Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel) (25 page)

“How did you know he
was my mate?”

He shrugged. “Because
he looked at you.”

“So?”

“Between all three
werewolves in the hall, he chose you to look at.” He shrugged. “And I could
smell him on you.”

I smirked at him,
feeling strange sitting in a restaurant deep in a conversation with a vampire.
But oddly, the fear that had arisen earlier had faded. If he wanted to kill or
harm me, he would have already. Which was probably a big mistake, how could I
feel this way when only minutes ago he was munching on someone’s neck?

“Why did you bring me
here?”

“So we could eat.”

“Why didn’t you order
anything?”

His brows rose. “I’m a vampire.
I drink blood,” he whispered the words, knowing I would hear him.

Feeling the need to do
something with my hands, I rubbed the condensation from my water glass and
gazed around the room. The restaurant was still relatively empty, but an older
couple had arrived and were now seated at the table Sebastian gave up. I could
hear chatter and the clinking of dishes from the kitchen. “You don’t eat food?”
I asked after a brief pause.

He shrugged. “I can,
but blood tastes better.

“Then why did you want
to go to a restaurant?”

His brow furrowed. “To
eat,” he repeated, as though I was dumb. And then he grinned, showing his shiny
white teeth. “It was quite satisfying.”

I tried to hide my
disgust, but I was sure it showed on my face. I took a frustrated breath.
“Couldn’t you get anyone off the street, why come here.

“I’m not uncivilized.
Like any other person, when I’m hungry I go to a restaurant.”

I could only stare at
him blankly, at a loss for words.

“You know what they say
about throwing stones.”

“I don’t drink blood.”

“No, you eat it. When
you’re a wolf there is blood when you rip into a body.”

His words made me
cringe. “None of my friends attack humans and
I
don’t even attack
animals. I prefer my food cooked.”

He smirked, his eyes
narrowed as if accessing me. “You don’t fool me. I’ve met a few werewolves in
my time.” His face hardened and his eyes went pink, but he closed them before
they could go blood red like I had seen earlier.

“I’m serious. I know
what happened to you and your friends.” I froze when he opened his eyes and
leveled his gaze on me. The look he gave me was deadly. I had to keep reminding
myself that he was dangerous and not be fooled by his jovial manner. I gulped
down the fear that had suddenly reappeared. I couldn’t show him how I felt. I
had a feeling he wouldn’t respect that. “And while some werewolves kill, like
I’m sure some vampires do, we don’t.” I hoped my tone sounded as firm as I had
meant it to. I wanted him to understand; Sadie’s life depended on it.

Sebastian leaned
forward, his gaze boring into me. “Do you know where Miles is?”

I suddenly felt like I
wanted to share all my secrets with him. “No. I’ve never met him. I just met
Sadie a few weeks ago.”

He stared at me as if
trying to decide if I was telling him the truth, but at that moment I couldn’t
do otherwise. I would never lie to him. When he turned away from me, those
thoughts disappeared. I would definitely lie to him if I had to. “Did you just
do something to me?”

His face went blank.
“Do what?”

“I don’t know,
hypnotize me somehow?”

His lips turned upward
into a lopsided smile. “I’m not a magician Megan, I’m a vampire.”

I was about to argue
when the waitress came back with my food. Once she was gone I stabbed my beef
and took a bite. “Miles didn’t attack you. You know that right. It was the man
that turned him into a werewolf against his will. He was trying to make him
kill like he did, but Miles refused.”

Sebastian took a sip of
his water, making me wonder about his diet. But if I asked too many questions,
he wouldn’t answer.

He shook his head. “It
doesn’t matter. Every one of them has to die. They took away my friend and
ruined his father. An eye for an eye.”

I stared at him,
holding my fork in the air in front of me, baffled by his logic. “Your friend’s
father was turned into a werewolf right?”

He nodded so slightly,
I wasn’t sure if he had actually moved.

“So was Miles. He was
just as much of a victim as your friend’s father. What was his name?”

“Isaiah. And my friends
name was Aiden. They were my only family. My parents left me when I was a
child.” His words were mumbled, like he didn’t want to speak them. I was
actually surprised that he had answered me. He didn’t seem like the sharing
type.

I had the urge to ask
him about the father, but that was for Nate to do, although I had a feeling
that it was going to be difficult for Nate to get any information from him.
“Miles was Sadie’s only family and from what I hear, he is a good man.”

