Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel) (27 page)

She turned to face me,
a barbeque chip poised in front of her mouth. “What do you mean?”

“From Sebastian. He
said he no longer wished to take revenge. Did you tell Miles?”

She grinned, relief
flashing in her dark chocolate eyes. “Yes. And he was very surprised to hear
from me.” Miles had thought Sadie was dead just as Nate had. They had mourned
together after Nate had tracked him down. “And I think I have you to thank for
that.”

“Yeah Meg. You haven’t
told us yet what happened when Sebastian took you,” Adrian said, leaning over
his mate.

I had related
everything to Nate the night it happened, but I hadn’t had the chance to
explain it to the rest of our group: the news of the cure had overshadowed
everything else. I took a swig of water, as a swallow screeched overhead. With
everyone’s eyes on me, I told them everything that had happened from the moment
Sebastian had whisked me out of the shelter.

“So, you did talk him
out of taking me,” Sadie commented when I finished.

“I don’t know about
that. But I’m glad he didn’t.” I winked at her and she smiled back.

“Aren’t you worried
that he’s formed an attachment to her, Nate?” Joe asked. His face hard, his
eyes tense.

Nate sighed. “No Joe.
I’m not. He didn’t hurt her and brought her back to us just like he said he
would. That makes me believe we can trust him.”

Joe scoffed. “You can’t
trust a vampire.” The fact that he was so adamant about his words made me
wonder if he once had some kind of confrontation with a vampire, despite the
fact that he said he hadn’t. It was the only reason I could think of for him to
act this way. Joe had been different for the last month. He was usually so
funny and easygoing. I wondered what was going on with him, was it more than
just his issues with Nate?

Everyone went silent,
their eyes diverted from the two men speaking. Nate’s face lit up like he was
going to argue, until he noticed the strain on Lauren’s face. The tension
between them was upsetting her.

“I wonder what he meant
though before he got in his car?” Sadie murmured, almost to herself.

“Who?” Adrian asked
her.

Sadie glanced up at us,
surprised that we were looking at her. “Uh.. Sebastian. He said he wouldn’t go
after Miles anymore and then he said besides he saved my life.”

Now that she mentioned
it, he did say that. I had forgotten all about it, once he gave us the
addresses and a means to find a cure, I could think of nothing else. “That’s
right, he did say that.” My lips twitched as a thought popped in my head. “Why
don’t you call him up and ask what he meant.”

Sadie’s face went
blank. “No thanks”

“Were you scared Meg?”
Lauren asked me.

“I wasn’t with him that
long, but yeah, I was a few times. Sebastian can be terrifying, but he also
showed me glimpses of a kind person. And by the time we left the restaurant I
didn’t fear him. I wouldn’t say I was comfortable, but I wasn’t afraid.”

The group fell silent,
as they processed my words.

“We should probably
keep going,” Nate finally said, breaking into the quiet.

When everyone agreed,
we headed back to the trail. I stayed with Nate this time, but Lauren was right
behind me and we were discussing our friends Lilly and Allison. Lilly was still
working at the shelter, but would be going to college full-time in September.
She had taken a photography class and she was hooked. Allison was home for the
summer and was actually still dating the guy she brought to my wedding. They
met a month ago and she still seemed smitten. That was a record for her.

Just as Adrian
suggested we sing Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall, we turned a corner
in the trail and emerged into what appeared to be a lawn. The structure in
front of it looked more like a warehouse than a cabin. Before we could move
forward or speak, we heard the sound of a shotgun being pumped.
Chk chk
.
“This is private property.” A gruff voice called out from the side of the
building. “And this is loaded with silver buckshot.”

Isaiah

One thought ran through
my mind as we stood frozen with a gun pointed at us. How did he know we were
werewolves? This person who was speaking was a human. I could smell his scent
along with old spice and spearmint.

Nate took a few steps
forward, prompting the barrel of the gun to peek out from the side of the
structure. The sun’s rays shone along the long black metal.

“Don’t take another
step or you’ll be picking silver pellets out of your fur until the next full
moon.”

