Riley's Torment, A Moon's Glow Novel #2 (16 page)

“When normal
people are upset, they eat ice-cream or play a sport like
racquetball.” She raised her hand in the direction of the wood.
“They don’t take it out on poor helpless trees. What did they ever
do to you?” A small smile flickered on her lips.

He smirked at
her. “Funny. Now what do you want?”

“What do you
mean? I’m here for our nightly run.”

Was it that
late already? He was so focused on the wood that he didn’t notice
the sun dipping in the sky. “Are you going to let Joe come?” Nate
asked, his lip turned up into another smirk.

She scowled at
him. “Are you going to call Megan?”

His eyes
narrowed and turned cold. “That’s different. I ruined her life. All
Joe did was respect your father’s wishes.”

She sighed.
“How is Meg supposed to forgive you, if you just give up on her?
You haven’t even tried to contact her. You didn’t even know where
she was staying until I told you four days ago.”

“I don’t
deserve her,” he murmured, knowing that his cousin would hear him.
He set the water bottle down onto a flat patch of ground and picked
up the axe.

She nodded
sharply. “You’re right, both of you deserve to be unhappy. She
deserves to wallow in her old life pretending she’s not a werewolf.
And you deserve to torture yourself, spending days chopping down
the entire forest.” She sighed, her eyes sliding to the piles
behind him. “We don’t even burn wood! What the hell are you going
to do with all of that?” She was raising her voice getting
exasperated with the both of them.

He knew she’d
been at the Banks mansion a few times to see Megan and always
returned annoyed and frustrated. When he had asked her about it,
she had answered, “She’s as hard-headed as you are.”

He smiled at
her, and the memory, as he leaned the handle of the axe against his
hip, holding onto the top. “Are you done?” he chuckled, finding her
rant humorous. It was obvious that Lauren cared about what happened
to him and Megan, but he couldn’t appease his cousin. He wouldn’t
force Megan to forgive him when he couldn’t forgive himself.

“No, there’s
one more thing. It’s about Joe, and you can’t tell him.”

Nate nodded,
suddenly curious. Despite his friendship with Joe, he would never
betray her confidence. “I won’t. You know you can trust me.”

“I’ve already
forgiven him.” Nate’s eyes widened and he couldn’t help the smile
that returned to his lips. He didn’t have much to smile about
lately, so having done so twice in mere minutes was surprising.

She grinned
sheepishly back at him. “But I want to get my life in order, figure
out all this wolf stuff before I tell him. My emotions are crazy
right now, and I don’t need relationship drama to add to that while
I learn to be as good a werewolf as you.”

Now Nate
frowned. “You don’t want to be like me. I lost control, and not
just when I changed Megan.” He paused, running a hand roughly over
his face, hating what he was about to tell her. “Lauren, I never
told any of the family, because it’s unforgivable. But when I first
turned into a werewolf, I didn’t handle it well. I killed two
innocent people.”

Her face was
blank as she stared at him, taking in this information. “Is that
why you always eat a lot and constantly tell me to?”

He simply
nodded in answer. Her face was strained with concentration as she
went silent, gazing down at the saw dust that littered the wet
grass. Finally, after minute of anxiety ridden silence, she looked
up at him. “That doesn’t change how I see you. I know that you must
have been different back then, because you would never do that now.
And, you have to stop torturing yourself about Megan. Yes, you
turned her, but if you hadn’t, she would have suffered like I did.
Believe me, it wasn’t fun. I still have nightmares about it.”

Sympathy for
his cousin flashed over Nate’s face. He hated how she became a
werewolf, but he was proud of the way she was adjusting. “I’ve been
looking for Charlotte, asking around. I even called Stephen, but he
hasn’t returned my call.”

“Who’s Stephen?
The name sounds familiar. I remember you mentioned his name before
all hell broke loose with Megan. ”

Nate winced at
the memory that her words had brought out. He cleared his throat,
hoping to also clear the thoughts that now hovered in his mind.
“He’s the werewolf pack leader for this area. He keeps track of
lone wolves and their behavior. Makes sure they don’t cause too
much trouble and expose our race.”

