Riley's Torment, A Moon's Glow Novel #2 (5 page)

Lauren emerged
a few minutes later with her sandy hair dry and flowing down her
shoulders. The color of the blouse brought out specks of blue in
her hazel eyes.

"I'm ready,"
she said smiling.

"You're in a
better mood."

Her fingers
fidgeted with a button on her blouse. "I am. I'm done with Joe. I'm
tired of waiting for him, and I'm wasting my life being
depressed."

"Good for you.
Don't let a guy do that to you." We both knew she was just putting
on a brave front, but if it was what she had to do to get by, then
so be it.

As we gathered
our purses and headed back into the living room, there was a knock
at the door. Lauren was rifling through her bag as I passed her to
open it. The rain had ceased, and now the sun was shining, doing
nothing to stop the chill in the air. A girl about a year or two
older than me stood on the porch. She was my height with flaming
red curly hair that hung almost to her waist. Her eyes were gray
and narrowed at me. She was wearing tight dark blue jeans and a
black leather jacket. When she saw me, her nostrils flared, and her
lips turned up into a sneer.

"Can I help
you?" I asked, feeling somewhat affronted by her irritated
expression.

She folded her
arms in front of her. "I knew he was seeing someone, but I didn’t
know you were his mate.” She sniffed hard, her eyes shifting over
my shoulder. Her voice had a lilt to it, remnants of an old accent,
Irish maybe?

"Are you
looking for Nate?" I asked, extremely confused as I stood up
straight blocking the doorway. It didn't do any good though; she
pushed through, slamming against me. I ignored the ache in my
shoulder as I closed the door and followed her in.

"And
apparently, Joey did too," she said staring at Lauren, who had
discarded her bag and was now looking curiously at our uninvited
guest. “Why was I not told that they found their mates?”

“What are you
talking about?” I asked. Was she talking to someone inside her
head? I definitely didn’t feel a part of this conversation.

She glared at
me. “Never mind.”

"Who are you?"
I was pretty sure I knew the answer to my question, but I hoped to
God, I was wrong.

She turned to
me with an expression of superiority on her face. I could tell she
thought everyone was beneath her. This was a look I recognized from
my former spoiled rich friends. But on this girl, it appeared
menacing.

"What? Did
Nathaniel and my brother not tell their mates about me?" She gave
us a feral grin, showing shiny white teeth. And somehow I wasn’t
surprised when her gray-blue eyes turned yellow.

I gasped, panic
sliced through my body. "Charlotte!"

"Oh my god!"
Lauren whispered, fear and confusion on her face. "Wait." Her brows
creased. "What do you mean, their mates?"

As her eyes
returned to their natural color, Charlotte laughed, a chilling
sound that held no humor, and she leaned against the back of the
couch. "My brother didn't tell you?" she asked Lauren, and then
glanced at me. "It looks like you're the only one though. Your
friend here knows what I'm talking about."

Lauren turned
to me, a worried expression on her face. "Megan? What does she
mean?"

I shook my
head. "Nothing. Ignore her." I glared at Charlotte, more angry than
afraid at the moment, but I knew the fear that had gripped me just
a few seconds ago was not far away. "By what Nate and Joe have said
about her, she likes to cause trouble."

Charlotte
looked relaxed without a care in the world. "Please.” She waved her
hand in my direction as if we were old friends having a little
tiff. “I can smell Joey's scent on her as much as I can smell
Nate's on you. It's what werewolves do to warn others away. I can't
believe Nathaniel marked you though, he didn't seem the type. He
was such a goody-two shoes that it was boring."

"What?" I
gasped, holding my hand up to my neck. As I spoke, Lauren cried,
"I'm Joe's mate?"

Charlotte
rolled her eyes, appearing frustrated with our ignorance. "Yes,
you're Joey's mate," she said to Lauren, and then turned to me,
leaning forward to inspect my neck. She glared at me until I moved
my hand. I hated that I trembled under her scrutiny. The smell of
the outdoors mixed with a strong perfume assaulted my nose. "And
you bear Nate's mark."

Another lick of
fear shot through me for an entirely different reason. "Will I
become a werewolf?" I gasped.

