Moonlight (26 page)

Acknowledgments

This series may not have ever happened without Ray Bradbury’s challenge to me to write 52 stories in 52 weeks.
Moonlight
began as one of those stories, but after I’d written it, the characters wouldn’t leave me alone. While I continued the weekly challenge, I also wrote this book and the second,
Hunter’s Moon
. I’ll be forever grateful to him for that inspiration.

I also need to thank my agent, Laurie McLean, for her passion for the Moon series and her confidence in me and the books. Having you in my corner has been exciting and I look forward to many more books together. Thanks also go out to Theresa Cole at Entangled for reading the books and making sure the Moon series had a home with Entangled Publishing. I’m also grateful and super lucky to work with my fabulous editor, Danielle Poiesz, who took this wolf pack and made them ready for public consumption. I have learned so much from you!

Thanks to my publicists Renee and Sarah for always looking for new ways to find new readers! You rock! And to my amazing street team, the Night Angels, you have been so crucial in helping me get the word out about this book. I’m grateful to every one of you! Thanks to Denise for your beta reading excellence and to Panda for being my second set of eyes.

And special thanks to my amazing husband, Ken. Your belief and faith in me and my stories makes me feel like anything is possible, and that is the most priceless treasure ever.

Keep reading for a special look

at the next novel

in the Moon series

Hunter’s Moon

by

Lisa Kessler

Coming soon from Entangled Edge

Chapter One

Aren

The dry Las Vegas wind stung my eyes as I rounded the corner of the building, scanning the shadowed parking lot for my prey. Even the dark of night couldn’t cool the desert heat wafting up from the pavement. The stench of the spy’s fear stung my nostrils, making the corner of my mouth twitch. I could admit I was eager to take this guy down, but knowing he was scared shitless sweetened the deal considerably.

For the past six months, this secret had festered inside me like an open wound. I’d been traveling too often. Instead of protecting my Pack back in Reno, I had found myself sneaking around, unable to stop myself from tracking her. Protecting our enemy.

Sasha.

The wolf inside of me growled, aching to fight for this woman I barely even knew, who’d tried to kill me. Twice. I forced a slow breath into my lungs. Patience. I could wait this guy out. My bum ankle left me little choice anyway.

All my senses were on full alert, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Nero was still searching for her, and this guy was the latest in a string of scumbag informants looking for easy money. With a bounty on her head, they were eager to provide proof that she was still on the loose.

Finally he made his move. I heard his footsteps racing toward the alley. Toward me. Perfect. I stepped into his path, blocking his only exit. He tried to pivot and change course, but it was too late. The weasel rammed into me, falling backward. Before he could roll over and scramble away, I grabbed his shirt and yanked him off the ground.

“You’re not going anywhere.” My eyes narrowed as I pulled him even closer, his scent filling my nostrils. He was human. Apparently Nero wasn’t ready to risk another jaguar assassin to search for her. Maybe they were starting to believe she really had died at the fight in Lake Tahoe. “Tell me about Nero.”

“I don’t know nothin’.”

He wriggled like a fish, his feet struggling to touch the ground. I was at least six inches taller than him, and I had no intention of letting him get away. Instead, I head-butted him. Blood erupted from his nose, the thick coppery scent immediately bringing the wolf inside of me to full attention.

“Goddammit,” he shouted, kicking me in the shins while he yanked at my wrists. “Let go of me, you crazy son of a bitch.”

I kept my grip tight on his shirt. “I asked you a question.”

“And I told you, I don’t know nothin’.”

“You’re lying,” I said before slamming him against the brick wall of the alley.

He coughed, spewing putrid breath into my face. He reeked of week-old cigarettes and cheap vodka. “Please,” he stammered. “I don’t know nothin’ about any Nero.”

“Why have you been trailing the red-haired woman?” He started to shake his head, so I freed one hand from my grip on him and landed a solid punch to his stomach to joggle his memory. “Answer me.”

