Promised at the Moon (2 page)

She needed her bracelet. She had less than a month before the next full moon. Without it, she would be helpless against the moon’s sway. She hadn’t shifted in months. Without her wolfsbane bracelet, the shift would be worse than ever, and she didn’t know where she was going or where to run or…or…or—

Drained, she gathered her things, picked up her backpack and used it to wipe as much glass as possible from her seat before getting back in. She leaned forward and rested her head on the steering wheel. Giant heaves wracked her body. The wind whipped through the broken window, bringing with it the scent of the public bathroom.

The need to reach out to her pack for support all but consumed her. But the dread of not knowing who had betrayed her parents kept her from calling anyone. Her family home had been more than guarded. There was no way Daniel had gotten in without inside help. Her pack would be divided by her father’s death. Fighting would start for the new Alpha. Maybe they’d see her as a hindrance.

She wiped her face on her sleeve and breathed deeply several times. All she had was the cash in her bag and a man named Tate, whom she’d never met in person, to get her to safety. Natasha only hoped she could trust him.

Chapter Two

Liam lounged on his motorcycle and checked his watch. The bright Malibu, California sun shone down on the asphalt, making his leather coat too warm. The text from Tate at the Night Shift Relocation Corporation two days before had said a twenty-year-old female named Natasha Moon was in need of emergency help. He’d agreed to get her to a safe house, texting Tate and telling him to have the female meet him at noon.

It was twelve fifteen. Waiting wasn’t his strong suit, but he owed a debt to pay it forward. Because of it, he’d started relocating young people who needed distance from their packs for one reason or another. So far he’d relocated eight shifters.

The sound of a car lifted his gaze. A dark-blue Honda with the driver-side window covered in plastic sped down the residential street toward him. The vehicle slowed and stopped at the curb behind his bike. A petite blonde with large movie-star sunglasses looked at her phone and then up at the condo building.

He held up his watch and tapped it.

She shook her head and got out of the car, a large backpack slung over her shoulder. She glanced up and down the street several times before closing the door and locking it.

A baggy hoodie hung loosely around her petite body, and a pair of yoga pants framed her slender hips. He caught the scent of stale blood and jasmine. His senses sharpened. A cut and bruise peeked out from below her left eye. She pushed the glasses onto her head, revealing bright azure eyes.

His gut clenched at the sight of her.
Easy, boy.
He couldn’t afford to let a female get close.

Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. Blood stained the material on her left shoulder.

Anger swept through him like a brushfire. He flung his leg over his bike and stepped closer. “You’re hurt.”

She stepped away from him quickly. “I…I’m fine.”

He stopped and put up his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Liam. Are you—”

She swallowed hard. “Asha.”

“Asha’s good. You’d do better to pick a completely different name, but if Asha is what you can remember, go for it. Just make sure no one will be searching for you under that name.”

“They won’t.”

Long, golden hair camouflaged the right side of her beautiful face, obscuring her high cheekbones and pouty pink lips. Liam’s gut clenched again, and he was glad he still had his own sunglasses on so she couldn’t see him staring.

“How long have you been driving?”

“Three days.” She gazed down the street.

Three days?

“Well, let’s get you inside so you can clean up and rest.” His heavy boots hit the pavement and his chain bracelets clinked as he walked to the curb. She stayed rooted to the spot. Her eyes held the same fear as the prey he caught on the full moon. “This is a nice, quiet neighborhood. No one will bother you here, but if one of the old ladies from next door comes out to find you bloody and afraid, you can believe the police are gonna be called, and I don’t think you want that.”

She shook her head and stepped up to the curb, wincing as she readjusted her backpack.

“Let me help you.” He reached out to take her bag, and she stiffened.

“No thank you.” She clutched it tight in her fists.

Liam started for the white stucco building. Asha’s quiet footsteps followed him to the gate. He punched in the access code and the gate opened at the buzzer. He held the gate for her, and she ducked under his arm. Again he was struck by her jasmine scent. He breathed in deeply despite the warning howls of his wolf.

Once inside, he walked to the second condo on the right, knocked and waited. Asha inspected the courtyard between the condos. The sound of locks being slid turned their attention to the door. It opened only as wide as the chain would allow. A pair of round brown eyes peered out at him.

He smiled. “Hey, Cara.”

