Moonlight (12 page)

Sebastian rolled his eyes, pulling his black hair back from his tanned face. I could almost see the sinewy muscles ripple under his tight black shirt. “Read the information and then destroy it.” He paused, then added, “Tell the wolf to ask his Alpha about Operation Moonlight. I will find you when I know more.”

“Thank you for the intel, but this won’t change my feelings.”

“This has nothing to do with your feelings. I have to find out what they have planned for you now.” He looked down at me again, but behind the cold, calculated smile, there was a light in his eyes. “I’m curious.”

“Be careful.” I raised a brow, unable to stop the words from falling out of my mouth. “You know what curiosity did to the cat.”

He flashed me a dangerous smile. “I am hard to kill.” Without another word, he turned and walked out of my room.

I leapt over the bed and landed silently at the door to throw the deadbolt latch. There were definitely some perks to being a feline. I was maybe even starting to like it. If I had realized what I was capable of earlier in life, I might’ve done some things differently.

I took a deep breath, leaning back against the door, and looked down at the flash drive in my hand. A smile crept up on me.
Finally. I might actually learn who I am.

Chapter Twenty

Adam

My hackles started to rise as I neared Lana’s door. That fucking cat had been there. The hallway reeked of him as soon as the elevator opened to her floor, and the closer I got to her, the stronger his scent became. By the time I reached her room, my entire body was tense, every muscle ready to attack.

Quietly I slipped the key in the door and as soon as the electric lock disengaged I burst into the room, popping the deadbolt right off the doorframe. “Lana are you—” I frowned, looking around her room. “You’re alone.”

She was on the bed, clutching her laptop with white knuckles. “Jesus! You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry. I could smell the jaguar and…” I paused, processing the scents in her room. My sharp gaze cut over to meet her eyes. “He was in this room.”

Lana nodded and set her laptop aside. “Before you get all Big Bad Wolf on me, sit down so I can fill you in.”

Jealousy, anger, fear, and adrenaline all combined in my bloodstream at once. I crossed my arms over my chest to keep from taking my frustrations out on her hotel room.

“What the hell is going on, Lana? It’s after four a.m. and not only are you not sleeping, but you’re entertaining the jaguar who killed my friend. You do remember Gabe, right?”

The instant the words left my lips I saw the hurt in her eyes, and my heart constricted in my chest. “Yes, I remember Gabe.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, raising her head a little. “It’s good to see you too, by the way. And I’m all right if you wondered.”

Part of me wanted to rush to her side and pull her into my arms to apologize, but my pride demanded I stand my ground. What was I supposed to think? She had been naked in my arms a few hours ago, and now she had some jaguar up in her room in the middle of the night? Furious didn’t begin to describe what I was feeling.

There wasn’t another woman on earth that could replace Lana in my heart if something happened to her. It was a dizzying, terrifying realization, but it didn’t make it any less true. Although my instincts screamed
mate
, the rest of me was just catching up. Uneven, unfamiliar territory.

For the first time in my life, I felt weak. Lana held all the power over me, and my future. And I hated it.

That fucking jaguar had been in her room. Had she touched him? I hadn’t gotten close enough yet to see if his scent lingered on her skin. I almost didn’t want to know, but at the same time, I had to know. The wolf inside of me howled, demanding her attention and her loyalty.

But Lana didn’t have the same instincts I did. I crossed the distance between us and sat beside her on the bed. When I reached for her hand, she pulled it away and kept her arms crossed. “Don’t touch me.” Her eyes shone with tears, but she kept them back. “You don’t get to burst into my room and accuse me of getting friendly with the guy who killed your friend.”

My fingers clenched. “Did you let
him
touch you?”

“Really, Adam?” Lana’s eyes narrowed. “Do you honestly believe that’s who I am?”

I struggled with the primal rage of the wolf within. Lana didn’t deserve it but catching the jaguar’s scent in her room made my animal instincts nearly impossible to rein in. “You did touch him,” I growled.

“God, what is it with you men?” She shot up from the bed and took a few steps away from me. “I’m not a trinket for anyone to claim, all right? Something big is happening in my life. Something I have to sort out. You can’t do it for me, and you can’t protect me from it. Neither can Sebastian.”

I ground my teeth together hearing her use the jaguar’s name, but I managed to keep my mouth shut and let her finish.

“So the way I see it, you can either help me, or get the hell out of my room.” Her nostrils flared just slightly and her cheeks flushed with color. She was the most beautiful, impossible, amazing woman I’d ever met.

I stood up. I had to walk off the rage burning inside of me before I exploded. Lana watched me, glaring, every bit the wary cat ready to pounce. The animal in her made the wolf in me edgy and eager, but I made no move to touch her. It took all the control I had to keep the warring emotions inside of me at bay.