She rolled her
eyes again. "No, you twit. He only marked you. It’s another way to
let other wolves know you’re taken. No saliva was passed." She
sighed, like she was dealing with a small child. "When werewolves
mark their mates, it's usually in the heat of the moment." The
image of Nate’s kisses on my neck flashed in my mind, and I
blushed. Charlotte saw it, and her jaw locked.

"He was
supposed to be mine, little girl." Her voice turned to ice. "I
intended to show him how to have fun. But he rejected me." Her eyes
once again became wolf-like. I flinched as another spark of fear
worked into my chest.

"And I don't
take rejection well." Charlotte growled, as she stretched out her
hands. I noticed a flash of her hot pink nails as she grabbed our
heads at the same time. She slammed them together with a sickening
crack. The one thought before darkness overwhelmed me was of
Nate.

"What's got you
in a mood? You've been in a twist all morning." Joe asked Nate as
he leaned back in Nate's office chair, the hinges creaking and
echoing in the large room.

"I'm
fine, just having a hard time focusing on sales figures and
projections."

Joe’s crooked
easy smile played at his lips. "Did you have a brawl with Megan
then?"

Nate looked up
from his papers and scowled at his friend. "No, I didn't. But our
evening was ruined because of you." He couldn't help the agitation
in his voice. Ever since he had acted so rash and marked Megan's
neck without asking, he hadn't been himself. And the longer he went
without telling her, the more anxious he became. It wasn't that
long ago that he feared losing her because of his strange wolf
behavior. Thankfully, she had forgiven him for everything but had
made him promise to be truthful from then on.

He hadn’t meant
to mark her, but the idea of being with Megan in every way possible
was simply too much, and the wolf had taken over. He didn’t even
remember doing it, but when he came to his senses, the evidence was
on her neck.

Joe picked up a
pen from the desk and began twirling it in his fingers. "Now, how
did I ruin your evening? I never laid eyes on you."

Nate tugged at
his tie, his frown deepening. "Lauren stopped by just after I
marked Megan while we were about to...be together." He couldn't say
the words. For some reason, he'd always been shy when it came to
sex.

Joe's eyes went
wide, fear etched on his face. "You didn’t hurt her, did you?"

"Of course not.
I would never hurt Lauren. She's my friend."

Relief washed
over Joe’s features as he blew out the breath he had been holding.
"She prevented you from being with your mate after you marked her.
The wolf inside you must have gone mad."

Nate sighed,
hating that he had even considered hurting his favorite relative.
It took everything in him to stop from changing. It helped that
Megan was there—she calmed him, keeping him closer to his human
side. "Lauren is and always will be safe from me. I might have
reacted badly for a second, but neither Megan nor Lauren realized
it. Megan saw me fight the change, but I didn't have the chance to
tell her why." He narrowed his eyes at his friend. "She was too
busy consoling your mate because she saw you kiss another girl. She
cried all night because she was devastated."

Joe stiffened
in his chair as his expression changed to guilt. He glanced down,
fiddling with the pen. "I'm sorry." The sorrow in his voice was
clear. The struggle to keep away from Lauren was obviously getting
to him.

"Did you not
think for a second how she would feel seeing you kiss another
girl?" There was no mistaking the stern tone in Nate’s voice. He
was disappointed in his friend.

"Yes, I did,
and I bloody well wanted to hurt her at that moment. Ugh! I'm so
frustrated,” Joe muttered in a thick Irish brogue. He slammed his
fist on the desk with a loud thud, making all the contents shake.
Nate noticed that the angrier Joe got, the thicker his Irish accent
became. Joe sat back and was silent for a moment. "I followed her
to the club." His voice was soft and laced with remorse.

Nate's brow
furrowed but only said, "Go on." He would be a hypocrite if he
reprimanded Joe for something he had done himself. Megan didn't
know that Nate had been following her long before they officially
met, and because of that, he was close enough to rescue the family
from the fireworks fire months ago. He left before the fireworks
went off, hurt and angry that he had seen her with another guy. He
knew he had no right to those feelings since she didn't even know
him. But that didn’t stop the burning pain in his chest at the
sight of that boy with his arm around her shoulders.

