Blood Moon (35 page)

Flustered, Nick stumbled over his words for
a second before releasing an aggravated sigh and thrusting his
fingers through his hair. I mentally patted myself on the back for
even momentarily throwing him off for once. “Look, I didn’t come
here to argue with you,” he informed me. “I was concerned about
you—still am, if that means anything to you—but I also came to talk
to you about that case you’re working.”

Shocked, I tightened my grip around myself.
“Wh-what about it?”

Back in the house, I heard footsteps, and I
looked up to see movement in the kitchen window. It would only be a
couple of minutes before whoever was in there found me out here
with Nick, so I prodded him again.

“We need you to back off a bit,” he said,
his expression clearly telling me he knew it was a stupid request,
and one I obviously couldn’t grant.

“You can’t be serious.”

Nick sighed, his eyes moving about as if
scanning the darkness for something. He didn’t seem at all
threatened. One sniff of the air, and I picked up Jackson’s scent
as well as his other pack mates. They weren’t close, keeping their
distance, but they were there somewhere. Probably waiting for Nick
to return.

“I realize what it is I’m asking—”

“Do you?” I interrupted, confused and angry.
“We’re trying to solve several murders. Murders, Nick. Murders, I
might add, that you told me are tied to my brother’s own unsolved
case. And now you want me to just walk away?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head
emphatically. “Not walk away, just…back off a bit. Maybe lead them
in another direction.”

“You want me to impede my own
investigation?”

“Believe me when I tell you that you and
your team aren’t properly equipped to deal with this. Your
investigation is only scaring them off.”

“Them?” I questioned. “So, you know who
they
are?” Nick’s silence was all the confirmation I needed.
“And why, exactly, do you think we can’t handle this?”

“Because,” Nick explained, conflict growing
in his eyes. “It’s nothing you’ve ever dealt with before, Brooke.
It’s…not of this world.”

“Werewolves,” I offered without a
questioning lilt in my tone.

“In order to keep you safe from them, I
can’t tell you just yet,” Nick supplied. “But it’s not other
wolves. It’s something else entirely.” Another brief pause before
Nick looked up, and when I heard the screen door open slightly, he
quickly concluded. “They’re moving on—most of them—so it’s making
them harder to track. Your involvement is only complicating matters
further, forcing them to lie low.”

“So, you’re upset that they’re not killing
anymore?” His logic didn’t resemble mine.

“Of course not, but with you guys constantly
sniffing around, they’re packing up shop. We are so close to
stopping them, but the more interference from the police, the
harder it’s becoming.”

Before I could defend the actions of the
department and point out his demands for how ridiculous they were,
Nick stepped back into the cover of darkness. Just as he
disappeared, warm hands appeared on my shoulders, causing me to
jump in surprise. Turning, I found David behind me, and I offered
him a smile. Had I not been so wrapped up in my conversation with
Nick, I might have sensed him before his arrival startled me.

“You okay?” he asked, kissing my cheek
lightly. I sensed the hesitance behind the gesture, but he didn’t
falter, trying to make things better between us.

It was comforting, and I leaned into it,
humming contentedly as the distance between us was momentarily
forgotten. “Yeah. I thought I saw something out here when I was in
the kitchen. Figured I should check it out.” It wasn’t a total lie,
so I didn’t feel overly guilty keeping the real reason I was out
here from him.

Then I remembered the reason I went into the
kitchen, and I turned around to face David, ready to apologize for
my total lack of regard when it came to disclosing my past with
Nick. “Are
you
okay? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I guess
I—”

David stopped me. “You don’t need to
apologize. That entire conversation was equally as awkward for
me.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.”

Chuckling, David pushed a length of my hair
back over my shoulder, his hand trailing down my arm and making me
shiver. When it reached my elbow, he flattened it on my back and
pulled me toward him abruptly, exciting me. “Come back inside. Your
mom feels terrible and promises to be on her best behavior. No more
talk of marriage until we’re ready.”

