Riley's Torment, A Moon's Glow Novel #2 (19 page)

“Hi,” the
brothers said in unison, their voice strained with unease.

Nate spared
them a quick glance and turned back to his nephew. “How many of you
are there?”

James lip
curled. “I’m not at liberty to say. But there are more than just
us.”

Nate knew he
wouldn’t get any more information, but he had to try. “Tell me
where she is.” This time his voice rose and drew the attention of a
few more customers around them.

“
Now, now
, we
don’t want to cause a scene.” James didn’t take his eyes off his
uncle. “I think you should go. Charlotte will contact you when
she’s ready.” James was dismissing him.

Anger flowed
through Nate’s body, almost waking the wolf inside him. Through
clenched teeth, Nate asked, “What does she want? And what is she
planning?’

“Who said she’s
planning anything? We’re just here for a visit. Right, guys?” he
asked the brothers across from him.

Their eyes were
wide as they nodded their dark heads. Nate could see fear in them,
and he knew it wasn’t him they were afraid of, it was his
nephew.

“See? There’s
no evil plan here,” James continued conversationally. “Charlotte
just wanted to visit and was disappointed when you weren’t home. By
the way, how is your mate doing? I only saw her briefly, but she
smelled and looked mouth-watering.” The smile on James’ face
vanished when Nate grabbed his button down denim shirt and yanked
him forward. Nate hadn’t even registered the move until his nephew
smiled, knowing he had rattled his usually controlled uncle.

The werewolves
at the table stood up and surrounded Nate. The aggression in the
restaurant was palpable. The room fell silent. He could feel all of
the eyes penetrating the back of his head. The music sounded much
louder now that all conversation had ceased. There were too many
witnesses here. He couldn’t beat the information out of James as
much as he wanted to.

“If you,
Charlotte, or any of her other minions touch her again, I will rip
you apart with my teeth.” He growled the words so softly that no
one other than the werewolves could hear. He shoved James into the
seat, his arm knocking over a ketchup bottle with a clang. Nate
glared at all three of them and then stormed out of the
restaurant.

Once he
made it back to his car, he took out his cell and made a call to
Joe. “Hey, I need you. We have some werewolves to
follow.”

“
Are you
ready?” Adrian asked, once he pulled up behind me and climbed out
of his car. I had led him to the back of my family’s property,
knowing nobody would be around. There were acres of woodland we
could run in. But remembering the pain with changing was making me
think that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. “I’m not sure about
this. It feels strange turning into a wolf and going for a run
without Nate.”

Adrian’s lips
curled upwards, making his dark eyes sparkle with laughter. “Nate?
That’s your mate?” He chuckled softly. “You know that rhymes don’t
you?”

Despite my
apprehension of becoming a wild animal again, I laughed and gave
him a playful swat on his shoulder. His jacket was made of a black
puffy material. I’m not sure why I felt like I could trust him
since we’d only just met, but I did. And for some reason, training
to become a better werewolf with him sounded more appealing than
doing it with Nate right now. I think it was because I felt too
close to Nate. Every time I balked at the thought of changing into
a werewolf, I thought I was disappointing him. If I screwed up with
Adrian, I could care less—the stakes were lower. I didn’t know
him.

“I’m really not
looking forward to this,” I said, doubtfully. “I’m not someone who
welcomes pain.”

“Who is? But
the more you do it, the easier it becomes.” He took off his jacket
and opened his car door to toss it inside. Holy cow, he was going
to change in front of me. I hadn’t even really seen my boyfriend
naked, and I wasn’t about to see a near stranger in his birthday
suit. “You should also learn to fight,” he said unaware of my
internal dialogue as he yanked off his long sleeve shirt.

Facing the
trees, I asked. “Why do I need to learn to fight?”

“I’m not naked
yet, you don’t have to look away.”

When I turned
back around, all I could see was his bare chest. It did nothing for
me besides remind me of the man I was avoiding. My stomach dropped
at the thought of Nate. I missed him so much, but my mind just
wasn’t ready to see him yet.

