed with the sweet perfume of the flowers. He roared and then bounded forward. My thighs, gripping his flanks, felt his muscles flexing and bunching beneath him while my body rocked on his back.

  Rubbing my pussy against his fur.

  “Oh, yes,” I groaned as the field of wildflowers blurred past us.

  My eyes fluttered as the pleasure bloomed between my thighs. I bit my lip, my hips shifting, grinding myself on him. I moaned again, loving the sensations washing through my body as his fur tickled my pussy. My juices flowed, slicking his fur as I humped against him.

  I felt every individual hair caress my clit and pussy lips. My back arched. My nipples pressed into his fur as I shivered. He roared with his passion. He knew what his running did to me. My clit pressed over and over into his body.

  “Thomas,” I groaned, my voice whipped away by the rushing air.

  My blonde hair flowed behind me as he rushed to the lake. The air cooled my burning face. It flowed over me, caressing me. It differed from his fur, but my excited skin loved it. My nerves embraced every sensation, using them, building them, mixing and combining them to the joy bursting from my clit and nipples.