Dueling Moons: A Pat Wyatt Novel (The Pat Wyatt Series Book 2) (20 page)

I rolled my eyes. “Good golly gosh, Samuel,” I could hear the distain in my voice, “thanks.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You are quite possibly the most frustrating woman I have ever met. How is it that you make me feel like a child every time we have a conversation?”

I shrugged, folding my arms. “Simple. You are a child. A big,
blood
-
sucking
baby.”

“Even though you stand there and belittle me, I still feel nothing but love for you.” When he said that, I rolled my eyes again, shaking my head for good measure. “I have not felt anything in over
three
-
hundred
years, Patricia. Though you may think that I still cannot, I do feel something for you. And I cannot understand why! You are small, insignificant, too smart for your own good, and you are by far the
worst
-
dressed
human I have ever met. However, I cannot help thinking that you are the one that I was meant to be with in this eternal life that I was given, and I cannot imagine why.

“What are you that you have bewitched me so?” he hissed in my face. “A sorceress of some kind? A nymph? A witch? What are you, Patricia Anne Wyatt?”

I dropped my arms, leaning up to whisper in his ear. “That’s for me to know, and for you to never find out!” I threw my head back and cackled violently. Then I turned and walked away.

chapter

TWENTY

Death Awaits

I had walked home around midnight, and decided just to go straight to bed.

Mike was already asleep by the time I came in, which was good because I didn’t have to deal with him noticing anything out of the ordinary. But that was very short lived.

Saturday morning, around ten or so, I woke up to him sitting in the chair across from the bed, crying. He must have thought that he was doing it quietly enough so as not to disturb me, but even through my dreamless sleep, I could hear him sniff and blow his nose. “Mornin’, bébé,” he said, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his ratty, gray
t
-
shirt
. “How’d ya sleep?”

I sat up in bed, pushing my tangled hair out of my face. “Very well. And you?”

“Not too good, I’m afraid.” I could see that. His eyes were not only bloodshot from crying, but he had dark circles underneath them. He looked like he hadn’t slept even two minutes, and I wondered of what use he would be to me tonight if he was too exhausted to fight.

“Samuel came by after you left last night,” he continued. “And he said that you…” his voice trailed away.

“That I what?” I asked quietly.

“That you were different. That you’d gone back to the way you were when he met ya. Is it true?”

I shrugged, not looking at him. “I don’t know. You tell me.” And I finally looked up.

He leaned forward, staring at me, and then his eyes widened. “It’s true,” he said, shrinking back into his chair, almost as if he was afraid of me. “You’re not the Pat that I know. What happened?”

“Honestly,” I breathed, “I don’t really know. The only thing I do know is that one minute I was crying and the next there was nothing.”

“Is this the same thing that happened when your mama died?” he asked, and I nodded. “I see. Well, what do we do about it?”

“There’s nothing we can do. It just takes time that I don’t have.”

Mike visibly swallowed. “Do you still…?” his voice trailed away.

I had a feeling I knew what he was going to ask, and I didn’t want him to say it out loud. “Don’t ask me that.”

“Please, Patricia,” he begged. “I need to know. Do you still love me?”

I was silent for a minute.
Do I still love him? Do I still…
“Deep down, I think I do. But I can’t show it to you.”

He nodded, getting on his knees in front of me and placing his hands in my hair. “I love you, Patricia Anne Wyatt,” he whispered, putting his forehead against mine. Finally, he leaned in, kissing me as hard as he could, as if by sheer force he could will me to feel something.

I pushed on his shoulders gently, and he backed away from me, sitting on his haunches. “You are even more of a girl than you were five minutes ago. How is that possible?”

He gave me a weak smile. “I’m only like this around you, ya know.”

“I seriously doubt that.”

That made him laugh a little, but a frown soon appeared and his lip started to quiver. “I was thinkin’,” he said as he sat back down in his chair, “maybe you should write a will. Ya know, just so nothin’ is left unsaid or undone.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have anything to leave to anyone, and I’ve already talked to Tina about how I want to be buried. So I think I’m covered.”

“You talked to Tina about how you wanna be buried?” he asked, and I could see how that wounded him. “Why her and not me?”

“Will you be in any condition to bury me?” I had cocked an eyebrow at him, and he looked down at his lap. “That’s what I thought.” I sighed. “Listen, Wolf, there is something I want you to do for me afterward.”

He looked up, his eyes shining with fresh, unshed tears. “Anythin’, bébé. You name it.”

