Electric Moon (2 page)

Fighting for dominance.

Fighting for freedom.

That loss of control scared her the most, and she clamped
down harder to hold them at bay.

Durant raised one brow like an imperial lord, but Raven crossed
her arms and waited, refusing to be intimidated.

“When the time was right.”

The asinine little...she narrowed her eyes, imagining getting
her hands on him, but part of her feared what her beasts’ reaction would be if
she dared touch anyone. She pursed her lips as another untenable thought struck
her. “You were trying to protect me.”

Durant didn’t look away as he gave a Gallic shrug. “You
would’ve found out eventually.”

Raven dropped her arms, repressing a growl of frustration.
How was she supposed to protect them when they kept secrets from her? And the
sad part, they might not be wrong in their assessment. She was a danger to others
until she could learn to bridle both sides of her nature.

They knew pack.

Who was she to argue that they were mistaken?

“As the host for the conclave, he is under contract not to
trade secrets.” Griffin’s triumphant smile had her shifting her focus to him.
If she didn’t accept his offer, she wondered if the council would somehow learn
of her situation just out of spite. Relief trickled through the other man’s
shields, the first real sign of emotion, though he quickly slammed them shut
when he caught her staring.

She balanced all that she could gain and lose. One thing
stood out. If she did nothing, she lost Jackson.

All else was just possibilities.

“You can come in now.”

Dina darted into the office, a sunny smile on her face, no
shame in having been caught listening at the door. “I knew you wouldn’t turn
them away. I have the rooms all prepared.” The bright little fox practically
bounced on her feet at the mention of having company. Raven grimaced as her
stomach twisted, imagining the lavish food Dina would create. She just hoped it
would be edible enough to choke down this time.  

Durant towered over her when he stood. “Then I had best
select my room before she gives it away.”   

Raven tensed at his declaration. Though his words sounded
innocent enough, seduction and threat settled over her skin, wrapping around
her as if daring her to refuse him. He wanted to stay and expected her to go
back on her word.

His golden eyes fixated on her, the raw emotions exposed in
them left her flustered. Speech deserted her, and she knew how mice must feel
when caught in a predator’s gaze. One wrong move and she had no doubt he’d
pounce. Too bad her body liked the idea so much. His leather scent infused her,
luring her nearer, daring her to close the distance between them.

It was easier to fight him than it was to fight herself. The
damn moon madness shit was going to be the death of her.

When she made no protest, everyone vanished out the office,
Dominic the last to leave. When he got to the door, he shut it with an ominous
snick.

“I’m staying.”

Part of her wanted to accept his offer, a large part of her,
but Raven couldn’t ask him to make the sacrifice. Dominic was their unspoken
leader, shouldering most of the responsibility for them since escaping from the
labs. He had always been the strongest of them. It unnerved her that he allowed
her to see him so uncertain. “We’ll manage. I can’t ask you to change your
plans.”

“You didn’t ask.” He still hadn’t faced her, tension hiking his
shoulders up to his ears.

“This is your vacation. The time you use to get away from—”

If possible, his shoulders hunched further. “Do you think I
have a harem waiting for me?” His harsh laugh bit at her ears, and he turned
toward her. “My
vacation
consists of me traveling to a remote cabin in
the middle of nowhere where I change into my wolf.”

Raven blinked in astonishment. “For the full five days?
Isn’t that dangerous?”

His tanned complexion didn’t hide the dark circles under his
eyes of too many restless nights. His fists turned white on the door handle,
his green eyes brimming with self-loathing.

 This man prided himself on his control. It must drive him
insane to be so close to the edge during the full moon that he was forced to concede
control and escape into his wolf.

No thinking.

No feeling.

No having to trust anyone else.

“Dominic—”

“That man didn’t come here for help, and I’ll be damned if I
leave you alone with him.”

 Chapter Two

SEVEN DAYS UNTIL
THE FULL MOON: SUNRISE

R
aven
dodged the fist flying toward her face, the speed so incredible, she couldn’t
escape completely, and took the glancing blow to her upper shoulder that nearly
knocked her flat. The hit numbed the right side of her body, similar to
slamming into a wall at thirty miles an hour without the benefit of a car.

“Slow.”

She grunted at London’s grumbled reprimand, having no air to
do much else. She clenched and unclenched her hands, still not comfortable
being without the leather gloves she wore to protect others from an accidental
touch of her power. Shifters were programmed for survival. Their fights primal.
He wanted her willing and able to use anything at her disposal. The training
was to force her instinct to become second nature.

Attack and win.

