THE RIPENING (Dark Side of the Moon Book 1) (6 page)

              “This is what we are, Luther.” Liam's hand clapped down on his shoulder with due force, connecting wetly. “From the soil we rose and to the soil we will return. Blood to blood.”

              “Blood to blood.” The words left Luther's mouth in an automatic litany. He'd been saying them for as long as he could speak.

              Here was where he would take his power, and feel the full rush of the ancient blood beneath the ripening moon. When he thought of what it would be like, really be like, to have the alpha strain  running through his veins, to know that he was the protector, the beginning and end of his clan, it didn't seem so bad. It was almost enough to make him forget whom he had left.

              Yuna might hate him for a time, yes. But perhaps one day she'd grow to understand. She'd marry, have children, and grow old with little to no memory of him. And he would continue the dynasty of his kind.

              When he was here, everything made sense. Everything was clearer.

              “Luther.” He looked up to see an imposing form stalking down the steps and across the ivory strewn yard towards him. Quickly, he straightened, taking a single step forward to meet the man who held his destiny in his hands. “My son. It's time.” Large, cool hands took his face in a firm grip as his father pressed his forehead firmly against his own. “Blood to blood.”

              As Liam and Viola murmured the words respectfully, he took hold of Magnus' arm in a firm grip, staring into the elderly man's fathomless eyes. “Blood to blood.”

              He'd never see Yuna again.

**

              The place was almost impossible to find. Furthermore, why on earth would the Douglases have groceries sent to such a remote location when there had to be a closer market? Staring at a hopelessly confusing road map, Yuna groaned. All she had was a month-old grocery list, an address, and Google maps. One would think that would be enough to find a place in this day and age, but it seemed pretty clear that the Douglases didn't want to be found.

              The road on the way to her obtained address was long and winding indeed, and seemed to disappear completely at times. It was a bit much for her little car to handle and she caught herself praying that she didn't get stranded in the middle of nowhere. The further away from town she got, the more she realized that the only reason Luther's family might have had for ordering groceries from three hours away, was because their town was the last one for miles.

              Long minutes became hours, and views of other houses came more and more seldom until she was finally surrounded by forest.

              Yuna had to wonder if the address she had was the same place that Luther and his family had been going on trips all these years. If so, it wasn't as secret as she'd thought. She'd only had to say that Luther had wanted her to bring him something that he'd forgotten and the manager of the supermarket had been glad to hand it over.

              The idea that she might finally set eyes on the site that Luther had guarded so religiously for so long excited her more than a little bit. At least, until she considered what might be waiting for her.

              He probably wasn't alone. His family would be in residence as well. And they'd want to know why and how she'd followed them the way she had. Though Yuna was desperate to know why Luther had left so abruptly, she wasn't idiotic enough to bring up such intimate matters in front of his parents. Her hope was that she'd catch Luther somewhere alone and that they could talk.

              Then, of course, there was a certain fear of what that “talk” could yield. Over the past three days, as Yuna had warred with herself whether or not to look for Luther, she'd come to think that maybe he'd left because he considered their becoming intimate a mistake. Perhaps she hadn't been so off the mark with her ideas that sex between them would make things painfully awkward.  He had, after all, had half a bottle of alcohol. Perhaps the entire thing had been a misunderstanding.

              The prospect was a hard one to swallow. But after forty-eight hours of waiting and wondering, she'd decided that she'd rather know than remain in the dark for God knew how long. Now, had she known that she'd be headed so far out into the wilderness, she would have come a bit better prepared. As it was, she didn't even have her phone charger or a significant amount of money. She could only hope that finding and speaking with Luther wouldn't take too terribly long.

              Best case scenario, he had his own, less devastating reasons for leaving, and he'd come back to town with her so they could work things out. Exactly how they might work out said things presented itself in a scorching series of mental images that had her biting her lip in longing.

              God, how could she want him so much? There was a possibility that he'd simply walked out on her after years of friendship and she still melted when she remembered how his mouth had felt moving over hers.

              She was in serious trouble.

              To make things more complicated, about an hour and a half into her trip, the rain increased significantly, drowning the outside world in a blurry smudge of gray that had her inching forward bit by bit at a mere ten miles per hour. It was miserable going, and Yuna hoped, not for the first time, that she was actually headed toward the place where Luther was and not on some wild goose chase.

              Late afternoon darkened into evening, and by the time the sky had blackened completely, the rain was beating wildly on the roof of the small car, the wind moaning continuously outside. The young woman cursed at the dim quality of her headlights and mentally admonished herself for not changing them when she'd meant to. Despite the adverse conditions, however, she continued on.

              It was past midnight when her phone announced that she'd arrived at her destination.

              Thankfully, the rain had lessened to the point that Yuna could make out a dark silhouette about fifty meters from the edge of the muddy road. It was large enough to be a house, but not a single light shone from what looked like numerous windows. Slowly, the dark-haired woman killed the engine, lingering inside the car.

              She had no idea what to expect when she stepped out.

              Perhaps no one was here; and that idea seemed worst of all, as she was so tired and would have no choice but to spend the night out here by herself before returning. She was far too exhausted to continue with the weather so awful outside.

              But if Luther was there...

              They needed to talk.

              Steeling herself, Yuna opened the car door and grabbed her umbrella, before stepping outside.

Clouds had utterly smothered the moon, and without her headlights, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. What she'd seen from the car was indeed a house, but as she approached it, she realized that the structure must be very old. Upon reaching the rusted front gate, she was sure no one had inhabited the place for at least a hundred years. The style of the architecture was outdated, and the bricks were crumbling; but even so, it was easy to see that the place had once been magnificent. Turrets rose high into the air to be highlighted by the silvery dew of the rain and ivy wound in and out of innumerable windows lined with splintering shutters.

