Moonlight Wolves Box Set

by Sarah J. Stone

  Chapter 13

  Annie felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her whole life felt like it was falling down into a deep pit of black nothingness. Her entire past was based on this lie that her mother had died, and yet, that wasn’t true at all. She was alive. But the Elders got to her.

  And maybe death would’ve been sweeter for her dear mother.

  “What . . . what happened?” Annie asked, her whole body seeming to shake.

  “I called them, telling them what happened with Pavel,” he told her, looking off into the distance. “They said that there had been rumblings about his antics, about what he was saying. It was harmful to every shifter out there, and the Elders didn’t want humans to get suspicious from his activity. He was making noise, and they didn’t like that. They came to the house and took his body away, saying that I did what was right. But then . . . but then they came back and started asking questions about your mother.”

  “But why? They knew about her before, right?”

  “I told them long before I ever even told her I was a shifter, in fear that they would hear and take her away from me. We came to an agreement that it would be okay for me to take her as my mate. I think they knew that I wouldn’t take no for an answer. But then, years later, they had an issue with it. I don’t know what happened or why they changed their mind, but they saw that she had successfully delivered a child, and they grew worried. Started thinking that she was going to start telling humans in town.”

  “She would never, though . . . would she?” Annie was quick to defend her mother, but she didn’t have any memories or even know what she was like. Hell, Annie had thought she had a dead mother. Knowing that she was potentially alive was throwing her whole universe off balance.

  “She would never, especially because she knew that it could put you in danger, possibly,” Hann smiled, memories completely overtaking his mind. “From the first day she found out she was pregnant with you, she was beyond happy. So excited to see her little baby grow up.” Hann sighed as if the weight of holding in the story was still exhausting him.

  “Father . . .” Annie trailed off, not knowing how to ask what happened to her mother. “What . . . what happened to Mother?”

  “The Elders . . . they asked to question her. They wanted to make sure that she wasn’t going to say anything . . . that she was still of stable mind, I guess. So, they asked to see her alone. I had to comply, even though I desperately wanted to just run away from them with her and you. I was intent on becoming a rogue, keeping you both away from them and everyone. I would’ve sacrificed everything for you two.”

  Hearing her father admit that he was going to become a rogue shocked Annie to her core. Being a rogue wasn’t just some little thing to admit, it was almost blasphemy in the shifter world.

  “But you didn’t?” Annie asked, keeping him going.

  “Charlotte wouldn’t let me,” Hann said, referencing her mother. “She told me that she was going to answer all their questions honestly, and that everything would be okay. When the Elders questioned her, they left after, saying that they would be back again after talking with the others for more questions. I knew that they wouldn’t leave us alone, have you ever heard of Elders just letting things be? It’s not in their nature, it wasn’t then, and it isn’t now.

  “So, Charlotte and I, we hashed everything out. Went through every version that this thing could play out, every alternative that we had. I wanted to run, I wanted to run so desperately, but your mother wouldn’t let me. She said that I had a job as the alpha, and that she wouldn’t put the curse of raising her little girl with a target on her back.”

  “What happened then? You guys didn’t run . . . so the Elders came back and took her away?” Annie asked, feeling like she was going to throw up.

  “No, darling,” her father said, twisting the wedding ring he wore to this day around his finger. “No, your mother decided to sacrifice herself instead of all of us making that sacrifice. So, in the middle of the night, she ran. Took a bag of things, a little bit of money, and ran. She left a note, saying that it was the only thing she could think of. I haven’t seen her since.

  “Ross is the only shifter who knows that she’s not dead. While I was mourning that she left, he told the pack that she had died in childbirth. I . . . well, I was heartbroken. My mate had abandoned me, but I couldn’t blame her. No, I’ll never blame her. She not only saved herself, but she saved both you and me, something that I’ve come to terms with these last few years. I never wanted you to believe that your mother was dead, but when you came home from school one day saying that Kato told you she died, I couldn’t correct you. I couldn’t tell a child to keep a secret like this from her whole pack.

  “If anyone found out that your mother was still out there, there would be hell to pay. Getting the Elders off of her scent and believing she was dead without a body was hard enough. I didn’t need them chasing her to kill her.”

  “How did they believe she died in childbirth if they saw her afterwards, though?” Annie asked, trying to keep her thoughts distant from the realization that her mother was out there somewhere, living it up away from her and her father. She felt like her whole stomach was empty and just a pit of despair.

  “We said that complications began to arise during her healing process, and then the struggle of carrying a shifter eventually caught up with her. They eventually believed us, but it took them a while.”

  Annie rested her head on her father’s shoulder, squeezing his hand as she came to terms with this huge secret her father had been keeping for her whole life. A part of her didn’t want to believe that this was true. It was so much easier for her to believe that her mother was dead. She didn’t like the selfish feelings that crept in when she imagined her mother living elsewhere, maybe with a human husband and daughter to keep up with.

  Annie knew that it was horrible to think like that, but an hour ago, she’d thought her mother was dead. She sure as hell didn’t think she would be alive and fine somewhere.