A brow lifted over his
eyes. “But you don’t know him.”

I shook my head. “No, I
told you I just met Sadie. But from what they’ve said he was like Nate; and
would never hurt anyone. They don’t kill humans. No one I know does. In fact
we’ve had a few run-ins with werewolves who do and they’ve tried to hurt us.”

He studied me closely
for several long seconds as if considering my words. When I started to get
uncomfortable under his scrutiny, he spoke, “Eat up. It’s time to go.” His
voice was hard and immovable. He had closed up. His moment of sharing was over
and there was no way I was about to argue. I did what I was told and gobbled
the rest of my food. When my plate was cleared, he paid the waitress and we
left.

Baycroft Park

As the sun set in the
sky, Sebastian pulled his car up to the park. The pink and orange streak’s
peaked through the trees as we opened the doors to step out. Nate and Joe’s
cars were already there, parked along the side of the road. The air was cooling
down, a break from the sun’s hot rays from earlier.

Five figures stepped
out of the trees and right away, I spotted Nate. His expression was tense as he
looked me over, worried that Sebastian had hurt me. I smiled, hoping to
reassure him. He was flanked by Joe, Adrian, Sadie and Lauren. All of them
appeared to be ready to fight, each holding their individual stances.

“Ask your questions
werewolf.” Sebastian’s voice was smooth and commanding as we walked to the
center of the meadow that was situated next to the road. The scent of
honeysuckle wafted in the air. He stopped about five feet from my friends and
as I took a step toward Nate, the vampire reached up and gripped my arm.

“Let her go,” Nate
growled, his deep snarl echoed through the trees.

Sebastian looked me
over, his penetrating eyes held a hint of amusement and a small smile played at
the edges of his lips. “I’m not sure I want to. I’ve grown rather attached to
her during our short time together.”

Nate’s face hardened,
his eyes flashed wild and yellow, his hands balled into fists at his sides. His
expression was murderous. I was worried he would try to fight for me and after
everything I had learned about Sebastian I wasn’t sure he would win. In fact, I
was beginning to think he wouldn’t have a hope in hell.

I tried to yank my arm
from the hand that held it, but met resistance. He was immovable, even with my
heightened strength. He smirked at me, his eyes dancing with laughter. For some
reason the fact that he found this situation amusing, sparked rage inside me and
I reacted without thinking. He was too busy watching my face that he didn’t
notice my free hand shoot up to his arm and I yanked. His pale blue eyes
widened as I obviously took him off guard. Taking advantage of his surprise, I
flipped him over my shoulder. He released my arm with the movement as he landed
on the ground with a
thud
. Blades of grass curled around his head and
body. I glared down at him. “Stop acting like an ass and let him ask you some
questions.”

Instead of the rage I
thought I would see on his face, his lips turned up at the corners. “I knew you
were frisky. I like that.” He chuckled. “May I get up now?”

Suddenly, I was no
longer alone. All of my friends stood around us, gazing yellow-eyed at the
stunned vampire below me.

“Are you going to
threaten to take my wife again?” Nate asked with obvious animosity in his
voice.

Sebastian sat up and
grinned wickedly. “I might, but for now she is safe.” He stood and glanced at
my husband. “Ask your questions, I’m growing tired of this small-town and annoyed
by the people in it.” He eyed us all as a group pointedly.

“Where can I find
Isaiah King?” Nate finally asked.

Joe’s eyes widened, as
he spun on Nate. “Who is that?”

Nate kept his focus on
the vampire while he answered his friend. “I don’t know. I found his name in
Charlotte’s jacket when I was burying her. I think it was what she was reaching
for before you shot her.”

Joe’s face paled at the
mention of his sister. He hated having to take her life. But he had thought she
was reaching for a gun, so he had no choice. “Why are you trying to find him?”

Nate opened his mouth
to answer, but Sebastian rolled his eyes and then cut him off. “Can you have
your conversation when I leave?” He was speaking to Joe and then he turned to
Nate. “What do you want with Isaiah?”

“I just want to meet
him.”

Sebastian frowned,
uncertainty flashed in his eyes as he appeared to struggle with his decision to
tell Nate anything more.

“Can you please just
answer him?” I asked, hoping he would help my husband, since he had been almost
kind to me at the restaurant. “He’s been searching for your friend for six
months. It was a wild-goose chase until Sadie mentioned his last name when she
told us about you.”