              It was huge. At least thirty rooms. If it were daytime and the weather were better, she might be drawn to explore such an interesting find. However, if this was indeed her destination, she was certain that it was abandoned. The very inkling that the prim, proper and wealthy Douglases might come within fifty miles of this place was laughable.

              Just then, there came the low snapping of damp wood beneath the pattering of the rain and Yuna froze. That single sound reminded her how very alone she was, and if there was anyone out here, there was little she could do if she ran into them.

              Her heart raced at the thought as she quickly looked around. Her enchantment with the abandoned house quickly faded into something more like wariness. The gaping windows looked almost like mouths ready to swallow her whole.

              Snick.

              There it was again.

              Yuna began to back slowly towards the safety of her car. Whatever was out there was probably just some nocturnal animal hunting for its supper, but she'd feel a lot safer with a few inches of metal between her and the wilderness.

              As she was slowly making her way backward, the rain begin to lessen slightly and the clouds thinned enough for her to make out the shape of a huge, glowing, near-full moon. Pale light glistened off raindrops and they seemed suspended in the air for one ethereal moment.     

              Then it was all shattered by the most bone-chilling snarl she'd ever heard.

              With a sharp intake of breath, Yuna whirled towards the woods, and stopped breathing.

              Silhouetted beneath the treeline was a shape much larger than any animal she knew to live in these woods. The height of it dwarfed her, so that she could tell even from ten meters away, and it had fixed her with two glowing, large eyes that were situated at the level of her head- the creature seemed somehow to walk on two feet.

              “Oh. My. God.” The words were barely above a whisper, and yet the thing's ears pricked in awareness.

              It had heard her.

              Throwing its head back, the animal emitted an ear-piercing howl and Yuna turned and fled. Her legs grew wings as she raced across the clearing towards the car, keys in a trembling hand. She slammed into the door with enough force to wind herself and dropped her umbrella as she fumbled for the right key, cursing the other ten or so that stood in her way.

              It was mere seconds, however, before the creature caught up with her. Crying out in terror, Yuna dodged only just in time and the creature hit her car hard enough to cave in the driver’s side door.

              Oh, Shit.

              Blindly, the young woman scrabbled for the hood of the car, using it to launch herself in the opposite direction as she ran pell-mell for the tree line. Funnily enough, it occurred to her that she should be screaming, but she barely had enough breath to run.  As soon as she entered the cover of the trees, the moonlight lessened considerably beneath the canopy. The ground beneath her feet was uneven and mud-slick. It was all she could do to keep from slipping.

              The heavy breathing and constant pounding behind her let her know that her pursuer was right on her heels. She could practically feel the heat of hot, fetid breath as she tried mightily to avoid knocking herself senseless on every other tree. The forest here wasn't too dense, but the creature on her tail seemed incredibly fast and agile. Yuna was operating on little sleep, and as it was, she could barely see in the gloom.

              When she went down, it was almost like watching herself in slow motion. She skidded on a mud patch and lost her balance, arms flailing, as her feet disappeared from beneath her. If she'd been given the opportunity, she would have hit the ground, hard. Instead, her attacker caught her by the hair, yanking her back to her feet to roar into her sweat-slick face.

              A combination of fear and pain finally drew from Yuna the scream she hadn't known that she possessed. She struggled and writhed as the thing lifted her physically into the air by her scalp before slamming her against a nearby tree hard enough to silence her- and perhaps crack one or two ribs. When she'd finally fallen silent, it roared at her again. Up close, she could see that the large, yellow eyes were deep set over a long, scarred muzzle that housed teeth the size of pocket knives. Its head rested on a thick neck, which was built upon shoulders and a torso bulky with muscle. Its legs were bent backwards, like a dog or wolf, and both hands and feet hosted sharp, serrated claws.

              A monster.

              It was all Yuna could do not to faint as the thing finally turned from her, its grip still death-like on her hair, and began to drag her back toward the edge of the forest. The pressure on her scalp was near unfathomable, and she was certain that it was going to rip her hair right off the top of her head. She was pulled through sharp brambles, over rocks and finally out behind the back of the huge ruin of a house that she'd seen before.

              Surprisingly, there was a roaring fire behind the house. Perhaps she'd been too busy examining the place to notice it before, but the glow was intense, and the size was startling, considering the continuing rain. Around the flickering light, however, were at least ten more animals like the one that currently had her in its grip. They were of all heights and colors, from deep red to raven black, each as individual as a person; but all of them hosted the same intense yellow eyes and dripping jowls.

              Yuna knew, at that moment, that her death was imminent.

              She should have never come out here.

              She'd been so blinded by her need to find out what had happened to Luther that she had never stopped to consider how safe it was for a single woman to come so far out into the wilderness on her own. She was going to die horribly- and no one would ever know that these animals were here. How many others had perished like her, and how many more would continue to?

              All at once, she was dropped before the searing heat of the fire and the congregation of creatures began to snarl, hoot, and howl in anticipation of their next meal. Yuna cringed back from the din, holding her hands to her aching head. Please, God, just let it be over soon.

              She only hoped that, wherever he was, Luther was safe.

              Just then, there was a high-pitched yipping that far outpaced all other sounds in its frequency. As if some invisible signal had been posted, every single one of the animals present fell silent. Yuna watched, speechless, as a large, auburn-colored beast stalked through the crowd, shoving aside the others present as he continued his high-pitched yipping. Gradually, the language lowered into a series of low, throaty barks as the thing looked over its peers. It seemed almost as if it were challenging them.