Taken by Moonlight

Dedication

To my Readers.

Thank you for your continuous and
unwavering support. You waited for a long time for this story, and I hope it’s
everything you expected.

Alpha:
The leader of a werewolf pack.

Beta:
The second-in-command of a werewolf
pack.

Changeling:
A vampire who was not born, but
created; changelings are rare as the process is illegal.

Council:
An interspecies committee
consisting of the heads of different immortal groups.

Coven:
A group of vampires under one coven
leader.

Coven
leader:
The head of
a coven; usually the strongest vampire in the coven.

Covenant:
A group of witches under the
leadership of a grand wizard.

Druid:
Direct descendant of a god. Druids
are the most powerful immortals to walk the earth.

Elder:
A title of respect given to the
oldest members of any immortal group.

Grand
Wizard:
The leader
of a covenant, usually the most powerful member.

Hybrid:
Half-breed immortals.

Rogue:
A loner or a group of loners;
outsiders.

Vampire:
Immortal creations of Aphrodite,
goddess of Beauty.

Werewolf:
Also known as ‘weres’ or ‘wolves’.
Immortal creations of Luna, goddess of the Moon and Hunt.

Witch:
Immortal creations of Luna, goddess
of the Moon and Hunt.

Warlock:
The hybrid mix of a vampire and a
witch.

Chapter One

“Oh God,
please don’t let me die.”

It had
started innocently enough, with Vivienne stooped behind a swarm of bushes five
minutes away from the campsite, her panties and gray sweats tugged to where her
knees extended as she balanced herself on the tips of her gray sneakers. If not
for the fact that she
absolutely
had to go, she would have held it until
tomorrow.
One night.
That was what she’d stupidly agreed to when her
sister had told her that she would be celebrating their birthday by going
camping. Vivienne had other ways she wished to celebrate, ways that had nothing
to do with dying off the side of a mountain that was also a camping site, or
getting flayed alive by a hungry bear or a mountain lion.

From the
moment of their simultaneous conception, Vivienne and Cassandre Bordeaux had
been different. Although they mirrored each other, with the same long and
slender physique that had been gangly and awkward at first but had eventually
turned graceful and attractive, the same small, heart-shaped face that fit two
honey-colored eyes, and the same rich butterscotch-almond brown complexion that
usually made it difficult to select a shade of makeup, their similarities ended
there. Cassie loved adventure, had welcomed it from the time she was six and
had discovered insects in their backyard. In contrast, Vivienne preferred the
more mellow life, her nine-to-five, her work rituals, and she hated nature!

Okay, that
was a gross exaggeration brought on by potential West Nile. She didn’t hate
nature. She actually found it quite beautiful, but she disliked camping, and
she’d only done it for a few hours. There were bite marks on her legs, arms,
and face, from the millions of possibly infected mosquitoes that lived in these
parts, and she wasn’t assured by Cassie or any of her friends that something
wouldn’t bite her down
there
as she attempted to relieve herself.

A sigh
exploded from Vivienne’s chest when she was finally through, and she shook
herself, much as she’d shaken herself when she was a child and her father had
pulled over at the side of a highway because his two little girls couldn’t hold
it, before standing and pulling her sweats and underwear up. She shuddered.

Shower.
That was first on her list of
things to do when she arrived back at her apartment. A long, thorough shower.

Turning in
the direction of the campsite her sister had set up, Vivienne put one foot
before the other, intent on heading back and humoring her sister before going
to sleep. Tomorrow was their birthday after all, and she loved her twin. But
for love, she wouldn’t have even contemplated this madness.

Because it
was dark, the only thing illuminating the tall trees and shrubs in the area was
the full moon. From this higher altitude, it even seemed larger, brighter.
She’d taken a few steps when the snapping of branches and the sound of a soft
whine alerted her she was no longer alone.

Halting,
Vivienne shook her head. “Seriously, Cassie. Aren’t we too old for these
games?”

She
referred to the countless times Cassie had scared her within an inch of life.
As she grew older, she came to expect attacks from her sister. When there was
no telltale sign of muffled laughter, Vivienne felt the chill of the night air
seep into her bones. Normally, when she was called out, Cassie usually laughed
and made a witty comment. Maybe she was with her friends and they were keeping
her from doing so?

“Simmer,
simmer,
children
. You’ve watched me pee. Fun’s over
.
” She said in
the most mocking way possible, hoping to rile them into confronting her.

