Moon's Law (New Moon Wolves 2 ~ Bite of the Moon ~ BBW Romance) (10 page)

"And then we," Tao waved at Kane and his brothers, "were shot at by a hunter. One using silver bullets."

"Silver? That’s not standard ammo for a hunter, is it?" Danielle asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"It is for a hunter wanting to take out some werewolves," Tao said. "We’ve been found."

The room fell silent as everyone absorbed that.

"How?" asked more than one pack member at once.

Tao’s mouth thinned into a grim line. "We’re not sure, but my best guess is someone pieced together the truth of the news reports on your bites. That’s the only place where your names were made public. And now they’ve come to town to see it for themselves, and do a little exterminating on the side. We're not alone out here anymore."

"Damn," said Richard. "You mean there are people who hunt us? Like we’re animals?"

Tao nodded. "Yep. They’re rare but deadly. You all need to be extra careful."

"What are we going to do?" Christine’s eyes were wide, and she hugged herself as if looking for comfort. "I’m not happy to be bitten. I don’t want to be a werewolf, but I don’t want to be targeted for assassination either. Are we even safe here?"

The pack looked out the window almost as one as they realized they might be in danger. Andrew, who'd been sitting with his back to the sliding glass door, got up and went to stand under the arched entrance to the dining room.

"Nobody panic. We're safe here," Leo said. "For the moment, at least. I spent all day patrolling the area. He's not anywhere near here. My guess is he's recovering from his wounds. We gave him a good pounding earlier today."

"We’ll find him," Kai said, his gaze distant, as if he was looking at something outside of Audrey’s small dining room. "We’re too strong for him."

"But we still have to be careful. Until we get rid of this hunter, stay human. No shifting. No night runs. And this is all the more reason to build our own stronghold. Who knows when the next hunter will come along?" Tao looked at each member of the pack in turn, the weight of his words palpable.

"We need a place to run, where we can be free," Kane said. "We can’t just run wild anywhere. People notice that, and they do things like hunt us down." He gestured to Charlotte to prove his point.

"The danger isn’t just from hunters who know what we are. Humans are a problem, too. The ones who shot me today wanted to stuff me and hang my head on the wall." A growl rumbled in Charlotte’s chest and her wolf paced through her blood, angry and thirsty for revenge.

Kane leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Easy there, she-wolf."

She sucked in a shaky breath. "I’m good," she whispered back. And she was. Kane had pushed her wolf back. Again. She liked that about him, she decided. Having the sheriff close was a good thing. For the moment, anyway.

"So how are we going to pay for this land?" Annie asked.

"We have some money between the three of us." Tao pointed to his brothers. "Enough for a down payment, but we’ll all have to work together to make the mortgage every month."

Mike Gable cleared his throat. "I can help with the loan. Get us the best terms and lowest rates. You want a fifteen-year or thirty-year pay off?" People nodded as he spoke. Mike was the only one in their small pack who could facilitate the finances it would take to see Tao’s idea through.

"Fifteen," said Tao. "I don’t want to carry more debt than we have to."

Andrew Marksman held up his hand. "Wait a minute, not so fast. So now that we’re wolves and unwilling members of this pack you’ve appointed yourself alpha of, we have to give you money?"

"It’s for everyone’s benefit," Tao said.

"Maybe so, but I didn’t realize I was going to owe money on top of everything else." The businessman looked bitter. "This shifter shit is wreaking havoc with my ability to work. Half the time, I feel like my wolf is going to jump through at the negotiating table and rip out people’s throats. I’ve had to push off a lot of my plans while I wait for my wolf to calm the fuck down."

"It will get better," Kai said. "The more you run, the quieter your wolf."

"I can’t wait that long."

"I can come with you to work." Kai pointed to his brothers. "Or they can. We can steady your wolf."

The businessman shook his head. "It may come down to that."

"If we had pack land, you could run every day," Tao said. "And learn to control your wolf that much faster."

"Maybe." Andrew shrugged, unconvinced.

Christine cleared her throat and adjusted her wire rim glasses. "What about those of us who don’t have a lot of money? Yeah, I own the bookstore, but it’s not exactly making me rich."

"I second that question." Annie raised her hand. "My job has good benefits but the pay is lousy."

"We have some ideas," said Leo. "You want to tell them, brother?"

Tao nodded. "We’d like to open a few businesses in town and sell some things."

"What things?" asked Andrew, leaning forward, a gleam of interest in his brown eyes.

"I am good with wood. I can do custom cabinets and furniture," said Tao.

"And I want to open a smoothie shop," said Leo, beaming with excitement.

"A smoothie shop?" Charlotte echoed, furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, smoothies."  Everyone looked at Leo like he’d said something in a foreign language, cocking their heads to the side almost in unison. Undeterred, he kept going. "This area gets a lot of people who are into fitness. They come here to hike, bike and swim. You’ve got at least ten different five-k events and one marathon every year, but no one’s serving that demographic. The food up here is bar fare or bar fare. I think some health conscious cuisine could do well."

Andrew gave a slow nod. "Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I just don’t know if you’d pull in enough cash flow to cover such a huge land purchase."

"That’s why we’re bringing this to the pack. This land is for all of us, and we all have to work for it," Tao said. "Those of you who don’t have any money to spare can help with the work. I need help with the woodworking and Leo will need people to run the smoothie shop with him."

"We could do reciprocal coupons with proof-of-purchase for the smoothie shop," Christine offered. "They show me their smoothie receipt at the bookstore, and I’ll cut them a break on their purchase. Then, when they show you a receipt from the bookstore, you give them a discount on the smoothies."

"That would be great." Leo smiled at Christine.

"I took woodshop in high school," said Annie. "I might be able to help with the woodworking although I can’t promise I’m any good at it."