Cara unchained the door and stepped aside. Liam crossed into the small living room. Asha still stood outside. The two women stared at each other.

“I’m Cara,” said the tall brunette.

Asha’s gaze narrowed, and she sniffed the air.

“Is that an emergency pack?” asked Cara. “My mom got one for me a few years ago. I keep it in my closet.”

Asha stepped in. “Mine was under my bed.”

Liam blew out a large breath. Getting them to trust him enough to walk in the door was the hardest part.

Natasha stepped into the condo past Liam, his large chest bound in a stretched white T-shirt and leather jacket, and scanned the room. The room was clean but sparse. The first floor had a small kitchen, living room, a bathroom and bedroom. Cara led her up the narrow stairs to the top floor, which had two more bedrooms along with a laundry room and two bathrooms. There was also a basement storage area attached to a garage where she could put her car.

“You can have this room or the smaller one on the main floor.” Cara pointed into the master bedroom. “I have some towels and sheets and stuff that you’re welcome to borrow.”

The numbness that had settled over her in the last day left Natasha’s mind like a fog. She’d tried her father’s cell phone dozens of times, and it had always gone straight to voice mail. She walked into the bedroom and sat on the large, bare bed with the standard hotel padded headboard.

Her gaze traveled over every inch of the room. An empty, cracked melamine dresser sagged in the corner. Long white hanging blinds swung softly over a sliding door that led to a patio big enough only for a pair of pigeons.

“Great. My room is right there. I’ll let you have some time to yourself. Yell if you need anything.”

Natasha swung her gaze to the splatter of freckles across Cara’s nose. A kind smile crinkled the corners of her soft eyes. “Thank you.”

Cara said something to Liam, and then his huge frame shadowed her doorway. The floor shook slightly as his combat boots punched the ground. The sound of his chain bracelets jingling resounded in the bare room. Thick dark curls the color of burnt umber hung loosely to his neck. He brushed them from his forehead with a calloused hand sporting several heavy rings.

He moved closer and squatted down between her knees. At eye level, he took off his sunglasses to reveal brilliant jade-green eyes. They raked over every inch of her face, down her neck, to her shoulder.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He locked eyes with her again. “I just want to take a peek at your shoulder.”

She nodded and sat motionless as he removed her bag and dropped it to the floor.

His large fingers pulled at the hoodie, breaking the scabbed skin as he removed it. She glanced down. The wounds were almost gone. His fingers touched the sensitive area, and she flinched.

He dropped his hand. “Probably needed stitches. They’ll scar now.”

“Doesn’t matter.” She swallowed. They stared at each other for a minute. What the hell did a few scars matter compared to the fact that her parents were dead and she felt as hollow as a seashell?

Suddenly she reached out and grabbed onto him, slipping her arms under his jacket and around his hard back. He stiffened initially and then folded her into him. She had no idea what she was doing, but she didn’t care, didn’t think, just closed her eyes and let his warmth flow over her. She needed the contact with someone, anyone. The thing she’d missed most over the past days, besides her parents, was the physical contact she was used to from her pack. To outsiders, it was strange, but to the pack touching could mean so many different things. Like when her mother had fallen ill and every female in the pack had taken turns lying at her side in bed to comfort her. Or when one of the younger children had been injured during his first turn and the entire pack had spent the night wrapping their bodies around him to keep him grounded and secure.

Liam’s scent of leather and cologne lingered in her nose and soothed her inner wolf to sleep. He held her silently in his strong arms.

After a minute, she let go, sat back on the bed and swallowed hard. Embarrassment heated her cheeks and flustered her thoughts.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I—I didn’t mean to do that.”

His eyes flashed golden, and her heartbeat quickened. He was an Alpha.

He glanced away and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot.” His gaze drifted back to her and he cleared his throat. “Look. I don’t know what happened to you, and you don’t have to tell me. My job is to find you a safe place and keep you safe. You can stay here for as long as you want. The rent’s cheap and it’s close to the community college. Next semester starts in a few weeks. I can get you in, but you have to let me know before the end of the week.”

“No, thank you,” she said. “I don’t think—” She didn’t think what?

Liam nodded. “It’s fast, but consider it. The best thing to do is start a new life to help you forget your old one.”

Natasha stared at the wall behind him. “I think my parents are dead.”