  “Have you . . . have you ever looked for her?” Annie asked her father tentatively.

  “Every day of my life, I look for your mother,” he said, his voice gruff. “I miss her–she is my one and only mate. And until I can convince her that I’ll protect her, or until I can convince the Elders that no harm comes by humans like her knowing, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see her. If your mother doesn’t want to be found, she won’t be. She thinks she’s protecting us, and she is. But she’s also living a life that is full of lies . . . and all I want is to find her and protect her.”

  Annie began to think about Thea, a human whose life was also in danger if anyone found out that she knew. Annie now knew why her father was so calm, yet cautious, when he learned about Thea finding out. He didn’t see it as a big issue like some shifters and the Elders did.

  “Is this why you’re so kind to rogues and others?” Annie asked, her whole life with her father coming into focus. Her father was known for opening his doors to others, and Lukas was a great example. People had always talked about how different and modern her father was as an alpha compared to others, but she never knew what they meant. She had only ever known life in her father’s pack, and she’d never traveled to other packs around the world. She thought everyone was like her father.

  Learning that there were probably packs that would go around hunting her because she was a halfie, scared the wits out of her.

  “I know that you won’t understand this completely, darling,” Hann told her. “But the world isn’t just black and white. There is so much gray around us, but people and shifters alike refuse to see this sometimes. It’s so much easier to say someone is evil or good than to look below the surface. Every rogue you meet won’t be evil, and every shifter you meet won’t be good. I hope I’ve made my case to both the Elders and shifters alike, but I feel that this won’t be seen until I’m long gone.”

  “Father, I hope you see it long before then,” Annie told him, squeezing his hand
in support. “I also hope you see Mother again.”

  “I hope so, too, darling. I hope you do, too. I pray that you do.”

  “But Kaiser . . . Father, he’s near. And he’s coming for you for what you did to his father, even if it was something you did out of self-defense. We need to prepare.”

  “I’m afraid Kaiser has gained his father’s ideals and insane personality. We will deal with him when he gets here. There is no use in stressing over something now. I am prepared to deal with it when the time comes.”

  “And there’s no way you’re letting me in on these plans, is there?”

  “You’re just going to have to wait and see, my dear. You’re just going to have to wait and see.”

  Chapter 14

  Lukas found himself thinking more and more of Annie as the day wore on. He kept on wondering what he would’ve done if he’d come upon her unclothed. Just thinking about that situation drove him crazy . . . .

  He now stood in his hotel room with literally nothing to do. He hated feeling like he was in captivity or something. That was how he felt when he was living with his pack, and that was one of the reasons why he left. He hated that feeling of not being in control of his life. It was making him crazy.

  He’d made plans to go to Hann’s for dinner later in the evening, and he wondered if Annie was going to be there. He desperately wanted to see her again, just being out of her presence seemed to be driving him crazy. He knew he needed to get in control of himself, but the more he thought of her, the crazier he seemed to get.

  He sensed her before she knocked on the hotel door. Shit.

  He took a deep breath before he opened up the door, Annie’s brown eyes gazing up at him. Her hair was down in waves, cascading down her back with some strands falling in her face. He desperately wanted to reach out and tuck them behind her ear.

  “I thought I’d come by and offer you a ride to my father’s place for dinner,” she told him, standing in the doorway. All he could do was stare at her. He couldn’t seem to manage anything else.

  He cleared his throat and walked away from the door, inviting her in. She walked in and closed the door behind them.

  “It’s alright, I think I’ll walk there,” he told her, his back to her. He didn’t trust himself to look at her. “It’s not that far, and I could use the fresh air.”

  “Listen, if this is about earlier, I’m sorry I made a big deal about you shifting. You should be able to do whatever you want, I just really don’t want to have to deal with burying your dead body.”

  “No, it’s not that.”

  “Did I do something then?”

  Lukas slowly turned around to see her standing right in front of him, a confused look in her eyes. Lukas took in a deep breath, her scent filling his lungs. She was too close, much too close to him.

  Before he could stop himself, he was right in front of her. She gazed up at him, surprise in her eyes and a hint of . . . that couldn’t be longing, could it? Lukas decided to find out.

  He cupped her face with his two hands and brought his lips down to meet hers, kissing her with all the pent-up desire he had been keeping locked away with heavy chains. Now, it was all streaming out.

  But then Annie wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer to her, and Lukas, in the midst of his surprise that she was inviting him to continue, pulled away. Her touching him brought him back down to reality. He was a rogue, and no matter how much he wanted to continue kissing her, he needed to back off.

  He found that he cared about her too much to let her face the consequences of being found with a rogue.

  He turned away from her and cursed how hard he had become from just her touch. Shaking his head, he finally turned back around when he thought he had everything under control.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her, not looking her in the eyes. To say he was embarrassed would be an understatement. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Don’t apologize,” she whispered. Lukas looked up to see her arms crossed over her chest, her gaze on the floor with a mixture of anger and sadness buried between the layers of honey.

