Taming the Moon (19 page)

Zoe’s bottom lip trembled. “Why was Uncle Eddy so mean, Mommy? Did I do something to make him mad?”

Poor little sprite. She had such a tender heart, and loved Eddy like he was a real uncle. Olivia couldn’t bring herself to destroy the illusion. Not yet. But she wouldn’t let Zoe think any of this was her fault. “No, honey.” She smoothed hair away from Zoe’s face. “You didn’t do anything except be your sweet self. If he’s mad at anyone, it’s me.”

“But why?”

“I’ll explain later, I promise.” She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “But now I have to go back. You be a good girl and stay with my friend, okay?”

Zoe looked at Pelicia, and the woman gave her a warm smile. “Hullo, honey.”

Apparently put somewhat at ease, Zoe turned back to Olivia. “Okay.” Anxiety rasped in her voice, and Olivia’s heart broke to see that, even as slight as it might be, Zoe had suffered from being apart from her. She pulled her daughter into a tight hug for several long seconds. “I love you, baby.” She pulled back. “I’ll see you again, real soon, I promise.”

Zoe nodded. “I love you, too, Mommy.”

Olivia bit her lip and looked over Zoe’s head at Pelicia. “You should go back to your house now. Take care of
her.” Her voice came out husky from a throat tight with love and fear and remorse.

Pelicia’s fine brows drew down. “But what about Declan and the others? They’ll need a ride home.”

Olivia glanced at Zoe. Pelicia was right, but Olivia didn’t want her daughter to remain anywhere near Eddy.

“We’ll be all right here.” Pelicia gave her a reassuring smile and briefly showed her the gun she’d tucked in her waistband. “You go help the guys. And be careful.”

Olivia nodded. With a last look at her daughter, she turned and ran back toward the ranch house. About halfway there she stopped at a pile of rocks and took off her clothes. She dropped them behind the rocks, careful not to disturb anything in case something venomous was hiding beneath them.

She went down on her hands and knees and called upon her wolf. While the power of the supernatural went to work, her back bowed, her fingers and toes digging into the sand as pain lanced through her body. A feeling of a final slide, her mind going slightly fuzzy, and the transition was complete.

She sprinted the rest of the way, much faster on four paws than on two feet. When she burst into the house, the sounds of fighting drew her back to the living room.

Declan was on the floor in human form, bleeding from several deep wounds. She skidded to a halt, sorrow clutching her until she saw his chest rise and fall. Still alive.

Good.

Walter lay over by the picture window. He was still part wolf, part man. His chest wasn’t moving. Dead.

Better.

The fight had progressed from the living room into a sunroom. When she reached the doorway, she had to step
over the body of a wolf. It wasn’t one she recognized. She paused and looked at the two remaining werewolves who were fighting. One was fully wolf—Sully—and the other was in his man-wolf form.

Eddy.

He always felt superior being in a form between that of wolf and man. She knew it was because his cousin didn’t have that ability, which meant she was standing over Ryder. She chuffed and nuzzled him, and he opened his eyes on a whine. He looked toward the fight as if telling her to help Sully. She gave Ryder a quick lick on his muzzle and then launched herself into the fight.

Her attack caught Eddy by surprise, flinging him off his feet and onto the floor. The fall made Sully skid across the tile. He banged up against the wall and slid to his belly, panting.

Eddy knocked her away before she could fasten her teeth around his throat. “Bitch!” He scrambled to his knees and grabbed her by the scruff.

He was bleeding from several wounds, some made by claws and some from teeth. Some deep and some superficial. None mortal.

Yet.

He brought one hand around, claws extended. She yipped and struggled in his hold. If he had a chance to rake those claws across her vulnerable throat, she was done for.

Sully charged to her rescue, teeth and claws bringing more blood as he latched on to one of Eddy’s inner thighs.

Eddy screamed, a loud, shrill sound that echoed in the glass-encased room.

She saw blood spurt and knew that Sully had bitten into Eddy’s femoral artery.

They just had to hold on for another few minutes. If she
could get at him, it would take even less time to finish him off.

Eddy kept one hand on Olivia’s scruff, holding her at bay, while he pounded his fist on the top of Sully’s head, trying to dislodge him.

Sully held on, growling low in his throat. Blood streamed over his muzzle, the coppery smell strong in the air. Eddy finally threw Olivia away from him, but not very far. He was fading fast.