I flinched at his
words. The thought of Nate wounded brought a sharp pain to my heart.

“Are you Isaiah King?”
Nate asked, ignoring the man’s threat.

“That depends on what
you want.” The man remained hidden, but the gun was steady in his hand.

“Sebastian told me
where to find you. I just have a few questions.”

“That’s lie number one.
Sebastian hates werewolves and he wouldn’t tell anyone where to find me.”

“Call him if you want,
because he did. Otherwise, how would we know where you were?”

There was a brief
silence before I heard shuffling in the long grass and then the man came into
view. It wasn’t just his voice that was gruff. He was tall, over six feet and
almost as wide. His hair was brown with streaks of gray throughout. Salt and
pepper colored stubble covered his leathery, tanned jaw and cheeks. His hair
was long and pulled back with a thick band. I knew he had once been a werewolf,
but he reminded me more of a bear.

Isaiah aimed the gun at
Nate’s heart. “Then you must have tortured him, because he wouldn’t tell you
otherwise.”

I stepped forward.
Adrian held my arm, keeping me from protecting my mate. I fought the urge to
fight him off and waited. Nate was still calm, standing relaxed in front of the
burly man.

Nate shook his head. “I
promise you we didn’t torture him. He is safe, wherever he is. He came to my
hometown after I asked a friend if he knew him.”

Isaiah pushed the gun
forward, the barrel pointing right between Nate’s eyes. “Who is your friend?”

Nate hesitated, his
lips pressed firmly together. He didn’t want to tell him this information.
Henry was so secretive. “He is the same species as Sebastian and I would like
to keep his name to myself. He values his privacy.”

Surprisingly, Isaiah
chuckled, a raspy rumble that fit his appearance. “Afraid of him are you?” He
laughed again. “That’s okay, I don’t blame you.” He dropped the gun and it hung
from his hand, pointing to the ground. “I’ll admit, Sebastian’s had me
wondering a time or two.”

He stepped forward,
closing the gap between them. “If he really did send you, then I guess I can
trust you.” He held out his hand. “Isaiah King.”

Nate took his hand and
shook. “Nathaniel Riley.” His full name sounded strange to my ears. I had only
heard it used once from Will and when I read it in his family’s letters.

Isaiah nodded, dropping
Nate’s hand and looked up at the rest of us expectantly.

“Oh right,” Nate said,
as if just remembering our presence. “This is my wife, Megan,” he gestured to
me with his hand. “And our friends: Adrian, Sadie, Joe and Lauren.” We all
nodded as our names were announced.

The bearlike man’s head
snapped back to Sadie after Nate had introduced her. His dark eyes stared at
her until Nate stopped speaking. “Sadie? The werewolf that Sebastian was
looking for?”

Sadie nodded and
stepped up beside Nate. “Yes, but Sebastian has decided to let go of his
vendetta and let my friend be.”

A line formed between
Isaiah’s brows. “That doesn’t sound like Sebastian. I’ve been begging him to
let it go for years, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Now it was my turn to
step forward and when I did, I placed my hand in Nate’s for comfort. “I talked
to him and explained Miles’ side of the story. Miles had been turned by the
same people who bit you. He was as much a victim as you were. He didn’t attack
anyone.”

Sorrow flashed over the
burly man’s face and I instantly regretted my words. “I don’t like to think of
that night.” His voice was a rough whisper.

“I’m sorry and I
understand how you feel. I know you lost a lot that night. My husband also lost
a friend when he was turned. He hasn’t been able to forgive himself since.” I
stared at Nate. He smiled sadly, returning my gaze. I looked back at Isaiah and
continued, “But when Sebastian realized he was wrong, he let Sadie go and told
her he wouldn’t pursue either of them again.”

Isaiah gulped visibly
and nodded slowly. “What do you want?” he asked, staring at Nate. The hostility
from his eyes was gone.

“I’d like to ask you
about the cure?”

The man’s face hardened
again. “So you can destroy it like that red-head tried to do?”

