Bite of the Moon: Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Boxed Set (14 page)

She nodded and did as he suggested, finding comfort not just in his physical presence but also his scent. His warmth seeped into her and she inhaled his musk, needing that just as much as oxygen. Kane's closeness made things better, easing her fear and horror until she could finally take a deep breath again.

Chapter Twenty

Kane helped Charlotte into the house, worried she would pass out. She looked whiter than snow and slumped against him as if she lacked the strength to stand. Her jaw chattered, too, as if she were cold and couldn’t get warm. She was in shock, and it was his fault.
If I’d been stronger or faster, she wouldn’t have had to do what she did.

"We’re almost there," he said as they entered the dining room. "Just a little farther."

She collapsed into a chair around the dining room table. Kane took the seat next to her. Kai, he noted, looked pale as well, and dark hollows shadowed his eyes.

"What the hell happened, Kai?" he asked, his voice gruff.

The slender man shrugged, but said nothing.

Kane wasn't about to let it go. "You were supposed to make it so what just happened didn't happen. Your magic didn't work."

Kai stiffened and slowly turned his head to meet Kane's gaze. "My magic always works, wolf."

"Then why did he wake up?" Kane growled. He nodded to Charlotte. "Do you even know what you've put her through?"

"Kane..." she protested, laying a hand on his shoulder.

He shook her off. "We need to know if Kai's magic is reliable or not."

Tao stepped in. "Kane, stop. Kai did everything he could."

He met the alpha's gaze, taking on the power that radiated from the man like wind and refusing to blink. "I won't stop, Tao. People could have died tonight, and we can't risk that again."

"I think the hunter had his own magic," Kai said slowly. "I will have to dream on it, but it's possible he had some kind of shield against what I did. One I could not detect." His shoulders slumped. "So yes, Kane, I suppose my magic did fail." Pushing his chair back, he shuffled out of the dining room, Leo hovering at his side, ready to catch him if he fell.

"Is he going to be okay?" Charlotte asked as she watched Kai disappear into the living room.

Tao spoke for him. "He’s just tired. From what he’s told me, magic is about moving energy and it can be like lifting a heavy weight. What he did today is more than he’s ever done. He’ll need to rest, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. He wouldn’t let it go too far."

Leo returned to the table and sat next to his brother. "Kai is tough. He’ll be all right."

"But will we?" Kane asked, shooting a concerned glance Charlotte's way. With Kai out of the room, his anger had calmed.

"We'll get past this," Tao said. "It was self-defense and there's no dishonor in that."

"We tried not to kill him," Leo added, returning to the dining room. "It was the hunter who demanded violence, not us."

"Well, we're out of danger but now we have three dead bodies," Kane said. He wasn't sure he agreed with Tao and Leo, but what was done was done. He was too pragmatic to argue about the past. It was better to focus forward. "What are we going to do with them?"

"Bury them in the pack clearing," called Kai from the other room, his voice ragged as a dull knife.

"That would be the traditional thing to do." Leo gave a nod of approval.

"And what about their families?" Kane asked.

Tao grimaced. "That’s the flaw in our plan."

"Not to mention we haven’t even finished buying the pack lands. The bank is still drawing up the paperwork," Leo said.

"We’ll keep them here for now," Tao said after a moment’s hesitation.

"They’ll start to smell," Kane warned.

"I know," Tao said. "The mortgage papers should be ready soon. Once we sign, we can move them."

"Audrey won’t be happy," Charlotte said, her voice steadier now. The tension in Kane’s stomach eased a bit. She was going to be okay.

"I’ll work it out with her," Tao said.

Leo stood up. "I’ll go wrap the hunter in a tarp and clean up, so at least that will be done."

"Thanks, brother." Tao held his hand up and Leo clasped it in his.

"No problem."

Charlotte turned to Kane."What are we going to do about your parents?"

"I sent Danielle to take their statements, so we'll control the paperwork from beginning to end. We’ll keep what really happened quiet," Kane said.

"And that’s it," she said, blinking. "It’s over."

"Yes. It’s over. We’re safe now. You protected all of us." Tao confirmed, laying a hand on her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. To Kane he said, "You did good. Thanks for all your help."

"Well, it was either help or let this guy kill people," Kane said. "There wasn't much choice in the end. Like you said, it was self-defense."

"Maybe so, but you’ve got a head for leadership. Who knows, you might even lead this pack someday." Tao stood, extending his hand and Kane followed suit.

