Bound to the Moon Read online

  “This wolf is much too bold. Exposing himself with complete disregard to any bystander that might drive by. Why?” Simone lets go of my arm. “Think about it. What wolf would take such a risk?”

  I observe the wolf more closely. He’s tall and bulky, which would automatically make him a Tracker. Often times Trackers also serve as messengers and this one looks like he has something to say.

  Otherwise, he would have attacked Simone and me already. Whatever his intention is, I know harming us isn’t on his agenda. At least not yet.

  “He’s not going away,” I point out. “We might as well go find out what he wants.”

  “What if there’s an ambush waiting for us as soon as we exit the car? We can’t chance it.”

  “Then we’ll have to get rid of this one first before we make a run for it.”

  Simone dips her head slightly before reaching for the door handle. We exit the car at the same time and make our way toward the individual—who’s barely a foot away from the car’s bumper. I stand to his left and Simone to his right. Both of us face him and get ready for a fight. He doesn’t seem particularly confrontational. Nor does he appear intimidated.

  This up close I can make out his scent, but it’s definitely not one I recognize. He’s not from around these parts. But his posture says he’s here for a very important reason.

  The enormous wolf lets out a series of yaps, indicating we should take to the woods after him. Neither of us is particularly comfortable with our predicament but its apparent this wolf has no intention of leaving without taking us to wherever he was ordered to take us.

  Once he’s indicated we should follow him into the woods, the wolf takes off. He sprints toward a grove of trees and disappears within seconds.

  I wait a moment, sniff the air, and immediately catch the scent of about eight individuals. Among them is the wolf descendant of royal blood, Bray Colton.

  “This smells like an ambush,” I grunt. “You should go back and get in the car.”

  “No.” Simone shakes her head vehemently. “I’m not leaving a member of my family behind to be ambushed alone.”

  “If something happens to you, Marquis will kill me,” I object.

  “If something happens to you, Marquis will never forgive me,” she retorts.

  We’re in this together. We either go together or leave together. Simone won’t be easily dissuaded from accompanying me. I can see that clearly.

  “At the first sign of trouble, I want you to head back to the car, drive home and get Marquis.” Simone opens her mouth to protest but I interject by adding, “One of us has to let him know what happened. We can’t just disappear without a trace.”

  I can sense the severity of my statement sinking in as her expression changes. “Okay. I’ll go back,” she grudgingly agrees.

  A series of howls break through the otherwise silent forest—a request to follow the wolf into the woods and meet with the rest of the pack a short distance away. Simone and I exchange wary looks before starting in the same direction the wolf took just moments before.

  Chapter Eight

  I take the lead, carefully placing one foot in front of the other as I walk in the direction the large wolf took moments before me. Being of an impressive size, he left a path of broken lower branches and disturbed soil hard to miss up close.

  Then again, he wasn’t trying to hide his presence.

  I break through the clearing first and, just as my sensitive sense of smell predicted, I find eight werewolves, seven of which are Trackers and large in size.

  “I understand you go by the name Rousseau?” Bray stands surrounded by the Trackers, including the one who stopped our commute back home. Though I don’t think their presence is at all necessary. Bray is impressive all on his own. I can sense the amount of power and strength, which practically exudes from him.

  He’s not your average wolf.

  “Why have you brought us here?” I take a few more steps forward and then stop, lifting my chin up defiantly. I don’t care who he is. I won’t show any sign of submissiveness to anyone. Especially to a wolf I don’t know.

  “Straight and to the point, I see.” He folds his arms over his chest and smiles. “You struck me as quite the character. There’s so much fire in here—” he points to his chest with two fingers. “Your family has a valuable asset on their hands.”

  “What’s your point?” I listen carefully for any signs of wolves hiding at a distance, but I pick up no more scents nor do I hear the distant drumming of abnormally large hearts.

  We’re alone.

  “Who are you?” Simone demands next to me.

  “My Lady.” Bray bows slightly as a sign of respect. I find his behavior odd. I haven’t seen such a sophisticated, well-mannered, aristocratic wolf in my life. He’s definitely of royal blood. The older the wolf the more he or she sticks to the old ways.

  Like I said before, we are creatures of habit.

  “I believe we did not have the opportunity to be properly introduced before, Matron. I am Bray Colton, alpha and leader of the Colton pack.” He’s polite, refined, well-polished and I’m even more suspicious because of it. “You must be the alpha’s mate.”

  “Simone Rousseau,” she introduces herself. “And as the alpha’s mate, I would like for you to state your business.”

  “Actually, I was hoping to talk to your husband,” he starts, making it clear that whatever he wishes to discuss will only be said with Marquis present. “But I’d like to get a word in with you.” He points to me.

  “What about?” I ask, keeping a close eye on the seven Trackers. They haven’t moved an inch since we arrived, but their posture is stiff, tense, as if they’re in the midst of an eminent battle.

  “The girl.”

  I clench my fists to the sides. “Are you here to claim her?”

  He has power. I can clearly sense that, but is he the alpha we’ve been looking for? It doesn’t seem plausible but he might be trying to throw us off.

