Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2

by Bella Roccaforte

  “I’ve lived around supernatural beings my entire life, and I’ve heard plenty of stories, but that is the most remarkable one I’ve ever heard.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m glad they were able to save you.”

  We were sitting on the floor leaning against the couch, his hand still on mine. He pivoted his body toward me as we stared at each other. My breath heaved with desire as I inhaled his scent.

  His breathing matched mine. His gaze dropped to my lips, and I stretched my neck and touched my mouth to his. It was a barely-there kiss at first, and my lips scarcely skimmed against his, but then the kiss deepened, passion sizzled inside, and the next thing I knew, his tongue was mingling with mine, and I wanted more, much more.

  13

  MILO

  Skye embedded herself into me as the faint sound of thunder roared in the far distance.

  The storm was moving away. An unwelcome signal that I should leave soon. I held her firmly, my hand at the nape of her neck, and I didn’t stop kissing her. She moaned into the kiss, and my body grew hard as her heart beat against mine.

  Our bodies molded together as though they were made for each other. A soft, irrepressible growl escaped my throat, wild and tamed at the same time. She tasted of courage, of honesty, of home and strawberry pie, and I couldn’t get enough of her. My hands almost became a separate entity, roaming up her sides, wanting so much to feel the softness of the skin hidden underneath her T-shirt.

  I stood, pulling her up with me. A repetitive throb reverberated in my head, and I thought the storm was razing again, only to realize it was the rapid beat of my heart pounding like thunder in my ears.

  The palm of her hand rested on my upper arm and I wanted to shout for joy when her fingers inched onto my chest.

  My erection bulged in the too-small sweatpants, nudging against her thigh. She had to feel it. Know it was happening. I wanted to pick her up and carry her to the bed on the other side of the room. It was calling to me, begging us to lay on it.

  Then without warning, she stiffened in my arms, shoving her hand against my chest, pushing me away.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this!” She scowled and turned away. “We can’t do this, Milo. I can’t be with you. You shouldn’t have kissed me.”

  I blinked. What happened to the sweet woman who I had just been kissing?

  “You kissed me,” I pointed out. “And it was nice, so I kissed you back.”

  “It must be the brandy. You shouldn’t have let me.”

  I had to laugh. “I shouldn’t have let you kiss me? Why?”

  “You know I can’t be with a wolf.”

  She started to step away, but I held her arm, turning her back toward me. “Skye, I’m not going to hurt you. Haven’t I proven that to you yet?”

  She shoved me again. “It doesn’t matter. It’s the principle. You’re a wolf shifter. Same as the animals who murdered my parents.”

  I sighed, nodding slightly. I couldn’t blame her. “I understand.”

  I understood too well. Hell, anyone who had been through what she’d been through would be wary of all wolf shifters. I ran my hands through my hair.

  “The rain has subsided, so I think I can call a tow truck now. I’ll go get my clothes and leave.”

  I went to the bathroom and changed into my still-damp clothes. But I figured I wouldn’t have them on for very long. When I came out, Skye was sitting on the floor, her face hidden in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  “No need to apologize. I get it.” I did, actually. I understood completely why she didn’t trust me. I was a wolf. If two scoundrel wolves murdered my parents, I’d be wary of them too. “Though I promise you, I would never hurt you. I’ve never hurt anyone. Especially someone I cared about.”

  She glanced up and her gaze caught mine. Her eyes were moist with the threat of tears. I honestly didn’t want to leave her. I was worried that whoever it was that set that bomb under her car would try something else when they realized she was still alive. I wasn’t sure she understood the threat.

  “If you still want me to take you to get a new phone, I can come back later.”

  “I would like that. Thanks. The service is sketchy here, but I like knowing I have some connection to the outside world even if I have to walk several feet to make it work.”

