Cold Moon Rising: A New Adult Paranormal Romance (Cry Wolf) (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

Jacob

I leaned my forehead against the steering wheel, either unable or unwilling to leave Kelly’s parking lot. I could be mad at her all I wanted, but the plain truth was that I’d pushed her too far. What would she say if I went back and apologized?

I didn’t think I’d be able to smell much more of her arousal without acting on my beast’s instincts. Yet, I regretted my last sniping words to her.
Good luck on your exams. You’ll need it.
What a jerk! That hadn’t displayed the kind of man I was. I cared too much for her to treat her so poorly.

With the full moon almost upon me, my wolf snarled below the surface of my skin, demanding our need for intimacy to be satiated. I’d assumed that my relationship with Kelly had advanced far enough to reach a sexual level, but I’d been wrong. Growing up around werewolves had altered my sense on how intimate relationships worked.

It wasn’t the first time I’d gotten carried away and shunned, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. I envied my fellow Pack members who had steady relationships with female werewolves. At least they had someone in their lives who understood the full moon’s persistent stresses on their bodies. There were some nice, available female wolves, but none of them interested me as much as Kelly did.

Footsteps sounded nearby, but I could care less about humans going about their business. At least that’s what I tried to tell myself, yet I was still in the parking lot of a very special human female’s building. I glanced over the wheel to see a thin man in glasses peeking around as if trying to make sure no one was watching.

Curiosity rose within me, and I leaned closer. My wolf knew he was up to no good, but I didn’t have time to speculate about other people’s business. I had my own to take care of. I’d be a man and go make things right with Kelly. If it didn’t go so well, then at least I’d tried.

Worst case scenario, I could crash at Alayna’s. It wasn’t my favorite option, but I had to indulge my urges, especially after nearly ravaging Kelly. My body craved hers alone. Anything else would be a poor substitute.

The man with glasses had disappeared by the time I made it to the entrance of Kelly’s building, but something was wrong. Very wrong. I smelled her delicate rosy perfume along with two other male scents. If they hurt her, I would kill them.

My breath rushed from my lungs, and I sprinted to Kelly’s apartment taking the steps three at a time. I didn’t care if someone saw me moving this fast. The only thing I focused on was finding Kelly. Damn me for leaving her.

Her door stood wide open, and I flared my nostrils. The scent of the two men grew stronger here, and I wagered that the guy in glasses had been part of this. However, I hadn’t caught a look at the other man who undoubtedly had been carrying Kelly.

I clenched my fists at my sides. Rage replaced the fear I felt for her, and I shut her apartment door behind me. I used my full stride, eating up the space between the parking lot and me. They could already be gone. What good would I have been to her then?

Her scent still lingered in the air, driving me into making my decision. Before I realized what I was doing, my wolf howled within me determined to hunt down the men responsible. Three scents, two of which were targets for the beast now. If we caught them, they’d pay for what they did.

Bursting through the door, I spotted a dirty white van peeling away from the curb. From the hurry they were in, I strongly suspected that had to be their escape vehicle. I dashed to my black muscle car, and within moments, I sped down the avenue in their direction. The van made a sharp right turn just as I spotted them, but a stoplight—and the police car behind me—halted my progress.

I gritted my teeth.
Please don’t let them get too far.

When the light finally changed colors and I rounded the corner, they were nowhere to be found. I slammed my fist against the steering wheel, hearing the metal groan in protest. The one woman I’d developed feelings for had been taken right from under my nose. If I hadn’t been such a jerk, I would’ve been there to protect her.

I scanned the streets but saw no sign of them. Traffic was light, but there was just enough to lose even the van in question. A few utility vans cruised the avenue, momentarily holding my interest, until I saw their sides, with various corporate signs and commercials on them. Even with my enhanced vision, I couldn’t pick them out of the crowd. Had I missed my chance?

No, I wouldn’t give up this easily.

For a split second, the thought of going to my Pack entered my mind, but I brushed it away. There was enough going on in the Pack as it was. Jared, the Pack’s second in command, was up to no good. He had a few loyal followers, and anyone could see that he was planning something. Since the beginning of December, I’d taken a step away, not wanting to get involved in the clashing politics. The Alpha’s son could be an ass at times, our Alpha was a good leader who wanted the best for his Pack. I respected him. I only hope the others wouldn’t see that as a sign of me shirking my duties to the Pack.

Besides, Kelly and I weren’t mates, nor were we headed in that direction from the way things had gone earlier. Turning humans into wolves was forbidden. Jared wanted more recruits for our dwindling Pack, which was part of his fall from grace, but none of my kind liked the idea of letting humans know about our existence, which was fine, except I might never see Kelly again if I couldn’t glean some insight into where she was or where those men were taking her.

However, I wasn’t out of options. My thumb hovered over my brother’s phone number, but doubt clouded my thoughts. If they’d taken her from her apartment, which had to have been risky, then they really wanted her. This could be more than I would want to involve Shane with, but if it got too out of hand, I’d reach out to him. They were probably taking her somewhere secluded, somewhere on the outskirts of town, if not further than that from the direction they’d gone.

