Blood Moon (44 page)

My stomach clenched, and my hand tightened
around my fork, the cool metal biting into my palm. “Y-yeah. It
was.”

“David’s parents were sorry to have missed
you afterward.” She carried on like this conversation wasn’t
painful as hell for me. And truthfully, it probably wouldn’t have
been if I hadn’t been spending most of my day ignoring my grief
while I plotted revenge against the monster responsible. Talking
about it was supposed to be therapeutic. I knew this. But that was
only if I acknowledged the grieving process. I didn’t. I couldn’t.
There was far too much to accomplish before I could even
think
about it.

Sensing my discomfort, Dad cleared his
throat. “What are your plans for tomorrow, Brooke?”

Thankful for the change in topic, I
shrugged. “I’m not too sure. Hang around here. Maybe go for a drive
or a walk. We’ll see how I’m feeling.”

Dad steered the conversation back to my mom,
asking her about her workload this week. She seemed happy to be
talking about something other than this week’s events, because she
launched into express detail about some of the design projects she
would be doing this week. She did the same thing a couple of weeks
after Bobby passed away. Buried herself in any distraction she
could.

After dinner, I offered to clean up so my
parents could enjoy a little down time, and I welcomed the silence
that cleaning the kitchen brought with it. Once everything was put
away and the kitchen was clean, I retired to my old room for the
night. Being back in here, surrounded by my old track and
cheerleading trophies took me back to happier times, so I relished
it for a moment as I sat down on my bed.

My eyes scanned the room, letting the
memories fill my head and distract me from everything that happened
lately. As they roamed past the window, I saw a blur of movement
that forced me to my feet. Everything in my body screamed at me to
be on alert: ears straining to hear something, eyes narrowing to
zero in on whatever lurked out there, nose twitching to pick up a
scent, and skin prickling as all of the tiny hairs covering my body
stood on end. I pressed my face so close to the windowpane, I could
feel the chill of the glass. I didn’t see anything, and I wondered
if I was hallucinating from my lack of sleep. Just as I was about
to give up, a face appeared in front of me from out of nowhere,
making me jump in surprise.

Only the pane of glass separated us as she
leaned forward, putting us practically nose to nose. A sadistic
smile toyed at her blood-red lips, and the hairs on the back of my
neck rose as the smell hit me even through the window.

I instantly recognized her from the grainy
surveillance video. Her long blonde hair falling straight down her
back and around her shoulders, her icy stare, and the malicious
smile that spread across her face as she challenged me through my
second-floor bedroom window. “Gianna,” I snarled, making her smile
even wider as she raised her hand and waggled her fingers at me in
greeting.

She disappeared as quickly as she had
appeared, and the only thought going through my mind was that I had
to go after her. Not just because of what she had done to David and
me, but also because she knew where my parents lived. And there was
absolutely no way in hell I was going to stand idly by while Nick
and his Pack came up with a plan when she could easily dispose of
my parents and me in our sleep.

After locking my bedroom door, I opened my
window carefully, trying to avoid the creak that had existed for as
long as I could remember, and I slipped out onto the roof. Most
people would sidle up to the side of the house and side step along
until they reached the drainpipe, where they’d more than likely
shimmy down it, but not me. Not anymore, anyway.

Once out onto the roof, I leapt to the
ground, bending at the knee to absorb most of the shock, and
immediately sprinted across the lawn and down the street, following
the stench that she left behind.

I remembered what Nick said earlier about
how she was leading me into a trap, and I knew I should heed that
warning yet again, but I couldn’t. Not when my parents’ lives were
now at risk.

Her trail ended several blocks away at an
old foreclosed house. Breathing heavily and sweating from
over-exertion, I stood at the end of the drive, staring at the
beat-up front door as I tried to formulate a plan. She was in
there. I felt it right down to the marrow in my bones and no longer
cared about a plan. I just wanted this done. Desperate with the
need to end this once and for all, I stepped forward, but was
stopped by a strong hand around my wrist.

