Electric Moon (12 page)

Scotts didn’t outright deny her. She’d take that as a small
victory. “I’ll consider it, but for now, take the damn gun.”

Raven reluctantly shoved the clip home and strapped the gun
to her waist. The bulk settled awkwardly at her hip. The phone slipped easily
in her back pocket, but she didn’t hold out much hope it would survive the trip
home.

“Here.” She grabbed Scotts’ files and shoved them at Aaron.
“Let’s bail.”

Aaron obediently grabbed the papers and rose. Instead of his
normal loose limbered gait, his shoulders were stiff as he dutifully followed
her. “You told them too much.”

“All Regions will be paranormal. I didn’t say anything they
wouldn’t already have known.” She gave him a side look as they wound their way
through the maze of desks.

“These Regions will have a hard enough role to face, their
job made more dangerous without someone to watch their backs. I shared as
little information I could in order to protect them.”

Aaron shook his head. “You sound so idealistic, but what are
the chances that it will turn out that way?”

“I would say the same percentage of good and bad cops.” They
rounded the front counter when a prisoner, cuffed to the floor waiting for
booking, lazily lifted his head. Raven’s steps slowed, apprehension thickening
the air as their gazes clashed.

Matted hair clung to his scalp. Dirt was caked to every
surface of him as if he were allergic to water. Those eyes of his flashed when
they locked on her then darkened with rage. He flexed and the chains binding him
snapped like dental floss. In a smooth move only a shifter could duplicate, he
sailed out of his chair and charged them with a roar so loud that the primal
sound resonated in her chest.

 Chapter Twelve

D
ressed
haphazardly in a weathered military jacket, the filthy man shot toward them
with amazing speed. The odor of offal and vomit crashed into Raven first, the
strength of it making her flinch. Shouts sounded, officers reached for their
weapons, but no one would get there in time.

Raven turned and shoved Aaron behind the desk partition.
That twang of discord around him increased and rubbed the inside of her skull
raw like sandpaper. “Stay here.”

Then there was no more time to do anything else.

The impact of a body launched her into the wall. Her spine
cracked, her head slammed into the drywall hard enough that her vision blurred
for a few panicked seconds. Her feet barely touched the ground then he was on
her. Fetid breath clouded the air around her, stinging her eyes with its
potency.

She twisted away from one fist, only to receive a blow to
her ribs with the other. His fist, like lead pipes, cracked into her, and she
lost the ability to breathe. But instead of dropping her like he’d intended,
she snagged the edges of his jacket and refused to let go.

No way in hell would she allow anyone else to get hurt
because she couldn’t fight her own battles. She never expected anyone to
physically confront her inside the police station. She only had her own stupidity
to blame for letting down her guard. She’d been so confident, cocky that no one
would attack them, that she’d become lax.

A police officer snaked his arm around the were’s throat and
received a head-butt for his trouble that knocked him out cold. Another officer
quickly darted forward and dragged him to safety. Using the distraction, Raven
dipped into the pool of electricity that churned at her core, and slammed her palm
against his chest.

The shifter’s eyes widened as he stumbled backward. His arms
windmilled to remain upright.

She’d shoved enough current into him to cook a human’s heart
to a dried lump of coal. As a shifter, the very least he should’ve been rolling
on the floor in pain. All it gave him was a bad case of heartburn and pissed
him off.

Damn indestructible shifter.

“Freeze.” More officers piled into the cramped entrance,
weapons drawn. No one took aim. They couldn’t. They didn’t have a clear shot.

Neon green eyes assessed her, ignoring the humans around
them as of no importance. That’s when she knew.

Rogue.

And he meant to kill her.

The discord around her increased, and Raven automatically
glanced at Aaron, fear for his safety paramount.

The shifter followed her gaze. A satisfied smile kicked up
his lips when his eyes lit on the boy.

The rogue bared his teeth.

Heat flashed through the room.

