Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel) (9 page)

I didn’t know how to
read Adrian’s expression as he gazed through the pictures. The closest I could
say was—wistful. It was like he was reliving a happier time in his life.

He closed his eyes and
breathed in. “I don’t know what to do. I want to harm the werewolf for keeping
me from my sister. But she’s my mate and my instincts are to run and find her,
to be with her and to protect her with my life.” He opened his eyes and gazed
at me, his expression filled with all the confusion and pain of his words.

I opened my mouth to
speak, but the sound of the door opening had me closing it again. His sister
was here. Adrian’s eyes widened as he rushed passed me.

I followed him out to
the living room and there she was; the fifteen year old girl with black hair
and dark brown eyes. She was wearing jean shorts and a pink fitted top and
holding two bottles of soda. When she saw us, she dropped the drinks; they
rolled along the faded floor, stopping when they reached the wall. With her
arms now free Marisa threw herself into Adrian’s arms…and began to sob.

My heart broke at the
scene, especially when Adrian caressed her hair and closed his eyes, resting
his chin on the top of her head. When a tear trickled down his cheek, I felt
like I was interrupting a very personal reunion that was ten years in the
making. I was so excited that he had finally found her, I wanted to join in on
the hug, but knew that I’d be imposing.

Instead, I turned away
and moved to the window to look out, hoping to give them a semblance of the
privacy I thought they needed. A red minivan zoomed by and a dog wandered out
onto the road after it. It quickly lost interest and ambled toward a metal
garbage bin to sniff.

“I’ve missed you so
much,” Adrian said softly.

“What took you so long?”
Marisa’s voice was muffled as she mumbled into his shirt, her body still
shaking with emotion.

When I heard them pull
apart I turned back around and took a seat in a faded, brown leather chair in
the corner. I was trying to be as invisible as possible, but still here if I
was needed.

Adrian held her at
arm’s length and frowned. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know where you were and
someone threatened to kill you if I attempted to find you.” He paused and
touched her cheek with his thumb, as if trying to make sure she was real “I
couldn’t risk your life.”

Her dark eyes widened
in horror. “Who?”

“Let’s not get into
that right now,” he said sadly, wrapping her into his arms again.

The door banged open
and the girl with the braid stood in the entryway, pointing a gun at Adrian.
She was wearing a purple tank top and another long peasant skirt. She must have
retrieved some more of her clothes from the car when she returned to her human
form—along with the gun in her hand.

Adrian pushed Marisa
behind his back and glared at the werewolf before him. I jumped up and rushed
forward, standing next to his sister. Since Eva was a werewolf and she knew
that we were as well, I was guessing that there was silver in that gun. Once
again we were in danger at the hands of another werewolf. Would our lives ever
be normal again?

“Eva! What are you
doing?” Marisa gasped. The shock was clear in her voice.

Eva ignored Marisa and
took a step forward, the gun still pointed at Adrian’s head. Her eyes were
determined. Her brown braid fell over her left shoulder and I noticed her arms
trembled slightly. “Get away from her. These are silver bullets.”
Shocking.

“You won’t kill me.”
Adrian’s voice was low, but sure.

Her hands shook. “I
don’t care if you’re my mate. I will protect that girl with my life and you
will not take her from me.”

“Eva, please don’t hurt
him.” Marisa begged, her head peeking around her brother’s shoulder.

“Marisa!” Eva yelled,
staring into Adrian’s eyes. “Come here.” Her voice was hysterical and wild. I
wasn’t as sure as Adrian that the girl wouldn’t pull the trigger. A shiver of
panic shot through my chest.

I grabbed Marisa’s hand
and squeezed. She didn’t know me, but I knew she needed comfort right now.

“I can’t.” Her voice
shook with emotion, torn between two people she loved. “He’s my brother.”

Eva’s face fell, a look
of hurt flashed over her face. “He’s dangerous. You can’t trust him.” Her
previously shaking hands steadied. She was determined to get the girl back.

Marisa’s hand shook in
mine. She glanced at Adrian and then at me, uncertainty clouding her face.

“Don’t listen to her,
Marisa. He loves you. He would never hurt you.” I spoke with both confidence
and concern. She needed to know what I did, that Adrian was kind, funny and
wouldn’t purposefully hurt anyone.

