Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) Read online

  Maia pulled Samantha into a tight hug, “Thank you for being my friend…” She whispered. Samantha wrapped her arms around her, hugging her back. Maia was the first to pull away, and smiled at her softly.

  “It’s all my pleasure,” Samantha responded, smiling back. After a few long moments, Maia sighed, “Do you know what you’re going to do if your aunt doesn’t wake up?”

  Samantha’s breath caught in her chest and a lump formed in her throat. Nobody had bothered to ask her that question. Everyone was too busy telling Samantha not to worry, instead of being realistic about Melody’s condition. The truth was, it may never improve. Samantha stuttered, “I – I don’t know… My aunt Kat wants me to go with her. Back to New York I’d assume. But I would probably move in with my biological father.”

  Maia nodded, “If there is anything that I can do for you, I would try my absolute best to help you out. You’ve been the nicest to me out of the whole rest of the pack…”

  “Well, I try. But I appreciate it, thank you.” She got up and peaked through the window on Melody’s door. Her eyes were half open and she was looking around the room as if she were disoriented.

  “Auntie!” Samantha exclaimed and turned back to Maia, “She’s awake, I’ll go get a doctor, and you call Bridgette to let her know.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Kedar stood on Malcolm’s front lawn, his backpack slung over his shoulder. The group had returned less than a half an hour previously and he was waiting for Samantha to pick him up. Alex pulled up in front of him and she rolled down the window. Kedar furrowed his brow, confused. He was sure Samantha would have wanted to be the one to get him.

  Alex must have read the confusion on his face, “Runt asked me to get you. Melody woke up yesterday so she’s meeting with doctors right now.”

  Kedar nodded but didn’t say anything. He got into Alex’s car and put his back pack down at his feet.

  “Am I going to take you home or do you want to go to the hospital?” Alex asked before pulling away from the house.

  “Actually, I have business I need to attend to before going and seeing Samantha and Melody. Could you drive me to Heather’s house?” He was quiet, unsure of what Alex would say, or if she would jump to conclusions and tell Samantha.

  Alex was taken aback, but she nodded slowly after a moment. “I can do that I guess…” She pulled away, making a U-turn and going in the direction of Heather’s house.

  Kedar nodded in thanks and he turned to look out the window. It was only five-minutes before Alex was pulling up in front of Heather’s big, beige house. Kedar picked up his back pack and he opened the door to get out of the car.

  “Wait, Kit, before you go can I ask you a question?” Alex asked quickly.

  Kedar turned back to her. This time it was his turn to be shocked, “Sure, what’s up?”

  “Well, I’m not an idiot and I know an alpha when I see one. Knowing that, if you had a kid and they chose a scout from another pack as their mate, would you be angry with them?”

  “Is this about Kyle?” Kedar asked as he rose his eyebrow and smirked his crooked smile.

  Alex looked away, but she nodded, “It is.”

  “I may not be overly fond of Kyle, but I do believe that you can’t help who you fall in love with. So, if I were Colin, I wouldn’t be angry with you.” He responded after a moment.

  Alex nodded slowly, “Thank you, Kit. Do you need me to stay here and give you a ride? I have no problem waiting.”

  Kedar shook his head slowly, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll figure out my own way home.”

  Alex nodded and Kedar shut the car door. She put her car in drive and pulled away from the house, making another U-turn in a driveway some ways up the road.

  Kedar took a deep breath, unsure of what he expected to come of this visit. He went up to the front door and knocked three times. He took a step back and shoved his hands into his pockets. After a moment Heather opened the door. She stared at him with her wide blue eyes – that although were not a blue as Samantha’s were still captivating. She looked him up and down, but quickly made her expression stern.

  “Kit, what are you doing here?” She snapped, “You know you’re not allowed on my property.” The harshness in her voice would have stung if it were to anyone else. Kedar was used to that tone, however.

  “Your father is at a meeting with the other alphas. I have more than enough time to talk to you. May I come in?” His muscles were tense as was his voice.

  Heather hesitated, but then she nodded, stepping aside, “I guess… But only for a minute.”

  Kedar entered the front hall and he stood there, taking in his surroundings. It had been years since he had been in Heather’s home. Approaching on three years to be exact. “You remodeled…” He mumbled as he took in the surroundings.

  “A bit…” Heather’s response was soft and she shifted uncomfortably, “What is it that you want to talk about?”

  Kedar looked at her, “Your father told me that you’ve been attempting to keep tabs on me. Why is that?”

  Heather just stared at Kedar for a moment. When she finally spoke she was almost hesitant, “I just get curious. I still care about your well-being. We were together for a long time. That doesn’t just go away.” The infliction in her voice sounded more like that of a question rather than as a statement.

