Broken Moon by Laken Cane

Chapter Sixteen

Wolves were nocturnal, and we did our best sleeping in the day and our best hunting at night—but in our attempts to blend in, we’d gradually evolved to more human habits, and now most of us slept at least some of the night away.

I still did my deepest and best sleeping during the mornings, from 6 a.m. to around noon, and by the time I got home, two hours of my morning were already gone. I brought up some loud rain sounds on my phone before dropping it on its charger, fell into bed, and slept like the dead until two o’clock.

Lucy was working down the block at the bakery, but apparently she’d come home on her lunch break. There were enough baked goods on the table to feed an army, and I ate most of them, washing them down with an entire half gallon of milk.

I had two missed calls—one from the detective, and one from the alpha. When I hadn’t answered, Jared had sent a text. Rick had left a voicemail. I read the text from the alpha first.

How are you feeling?

I hesitated before replying, because…I wasn’t sure why. I just studied his text for a little too long before finally, I texted, I’m fine. Busy night, just woke up. Will be there tonight to hunt.

He texted back before I could listen to Detective Moreno’s voicemail. See you tonight.

Nothing special in his texts, but still, my mouth dried up, my stomach tightened, and my heart beat a little fast. Weird.

The detective’s voicemail was brief. “Call me when you wake up. The mayor wants to see you.”

Little Noah’s return was all over the news. Reporters stood outside the hospital where he was said to be in stable condition, and they continuously cut to a blurry photo of Oak Street in the ‘ville, showing the mayor with his arms around his wife, the two cops who stood with them, and me.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered. At least the image was blurry and had only caught my profile, so maybe no one would recognize me.

The man who’d abducted the boy was dead, shot by the police when they’d gone in to save Noah. He’d pulled a gun and forced them to shoot, likely on purpose. He knew prison was waiting, and prison was a dark place for an asshole who hurt kids.

My ringtone sounded at that moment, and I groaned when my mother’s name came up. “Hey, mom,” I answered, putting her on speaker. “What’s up?”

“Have you seen the news is what’s up, Kaitlyn Danielle.”

I sighed. “Mom—”

“I do not want you on the alpha’s radar, honey. He needs to not think of you ever again. What if he sees you and decides to send a scout—or worse, a warrior—after you? After us?”

“We haven’t heard from him for twelve years,” I said. “He’s not going to summon me now just because he sees an image on the news that may or may not be me. I mean really, if you weren’t my mother, you wouldn’t have known that was me.”

“If he wants you, you’ll have to return to him.”

I flinched at the tone of fear and resignation in her tone. “No,” I said. “I will not have to return to him. I’m not his wolf. He’s not my alpha. And the only reason for me to set foot in Stonebridge again is if I find a way to get close to him so I can slide a blade into his black heart for what he did to us.”

“Kait, don’t say things like that.” There was real fear in her voice, and it made me hate Adam Thorne even more. There was no logic when it came to our old alpha and his grudges.

“Mom, he sent us away to punish us. He does not want us, so he’s certainly not going to call us back now.”

“He may believe we’ve suffered enough. You know wolves hate their pack numbers to dwindle, and I’ve heard that Stone Moon Pack is declining. If he thinks he can use you…”

I didn’t want to admit that she was right. “I will not allow him to pull us back in, mom. Don’t worry. I swear that to you.” And then, because she was worried, I brought up the other alpha. “Don’t forget that after he frees my wolf, I’ll belong to Gray Shadow Pack—and so will you.”

“You know, I had forgotten that! You’re right. If Jared Walker accepts us, Adam will have to fight for us, and he won’t do that.”

“No way. We’re not worth an ass kicking to him.” I smiled, relieved that she was relieved. “And Jared would definitely kick his ass.” I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth.

“Hmmm,” she said.

“Stop,” I told her, with a tone to my voice that said there’d be no more of that talk. She knew me well enough to drop it and bide her time.

We talked for another fifteen minutes about my role in Noah Hedrick’s rescue, and with a reminder to tell her immediately if I heard from Adam Thorne, we ended the call. While I’d been talking with her, someone else had tried to call, so I brought up voicemail before calling the detective back.

Whatever else I ended up doing today, visiting Mr. Trevor Short was going to be at the top of the list. I’d visit him after five when he should be home from work.

And I had to check on that neglected Pit Bull.

The voicemail from the caller I didn’t recognize was a potential client. “Ms. Silver, Kaitlyn, hi,” she said with a slight shake to her voice, “My name is Patricia Simon. I got your name from a friend who’d heard about you on social media. I moved into a house two months ago that needs to be de-ghosted before I have to give up and move out. I’m…well, I’m desperate, really. Please call me back as soon as you can. Thank you.”

