Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) (24 page)

His hand lingered on my face and it took everything I
had not to jump up. “You’ve never been jealous before,” I said quietly, looking
down at the floor.

“I know. I said I was sorry.” He tried to make eye
contact, but I glanced out the window. “Look at me.” He pushed my chin up and I
struggled to look him in the eye, but I couldn’t. I looked away. “What’s
wrong?” His eyes searched mine.

I stood up. I couldn’t be near him. His soft touch
still made my skin tingle and his familiar smell of pine and leather was too much.
I was afraid I couldn’t go through with it. I moved closer to the window and leaned
against it. I peered out at the parking lot, pretending to be interested in the
scene before me. People were leaving, getting into their cars and driving away.

“What did you see?” His voice was barely a whisper. I
knew he wasn’t asking about the view from the window.

I was about to respond when the door opened and two
police officers entered my room. “Nate Green?” a male detective with brown hair
and wearing a blue suit asked.

“Yes,” Nate answered with confusion as he stood up.

“We’d like to take you in for questioning.”

“For what?” Nate asked, his voice filled with
apprehension.

“Murder. We’ve had an anonymous tip that you were
involved with the park killings.”

Nate gasped and spun to face me just as he was led
outside with the police. Before he disappeared he gazed at me with so much pain
in his eyes I almost told them to stop. But I stood my ground, picturing him
attacking Conner and those poor people who were murdered. I turned my head
away, disgusted and didn’t look back until they were gone. As soon as the door
closed, I threw myself onto my bed and cried.

Traitor

A few hours later, Mona appeared in my doorway. “What
is going on? You took off and never came back.”

I had forgotten all about the party. With all that I
had been through, it was the last thing on my mind. It was surprising that
nobody had seen or heard any of the commotion that had happened with Nate.

The mattress creaked as she sat down beside me.
“Nothing, I don’t want to talk about it. Go away,” I cried, my face buried into
my tear-soaked pillow.

“Okay, but if you need me just call.” She patted my
head and when I didn’t respond she got up and walked out of the room, shutting
the door behind her with a soft click.

I spent the rest of the night arguing with myself,
wondering if I did the right thing. All I could see every time I closed my eyes
was the tortured look he gave me when he realized I had called the police. When
I started to feel guilty, I would remember him exploding into a wolf. Both
visions haunted me all night. I didn’t sleep a wink.

In the morning, I lay on my bed, intent on staying there
forever, when there was a knock at my patio door. I crawled off the bed and
begrudgingly trudged to it.

Lauren was standing in front of me with an envelope in
her hand.

“Hi, Lauren. I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood for a
visitor.” My voice was raspy from all the crying.

She scowled,
stopping the door with her hand as I was about to shut it. “Why would I want to
visit a traitor? He loves you and this is what you do to him? Here.” She thrust
the envelope at me before she turned and headed for a black town car parked in
the driveway.

I watched her
drive off with a mix of confusion and anxiety. She had never spoken to me in
such an awful way before. She was one of my only friends and to hear her talk
to me that way really hurt.

I glanced down at
the letter in my hand and was surprised to see that my name on the front was
not written in Lauren’s handwriting, but Nate’s. The paper felt hot between my
fingers, making my hand shake. I didn’t want to open it, but I knew I had to.
If I didn’t I would always wonder.

I went back
inside to sit down on my bed, staring at Nate’s neat handwriting. The flat,
white, rectangular envelope was a nonthreatening, unanimated object and inside
was simply paper and ink. So why was I so scared to open it? Were they the
threatening words of a monstrous werewolf, or the loving thoughts of the boy I
loved? I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and ripped, tossing the envelope
into the garbage. I was left with nothing else to do but read.

Megan,

I don’t blame
you for being disgusted with me. I am a monster. But I was only trying to have
a normal life with the girl I love.

I know you think I killed those people in
the park because you saw what I am, but I could never do that. I have fought
that side of me for years. But, there are others out there who don’t fight it.
Conner, as you called him, is a werewolf whose real name is Rowan. I met him
many years ago after I stopped him from killing a young woman. I told him not
to hurt anyone else, or I would do whatever I could to stop him.

The next day, he killed my father to prove
that I didn’t scare him. He said that he was older and stronger, so there was
nothing I could do. I felt helpless. I couldn’t avenge my own father’s death
and I admit, I was afraid he would hurt someone else I loved. He left town, but
I never forgot what he did.

Many years later, just as I was getting comfortable
with my life without looking over my shoulder for him, I met another werewolf
named Sadie. I finally had found someone that understood what my life was like.
She was my best friend and I wanted to take care of her. She was young by my
standards and very sweet. She looked at the world through rose-colored glasses
and because of her, my world was brighter. And again, Rowan found me and killed
her.

Because of this, I’ve lived my life away
from my family. Lauren is a relative of mine; all of the Rileys are. I changed
my name so they would not be vulnerable to any enemies that might lurk around
the corner. I chose not to make it known for fear Rowan would find out I was
related to them. This is also the reason I have stayed away from you all of
this time. But now he knows I love you and he told me he’s going to kill you.

He is the one who took those lives in the park and he
will do it again if I don’t stop him. A lot of things have changed since I saw
him last. I can kill him now, but I need to get out of here, or others will
die, including you. I know you won’t want to be with me anymore, now that you
know what I am and I understand that. But I need to stop him before he kills
again.