“I didn’t mean to be an asshole. I was worried about you.”

“You were not,” she snapped. “You were worried I was with some other guy.”

“You were,” I growled. I couldn’t help it.

“Not by choice.” Lana reached for her laptop. “Never mind. Can we forget the jealous boyfriend routine for a minute so I can show you what’s on this flash drive he gave me?”

I nodded, trying not to smile when she said the word “boyfriend.” I felt like I was back in high school. Love made me a goddamned idiot.

I sat beside her while she brought up the contents of the flash drive. It contained a folder labeled
Breeding Experiment #333
and another tagged
Unknown female sightings
.

“I already told you about the Nero Organization.” She stared at the screen. “He hasn’t told me much more about them except that they raised him and trained him to be an assassin. They sent him to find me and bring me back. But I’ve never been there. At least not that I remember.”

“Right.” I was trying to focus, but the male jaguar’s scent was making it difficult. I’d never wanted to beat the crap out of anyone so badly before. “The question is, how did they find out about you?”

“Exactly. That’s why Sebastian brought me these files.”

My shoulders tightened, and I shook my head. “That’s not why, Lana.”

“What?” She looked caught off guard. She was in the middle of deciphering information, but I was still stuck on figuring out what happened in this room before I got here. I needed to know where I stood with her.

“He gave you this because he wants you to need him.”

Lana set her computer aside, and her eyes met mine. “Since when did what he wants start to matter?”

“The moment I came in your room and found his scent all over you.” The muscle in my cheek tightened, but I kept my voice low and controlled.

She reached up and cupped my cheek in her soft hand. I fought the urge to turn my head and kiss her palm. Instead, my gaze stayed locked with hers.

“Nothing happened with Sebastian. I know we don’t know each other very well yet, so you’ll just have to take my word for it, but tonight at your place meant something to me.”

I kissed her. I couldn’t stop myself, my lips slowly brushing, tasting, and silencing her before she started reminding me that she was leaving soon. I didn’t want to hear that. Not tonight.

When I drew back from her lips, she opened her eyes, smiling up at me from under her dark lashes. God, she was sexy.

“You made me forget what I was saying…”

I smiled, happy to feel some of the power shifting in our relationship. Nice to know I could have that effect on her. “You were telling me about what’s on the flash drive.”

She gave me a knowing grin and went on. “Well, apparently, when I first started to change with the new moon, there were some jaguar sightings that made small mentions in the local papers. No one believed it since they’re not indigenous to Texas, but there were theories about people illegally raising exotic animals. Anyway, the Nero Organization apparently has ties to the government, media, and healthcare because not only were they alerted about the newspaper articles with jaguar sightings”—she clicked open the next file to show some sort of X-ray photo—“but they also managed to get a copy of one of my CAT scans.”

I stared at the X-ray again, as if I might understand it better now that I knew it was Lana. “Did the CAT scan show anything about your nature to the doctors?”

“My nature? Like turning into a jaguar?” She tipped her head slightly and shrugged. “They saw an anomaly in one of the lobes of my brain, so someone must’ve noticed something, otherwise the Nero Organization wouldn’t have been alerted. It’s the CAT scan that made them send Sebastian out to find me.”

“So what’s breeding experiment #333?”

She met my eyes. “I think I am.”

I frowned, glancing over the text. Lana was right; this had to be about her. No other reason for the jaguar to lift sensitive documents. “I’m guessing male subject 505 and converted female subject 413 are your parents.”

Lana nodded, her face intent on the screen. “I think so.” She let out a long slow breath. “It would be really helpful if they had names.”

I brushed a kiss to her temple. “Then we’d probably think he was giving us a red herring to throw you off the trail.”

“Could be right about that.” She almost smiled. Scrolling deeper into the file she stopped, pointing at the screen. “They discovered my mother had psychic abilities. That’s why they chose her.”

“How could they know she was psychic?” I read further and frowned. “Nero runs a private school for girls?” Who the hell were these freaks?

Lana nodded. “Appears so, but of course no name here, just high school facility #12.” She met my eyes. “This says school facility #12 was for females exhibiting psychic gifts. My mother is referenced as a previous student.”

Every muscle in my shoulders tightened. “They use their school to find girls for their breeding program.”

Lana pressed her lips together and pointed at the screen again. “There’s more.”

I read, skimming notes about reproductive cycles and conversion dates.

And two fetal heartbeats. Twins.

I glanced at Lana. “Twins. Just like the Pack. Two shifters, but you were a girl.” The final notation in the file was a live birth of a single male. There was no mention of a second infant.

Lana’s gaze met mine. Her eyes looked haunted. “There were two heartbeats, but only one birth recorded. What happened to the other baby?”