He stopped kicking his feet, and his stare met mine. Gradually the fear in his eyes faded. My patience was wearing thin, but before I could rattle his cage for a reply, he started to smile and whispered, “They know she didn’t die in that fight.”

Before I could respond, pain burst through my gut, setting my entire side on fire.
Dammit
!

The asshole had stabbed me.

I pressed him against the wall, forcing myself not to loosen my grip. Fear crept back into his eyes when I didn’t let him go. I held him up with one arm and yanked his knife out of my side with the other.

His eyes opened wide. “What the hell are you?”

Using both hands I threw him across the alley, satisfied to hear his skull crunch against the bricks. He hit the ground like a rag doll while I clutched the new hole in my side.

“I’m a wolf, asshole.”

…

Usually Jason, our Pack doctor, patched up our wounds, but that wasn’t an option for me this time. My twin, Adam—our Alpha—would demand to know what happened.

And for the first time in my life, I had no intention of telling him. What could I say? I let the Pack believe I’d killed Sasha during the fight with Nero instead of admitting I’d pulled her to safety. And now I was still watching her. Even Adam wouldn’t—
couldn’t
—let that one alone.

Never in a million years would I have ever believed myself capable of betraying my Pack, my family. But I never understood the depth of my wolf instincts. Now they demanded I walk both sides of the line, leaving my loyalty torn into shreds.

I couldn’t risk going to the Pack with this wound. I had to sort it out without them. Besides I was at least an eight-hour drive from Reno. I’d have to risk a few stitches and be sure I didn’t allow any blood to be drawn. I could do that.

By the time I pulled into the urgent care center, I knew the stab wound wasn’t too serious. If he’d hit an artery or a major organ, I would have bled out by now. But I couldn’t ignore a gaping wound in my side either. Werewolves may heal a little faster than humans, but a nasty staph infection could take a wolf down just as well as the next guy.

The knife was wrapped and carefully hidden under the floor of the trunk with my spare tire. Maybe I’d be able to pull fingerprints from it later.

I got out of the car and winced as pain radiated up my leg. I sucked in a deep breath through clenched teeth. My ankle was fucking killing me. Perfect.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and limped into the brightly lit room. The triage nurse jumped up and rushed me to an exam room. Being covered in blood apparently trumped the other emergencies.

I hated the smell of hospitals. My acute wolf senses caught the cacophony of blood, urine, and disinfectant, morphing it into a disgusting scent of decay that turned my stomach. I got up on the exam table, slightly wobbly from the blood loss. The nurse laid a clipboard on the counter and scribbled something quickly before turning to face me.

“So what happened?” She snapped on a pair of latex gloves and reached for the hem of my shirt to inspect the wound.

“I’m all right. It’s just a little scratch.”

Her eyes widened when she found the source of my bleeding. “This isn’t a scratch. You’ve been stabbed.”

I forced what I hoped was a convincing smile. “All I need is a couple of stitches.”

She shook her head and stepped back. “You can smile all you want, but you’ll still need to speak with the police about your injury. It’s hospital policy with stabbings and shootings.”

“It was an accident. I fell while holding a steak knife.” This was exactly the reason none of the Pack went to hospitals. Too many questions. “Come on, I feel stupid enough as it is.”

She raised a brow and left the room.

Great. I raked a hand back through my hair and groaned. I was screwed.

I couldn’t talk to the police any more than I could face the Pack and tell them why I was in Las Vegas killing Nero informants. No self-respecting cop was going to believe my story. I needed something better than falling on a steak knife.

My gaze flicked to the closed door. Physically I was only a wolf one night a month, but I still had heightened senses while I was a man. My hearing and sense of smell were far stronger than any human’s, and right now I could hear a woman’s voice talking to the staff, followed by the click of determined footsteps.

I recognized that voice.

When the door opened the wolf inside of me howled.

“This is Detective Marsh.” The nurse snatched my chart from the counter. “The doctor will be in shortly to check your wound.”