  “No, I shouldn’t have put you in that position. I’m truly sorry.”

  She sighed deeply, sitting down on his bed and putting her face in her hands. He didn’t know what to do but stand awkwardly away from her, wondering how he could help. He desperately wanted to sit by her and make her feel better, but he knew that if they were on the same bed, he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

  “I’m so messed up,” she muttered.

  Lukas rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know that kissing a rogue is beyond a sin,” he told her.

  She stood up, angry and her eyes shining bright. “Yeah, well you’re fucked up, too, you know!” she yelled at him.

  “How am I fucked up?” he challenged her, walking closer to her, both of them taking their sexual frustration out on each other.

  “You’re attracted to a halfie! That makes you fucked up. And you’re a rogue, so, if we’re going off of who’s more messed up, you take the cake, my friend.”

  “Please, you have a thing for human men that look like heroin addicts. Seems like you have a bigger problem than me.”

  “Ugh, I had sex with Milo once–once–before you came into town. I didn’t want to continue our little weird sex-with-friends thing, but I had to once you came strolling in and being a total dick!”

  “Wait,” Lukas held up a hand, understanding hitting him and his mind going into overdrive. “Did you just say that you were sleeping with Milo because you were sexually frustrated over me?”

  Annie stood there, glaring at him, an almost embarrassed look in her eyes. Lukas smirked at her, walking closer as he realized that she was almost as bent out of shape about the whole thing as he was.

  “You’re such a dick,” she breathlessly said, then ran out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind her.

  Lukas laughed, rubbing his hand over his face, as he finally came to the conclusion that he was definitely hung up on a halfie. And she was just as hung up on him.

  Chapter 15

  Kaiser knew that he was near his ultimate victory. He could smell it in the air.

  This time, it was fresher. It smelt like mint and pine, combined together in the air, just within his grasp. They had made it to Ireland undetected, taking pack after pack, and leaving trails of blood. Yet those Elders and wise shifters still weren’t onto them.

  Kaiser could only laugh at their stupidity. They were literally out in the open, where anyone could find them, and yet no one could.

  He couldn’t wait until he got to Maine and finally, finally after all these years of plotting his revenge, come face to face with Hann Bellova. The man that killed his father.

  Just thinking about what Hann did drove him mad. The man killed his father in cold blood, and what did the Elders do? Patted Hann on the back and told him that they’d clean his mess up for him.

  And what did the Elders do to Kaiser when he killed a member of his pack? Told him that it was wrong, and he would be executed for everyone to see. Kaiser laughed at this thought. Did the Elders really think they would be able to execute him? No, he broke out of their poorly made prison, and the first chance he got, he left.

  Kaiser imagined what the Elders were doing now. They were probably shivering from fear that he was going to come for them. And he was–oh, yes he was. He was going to shred them and rip them apart, limb by limb, slowly and with so much joy. But that would be after he went after Hann and his pack.

  Yes, he could taste the victory that was sure to come. He couldn’t wait to get to Maine and say hello to Hann, to remind him of everything that he had done. He couldn’t wait to finally get to see the famed halfie that Hann had created and called his own. He couldn’t wait to slowly torture and kill said halfie, all in front of Hann’s face.

  Kaiser laughed in the moonlight as he thought of all the victories that would soon be at his fingertips. His camp was sleeping below him, his family, h
is children. Kaiser never had a family.

  No, after Hann murdered his father, Kaiser’s mother committed suicide. She didn’t even leave a note.

  So, Kaiser was raised by the brutal Czech pack that his father grew up in. But these shifters didn’t like his father, and they sure as hell didn’t like him. Kaiser grew up living in hell, with no one listening to his pleas. The Elders sure didn’t. They told him to shut up and live with it. After all, his father was a crazy madman who had tried to kill an innocent baby and a human. Kaiser didn’t get to have complaints or even a voice. The Elders punished him for his father’s choices from the first day he could remember.

  And now, Kaiser would finally be able to enact his father’s revenge. After all, if Kaiser was to blame for everything his father did, then it was only fitting for him to take on his father’s mission of destroying the shifter society from within, right?

  Kaiser thought so. And he planned on showing the Elders that he was right. Even if it did mean he would have to kill them all.

  Chapter 16

  Annie couldn’t go to dinner after everything that happened with Lukas. She knew she couldn’t sit with Lukas and act like nothing happened so that her father didn’t catch on. Hell, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to be in the same room with him without taking her clothes off and jumping him.

  She felt a little better knowing that she wasn’t the only one in the relationship feeling a certain way. Even though he was a rogue, she would’ve been beyond embarrassed if he wanted nothing to do with her, while she was hanging on his every movement. However, he was a rogue, but no matter what she told herself, she still found herself wanting to be with him in every way and position possible.

  Instead of going to dinner at her father’s, she called him to say she was staying at her house instead to think over everything that he told her about her mother, which was something Annie still didn’t seem able to grasp.