She charged back at him, dodging his swipe at her, and fastened her teeth in his neck.

Hot blood filled her mouth. She bit down harder, locking her jaws, and began shaking her head back and forth. The bastard had done this to her, turned her into a monster. Made her afraid for her daughter’s life every damn day over the last three years.

Made her witness things that would haunt her dreams until the day she died.

She and Zoe—and Sully and his friends—would never be safe until Eddy was dead. And she aimed to be the one to do it.

He’d wanted to turn her into a murderer, after all.

Be careful what you wish for
.

Turn the tables.

Sweet justice.

She felt a blow to the side of her head, heavy enough to make her wince, but not strong enough to dislodge her. Another blow, and she snarled and violently shook her head. She pulled free a big chunk of his throat, spit it out, and went after him again.

Bastard. Enemy.

Die.

The blows against her head came more slowly, and were
much softer. After several seconds, they stopped altogether. Still she kept her teeth in his throat. He had to die.

Now.

Forever
.

She vaguely became aware of Sully’s voice, murmuring to her, soft over her own deep-throated growls.

“It’s all right, Olivia. You can let go now.”

When had he shifted back to human? She’d been so intent on finally stopping Eddy that she hadn’t noticed. But what was he saying? She should let go?

Only when Eddy was dancing with the devil.

She growled again, tightening her jaws. He had to die. She wouldn’t let go until he did.

Fingers stroked through the fur along her back. “Let him go, sweetheart. He’s dead.”

She paused and listened. Her heartbeat. Sully’s heartbeat.

Nothing from Eddy.

Olivia slowly released her grip, realizing for the first time her jaws ached from being clenched so tightly. She ran her tongue along her muzzle, licking away sticky blood.

Eddy’s eyes were open. Staring.

Dead.

She lifted her head and howled, closing her eyes as emotions roiled through her.

Sorrow.

Gladness.

Remorse.

Satisfaction.

Human.

Wolf.

She let the howl trail off and lowered her head to look at Sully. More sorrow.

Because he’d shifted back to his human form, most of his wounds had healed or nearly healed. He was naked, as they all would be after they shifted, which was why they’d packed extra clothing in the SUV.

The look on his face laid his emotions as bare as the rest of him—loathing, confusion, regret. Deep unhappiness.

She backed away from Eddy, never taking her gaze off Sully. He hated her and rightly so. She’d taken something from him that he’d never get back. And, seeing how much of a monster she was, he most likely held her in revulsion as well.

She took a few more steps away from him. She couldn’t read his expression, and tried to put as much remorse in her wolfen gaze as she could. She couldn’t bear to hear him tell her he hated her, that he’d been mistaken when he’d thought he loved her, so she turned away.

“Olivia.”

She paused but didn’t turn to face him. When he didn’t say anything more, she glanced at him over one shoulder. When he still didn’t say anything, she blinked slowly and then turned away. She stepped carefully over Ryder, who had transformed back to human.

Then she ran as if the hounds of hell were at her heels.

Upon reaching her rental car, she paused by the side of it and returned to her human form, suffering through the transformation silently. As in the early days after a shift, when she was fully human again tears streamed down her face. She opened the door and was about to get in when she heard her name being called.

She looked across the roof of the car and saw Calvin
standing on the other side of the vehicle. God, if he’d been on Eddy’s side, she’d have been dead. She hadn’t even heard him approach. She watched him warily.

“Is he dead?” he asked.

Olivia nodded. Deciding to go with her gut feeling—that Calvin hated Eddy and would have done what he could to ensure his demise—she said, “It’s over, Cal. You can get your family and get the hell out of New York. Start over somewhere.”

He gave an abrupt nod, hatred for Eddy seething in his eyes. “I saw you, you know. Drag Sullivan off into the desert after Peter ran him over.” He drew in a breath. “I didn’t tell Eddy because I figured you’d switched sides. Eddy talked about his cousin to me often enough. I knew about this obsession he had. So I took care of Peter. And once I heard Merrick was on his way, I figured the four of you were more than enough to handle Eddy, Walter, and Aaron.”

“You were right.” She rotated her head, trying to work out the kinks that the shift and tension had wrought. Her nudity in front of him didn’t faze her; he’d seen her naked plenty of times after the pack had taken a run together. “Thank you.”

