Read In the Light of the Moon (Dark War Chronicles) Online
Authors: A.L. Kessler
His sister glared up at him with her yellow eyes. “Did you find Kass?”
“She’s was at a safe place tonight. A club run by a local alpha wolf.”
He sat on the bed and leaned back on his hands as he thought about his half
sister. After his attack on her the night before he knew that she would be
cautious where the family was concerned.
“A safe place,” Sarah said. Her eyes were distant as if she wasn’t
actually there. “I want to go see her.”
He looked at her. “What?”
“Let me go see her. She always listened to me. Maybe I can convince her
to come back.” She played with her hands.
The shell of his sister made something in his heart break. He knew that
if Kassity hadn’t left home his father would have left Sarah to her happy and
innocent life. But no. Kass left them and Quinn turned to Sarah. Attacking her
continuously until she gained an animal form. Though Quinn’s original plans
failed he still wanted to use Sarah in the war against the vampires.
“You can go tomorrow night, but I don’t want you causing problems.
Understood?”
She grinned and nodded. “Thank you.”
“You think you can handle your beast while you’re in there?” He saw her
pale at his question and he regretted it.
“Please, please, please don’t put the collar on me. I can hold her in
for a couple hours. I promise.”
“I wasn’t planning on using the collar. I didn’t even bring it. But Jax
might be there and I don’t want your cat going haywire over a male that’s not
family.”
“If he’s there it means he’s doing his job.”
Garrett nodded. “Hopefully. If not, he forfeits his life.”
“Sure,” Mae picked up the remote and paused the movie. “Long night?”
She nodded. “You have no idea, but I needed to ask you about
something.” Mae motioned for Kass to continue. “When you discovered that I was
still alive, did you share this information with anyone?”
“No, not even the officer that had called for my opinion. I wasn’t sure
what I was going to make of it. You were the only person they could trace it to
and they never told me how.”
Kass sighed and slouched onto the couch. “My family somehow found out
that I was alive.”
“And you think that I told someone?”
“It wasn’t the first thought I had. Just covering my bases.”
“Seems to me that you need to worry more about what you are going to do
than how they found you. From what I understand your family is no good.”
Understatement. Kass rubbed her eyes. “Any chance you’ve heard
something going around the channels? Anything at all?”
“No, I haven’t, but I also haven’t been in my normal dives. Not since I
was turned. Lucius keeps a very tight leash on me.”
Kass snorted. “He does that to us all.”
“I’ll see what I can find out. There must be a reason they came after
you.”
She swallowed. “I don’t want to think about that. I’ve got to go, I’ve
got a free run tonight and I’ve been looking forward to it. Hell, my beast has
been looking forward it.” She turned to leave.
“Kass?” Mae waited until the girl turned around and looked at her. “You
need to be careful. Lucius has been more preoccupied with you lately. I’m
worried about you.”
Kass frowned. “What do you mean?” Her heart sped a little, but she kept
her face blank and eyes on Mae’s.
“He’s been talking about you, looking through documents, he gave you to
the wolves. Doesn’t that strike you as strange?”
Kass shrugged. “Lucius does a lot of things that I can’t explain.”
“Just, be careful. Remember what he did to Josh.”
Kass nodded and walked out. She knew Josh acted as a safety net against
Lucius, but despite Josh’s death, Lucius seemed to ease off a little. Mae’s
words echoed in Kass’ head as she continued out into the woods.
Her bones gave no resistance, no scolding heat came as they shifted and
the skin stretched. Fur flowed over her body as her face changed and her spine
bowed. When Kass opened her eyes images sharpened and sounds graced her ears.
Her heart leapt at the noises of the river and the wind blowing through the
trees. There, she wanted to go there. She ran, her paws silent against the
ground as she moved toward the river. The damp ground molded against the pads
on her feet as she made her way to the flowing water. The sounds of the night
rushed past her. Scents graced her nose and she delighted in it until a
familiar one could be smelled above them all. Freezing, she sniffed the air
once more just to make sure.
Switching directions, she ran down stream until his scent became perfectly
clear to her. Jaxon. She paused when she entered a clearing and saw him
standing in the middle of it, also in panther form.
His fur was just a touch lighter than hers, but he towered over her,
even in animal form. His muscles tensed as he crouched and flicked his tail at
her in a playful manner. A growl trickled from him, daring her to come forward.
Kass wiggled her butt as she crouched, mirroring him, her tail twitched
from side to side as she army crawled toward the other panther. Once she was
close enough she pounced pinning him to the ground on his back. Their yellow
eyes met and something clicked. A strange feeling of warmth blossomed in Kass’
chest and she backed off.
Her head
tilted to the side, it was like she knew this cat from before, her beast knew
him somehow.
She felt comfortable
with him, safe, her panther wanted nothing more but to curl up at his side even
if the human part of her resisted.
Jax flipped back to his feet and looked at her mirroring her motions,
but then turned and took off. Kass followed him and nipped at his tail when she
caught up with him. He led her to the stream and bent down to take a drink
before laying down, his massive head on his paws. Kass walked over and took a
few drinks before curling up next to him. He nuzzled her head and then dragged
his tongue from her nose to the top of her head. She shook her head, jumped up
and ran into the woods again, with him close on her tail.