“I need an assistant,” I muttered.

I returned the detective’s call first. “Detective Moreno. Good morning.”

“It’s four o’clock, Kaitlyn,” he said dryly. “Louis Hedrick can see you at six. Because he understands you don’t want to be thrown into a volatile and public situation, he’ll meet you at my house. Amy is staying with her boy, but…” He hesitated. “You have some powerful people at your back, Kaitlyn, should you ever need them.”

“I’m just glad I could help get Noah back. How is he?”

“He’ll be okay. I don’t know the extent of what happened to him in that house, but he will get excellent care to help him deal with it. He is surrounded with love and support.”

“It makes me never want to have children,” I said. “Scary fucking world.”

“Yeah.” He sighed, and I could almost see him rubbing the bridge of his nose. “My house, six o’clock.”

“All right,” I agreed. “But I don’t want the mayor thinking I need—” But he’d ended the call, and I was talking to no one.

I sighed, then returned Patricia Simon’s call. “Mrs. Simon,” I said. “This is Kaitlyn Silver returning your call.”

“Thank God.” Her voice was still shaky. “When can you come?”

“Tomorrow night at eight?”

Relieved, she gave me her address and told me if I got some free time and could come sooner, to let her know. She was in a hurry, and if there was a mean spirit in her house, I couldn’t blame her.

Lucy came in just as I was leaving.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she returned, and handed me a white bag with the bakery’s logo as we passed each other.

“Thanks, Luce.”

She grinned. “Absolutely.”

It was working out, this arrangement. I opened the bag and ate as I drove to the ‘ville. Two croissants with bacon and eggs and melty cheddar cheese and a glazed doughnut for dessert. I ate one of the sandwiches and kept the other for the pittie. “A delicious snack,” I said, between bites.

When I climbed out of my car in front of Short’s house, I took the bag with me. I left my coat in the car because I was wearing my demon blade, and I wanted Jessie’s ex to see it. I hoped that’d be enough to keep him from trying anything stupid. I was getting in his business, and he was going to be irate.

There was an older white car parked in the little drive at the side of his house. I assumed it was his, and that he was home. Probably just getting ready to eat his dinner. First I walked around the side of the house to the backyard, and the pibble was already up, staring toward me, wagging his tail—indeed his entire butt—like crazy.

“Glad to see me, sweet boy? I brought you something.” I glanced into the water bucket, which appeared to have half an inch of dirty water, then shook my head as I saw the overturned and empty food bowl. He had a wooden pallet for a bed, where at least the asshole owner had tossed a small pile of straw. And that was it.

The pup looked around two years old, maybe a little older, and I was willing to bet he’d spent his entire life on a chain.

I remembered his incessant barking when I’d arrived the night before, and honestly, I believed he’d smelled my wolf and had been calling out to me.

I unwrapped the bacon sandwich, tore it into small bits, and hand fed him until he’d gulped the sandwich down, and then wished I hadn’t eaten the other one. Poor little guy, I could see he was still hungry. I crumpled the bag and stood, then stared down at him. Dammit. If Short would give him to me, I could find him a great home.

The dog yelped and hurried to hide behind the tree when the back door of the house was yanked open and a man stomped out onto the tiny back porch, his cell phone in his hand. “If you’re a fucking reporter, the fucking kid was in the house on the next street. I’m sick of you assholes walking onto my property like—”

I held up a hand. “I’m not a reporter. I’m here to talk about Jessie.”

He shut his mouth, opened it, then narrowed his eyes and walked down the steps, advancing on me slowly. When he stood right in front of me, he gazed at my lips before taking a leisurely trip down my body. He paused on my blade before lifting his stare to my own bored and not at all intimidated stare.

I lifted an eyebrow. “Finished?”

He flushed, and I didn’t miss the way he clenched his fist. “What do you want?”

“Jessie tells me you’re making trouble for her and her new baby.”

He slid his cell into his pocket without taking his stare from mine. He sneered and crossed his arms. “Yeah? None of your business. That’s my kid and if the whore thinks she can leave, she’s not taking it with her.”

I really didn’t need any more proof that this man was an asshole. “You don’t care about the kid, though, do you, Trevor? You just care about teaching Jessie a lesson.”

“You need to get the fuck off my property before I call the cops, bitch.”

I laughed. “You’re not going to call the cops. You’re high right now. Also, I checked. You’ve been in some trouble with the law, haven’t you?” Complete lie, but I was nearly certain that at some time in his adult life, Trevor Short had jumped over the line and gotten caught. I stepped into his space and got in his face. “No? Then go ahead and call the cops, bitch.”

He backed down, like any bully would when confronted with a challenge. “I’m leaving this shit city. Already got my house packed up. One week, and I’m out of here.” He was back on the porch now. “And I’m taking the brat with me. It’s up to Jessie if she wants to come or not, and you can tell her that.”

