A Werewolf's Moon (The Council) (2 page)

Maybe in a few weeks I would be.

Only time would tell.

“I feel sick,” I mumbled. “I feel like a freaking walking abomination.”

Venna urged me to sit at the counter in the kitchen, and started making a couple cups of chamomile tea.
“Sugar or honey?”

“Blood,”

She pushed a red curl out of her eyes and frowned. “What?”

“Blood.
Werewolf blood.
In my body.”
I pointed at my face. “I’m not wearing glasses. Please explain to me how I woke up this morning with perfect vision, and get a terrible headache when I try to wear my glasses!”

Venna came around the counter and put her hand to my forehead. “Are you sure you aren’t sick?”

“Venna listen to me. Quinn and I were trapped in the mill. Like sardines we were mushed together. I was banged up. He was banged up.
Whammo
! I’m the next teen wolf!” I frowned. “This morning I ate bacon. I went to Minnie’s for my tofu scramble and nearly puked when she brought it out. So I had bacon…and eggs, and toast with real butter.”

Venna opened the fridge and got out a package of bologna and set it in front of me. “Prove it.”

Without flinching I opened it and bit into a piece. “Happy? It tastes like heaven. Oh, and I would do anything for a rare steak right about now.”

“Holy crap,” Venna ran a hand through her curls and plopped down on the stool beside to me.
“How?
I mean…you haven’t eaten meat in years.”

“Yeah, it surprised the dog poo out of me. I felt like I’d committed a crime or something.
All those years of being a PETA member.
No food with a face. Animals have
feelings too. It’s all just…gone.” I ate another piece of bologna. “What am I going to do? I mean, are we sure that I’ve gone to the dogs? Can we reverse it?”

“I don’t know, but we need to talk to Quinn, now.”

“I am so not looking forward to this conversation.” I waited while Venna made a quick phone call, asking Quinn to drop by, conveniently leaving out the reason why she wanted to see him.

There was a slight breeze, and before I could say Fido, the prince of the werewolves was standing in the kitchen. He dwarfed us and the space.
The mean, grouchy, mangy wolf.
We didn’t exactly like each other.
After escaping from the mill it was like he had a change of personality.
So now, if I really was a werewolf, I’d have to deal with him as my…whatever it is they called the person who turned another person.

Sire?

Master?

Chief?

Whatever it was, it was doggone
craptastic
.

I had to get stuck with Mr. Personality.

“Hey, Venna, what is it that you needed?” Quinn was asking my friend this, but he was looking right at me, and he d
idn’t look happy. More like he
smelled something akin to yesterday’s garbage.

“It’s not me,” Venna said, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’s
Pepper
. She’s…she’s not feeling like herself.”

Quinn grunted. “Do I look like a doctor?”

I rolled my eyes, “Actually, I may need a vet.”

“What?”

Venna gave me a nudge and I pointed to the bologna on the counter. “Explain to me why I like meat now, when I have been a very devoted vegetarian for years. Or why I don’t need my glasses anymore.”

“I…” he took a step closer to me and I heard him sniff. “
You smell different.”

“Well I haven’t changed my perfume…” I said, watching his expression change from one of annoyance and confusion, to shock and disbelief.

“
Pepper
, I…” he seemed genuinely lost for words. “It was an accident.”

“D
uh!
The only question I have is:
can you make this go away?” I asked. “Undo it or something?”

He shook his head, crossing his massive arms. “No, I can’t.”

“I’m stuck this way?” I shouted at him.

Venna patted my back and tried to calm me down, but it was no use.

I was now a card carrying member of the werewolf club.

Forever.

Chapter 3

Three weeks later…

It was one of those bright sunny days that brought everyone outside. The birds were chirping, the gossipers gossiping. People were wandering down Cape Street half naked because of the heat, no doubt getting ready for the mother of all barbeques at the lake. It was even bigger than the last one. I wasn’t the kind of girl to take part in the craziness, unless forced. I considered myself allergic to the inhabitants of Capeside and their endless gossiping. But, much to my surprise, the happy-go-lucky mood was catching. I found myself cranking up the stereo and hopping around to the oldies station as I restocked the comic book se
ction of my cousin’s bookstore.

“
So build me up, buttercup don’t break my heart
…” I sang along. I
was really getting into it.

“Nice moves.” A voice drawled from behind me.

I screamed, whirling around, and dumped a stack of comic books on the floor. “Quinn!”

He grinned. “Hi.”

“Don’t do that,” I gasped.

“What?”

“That thing where you appear out of thin air, it freaks me out.” I dropped to my knees and gathered up the comics. Quinn helped. I frowned at him. “What if I had a customer in the store?”

He shrugged, dwarfing the space where we crouched between the shelves. The wolf was absolutely huge. I guessed him to be around six feet, and his muscles had muscles. No telling how much he weighed. Probably two of me equaled one of him. “I didn’t. I used the front door. Your music was too loud to hear me come in.”

“Of course you
didn’t,
dog-man.” I killed the stereo with a jab to the power button and took the stack of comics from him. I stuck them on the shelf, trying to ignore how my heart thundered in my chest. It was always doing that when he came around. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, I think it’s obvious.” He followed me to the front of the store. The sound of his southern accent sent a thrill through me. And that was a very bad thing. I did not need to feel thrilled in any way when it came to Quinn Brighton. “The full moon is in a few days.”

“How nice, will you be running through the woods furry and naked?”