It would figure Nick would follow me here.
Before I could get angry or question his sudden appearance, I heard
rustling inside, and in a flash I was on the porch and opening the
door.

“Brooke,” Nick hissed as he caught up to me.
“Wait a damn minute. Think about this!”

“What are you doing here?” I demanded,
shocked to find him here.

Nick exhaled heavily. “I was vetting the
place. Preparing a plan of attack. What are you doing here?”

“She showed up at my parents’ house.” Her
smell floated on the breeze, making me shudder. It was impossible
to think about what I was doing, my need to end this blinding me to
anything else as we crossed the threshold. Her stench surrounded us
both, and a maniacal laugh filled the room. That was all it took
for the tremble in my hands to start, moving up my arms and through
the rest of my body as the fever burned hotter by the second.

“I’m so glad you came,” she purred as she
descended the stairs fluidly, her fingers caressing the blood-red
pendant that hang between her collarbones. Her gaze landed on Nick,
who growled and stepped in front of me protectively. “And you
brought company.” She eyed him up and down and then wrinkled her
nose distastefully. “I liked the last one much more. He smelled a
lot more delicious. A shame his blood went to waste, really. I
thought I trained my dear Samantha better than to waste a perfectly
good meal.”

That was all it took. I lunged forward,
ready to rip her fucking head off, but Nick caught me by the arm,
holding me back as I struggled against his brute strength.

She laughed again, coming off the last step
and walking toward us with an almost regal grace in her step. It
reminded me of how she moved in the tape I’d watched. Nick
anticipated her every move, turning with her as she circled us like
a shark did its prey. “You know,” she continued in a wistful tone,
“I really hoped you’d come to me earlier. You ruined my plans.”

She reached out, and her cold finger touched
my cheek, trailing down my neck, right along my pulsing carotid.
Her eyes held mine, captivating me even though this was just one of
her parlor tricks that only humans should be susceptible to. I
tried to push the hazy feeling away, but I was unable to. She was
powerful, and I just wasn’t strong enough yet.

A deep growl behind me snapped me out of the
hold she had on me, and I suddenly recoiled from her, slapping her
hand away from me. Nick shot forward, pressing Gianna against a
nearby wall by her neck. He was going to kill her; I recognized the
murderous gleam in his eyes. His hands trembled as the
transformation started, his claws emerging from the ends of his
fingers, splitting the skin there.

“Don’t be too hasty,” she said, her tone
cocky and confident. “Don’t you think poor Brooke deserves to know
what happened to her brother? About the night you—”

“
You
killed him! What happened after
that was all on you.” Nick shouted, interrupting her, and I gasped.
I flashed back to the night of our birthday party and recalled
Bobby sitting at the table with a blonde woman—a blonde woman who
looked an awful lot like the woman on the surveillance
recording…the woman who was in front of me right now. I’d only ever
seen her from afar, but I was certain they were the same
person.

Before she said anything else, his fury
exploded, and his bones began shifting into their new positions to
accept the change, his back rippling and straining beneath his
shirt. Gianna cried out when he pulled her forward and slammed her
back against the wall, another loud crack of bone echoing through
the house, and I knew I had to act fast.

“Nick, no!” I cried out, not because I
wanted her alive—I didn’t. She deserved to die for what she
did—planned to do. While I originally came here to kill her, I now
realized that she might be the key to getting the answers I needed
to move past Bobby’s death.

The sounds of their collective growls filled
the small, broken down house as I rushed toward them. Hesitant,
based on the rage pouring off him, I reached out and grabbed Nick’s
arm, using more strength than I thought I had to try and pry him
off of her. “Don’t do this. We need her.”

Struggling against Nick’s hold on her,
Gianna laughed weakly. “Can’t let him kill me, honey? Perhaps I
misjudged you. Maybe I should reevaluate your worth.”