Again, Joe’s mouth
dropped open in shock, as he stared at Nate. It wasn’t like Nate to keep
secrets from his best friend. Apparently, they weren’t as close as they thought
they were if they both hadn’t been entirely truthful.

Sebastian’s pale eyes
narrowed as he studied Nate. “Is this about the cure?” he asked.

Nate’s mouth dropped
open and the expression on his face could only be interpreted as pure and utter
shock. His look must have mirrored mine. “What cure?” Nate gasped.

Joe’s jaw clenched.
Annoyance flickered over his features at Sebastian for saying those words. But,
why? And what was Sebastian even talking about?

Sebastian shrugged.
“Isaiah has been working to reverse the werewolf bite since he was turned. He
found it fifteen years ago.”

Four werewolves gasped
in succession. Nate stepped forward. “He can cure us?”

Again, Sebastian
shrugged. “I don’t know much about it. Before he was turned he was a medical
researcher. He has a lab and he spends all of his time in it. But I do know
that he cured himself.”

“You guys don’t
actually believe him do you?” Joe looked around our group, anger and
frustration showing on his face. “He is a vampire, he can’t be trusted.”

Sebastian’s face
darkened, the red veins returning to his eyes. “I assure you, what I said is
true.” His jaw tightened as he stared at Joe. “Just because I drink blood to
survive, doesn’t make me a liar.”

“It makes you a
murderer,” Joe snapped back.

I sucked in a breath,
knowing his remark could be his last. I had only known Sebastian for a few
hours, but I could already tell that he could be deadly if necessary.

I was watching
Sebastian to see how he would react, but he disappeared right before my eyes.
He suddenly reappeared behind Joe. “No!” I yelled, knowing my friend was in
danger.

Sebastian grabbed Joe
by the back of the neck and threw him into the air like he was tossing a ball.
Joe slammed into an old oak tree with a thud, the tree shuddered and the leaves
shook. When he landed onto the ground he was a russet wolf. He stood on all
fours baring his sharp teeth, letting out a menacing growl that echoed into the
night sky. In a flash, he dove into the air at the vampire.

Sebastian leapt up to
meet him. They flew at each other, falling onto the ground. Snarls and growls
rang out as they struggled on the thick grass below them. Their fight seemed to
go on forever, with Joe snarling so loudly it echoed in my ears.

Since we were focussed
on the fight in front of us no one noticed Lauren take off her clothes until
she dove into the air, her fur sprouting all over her body within seconds.

Nate jumped in front of
her and caught her just before she landed in front of the fighting men. She
snapped at his arms and when his grip still remained tight, she went for his
throat. I rushed forward to try and help, but Adrian grabbed my arm. “It’s
okay, Nate has her.”

And he did, I don’t
know how he avoided her teeth, but he had her down on the ground with his hands
around her neck. She was snapping at him, but she couldn’t reach his arms. I
should have been upset with her for attacking my husband, but I knew that at
that moment all her wolf could focus on was helping her mate. “Calm down,
Lauren. I won’t let you be harmed.” Nate’s voice was deep and commanding. The
wolf relaxed and laid her head down on the grass. Nate let up on his grip and
she dove around him racing toward the two fighting men. Adrian joined Nate rushing
after her. They caught her just as Joe went for Sebastian’s throat. They all
froze, including Lauren.

I sucked in a panicked
breath. If Joe succeeded in killing the vampire, we would never know anything
more about the cure. I shouldn’t have been worried though. Sebastian moved out
of the way and reached out, grabbing Joe’s fur, tossing him into the air again.
A yelp escaped the wolf as he landed on a rock. This time he stayed down. “Have
respect when you speak to me wolf-boy or the next time will be your last.”
Sebastian had no marks on his face or arms after the fight he had just taken
part of, he didn’t even appear winded.

Sebastian sauntered
back to stand in front of us while Nate let Lauren go. When she reached Joe’s
still form she changed back to human and leaned over to make sure he was okay.
Sadie grabbed Lauren’s clothes and brought them over to her.

“Does anyone else have
a problem with me?” Sebastian asked, as I watched behind him. Lauren quickly
put her clothes back on and Sadie returned to Adrian’s side. Sebastian’s voice
sounded calm, but his hand shook. As I gazed at it, he put it behind him. He
could act as tough as he wanted, but I knew he was affected by what had just
occurred.

Besides the low
threatening rumble that erupted from Adrian’s chest, the rest of us just stood
silently as Nate stepped forward. “Was that necessary?” he asked sternly,
nodding his head in Joe’s direction.