The police told me it was an anonymous tip who said I
murdered those people. They are holding me here for forty-eight hours. And my
lawyer can’t do anything about it. They have not arrested me yet, but if you
pursue this, I know they will. I understand that you thought you were doing the
right thing. But the last woman was killed on Friday night and I was with you.
You can get me out so I can stop him. After I do, I will leave. You will never
have to see me again.

I have never loved anyone the way I love you. You are
so much more than you give yourself credit for. I know that you’re afraid to
turn into your mother, but you need to know that will not happen. You are
nothing like her. It would have been easier for you to live like them, become a
trust fund socialite and live a life with no real meaning. But you chose to run
into that burning building and save those people. You chose to help people in
need even after your hours were stopped. How could I not love you? If you look
in the mirror, you’ll see a strong young woman who stood up for what was right,
against her friends and parents.

I need you to look deep in your heart. Could the woman
I just described have fallen in love with a murderer? I know you’re confused
about what you saw, but remember who it was you fell in love with. After you do
this, if you still think I could take a life, then leave me here. But if you
know in your heart who I truly am, please do the right thing.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but I love you and
I always will.

Nate

The ink ran as tears dripped onto the paper. I didn’t
even realize I was crying. What was I supposed to do? How could I trust someone
who lied to me so many times?

His words “look
deep inside your heart” kept repeating in my head, so I closed my eyes and
focused on everything that had happened in the last few months. I thought about
how angry he was when he thought I had started the fire and how great he was at
Riley House. How he treated everyone like family. He truly cared for each one
of those people. I remembered how loving he was. When he touched me I felt it
deep into my bones and even when he pulled away after he told me he loved me, I
could still sense it. When he was close to me I could feel his warmth and
somehow I always felt safe.

I wrapped my hand
around the moon pendant on my necklace, trying to find the answer. When I
opened my eyes again, I picked up the phone and dialed.

I decided to spend the rest of the day locked in my
room under my warm and cozy duvet watching romantic movies; the mushier the
better. I was well prepared with tissues on one side of the bed and a box of
chocolates on the other.

I was watching the first movie and was thankful I had
the tissues. As the girl in the movie walked down the aisle to marry the one
she loved before she died of cancer, I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. My
phone beeped with an awaiting text. I wiped away the last of my tears and
picked up my phone to read it, throwing the wet tissue into the trash.

I sucked in a breath when I saw who it was from.

I need to see you.
Please come to the Riley estate, main house. I will explain everything.
It was from Nate.

After a lot of pacing and silent debating, I picked up
my purse and made my way to my car. I drove the whole way, shaking with fear.
He asked me to search my heart and in my heart I believed that the Nate I knew
couldn’t have done those things. But did he show me who he truly was, or was it
all a lie? I would soon find out because I saw the Riley mansion looming in the
distance.

When I pulled into the driveway I gathered all my
strength and walked to the front door, hopefully showing no fear. My heart was
thundering in my chest.

A woman with brown hair, wearing all black, opened the
door. “Um…I’m here to see Nate. I’m Megan Banks.” Without saying a word she led
me down the hall just past the large sweeping staircase. She stopped outside
two very large mahogany doors, knocking once before she pushed them open.

It was an office. Instead of the bare, crisp,
impersonal space my father worked in at home, this room was cozy and welcoming.
The walls were lined from ceiling to floor with shelves filled with all kinds
of books. It looked like there was new popular fiction, encyclopedias, classic
literature and some that looked ancient, with spines that were cracked and
faded.

There were cozy leather chairs placed around a
matching sofa and a fireplace against the far wall. A large antique desk sat in
front of a wall of windows.

Nate was sitting behind the desk, talking to Will and
another man about the same age. Lauren was with them, lounging on one of the
leather chairs. They stopped their conversation and all eyes turned to me.

Lauren, her father and the other man rushed over to
me, a wall of protection standing in front of Nate.

“What are you doing here?” Lauren spit out hatefully.
It was strange hearing her speak to me this way. She was the nicest, sweetest
girl I knew.

Her father stood with his arms crossed in front of
him. “Have you come to hurt him more?” he sneered, narrowing his eyes.

“How could you do that to him? He loves you,” the
other man said, staring daggers at me.

Their words stung like a knife, piercing my skin. The
urge to turn around and run was overwhelming. Nate stood up before I could give
in to it.

“Enough!” Nate yelled in a booming voice from behind
them. “If it wasn’t for her I would still be in jail.”

“You wouldn’t have been in there in the first place if
she hadn’t called the police,” Lauren yelled at Nate, but kept her eyes focused
on me.

“I don’t blame her for what she did. I am a monster. I
have always known that. She’s here because I asked her to come. I need to speak
to her alone.”

“But Nate, she—” Lauren’s father turned to him,
starting to protest. Nate cut him off by raising his hand.

My mouth fell open as I watched the scene before me.
These big forty-year-old men were taking orders from a guy that looked
eighteen. I was beginning to think that he was older than he appeared to be. It
was the most bizarre display I had ever witnessed. Ever since I had seen him
change into a wolf I felt like I was in a dream. I wondered when I would wake
up.

“It’s okay, Will. I think I can handle a tiny
eighteen-year-old girl. I’ll be fine.” He spoke with so much kindness and love
to all of them, I could see why they were so protective. All of them nodded to
him and glared at me as they walked out the door.