Marisa gazed into my
eyes, as if pleading for my words to be true. When I nodded, her uncertainty
melted away. “I believe her Eva. Adrian would never hurt me.”

“I’m so sorry to have
to tell you this, but…” Eva trailed off as she closed her eyes briefly, as if making
a decision she didn’t want to. “He killed your parents.”

The Truth

“
What
?” Three
voices gasped with the same shocked tone, one of them was me. Eva’s words had
sent a knot of dread straight to my gut. Marisa and I stared at Adrian, while
he gaped, open-mouthed at Eva. His expression could only be described as
horror. While I might have doubted Adrian for a spilt second, the look on his
face told me the truth. He was just as shocked by her accusation as Marisa and
I had been.

Marisa gripped my hand,
her eyes pooling with tears. We were strangers, but for some reason she felt
like I was someone she could trust. And I needed to help her in any way that I
could.

I stepped away from
her, yanking my hand out of her tight grasp to approach the girl with the gun.
“Why do you think that?” I asked a very determined Eva. Despite my proximity to
a loaded gun, I suddenly wasn’t afraid. Call me stupid, call it a gut feeling,
but I didn’t believe this girl with the messy braid and cherub like features,
could hurt a fly, let alone me or my friend. She had that chance when she had
turned into a wolf earlier and she hadn’t taken it.

At my approach she
lowered the gun slightly, her hands beginning to shake again. We had never met
before, but despite that, I could tell that she held no anger towards me. “A
woman named Charlotte brought Marisa to me ten years ago. She was frantic. She
said the girl needed a place to stay and protection from her crazed brother who
had just killed their parents.” A wave of understanding washed over me. The
girl in front of me holding the gun was a good person. For some reason, I knew
this the first time I heard her voice, when she spoke to Marisa with love at
the motel. My only question had been, how she could keep a girl she obviously
cared for away from the only family she had left? The answer should have been
obvious, Charlotte. It had been her life’s mission, when she was alive, to
cause pain wherever she could. She’d be happy to know that even after her
death, she was still causing it. For six months Adrian had suffered through
almost
finding his sister, all because of a lie the evil werewolf had told Eva.

As understanding hit
me, Adrian cursed.

I smiled and stepped
toward Eva, the floor creaked beneath my foot and I could hear Marisa’s soft
intake of breath as I held my hand out for the gun.

Eva gazed at me with
apprehension and then her eyes swung to the hand that I still held out. She
made no other movement.

“You’ve been lied to.”
My voice was soft and filled with compassion. I might not have believed any
lies Charlotte had told me, but I let her into our home where she struck and
kidnapped me and Lauren.

Eva’s hands that held
the gun, lowered slightly. “What do you mean?” she whispered. The hesitation in
her voice matched the look in her eyes.

“Charlotte was an
evil...” At the sound of Adrian’s cough, I changed the word I was about to use.
We didn’t know how much Marisa knew, so I couldn’t use the word werewolf.
“Woman, who enjoyed ruining people’s lives. She hurt my husband, me and many
others that I know, even her own brother.”

A line creased her
forehead. “What do you mean she
was
?”

“She was killed when
she tried to murder my best friend’s father.”

Eva closed her eyes,
exhaustion marring her features. She dropped the gun to her side, but didn’t
let it go.

I relaxed, letting my
hands fall. “Don’t feel foolish. She has manipulated so many people. She
probably couldn’t keep track of it all.”

Eva’s lip quivered, her
eyes distressed. “I don’t know what to believe.”

I moved closer and
placed a hand on her shoulder, she smelled of ginger and pineapple. “I know you
don’t know me, but believe me when I tell you that Adrian is a good person.”

Her eyes flicked to
the man in question and a tear slid down her cheek. She brushed passed me and
moved to the brown corduroy sofa, falling into it; the aged springs groaned
with the movement. She held her head in her hands, her messy, chestnut colored
braid, falling over her shoulder. The gun lay forgotten on the cushion next to
her.