She looked up at the sunrise as she crested the top of the hill. She
sat and waited for Jax, once he came close she shifted. Her human form
swallowed the panther without resisting, leaving her naked and staring at the
beautiful colors painted across the clouds. Jax shifted next to her and then
pulled her into the curve of his body. “We should go back inside.”
“And miss this?” She motioned to the sun. “I don’t think so. I rarely
get a night of freedom. I don’t care if I’m sitting naked. I’m warm from the
run, and the sun will warm the air soon enough. Lucius is fast asleep and I
don’t feel like hurrying back to captivity.”
Jaxon laid his head on hers and sighed. “All fair points. What did you
do to earn tonight?”
She paused, having to think about it and then looked away. “I killed
someone.”
“So he wasn’t exaggerating, you are his killer.”
She swallowed. “I’m not his only killer, but I’m the best. Because of
the control he strips from me my human emotions don’t get in the panther’s way.
It’s rare that he grants me a night like tonight where my panther and I work
together.”
“Who are you killing?”
“I can’t answer that.” She pushed away from him, the good mood she had
fading at the questions. “I really can’t. I shouldn’t be sitting here next to
you.” She stood, but he pulled her back down to his lap.
He nuzzled and kissed her neck. “Okay, I’m sorry, I won’t push.”
She relaxed and let him hold her as the sun continued to rise. Once the
sun was up and the clouds no longer held their glow they made their way back.
Kass donned her clothes when they came across them and started to the back door
of the mansion. She had expected that he would disappear, but he stayed behind
her every step of the way. “You can’t come in.”
He grinned. “Oh yes I can, Lucius has granted me free passage for right
now.”
“What? Why?” Her heart skipped a beat. “Truly?”
“Yep, don’t know why, but I want to take the chance and get to know
you.” He laughed, but she thought she sensed hesitation in his voice. “Other
than your family woes and the fact that you have a birthday coming.”
She unlocked the door, let him in and then slammed it closed. “Like
what?”
“Your hobbies, your likes, your dislikes, what you like in movies, what
you like for music, anything and everything.” He smiled at her. “But that all
sounds cheesy. I’d ask for a date, but we’re not humans in a regular situation
and panthers don’t date. So I’m really not exactly sure how to go about this.”
Kass laughed. “Come on, before someone sees your naked ass.” She
grabbed his hand and led him to her room.
He looked around and frowned. “Nothing here to tell you anything about
you.”
“Nothing here but a mattress, some claw marks and a bathroom.” She
shrugged. “I don’t need any reminders of my past around, and I don’t really
have any hobbies or interests to speak of.”
“And why is that?” Jax asked, batting his eyes at her.
She laughed and shoved him away with little force. “Because if I had
spent time trying to enjoy my life, I’d be dead.”
“Why?”
“Because, my family was trying to kill me.” She sat on the bed and
looked up at him.
“
Not the answer you were expecting?” She asked.
Jax blinked at her a couple times, and she held her breath, hoping that
he wouldn’t run. “No.”
The look she gave him made him sigh. “I didn’t mean to ruin your good
mood.” He squatted in front of her and brushed her cheek with his hand.
He smoothed his thumb over the crease
between her eyes. “Hey, I’m sorry. I won’t push anymore.”
Kass gave him a small, fake smile and shrugged. “Don’t worry about. You
just wanted to get to know me.” She paused and leaned back on her hands.
“Something happened out in the woods.”
He paused, and she heard his heart skipping a beat. “Oh?”
“Something about my panther, it became apparent to me when we were
playing.” She held on to a hope that he felt it too.
“It was a connection
between our beasts, it means that we’re meant to be, they understand that.” His
eyes widened and he smiled.
“Such ill fate.” She laughed and shook her head.
He sighed. “It’s not ill fate, we can be together Kass. Neither of us
belong to a clan so we don’t need approval from the leaders.”
“We need approval from Lucius.” She grumbled and gazed down.
He crawled on to the thing she used as a bed so that they were nose to
nose. “We’ll work on him. He’s already letting me stay here.” She thought she
heard his heart stutter, but pushed it off as nerves.
“This is true.”
He captured her lips, pushing her back against the wall as he slid his
tongue into her mouth. Her lips parted to allow him easy access. Leaning into
him, she placed her hands on his shoulders for balance.
“Just give in.” He whispered against her cheek, “even if it’s one night
together it’ll be worth it.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his. Would it be worth
it? A few moments of happiness for her and peace for her beast against risking
Lucius’ anger? “You’re right.” She felt the beast in her leap with joy at those
words.
He grinned and moved his hands down her sides. Curling his fingers
under the edge of her shirt, he waited for her permission. She nodded and he
pulling it off of her in one swift motion. No comment came at the purple bra
this time. With nimble fingers he unbuttoned and pulled the zipper down on her
blue jeans. He tucked a finger into her waistband and gave a little tug. “Help
a guy out?”
Kass lifted up her hips and he slid the pants off. After discarding
them on the floor next to the shirt, he reached behind her and unhooked the
lace bra. Her luscious breasts fell free and he dropped the bra on the ground.
He trailed his soft hands over her back to her front. Cupping her breasts with
his hands, he brushed his thumbs over her nipples. Kass gasped as they
tightened and puckered under his caress.