  “Okay. I’ll be back, and I’ll see if I can set up a meeting for you with Elias.” I shut the door, headed down the short flight of stairs, and shifted to my wolf. Without looking back, I ran to my truck. I glanced around and decided that the water had subsided enough to allow a tow truck through.

  I shifted back to my human form and pulled my phone from my pants and called Issac Kincaid’s garage. But nothing happened. Fuck. I looked at the not there bars at the top of my phone. I had no service. I needed to talk with the sheriff and Elias about Skye before it got too late. She needed protection. I shifted back to my wolf, and I ran at full speed into town.

  When I reached the sheriff’s office, I shifted back to my human self, my clothes magically appearing on my body, almost completely dry. I walked through the door, relieved to see not only Sheriff Templeton but Jagger and Elias.

  “Hey, Milo. I’m glad you’re here. About your girlfriend’s car …” Jagger motioned for me to come toward them.

  “She’s not my girlfriend,” I supplied quickly. Though I would love for her to be, but one kiss, and especially one that was stopped abruptly, didn’t make a woman mine. My wolf twitched inside me. He’d been more than excited during that kiss, and the word mate etched into my heart.

  “Oh? The way you two were bantering back and forth … well, anyway … we were just about to head over to her place. It turns out there was a bomb planted underneath the chassis. It was set to go off shortly after the car stopped.”

  “Our guess is, it was planted under her car when she was in the bar. They tampered with the fuel line so it would stall on her way home. Most likely, set up that way so it wouldn’t happen in public.” Sheriff Templeton frowned and shook his head.

  “Why would someone want to do that to her? And just who is this woman?” It was Elias who asked those two questions.

  I took a couple of steps closer to them and stuck my hands in my pockets. “Her name is Skye.”

  “We know that.” Templeton held up some papers. “We have a copy of her car registration and license.”

  “Right.”

  “What we don’t know is why she is in Dark Moon Falls and why someone would want her dead.” Elias sat on the corner of Templeton’s desk and crossed his legs, placing his fist under his chin. “And you’re the only one who seems to know anything about her.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Well, she told me she was supposed to get in touch with you, Elias, when she first arrived here. But …” I hesitated because this was Skye’s story to tell, yet I knew these guys wanted answers. “That’s why I’m here. She needs protection. She was supposed to contact Elias when she got here and ask for protection. She just got scared and didn’t know who to trust.”

  “Why? Who is she and who is she afraid of?”

  “I’m not sure who she is to you, Elias, but I think it would be better for her to tell you. Plus, I don’t think she should be left alone any longer than necessary at that house. I took a chance and left her to come here, but I don’t want to be gone too long.”

  The sheriff picked up his hat and placed it on his head. It always made him look so much older. Maybe that’s because he’d been sheriff longer than I could remember. “Alright, then. Let’s go.”

  “Can I get a ride with one of you?”

  “Where’s your truck?” Jagger asked as he and the other two walked toward his patrol SUV.

  “It’s stuck in a ditch close to where we are going. The storm was bad when I was leaving, and the road flooded out. I’ll need to call for a tow.”

  “You ran here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, hop in.” Jagger picked up t
he walkie talkie, then glanced back at me. “Where exactly is your truck?”

  “Corner of Feather Falls Creek and Middleton.”

  “Hey, Issac. This is Deputy Johnson. We need a tow truck to meet us at the corner of Feather Falls Creek and Middleton. We have a black Silverado truck stuck in the ditch … Yep, Milo’s … Yeah, he’s here with me. We’ll meet you there in about ten minutes.”

  Issac Kincaid, the owner of the small garage in town and Dark Moon Falls’ only mechanic, already had my truck pulled out of the ditch by the time we arrived. He ran a one-person shop, and I was happily surprised to see he’d arrived before us, which had been my hope since his garage sat on the very edge of town heading toward the forest and Skye’s cottage. She was alone, and the sooner we got my truck out, the better. I would have preferred to wait on that, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  Issac pulled his black baseball cap off and swiped his hand over his forehead. He glanced at me before placing his hat back on his short, dark brown waves. “Hey, Milo. Welcome home.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for getting here so quickly. And getting my truck out.”