He blew out a heavy breath and hung his head. “I understand how that feels, believe it or not. But the fact that you’re here says to me that they wanted you to live. It’ll take time, but you can do this.”

Her soul reached for hope that he was right, making her want to grab it and hold on tight. But the ache in her chest hurt like she’d been cleaved in two. What would she do with her life now? Before Daniel had changed, her path had been so clear.

Liam opened Natasha’s bag and dug inside. She reached for it, but he put up his hand to stop her.

He retrieved three phones and held them up to her. “Which one’s yours?”

She pointed to the smartphone. He turned it over and removed the back cover. “Good, you took the battery out. Only replace it if you have to. Which of these two are you going to use?”

Natasha pointed to the pink one. “I don’t know the number.”

Liam dialed a number and a phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and showed it to her. “This is you. I’m going to program it into my phone in case you need me.” He showed her the pink phone. “This is me. You call if you need anything. That’s what I’m here for.”

He put the phones into the bag and pulled out a wad of her cash, then peeled off five one-hundred-dollar bills.

“This is your rent for the month.” He put it in his pocket. “Get some rest, get some food and wait a few days before you make any decisions.”

His eyes were kind despite his rough exterior. She studied the stubble on his chin. It was the same dark umber color as his hair, and she wondered if that was his color when he shifted at the moon.

She’d lost track of how long she’d been staring at him when he patted her on the knee, zipped up her bag and stood. Instinctively she grabbed his rough hand. The move surprised her, and again the contact comforted her. Even if it was from someone who’d been paid.

“Thank you, Liam.” Her voice sounded stronger than she felt.

He glanced at her hand and slid from her grasp. “Call me if you need me. And remember, if you want to register for school, I have to know by the end of the week.” He replaced his sunglasses and strode from her room.

Natasha listened to the sound of his boots stomp down the stairs. She waited until his motorcycle roared to life and then took the pink phone and curled up in a ball on her bed.

She waited as the minutes ticked by, hoping for some digital miracle. A text or call to feed her waning hope.

None came. Finally, she drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

Natasha had been in her room for two days, obsessively checking her phone for messages, when a familiar set of heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs. She’d been unable to make herself do anything. The longer she went without word from her parents, the more obsessed she became.

Lying on her bed, Natasha’s memories of that night played like an endless loop in her head. The feel of her mother shaking her awake. The sound of Daniel arguing with her father. The look on her mother’s face as she squeezed Natasha out of the basement window that used to be the perfect size when she was a child, but now at twenty she’d barely fit through.

“We love you, Natasha.”

A knock on the door reluctantly pushed open her eyelids, but she didn’t move.

“Asha.” The sound of her name on his lips washed over her like a healing salve, soothing her wounded soul.

She squeezed her eyes shut. No. She couldn’t go there with a guy again. She couldn’t let one in. Especially one who was in it for the money.

The other side of her bed squeaked under his weight. “Cara tells me you haven’t left this room in two days.”

She sighed and rolled to face him. “I think I was wrong. My parents are strong. They have to still be alive. I can’t miss their call.”

“You need to shower and eat.”

He wasn’t telling her anything new. But just the thought of leaving the bed weighed her down like iron chains.

“Asha. I’m sure if your parents were here they wouldn’t want you to do this. And if they call while you’re in the shower, what’s the worst that could happen? They’ll either tell you to stay put, or it’s all clear and to come home. Either way, missing the call to take care of yourself won’t make a difference.”

She sat up, leaned against the headboard and crossed her arms over her chest.

Liam clenched his jaw and growled. He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out again.

Her life had crashed down around her in the span of two gunshots. The two shots that continued to ring through her ears over and over like bad song lyrics.

She’d never done anything on her own before. Her parents or her pack had always been there. A large extended family that looked after and protected the only daughter of the pack Alpha. They vacationed together. Picnicked together. Spent birthdays, holidays, everything together. All forty of them. Old, married, single, babies. Until the last couple of years, anyway.

“I’ve never been alone before,” she said.

He rubbed his face. “I understand. But if they’ve passed on, they didn’t die so you could lie in bed all day feeling sorry for yourself.”

His words stabbed through her and twisted like a serrated knife. “I don’t feel sorry for myself.”

He slapped the bed. “Then get up. Take a shower. Eat something. Start over.”