“Do not take any wolfsbane! Do you hear me? I don’t want you to get yourself killed. Understand?”

“How did
you
—?”

“I just know you, my wolf,” I interrupted, trying to give him my best version of a smile. “Promise me?”

I could see the wheels in his head turning, and then he nodded slowly. “I promise, Pat.”

I got up off the bed, leaned down, and took his head in my hands. “Promise me,” I repeated, making sure he looked me dead in the eye.

“I promise,” he said without hesitation, and I could see that he meant it with all his heart.

“Good,” I whispered, kissing him gently on the lips. Then I hugged him. It only took seconds for him to hug me back, and I petted his hair as he wept into my nightshirt.

“I’m gonna miss you too, little guy,” he breathed against my womb, and something inside me pulled. It almost made my knees buckle. That’s when I knew. It was the baby saying his
good
-
bye
to me.

“How is it,” Mike continued, “that just by touching me, you make me feel good when I’m supposed to feel like shit?” He looked up at me, the tears gone.

“Animal magnetism, I guess.”

He genuinely laughed at that. “I don’t think that’s it.”

“Then what do you think it is?”

“You. Just you.”

“Come on,” I said, kissing his forehead. “Let’s go get some breakfast. I don’t want to die on an empty stomach.”

He frowned as I lifted him off the chair. “That was so not funny, Pat.”

“Not even a little bit?” I asked innocently.

He thought about it for a second. “Okay,” he breathed. “Maybe a little.”

We walked out into the living room, and I told him to sit on the couch while I made us something to eat. He wouldn’t hear it, and insisted that he sit at the small table and watch me as I worked.

There was silence for a minute, until I placed the bacon in the hot pan, listening to it sizzle. “I can’t believe you actually talked to Samuel without there being bloodshed,” I mused, shaking my head.

“Trust me, it wasn’t easy, especially with that smug, triumphant look on his face.”

“You mean the way he always looks?” I asked.

He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. “Huh. I guess you’re right; he does always look like that. But this time he was a little more triumphant than usual. What did you two talk about?”

I took the
now
-
crispy
bacon out of the pan and started on the eggs. “Nothing, really. I asked him how long it took to change into a vampire, and then he accused me of bewitching him. You know, the usual.”

Mike sat up straight, crossing his arms. “Hold up. Did I hear you right? Did you just say that you asked him how long it took to become a vampire?”

Of course,
that
was
what he focused on. “Yes. But don’t worry, it takes too long anyway. Besides, it’s not a grantee that I won’t die.” When I turned to place the scrambled eggs on two plates, he must have gotten up because he wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing the top of my head.

“You don’t have to do that for me,” he whispered, and I pushed his arms away.

“I wasn’t going to do it for you,” I said honestly, as I placed the plates on the table.

“Damn, Pat,” he breathed. “That hurt.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t want it to, but it’s the truth.”

He walked around me, sitting back down. “I know. But I don’t have to like it.”

“I know,” I said, sitting on the chair opposite him.

We were quiet for a couple minutes, while I ate my food and Mike played with his. Suddenly, he sighed. “Pat?”

I looked up at him. “Yes?”

“Are you…ya know…scared?”

“No,” I told him without thinking. “I was, but I’m not anymore. Why?”

He shrugged. “No reason.”

“Obviously there’s a reason. Come on,” I said, placing my fork down on the plate so I could give him my full attention. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck again. “Well, did Kathryn…I mean…did she show you what’s beyond death?” I nodded in answer, and I could feel my lips become a tight line. “What…what is there?” he asked, and I knew that if I didn’t answer him, he would just keep pestering me about it.

I cleared my throat, getting up to get a glass of water. When that was done, I sat back down, drinking it slowly. “Nothing,” I finally answered, looking at him. “There is nothing after death.”

His eyes widened, and he looked like I had just shot him with a silver bullet. “That can’t be true. Tell me that isn’t true.”

“That’s what she showed me, Mike. I can’t tell you any more than what I saw. I wish I could.”

He took a deep breath, looking down at his now lukewarm breakfast. “I never thought…that is…” he was cutting his sentences short trying not to say what was on his mind.

I sighed. “Spit it out, Wolf.”

“I just never thought that with all the other things in this world, that there wouldn’t be some sorta afterlife. I mean, there are vampires for Christ sake. Why wouldn’t there be spirits or ghosts?”