  Kedar huffed, “So how come you talk so badly about me to other wolves? Don’t think I don’t hear about it Heather. Everybody talks. Every word you’ve said has found its way back to me.” She was silent, so Kedar continued, “If you still care why do you insist on being such a bitch?”

  “Well after what happened…”

  “For Christ’s sake, Heather. It was years ago.” There was aggravation in his voice.

  “I meant what happened a few months ago…” She responded sheepishly.

  Kedar rolled his eyes and began to pace, “We had casual sex a handful of times. It was nothing more and to be perfectly honest, it was a mistake. So why do you insist on talking bad about me? Especially to members of the McLaughlin pack? To Samantha? Are you trying to hurt my relationship with her?”

  “I haven’t spoken to her in months. Not since you stopped coming around.”

  “It doesn’t fucking matter, Heather. I know you still talk about me. I just spent two weeks with members from all four packs. Do you think I wouldn’t hear the things that you’ve called me behind my back? Just fucking tell me why.” He stopped pacing and he looked at her with sad eyes, “I was nothing but good to you after Jess broke things off with me.”

  “I guess that I’m jealous… After you moved on I realized that I didn’t want you to.” She looked down at her feet, avoiding making eye contact with him.

  “Excuse me? Last I checked you left me. You’re the one that waited until I was well enough to be on my own and dropped me, threw me out like I was trash. I tried to fight for you! For two God damn years. Now what? Now that I decided I didn’t want to continue to come and fuck you occasionally because I’ve got a girlfriend, who treats me much better than you ever did, you’ve decided you want me back?” His calm voice cracked as he clenched his fists.

  “No, I don’t want you back…”

  “Then what the fuck is it, Heather?” Kedar got in her face, his anger consuming him.

  “Why do you care?” Heather shouted. She pushed Kedar away from her, “You’re the one who cheated! You hurt me! Of course I left you! And then you go and you use me whenever you needed to get your rocks off?” She had begun to cry. “Yeah, I don’t want you back. But I’m sorry if I’m still a little hurt. I thought maybe, just maybe, you were going to try to fix things again. But you already said it; it was only casual sex and nothing more. I’m sorry it’s hard to move passed the fact that I wasted years of my life waiting around for some man whore to finally realize I was the best damn thing he had!”

  Kedar slapped her clean across her face, and hard. She stood there and stared back at him as tears poured down her f
ace. He took a step back, astonished by his own actions. But he wasn’t any less angry.

  “You were most certainly not the best thing I ever had. But I was the best damn thing you ever had…” He grumbled, “Besides, you didn’t do any waiting around from what I hear. You’ve gotten around all four packs rather nicely, according to the men I’ve spoken to anyway. You never cared about me, I was just your ticket to alpha-ship, and when that was taken away you tossed me to the side. So why the fuck are you making a big deal about this shit now?”

  Heather didn’t say a word, she just continued to stare at him, touching her reddening cheek with her trembling hand. Her eyes were still wide and Kedar was unsure if it was in fear or in surprise. He guessed it was probably both. Her silence annoyed him.

  “It’s alright, you don’t have anything to say…” He murmured sarcastically, “You never have…” He turned away and froze. At the bottom of the stairs was Jessica, Heather’s twin sister who only matched Heather’s intimidating beauty with her own.

  “K-Kit…” She stuttered in a soft voice. Her eyes were wide with horror and her hand clutched at her stomach. She took one step back as Kedar took a step forward. She looked him up and down then glanced back at Heather. She turned and ran back up the stairs, but Kedar followed close behind her. He grabbed her arm just outside her bedroom and spun her around. Her features were worn, wrinkles already forming in the corners of her eyes. She looked well over nineteen, although Kedar knew how old she truly was. It was a shock for him to see her so drawn and tired. Years had passed since their last encounter and he almost didn’t want to believe that time was not boding her well.

  “We need to talk, Jessica.” He stated firmly.

  Jessica shook her head quickly. She trembled at his closeness, “No, I don’t want to talk. Not now. Leave me be.”

  “Why not? You’ve spent the last two and a half years avoiding me. You never called or sent me letters. Its due time that we have a conversation.” Kedar snapped, “Why did you just abandon me?” His voice was softer, broken and hurt. He recalled waking up in the hospital, alone, after being attacked by his so called ‘friends’. Jessica never visited him once. Heather did, regardless of the fact that he had been having an affair with her twin. He hadn’t heard a word from Jessica since Heather found out. He wanted to know why, so he could finally get some closure.