"I’ve built my share of picnic tables and bookcases," added Richard Smith who’d been quietly listening this whole time.

Danielle sighed. "I’ve got some money put aside. I can give you a couple thousand toward the property. With my job, I’m not going to be able to help much beyond that."

"I might be able to offer more competitive financing than the bank," Andrew said, his demeanor calmer now. "Not for the mortgage, but for any business needs. And I probably have some equipment you can borrow or buy at a discount from my restaurants." He pulled out his wallet and set some business cards on the table. "Email me, and my assistant will take care of it."

Tao took the cards, and passing one to Leo, said, "Thanks. This is exactly the kind of help we need."

"This is what makes a pack," Kai said with a happy smile. "Now, let’s have ice cream."

"I don’t have ice cream," Audrey said quickly with a small frown.

"Yes, you do. There’s a couple gallons in the garage freezer, or did you forget?" Kai met her gaze with a defiant lift of his chin.

Audrey’s mouth opened and then closed as he rendered her speechless. Finally, she threw up her hands. "No, I didn’t forget, but those weren’t for tonight. And how did you know about the ice cream anyway?"

Kai tapped the side of his nose. "I always know about ice cream."

"Hey, maybe we can do an ice cream parlor," Charlotte said.

"Glen Vine’s got one already," said Christine.

"Yeah, but they don’t have anything cool. No sea salt caramel or homemade hot fudge. We could do something more upscale," said Charlotte, warming up to the idea. "Ice cream has changed. You should see the stuff they have by my college. None of that’s here and people coming from bigger places would like it."

"All right, I’ll add it to the list," Leo said. "We’ll do a smoothie slash ice cream parlor, and you'll help do it."

"Me? Are you sure?" Charlotte put a hand to her chest.

"Why not? Half of this is your idea, and if you run the business, I’ll give you a cut of the profits."

"Like a real job?" She almost couldn't believe it.

He grinned at her. "Yeah, like a real job. You in?"

"I-I guess so," she stammered.

Kane chuckled and said, "I assume you’ll make sure pack members get a free scoop."

"Yes, of course." She gave a weak smile, wondering how things had spun so far out of control. This werewolf thing was full of surprises. At least landing a job was a good one.

Chapter Thirteen

Despite her irritation with Kai, Audrey served up the ice cream. She didn't even limit the servings, just opened up the big tubs, dropped in some scoops, and let the pack have at it.

Charlotte took hers outside, wanting to breathe air that wasn’t clouded with so many feelings. The ability to sense and smell emotions had been one of the biggest surprises about becoming a werewolf. She hadn’t realized how annoying it was until she started getting together with the rest of the pack.

Whenever they all got together, there were often heated discussions, and the most recent gathering was no different. Everyone was anxious, including her, and it stunk. Literally. Add in Andrew’s ire, and all Charlotte wanted was a few minutes to clear her nose...even if being outside meant being hyperaware there was a crazy killer on the loose looking for them.

Even though Leo had said the hunter wasn't around, she still sniffed the air, closing her eyes and trying to sense any trace of danger. She had super sharp werewolf senses, might as well use them, right? But all her nose caught was the crisp fall cold and the smoke of a faraway campfire. There were no sounds of twigs snapping or animals being disturbed. She looked back at the house, considering going back in, but catching the return of the sour look on Andrew's face through the window, she changed her mind.

Sauntering over to the fire pit in Audrey’s backyard, she set her ice cream down on a little wooden table and pulled several deck chairs in front of a wooden porch swing. Made of thick pine logs with high backs—probably to match Tao's height—they formed a loose shield as she plopped down in the wooden porch swing. Good luck to any bullets trying to get through that. And with the house at her back and thick bushes on either side, she felt relatively safe.

She ate her ice cream—a scoop of vanilla topped with a scoop of chocolate—while watching the stars. The frosty pre-winter air filled her sinuses and she relaxed, using her foot to gently push the swing back and forth.

The sound of the sliding door opening hit her ears, and she looked over to see Kane stepping outside. He inhaled and blew out grey mist.

Catching her eye, he said, "It’s nice out."

She gave a non-committal shrug, unsure of how she felt about him joining her. Aside from the negative emotions swirling through the pack, she’d also had to deal with Kane’s presence. She liked having him around, her awareness of him increasing throughout the evening, and that scared her.

"How’s the ice cream?" He came and sat down next to her.

She scooted over, making room for him and offering him her spoon. "Good. You want some?"

"Sure, if you don’t mind sharing."

"That’s how we always do it in my family," she said with a laugh. "We all share because none of us can decide on a flavor. We get all different ones and then decide we want what other people have."

"Sounds like you have to eat fast in your family if you want any ice cream," he said. Then he leaned forward and his broad, sensual lips closed over the spoon while his eyes locked with hers.

Charlotte’s mouth went dry and she felt her eyes growing bigger and bigger. Through her fingers, she could feel Kane’s tongue wiggling around, licking up all the ice cream. Her stomach clenched as her mind went to a naughty, dirty place full of wet desire, and her wolf began to preen, bouncing against her skin, clearly wanting more than just thoughts about a spoon.

She almost sighed with relief when he pulled away. "So, are you ready for tomorrow night?"

"You mean, dinner at my mom’s?" He puffed his cheeks and blew out more mist. "No. I’m not sure it’s such a great idea."

"I don’t know if we can back out. I’m sure she’s told people about it by now. Probably the same chain of gossip that alerted her to my existence. We'd make things worse if she ended up looking like a liar, or worse, a flake." Charlotte grimaced, sharing Kane’s doubts. If she could go back in time, she wouldn’t have volunteered for such a crazy idea. But she knew how gossip worked in the small town of Glen Vine. They’d aided and abetted a chain reaction and had a responsibility to make sure it didn’t turn on Kane’s mom.