I shrugged. “You know as much as I do.”

“It’s not fair,” he almost whined, and I couldn’t argue with him. It wasn’t fair. Then again, life wasn’t fair. Especially my life. But what could I do? My death was set in stone, and I only had a few hours left until a half werewolf, half vampire killed me where I stood. The only good part about it was that I was going to take his slimy ass with me.

“What’re you thinkin’ about, bébé?” Mike asked, interrupting my violent thoughts.

“Killing Stag.”

“Ya nervous?”

I picked up a piece of bacon, shoving the whole thing in my mouth. “Hell no. In fact,” I said as I swallowed, “I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

Mike smiled then, big and bright. “That’s my girl.”

We had a moment of quiet understanding. I could see the love he had for me filling his brilliant green eyes, and I was sure he could see the resolve fill mine. At that moment, we may have not been in sync with each other’s feelings, but we could see where the other was coming from. Him from a
love
-
filled
place and me from the darkness that sat inside me like a black hole, which was always patiently waiting to be set free.

chapter

TWENTY
-
ONE

The rest of the day went by so fast that I hardly knew what happened.

Mike and I had gone out into the parking lot so he could show me a few more fighting stances and evasive maneuvers, but really, his heart wasn’t in it. And by the time we were finished, the sun had gone down. That’s the one rotten thing about the wintertime; there are not enough hours in the day when you need them.

When we went back inside, I dressed for my final battle. I put on a pair of old sweats, one of Mike’s torn
t
-
shirts
, and pulled my hair up into a messy ponytail. After all, just because I was going to die didn’t mean that I had to be uncomfortable while doing it.

As I walked out of the bedroom, Mike was waiting for me on the couch in a pair of
jeans
—
just
a pair of jeans. No shoes, no shirt, and no coat. “Are you going to be all right in that?” I asked, as I placed my foot on the coffee table, tying my converse.

He nodded. “Yeah. Our temp always spikes durin’ the full moon, so I’ll be warm enough. What about you?”

I shrugged, grabbing my coat off the back of my desk chair. “I’ll be okay. I might have to take off the coat to fight, but other than that, I think I’ll be fine.” That word caught in my throat. Fine. I was most certainly not going to be fine. I was going to die.

Before I could mull over that, the phone rang. I checked the caller I.D., seeing that it was Angel. “Hello?” I answered, hearing static come over the line.

“Hey,” her voice sounded metallic. The connection was atrocious. “I’m here to pick y’all up. I’m outside now.”

“Who asked you to do that?”

“Mike,” she answered, and the phone hissed. “Hurry up. The moon is kinda driving me nuts.”

“Sure thing. We’ll see you in a minute. Bye.”

The static came again, making me wince as she replied, “Bye.”

When I hung up, I looked over at Mike who was now standing on the other side of the coffee table. “Did you call Angel for a ride?”

He nodded. “There’s no way we would make it there before we changed without a car. You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

He walked up to me slowly, gently placed his arms around my waist, and then leaned down, kissing me. I tried to kiss him back, but I knew there was nothing for him to feel from me, so I just waited it out.

When he was done, he sighed and tried to smile. “I love you, Patricia Anne Wyatt. And I always will.”

The only thing I could say was, “I know.”

We drove to Big Bears in deafening silence.

I think we were all afraid that if we said anything, the tension would explode in the car and we would wind up fighting each other instead of Stag. So it was a good thing that we all kept quiet. That is, until we saw Samuel standing outside of the diner, waiting for us.

“What the fuck is he doin’ here?” Angel hissed, as she slammed on the breaks. Then she parked the car, and I could see her eyes start to change color.

“Easy there, girl,” Mike said from the back seat. “I invited ‘em. I figured we could use all the help we could get.”

That shocked me. “It’s a good thing I’m dying in a few minutes, because I think hell just froze over.”

“Me too, fleshy girl,” Angel said as we got out of her car. “Me too.”

“Morris is on his way,” Samuel informed us. “He said that he is bringing the silver blades.”

“Did you tell him where to find us?” I asked.

He nodded with a smirk. “Yes. I am not completely incompetent.”

“Meaning that you’re only a little incompetent?” Angel quipped, and I glared at her. “What? I just asked.”

“Angel,” Mike sighed, shaking his head. “Not now.”

“Sorry for tryin’ to lighten the mood.” She unlocked Big Bears and we walked inside, waiting for Herb to arrive with the weapons. It was the most awkward and frightening ten minutes of my life.