He nodded again. “You can start over, too, you know.”

“I plan to.” She’d even thought about not returning to New York at all. She’d go get Zoe from Pelicia and head back to the hotel for the night. In the morning she’d call the landlord and tell him to sell whatever he could. She’d buy what they needed wherever they finally ended up.

“Have a good life, Liv.”

She’d have a life. But without Sully, it wouldn’t be good.

S
ully stayed where he was for a moment, swallowing back the bile that rose in his throat at the thick taste of blood. He wasn’t feeling sick because of the taste or texture, but because he’d
enjoyed
it.

Damn Olivia. She’d done this to him. And then lied about it.

Well, technically she hadn’t told a lie, but not telling the full truth was the same as a lie in his mind.

As anger surged, his eyes burned. Need,
want
tightened his gut. God. The damn wolf was always at the door, demanding to be set free.

A low mutter from Ryder drew his attention. Sully got up and walked over to where his friend still lay in the doorway between the two rooms. The room was in near darkness, the only light coming through the glass from an outside bulb several yards away. “You okay?”

“Do I look okay?” Blood smeared Ryder’s right cheek from a cut perilously close to his eye, and several gashes across his chest had knit closed but still looked raw and pink. He struggled to sit up, his breath coming hard and fast from between pursed lips, and Sully reached down to
help him. Ryder blew out a breath. “I’ll be fine. Go see to Dec.”

From what Sully could see, Ryder’s wounds weren’t too serious, so he straightened and went over to Declan. Squatting beside him, Sully reached down and patted his cheek. “Declan?”

Declan groaned but didn’t move.

Sully perused his friend’s body. He didn’t see any obvious, serious wounds, though he supposed there could be some on Declan’s back that he couldn’t see. But, knowing Dec, he was just milking it for all it was worth to get sympathy wherever he could. “Come on.” Sully made kissy noises with his lips. “Open your eyes and give us a kiss.”

“Bugger off.” Declan groaned again and rolled to his side, then to a sitting position. He drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Damn, but that bastard was big.” He glanced around the room. “Where’s Olivia?”

Sully pressed his lips together, then said, “She just took off. Probably gone to get Zoe and hightail it out of here.” His voice rasped with anger.

Declan frowned. “That’s what she was supposed to do, remember?” He stared at Sully. “What bee crawled up your ass?”

“Olivia’s the one who attacked Sully back on St. Mary’s.” Ryder struggled to his feet and walked over to them, as unconcerned about his nudity as Declan seemed to be.

While sitting around a sauna or showering in a locker room with a bunch of naked men was fine with Sully, standing there starkers after all of them had just gone wolf was a bit too surreal for his puny little brain to process. He pushed it aside as best he could.

Also not wanting to discuss Olivia at the moment, he ignored Declan’s shocked expression and looked at the dead
bodies. Both Miles and Walter were still in that horrific state between man and wolf. “Are we sure they’re really dead?”

“There’s a surefire way to make sure.” When Sully and Declan looked at Ryder, he shrugged. “I’ve had a previous encounter. Plus this has been in my family for generations, you know.”

Sully grimaced and gave a nod of agreement. “What’s your surefire way?”

“Decapitation.”

Sully looked at Declan, who raised his eyebrows but didn’t seem surprised. “Did a lot of reading,” he mouthed.

Sully looked back at Ryder and repeated, “Decapitation? You must be joking.”

Ryder heaved a sigh. “No, I’m afraid I’m very serious.” He looked down at himself and shook his head. “This damn nudity is quite inconvenient at times.”

“That’s what I thought.” Sully glanced down at himself and was surprised at the slight hard-on he saw. He’d just been in a fight to the death, had been wounded—not badly, but still!—and yet his randy cock didn’t seem to care.

Shifting back from wolf made him ready for sex. Too bad there wasn’t anyone there to help him with the problem.

His lips thinned. An hour ago he would have happily wandered off with Olivia to fuck like a couple of bunnies on Viagra. But not now.

“That happens, remember?” Declan gestured to his own semi-erection. “This is when you go hunt your woman down and have her share a shower with you.” His face sobered into a faux serious expression. “For water conservation purposes, of course.”

“Of course.” Sully had a mind to hunt down a particu
lar woman, but sharing a shower was not on the agenda. Getting answers was.

