Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel)

The regal buck grazed
lazily in the meadow. The soft light from the full moon shone on his smooth
russet fur as he bent down and munched on the plump, juicy clover. His
previously enormous antlers had been rubbed down to velvety stumps that bumped
against a nearby rock. The only sounds in the surrounding forest were rodents
scurrying in the underbrush and the frogs and crickets croaking their spring
serenade. The buck continued its meal with the occasional grunt and chomping of
its teeth. He was so engrossed in his feeding he was unaware of the two wolves
watching nearby.

The tan wolf observed
the buck with calculation. The animal was huge; its flanks thick and juicy. If
the hunt was successful they would dine well tonight. His pack mate was across
the meadow, hidden behind a juniper bush. The plan was all set and it was time
to put it in motion. Just as the wind shifted direction, he stepped out from
the cedar tree that had been giving him cover. The deer caught his scent as he
knew it would and jerked his head up, gazing right into the wolf’s penetrating
yellow eyes. The deer’s ears flickered and his nose twitched with curiosity
more than fear.

Instantly forgetting
the clover, the buck took a few steps in the opposite direction and eventually
started to trot slowly away. Taking that as a cue to move, the wolf began to
follow. The moon shone full above as the wolf trailed behind his prey, his paws
pounding over the cold uneven terrain.

He kept a steady speed
for about thirty feet until he saw the buck approaching a patch of juniper. It
was exactly where he was hoping the deer would go. When he saw movement behind
the bush, he pushed his limbs forward, picking up speed. The deer noticed and
did the same, running faster than the wolf could keep up. But that was okay.
The wolf’s intention was not to catch the deer, but to push him into a trap.
His rust colored pack mate dove out of the bush right in front of the deer,
causing the buck to slip to the right and stumble. The rust wolf took her
chance and pounced, digging her claws into the buck’s neck.

The tan wolf sped up,
closing the distance between them. When he approached the fighting animals the
rust colored wolf spun around. She stared at the crimson blood that was now
dripping from the deer’s neck and froze, her yellow eyes turning glassy. The
buck took advantage of her hesitation and jumped up, taking off at full speed.
The tan wolf began to chase it with a glance at his pack mate—but she was gone.
All he could see was her back side far-off in the distance. The wolf skidded to
a stop as he watched his mate getting farther and farther away. He huffed out a
bark that sounded like a laugh. The man inside the wolf guessed that they’d be
ordering pizza yet again—just like the last full moon.

Chapter
One

Forever

“Mmmm, good morning
Mrs. Riley,” Nate murmured with a sleepy contentment. I awoke one morning in
early June, just as always, wrapped in his strong arms. It was the best way to
greet the day. But this morning was different. For one, we weren’t in our
comfortable cozy cottage. Instead, we were in a luxurious hotel suite in Vegas
and he was no longer my boyfriend, he was my husband.

I couldn’t help the
grin that spread across my lips. Since he proposed, six months ago, we had been
intimate many times, but after we said I do in front of our two best friends
and the Elvis impersonator who married us, it just felt, right. He was mine and
he would be forever, now that I was a werewolf like him.

“Good morning, Mr.
Riley.” My voice was a little raspy from sleep, but it also held the joy that I
felt since we exchanged rings, sealing our lives together. I turned to face
him, leaning my arm against the silk sheets. His pale blond hair was messy,
most likely from last night when I ran my fingers through the soft strands. His
vivid blue eyes were even more vibrant as he smiled at me. We lay next to each
other, faces inches apart. Our gazes were intense and filled with so much
emotion that the air seemed to crackle with energy. As our eyes locked, the
image of his face the very first time I saw him, that fateful day in the
cafeteria flashed in my mind. I had never seen such beautiful blue eyes in my
life and as he stared at me with that wolfy glazed stare, I felt more in that
moment than I ever had for any boy before him. When he rushed away, I felt such
strong disappointment, it shocked me.

Finally, he broke the
silence and the image disappeared. “I am so in love with you,” he rasped, his
voice filled with devotion that matched his expression.

Those words never
failed to make my heart soar; and now that he was really mine, I felt at peace.
Nothing could come between us again. We had already been through so much. What
could happen that would be worse than finding out he wasn’t fully human and
that a sadistic werewolf wanted to kill me in order to hurt him? That was tough,
but we got past it, just like we got past me being kidnapped by Nate’s werewolf
creator, Charlotte. She had held a grudge against him since he had left her
over a hundred years ago and wanted him to suffer. By taking me, his werewolf
mate, she got her wish.

Believe it or not, it
was none of those things that made me leave him. No, that happened when I found
out that he had accidentally bit me, turning me into a werewolf like him. That
was a harder pill to swallow; knowing that the person I loved more than anyone
else in the world was responsible for taking away my humanity was devastating.
It had almost been the end of us.

But our love finally
made me forgive him. It
was
and still is, so intense and real, I had no
choice but to except what had happened and forgive him. Now, we were finally in
a good place. If we could get through all of that, we could get through
whatever came our way in the future; especially now that we were married.