Then nothing.

He failed to turn furry.

Then she knew Aaron was doing something to prevent the
change. The rogue figured it out at the same time. Those big hams at the end of
the shifter’s arms fisted. Another hit would cave in her ribs. She tensed for
the attack, determined to just be faster.

Jackson burst through the doors at that moment. The police
tried to hold the line, but he charged through and tossed himself at her
attacker. The prisoner whirled to face the new threat, and both men smacked to
the floor hard enough that the impact reverberated up her legs.

They twisted, struggling to gain control. Snarls echoed in
the small space, the sounds vicious.

Jackson received a blow to his balls that loosened his hold,
and the slippery man came at her on all fours.

“Use Tasers,” Raven shouted to the officers as they watched
the display.

One police officer was ready, and the snap of electricity
sizzled as wires zipped through the air. The shifter jerked and batted at the
cords like they were annoying bugs.

“Again.”

Two more police officers reacted, and the unkempt man
snarled as the darts hit true. He grabbed the live wires, the voltage nothing
to him, and ripped out the cords without flinching.

Then Jackson kicked the man’s legs out from underneath,
preventing his advance. The rogue turned and slammed his elbow at Jackson’s
throat with enough strength to crush his windpipe.

Jackson barely blocked the blow in time. Raven was afraid to
interfere. No way would she ever be able to win in a physical fight. It would
be a quick way to get them both killed.

“Raven!”

Scotts tossed her a stun gun. The cool plastic stung her
palm on impact. She pressed the button, enjoying the lovely blue and white sparks
that crackled between the prongs.

But it wasn’t enough.

The bastard was too strong.

Despite the fear of discovery, she allowed the power under
her skin to gather. Jackson and the rogue quickly exchanged blows, the hits
landing harder, doing more damage.

They wouldn’t last much longer.

She had no more time to wait. The current she’d gathered had
to be enough. She took a running start with no sort of plan in mind other than
to save Jackson.

When she drew closer, she dropped to her knees and slid across
the floor. She raised her arm, the stun gun firmly in her grip. The prongs
landed on the corded muscles of the rogue’s neck, and she took great pleasure
in holding down the button.

The stream of electricity called her own, and they blended
together seamlessly, her current amplifying the charge.

A gurgle emerged from his throat, those claws he called
hands went for her neck. She felt a tiny prick of pain on her skin where he
touched her when his body suddenly went lax.

That had been too close.

She only let up when his eyes rolled up in his head, and his
body collapsed.

Now that the threat had been neutralized, her powers calmed
as if satisfied. Carefully skirting his still form, Raven crawled toward
Jackson. “You okay?”

“I’ve been better. You?”

Raven probed her ribs then grunted. “Bruised, not broken.”

Scotts reached down, offering her his hand. She hesitated a
second with a thought of what her power could do to him then took the proffered
hand.

Nothing happened.

One on her feet, she closed her eyes in silent thanks, and
then held up the stun gun. The prongs were tarnished, hot to the touch. She offered
it to him with a shrug. “Sorry.”

Scotts shook his head, shoving another toward her. “Your
team will have their Tasers.” Then he strode off to monitor the process of
locking up the prisoner in the cages housed below the police station created to
hold shifters.

Feeling self-conscious at being the center of attention and
getting her ass handed to her in public, she ignored the gawking. “Call me when
you interview him. I want to be there.”

She needed to know why they were targeting her, why they
wanted to kill her. Part of her wondered if they knew about her past, but
dismissed it. Dominic had assured her that all the files from the labs had been
destroyed.

All she received in acknowledgement from Scotts was wave that
she took as agreement. His broad back disappeared out of the room, barking
orders after the six officers it took to carry the now unconscious shifter.

Though some of the officers looked grateful not to deal with
the shifters, others appeared resentful that they just couldn’t up and shoot
every last one of them.