Only
silence greeted her taunting. But for the rustling of leaves on tall tree
branches, everything seemed still. Before she could ponder it further, twigs
began to snap rapidly. As the sound raced closer Vivienne realized someone was
coming at her at full speed. Her sister and her friends could not move like
that. No human could move like that. It was an animal! Oh sweet beautiful
Jesus, she was being chased by an animal!

Instinct
kicked in, and she turned and bolted in the opposite direction. Vivienne was
faster than the average person, as she’d run track most of her academic life,
and she cleared a good distance the first minutes of running.

Oh God,
please, don’t let me die.

The chant
had begun in her mind as she raced through the moonlit forest and had gradually
become words on her lips as she increased speed. She wasn’t a religious person
but she vowed that if she survived this night, she would be. Why had she come
out here, again? Why had she allowed Cassie to persuade her into this? Why the
hell had she agreed to this? She’d seen horror movies and knew better!

And now,
something was chasing her and the campsite was in the opposite direction. Oh
Jesus, if she survived the night, she was going in to be baptized, right after
she murdered Cassie! Even in frantic fear, her mind managed to autocorrect her
feelings.
Seriously injure Cassie
.

The sound
of a lone howl pierced the night and she almost fainted. She was being chased
by a wolf. She was being chased by a big, hungry wolf that would probably kill
her by holding on to her neck and suffocating her! Or was that lions?

Branches
slapped her face and arms as she flew past trees, but she felt no pain, just
fear. She’d been tiring until she heard the howl, and now she felt as if she
could run forever. Adrenaline was a beautiful thing. Vivienne saw a clearing in
the distance, and looked over her shoulder. The one law of track was “Never
look back” but most athletes weren’t being chased by something out to kill
them, damn it! She saw nothing, just the black night, trees, branches—no scary
animal chasing after her.

Feeling a
smidgen better that the wolf wasn’t making a running leap for her, Vivienne was
contemplating slowing down when the decision was taken out of her hands. She
collided with a tree and pitched backward, landing hard on her bottom. Being
long, slender, and fit, Vivienne didn’t have the cushion that would have broken
that fall, and she winced as pain shot from her tailbone up her spine, and
seemed to vibrate through her entire body.

“Ah God,
damn it,” she whimpered slightly, looking back to see if the wolf had been
waiting for her to fall so that he could pounce. As a child, she’d watched the
Discovery Channel enough with Cassie to know that predators always struck when
they saw weakness. No wolf was leaping or circling her. Vivienne slowly began
to relax and was gingerly pushing herself up when hands wrapped around her
waist, and an ear-splitting scream rent the air.

Her eyes
remained open, so she saw the look of pain that crossed the man’s features as
he suffered through that assault on his ears. Vivienne cut her scream short and
stared up at him in confusion.

“Are you
hurt?”

His voice
was deep and driven, like someone accustomed to getting his way. Vivienne’s
vocal chords were paralyzed. It was too much. First, she was being chased by a
wolf, and now some really large guy who hadn’t been there a few minutes ago was
holding her and asking her about injuries. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She
was supposed to have a mellow night camping with her sister.

Her last
thought before her eyes rolled back in her head was “Please God, don’t let me
die
camping
.” And then her legs turned to jelly, and she would have
fallen if not for the arms keeping her steady.

Conall
Athelwulf stared down at the senseless female in his arms and shook his head.
Humans
,
he thought with a hint of disgust, his nostrils filling with the scent of
sunlight and peaches, of her mortality. Where did she belong, anyway? There
were no campsites for miles, and yet a human female was in marked territory.
Where were his betas? Why had she been allowed through? He had many questions,
and no answers.

The
snapping of twigs notified him of his nephew’s presence before he smelled the
boy. Eli’s naked and lanky body rushed into the clearing. He was breathing hard
and looking around, obviously searching for the woman slumped in Conall’s arms.
His eyes widened when he noticed her, and he forced a smile that did nothing to
alleviate the look of guilt on his face.

The young
whelp, Conall thought, glaring at his nephew. The main reason the pack was in
this state park for the week was to teach the younger werewolves the skills
needed for hunting and fighting, something that could not be done in a city or
even the makeshift forest in their gated community, due to its lack of wild
prey, unless one counted humans. Since that type of hunting was strictly
forbidden, this was the next best thing.

Unable to
keep her in her current position, Conall hoisted her into his arms. She weighed
less than the average bitch in his pack, so it was no great task. Her head
slumped back and he shifted her so that she rested against his chest.