Nate sucked in a breath
and I gasped. “Charlotte?”

Isaiah nodded. “That
was her name.”

Nate spun around to
face Joe. I did the same.

Joe was staring
hatefully at Isaiah. “Watch what you say about the dead.”

The man in front of us
smirked, showing no remorse. “I’ll admit, I’m not sad to hear that. How did you
know her?”

“She was my sister.”

Isaiah narrowed his
eyes, lines deepened at the corners, scrutinizing Joe. “Have we met before? She
had a couple werewolves with her.”

Joe’s face tensed, his
eyes turning to ice. “No. Before six months ago, I hadn’t seen her in a long
time.”

Isaiah kept his imploring
stare for several seconds before turning to Nate. “What are your intentions
with the cure?”

Nate shrugged. “For
now, only to learn more about it.”

Isaiah’s face softened
as much as his leathery skin could. “Then come on in. I’ll make some tea.”
Given his paranoid behavior and his bearlike appearance, I was shocked by his
words. Tea? Not what I would have thought he would suggest. Beer or hard liquor
maybe, but definitely not that.

We all filed into the
door he held open with one hand, the gun still gripped tightly in the other.

Despite its warehouse
appearance, the inside of the cabin was surprisingly homey. The building was like
one big loft, but there were removable walls separating the rooms. The entry
opened up into a living room area, with a small TV, couch and arm chair all
situated around a colorful woven area rug. Beyond that I could see a small
kitchen. The air smelled of lemons and candle wax.

Isaiah waved a hand at
the furniture. “Have a seat and I’ll be right back with the tea.” He disappeared
beyond the screen, the gun still in his hand.

My friends took their
seats while I lingered near the edge of the temporary wall. “Would you like
some help?” I called out to him, since I couldn’t see where he had gone.

He popped out of a room
in the back without the gun. “Sure.”

I followed him to the
kitchen and he pointed to a cabinet. When I opened the door, I found the
teacups. As I laid them out on a tray that he had placed on the counter, he
poured water into a kettle. “You’re the one who spent time with Sebastian?” he
asked just above a whisper. Since he used to be one, he knew the werewolves in
the other room would hear if he spoke any louder.

I could hear Lauren
rambling nervously about the views we had seen. I placed the last cup onto the
tray and closed the cabinet door. “Yes,” I said turning to face him.

He turned the tap off
and sat the kettle onto the burner on the stove. “Did he seem okay?”

“Yes, he did. At first
I found him…”

“Evil?” he suggested,
finishing my sentence.

I shrugged. “I don’t know
if I’d go that far, maybe cruel would be a better word.” I ran my finger over
the rose colored flowers on one of the cups. “He fed off of a waitress at a
restaurant he took me to.”

Isaiah grimaced. “When
he started to pull away, I was afraid he would lose his humanity.” He sighed
heavily. “I think of him as a son; I
have
ever since he was a child. And
with Aiden gone, he is all I have. I was so shocked when he chose to become
that
.”
He spat the word out, clearly uncomfortable with the term vampire.

“He
wanted
to
become a vampire?” I asked, unsure why anyone would want that. The idea of
drinking blood made my stomach churn.

He nodded sadly. “He
was angry at all werewolves for taking Aiden and he wanted to be stronger than
them, so he could kill the ones that took his friend. He searched for two years
for a vampire and one day he came to see me and he was no longer human. I was
appalled. He knew I hated what
I
was and this was so much worse.” He
paused as the kettle started to whistle. “I’m used to him now, but I still
worry.”

“I wouldn’t worry too
much. If I was able to convince him to forget his vendetta against Miles and
Sadie, he can’t be too far gone.”

He smiled, his leathery
face lighting up with hope. “That is a good sign.”

“Before he left he said
that he would no longer pursue Miles and that all of the werewolves responsible
had been dealt with. Then just before he left he said, ‘Besides he saved my
life’. Do you know what he meant?”

Isaiah nodded. “Yes.
One of the wolves was about to attack Sebastian from behind but another one
dove in front of him and the two wolves fought.”