I rolled down the window, hoping to get lucky and scent the van or anything that could prove helpful. To my surprise, the faint smell of familiar exhaust fumes hit my sensitive nose. The high grade diesel wasn’t typical in the city. Something about it stood out like a sore thumb as if the not all of additives were normal in the area. Breathing in deeply, I regained my inspiration to keep going outside of town. I only hoped I was headed in the right direction since I couldn’t see them anywhere, but a wolf needed to trust his nose.

And right now, I needed to trust mine.

CHAPTER THREE

Kelly

I woke up to the sound of men’s voices and the low rumble of an engine. My cheek pressed against plastic sheeting that lined the floor of a utility van. That was unusual. I rolled to my side to get a better look around, but rope bound together my hands and legs. However, my skirt rode up revealing my bare ass.

Shifting my weight to tug it down, the plastic crinkled beneath me. I froze as the slender man with glasses turning his head toward me. I closed my eyes feigning sleep. My heart pounded in my ears, nearly blocking out everything else.

“
Shit!
” Lloyd’s panicked tone caused me to jump. “This girl is
not
the one from the file.”

“What? Stop with the melodrama, Lloyd. We went to the address in the file, right?” Papers shuffled, and I peeked beneath my eyelashes, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Uhh... this says 535 Chestnut Street, Apartment 202,” Lloyd said, pushing up his glasses. “That’s where we went right?”

I groaned. The Post Office always sent that woman’s mail to me. Why would a kidnapping be any different?

“Girl, I know you’re awake. What’s your address?” For such a scrawny guy, Lloyd sounded downright intimidating sometimes.

They couldn’t possibly think I would freely offer up my address. If those dyslexic kidnappers did, then they were crazy.

“If you don’t answer in the next five seconds, I’ll pull this van over and come back there. Your hot little ass wouldn’t want that.” Baldie stared into the rearview mirror, and I shivered at the maliciousness in his eyes.

“Come on, Brad. Do you really have to go that far? We did just kidnap the wrong woman.” Just like that, Lloyd circled around to being the ‘nice’ one.

Brad shot a look at Lloyd. “Do you have any idea how our boss will react when he finds out we nabbed the wrong girl? Do you? He’ll make damn sure we never make the same mistake again.”

“You’re kidding.” Even in the dark, I could see Lloyd’s skin pale at the veiled threat. If their boss scared these two, then I never wanted to meet him. “You don’t think he’ll have us killed, do you?”

“How long have you known me? Do you really think I’d joke about something like that?” He snarled the words sounding every bit the predator. “No, I wouldn’t. If he’d kill us for making this mistake, he’d undoubtedly make us kill this little girlie, so don’t even think I’m fucking overreacting.” Brad cut his gaze back to me through the rearview mirror. “Now, tell us your damn address.”

Nausea roiled through my gut, but I forced myself to remain calm. Puking would only leave me in a worse mess than what I already faced. The scents in the car didn’t help. Sweat, old coffee and fast food permeated the air. Did these guys live in the van? How long had they been stalking me?

This evening just kept getting worse. “553 Chestnut Street, Apartment 202.” Even to my own ears, I sounded weak, but who could blame me in this situation? From the hostile look in Brad’s eyes, I knew weakness would secure my death. I couldn’t be helpless if I wanted to make it out alive.

“Oh God, we went to the wrong street number. What’s your name, girl?” Lloyd unbuckled his seatbelt, but Brad grabbed him by the front of the shirt keeping him in place.

“Sit back down. There’s a cop about to pass us. We don’t need to be pulled over.” Brad narrowed his eyes at me. “And you, shut your mouth, or I’ll snap your neck.”

Lloyd gave me a sad smile as if he knew what Brad was capable of. They were partners, but Brad was stronger. He had no chance against Brad, so he refastened his seat belt returning his gaze to the road.

Within moments, the tension balling up in Brad’s shoulders lessened, and he rolled his neck and shoulders. He muttered under his breath, “Damn police.”

“Your name?” Lloyd asked, drawing my attention back to him. Maybe he’d regained some self-confidence with Brad calmer.

“Kelly.”

They already knew my address. Besides, Lloyd was being quite nice. If I could get on his good side, it wouldn’t hurt, and Brad was already bullying him, so why make his life worse? He was the only one who might consider helping me.

He scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry you’re in this mess.”

“We should’ve known.” Brad huffed and shook his head. “She’s not as strong as any of the shapeshifters I’ve seen in the past. When she saw your tranquilizer gun, she bolted. Any real shifter probably would’ve attacked us.”

My eyebrows drew together. I didn’t just hear what I thought I heard. The van’s engine muffled their voices a little at times. It was possible I mistook what Brad said. “What? Shapeshifters?” They had to be on drugs. That was the only logical excuse for them to have thought I was some kind of supernatural being. Those were creatures of books and movies, not the real-life victims of kidnappings.

“I meant exactly what I said. Shapeshifters as in werewolves and wereleopards. Yes, they’re real, and we’re taking you to a laboratory full of them.” He sneered at me. “You’ll be a guinea pig for the rest of your life, at least until our boss tires with you.”