The rest of us took
positions in the living room. I sat back on my chair, while Marisa took the
spot next to Eva, opposite the gun. Adrian leaned against the faded blue wall,
watching us. His expression was guarded as he eyed the girl and the gun next to
her.

Everyone was silent as
Eva took in the information I had just given her.

It was Marisa that
broke into the strained quiet. “So, are you two werewolves like Eva?” she asked
Adrian and me.

Adrian and I exchanged
glances, unsure what to say, but Eva sat up and stared at the teenager next to
her. “What are you talking about?” She was obviously trying to keep her true
identity hidden.

Marisa rolled her eyes.
“Give me a break Eva. We almost look the same age.”

She was right. I’d say
Eva was sixteen or seventeen when she was turned. But, with her round cherub
shaped face and girl next door features, she had an innocent quality that made
her appear younger than Marisa. Marisa’s features were sharp and smooth. She
almost looked older than her fifteen years. How Eva convinced anyone that she
was Marisa’s guardian all this time was surprising.

Eva’s eyes widened and
she actually glanced at Adrian and me for help. I shrugged and Adrian’s lip
twitched. “Uh…” she stammered.

Marisa spoke again
before she could finish. “I was five when I met you and you haven’t aged. I
have always known something was up.”

“So why did you assume
werewolf?” I asked when all Eva could do was gawk at her. “It’s a bit of a
stretch don’t you think?”

Marisa leaned back into
the ugly brown cushions of the sofa, crossing her arms in front of her. “Well,
since she turns into a wolf once a month, what would you assume?” Her tone
wasn’t at all snotty, just blunt. I had to suppress a giggle. I liked her
already.

“
What
?” Eva
gasped, her eyes as wide as saucers.

Marisa turned on the
couch so she was directly facing her guardian. “A few years ago, I started
noticing that you always had to work late on a full moon. Last year, on a night
that you said you would be late; I heard something outside and went to the window
to check it out. That’s when I saw you turn from a wolf to a girl.

“At first I was freaked
and ignored you for a whole day. But then, I thought about all the things you
had done for me and I knew you might not be human, but that didn’t make you
evil.”

Again, all of us
studied the fifteen year old girl. She seemed more mature than my old friends
that had betrayed me after setting a fire and they were four years older.
Despite how Eva had come to have Marisa, it was obvious that she had done a
terrific job raising her.

When none of us
responded, Marisa asked again, “So, are you two werewolves or not?” She raised
a brow at her brother. “Because, it’s been ten years and you look exactly the
same.”

Since Adrian and Eva
appeared to be dumfounded. I answered for them. “Yes, we are.”

Marisa nodded and gazed
at Adrian. “Can you tell me what happened the night Mom and Dad were killed?”

Adrian pursed his lips
and looked at me for support. I nodded, knowing that she could handle it. Eva
had raised a strong girl. He took a deep breath and moved to crouch in front of
her, getting to her eye level. His knees cracked when he bent down. “What do
you remember?”

Marisa tucked her hair
behind her ear and leaned her arms on her knees. “I remember having the
cherry-upside-down cake that Mom made for your visit home. I remember you
tucking me in and then going to sleep. Then a scream woke me hours later and I
wandered downstairs. I didn’t see anyone but a girl with red hair and she said
that Mom and Dad wanted her to take me somewhere safe and that I was in danger
there. But when she took me to Eva, she told me that Mom and Dad were dead and
I had to live with this girl from now on.” She paused and glanced at each of
us. “And that’s it.”

Adrian’s face went
hard, his eyes flashed yellow. When his sister gasped, he jumped up and moved
away, standing with his back to us as he peered out the window. He began his
story without looking at us. “Dad and I were playing chess. We had an ongoing
game that we continued every time I came home from college. Mom was watching
us, commenting on the game, making me laugh as the two of them bantered back
and forth. There was a knock at the door and since it was so late Dad went to
answer it. When he didn’t return, Mom went to check on him.” Adrian turned back
around and gazed into Marisa’s eyes. “That’s the last time I saw them alive.”
He took another breath and continued. “There were two of them: a blond guy, who
looked about twenty and the red headed girl. They were standing over Mom and
Dad’s bodies. That’s all I saw. The next thing I knew I woke up in a car and I
was a werewolf. Every day since then, I wish it was me that answered the door.”
The misery in his voice as he told his story was audible and my eyes burned
with tears. I might not get along with my parents but if that had happened to
them, I would have been devastated. It was amazing Adrian wasn’t screwed up. It
must have helped that he had been focussed on his sister all these years, to
keep him sane. Living with the monsters that killed his parents must have been
horrible.