My eyes widened. I had
never heard this version of the story. “If Miles saved him, then why was
Sebastian after him in the first place?”

Isaiah sighed. “All he
had was a bunch of names and after he turned into a vampire he searched for
them. And he killed them judging by their hair color. He told me he found Miles
years ago, but let him go when he realized he was the one who had saved them.
But after the rest of them were dead, he began his search again.” He paused,
his brows drawing together. “I don’t think he got the revenge he wanted.” He
went silent; his face clouding with sorrow. I could tell the conversation
wasn’t one of his favorites so I decided to let it go.

He poured the tea,
steam floating above the cup and then placed a box of cookies on the tray
before picking it up.

I followed him back to
my friends and sat down on the edge of Nate’s chair as Isaiah took the only
seat left, a tattered recliner. He sat down slowly and sighed heavily. “Yes,
there is a cure. I created it about fifteen years ago and a few years later,
that werewolf you called Charlotte, found out about it and tried to kill me.
She came here just like you folks and said she wanted to buy some; she missed being
human. When I brought her out a vial, she smashed it against the wall and
lunged at me.”

There were a few gasps
around the room, but most of us weren’t really surprised. It was Charlotte,
nothing she did would shock us.

Isaiah grinned, showing
yellowed teeth. “Don’t worry, about me.” He tapped the pocket of his plaid
shirt, right above his heart. “I can protect myself.”

“What did you do?”
Sadie asked, sitting at the edge of her seat.

“I stabbed her with my
silver knife. She fell down like a sack of rocks. Her two thugs came at me, but
I took care of them as well. I might be old, but I’m prepared.”

“How did you get rid of
them?” I asked.

“The silver weakened
them, so I was able to knock them out with a sedative. Then I tied them up and
dropped them off at the main road.” He took a sip at his tea. “I never heard
from them again.”

I smiled. Someone had
bested the all-fearing Charlotte. It must have bruised her ego. I was surprised
she hadn’t tried again.

When it looked like he
was finished speaking, we all took a few sips of our tea.

“Can you tell us how
you created the cure?” Nate asked.

Isaiah leaned down and
placed his teacup onto the table, a tiny dribble of brown liquid falling over
the lip of the cup. “I was a medical researcher before that dang werewolf bit
me. Once I got over the first year and began to accept what had happened to me
and Aiden, I began trying a few cocktails. I was dabbling really, not expecting
to find any results. I was just trying to stop the changes. That’s all I wanted
at first. I hated the pain I went through each month.”

After his explanation,
the room fell silent as we processed his words.

“So, you actually cured
yourself. I know you're human, but it’s so hard to believe.” Nate’s voice was
edged with the amazement we all must have been feeling.

Isaiah sat back in his
chair and drummed his fingers on the arm of the recliner. “Yes, I actually
cured myself.”

“How?”

“I tried many variables
and failed. I didn’t make any progress until I started treating the whole
process as a viral illness. I found that a virus had the capability of
inserting certain genes to change us into werewolves, and my job was to reverse
this process.” He paused. “A few hours after I took the last concoction, I got
sick. The symptoms were similar to the first change. I was sweating,
overheating and I had a fever. This went on for about a day, but when the fever
broke, I was human.”

“Wow,” I murmured, not
realizing I had spoken until Lauren and Sadie looked at me.

“There are some
lingering effects with the cure, but they fade with time.”

“What do you mean?”
Adrian asked, his arms crossed over his leg as he leaned forward. He was as
fascinated as the rest of us were.

“Well, my heightened
senses are still there, but they’re fading. It’s been fifteen years and I can still
scent that you're a werewolf, but it’s much weaker than it was when I
was
one.

“What else?” Lauren
asked, her eyes intense.

He grinned. “How old do
I look?”

Lauren shrugged. “Fifty
or so?” she guessed.

“I’ll be sixty-eight
next week.”

“You don’t age?”

He nodded. “I do, but
at a slower pace.”