“Maybe he’s trying to throw us off the trail.”

Lana shook her head. “He asked me to destroy this after I looked at it. He said he’d be punished if anyone found the information outside of Nero’s walls. He wouldn’t have risked that to give me a red herring. This has to be my parents.”

“Then you’ve gotta be the missing baby, right?”

Lana nodded and closed her laptop. “If this is all true, then somewhere I have a brother.”

“And they know the other twin is missing…or was until they found you.”

“Could be. There’s no notation about a still birth. Nothing about that second heartbeat.”

“Maybe your parents didn’t want to leave you.” I took her hand and held her gaze. “Maybe it was the only way to save you from a future with Nero. If Nero found out their experiment worked, they’d be testing you and trying to replicate you for the rest of your life.”

“Probably.” She nodded. “And there’s one more thing.” Lana glanced at her laptop, then back up at me. “Sebastian mentioned something about Operation Moonlight and testing Nero did on werewolves.”

I frowned. “I’ve never heard anything about Nero until I found you.”

“That’s weird…” Her voice trailed off for a second. “It wasn’t on the flash drive either, just something Sebastian mentioned when he gave it to me. He told me to have you ask your Alpha.”

“I don’t take orders from jaguars.” Sebastian was full of shit. Or my father had some secrets the rest of us knew nothing about.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lana

I yawned and looked over at the clock. Adam wouldn’t be here for another half hour, but I needed some caffeine. We’d stayed up most of the night going through the Nero flash drive, and then while he went back to the ranch, I’d made calls and worked on another article that was due next week.

I glanced out the window at the sunny street below. People walked on the sidewalks, cars drove by. It looked normal, and busy. I glanced at the door. Adam wouldn’t like it, but I needed a little pick-me-up.

I’d only be gone for a few minutes, and if Sebastian didn’t kidnap me last night from my private hotel room, I was pretty sure he wouldn’t grab me from a busy street in broad daylight. With my cell phone in hand, and the room key and pepper spray in my pocket, I headed out to the Starbucks across the street. Coffee wasn’t my thing, but chai tea and some sort of pastry sounded great.

Just getting out in the fresh air made me feel more alert. I focused on the different scents around me, half expecting Sebastian to jump out of the shadows. Instead, he walked right up to me in the sunshine.

“Did you review the files?”

“Hello to you too, Sebastian.”

He rolled his eyes. “We don’t have time for pleasantries. Did you look at the files?”

“Yes,” I said as I crossed the intersection to the coffee shop. “And I have some questions.” He followed me, his head swiveling with each step. I frowned. “Is someone following us?”

“You do not smell him?”

I shrugged and then inhaled deeply. The scent was faint and sort of familiar. It was probably Adam’s scent on my clothes. The more I consciously noticed smells the better I was at recognizing them, but I was nowhere near Adam’s or Sebastian’s skill level.

He stayed on alert as he pulled the door open for me. We ordered our drinks and headed for a private corner booth.

“So why did you give me the Breeding Experiment file?”

“Because when I found the files about the jaguar sightings, I saw an email referencing that breeding experiment.”

“So you think I was the missing twin?”

“I think it is possible.”

“If that’s true, did they just lose me then?” It didn’t make sense to me, but nothing did anymore.

He shrugged, his eyes searching the area again. “I think you were hidden.”

“How? By who?” My heart was in my throat, aching for answers, wishing that it meant maybe my parents did really leave me to protect me.

He finally met my eyes. “I’m not sure. I came to tell you that one of the goals of the Nero breeding program is to achieve live births of females born into their powers. It’s a liability to bring in human women. Some of them go mad with the conversion. But if females were born into their powers, we could continue our race without human interference.”

“That’s why they want you to bring me to them.”

“I believe so, yes.”

“If I really am the result of that experiment, then I have a brother somewhere?”

“Yes.” His eyes met mine.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “And are my parents still at Nero?”

“Your father is.” He shifted in his chair a little, the only sign he might be uncomfortable. “Your mother was eliminated.”

The cold reality was like a sucker punch in the stomach. I’d spent much of my life hating her, but the moment I discovered she might have saved me, she was gone.

“I cannot give you much more time.” Sebastian took a swallow of his black coffee. “If I do not complete my mission soon, they will send another in my place.”

I breathed deep. He seemed to really be trying to help me. Not that Sebastian was my friend. Half the time he was so imposing it was tough to think around him. I saw what he did to Gabe. I knew what he was capable of. So why was he not just taking me to Nero?

“I have some leads. Thanks for everything Sebastian.”

He took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I will do what I can.”

“What’s in it for you?” I asked before I could censor myself.