My heart was pounding in my chest, I was so nervous. Thankfully, my resolve didn’t waver, but everyone else was on edge. Mike paced like a caged animal, while Angel sat at the counter picking her nails with a steak knife. I could see that their posture and demeanor was that of a feral cat, and I didn’t need to ask why. I mean, even I could feel the moon was high in the sky, and we were inside.

Samuel, however, seemed to be watching me like a hawk as he leaned against one of the booths. I could almost feel the thoughts go through his head.
Is she all right with this? Is she going to run? Will she finally snap?

As for me, I just stood there waiting patiently, feeling my heart rate quicken with every minute that passed us by. I tried taking some deep breaths, but all that did was make it go faster. So I just stood there listening to it pound in my ears.

“Does this monster know where to meet us?” Samuel asked, breaking the tense silence.

Angel stabbed the counter with the knife, making it stick in the wood. “Yeah, bloodsucker. What, do you think we’re stupid or somethin’?”

“Angel,” Mike hissed.

“What?” she bit back. “I’m stressed the fuck out. Do you think I’m gonna be nice to this bastard?”

“I’m stressed too, but I know how to keep my mouth shut!”

“That’s because you’re a pussy,” she snapped.

“Hey,” I yelled, stepping between the two of them. “That’s enough! Angel, go take a run,” I said calmly. “You don’t need to be here.”

“
But
—”

“Go,” I interrupted her protest.

“Fine,” she huffed. “But if you need me, just holler.”

I nodded. “Will do.”

As she was leaving, Herbert ran up to the restaurant, dressed in the tight pants, white shirt, and black boots he had worn the other day. He was also carrying the heavy black duffle bag. “Took you long enough,” Angel muttered before leaving, pushing him out of her way.

“Did I miss something?” he asked as he placed the bag down on the floor.

I shook my head, my heart finally settling down. “Tension mostly. How’s Tina?”

“As good as can be expected,” he answered, taking a sword out of the bag. “She said to tell you that all of the things you asked her to do have been arranged.”

“Good,” I whispered to myself, even though I knew they could all hear me.

“How are you holding up?” he inquired, the concern clear in his voice.

I shrugged. “I just want to get this over with.”

Herb nodded and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mike sniff the air. “He’s here,” he said, and my heart sank.

“Ready?” Samuel asked me.

“As I will ever be.”

He walked up to me, placed his hands on my shoulders, leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “I love you, Patricia, and I will stand by you until the very end.”

I touched his face gently, pulled my hand back, and slapped him. “I don’t forgive you for what you have done to me, but I’m glad you’re here to help. Thank you, Samuel Satané, for being the bastard who helped me feel something again.”

He chuckled, smiling with his fangs out. “You’re welcome, Pat. And I do apologize for the way I have treated you.”

“I know,” I said, moving away from him. “Well,” I sighed, taking off my coat and placing it on the counter, “let’s get this over with.”

The four of us walked out back, even though I told Samuel that he could stay inside, and when the metal door close behind us, everything became still.

As my new eyesight adjusted to the dark, empty space, I noticed that Stag was nowhere to be found, but I could smell him. Herb quietly handed me the sword, while Mike shifted his weight behind me.

“I do not like this,” Samuel said as we walked in the middle of the field.

“Neither do I,” Herb whispered. When I looked at him, he seemed calm, but his eyes were franticly scanning the dark.

“He’s here,” I breathed. “I can smell him.” I lifted the sword, moving closer to the tree line. However, before I could go too far, the branches rustled.

Stag lunged out of a tree, descending on us with grace and ease, as if he didn’t just jump down fifty feet to meet us. We scrambled backward, making a sort of
semi
-
circle
around him, and when he looked up at me, that cocky smile spread wide across his face. “Boo,” he said with a laugh, and as he straightened up, I noticed that the only thing he had on was a pair of
cut
-
off
sweats. His impressive muscles rippled as the shadows of the moonlight danced off them. I would have loved to ogle him more, but I thought better of it, considering he was going to kill me.

I rolled my eyes. “Scary.”

“I thought so.”

I pointed the tip of the sword at him. “I’d love to stand here and chat, but we’re kind of on a deadline, pun most definitely intended.”

He looked around at everyone before his eyes settled on me again. “Kinda unfair, isn’t it? Four against one.”

“They’re only here to clean up the mess.”