I lifted a finger to
gently trace his strong jaw, over the stubble that left tingles on my skin as I
moved up to his soft lips. “That’s good. Since we just got hitched and all.” I
laughed softly as he nibbled on my finger. The giggle turned to a gasp as he
sucked the tip into his mouth. The all too familiar sensations flowed through
me and I closed my eyes as he let go and moved to my neck. The soft sigh that
came out of me was filled with pleasure and I thanked who or whatever was
responsible for bringing him into my life over a year ago.

So much craziness and
drama had happened since then, but despite everything we had been through, it
was worth it, because all of it had led to this moment.

His lips moved down,
over the thin strap of my nightgown, onto my bare shoulder and the scrape of
his teeth along my skin sent shivers all over my body. I sucked in a breath
revelling in his touch, just as a knock sounded at the door.

“Room service,” a male
voice called out. It was muffled through the steel door and separated by a
large living room. However, with our enhanced hearing, we had no trouble
hearing him.

Nate groaned as he drew
away, hovering above me, his shaggy hair hanging like a curtain around his
face. “Damn. I forgot I pre-ordered breakfast last night.”

He hesitated, looking
torn between continuing with what we had started and eating the food that I
could smell through the door. As if on cue, my stomach growled. I was so
excited yesterday that I hadn’t eaten all-day. He frowned at the sound, his
eyes washing with concern. Since I had become a werewolf, he was steadfast in
making me eat regularly. He never wanted me to lose control—like he had.

Decision made, he stood
up and threw at pillow at me. It bounced against my face before falling onto
the bed. “Come on, let’s eat. I want to feed my wife.”

My stomach flipped at
the sound of that word coming from his mouth. I could definitely get used to
that.

I sat up and wrapped
the sheet over my shoulders as I watched him pull on his dress pants. He had
tossed them onto the only arm chair in the room after yanking them off last night.
He winked, giving me a devilish grin before disappearing out of our bedroom and
into the main room. His messy hair that was still standing up, bounced as he
walked. I could hear his deep voice as he spoke to the man at the door.

When the suite door closed,
announcing the departure of the porter, I stood up. Wrapping myself in the
white sheet, I made sure to tuck the ends under my arms. I didn’t want to get
dressed. After all, this was our honeymoon. I wanted to enjoy the fact that I
was miles away from the responsibility of Riley House and my mother’s
relentless phone calls. I wanted to be lazy and concentrate on only one
thing—Nate. I padded barefoot out to the living room, stepping on the bottom of
the sheet as I made my way over the thick plush carpet. Nate was just removing
the covers of the dishes from the food cart, releasing a gust of delectable
aromas. The sudden smell of bacon, sausages, pancakes and eggs wafted toward me
and again, my stomach growled.

He smiled, closing the
distance between us to give me a kiss. It was meant to be a quick one until I
reached up to grab his face, holding him in place so I could prolong it. His
lips were soft and inviting. They tasted like the sweet wine we drank last
night after our wedding. Who could blame me for wanting more?

But unfortunately, he
pulled away. “None of that until you get some food in your stomach.” He raised
a brow. “When did you eat last?”

I looked down at the
floor, noticing my bright red polished toes sticking out from under the sheet.
“Yesterday morning,” I mumbled waiting for his typical response. I felt like a
child waiting for a reprimand.

Surprisingly, it didn’t
come. Instead, I heard him take a seat at the table, the chair scraped against
the marble floor of the dining area, the loud squawk bounced off of the walls
around us. “Well, come on then, dig in.”

My eyes widened in
shock as I gaped at him. “What? No lecture on the reasons why a werewolf should
eat?”

A shadow crossed his
face at the word I used to describe myself, but then he chuckled, the
uncomfortable expression vanishing from his handsome face before I could
acknowledge it. He lifted a fork to pick up a pancake off of the tray and flop
it onto his plate. “I’m no longer worried about you killing, or even hurting
anyone.” He lifted a shoulder lazily in a half shrug.

I moved forward, the
cold floor of the dining area cooling the soles of my feet in spots, while the
sheet I was still stepping on, warmed the rest. I took the chair across from
him, holding the silky material up with my arms. “Why not?” I asked,
dumbfounded. Ever since Lauren and I were changed into werewolves he had been
extremely verbal about our need to keep ourselves full. He was worried that if
the wolf ever took over and we were hungry, we might hurt someone. He was
speaking from experience and he wanted to save us from the guilt that haunted
him for most of his long life.

After he swallowed the
bite of pancake in his mouth, he smiled, his eyes flashing with mirth. “I’m not
worried about you killing humans, when you can’t even hurt an animal when you
are a wolf.”

Oh, right.