Once the nurse was gone, I couldn’t help but stare at the most incredible woman I’d ever seen. Tough, beautiful, resilient Sasha. Her full lips were pressed together as her dark eyes met mine. I struggled to remind myself that this was also the same woman who had Tasered me and then shattered my ankle with a single gunshot. She had threatened to kill Adam, and his mate, Lana, too. The Nero Organization had her under their control, or at least they used to. They bred jaguar shape-shifters and trained them as silent assassins for the highest bidder. Sasha had been bitten, changed, but she was in their employ nonetheless. So what was she doing here impersonating an officer?

I had every reason to hate her. Yet here she was, standing five feet from me, and not only was I not attacking her, but I was drinking in her scent. She didn’t smell like most of the women I worked with, like flowers and lace. Or like any of the jaguars I’d encountered. Her scent was spicy, like leather and musk.

And I was more certain with each breath that I’d never be able to deny my instincts. I needed her.

When my brother told me he’d found his mate, I didn’t understand how he knew. Wolves mated for life, so when Adam claimed a jaguar for his mate, I thought he’d gone insane. I wasn’t sure I believed the old stories about finding that one mate to spend a lifetime with in the first place, but Adam and a jaguar? The bottom line was simple. We
don’t
mate with enemies of our Pack.

But here she was, glaring at me in the urgent care room, and instead of killing her I caught myself wondering how her mouth might taste. I shoved aside the lust and dug deep for cold indifference.

“It’s Detective Marsh now? I thought you’d sold your badge to Nero.”

She dodged my barb without even acknowledging it. “Look, wolf, I’m doing you a favor by coming in here flashing a phony badge. I don’t know why, but you saved me at the lake, so I figure I owe you this.” She tucked the badge into her pocket and met my eyes. “If you came here to settle the score with me, then bring it on. I deserve it. But if you think you’re slowing Nero down, you’re not. I can fight my own battles.” She looked poised to say something else but just shook her head slowly. “I’m handling this, so back off.”

I laughed and sat up. It took all I had not to wince at the pain that burned through my abdomen. “You think I’m trying to help
you
? Is that it?”

Her chin lifted as she crossed her arms over her chest. I did my best not to stare at her breasts. “What I
think
isn’t important. What I
know
is that you’ve been following me, and this is the second Nero informant you’ve killed. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” Her hands dropped to her sides again. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, wolf. Nero has eyes and ears everywhere. Do yourself a favor and stay out of this.”

She spun on her heel and left, slamming the door behind her. I could hear her telling the nurse she’d sign off on my medical treatment. She confirmed it was a household accident. No investigation would follow.

I smirked. So Sasha, the jaguar assassin who tried to kill me twice, helped me after all.

Go figure.

Get tangled in Entangled Edge…

Night Demon
by Lisa Kessler

Gretchen Finch’s job would be much easier if she weren’t alone in the jungle with a brilliant recluse whose every glance sets her on fire. But the more she focuses on her work, the closer she gets to unlocking the mysteries of a terrible creature—the Night Demon—that threatens the world as she knows it. Though her scientific mind tells her it’s impossible, she’s beginning to believe the ancient Mayan tales as the sinister jungle comes alive around her.

Lukas Smith has spent hundreds of years searching for answers to his immortal Night Walker nature. As a series of ancient glyphs become clear, he’s about to find out more than he’d ever hoped, but the more he learns, the more his fate intertwines with the Night Demon, and the harder it becomes to hide his immortal secret from the beautiful, intelligent Gretchen.

Together, they must find a way to stop the inexplicable violence and mass destruction surging across the earth before the Night Demon destroys more than just mankind.

Undying Destiny
by Jessica Lee

Kenric St. James is out for revenge. Over 300 years ago, an ancient female vampire turned him against his will and killed the woman he loved. He’s spent more than a century building an Enclave of warrior vampires who have sworn to defend humanity against his evil sire and her minions. But when Kenric finds a woman he finally burns to claim as his own again, Kenric knows loving her means giving his sire another target.