Joe cleared his
throat, bringing Nate back to the present. "I never intended for
her to see me. I was with her a week ago and realized I had to
steer clear of her because I very nearly kissed her. But it kills
me to be apart from her." He paused, running his hand over his
face. "I know why Will objects to us after that rat Rowan tried to
kill Megan, but keeping us apart is hurting her. I feel it." Again,
anger and frustration flashed on his face. He took a calming breath
and squeezed his hand into a fist. It looked like he was fighting
the urge to punch something again. "I saw her in the club dancing
with another guy. He had his hands all over her. And she's bloody
well mine!" His voice rose, and his eyes turned yellow.

Nate's face was
filled with understanding. Joe must feel torn between keeping his
promise to Will and wanting so desperately to be with his soul
mate.

"I know how you
feel, Joe. What happened next?"

"At that
moment, I was so angry and hurt that I just wanted her to feel what
I was feeling. I know it doesn't make sense because I am the one
holding back, but I lost it. I grabbed a girl and pulled her to
where I knew Lauren would see me, and I kissed her.” He cringed,
and closed his eyes.

"Look, I know
what you're going through. But you can't treat her this way. She
was really upset last night."

Joe ran his
hand though his auburn hair in aggravation. "What am I to do, Nate?
Will refuses to listen to reason. He won’t let me date her, or let
me tell her she's mine."

Nate sighed
heavily, feeling the weight of the situation on his shoulders.
"I'll talk to Will. Maybe if he understood what you both are going
through, he'd change his mind. I'll tell him what I witnessed last
night, and how hard it is for a werewolf to stay away from his
mate. He should already know though, he saw how difficult it was
for me.”

Joe sighed in
relief; the separation from Lauren was clearly making him
miserable. "I’d appreciate it. But for now, what do you think I
should do? Should I apologize?"

Nate tapped his
finger on the oak desk in concentration. "Leave it for now. Wait
until I talk to Will. I'll try to make it over tonight. But I want
to see Megan first."

Joseph nodded,
setting the pen back on the desk; it rolled until it hit a small
container of pens and pencils. "Thanks, Nate. And I'm really sorry
for screwing up your night and accusing you of hurting Lauren. I
know you better than that." He stood up, the springs creaking in
response. "I've never known another werewolf with as much control
as you."

Nate didn't
know about that. If he had so much control over the wolf, he
wouldn't have marked Megan. What was he thinking? Would she ever
forgive him for allowing the wolf to take over and for not telling
her right away? "It's fine, as long as you're more careful with
her."

Joe's lips
pursed and the remorse returned to his face. "I could use a drink.
How about I come to your place, and we can drown our sorrows before
Megan gets home."

Nate wasn't
normally a drinker, but after the last twenty-four hours, he'd make
an exception. "Sounds good. Now get back to work."

Joe gave Nate a
salute and let himself out of the office; the door clicked softly
behind him.

When five
o'clock came around, Nate was relieved. He was anxious all day
worrying about how Megan would react to the mark. He was nervous to
tell her what it meant—that it was more than just a love nibble. He
had decided to come clean as soon as she came home from the
shelter. They served dinner at five so she should be home around
seven. That gave him enough time to prepare what to say.

"You ready?"
Joseph asked, popping his head through the door of Nate's
office.

"Yes. Let's
go." Nate grabbed his briefcase, and together, they walked out of
the office. As they passed Will's office, Joe glanced at his friend
with pleading eyes.

Nate shook his
head; he wasn't ready to talk to his nephew yet. "Not now. I have
to deal with Megan first."

Joe nodded in
understanding as they walked quietly through the building to Nate's
black sports car.

During the
drive, Joe filled Nate in on gossip from the werewolf community.
Joe was friends with the pack's leader. Stephen was the alpha for
all of New York State—they monitored werewolf behavior within their
territory. It was a tight knit group, and although Nate and Joe
appreciated what they did, they didn't like the politics of the
pack. Every so often, a werewolf would get power hungry and
challenge the Alpha. So far, no one had been able to take Stephen
down, but it could happen someday and that person might not be as
agreeable as the current Alpha. Nate had called Stephen asking for
help with Rowan when he was threatening Megan. But since Rowan
originally hailed from London, Stephen didn't want to get involved.
He wouldn't admit it, but Nate suspected he was afraid to anger the
London pack.