  “Yeah. No problem. It wasn’t too difficult to get it out, but it looks like there might be some water in the transmission fluid. You better let me take her in and give her a once over. You don’t want to try starting her up if there’s water in there. There’s no worse way to ruin a transmission than pulling water into it. No charge considering you’ve recently returned home, and I know you don’t have a job yet.”

  Issac was a wolf shifter, a pack member. I’d known him my entire life, though he was a few years older than me, I’d always admired his talent and knowledge of motor vehicles and would trust his opinion about any car or truck I owned. He was a quiet man, a few inches shorter than me, with a muscular frame that could most likely kick my ass.

  “Thanks, Issac. I appreciate it. And I will pay you.” I didn’t want to seem needy in front of Elias. I wanted his respect, and I didn’t think acting like a young kid with no money was the way to get it. I had plenty of savings from working while away at school that would cover the cost. I may have used my father’s money for school, but as my mother explained to me, that was my right as his child. But I had my own money that I’d worked hard for, and I was a grown-ass man and able to take care of myself.

  As Issac pulled onto the main highway with my truck hitched up to the boom of his tow vehicle, the rest of us got back into the SUV and headed down the road to Skye’s. “Thanks for that, Jagger.”

  He glanced into the rearview mirror at me in the backseat. “No problem, kid.”

  I sat back and frowned. I was a twenty-six-year-old man, but I guess I needed to prove myself before these guys were going to think of me as anything other than a young pup. After all, the last time they saw me, I was only eighteen.

  Skye’s cottage looked dark inside with all the shades pulled down. It must be a bitch being allergic to the sun the way she is.

  We all poured out of the SUV and headed up the short stack of stairs to the front door. I was excited that I would be seeing her again so soon.

  “I sure as hell hope that whoever blew up her car hasn’t discovered where she is while you’ve been gone.”

  Jagger’s statement made my palms itch, and anxiety flowed through my veins as I tapped my knuckles against the hard, wooden door.

  14

  SKYE

  Dammit. Why did I have to like Milo so much?

  Unfortunately, there was no way I could ever let myself be with a shifter. I’d always be thinking of how my parents died. But Milo was so different from those wolves who killed my parents. I knew I could trust him. I knew not all wolves were beasts. And didn’t my father tell my mother to bring me here?

  His last dying words to my mother before those goons attacked were to go to Dark Moon Falls and find Elias Grant. And it was her final instruction to me before those wolves came back and took her life. They would have taken mine too if I hadn’t teleported out of there. I prayed that Milo was able to set up a meeting with Elias soon.

  The sound of rapping at the front door jolted me out of my reverie. I jumped up and hurried to it. Surely it was too soon for Milo to come back, and no one else knew I lived here except the sheriff. I purposely kept the shades down, not only to keep the sunlight out but also to make it look like no one was home.

  Pulling the heavy drape aside, I peeked out the window, being careful not to let the sunlight touch me. Four large figures in heavy dark clothing stood on my porch, but all I could see were their backs. I frowned, not recognizing any of them. Then another knock came on the door.

  “Skye, It’s me, Milo. I’ve brought Elias and the sheriff back with me.”

  I sighed with relief, unlatched the chain at the top of the door, and unlocked the deadbolt. I slowly opened the door.

  Milo’s handsome face smiled back at me. “Hey. Can we come in?”

  “We have some information about your car,” the deputy from earlier supplied.

  I stepped aside to let them in. The minute I closed the door, my instincts when on high alert. But I knew I was being ridiculous. They hadn’t done anything to suggest they were terrible people. In fact, they’d been nothing but kind and supportive since I’d arrived in town, but it was rather unsettling, realizing that all four of them were wolf shifters. I knew Milo was, and I knew Elias would be, but I hadn’t counted on Sheriff Templeton and Deputy Johnson also being shifters. I hadn’t picked up the sheriff’s or the deputy’s wolf scent out on the highway since it had been rather windy.