“There are
werewolves out there that like to terrorize others, so you should
know how to protect yourself,” Adrian said. “I could show you some
moves later, or maybe you could ask your boyfriend, if you’d feel
more comfortable with him.”

I shook my
head; my heart ached as the words formed in my mind. “No. We’re not
speaking right now.”

His brows drew
together. “Why? That’s odd for werewolf mates. I’d expect it’s
difficult to be apart.”

For the wolf
inside me, it was like living without a soul. She craved her mate
constantly and yearned to be with him. But my human side couldn’t
be around him right now. Nate did this to me without asking, how I
could forgive that?

“I’d rather not
discuss him right now,” I muttered. The idea of discussing my
boyfriend with some random guy just felt wrong, like I was
betraying Nate in some way. I tried to refocus on what lay in
store. But I was a human girl, not a savage animal. I was having a
hard time with the adjustment.

“Are we doing
this or what?” A deep voice sliced though my thoughts.

I blinked at
Adrian, so wrapped up in my internal argument that I forgot he was
there, standing with no shirt on. And as I stared at him, he was
yanking down his jeans.

“Uh..y-yes.” I
took a deep breath to clear my mind, hoping to push away the fear
that had begun to grip my insides. My body and mind were hesitant
to willingly allow the change to happen. My face felt hot, my
stomach began to twist, and I was suddenly breathless. I couldn’t
do this. I was a human girl, not an animal. NO! My mind screamed.
RUN! Don’t let this happen! I was panicking, but while I realized
this, I couldn’t stop myself.

Just as I was
about to run to my car and escape, strong arms wrapped around me.
“Take deep breaths, and try to calm down. You’ll be okay. You’re
not alone.” The voice in my ear was calm and reassuring, even if it
wasn’t the one I craved to hear. The combination of his wild
werewolf scent with his human smell was somehow comforting. It was
of chocolate and mint. It made me think of Christmas and of
stealing some of Mona’s homemade chocolates when she wasn’t
looking. My new thoughts began to calm me, and I was able to do as
instructed— to take deep breaths in and out. Finally, my brain
cleared of all panicked thoughts. I was still afraid of what was
about to happen, but it was no longer controlling me.

I was suddenly
aware that Adrian was still hugging me, and I began to feel
uncomfortable. “I’m okay now. You can let go,” I said slowly, my
voice only cracking once.

His eyes
searched mine as if he wasn’t sure if I was telling the truth or
not. He still looked uncertain as he lifted his arms from mine and
stepped back. I gazed at him and my eyes widened in alarm that had
nothing to do with turning into a werewolf. He was practically
naked, wearing nothing but black boxer briefs, and he had been
hugging me. Guilt flooded through me, as I thought of Nate. What if
he had stopped by and seen a guy wearing only underwear with his
arms wrapped around me? My face heated, and I turned away, hating
how good Adrian’s body looked to me. Were all werewolves so
muscular and defined? The heat in my face deepened as I turned my
attention to the tires on my car, staring at the deep treads that
were caked with dirt, instead of Adrian’s tanned skin. Finally, I
found my voice, hoping to end this awkward situation.

“Let’s go. I’m
not changing out here. I’ll do it in the cover of the trees.” I
glanced at the top of his black hair, avoiding what was below. “And
away from you.”

He chuckled,
“You are still new. You’ll eventually get used to being nude in
front of other werewolves.” He laughed as I scowled at him.

“Yeah, don’t
hold your breath,” I mumbled, stalking toward the woods ahead of
him, knowing he had just tossed his boxers onto the rest of his
clothes. My face was so hot with embarrassment you could fry an egg
on it.

I rushed into
the trees, anxious to be away from the naked stranger. I found a
patch of sumac bushes and stepped between them. Taking a deep
breath and repeating I can do this in my head, I reluctantly began
to peel the clothes from my body. When my jeans, sweater, jacket,
and undergarments were folded neatly, I got down on all fours.
Nate’s voice was in my mind, making me miss him even more. The
images of fur, fangs, pointed ears, and an exhilarating run through
the forest flashed through my brain.