My lips fought the smile I forced as David
led me back toward the house. Before leading me through the
doorway, I stopped him. “David…”

Seeing the look in my eyes for what it was,
he sighed. “Brooke, I know you’re not ready, but I’m willing to
wait until you are.” Leaning in, he kissed my forehead. “That’s how
much I love you and believe in us.”

I let him take me back inside. When we
returned to the dining room, my mom didn’t allude to my future with
David at all—just as promised—and I was grateful for it. Instead,
our conversation revolved around the upcoming holiday season.
Thanksgiving was only two weeks away, and David was all too eager
to talk about his hopes for that day.

“Well, Brooke and I haven’t really discussed
it yet,” he began, reaching over and taking my hand, “but I was
thinking we’d host this year. Have you two join us and invite my
parents down.”

I choked slightly on the bite I’d just
taken, and pulled my hand from his to grab my wine. David rested
his hand on my back, moving it up and down in a soothing manner as
I dislodged the piece of roast beef and finally swallowed it.
“Sorry,” I said, glancing over at David.

He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “They
want to meet you.”

“You’ve talked about me?” I was both
flattered and worried—the latter because I hadn’t quite been
myself, and I’d hate if he painted me in a bad light. I loved him,
and I really wanted his parents to like me.

Almost as though he’d forgotten we were in
the presence of my parents, he reached over and cupped my face. I
leaned into the touch and smiled. “Of course I have.”

Mom cleared her throat, and we turned back
to them. “I, for one, think that’s a wonderful idea.” She looked at
us both pointedly. “But I expect to help out with something.
Whether it’s bringing dessert or helping in the kitchen.”

Laughing, I regarded her demand. “It
wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving if you didn’t.”

After dinner, I helped Mom clear the table
and do the dishes while the guys enjoyed a glass of cognac. I dried
the dishes while Mom washed, and we were about halfway through them
when she broke the silence. “I am sorry about earlier,” she
whispered. “I didn’t mean to imply or pressure the two of you.”

“I know, Mom,” I assured her, taking a plate
and drying it before putting it away with the rest.

“I got the impression David didn’t know just
how serious you and Nick were.”

“He didn’t.” Mom looked over at me, shocked.
“He knew we were together, but I didn’t think that a broken
engagement was worth mentioning. It’s not like I’m divorced or a
widow or anything,” I explained, trying to justify my omission of
facts.

She drained the sink and rinsed the suds
from it before turning to me and resting her hip against the
counter. “Do you think it’s something you want?”

I regarded her curiously before she
elaborated.

“Marriage. Kids.”

Kids.
Was that even possible now?
Would they be human, or would my recently altered DNA affect them,
too?

“I-I don’t know,” I stammered softly, my
voice cracking. “I’ve seen things since joining the force, Mom. I’m
so aware of the kinds of things that happen in the world today...
Not to mention what happened to Bobby. How could I bring a child
into this world, knowing what I know now?”

I didn’t expect my mom to understand my
stance on this. She was the most maternal woman I’d ever known, and
she was unable to have the large family she so badly wanted. Bobby
and I were her “little miracles” after several years of trying to
get pregnant with no success. This didn’t mean she wasn’t happy;
she was definitely a very attentive mother, always there to listen
or help you with a problem.

I could tell she had questions, or maybe she
wanted to try and tell me that I was still young and could change
my mind—which I was, and I could. Before she could, a throat
cleared behind us, startling me and forcing the blood in my veins
to run cold. Dread fell like a lead weight into the pit of my
stomach when I identified the familiar scent of our unexpected
company. I mentally kicked myself for being too wrapped up in my
tumultuous thoughts about marriage and the children I may never
have—not to mention who they’ll most resemble when the full moon
comes around—to sense him.

I slowly turned around, ready to explain
everything in a way I hoped he would understand, but the look in
David’s eyes as he stood in the doorway indicated it wouldn’t be
that easy.