Aaron drew closer, his face pale, his eyes never leaving
hers. Fear and resignation drained him of his normal animation. The static
around him was gone, vanished as if she’d imagined it.

But she knew she hadn’t.

He’d managed to block their attacker from shifting somehow. Now
that the threat was over, the animals she carried beneath her skin were back, acting
almost fearful of the young man. They clung close to the surface, their fur
brushing comfortingly against her, but otherwise remained silent.

“Ready to blow this joint?” She kept her tone light, half-fearing
that Aaron might bolt if she gave him a chance. It was only when they arrived
home that she spoke again. “Aaron, I want to see you in the study, please.”

He acted like she were dragging him to the gallows, tugging
at his collar as if a noose was already around his neck. When Jackson made to follow,
she grabbed the doorknob and placed her hand on the frame to bar his way. “Not
you.” She wrinkled her nose at the smell that seemed to have transferred from
the prisoner to him. “You need a shower.”

No matter how much she wished she could stop it, her mind
immediately flashed to earlier this morning.

Him.

Naked.

He must have read her expression, smiling a dangerous grin
that lit a fire deep in her gut.

The animals woke with a vengeance, very much wanting to touch
what was blatantly being offered. She licked her lips at the temptation then
took the only defense she could.

She slammed the door in his face, wondering when her sanity
had abandoned her. She thunked her head against the door, but she could still
see the flames of lust in his eyes. “And tell Griffin I need to speak with
him.”

Sanity slowly seeped back into her body as his scent faded,
but not without taking its pound of flesh as it sank into her bones with a
heaviness that hurt.

When she turned, she drew up short. Aaron stood ramrod
straight in the middle of the room, his hands behind his back in military
precision, every inch a future alpha. Stillness wrapped around him.

And such loneliness her heart clenched in sympathy.

“What are you going to do?”

Raven stood in front of him, surprised to find herself peering
up at his face. His hair no longer stood in spikes, resting limp against his
head as if the starch had been taken out of him.

If she concentrated, the hum around him remained. Not as
strong. Not as obvious. “About what? The attack?” She waited a heartbeat for
his reaction. “Or your knack to null others ability to shift?”

Those husky pale eyes flickered to her before they went back
to surveying the wall. His voice lacked any inflection, but the acidic smell
around him sharpened suddenly. “I don’t understand.”

“Then let me make it clear. What you do is your business
unless it affects my pack. I’m your bodyguard, not your jailor. I think we’ve
both had enough of being locked away. As long as I keep you alive, I’ve
fulfilled my part of the bargain. Understand?”

Even before she finished, his gaze landed on hers and
stayed. “You really mean that, don’t you?” He was talking more to himself than
her. The sharp smell of worry that clung to him slowly lightened.

“My main concern was how did they know we were going to be
at the police station? We weren’t followed.”

The boy’s military pose eased, and she hadn’t realized how
tense he always held himself. “I didn’t recognize the man. His scent was so offensive,
I’m not able to place him. It also makes it impossible to track him back to his
pack. It’s a common practice for hired assassins.” He rubbed his hand over the
back of his neck, exhaustion placing dark shadows in his eyes. “This isn’t the
first attack made on me over the past few weeks.”

“Your mother.” Most people would be shocked a parent would
kill their offspring, but it happened often in the wilderness. Even Raven’s own
mother sold her to the labs as a toddler. The painful truth behind her mother’s
abandonment still stung.

Aaron’s arms came down to his sides, his posture relaxing
more as if sensing the danger had passed. “I’m strong enough to threaten her
reign. In a matter of days, I’ll be asked to pledge myself to the pack. If I
challenged for leadership and won, she wouldn’t be the leader of a pack
anymore. I would be allowed to choose my own mate.”

“And she’s not the type of person to give up something that’s
hers.” Raven remembered the blatant display of ownership, the brutal mark
Vivian took pleasure in delivering to her mates face. Vivian obviously saw her
more of an obstacle than a threat.