  “Claim her?” He arrogantly cocks his head to the side; his eyes hold a hint of defiance. “While I will be honest and say I have come to this small settlement because of the girl, I have no intention of claiming her.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I understand she’s caused quite the stir among the packs in the area. Yours included.”

  His mocking undertone isn’t lost on me.

  “And after being within a short distance of her, I can see why.”

  “You know who she is?”

  “I suspect I do.” Bray’s hands fall to the side. “And I suspect the invading alpha will be moving in on her sooner than you expect.”

  “How would you know?” My eyes narrow as I stare at him. I have the impression he knows a lot more than he’s willing to admit.

  “A prize like that. Why would he wait for the next full moon when he could have use of her even before she’s physically able to shift for the very first time?”

  His words were practically a confirmation.

  “What do you know that we don’t?”

  “By the look of surprise on your face I’m assuming you do not know everything there is to know about the girl’s mysterious...condition.”

  Anger boils up inside of me. I’m on the verge of seeing red. I want to rip this man’s throat open and find out for myself what he knows. Only Simone’s fingers wrapped around my wrist keep me from acting impulsively.

  “She attracts our kind without even trying. There’s a reason behind this, surely you must know. Ah,” he runs one finger over his chin, “but perhaps you don’t know.”

  “And you do? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

  “When I arrived at Wolf Creek Hollow I thought I was once again chasing empty rumors, but I’m fairly certain the girl called, Marjorie, is the right one.”

  I feel my heart skip a beat.

  “The thing is...she’s liable to be abducted from the very hospital she’s taken refuge in. Some staff members have questi
onable work ethic, if you get my meaning.”

  Simone’s hold on my wrist tightens.

  “As it turns out, the small hospital is the worst place she could have gone to.”

  “We took her there. For medical attention,” I explain.

  “Why? You should have been more aware of the risks.”

  “She’s not like us. She can’t heal on her own,” I defend.

  “Can’t she?” He challenges with a lift of his brow.

  I shift my weight from one foot to another. Can Marjorie self-heal? We never thought to put it to test. We just assumed she couldn’t.

  “Regardless of why she ended up at the hospital, it’s in her best interest to be removed immediately. She doesn’t have enough time as you may have thought.”

  “Why are you telling us all this? Why do you care?”

  “Kyran!” Simone’s grip intensifies as my anger threatens to boil over completely.

  What is really going on here? Are we being played? I’m not even sure I should give this wolf the benefit of the doubt. He doesn’t seem trustworthy.

  “No!” I turn my gaze to Simone. “Why should we trust anything he says? He’s sided with Kenny and I don’t trust either of them.”

  “What if he’s telling us the truth?” she argues back.

  “What would be the reason for that?” I retort. “He wouldn’t be telling us this unless he has something to gain from it.”

  “You should show some respect to your elders, boy.”

  The gruff voice catches my attention right away and I turn, surprised to find a tall, dark-skinned man standing where the wolf of golden-brown fur had stood moments before. He’s impressive in size even in his human form. He could easily measure seven feet tall and as I take in little details of his appearance—like the wolf paw tattooed to the upper right side of his chest—he finishes tying a pair of breaches around his waist.

  “Don’t you know this man is several hundred years older than you are?” His voice is slightly accented but I’m not sure as to the origins. British perhaps? “And direct descendant of a king no less? Where are your manners?”

  “Don’t fret, Bayard. He’s feisty. He needs to be if he’s going to save the girl’s life.” There’s no sign of offense on Bray’s features. In fact, he seems pleased by my behavior. This throws me off even more.

  “Pups nowadays have no respect. They don’t follow the norms. They’re left to run wild and as a result, we have this mess in our midst.” The man shakes his head in disgust, the long dreadlocks that fall down to his midsection, sway back and forth, as he does.

  There’s something very regal about the elder tracker, but I’m not sure why that is. One look at him and I know he’s lived far longer than any other wolf I’ve ever met, including those of my own bloodline. He’s even older than Bray. I have no doubt his height and bulkiness is used as intimidating tools often.

  He commands respect as well. He may not be of royal blood but he’s one adversary I would not think lightly about crossing the wrong way.

  “Is the girl that important to you that you’d cross us in such a disrespectful way?”

  I take a step forward. “I don’t care who you are. If you’re here to threaten Marjorie in any way, I won’t hesitate to kill you. Descendant of royal blood or not.”

  Shocked, Simone pulls on my arm. “Kyran! Please! Don’t provoke them.” I can understand her panic. We’re outnumbered and even though normally this isn’t a problem for us, these aren’t betas. They’re worthy opponents. Royal Trackers and a descendant of a King wolf. It would take only one of them to take us both down.

  Far from appearing offended, Bray simply smiles. The wolf he called by the name of Bayard, isn’t as amused. He stares back at me as if wishing he could tear me to pieces.

  “A word of advice, Kyran.” Bray reaches into his pants pocket and removes a folded piece of paper, which he holds out to me. “If you really want to save Marjorie, take her away from this place. Take her as far away as you can think of and leave no trail for the wolves in the area to follow.”

  He then strolls calmly over to me and offers me the piece of paper.