Declan pushed to his feet. He staggered a bit but soon righted himself by bracing a hand on the wall. “We need to take care of these two and the one I left out on the front porch.” He peered through the big picture window. “There’s an outbuilding there.” He lifted one hand and pointed.

Sully glanced through the window into the darkness and saw the building, one corner of it illuminated by a light affixed near the roof. Other than that light, the area was in complete darkness.

Providing perfect cover for a few werewolves who wanted to hide some bodies.

He shook his head. If he weren’t living it, he’d think it was all a dream.

A nightmare.

“I’ll go see if there are any shovels so we can dig a couple graves. What we’ll use for decapitation…” Declan shrugged and shot a look at Sully. “Then you can tell me more about Olivia bein’ the one who turned you.” He cocked an eyebrow and ambled out of the room.

Sully drew in a deep breath and released it slowly through pursed lips. He looked at Ryder. “We’re supposed to take care of these guys while we’re completely starkers?”

Ryder’s eyes crinkled with his quick grin. “Well, it’s bound to be messy and dirty, so I suppose it’s best we don’t ruin the clean clothes we brought.” He sobered. “With any luck this is the last time we’ll ever have to deal with something like this.”

“Amen to that.” Sully licked dry lips and scrubbed the
back of his neck with one hand. This was so out of his realm of experience. Every instinct he had as a cop was telling him to call in the authorities. But what the hell would they tell the cops? That the three dead men were really werewolves who had tried to kill them? Oh, and to make sure the dead stayed dead they had to chop off their heads?

Or, no. Maybe it was some sort of birth defect that made them look so horrific. Sure, the cops would buy that explanation just as well.

Sully would never see British soil again. He’d be thrown into the American equivalent of Bedlam so fast his head would be spinning for years.

He
had
to listen to those other instincts, the dark ones that said they had to hide what had happened there and walk away when it was all done. That he could never tell anyone—ever—about it. Only those who were involved would know, and he was certain every one of his friends would take the secret to their graves.

But…what about Olivia? He couldn’t help feeling betrayed, but now that the adrenaline rush was fading, he could reflect on the circumstances that had brought him to that point in time.

Olivia had been turned into a werewolf unwillingly, just like him. She’d had a young daughter to protect as best she could, and when that little girl had been threatened, Olivia had done what any mother would. She’d responded to the threat.

He thought back to that critical day at Pelicia’s, pushed his way past the shock of it, to reflect on the actual attack. The wolf had been on him so fast he’d not had a chance to do anything except lift his arms to try to protect himself. He remembered the pain of the bites, the sound of her
snarling growls, the feral look in her eyes. She’d been determined, all right. From the moment she’d brought him to the floor, she’d planned to kill him.

But then she’d hesitated. At the time he’d thought it was because she’d heard Declan on the stairs, but now he realized the hesitation had come seconds before that. Even in his groggy, shocked state, he’d seen the indecision in her eyes.

Then Declan had started down the stairs and the decision had been taken away from her. She’d fled, and Sully’s life had changed forever.

Had Olivia not turned him into a werewolf, he would never have survived that hit-and-run. Of course, he wouldn’t have been walking along a road in Tucson to begin with if Olivia hadn’t turned him. But that aside, any other attempt on his life by Miles or another of his minions would most likely have been successful—and there
would
have been another attempt. It was only because of the enhanced healing abilities that lycanthropy offered that he was standing there right now.

Regardless of what he had said to her earlier about finishing the job, he was damn glad to still be standing.

Declan walked back into the house carrying three shovels. He handed one to Sully and another to Ryder. “There’s a nice spot behind the outbuildin’ that will do for an impromptu cemetery,” he said. “Grab a body and let’s go.” He turned back toward the front of the house. “I’ll get the guy on the front porch.”

Sully glanced toward Miles. “I’ll let you have the honors,” he said to Ryder.

Ryder gave a nod and walked over to his cousin’s body. He stood there a moment, staring down at him. “It could have been so different,” he murmured. “Why did he think
he had to have it all and leave me with nothing?” His shoulders rose with his deep breath. “Why in the hell did he even want a life like this?”

“I guess we’ll never know.” Sully bent and lifted Walter over his shoulder, staggering a bit at the weight. He straightened, balancing the corpse with the hand that held the shovel, and started toward the door. “All I care about is that it’s finally over.”

