Red Moon (22 page)

“I have been resting for three days.”  She muttered.

“No, you’ve been healing.”  He pointed out.  “You
need more rest to make sure you are completely healed.”

She suddenly grinned at him.  “Both you and I know
exactly what will help speed up the healing.”  She kissed his throat
again, sliding her hand down to grip him firmly. 

“You said you missed me.”  She whispered.  “Will
you show me just how much, Tristan?”

He picked her up and carried her to the bed.  “I will
do whatever you ask of me, my love.”

EPILOGUE

Tristan paced nervously in the hallway.  Sophia, her
face grave, paced next to him and Nicholas toddled a few feet behind
them. 

“I want to go in and see her, papa.”  She fretted.

“Soon, my love.”  He soothed. 

He turned and cursed under his breath when he ran straight
into Nicholas.  The little boy fell on to his bottom with a soft thud and
began to cry. 

“Papa!  You hurt him!”  Sophia reached for
Nicholas but Tristan was already bending down.  He picked up the sturdy
little boy and kissed his cheek.

“You’re okay, little one.”  He wiped away the tears
from his chubby cheeks and Nicholas grinned at him.

“I want mama.”

“You have to wait, Nicholas.”  Sophia scowled at
him.  “She’s having – “

She stopped and looked behind her as the door to the bedroom
opened and Maya, her belly swollen with child, stepped into the hallway.

“She’s asking for you, Tristan.”  She rubbed her neck
wearily and smiled at Sophia who leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her
large belly.

“I want to go too.”  The little girl said quietly.

“She’s asking for all of you, my love.”  Maya reassured
her.  She pushed the door open wide and started down the hallway.
 “Tell her I will return in a while.  I want to see Marshall for a
bit.”

Tristan nodded and, still holding Nicholas in his arms,
followed Sophia into the room.  The three of them approached the bed and
Nicholas squealed with delight when he saw Avery.

“Mama!”  He reached for her and Sophia shook her head.

“No, Nicky.  She can’t hold you right now.”

“Of course I can.”  Avery, her voice laced with weariness,
smiled at the little girl.  “Come, Sophia.  Sit beside me so you can
see him.”

Sophia climbed onto the bed as Tristan gently dropped
Nicholas on to the bed next to Avery.  She put her arm around him and he
cuddled into her.  “Hello, my sweet baby Nicky.”

“Hello, mama.”  He stuck his thumb into his mouth and
leaned against her contently.

Tristan sat down on the bed beside her hip and rested a warm
hand on her leg.  “How do you feel, my love?”

She smiled at him.  “Tired, but happy.”

There was a short cry from the pile of blankets on her right
side and Tristan’s breath caught in his throat.

“Would you like to meet your son, my lord?”

“Aye,” he whispered, “I would.”

He leaned over her and with slightly shaking hands, lifted
the tiny, warm baby from the nest of blankets.  He stared at the tiny
body.  His heart was thudding heavily in his chest and a wave of love so
large it was nearly painful, washed over him.

Sophia leaned against him, staring at the baby.  “He
has your eyes, papa.”  She whispered.

“Aye - and his nose and his chin.”  Avery laughed
softly and kissed the top of Nicholas’ head.

“And your hair.”  Tristan ran his hand over the baby’s
bright red hair before grinning at Avery.

She reached for his hand, squeezing it gently as Sophia
leaned over and brushed her lips across the baby’s soft head.

“What’s his name, mama?”  She asked.

Avery smiled at Tristan, who smiled back before leaning over
and kissing his son’s smooth forehead. 

He looked down at Sophia.  “His name is James.”

He glanced back up at Avery.  Her eyes were wet with
tears and she leaned forward and kissed him warmly on the mouth.

“I love you, girl.”  He whispered.

“I love you too, my lord.”

END

Thank you for reading my book.  Please take a moment to
leave a comment at the site you downloaded this book from.  I appreciate
and encourage feedback!

* * * *

Please enjoy a sample chapter of Elizabeth Kelly’s newest
novel: “Red Moon Rising”. 

Red Moon Rising is the first novel in the Red Moon Second
Generation Series.  This book takes place twenty-two years after Red Moon
and focuses on Tristan and Avery’s son James. 