  “Read this. In it you will find relevant information you need to take into deep consideration.”

  Without another word, the Trackers turn and begin to move further into the woods. Bray turns to follow but I step forward and call his name.

  “What’s your motive?”

  He stops and stands with his back to me. Beside him, the giant, Bayard, keeps guard.

  “Motive?”

  “Why would you tell us this? What do you get out of it? How do I know you didn’t play this game with Kenny Marshall, too?”

  “Are you suspicious of him?”

  I want him to face me, but he just stands there with his back to me.

  “Haven’t I made that clear?”

  “As well you should be. Right now, you cannot afford to trust any wolf. Her life depends on it.”

  “Good, I’ll make sure to add you to that list as well.”

  Bray turns to face me then. “I’d be offended if you left me out,” he says matter-of-factly. “You will find what my true motives are in time, but if you wish to know the whole story,” he removes the same card he had offered me back at the hospital and presents it to me, “then have your alpha call me so that we can arrange a meeting. I’d leave the decision making up to you, but you’re not the alpha even if it’s in you to be the dominant one.” He bows his head slightly. “Alas, I have to follow the rules and go by blood order.”

  I take the card and stuff it in my pants pocket without looking at it.

  “And please be quick about it. I will be leaving town in less than a week and I’d like to talk to your alpha before I take my leave.” That said, he turns and continues walking away from Simone and me with the elder Tracker faithfully keeping pace alongside him.

  Chapter Nine

  “Bray Colton? I have never heard of such a name.” Marquis stares at his hands as if the answers to all our predicaments were written on them. “I heard of a Bray ValKhazar once—a long time ago. He was grandson to the King, Lykos ValKhazar, but supposedly died during the 1500’s revolt at the Carlisle Castle in England.”

  “You don’t think they can be one in the same?” Alexis asks.

  Our family has fallen further into a state of helplessness. Not only do we have Marjorie, her family, and the invading pack to worry about, but Bray as well.

  “His right-hand tracker did mention Bray is descendant of a King. He could have been referring to Lykos,” I offer.

  “But it doesn’t make any sense. None of it makes any sense.” Marquis rests his head in his hands for a moment. “If they are the same Bray, why would he come out of hiding after five hundred years? Why did he wait so long?”

  “I don’t think he was in hiding at all,” I say.

  Marquis lifts his head to look at me. “What do you mean?”

  “He said that he came here thinking he was chasing rumors once again. So, maybe, he wasn’t hiding, but looking for the Lost Child.”

  All eyes are on me.

  “If he really is Lykos ValKhazar’s grandson, it would explain why he’s looking for Marjorie,” I add.

  Simone’s eyes fill with hope. “So maybe he’s not a threat at all, but an ally.”

  The room is filled with tension so palpable I feel like something or someone’s going to break if we move too fast. So far we’ve manage to fix nothing. And when it comes to answers, we have none. Questions... we have plenty. Unfortunately, there’s no way to find out what we need to know since no one seems to have proof and those that might are not willing to share.

  Like Bray Colton. What are the chances that he doesn’t know the whole story? In my opinion, he might be little too involved in what’s going on.

  “That’s if he is the real Bray. What if he’s just an imposter? Using the King’s grandson’s history in his favor? For all we know he could be the alpha putting yet another pla
n in motion,” Alexis comes forward.

  “I don’t trust him either,” I speak up. “He seems to know things he wasn’t willing to share with us. That alone is enough to condemn him in my eyes.”

  “Let’s call him and arrange a meeting then,” Marquis suggest. “We can speak face to face and determine, as a family, what we need to do.”

  There’s so much going on in my head. So many things I wish I could resolve with a snap of my fingers, but I can’t and my shoelaces are taking the brunt of my frustration as I tear at them with my claws.

  “Shouldn’t we wait until Uncle Jean-Claude gets here?” Alexis stands and begins pacing the length of Marquis’s office. “He said he had information.”

  “If push comes to shove, I’ll follow Bray’s advice,” I don’t look up at my siblings. I can feel their stares, even as my gaze remains glued to my shoe.

  “We can’t act hastily,” Marquis directs his words to me. “Marjorie needs to be protected. Even from you.”

  I toss a dirty look in his direction. “Must you always throw that in my face? Why don’t you just say exactly what’s on your mind rather than hinting here and there? If you have something you need to get off your chest, go ahead.”

  “No.” Simone glares first at Marquis than at me. She sits on the windowsill and even though she doesn’t move from her position, her defensive posture is enough for us to realize she means business. “We’re not going to fight among ourselves.”

  “Kyran—”

  A knock on the front door interrupts whatever Marquis is about to say.

  “That must be the cleanup crew.” Marquis stands. “Alexis, please let our guests in.” Even though he’s talking to my brother, his eyes are focused on me.

  Alexis walks out without a word and a moment later the sound of a pair of exuberant voices fill the silent void left by our bickering. I wait in my seat, not feeling up to greeting the new arrivals. They are familiar wolves, but the few memories we share aren’t entirely pleasant.

  I sense, more than see the two men approach. Soon thereafter, a loud voice resonates across Marquis’s office.