"I don’t know if I’d make a good leader or not, but thanks for the compliment." The two men shook hands.

"Now, take your girl home," Tao said, flashing a smile at Charlotte.

His girl. The words sang through Kane. If only she were his. His wolf twitched under his skin, hungry for her scent. He looked down at her and wondered what it would be like to call those luscious curves his own.

***

Kane was staring at her. Suddenly, she remembered her tiny spandex dress, which covered almost nothing. Heat flushed her cheeks. Oh jeez. Talk about making an impression. And she’d been…doing whatever she did in the garage, all while dressed like a hooker high on bad taste. Great.

"I’m not his girl," she finally said, stammering.

Tao raised his eyebrows, pinning her with his gaze. "No?"

She shook her head, and beside her, Kane fidgeted as if uncomfortable.

Kai appeared in the arched entrance to the dining room. "You smell like you belong together." He lurched toward them, where he grabbed each of their hands. "I’m not really up for this, but it needs to be said," he said.

"What are—" Charlotte started, but Kai cut her off.

"Shh," he said, his expression stern. "I need to concentrate."

So they waited in silence while Kai did whatever it was he did. Charlotte worried her bottom lip, wondering what he would learn. Did Kai’s magical powers extend to mindreading? Would he see right into her head?
Eep
. That was not a pleasant thought.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably just a minute or two, Kai opened his eyes and glanced at Kane. "You know, don’t you?"

Know what? Charlotte wondered as she watched Kane’s mouth drop open and then snap shut as he nodded, acknowledging Kai’s words.

Turning to Charlotte, Kai said, "You’re still fighting with your old boyfriend. Kane is not him. Move on." With that, he dropped both their hands like they were on fire and then stumbled back to the living room.

"Wh-what was that about?" Charlotte said, rubbing her hand, which tingled like she’d been given a mild electric shock.

"I think we need to talk," Kane said.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Tao said, adding his support.

"Okay," Charlotte said, crossing her arms. "So talk."

Kane shook his head. "Not here. Not now."

"Then when?"

"I’ll swing by your place tomorrow morning. Tonight, I’m afraid I have to clean up the human side of this mess." He looked to Tao. "Do you mind taking her home so I can get a jump on all the paperwork I have to do at the station? I want to be there and make sure no one escalates this whole thing into an investigation everyone is watching, you know?"

Tao nodded. "Glad to." Then he slipped back into the kitchen under the guise of cleaning up the mess from their meal, but Charlotte got the impression the alpha was giving them some privacy to talk.

"So is it okay if I stop by tomorrow?" Kane asked.

Charlotte shrugged, undecided as to how she felt. She liked having Kane around, but that didn’t mean she wanted a mate just then. "I want to go back to school," she said. "Finish my degree. Have a career."
Have a normal life.

"There’s no reason not to go back."

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He arched an eyebrow right back. "What? Did you think I was going to make you stay in Glen Vine?"

Charlotte crossed her arms. "I have plans, Kane. Things I want to do. I might be single, but I’m not exactly available."

Kane smiled and leaned down until their noses almost touched. "I’m in no hurry, Char. I can wait until I’m a thing you want to do. But here’s the thing, you can tell yourself you aren’t interested all you want, but your body says otherwise. I can taste it on your lips. You might find I’m a big part of your plans." Straightening up, he said, "I’ll see you later, okay? I’ll bring Java Jump."

Speechless, Charlotte let him go. She wished she had something witty to shoot back at Kane, but the truth of his words rang through her, rattling her bones and making her heart beat triple time. What if he was right?

Chapter Twenty-One

Tao's gaze pressed on Charlotte as he turned his head to look out the rear window. Putting his big pick-up in reverse and backing out of the driveway, he said, "You know, the way Audrey and I met was kind of crazy, too."

"Yeah, I know," she said, hoping her lack of in-depth response would cause him to drop the topic. She was all mixed up inside and didn't need a lecture.

But Tao persisted. "Kane’s a good guy."

"Uh-huh." She narrowed her eyes at the big man.

Holding up one hand in surrender, he said, "Okay. Sorry. Just trying to be helpful. Sometimes our wolves know what we need better than we do. Don’t ignore that instinct. It’s an important one."

"How do you know it’s the right instinct?" she asked. Is that what had happened to her in the garage? Had instinct just taken over and caused her to kill someone? She swallowed, nauseated by the whole idea.

"I just do."

"I haven’t been a wolf long enough to trust it, and I don’t know if I want to stay here, Tao." She leaned her head against her window and stared outside.