I had become the joke
of our group of werewolves. Joe, Adrian and Nate didn’t understand my aversion
to killing animals when I was in my wolf form. Even Lauren had begun to kill
the odd bunny, but not me. Nate had tried to get me to hunt like the rest of
them, fearing that if I didn’t, I’d go for humans instead, but I couldn’t. I
was not a killer and I never would be. Besides, my human stomach couldn’t take
eating raw, bloody meat; not to mention ripping through the fur and bones. Just
the thought of that had my stomach churning. I grabbed a piece of bacon and
took a bite, hoping to get the thoughts that had unwillingly appeared, out of
my mind.

Nate smiled at me as if
he knew what I was thinking. He took a drink of orange juice and held the glass
in front of him, pointing it at me. The liquid sloshed inside the cup,
threatening to spill over. “Are you going to call your mother and tell her what
we did?”

My stomach turned
again, for an altogether different reason. I was not looking forward to that
call. She was the reason we were here in Vegas. We had never planned on
eloping. We had both wanted to share our love with the people that were closest
to us. But months of my mother’s so called ‘help’ was more than I could take.
Who knew the way to get her to pay attention to me was to get engaged? A week
after the engagement party, she had gone crazy. She was obsessed with having
‘the wedding of the season.’ Her goal was to outdo all of her socialite friends.
The first time she called she had gushed that it would be the wedding that
Creekford would never forget.

At first, I was excited
that she had finally started to give me the attention I had always craved. But
with her constant string of phone calls hounding me I quickly lost that
sensation. Finally, last week when she had handed me the guest list, my eyes
popped out of my head. The head count, for just my side, was over five hundred
people and I didn’t know half of them. If that wasn’t reason enough for me to
freak out, the estimated cost for this extravaganza would have done it. When
she handed me the total and I read the amount that was over one hundred
thousand dollars, I almost fainted. That was it. From that moment on I decided
to do this without her. Of course, I kept that to myself through the rest of
her visit. I smiled and nodded when needed, but as soon as she left the cottage
I informed Nate I couldn’t do it. His face had fallen and his eyes washed with
sorrow, he thought I didn’t want to go through with the marriage. My heart
ached at the sight. It was shocking that I had the power to break him in an
instant. But, it was only fair, since he had that same power over me. I pulled
him into my arms before the thought even entered my mind and I told him that he
was wrong, I had something different in mind.

That was how we ended
up in Vegas with Lauren and Joe. They were the only family we needed. After
being overwhelmed with tulle, flowers, cake and even doves from my mother, I
wanted to do it the simplest way possible. And that is what we had done.

Lauren and Joe jumped
at the chance to get away. We wanted them with us, since they had been at our
sides through everything else. I had also asked Adrian to come during our last
phone conversation, but he didn’t want to leave his search. He was still on the
hunt for his sister and after all this time he wasn’t giving up. He never
imagined it would take so long after he found her address in Charlotte’s
belongings. But when he located the house, whoever had his sister had whisked
her away. That happened every time he got close. It would take weeks to find
her scent and each time he did, she was gone. He was getting very frustrated
and he suspected it was somehow Charlotte’s doing. Even from the grave, she was
causing him pain.

“Megan, did you hear
me?” Nate’s voice brought me back to the present and into the beautiful hotel
suite.

I scowled at him as I
took a few pancakes and placed them onto my plate. “Do I have to?”

He smirked at me, still
holding his glass in his hand. “Well, do you want her to continue dishing out
money for deposits?” Sure, lay on the guilt. He knew how to make me do what I
didn’t want to. Even though my parents’ neglect had hurt me in so many ways, I
still felt a twinge of shame for doing what we did. An image of my mother and
me traipsing through the woods next to our house with my grandmother entered my
mind. My grandfather had called us the three Lucy’s and I had giggled every
time I heard the nickname. It was the last time I remember being happy with my
family. A pang of sadness for the loss of my grandparents and the happiness of
that little girl twisted in my stomach. But I pushed that unwanted feeling
away. I was on my honeymoon; I wouldn’t let anything ruin it, not even my
mother.

“Fine,” I grumbled.
“I’ll call them after we eat.”

I ignored his soft
chuckle as I dug into my meal. I was starving and the food tasted so good. We
became silent as we fed our bellies. When I swallowed the last bite there was
another knock at the door. It was Joe and Lauren. We could smell their werewolf
scents through the crack under the door. I jumped up and rushed into the
bedroom to change. I heard more of Nate’s laughter as I closed the door behind
me.

I gazed at my wedding
dress where it hung on the hook on the back of the door and let out a happy
sigh. The fact that the garment was mine was extremely odd in itself. I was
only nineteen, no one in my circle of friends were married or had even thought
of walking down the aisle. But here was the evidence that I now was, along with
the white gold band on my left hand. The dress was a simple white silk with
spaghetti straps and a beaded belt at the waist. I had picked it out a few days
ago with Lauren. I hadn’t found a gown when I was planning the wedding with my
mom. I kept putting that off; I hadn’t wanted to hear my mother’s inevitable
negative comments. Thank God, I had waited or I’d be walking down the small
Vegas chapel in a huge monstrosity my mother had picked.

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