“What the hell, man? You shouldn’t have opened your big mouth about this. Now what will we do?” Lloyd crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the passenger window. “Besides, she’s human. Like you said, they’re not going to want her.”

“You sure about that? I overheard one of the lab rats say the shifters might be able to infect humans with either a bite or scratch. They’re not exactly certain about it, but...” Brad chuckled, the sound grating on my nerves. “We just might be able to keep ourselves alive after all.”

Icy sweat trickled down my back. This had to be the worst evening ever. If these jerks had anything to do with it, I wouldn’t live to see another sunrise or sunset. If they didn’t kill me, I would be locked away until someone did.

I fidgeted with the ropes secured behind my back, but the men, probably Brad, had tied them tight. These two knew what they were doing.

Would Jacob notice me missing tomorrow at our Physics exam? Would he care?

I bit my lower lip, trying to hold together my emotions. Tears threatened to spill across my cheeks, but I kept them back. Just barely though.

“Have any more tranquilizer darts?” Brad said, his rough voice breaking through my thoughts.

Oh God, I had to get out of these ropes. If I didn’t, my life would change forever.

CHAPTER FOUR

Jacob

I shifted in the seat. I’d been driving for what felt like hours, but the faint scent of exhaust lured me on like a siren to a rocky shore. The police officer behind me had finally decided to stop driving on my tail and pass me. Maybe he realized I hadn’t been drinking, and there would be no DUIs or speeding tickets handed out.

If the cop hadn’t been behind me, I would’ve been able catch up to the teasing fumes with no problem. I leaned over to hit the power button for the radio but stopped when the cop’s headlights spotlighted the same van I’d seen earlier in the distance. My heart leapt in my throat.

I hung back, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. Who knew what they’d do to her if they suspected I was following them. Damn, she had to be okay.

The van kept at a steady pace until the police car was a faint red light in the distance, then it sped up making it hard for me to follow without looking too suspicious. My hope rested in the driver not being too bright. Perhaps the dark night would obscure my black car aside from the headlights.

As soon as I had a good distance between the van and myself, they took the next exit off the highway, leading to the boonies for all I could tell. This part would be critical. If they saw me... Well, I needed to make sure that didn’t happen.

Hanging back to the point of nearly losing them a few times, I let my nose continue to be my guide. This would all be much easier if I were on foot. With the speeds I was capable of versus what they were doing now, I had little doubt about my ability to keep up. Plus, I’d look a helluva lot less suspicious, but by the time I got out of my car, they might be long gone.

The van slowed before turning into what looked like a military or secured research facility with spotlights and guards. What was this place? The vehicle stopped at a guard post, and a bald man flashed his ID before the guard waved them inside.

The fence along the perimeter was high, ending an inward curved lip with barbed wire to deter any curious humans. However, something about the fence made me wonder if it was more to keep people in rather than keeping them out.

I shut off my lights and turned around. Now that I knew where they were, I was better off finding a way in on foot than let myself be caught attempting to go through the front door. Kelly was such a normal girl; I couldn’t see how she’d been wrapped up in something as dangerous as this.

Driving back down the road, I didn’t see any place where I could hide my car. There had been an abandoned gas station a mile and a half back, but nothing closer than that. Damn it. Hopefully no one would disturb my only transportation out of here.

When I got there, I parked behind the rundown building. The full moon lit my otherwise dark surroundings, so I didn’t have any trouble seeing. My eyes adjusted, letting me see the world in vivid color as if daylight prevailed instead of night. Werewolves possessed better sight than most humans. However, we really excelled with our sense of smell and hearing.

Thank God for that. If I didn’t have my sharpened senses, Kelly could be out here all alone without anyone trying to find her until it was too late. She never spoke about family either. Who else would realize her disappearing aside from me and her teachers?

Running back to the facility through fairly dense woods didn’t take long, but when I got there, the buzz around the place had escalated. More guards combed the area and more people in general were around. I noticed several guys in white lab coats heading into the building with a pair of guards. The man who seemed to be in charge held his shoulders back and chin high in such a self-important manner. I immediately took a dislike to the guy. People like that were bad news, and the fact Kelly was in there with them made my skin crawl. What were they doing to her?

My beast boiled beneath the surface of my skin, and I clenched my fists straining to hold back the red haze threatening to take me over. If I didn’t calm down, I would rip out everyone’s throats. While that would help release
some
of the rage within me, it wouldn’t help find Kelly.

It wasn’t too late for me to reach out to the Pack or my brother. However, they might tell me to back down and let her face whatever fate she had coming. I couldn’t allow that.

Security cameras, guards, and bright lights abounded, making a stealthy entrance almost impossible. It’d be lucky if I hadn’t been caught pulling into the driveway and backing out earlier. I should’ve been more careful. If only I’d known what I was getting myself into.

An idea hit me. A really stupid, really dangerous idea, but potentially the only way I’d be able to get into the facility from what I could see.

I would go through the front door.