Red Moon Rising will be available in January 2014.

RED MOON RISING

By Elizabeth Kelly

Copyright 2013 Elizabeth Kelly

She stumbled through the forest, her body trembling
violently and her vision blurred.  The sun was setting slowly and she
could see her breath in the cold air.  She had used her shirt as a bandage
but the blood from the wounds on her side had already soaked through it and
dark rivers of blood were streaming down her leg. 

She was dying.  She had managed to kill one of the
beasts, more from luck than any kind of skill, but not before it had wounded
her mortally.  She staggered on anyway.  The other two would soon
discover their dead brother and it would not take them long to find her. 
They would smell her blood and track her down.  If the gods were merciful
she would already be dead before they found her and ripped her body to pieces.

She stopped and leaned against one of the thick trees, the
bark scraping against her bare back as she took shallow, gasping breaths. 
The small dog at her feet whined nervously and pawed at her leg.

“Tia.”  Her voice was thick and she coughed weakly,
moaning when it made her sides burn.  Blood coated her mouth and
lips.  Her ribs were broken, she was sure of it.  She had both heard
and felt the crack when the beast threw her against the tree.  

She raised her hand and touched her face gingerly.  Her
battle with the beast had left her face battered and bruised.  One eye was
swollen shut completely and her lips were bruised and swollen from having her
mouth punched.  She touched her front teeth experimentally with her
tongue, wincing when they wiggled loosely in their sockets.  She was
surprised they hadn’t been knocked out completely.

“Tia.”  She tried again.  “When I die, you have to
leave me.”

The dog stood and rested its small paws on her shin. 
It whined again and she smiled at the dog.  “Don’t stick around. 
They’ll kill you if they see you.  You have to – “

She coughed again, moaning and crying out with the pain as
fresh blood poured from the wounds on her side.

“You have to run away.  Find a new family okay?” 
She whispered.

The dog barked once, shrilly, and she winced.  “Hush,
Tia.”

She made herself push away from the tree.  Oddly enough
the pain was a little better.  It had been replaced by a curious feeling
of numbness.  She pulled the sodden material of her shirt away from her
wound and stared at the blood spurting from the four deep slashes. 

“That can’t be good.” She whispered and then laughed
weakly.  She replaced the drenched material against the wounds, why she
bothered she didn’t know, and stared down at the dog.

“Do you hear me, Tia?  Find a new family.  Don’t
stay with me.”  She stared into Tia’s soft brown eyes and then frowned
when the dog cocked its head, stared into the trees, and then turned and bolted
away.

“I’m not dead yet damn you.”  She muttered.  Her
heart squeezed painfully.  The little dog’s abandonment hurt more than her
broken body did but it was for the better.  She swiped a shaking hand
across her mouth, staring dully at the blood on her fingers, and lurched on.

They would bring her head back and stick it on a pole beside
the others.  She cringed at the thought that her brother would see
it.  He had screamed and raged and begged the beasts to allow him to take
her place in the hunt.  They had laughed and sneered at him.  He was
too valuable to be used in hunting. 

They had stopped laughing when he had attacked and killed
one of them with his bare hands.  Valuable or not, they would have torn
him apart if she had not gotten on her knees and begged Draken to spare his
life. 

They hadn’t let her say goodbye to him, hadn’t let her hug
him and tell him she loved him.  The last time she had seen him he had
been pinned to the ground, his face red and his muscles straining against his
captors as he fought to get to her.

She swallowed thickly, tasting the metallic tang of blood,
as tears began to slip down her cheeks.   She was suddenly so weary
she couldn’t take another single step.  She collapsed to the ground, her
breath wheezing in and out as her lungs laboured to draw air into them.

She was cold and so very tired.  Her eyes slipped shut
and she pictured her brother’s face - his strong jaw and clear blue eyes. 
His eyes had once danced with laughter, but it had been many months since there
had been anything but anger and sorrow in them. 

There was snuffling beside her and a warm, wet tongue licked
her forehead.  She forced her one good eye open and stared at the small
dog.

“Tia.”  She whispered. 