“I never knew
there was a pack. How come you never told me?”

“Because they
don’t want the world to know we exist. I wasn’t going to tell you
their secrets. If you knew; you might have been in danger. But now
that you’re one of us, it’s okay. Just don’t tell anyone about
them.”

She raised her
arms in the air. “Who am I going to tell? I haven’t even told my
father about me.” She paused and tilted her head, smiling up at
him. “Do you think he’ll notice that I look the same when I turn
thirty? He might not question it. The Rileys have good genes.”

Nate frowned,
but his eyes held a hint of laughter. “I think he’ll notice.”

She sighed and
sat down on a log, swishing her foot in a pile of sawdust, dragging
her sneaker in a circle. “Yeah, I figured.” She pushed her wheat
colored hair out of her eyes. “So I went to see Megan
yesterday.”

Nate tried not
to show interest as he threw a couple of pieces of wood onto the
closest pile. One stayed put as the other fell down the wooden
mountain, landing on the grass. “Did you?”

Lauren nodded.
“She hasn’t left her parents’ house since she got there, not even
to go to the charity. Do you know who’s taking over for her?”

Nate nodded.
“Julia told me Megan called and asked for a leave of absence.”

“She did?”
Lauren asked, unable to mask the surprise on her face.

“Yes she did,
and Julia hired a new person that can stay on or help if Megan ever
goes back.”

“What did she
tell her?”

He shrugged.
“That she was having personal problems. I could tell Julia was
curious, but she didn’t push.”

That was the
thing with Julia; she must have noticed that Nate wasn’t quite
normal, since they worked so closely for three and a half years.
And yet she never questioned his lame excuses for why he couldn’t
be there on full moon nights or why he took weeks off when Rowan
was after Megan. She simply told him everything was fine at the
shelter and then welcomed him back when he returned, without
question. He was lucky when he had found her.

Lauren sat down
on a nearby tree stump. “That’s good. Megan won’t admit it, but I
know she felt bad for not going back. She’s in denial, Nate. She
won’t deal with her new werewolf side, and she won’t talk about
you. She said she might start hanging out with Mandy again. She’s
going to slide right back into her old life like the last six
months never happened.” She paused as a gust of wind whipped around
her, blowing a woodchip onto her pants. She wiped it off and
glanced up at him. “I’m worried about her.”

Nate sighed. He
knew Megan was avoiding him, and what she had become, but he
thought that she just needed time to process everything that had
happened. He never imagined her going back to her old life. She
hated her old friends, and her family’s world of socialites and
greed. She had once told him she was drowning in that life and he
was her savior. He couldn’t let her fall back into that, she
wasn’t, and had never been happy there. But what could he do? He
ruined her life; she would never listen to him. “There’s nothing I
can do, Lauren. I killed any influence I had with her when I
betrayed her. But I hope you don’t give up on her. She hated that
life.”

Lauren gaped at
him. “You’re not going to do anything?”

He shook his
head. “I can’t.” He threw the axe to the ground. “Let’s go for that
run.”

She stared at
him like she wanted to continue with their conversation and make
him do something about Megan. And before she could pester him
anymore, he turned and headed for the trees where they would make
their change.

Nate watched
Lauren as she ducked into her preferred spot to change. She had
found it the first night he talked her into going for a run. It was
in the center of a thicket, giving her the privacy she desired.

He also
preferred to turn in solitude, and he headed into the row of
evergreens that hid him from view. Changing into a wolf was a
disturbing sight, and he didn’t like an audience. It had happened
once, and he had never recovered. Joe was different—he didn’t care
who saw him turn.

Once Nate’s
change was complete, he raised his head up in the air and sniffed.
Lauren was still in her thicket, and by the sound of it, she was in
the midst of her change. She no longer cried out as she had the
first few times they had went for a run.

He trotted out
from behind the trees to await her, his paws digging into the
frosted ground. It wasn’t completely dark yet, and the sun had just
started to fall. With all the tree cover, it would be difficult for
a human to see in the woods. But he and Lauren were not human; the
darkness would not hinder their run. As he waited, he gave into the
wolf, and leaned down to clean his paws.