  “Skye, this is Elias.” Milo gestured toward a tall, muscular man with a large scar over his left eye. His light brown hair was short, and he stared at me, the kindness of his smile evident in his brown eyes.

  He held out his hand and I shook it.

  The sheriff and the deputy stood with their hats in their hands.

  “Miss.” Templeton nodded. “As you know, we’ve been investigating the explosion of your car.”

  “Yes. Please, have a seat.” I gestured toward the sofa.

  “Thanks, but that’s okay. We won’t be staying long.”

  I listened to him explain about the bomb, but in truth, I’d already suspected but hadn’t wanted to admit that was the case. Not only from what Milo said, but I knew there were people or beings who wanted me dead.

  The sheriff took a notepad out of the breast pocket of his jacket, opened it, then looked at me. “I realize we asked you this last night, and you said no, but you may have been in shock. I’m hoping maybe now you remember something. So, I ask again, do you know who might want to harm you?”

  I sucked in my lips and shook my head. I couldn’t answer because I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. I wasn’t sure who they were. Only that they murdered my parents and were after me. I was sure that if they ever found me, they would kill me, too.

  “What made you come to Dark Moon Falls?” Elias asked while glancing around the small cottage. “You live here alone?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry. I’m still a bit shell shocked about all this.”

  “Understandable. Anyone would be, right, Elias?” Milo placed his palm on my shoulder. I got the impression that he was trying to get Elias to go easy on me, and I appreciated that, but the Alpha didn’t back off, and I couldn’t blame him. I was here in his territory, bringing danger with me, and he knew it.

  “Why are you here in Dark Moon Falls?” Elias kept his voice steady, authoritative, but compassionate as he repeated his question.

  My gaze flicked to his. “My mother told me to come find you.”

  “Who is your mother?”

  I sucked in my lips again. “Her name was Clarrisa Huntington.”

  “Was?” He frowned.

  “She’s dead.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss. But I don’t recognize that name.”

  “She was married to my father, Marcus Delaney.”

  “Marcus?” Elias’s eyes narrowed as
he stared at me. “You’re Marcus Delaney’s daughter?”

  “Your driver’s license has your last name as Huntington.” The deputy glanced at his notes.

  “My mother and I kept her maiden name. My father felt that it was safer, considering he was born in 1925.”

  “Yes, I know. Marcus was a vampire.” Elias glanced at Jagger then back to me.

  Both the deputy and sheriff looked at Elias. “You know him?”

  “Knew.” I supplied calmly, surprising myself.

  Elias shook his head and rubbed his chin before looking at me. “Marcus was a good friend of mine. I knew he had a daughter. He mentioned you often. I’m sorry to hear that he’s gone. What happened?”

  I didn’t answer right away because the lump in my throat throbbed with the threat of tears.

  “You can trust me. Us.” Elias gestured to everyone around the room. “Your mother was right to send you here.”

  “He was murdered. They both were.”

  “How?”

  I knew I was going to have to explain the horrible event, but it took me a minute to try to talk without breaking down.

  “He was beheaded.”

  The gasps around the room made my eyes tear up, and I swiped away the moisture on my cheeks.

  “I don’t know exactly how it happened. I came home to find my mother kneeling over my father. His head …” I took a deep breath in because it was the first time I’d spoken about the horror of it all to anyone. “His head was on the floor, several feet away from his body.” It had been a horrible sight, and I wished to God, I could unsee it.

  Elias stepped to the sofa and gestured to it. “May I?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  He sat and placed his elbow on the edge, his forehead in his hand. Milo came to me with two glasses of water in his hands. He gave one to me and walked the other over to Elias.

  “Thanks.” Elias drank almost the entire contents down. Then he looked at me. “Do you know who did it?”