Before the Moon Rises (9 page)

much better than I imagined it would be. Thank you for

suggesting you join us, Ritter. I look forward to seeing the

light in her eyes fade when you turn."

"She's mine." Max backed into her, his hands were at his

side. Janet felt the outline of something hard press against

her stomach. She remembered the gun he held at her house,

and knew he was trying to guide her to his weapon. She

renewed her struggle with the chains.

"Back away." Gorman waved his gun in the air.

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Max didn't move.

"I said, back away."

"By the time your gun can do me harm, you won't be able

to use it."

"Ah, but it will work on her."

Janet searched the eyes of an insane man, at the same

time tugging against the chains.

"You'll have to get through me first." Max flattened his

frame against hers, her view of Gorman cut off.

Suddenly both men glanced out the window above her

head. The last rays of the sun melted.

"It looks like you're going to get your fight after all, Ritter."

Gorman tossed his gun to the floor.

Max wheeled around to her. "Trust me," he said, before

dropping to the ground.

Everything moved in slow motion. Janet stared on in deep

horror as both men hit the floor of the basement. Angry

sounds of bones popping and clothes tearing filled the room.

Unable to look away, Janet gaped as Max's head changed

shape, and hair grew all over his face and hands. His neck

shook and ears emerged. His clothes fell away from his half-

human form.

She wanted to scream but the sound never came.

Snarling, Max emerged from the transformation in less than a

minute. Leaping out of the rags which only a moment ago

were his clothes, he attacked Gorman who wasn't completely

turned.

Dumbfounded, Janet watched as her lover turned from

man to wolf. Rex. Her head started to swirl and her eyes

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wanted to close. If she hadn't seen it, she would never have

believe it.

Max was a wolf, and he was viciously fighting Gorman who

had also changed.

Outside the howls of others filled her with dread. More

were coming.

She snapped out of her trance, and with renewed energy

heaved and yanked against the wall, this time climbing it with

her feet and using every last ounce of strength she had to

free herself.

The wall started to give. She screamed in rage and yanked

over and over. Blood started to fill her hands as the chain dug

into her wrists. With one final shrill, the bolt gave way. She

fell to the floor, the chain dangling from her arms.

Ferocious growls came from behind her. She glanced over

her shoulder; Max in his silver coat had Gorman pinned to the

ground. Gorman yelped, his gaze turned and settled on her.

With one eye on the barking animals, Janet scurried to

where Max's clothes sat in a pile. She shuffled through them

until she found the gun.

It was cold and foreign in her unsteady hands. She pointed

it toward her enemy, but Max stood over him. Afraid of

missing Gorman and hitting Max, she aimed the gun at the

ceiling and squeezed the trigger.

The blast landed her on her butt. Parts of the house above

her rained down. Both wolves stopped their attack. Max

backed up to stand between her and Gorman, his teeth

bared, his snarl threatening.

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Gorman wasted no time and lunged at them both. With a

clear view, Janet leveled the gun again, this time aiming at

the enemy.

The shot ran home, catching Gorman in mid air. Janet

rolled on the ground to avoid his dead weight.

Shaking, Janet dropped the gun and watched as wolf

turned into man. With one final breath, Gorman stared at her

with hate in his eyes.

Her hand wiped at her tears, clearing her vision. Howls

returned from above. Max nudged her hand with his nose.

Janet drew back from his touch.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she cried, pushing Max away.

Max backed up, the barks outside grew louder. He

bounded up the steps only to reappear in a few seconds.

He barked in warning and nudged the gun back to her

side.

"There are more of you? Aren't there?"

Max let out another bark in answer.

Janet jumped to her feet, the chain still keeping her hands

close together. She took the gun, glanced at the dead man by

her side and started to move.

Max hurled himself in front of her. The house was vacant

of any furniture, not one light shone to guide her. Max

grabbed the dangling chain and led her out of the house.

Outside the moon illuminated the landscape, giving her the

light she needed to see where to go. His Ferrari was parked

with the engine still running, the driver side door opened.

Barks and howls sang from every direction. Scared, Janet

ran toward the safety of the car. As she rounded the hood,

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another wolf, this one black and larger than Max, stared at

her and blocked the way. Without thinking, Janet aimed the

gun at the animal and fired.

She missed, but the wolf backed off. She inched closer to

the door, never looking away from the red eyes that stared at

her.

Standing by the door of the car, she yelled at Max. "Get

in!"

Snarls and yelps came from behind her. Max shook his

head and stepped back.

"What are you doing? Get in."

He shook his head again, this time he pushed at her leg

with his head.

His blue eyes swirled with grey.

Out of nowhere, the black wolf pounced on Max. Needing

no further encouragement Janet jumped into the car and

slammed the door.

Another wolf landed on the hood bringing a scream from

her throat. Jolting the car into reverse, Janet punched the gas

and squealed out of the dirt driveway.

The lights of the car hit Max and his newest enemy.

Beyond them through the light of the moon, she saw them

all. Black, white, grey and brown, wolves of every imaginable

size and shape were everywhere.

Several wolves stood by Max's side as if in unity. They

approached their enemy slowly until all hell broke loose.