The room fell silent. I
snuck a glance at Eva and was surprised to see her crying.

“It’s not your fault,
Adrian. You couldn’t have known. Besides, you’d be dead too,” Marisa comforted
him softly, further evidence of her maturity.

“No. They wanted me
alive. Charlotte had seen me come home that day with my backpack and guessed
that I was their son; she wanted our money. We lived in a big house, so she
knew we must have had plenty.”

“She did all of that
for money?” Eva rasped, something that resembled rage flashed in her eyes.

He nodded. “That’s what
she does.”

“She died trying to
take over my friend’s family business. She had turned a family member into a
werewolf and they were trying to get him named in the will,” I added.

Eva’s face was filled
with remorse as she looked up at Adrian. “I’m so sorry. I met her the week
before. She came into the coffee shop I was working at and realized I was a
werewolf. She said she had no friends and we started talking. That was the last
I saw of her until she showed up at my apartment with Marisa.”

My phone beeped with a
text message and I stood up to check it in Marisa’s room. I needed a break from
the emotion that was simmering in the air. I stood next to the window and
vaguely noticed a pigeon’s nest on the sill. It cooed as I checked Nate’s text.
I shook with anticipation when I read his words. He was here and he wanted the
address so he could meet us. I popped my head around the corner of the doorway,
peeking into the living room. Marisa was speaking to Eva quietly. I was too
distracted to listen. “Eva, what’s the address? My husband’s plane just landed
and he’s going to meet me here.”

Her eyes were weary as
she told me what I wanted to know. It was as if she was still unsure of us. I
could hardly blame her, she trusted a woman ten years ago and look how that
turned out.

I typed in the address
and went back out to the living room. The room was once again quiet. Adrian was
shooting Eva guarded glances. The situation was complicated and on top of
everything they had just learned about each other, they were also mated. I
hoped they could get past this.

“So what do we do now?
Can we go with Adrian?” Marisa asked Eva.

I wanted to point out
that since Adrian was her brother and Eva had been keeping them apart all this
time, she didn’t really have a say. But since it wasn’t my business, I kept my
thoughts to myself.

“You don’t have to ask
her. You
will
be leaving with me.” Adrian’s tone was final, no room for
argument.

Eva stood, tipped her
head up to glare into his eyes. “I won’t let you take her from me.” Her face
was hard, her jaw set.

The air in the room was
suddenly thick with tension.

Adrian squared his
shoulders, puffing up for a fight. “And you think you can stop me?”

Marisa turned to me, apprehension
clouding her face, her eyes were a desperate plea.

Sensing a scene, I
stood between them, facing Eva. “He didn’t kill his parents and you’ve been
keeping him away from his sister,” I pointed out. “You can’t stop him.”

The anger in her face
melted away, leaving only sorrow. “I love her,” was her shaky response. “I have
raised her for the last ten years. She doesn’t even know you.
I
don’t
know you.” The tone of her voice was similar to a mother protecting her child
and I guess that was how she saw herself. She had taken care of the girl for
most of her life. She loved her and would do anything to protect her. Coming
from parents who treated me like a burden, I found myself envying Marisa. Eva
reminded me of Mona, I wasn’t her child but she treated me like her own. It was
strange coming from a girl who appeared to be younger than me. But being a
werewolf you couldn’t judge a person’s age by their looks.

“I’m sorry, but now
that I have found her you will not keep her from me anymore. She is all I have
left of my family. You have no right to her.”

Eva looked speechless
as she continued to glare at Adrian. But what could she say? Adrian was right.
She may want to keep Marisa, but she had no claim on her.

As the two stared each
other down, I caught a whiff of werewolf and my stomach fluttered. My mate was
here!
Yay
!

I rushed to the door,
but before I could get to it, it flung open, banging against the wall with a
thud
.