A slow, prickly
feeling came over my skin as fur started to grow. I cried out when
my limbs began to snap and twist. It was over in a few seconds, but
I remained immobile, panting wildly trying to recover from the
excruciating pain. When the change was complete, I smelled
Adrian—his scent was so much stronger in my wolf form. He had
finished his change and was waiting about twenty feet to the left.
When I emerged from the brush, he huffed at me and took off
running. His coat was midnight black, the same color of his hair.
His wolf body was large and powerful, and for some reason, I felt
safe in this new and scary world.

I followed
behind him as he explored his new surroundings, getting used to the
new terrain. I’ve grown up next to this forest, and yet it was
still unfamiliar. I used to take walks as a child with my
grandmother and mother prior to her socialite status. Of course,
all we did was search for treasures, like pine cones and leaves. I
hadn’t been here since my grandmother died. My mother lost interest
in me, and the forest was too scary to walk in alone.

We ran for a
long time, jumping over large boulders, thickets, and tree stumps.
It seemed that if there was a smooth trail or a difficult one
filled with obstacles, Adrian would take the latter. Although it
was fun, all the jumping was tiring me out. Eventually, he took
pity on me, and we found a small stream where we could quench our
growing thirst.

After we drank
our fill, Adrian sniffed the air. When he caught the scent of a
rabbit, he took off in its direction. Despite my growing hunger
from the run, I hadn’t gotten over my aversion of killing animals.
I remained by the stream and sat down on my haunches. It wasn’t
long before he returned with a rabbit in his mouth and began
tearing into it. He glanced up, his yellow eyes boring into me. He
shook the rabbit and nodded his head into a thicket where he had
caught his prey, obviously telling me to go hunt. I puffed air out
of my nose in answer, lying my head down on my front paws, my ears
flat on my head. I was not going to kill an animal. It was bad
enough that I had eaten a few. The idea of the neck of a poor
rabbit breaking under the power of my fangs made my human brain
cringe, while the wolf in me became excited at the thought. But
since this was only really the second time I had changed, my
humanity was still in control.

Adrian whined,
clearly confused. He placed what was left of the rabbit down beside
me. I tried to fight the urge to rip the meat from the bones by
placing my paws over my eyes, my sharp claws poked into my fur.

Even though I
couldn’t see the rabbit, I could still smell it, and it made my
mouth water. I felt a wet nose nudge my muzzle, and I lifted my
paw. Adrian was standing over me with another rabbit. It was alive,
flinging its poor body in Adrian’s jaw hoping to escape. I jumped
back as if it had bitten me and took off toward our cars. This time
I took the smooth path, no longer in the mood for jumps. As my paws
pounded over the ground, the occasional root and thistle dug into
my soft pads, but not enough to slow my pace. I was finished with
the run, I had changed into a wolf, and that had been the point of
this excursion, nothing more. I couldn’t kill the poor rabbit, and
even though the wolf in me would like to gnaw on the warm fresh
meat. I knew the human in me would regret it afterward. Last time I
had eaten a bunny, I couldn’t get the thought of the fur and guts
out of my mind and could barely hold in the bile rising in my
throat.

Adrian followed
behind me reluctantly, judging by his slow tread. He was used to
being a wolf and had been one for ten years. I wasn’t sure if I’d
ever be.

I was waiting,
fully dressed when Adrian emerged. Thankfully, he was wearing his
black jeans and navy blue shirt. Since I had finished changing
quickly, I had time to put his clothes in the forest where he could
change in private. I wasn’t ready to see him almost nude again. I
had enough embarrassment for one day.

“What was
that?” he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. Thankfully,
he wasn’t annoyed by my behavior but found it humorous.

I sighed
heavily. “I don’t like to kill animals. I haven’t done it yet, and
I don’t want to. Nate killed a couple of rabbits for me the last
time I turned, but I hated the thought of eating it raw. The wolf
in me likes it, but I don’t, and I’m the one who has to live with
it once I return to my human form.”

His eyes were
wide with shock. “But aren’t you hungry? It takes a lot of energy
for the changes, and we had a long run.”

“I’d rather eat
a hamburger.”

He shrugged.
“Well, let’s get you something to eat, and then we’ll focus on your
fighting.” When he started toward his car, I suddenly questioned
his motives.