Even if a judge didn’t award him full custody, he was bound to get visitation, or even shared custody. And I believe Jessie. This was absolutely the type of man who would beat his wife, his kid, and…

I glanced down when I felt something pushing against my leg. And a dog. Yes, he would beat a dog.

I jogged toward the porch. “Can I come in?”

He turned to face me, surprised, his hands loose at his sides. Once more his stare flashed over my body, and then he stepped inside and held the door open, waiting for me. “That’s a good idea. Come in. We can talk about it.”

After I was inside, I watched him stick his head out the door and dart it to the left, then to the right, scanning the area for witnesses. Idiot.

The dog began barking.

Trevor took a second to yell at it to shut up before slamming the door and turning the lock, then facing me with a whole different attitude than he’d had in the yard.

“You really shouldn’t come into a strange man’s house alone, you know,” he said.

I smiled. “I’m not the one in danger, Trevor.”

He hesitated, then took another step toward me. “You’re a brave one, I’ll give you that. Why are you in my house, hmm? You want something.”

“You’re right. I do want something.”

“Drugs?” he asked. “Money? I’ll give you twenty for a blowjob.” His laugh was low, contemptuous, and mean.

“It’s really simple, Trevor. I want you to agree to leave town tonight, and I want you to never think of Jessie or her baby again.”

He put a finger to his chin and pretended to think. “You have five thousand bucks? I’d do it for that.”

“I want you to do it out of the kindness of your heart.”

“No kindness in this heart.” He thumped his chest. “If you’ve got no money, I’ll have to think of something else to seal the deal.”

He leaped at me then, pulling something from his pocket at the same time, and I have to admit, I was taken by surprise. I’d thought I would have a few minutes before I needed to beat the shit out of him.

He hit me in the face with a small, black, rectangular stun gun, which felt like a dozen tiny knives stabbing me through my cheekbone, and as I reeled, he lifted his fist and slammed it against my nose. Blood flew and splashed against his face, and for a second, his eyes went blank and he gave what looked like an orgasmic shudder.

The stun gun and the blow sent me up against the wall, but I was a wolf, however hobbled I might be. I fought demons, chased spirits, and took out the occasional rogue vampire. I was not going to have trouble with Trevor Short.

I could have pulled my blade and ended him fast—but I could handle him without having to deal with a corpse. I didn’t know exactly why it was important that I ended up here. To save the dog, maybe, or because if I didn’t get Trevor out of Jessie’s life, he would surely kill her. Maybe that baby was going to grow up to be someone extremely important to the world, and I needed to keep Trevor out of her life. Maybe it was all those things.

I just knew with everything inside me that I had to get him to disappear. I had to make sure he was not an issue. But what about future women and future babies?

I couldn’t know.

He seemed surprised that I wasn’t unconscious or crying or screaming. Then his eyes widened and he recoiled, and I knew my wolf was showing herself. I might not be able to shift, but he would see her in my eyes. I knew what they’d look like to him.

Eyes that went from hazel to deep amber, a face that subtly changed, teeth just slightly elongating into sharp points, and most of all, the agonized rage-filled snarl of a hobbled wolf.

He stumbled back so fast he fell, banging the back of his head off the kitchen table. He cried out, and I could feel his rapid pulse and his pounding heart, could almost taste his rich blood and his terror, and it was magnificent.

Because I was afraid the threat of what he was seeing would not be quite enough, I gave him something that would make him remember his terror. I buried my teeth in his upper arm, and I bit him hard. Most of what I bit him with was my human self, but the wolf was there somewhere. There was no chance it would turn him, because I could not turn, but it would do something to him. It would make him uneasy every time he felt it or looked at it. More than uneasy. And he would leave.

“Please,” he screamed, and threw himself under the old wooden kitchen table. “Don’t eat me. I won’t bother her or the kid. Get the fuck out of here.”

I stood over him, dripping blood, calm on the surface but the wolf had gotten a glimpse of the world. She’d gotten a taste of a human. She wanted out—and she was not calm. “You’ll leave,” I told him. “You’ll leave Jakeston, you sadistic shit, and you won’t come back. If you do, I will kill you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes.” He finally broke down into wet, messy sobs, cowering under the table, his life changed.

Changed, because he’d seen the wolf. He’d felt her. And that was enough to scare any-fucking-body. “Please go,” he moaned.

“I’ll be watching you, wherever you go, Trevor.” I walked to the door. “But for now, I’m going. And I’m taking the dog with me.”

And I left him there, trying to get the awful, despairing taste of my wolf out of his brain. I didn’t think he ever would.

I was counting on it.