“Is it?” Ryder lifted Miles and fell into step behind Sully. “What about Olivia?”

As they walked outside, Sully noticed that Olivia’s car was gone. Cold rushed through him at the thought that she’d disappeared from his life, and then white-hot anger at remembering she was the reason for the life he now had.

He tightened his mouth. He was so goddamn confused, and that was her fault, too. He didn’t know if he wanted to shake her for not being completely up front with him, or kiss her and try to take away all her pain.
Their
pain.

Christ. What a mess.

They headed toward the spot where Declan waited, and Ryder asked again, “What about Olivia?”

“I heard that,” Declan called. “You wait until you get here. I’ve two cents to add to this conversation.”

“Of course he does.” Sully shook his head. When he reached Declan, he bent and laid Walter on the ground. He grimaced at the feel of blood sliding down his back. He glanced at the dead man and then at the shovel in his hand. Lifting his gaze to Ryder, he asked, “It’s really not enough to just bury them?”

Ryder shook his head. “Listen. Declan and I can take care of this. You should go find Olivia. Talk to her.”

“He’s right,” Declan added before Sully could respond. “So what if she’s the one that turned you? Can you hon
estly say you’re not the better for it? After what we’ve just been through?”

Sully grimaced. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see Olivia again. Yet he was equally sure he did.

Anger still roiled beneath the surface. Yet the thought of never seeing her again caused his gut to twist.

He went with something he could deal with. “Just how am I supposed to function as a cop, Dec? What am I supposed to do if I’m still working when the full moon rises? Tell my team I need to have a private moment and duck around the corner so I can turn into a wolf? And then what?”

“Come work with me. As a private investigator,” Declan clarified. At Sully’s skeptical look, he said, “We’ll talk about it more later, but I mean it. For now, get cleaned up an’ go talk to Olivia.”

He was right. He and Olivia needed to clear the air and see if, once everything was sorted out as to who’d done what and why, there was anything real between them. Sully nodded and started to turn toward the house when he saw a strange man heading toward them.

Ryder and Declan heard him, too, and their heads turned in his direction.

A faint, familiar scent of sage wafted to Sully—werewolf. He stiffened and held the shovel horizontal to his body like a weapon.

The man slowed and held up his hands. “I’m not here to fight with you. My name’s Calvin.”

He was the one Olivia had told them about—the one who’d lost his family to Miles’ depravity.

“What do you want?” Sully asked, not loosening his grip on the shovel.

Calvin stopped a few feet away and tipped his chin to
ward the bodies. “I’ll take care of them. And I’ll clean up the blood inside.” He gazed around at the dilapidated buildings. “This place was abandoned by the owners, who, as you can see, couldn’t afford its upkeep. The bank foreclosed on it a few months ago, so no one should be coming around for a while.” He looked back at them. “Long enough for me to scrub it clean, at any rate. So go on. Get out of here.”

“And just how do we know you’ll take care of ’em, boyo?” Declan leaned one arm on his shovel, looking nonchalant and relaxed, but Sully could sense the coiled tension in his friend. One wrong move from the other werewolf, and the Irishman would be on him in a flash.

Hell, he’d have three werewolves who weren’t in particularly jovial moods on him before he could blink.

Calvin’s eyes sparked with amber. “I hate him,” he said, pointing to Miles. “He killed my family. Did Olivia tell you that? It was just me and them. I’d lost their mother years before that—cancer. When Eddy first turned me, the only thing I regretted is that it didn’t happen while my wife was still alive. That way…” His voice broke, and he paused, clearly fighting to regain control of his emotions. He shook his head. “The way things turned out, I’m glad she didn’t live to see what happened. Bastard took my children and…” His lips tightened. A lone tear slid down his cheek. Voice fierce, he said, “I’m glad he’s dead. The only thing I’m sorry about is that I didn’t get the chance to end him myself.”

Sully glanced at Ryder and Declan, who both gave abrupt nods. Sully nodded, too, and held out the shovel.

Calvin came forward and took it, then walked past him. With his back toward them, he said, “Thanks.”

“For what?” Sully asked.

Calvin motioned toward the men at his feet. “You haven’t just set Olivia and Zoe free of this bastard. You just freed a hell of a lot of other people, including me and mine.” He glanced at them briefly before raising the shovel over his head.