“I can’t believe you would do this to me,” he growled, sneering. “After all we’ve been through!”

“You brought this on yourself, Stag,” Mike said from behind me, his voice coming out low and breathy. Just from that one sentence, I could tell that he was fighting the change, but I didn’t look because I didn’t want to get distracted by what was going on in front of me.

“Are you sure you wanna do this, girly?” Elliot almost whispered, and I began to wonder what he was playing at, until I looked into his eyes. He had his usual cocky air about him, but there was something in him: fear. He was truly terrified.

Just that one look gave me a strange sense of empowerment, and I smiled to myself. “You bet your sweet ass I do.” The air began to shift behind me, and Mike howled in pain. He was changing sooner than the vision had shown, and I wondered whether this was going to go as planned. But I had to push that thought aside as Stag moved toward me.

I backed away, keeping the tip of the sword pointed at him as he crumpled onto himself. The sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone filled the still, night air, as both wolf behind me and monster before me changed. There were choking sounds, and then finally screams as I watched Elliot’s back arch with the agony of the change.

His shorts ripped away as hair erupted from every pore on his body. It was excruciating to watch as his mouth and nose became a short snout, his skin tone turning pitch black in the process. Stag’s arms elongated, while his legs grew and cracked under the strain. I looked on in sheer horror while his fingers lengthened, his nails sharpened, and his upper and lower canines became fangs. His ears were pointed, not looking like those of a wolf, but of a bat. Stag’s feet became twice their normal size, becoming a mixture of wolf and man. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t have a tail. And as the change settled over him, I noticed that even though he was hairy, it was sparse, especially around a certain area which was now engorged with excitement.

A growl came from behind me, and I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder at Mike in his werewolf form. They were completely different animals. Mike’s entire body was covered in hair, his ears came to sharp points, and his snout was that of a wolf’s. His body had grown, both in girth and in stature, and he now had to be over seven and a half feet at least. But he was more of an animal than Stag was. Just like in the visions.

I turned my head quickly back around to see Elliot open his now red eyes and smile with his lipless mouth. “Be with me, Pat,” his voice came out in a low growl. “We don’t have to die tonight. We can be together forever. All you have to do is say yes.”

“Not on your fucking life,” I hissed.

He laughed. “All right. Suit yourself, girly.” With that, he threw back his head and roared. The sound was almost deafening, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see both Herb and Samuel cover their ears and crumple in pain.

Before I could think about moving, Mike’s wolf lunged forward, tackling Elliot to the ground. They were a blur as teeth sunk into flesh, and fur and blood started flying. This was going very bad, very fast.

Stag flung Mike off him, and he flew by my right shoulder, hitting the metal siding of the restaurant. I winced at the cracking sound his spine made, and when he whimpered. I had an urge to run over and help him, but considering he would most likely not know who I was at that point, it was a very bad idea.

The situation was not turning out like either one of Kathryn’s visions. That’s when it hit me. Samuel had not been in either one of them, but there he was, standing only a few feet away, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. “Samuel, no,” I shouted, but it was too late, he had already leapt forward. He sunk his teeth into Elliot’s neck, ripping his throat wide open, and when I looked at Herb for help, he seemed glued to his spot.

As I looked at the disaster before me, Elliot threw Samuel into the tree line, and I heard him land with a loud crash. Then Stag turned to face me once again, and his neck was completely healed.

“Shit,” I whispered to myself, still holding the blade high.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now, girly,” he hissed, finally pouncing on me.

I tried to avoid him, but he was too fast, much faster than I thought he was going to be. I didn’t have enough time to avoid being hit. He used his feet to kick me back, and I hit the metal door with such force that it knocked the wind right out of me. I slid down to the ground, the sword abandoned at my side as I tried to get air back into my lungs. That’s when I felt the first trickle of blood run down my leg.

Everything began to slow down. I could see what Stag’s next move was even before he made it. So I lifted the sword as best I could, anchored myself against the door, and as he lunged, I plunged the silver blade deep into his abdomen. The force of the blow sent me flying into the door again, cracking my skull in the process.

Stag staggered back, the sword sliding from his flesh as easily as Kathryn had envisioned it. And as I stood there leaning against the metal back door of the diner, Elliot’s
wolf
-
like
legs buckled under him.

I moved forward, the yard swaying before me, and with one swift move, I cleaved his head right off his shoulders. It rolled onto the grass, and as the lifeless body fell backward, I took the sword and hacked his chest open.