Sebastian lifted a
shoulder lazily. “
I
think so.”

“He’s okay,” Lauren
called out, glaring daggers at the vampire in front of us. Joe stood up on all
fours and whimpered as he licked a cut on his hind leg that was dripping blood.

“See, all is well.”
Sebastian looked in my direction and winked. “Are you sure you don’t want to
come with me Meg?” he asked with a sly grin as if he didn’t just attack a
friend of mine.

“Um… yes. I’m sure.”
Despite his recent actions, I couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t as evil as
he pretended to be. Besides, it wouldn’t have happened if Joe hadn’t pushed
him. What was he thinking, pissing off a vampire like that? “But when you’re in
this neck of the woods and don’t want to hurt anyone,” I added meaningfully,
glancing at Joe in his wolf form. “Look me up.”

Sebastian smiled, his
whole face lighting up. “I just might take you up on that.” He paused, glancing
from me to Sadie. “Tell Miles he is safe from me. I no longer have the urge for
revenge. Everyone responsible for Aiden’s death has paid the price.” With that,
he turned away from us and disappeared. Not literally, he just moved so fast we
couldn’t see him. He reappeared next to his car and opened the door. “Besides,”
he began. “He saved my life.” That was all he said before bending down to enter
the car. Sadie and I exchanged confused glances.

“Wait!” Nate called
out, walking toward him. “How can I find Isaiah?” Sebastian froze and stood
back up.

I moved toward Nate and
slipped my hand in his. His warmth grounded me. The whole day had been crazy,
as if it had happened to someone else, but just being back with my mate made me
feel so much better. I could conquer the world with him by my side.

Sebastian glanced at me
and then Nate. He puffed out a breath, as if making a decision. Then he leaned
in the car for a few moments before handing Nate a piece of paper. “I haven’t
spoken to him in years, but he has two places; a house and a cabin.” He handed
Nate the paper and climbed in. “Until we meet again, Megan,” he called over his
shoulder as he spun away, gravel flicking out from under his tires as we stared,
speechless at the back of the vehicle.

Adrian and Sadie joined
us, all of them gazing at the paper in Nate’s hand.

“Is there really a
cure?” Sadie asked breathlessly.

“That’s what he said,”
I answered, just as shocked and stunned as she was. For some reason, I couldn’t
look away from the paper. They were just a bunch of words, but they held so
much meaning.

“How could you have
brought a vampire here Nate? What were you thinking?” Joe’s hard voice brought
us all out of our daze. He was back in human form and wearing Lauren’s hoodie.
They had moved to his car and he was opening his trunk to pull out his extra
clothes.

“I didn’t think he’d
come here.”

“That’s the problem
Nate, you didn’t think!” Joe bellowed. “You put all of us in danger including
the one person you claim to love the most, for your own selfish reasons. He
took your mate and you don’t even look like you care.”

“That’s enough!” I
interrupted. I knew Nate felt guilty for what happened to me earlier. I had
seen it in his face as I was taken from the shelter and I could hear it in his
voice when I called from the restaurant; but all of that guilt disappeared the
minute we heard about the cure. I was safe, back with my husband and there was
a chance for him to make it up to me for everything.

Joe stared at Nate,
ignoring me.

Nate’s face was hard,
but his eyes were clouding with guilt. “I just wanted to talk to him, I had no
idea he would come here.” Nate replied, as we began walking to his vehicle.
“But you shouldn’t have pushed him.”

Joe’s eyes locked with
Nate’s for a quick second as if he was going to argue, but instead, he only
nodded slightly. “We should go before he comes back.”

As we approached Nate’s
car, he handed the paper to me. I folded it up carefully and placed it into the
pocket of my jeans, tapping the material to make sure it was still there.
Nothing was as important as the contents of that paper. If there was even a
chance to be human again, we had to take this seriously.

Adrian and Sadie
lingered behind us. I watched them as Adrian reached up and tucked a strand of
dark hair behind Sadie’s ear. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he said softly.” I was so
absorbed in my two friend’s interaction, that I didn’t notice Lauren and Joe
get in his car until they were driving away.

“Meg, I think they need
some privacy,” Nate suggested.

“Oh right,” I mumbled,
closing the distance between us. Nate had been holding the passenger side door
open, waiting for me. I slipped inside, still watching my friends. They were
holding hands now and walking toward us.