She had no wish to hurt London and refused to call upon
anything but her beasts when they sparred. Each blow she received only
increased her annoyance. At least she managed to remain upright most of the
time now.

She wanted to blame her irritation on the few hours of sleep
she’d managed to eke out, but she wouldn’t lie to herself. She didn’t know what
put her on edge more, the house full of strangers or Durant prowling the halls at
night after he’d returned from the club.

When he’d paused outside her door last night, her breath halted
in her chest, half-expecting him to enter. Disappointment struck hard when his
footsteps continued past her door, revealing just how screwed up her thinking
process had become.

Funny thing to feel lonely with so many people crammed in
the house.

She’d been training for three days. Her body ached, she had
bruises on bruises, and no pride left to speak of. Despite all that, she was
glad to be fighting, the angst building under her skin needing an outlet that
didn’t have anything to do with the moon madness crap.

They sparred in the entryway, forcing her to learn how to
fight in close corners. At least the others had stopped watching them from the
balcony. Some had cheered at each small victory. Others had winced in sympathy.
The constant rumble of Durant’s tiger was a distraction all on its own, like he
would lunge at London if he dared even breathe in her direction.

The large man who ran security for her dropped, swung his
leg out and tried to sweep her legs out from underneath her. Not pulling his
punches despite their size difference.

Swift.

Determined.

Deadly.

With no way to counter, Raven leapt back, surprising herself
when she landed lightly on her feet. Using her advantage, she swung out with
her own foot. But the big brute had already retreated.

“Too slow.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Human,” she spit out, panting to catch
her breath.

“Dead if you don’t learn better. Stop thinking. Trust your
other senses.”

Her chest constricted at his words, and she scanned her
core. The animals that normally crouched close to the surface when danger threatened
were nowhere in evidence. All that answered her call was threads of pure
energy, eager to come out and play. She swallowed her unease and forced herself
to ask the question.

“How?”

“Loosen your hold over them. They're animals. Treat them as
such. They’ll become dangerous if you continue to deny them their freedom.”

Raven instinctively shook her head in denial, sweaty hair sticking
to her neck. After three days, her reflexes were already quicker than a normal
human. Though that was what London had intended, the subtle change left her
shaken.

Each day, her beasts took over more of her life, consuming
what little of her soul that remained. She caught the towel London threw at her
head and wiped her face, ignoring the way her muscles quivered.

“You have the natural instincts. More importantly, you know
how to get out of the way. For a human, you’re good.” London lumbered closer on
silent feet, surprisingly light despite his bear counterpart, his thick brows
drawn down in a straight line. He didn’t bother to towel off his shortly
cropped black hair. No need. The big bastard didn’t even break out in a sweat.
“But instinct is not enough. Stop thinking human. Until you can harvest your
animal, you’re nothing more than dead meat.”

His words condemned her, but his eyes urged her to push
harder. The ringing of the phone interrupted his scrutiny, and frustration
bubbled up in her when he strode away. How the hell was she supposed to learn
when no one could teach her?

“For you.” Taggert slipped out of her office, holding a
phone in his outstretched hand. Although she rescued him from the slave
auction, he technically remained bound under contract until she could
officially claim him at the conclave.

She rubbed her arms as his aura splashed against her body, her
skin tightening almost painfully. Snatching up the phone, she backed away as if
he were contagious.

Except distance didn’t help.

Every nerve in her body was aware of him. She eyed his
shaggy, sun-streaked hair and resisted the urge to brush it away from his face.
His experience as a slave had jaded him that she sometimes forgot he was close
to ten years her junior.

“Raven.” She spoke into the phone, her clipped tone more
abrupt than she’d intended.

“We have a case.”

Scotts’ voice rescued her from getting even crankier on
everyone’s ass. For a chance at freedom without the scent of shifters driving
her batty with the need to touch, murder sounded like heaven.

“What have you got?”

“It’s a mess. One of yours. It appears to be a bomb. I need
you on this one. Consider this an official request. File the damn papers and get
down here.” Those papers were an application to join a national task force for
paranormals. Until she filed, she couldn’t officially assist the police as a
private consultant as she had in the past, not with the new laws just passed.

The dial tone answered her before she could put up more of a
protest. He sounded frustrated and overworked, much like any cop, except Scotts
dealt with all the paranormal dreck that landed on the police’s doorstep that
even the paranormals refused to claim as their own.

It was also their first case on the new squad. They needed
to close this one fast.

She walked in her office and sat. The large desk provided little
protection against the future rushing toward her.