A
s we all stood in
uneasy silence, I wondered how much he had heard. Everything?
Nothing at all? We hadn’t ever talked about kids, but something
told me David wanted a family some day…even if we never
married.

Nervous and unable to hold his stare, I
folded the towel and hung it on the oven handle. “Hey,” I said
softly, tucking my hair behind my ears and slowly lifting my head.
I saw in his expression that he was uncertain of
something—agitated, even.

His eyebrows knit together, and he clenched
his eyes shut as if snapping himself out of some kind of stupor.
“You ready?”

I looked over at Mom, whose own expression
seemed anxious for me; I think she could sense as well as I could
that he overheard everything. “Y-yeah, we just finished up here,” I
replied before pulling my mom into my arms. “Thanks for dinner,
Mom. It was delicious.”

“It was my pleasure, sweetie.” She kissed my
cheek, apologizing with her eyes. “Be sure to say goodbye to your
father on your way out, or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I will.”

I walked past David, and I could feel the
cold blast of tension rolling off of him. I tried to offer him a
smile, but the one he responded with was forced and weak.

“Dinner was wonderful, Mrs. Leighton,” David
said.

“Laura,” she corrected one last time. “And
you keep us informed about that Thanksgiving dinner.”

I studied David’s face again, but he had his
game face on now, his eyes belying nothing. “Yeah. We’ll let you
know whatever it is we decide.” Something about the way he worded
that sent a chill down my spine, but I chose not to question it in
the wake of what he most likely overheard a moment ago.

On our way to the front door, we found my
dad in the living room and said goodnight, even though we’d see him
at work in the morning. He incited the usual warning to drive safe
as he walked us outside, and I gave him a hug before climbing into
the car.

If I thought the ride to my parents’ house
was awkward, the one home was worse. David’s hands remained at ten
and two on the wheel, his eyes locked on the road, only
occasionally peering in his mirrors before changing lanes. He did
everything but look at me, and that wasn’t normal for him. I went
over how I was going to try and explain what he overheard in my
head, but I was unable to figure out a way that wouldn’t upset him
further… Okay, so truthfully, this was just an excuse. I realized
that no matter how I brought it up, it would upset him. I was just
acting like a chicken-shit.

When we arrived home and let ourselves
inside, David shrugged out of his jacket and put it away. I
continued to sense the building anxiety in the space between us,
and I knew it was just a matter of minutes before he exploded, so I
decided to apologize.

Again. I actually seemed to be doing a lot
of that lately.

“David, I—”

“Don’t, Brooke,” he interrupted, his tone
clipped and on edge. “Just…don’t.”

Frustrated, I reached for his arm and turned
him to face me. “How can you be this upset?” I demanded. “It’s not
like we’ve ever talked about this stuff before!”

“We’ve been together two years, Brooke. You
had to think that this was a possibility.”

Apologetic, I shrugged my shoulders. “Not
really,” I replied honestly.

“So, you don’t want to get married or have
children?”

I crossed my arms in front of me
defensively, my hands starting to shake. “I never said that.” I
paused and considered my next words before blurting out, “But I
have reservations, yes.”

“Like…?”

Other than the reasons I gave my mom in the
kitchen, there was nothing more I could say that he would believe
or even begin to understand. “You already know why,” I reminded
him. “How can you act like bringing a child into this world is no
big deal? We’ve seen some pretty scary shit, David.”

And I could be something far more
dangerous to any potential family we could have
, I mentally
tacked on.
Or they could be dangerous to
you
.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” he
retaliated, his words stinging as though I’d been struck. Before I
could respond, David pushed his fingers through his dark hair and
groaned in frustration. “I want to marry you, Brooke.”

Feeling short of breath, my knees threatened
to give out on me at any second.

“
You know it can’t work, right?”
Nick’s voice haunted me again, and it brought back the memory of
the other night when I was so forceful with him. How I’d bruised
him…

Shit. Maybe Nick was right.

“I know you’re not ready, and I’m not going
to push, but you should know it’s what I want.”