Emily Ross just wanted a fresh start. She’s a survivor, coming off the tail end of an abusive relationship, and craves time alone to learn who she is and to save the home that holds her heart. The last thing she needed was a controlling, alpha male calling all the shots.

Meeting Kenric might just have changed her mind, though. He is wrong for her in all the right ways. But in order to keep her heart from breaking, he first has to keep the hordes of evil vamps from stealing her very breath.

Werewolves Be Damned
by Stacey Kennedy

Nexi Jones—part witch, part guardian, and wannabe kick-ass warrior—can’t throw a punch or conjure the simplest magic. But that doesn’t stop her from hunting the werewolves who slaughtered her human family. She’ll have her revenge, but only if Kyden, the elite guardian, would get the hell out of her way.

Kyden can’t decide if Nexi
wants
to get herself killed or if she just has no clue what she’s doing. But her father made it clear: keep Nexi safe…or else. Of course, the more Nexi runs toward revenge, the more she needs Kyden’s aid, and as she grows into her power and confidence, so does his desire to protect her. The only problem? She’d rather he dropped dead.

But when a vampire paints a bull’s-eye on Nexi’s back, she’s hard-pressed to deny Kyden and the help he’s offering. Even if it means getting her revenge will be a little bit harder. At least it will still be as sweet.

Bittersweet Blood
by Nina Croft

Tara’s eccentric aunt raised her to be fearful of the world and follow the rules. But after her aunt’s death, Tara is ready to take control and experience life for the first time. But she quickly discovers that everything she’s been told is a web of lies. Determined to solve the mystery of who she is truly, she hires a private investigator to help her uncover the truth.

Christian Roth is more than your average PI. A vampire and ex-demon hunter, Christian lives among the humans, trying to be “normal.” But recently, things seem to be falling apart. There’s a crazed demon hell-bent on revenge hunting him down, and a fae assassin on the loose with an unknown target. And the Order he abandoned desperately needs his help.

As the secrets of Tara’s past collide with the problems in Christian’s present, she finds herself fighting her attraction to the dark and mysterious investigator. Falling in love does not fit into her plans at all, but Tara soon learns that some rules are meant to be broken.

Temping is Hell
by Cathy Yardley

When your coworkers are demons, anything can happen…

Kate O’Hara can’t wait until this temp assignment is over. The woman who hired her is a psychotic pageant queen, her coworkers are convicts-turned-clerks, and it’s so boringly corporate it makes her skin crawl. Even her sexy-as-sin boss, famed billionaire Thomas Kestrel, isn’t enticement enough to keep her there. Once she makes enough to pay off her bills, she’s out. Or so she thinks...

Next thing she knows, she’s accidentally signed over her soul. Literally. And she’s discovered Thomas’s real mission: to kill thirteen bad guys in one year, in order to get his—now his and Kate’s—souls back. From learning to boost the morale of some paper-pushing demons to navigating her way through blood-red tape, Kate has to work closely with her super-hot supervisor and get her flaky act together, before somebody clocks her out—permanently!

Stone Cold Seduction
by Jess Macallan

Elleodora Fredricks is about to realize the normal world she lives in isn’t quite so normal—and neither is she, thanks to her made-of-evil father, the devious king of the shadow elves. Discovering her own shadow elf powers is a wild ride, but thankfully she’s got a few good men willing to help her along the way. There’s her old flame MacLean the phoenix, able to wield fire. And then there’s the handsome, mysterious Jax. Turns out his rock-hard body is exactly that—she’s got a secret crush on a gargoyle.

Elle’s been moonlighting as a cat burglar to right her dad’s wrongs, but now that she can melt into the shadows—literally—she’s set her sights higher: take down the evil shadow-elf king before it’s too late. Should be a piece of cake, right? If only the king didn’t want his daughter dead…

Now available from Entangled Edge