He heard Lauren
approach, had sniffed her before that, but by her soft steps, he
could tell she was trying to sneak up on him. And since he wanted
her to enjoy this as much as possible, he let her have her fun.
When she pounced and knocked him to the ground, he wished he had
the voice to laugh.

She growled,
showing her fangs as she hovered above him, and then took off into
a run down their regular path. He followed her, slowing his normal
pace. He let her take the lead for a few minutes and then decided
that she had had enough. It was time to show off. Just as he pushed
forward, she dove to the right, blocking his path. He huffed and
took the other side, his powerful legs taking longer strides. He
was too quick and he pushed past her, making a grunting sound that
sounded like a laugh.

They were
heading up to the stream that trickled from the lake, when he
caught a scent. Another werewolf was near.

Nate skidded to
a stop, raised his head to listen, and then sniffed, hoping to find
the intruders whereabouts. Lauren must not have realized he was
going to stop because she barreled into his backside. They toppled
to the ground, rolling into a patch of thorn bushes, and she whined
as a thorn stabbed into her paw.

Nate growled,
thinking that she was playing again. He nodded his head north
toward the lake, where they could hear something moving through the
brush. With a concerned look at Lauren, he took off to find the
other werewolf, knowing it could have something to do with
Charlotte. This was one of the werewolves from the island.

They followed
the trail to the end of the Riley property, and it disappeared
where tire tracks led to Bolder road. They had lost the werewolf.
Nate growled and nodded sharply toward the direction of the Riley
estate. He was frustrated that he had lost the scent, but he also
felt relief. He had thought he would never find Charlotte again.
However, now that he had discovered one of her werewolves, he
couldn’t help but feel that she was close by. And if he could catch
the scent again, maybe it could lead to the woman he was after.

He couldn’t
wait to tell Joseph. He knew they’d have another argument, but this
meant Charlotte was near, and he intended to find her.

“
Doorbell’s ringing,” Mona mumbled, pointing in the
direction of the front foyer. I was sitting at the kitchen island,
working on my third omelet. I had been eating so much over the last
seven days that Mona wanted me to get checked for a tapeworm. She
didn’t know about all the snacks I had snuck into my room while she
wasn’t looking. How could I explain why I was so hungry? And even
if I could tell her the true reason, I wouldn’t want to. I hated
even thinking about why Nate and I were no longer together.
Instead, I planted my butt in front of the TV all day. As far as I
was concerned, the last six months never happened.

“So answer it,”
I replied through the egg, ham and cheese in my mouth. The only
response I got was a scowl. “Fine,” I grumbled, hoisting myself off
of the stool.

As I made my
way to the door, my cell beeped. I pulled it out of my pocket and
glanced at the text. It was Lauren again. She was telling me there
was a new development about Charlotte, and I was needed at the
cottage. Like all the other messages she had sent, I ignored
it.

When I
pulled the door open, I blinked at the bright sun shining in the
sky. Once my vision cleared, I stared at Mandy, my ex-best friend,
wondering why she was standing on my front step.
Had I literally went
back in time?
She looked
the same as always, wearing designer clothes, smelling of Gucci
perfume, her hair and face expertly coiffed. The only difference
was the length of her black hair, which was longer than its usual
pixie cut. I thought I had only wished the last few months hadn’t
occurred. But what else could possibly explain my ex-best friends,
sudden appearance at my door.

“What do you
want?” I asked blankly. My tone was neither angry nor
enthusiastic.

She blinked,
flicking glances past me into my home. “I’ve been driving by your
house for the last few days and saw your car. I’ve been trying to
get up the courage to talk to you for weeks, but I don’t know where
you’ve been. Your parents told mine that you moved out on your own,
only they didn’t say where.”

I rested my
left hand on the door frame and the other on the edge of the wooden
door. It might have looked like I was blocking her entrance, which
was fine with me. “What could you possibly have to say to me?”
Again, my words were spoken without feeling.