“My mission was not what I was told it would be. I don’t appreciate being deceived.” I expected some sort of come-on or another swipe at the werewolves, but his voice was soft and I couldn’t detect any sarcasm. “I need to know who I work for and why they’re lying to me.”

Without another word, Sebastian got up and left the Starbucks.

I stared at his empty cup, pondering what he’d said when I heard the door beep again. I glanced up, shocked to see Adam in the doorway. That had been his scent—just not on my clothes. He must’ve tracked me.

I raised my hand slightly to catch his attention. He nodded and walked over to my table. I expected him to kiss me hello since he’d given me such a nice kiss goodbye, but instead he just sat down across from me. His hair was wet and slicked back. I’d never seen it like that. It gave him a more sophisticated look. He took a whiff of Sebastian’s discarded cup and frowned.

I put my hands up and shook my head. “I swear he just showed up, okay?”

“Who showed up?”

My brow furrowed. “Sebastian. You remember. Creepy cat man?”

He nodded, but something was wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Can we go someplace more private?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m done here anyway.” I threw away the two cups and followed him out. He held the door for me, but he still didn’t smile. It didn’t make sense. He’d left in such a good mood…

It finally registered as I passed him going out the door. His scent. I recognized the natural earthy scent—maybe that was a base for all werewolves—but the musky, almost spicy smell that I associated with Adam wasn’t there. This couldn’t be Adam.

He let the door close behind us. I started to run, but he caught my wrist in a vise-like grip, walking me over to a bench outside and sitting us both down.

“Who are you?” I asked. “Where’s Adam?”

“I should ask you those same questions.” His voice sounded like Adam, too. But he most definitely was not Adam.

“You look just like him.”

“Where is he?”

“You can let go of me. I won’t run.”

“Answer my question.” His eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice. “I know you’re a jaguar. Gabe is dead, and now I want to know how and why you know my brother.”

Adam’s twin. This was the man in the picture at a college graduation in Adam’s house. I’d been staring at his brother and never knew it. My eyes widened at the realization, and at the same time, my heart clenched. This was Adam’s twin brother, and I didn’t even know his name.

“Adam didn’t tell me your name.”

The wrinkle between his eyebrows deepened. “You’ve been talking to Adam?”

I sighed. “Look, can we start at the beginning like human beings, okay? I’m Lana.”

“I’m Aren,” he replied. He also let go of my wrist.

I rubbed at my throbbing skin. “Adam is supposed to meet me at my hotel in a few minutes. I thought you were him. I guess he’ll be here soon.”

Aren let out a sigh of relief. “That must be why he didn’t answer his cell phone. He’s been acting strange. I was worried.”

“How did you find me?”

“I followed Adam to your hotel last night. When you guys went up, I checked out his Jeep and caught your scent. I thought my brother might be in trouble because you were a…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, as if just saying the word out loud was distasteful. Great.

“Jaguar? Is that the word you can’t bring yourself to say?”

Adam’s twin raised a brow. “I’m just surprised you’re still alive. Adam’s been hunting for the jaguar that killed our friend Gabe. It’s not like him to ask questions first.”

“Did it ever occur to you that I might not have had anything to do with Gabe, or that I’m a person just like you?”

“It’s irrelevant now that one of my Pack is dead.”

“You just assume since a jaguar did it, I must be the one?” I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but I couldn’t help it. “We jaguars are all alike, right? Heartless killers who deserve to die.” I stood up from the bench, pointing at his chest as I went on. “How can you be so prejudiced? It’s pissing me off.”

A hand touched my shoulder, and I flinched. When I turned, Adam was standing behind me, but his smile vanished when he saw who was sitting beside me.

“Aren? What are you doing here?”

“I might ask you the same thing,” his brother said.

Adam looked at me again. “Are you all right?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking me that?” Aren stood up.

I wheeled on him. “Why? Because I’m a jaguar so I shouldn’t matter?” Before Aren could respond I turned to Adam again. “I know you told me you were born in sets of twin males, but I stared at those pictures in your house and you never even told me his name.” Insecurity crept through me and that gross feeling of being an outcast thrummed in my veins. I sighed and shook my head. “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway since you were never going to introduce me to your family.” I looked from one hot guy to the other. It really wasn’t fair to have them both looking at me with their green eyes, muscles taunt. “Now, I just want to go back up to my room and sleep, okay? I’ll talk to you later, Adam. And Aren”—I tipped my chin up toward his face—“I can’t say it was a pleasure.”

I squared my shoulders and headed for the corner, clinging to my anger like a shield. Once I was across the street and in my hotel, I held myself together until the elevator doors closed. As the floor lifted, my spirits sank. It was all so unfair. When I slipped my room key into the door and it closed behind me, I fell onto the bed and a strangled sob escaped my throat.