Nick glanced toward me, and she used the
distraction to her advantage, forcing herself out of his grip.
Quickly rushing toward me, she wrapped her hand around my neck,
bending her arm until my back was against her chest. She used me as
a human shield, leaving Nick at her mercy. I whimpered as her
fingers dug into my skin, bringing my hands up to try and wrench
her hand away. Nick moved quickly, rushing to my rescue, but when
her nail pressed against my carotid, he stopped dead in his tracks,
looking equal parts angry and terrified.

“Now, now, now,” she warned. “You wouldn’t
want to be too hasty, would you?” Her fingernail pierced my neck,
warm blood trickling down over my skin, and Nick continued to snarl
at her as she held me. Her grip tightened further. After a very
intense stare-down, she must have felt content that Nick was no
longer an immediate threat, because she relaxed. This allowed me
the opportunity to gasp for air, my lungs burning with each
breath.

“Now,” she said, her tone steady and
authoritative, “we’re going to walk out of here, mutt, and you’re
going to let us. You’re not going to follow us, and you’re going to
tell your Pack to heel, got it?”

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” I
ordered, my voice soft and strangled.

Gianna only laughed. “Why? So the minute you
drop to the floor, he can attack me? How dumb do you think I am?
Besides, I’ve got plans for you.”

She took her first few steps back toward the
door, dragging me with her and away from Nick. Alarm bells blared
in my head, telling me I couldn’t give up; it wasn’t in my
nature.

With a surge of adrenaline flowing through
my veins, I threw my head back, hearing a satisfying crack as it
connected with her nose. I was momentarily dazed from the impact as
she stumbled back a few paces, and as she did, I turned and rushed
forward, jumping on her back. I’d only intended to incapacitate her
in hopes of binding her to a chair or something so I could
interrogate her, but as she struggled, my anger intensified. The
wolf ripped past my humanity, the signs of the change becoming
apparent, clawing at the surface and begging to be freed.

I wasn’t experienced enough to force the
change on a whim, though, because I remained lucid—and human—as I
wrapped my arms around her and squeezed, causing her to cry out.
Another crack sounded through the room, her ribs collapsing in my
arms.

Gianna continued to struggle in my arms,
even with her broken ribs, but this only made me squeeze her
harder. I no longer cared about the questions I had, certain I
could find the answers elsewhere, and I lost all sight of anything
other than the blind rage that fueled my attack. And the wolf
inside of me ate up every morsel of Gianna’s fear and panic.

She sought me out…

…
created that thing that broke into my
home…

…
that tried to kill me…

…
that killed David.

What happened next—or more so, how it
happened—was a little unclear, but Gianna managed to gain the upper
hand. She broke free of my vice-like grip and attempted to make a
run for it. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t make it very far.

Without planning or even thinking about it,
I leapt into the air and brought her down to the ground. I knew I
wanted to keep her alive, but I was being driven purely by instinct
at this point. There was just no room for rationality as I grabbed
her by the hair and twisted her neck, severing her head in one
fluid movement. Her necklace slipped off her headless body as it
fell to the floor, and as her head rolled to the side, landing face
up, her lifeless eyes gaped at me in disbelief.

I took a drunken step back as her body
slowly crumbled into ash, the fury ebbing and making the quiver in
my hands more noticeable. It wasn’t the same as when shifting was
inevitable, however. No, this was definitely different. This was
borne out of fear and the physical sign of adrenaline being
released from my body. I was in shock.

What have I done?

“Brooke?” Nick’s voice was quiet and nervous
as it called out to me. He sounded far away, but I sensed his
presence right next to me. It was disorienting. “Are you all
right?”

“I killed her,” I whispered in disbelief,
staring down at my trembling hands, unable to come to grips with my
actions. “I-I just…
killed
someone.”

Nick pulled me into his arms, but my body
was stiff and resistant as it collided with his. I was appalled in
myself over having actually done something so horrifying and so…so
wrong
.

“Brooke, she wasn’t human,” Nick soothed,
his hand moving over my head and down my back. He was trying to
justify my actions, but I failed to take comfort in his words.

Pushing myself free of his arms, I looked at
him. “I know…but—”