He narrowed his eyes.
H
azel eyes
with flecks of gold shimmering in their depths. “You just proved I should be here.”

“How?” the bell on the door tinkled and I looked up to see crusty old Mr. Murphy.
“Hey,
Murph
.”

Quinn kept his back to the door, turning his head so Murphy couldn’t see the left sid
e of his face as he hobbled in.

Mr. Murphy pointed at me with a crooked finger.
“Hooligan.”

“Nope,” I said.
“Werewolf.”

Quinn nailed me with a hard gaze, “I can’t believe you just said that.”

I smiled, despite feeling just a teensy bit spooked. Quinn had a scary side that rivaled any movie monster I’d ever se
en. “Mr. Murphy can’t hear me.”

“He can’t?”

“Not even a little.” I raised my voice, “I’ve always wanted to be a man…I think I’ll shave my head, stop waxing m
y legs, and join a biker gang.”

Mr. Murphy didn’t look up from
the magazine he’d found.

“You wax?” Quinn raised his eyebrows. Well, his right one, mostly. The left one was clearly affected by the scar. I actually found myself getting used to seeing it, and became irritated when people stared at him. Once the initial shock of seeing it had worn off, it wasn’t as gruesome, just a puckered line on the side of his face.

“How is that interesting?”

“Doesn’t it hurt?” he looked at my legs.

“I’m not discussing this with you.” I grabbed the glass cleaner and a cloth, trying to keep from screaming in frustration. I sprayed and wiped away smudges on the front window. “Just tell me whatever it is you need to and let me get back to work.”

“Understand that I’m responsible for you until you’re familiar with our world.” He grabbed the cloth to wipe the high spots I couldn’t reach. “I need to be with you this week. I’ve left you alone for as long as possible.”

I crossed my arms and tipped my head back to watch his hand sweep across the glass much faster than I ever could. “What’s going happen to me?”

“I
’d rather not explain it here.”

“Fine, where then?” I was a little scared. No…make that, terrified.

“I’ll pick you up after work.”

“I close at nine o’clock, unless the barbecue at the lake takes off. If that happens I’ll lock up early.” He handed me the cloth and I went to wipe the glass door.

“Will you be alone?”

“Yes.”

A low growl vibrated through the room, skittering along my skin and making every little hair on my body stand at a painful attention.

And the strange part was…I liked it.

I turned to find him right behind me. He was so close I could smell his cologne, or whatever is was he wore. It was rich, smooth and warm, very woodsy. I never noti
ced how good he smelled before.

“
Pepper
?”

My mind went blank from standing so close to him, wondering if he’d always smelled this good. I realized he was watching me patiently, waiting for me to say something. “I-I know you’re grouchy, but in the off chance
Murph
turns on his hearing aid, I’d keep the an
imal sounds down to a minimum.”

He rolled his eyes. “You won’t be here alone at night anymore.”

“You can’t order me around.”

“It’s my job to order people around.” His upper lip curled. He was frightening, or he should be. Sometimes I thought he was cuddlier than he realized. Or maybe it was just me. Maybe I was the only one who didn’t w
ant to run at the sight of him.

I had a lot of maybe’s going through my head right now.

“Right, you’re prince of the werewolves.” I managed to get turned into a monster by the guy whose parents rule. What are the odds? “I don’t feel any different, Quinn. Maybe your sniffer’s out of whack.”

Aside from not needing my glasses and sneaking the occasional piece of meat, I didn’t think I needed him hovering around me.

Before I could protest he yanked me close, plastered me against his wide chest, and pressed his nose to the spot beneath my ear. The heat of his breath as he inhaled sent shivers through me. I dropped the cleaner and cloth on the floor, feeling close
to the consistency of pudding.

He pulled back suddenly, holding me at arm’s length
.

“Quinn?”

His eyes were
glowing
. The pupils turned to shiny black gems in a sea of shimmering gold, flecks of hazel swimming in their depths. They were the complete opposite of what they’d looked like before, and th
e most amazing sight to behold.

“It’s okay.” His voice was gruff and low as his hands squeezed my shoulders, not hurting me, but his grip was firm like he was afraid I’d wriggle away. “The change is close. You haven’t had the scent of a human for days.”

Double gulp.
“What do I smell like?”

He pushed me gently away, eyes returning to hazel. They went wide as he spoke, as if my question surprised or confused him.
“Cherry blossoms.”

“My bubble gum is cherry.” I offered, wondering how someone so menacing
and strong could be so gentle.

“That’s not what I smell.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “See you at sunset.”

“I said I closed at nine.” My protest was halfhearted because of confusion, a voice in my head screamed for him to stay. The werewolf maybe, but my human side was still that, human, and it didn’t trust what it didn’t know.

“I’m not the only one who can sense you’re about to change.” A cool breeze swept through the room, “I won’t leave you alone,
Pepper
.”

“But you just did.” I stared at the spot where he’d been standing, letting the small part of me wishing he’d stayed drown out the part that wanted him to leave.

The phone rang, snapping me out of a loss I wasn’t accustomed to feeling when Quinn left me in a blink. Each time he disappeared it was just too instant, made me want to grab onto him even more than th
e last, to go wherever he went.

Picking up the cleaner and cloth, I stashed them behind the cash register and hopped ont
o the stool behind the counter.

“Peterson’s books,” I answered, trying to
focus on the caller, not Quinn.