Behind her, a truck pulled up along side the car. Inside a

middle-aged man rolled down the window and shouted at her.

She opened her window slightly to hear his words.

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"Get out of here. Do you have a death wish or something?"

Janet glared at the fighting pack. "I can't leave him here."

"Max can take care of himself. You're a distraction, Janet.

Go."

She stared at him in surprise. "How do you know who I

am?"

Annoyed with her questions, the man yelled again. "Go!"

Torn, Janet glanced at the mayhem unfolding all around

her. Wolves fought and tore each other to pieces.

She reached for the door, thinking she could somehow

help. The muzzle of one wolf slammed against the glass,

teeth bared. Swallowing hard, Janet put the car in drive and

tried her best not to look back.

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James let her in the gate and met her at the door. He took

one look at her and then ran to the garage to retrieve a pair

of bolt cutters and removed the chains.

He didn't ask questions. He didn't comment. He simply

went about getting Janet the supplies she needed to bandage

her marred wrists.

She went to her room, and walked straight to the shower.

Clothes and all she got in and set the water on high, trying in

vain to wash away the horrible images of the night.

Tears flowed and her body shook as she yanked the

clothing from her skin. She rubbed her skin raw, soaped it up

and scrubbed it again and again.

Exhausted, she put on a loose pair of pants and a large

sweatshirt. With her hair drawn back in a ponytail, she walked

to the kitchen for coffee.

James handed her a cup and suggested she join him in

Max's study. It was only midnight. They had hours to wait.

Janet walked into the study for the first time. A bank of

monitors took up the entire wall. Cameras pointed in every

imaginable direction throughout the house.

"Do you sit here every month?" she asked James.

"Most months, Miss."

"How long have you known that Max is a..." Oh, God. What

was she suppose to call him?

"A werewolf?"

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A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "Yeah, I guess that's

what he is."

"I've served his family for the last thirty years, Miss."

She put her coffee down. "Why?"

James moved away, his eyes distant. "They saved my life."

Not knowing what else to say, Janet sipped the hot brew

and resigned herself to wait.

Alarms and buzzers woke her from her restless sleep. She

focused her fuzzy gaze over to James from her perch on the

couch. He spoke to someone at the gate. She read the relief

in his face.

The images on the monitors showed several trucks

overflowing with wolves coming onto the property. They were

home.

Within minutes, the living room filled to capacity with the

pack that had fought by Max's side. Blood-marred hair clung

to half of them, their wounds evidence that their fight had

been vicious.

Despite her trepidation, Janet searched them all for Max.

Unable to locate him amongst the pack had her spinning in

circles and renewing the effort.

Finally, Richard walked in with Max at his side. He stopped

in his tracks, their eyes caught and held.

James approached from behind and handed her an

armload of blankets.

"What's this for?" she asked.

He pointed to the horizon. "The sun is coming up."

As he said the words, the room filled with deafening howls

and everyone started to change.

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The sea of hair quickly changed to a sea of naked people.

Men and women, alike.

Understanding, Janet started covering those who were

closest with the blankets.

Janet rushed around the room and realized the scene was

becoming a massive triage. Several of the wounded needed

immediate attention.

"Richard," she called bringing looks from several of those

who already walked about.

Richard turned to her side.

"I'm going to need sterile gauze, hydrogen peroxide,

betadine and tape." Janet narrowed her eyes at him when he

didn't move. "Now!" she yelled.

Richard jumped back to gather what she demanded. Janet

knelt down to the woman at her feet. The gash on her chest

was deep, the bleeding significant.

"Shhh, it's okay," she told the moaning woman. "Hold

this." She placed the blanket to her side and pressed firm.

Looking up, Janet saw another man with a bite to his face.

She rushed to his side to see how bad it was.

Two hours later, several people had been taken to local

hospitals, while others left for home.

Exhausted, Janet sat down and rested her head in her

hands.

"Here." Max came up behind her and set a cup of coffee in

front of her. "You look like you could use this."

She sat up and met his eyes. He had made himself useful

during the ordeal of cleaning up his family's wounds, but he

hadn't said a word to her since he changed.

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"Why didn't you tell me?"

He sat down. "You wouldn't have believed me."

"You didn't give me a chance, Max. You lied to me."

"I never lied to you."

"Omitting the truth is the same as lying, and you know it!"

He tried to place a calming hand on her shoulder. She shook

him off and backed away. "I trusted you. Do you know how

difficult it is for me to do that? What other dark secrets do

you have?"

His jaw tensed. "My being a werewolf is enough, don't you

think?"

"Your secret almost cost me my life." Janet stood and

started to pace.

"I know," he murmured.

"That's it,
I know?
Don't you have anything else to say

now that you're human again?"

"I'm sorry."

Janet cocked her head to one side. She felt the tears

stinging the back of her lids again. "I'm sorry, too. I thought

maybe we had a future together."

"We do have a future, Janet." Max shortened the distance

between them.

She backed farther away and put her hands in front of her.

"No. We don't."

"Don't say that." he insisted. His arms circled her

shoulders. He forced her to meet his gaze. "We are meant to

be together."

Janet shook her head.

"Yes, we are."