Ignoring the way her fingers persisted in shaking, she
grabbed her gloves and busied herself working the leather over her hands. The familiar
action did nothing to relax her. “You heard.”

“Sign these.” Taggert handed her a folder.

Raven grabbed it automatically. When she saw the application,
she hesitated. If she took this final step, there would be no going back. She’d
be thrust into the spotlight, her whole life examined. But working with the
police to help the paranormals was all she’d ever wanted. All she knew. After
all the injustice she’d suffered from both humans and shifters, she never
wanted anyone else to feel there was no one out there to help them.

“If you want to continue to work with the police, you need
to sign the forms.” He didn’t put any emotions in his voice, tidying her desk
as if he considered it his new den, taking over the hated paperwork she did for
her cases. “Those who voted for you won’t care if you take the job, but they
will expect their favors returned whether you are able or not.”

Stifling a growl of frustration, she flipped through the
pages, noting Taggert had dotted every
i
and crossed every
t
,
everything ever so legal like. No chance later for a loophole to come back and
bite her on the ass.

She watched his hands as he picked up the pen and offered it
to her. Those chocolate eyes of his regarded her with complete confidence,
never doubting her or her ability to do the right thing.

The way he’d infiltrated her life scared the crap out of
her. If she took one wrong step, they would take him from her. That she bit him,
took his blood and claimed him, made little difference until she could prove
her alpha status.

She snatched the blasted pen he held so patiently and
scrawled her name on the line, sealing her fate. Tightness gripped her chest at
making her position official. She just prayed she hadn’t placed a bigger target
on her back.

Taggert took the pages from her, his hand casually brushing
against hers in a way that shifters frequently touched one another. Her
heartbeat sped up pathetically at the barely-there brush of skin, and her wolf
leapt out of the shadows in her mind so unexpectedly that Raven gasped.

The wolf was fully-grown, almost completely white except for
a few distinguishing marks around the face, back and tail where the tips of her
fur were dusted black. Intelligent blue eyes peered back at her.

Taggert’s eyes went pure yellow in seconds, his wolf rising
at the call of hers. And since he couldn’t shift, pulling his wolf so close to
the surface had to be extremely painful.

They both froze.

Taggert didn’t react overtly. Delicious heat poured off him,
all that tempting warmth soaking in her skin. Fur brushed against her mind, and
her wolf lifted its head. The smell of woods, Taggert’s scent, lured her closer.
Urged her to grab the freedom he offered.

“Uh...” Very aware of her body and his, the act of pulling
her hand away was a physical effort.

“It’s the call of the moon. As an unmated alpha, you will be
hit sooner and harder than the rest of us.” Taggert calmly took the papers and placed
them in an envelope, staring at her under his brows. Not a direct challenge,
more like he couldn’t take his gaze off her.

She could see the want in him, feel it tingling against her
skin. It was all she could do not to leap across the desk and rub against him as
her wolf urged.

Instead, she gritted her teeth and pushed to her feet. She
had to get away from all the shifters that had somehow taken over her house.

She accepted the envelope, taking care to avoid touching him.
Disappointment at her withdrawal didn’t show on his face. It was there in the
way his eyes lowered, the subtle stiffening of his body. His silence made her
feel petty and frustrated all at once. “I better drop this off.”

She beat a hasty path to the door, but halted when he breathed
her name.

“It will only get worse. You have to learn how to control
your response or you will have every shifter in a mile radius hunting you down
to put in their suit.”

Like the coward she was, Raven slipped out of the room. She
leaned against the door and greedily gulped fresh air not tainted with his
scent.

“Where are you running off?”

Raven nearly squeaked. She turned and pasted a smile on her
face. Griffin’s scruffy appearance had a more groomed cast today, but did
little to tame the wildness that lingered just under his skin.

His expression said she didn’t quite succeed in hiding how
much even the smallest physical contact had rattled her.

She couldn’t forget that he was dangerous.

Always watching.

She lifted the crumbled envelope clutched in her fists.
“Delivering this document. I’m needed on a new case.”

“Alone?” Griffin cocked his head, studying her like a riddle
to be solved.

It settled her panicked senses, though the effort didn’t go
without cost. The door at her back opened. The smell of woods reached her, and every
inch of calm she’d gained vanished like a wisp of smoke. She shifted her stance
so she wasn’t between the two of them, ashamed at herself for giving way to
them.

If anyone else saw her so weak, they would mistake her for
prey, and all her hard work would be shot.

“He’s right. You shouldn’t go alone. Being near another
shifter will help.” Taggert didn’t offer anything else, still tightfisted with
his words as if expecting a reprisal for daring to speak.