"Where would you go?"

"I don’t know. Lots of places. I want to go to Europe. Maybe get a job in a big city like New York, but now I’m stuck in Glen Vine, turning furry with you guys." She waved a hand. "Kane is a distraction I didn’t ask for or want."

"And yet you two have been inseparable the last few days. What’s that about?" Tao asked, his voice deep with challenge.

She shrugged. "It’s a coincidence. That’s all." Yeah, Kane smelled nice and saved her all the time and was a super hot hunk of man candy, but she'd felt that way about Colton, too, and
that
hadn't ended well. Kai could hold her hand and wave his mojo at her all he wanted, but she wasn't going to fall for it. Not on his say so. What did he know about relationships anyway? The guy made out with wind, not women.

Tao turned onto the route that would take them to her house. "Well, you’re not trapped here."

She huffed in exasperation. "Yes I am. I can’t even keep myself from shifting without help. How am I going to go off on my own? I mean, forget Europe, how do I even finish school?"

He sighed. "Come on, Char. This is a temporary phase. It will pass, and you’ll be able to go back to school and travel if you want."

"And stumble into hunters or whatever else is out there that doesn’t like what I am? Is the world even safe for me?" She crossed her arms and looked at him with wide eyes.

His gaze met hers and, uncomfortable with its weight, she turned away. Tao sighed. "Look, I know things have been…intense the last few days, but it’s not the norm. Everything is going to be fine. Just give it some time. This is a big change."

"You really think I’ll be able to go back to school?" She thought of her classmates in high school. Most had opted out of college and stuck close to home. On the reunion website, she saw the birth announcements of second kids. They had families, and she couldn’t even get to class. Damn werewolves to hell and back.

He nodded. "Yes, I do. We’ll need you to go back, anyway."

"Why?" She tried to figure out what her college degree could do for him and came up blank.

He flashed his brights as they neared a sharp curve. There were no streetlights this far out in the boonies of Michigan, just darkness full of deer. Smart drivers tried not to surprise them. "Because what betters you, strengthens the pack."

"I’m a library science major," she said, her voice dry. "You plan on having a pack library?"

"No, but education is never wasted, and who knows? With everything that has happened, maybe you’ll decide to change majors."

"To what? Fantasy? Magic?" She frowned. Was there a spell out there that could reverse Nick's bite? She made a mental note to check.

Tao shrugged. "How about law, or medicine, or finance?"

She grimaced. "How about, no way, not happening, and bad at math?"

He just smiled. "Never say never."

Charlotte shook her head. "I’m not living my life for you or anyone else."

"That’s easy to say, harder to do. The truth is, we all need each other to survive now. If we didn’t work together, that hunter would’ve picked us off one-by-one and, instead of college, you’d be headed for a grave." He gave her a pointed look. "The way to what you want is through your pack. Kai calls it the moon's law. What strengthens one, strengthens all. What weakens one, weakens all. We are bound together by the moon and I'm afraid her rule over us is absolute. You’ll need our support, Charlotte, and we’ll need yours."

Charlotte worried her bottom lip and nodded. She didn’t like it, but he was right. She could try to lie to herself, but then she would shift and the truth would be right there in her face, full of fangs and fur. She couldn't do it alone, not if she wanted any control over what form her body took.

"So don’t be so quick to shut Kane out. Maybe he’ll be the best thing that ever happened to you."

Now she was the one shooting pointed looks. "Yeah, okay. Sure, Alpha." She had to work to keep from snarling his title at him like an insult.
Is nothing going to go right for me?

He pulled into the gravel drive that led to her house. "Just keep an open mind."

She hopped out of the truck. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem." Tao waited until she got the front door open before backing his truck out to the road. With a quick honk, he revved his truck’s engine and zoomed off.

Charlotte greeted Midas and let him out to relieve himself. Then, she ditched the minidress in favor of an oversized t-shirt and her slippers. Curling up on the family room couch with Midas at her feet, she put on a home remodeling show and zoned out, too tired to worry or wonder about anything. Before she knew it, she was half sleeping, her eyes closed but her ears following the long narrative about installing bathroom tile. The noise drowned out the memory of being grabbed in the dark by the hunter and the fight in the garage. It also helped her to not think about Kane. Soon, she didn’t hear anything as she succumbed to the fatigue of the day.

Being the werewolf girlfriend from hell hadn’t been as simple as she’d expected it to be.