Tia whimpered softly and looked behind her.  The dying
woman followed the dog’s gaze, squinting at the two figures behind the
dog.  Dread filled her body.  They had found her.

One of them crouched beside her and she realized with a
faint thread of relief that it was not one of the beasts.  The man was as
big as her brother, his shoulders broad and heavily muscled.  His eyes
were a dark brown, they looked nearly black in the dim light, and his hair was
a rich, dark red. 

The second figure knelt beside him, he was blonde and blue
eyed, and almost as big as the redhead.  Even with only one eye working
properly, she could see the horror and disgust on his face.

“Gods be damned, James.  What happened to her?”

The redhead grunted.  “I don’t know, Nicky.”

He leaned further over her.  “What is your name, girl?”

She ignored his question and with the last of her strength
reached up and brushed his face with her bloody fingers.  “Tia. 
Please help her – “

A sudden, stabbing pain shot through her chest and she
screamed hoarsely.  Darkness crept across her vision and the last thing
she saw before it overtook her, was the redhead reaching for her.

* * *

The thumping in her head was loud and
irritating.   With her eyes closed, she reached up and massaged at
her temple.  It didn’t help.  The thumping continued - a solid
constant beat that demanded her attention. 

She wanted to ignore it.  Her side hurt and her head
hurt and she was exhausted.  She wanted to drift back into sleep but the
thumping wouldn’t allow it.  She frowned.  Her bed was moving. 
Only a little but it was definitely moving. 

She forced her eyelids up and her mouth dropped open with
surprise.  Her bed wasn’t a bed at all but a human being.  She was
sprawled across the body of a man twice her size.  Moving carefully she
lifted her head from his chest.  The thumping stopped, and she realized
that it was the solid beat of his heart she had been hearing. 

Not daring to move anything but her head, she looked
around.  She was in a tent; cold sunlight was filtering through its walls
and although she could see her breath, she wasn’t the least bit chilled. 
The man beneath her radiated heat.  It surrounded her entire body and –

She realized with sudden horror that she was completely
naked and the gods help her – so was the man underneath her.  She froze,
her pulse thudding and her eyes widening, as she stared at the man’s broad
chest.  It was covered in a layer of reddish-brown hair and despite the
cold weather, he was deeply tanned.  His chest was rising and falling
evenly and she risked a glance at his face.  He was sleeping soundly and
she studied his face carefully.   He had a broad nose and wide
cheekbones, and freckles covered his tanned cheeks.

He looked to be around her age and he was a handsome man,
she decided.  He was also huge.  Her small frame fit neatly on top of
him with room to spare.  He would be at least a foot and a half taller
than her, her feet barely reached his knees.  If she –

For the gods sake – what are you doing?  In case
you’ve forgotten, the man is very naked and very much a stranger.  Get
your naked self off of him and get out of his tent before he wakes.

She decided that was excellent advice.  Moving slowly,
she slithered off his body onto the blanket beside him.  He snorted, his
hands twitching by his sides, but didn’t wake.  She almost screamed out
loud when a cold nose poked into her back.  She twisted her head,
flinching at the pain in her face, and stared into the face of the small dog.

“Tia!”  She breathed softly and the dog licked her
face, her entire body wiggling.

“Hush, Tia.”  She said quietly before turning back to the
man beside her.  She started to slide out from under the blankets that
covered them and then paused, reaching for the edge of it.

What are you doing?  Have you gone mad?  What
do you think he’ll do if he catches you staring at his naked body?
 Her
mind moaned at her.

She ignored the voice and lifted the blanket a little. 
In all of her nineteen years she had never once seen what was between a man’s
legs, and curiosity was winning out over her fear.  She lifted the blanket
higher, squinting to see in the dim light below it.  Before she could
fully see what was between his legs, he muttered thickly and turned away from
her.  She stared at his naked back and ass for a moment before gingerly
scooting out from under the blankets.  Away from the heat of his body, she
started to shiver as the cool air brought goose bumps to her skin.  Her
clothes were nowhere to be seen, but his were piled neatly on the ground and
she picked out his shirt and slipped into it.  The material was cold but
soft, and it fell past her knees.  Tia scratched at her legs and she
reached down and petted the small dog, wincing at the pain in her side.