  Jessica paused, staring up into Kedar’s green eyes, “What happened between us was a mistake. I was young and stupid, I should have let you and Heather be. We were never in love, and I know that now…” Kedar sensed falseness in her voice, but it still hurt.

  He took a step back, his hurt turning into anger, “A mistake, Jessica? Fuck you. You and your two faced sister.” He yelled as he stormed down the stairs and out onto the porch. The air had turned brisk while he was inside. A storm was coming, he could feel it.

  Heather followed him out, stopping on the porch. He was already half way to the road, “What is your problem?” She snapped.

  He turned back towards her, “You and your sister.” He snapped as he pointed towards her, “You’re both liars. How long has she been home? Why did you keep it from me? I loved her. God damn it, Heather, I loved you. And neither of you took the time to tell me that she was home so I could finally get some fucking closure?”

  Heather stopped for a moment. She walked down the steps and went to Kedar. She stood in front of him for a moment without speaking. He stared at her expectantly, “She never left…” Heather whispered after a long moment, looking as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders as soon as the truth escaped her lips.

  Kedar stared at her blankly, his blood boiling. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Heather began to turn away, and he finally decided to say what he was thinking.

  “I’m glad it didn’t work out between us.” His voice was even. He was too calm.

  Heather turned back towards him, her mouth agape. “What?” She choked out.

  “I’m glad it didn’t work between us. Or between Jessica and me. You’re both lying pieces of shit. Go to hell. Both of you.” He said, his voice never breaking the calm demeanor. He began to walk away, his fists clenched.

  “She had a baby, Kedar. Your baby. It’s why dad told you she left. Why she went along with it… I wanted to tell you, but they didn’t think you’d be a fit parent…” Heather was quiet, her voice trembling with uncertainty.

  Kedar turned around and briskly walked right up to Heather, “She had my child and nobody told me?” His voice finally broke. This was a kind of pain he had never felt before. He felt angry, hurt and betrayed all at once. His hands trembled as he put his hands on Heather’s shoulders, “You didn’t tell me?”

  Heather looked away, “Father forbade me…”

  Kedar pushed passed Heather and stormed back into her house. He went right upstairs and into Jessica’s bedroom. She was sitting in her windowsill, staring out into the sky, watching the dark storm clouds roll in. She jumped to her feet as Kedar stepped into the room, outwardly furious. She swallowed hard. He walked up to her, getting in her face, only inches away from her.

  “Where’s my child?” He demanded wrathfully.

  Jessica stared back up at him, panic-stricken. She had never seen him so angry before, and he knew that. She took a step back, her voice waivered, “I gave him up… I don’t know where he is…” Jessica’s voice was quiet, fearful.

  “Him?” Kedar’s voice was equally as quiet. He turned away from her and ran his finger through his hair, trying to calm himself. Once he thought he had calmed enough he spoke once more, “Him…” He quickly turned back to her, “You gave up my son?” His anger quickly came back and he threw his hands up in the air, “You stupid, fucking bitch! How could you do that?”

  “I didn’t want him!” Jessica hollered, stomping her foot, “I didn’t need the constant reminder of my screw up…”

  “What if I wanted him? What if I wanted a child? Why didn’t you at least tell me you were pregnant?” Kedar shouted, stepping closer to her once more.

  “I was forbidden to see you, forbidden to even talk about you! My father kept me under his thumb for months after Heather told him about our affair! How was I supposed to tell you I was having your love child?” She yelled, stepping closer to him as well. She lowered her voice, anger showing through her terrified façade. “Besides, you would have been a shit father. You couldn’t keep your dick in your pants for more than five minutes. What makes you think you would have been capable to raise a baby?”

  “At least I would have made an effort to, instead of just giving up!” Kedar yelled.

  Darien rushed into the room unexpectedly. He pulled Kedar away from Jessica, pushing him towards the door. He got in front of his daughter protectively.

  “Did I not make myself clear when I told you to stay away from my home and my daughters? What are you doing here?” He barked, enraged.

  “Apparently I’m uncovering your bullshit, Darien! I know that I have a son and I demand to know where he is.” Kedar snarled.

  “I don’t know where he is! You can find him on your own time. Get out of my house!” Darien snapped bitterly.

  “Not until you tell me how I can find my son.” Kedar’s voice had turned malevolent.

  “I’ll call the police if you don’t leave immediately.”

  “Please Kedar…” Jessica mumbled from behind her father.

  Kedar snarled and almost protested, but he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. He walked all the way back to his home, the animosity and fury consuming him. He let himself into his garage. He stood there for a moment before punching a hole into the wall on his right.

  ***

  The next thing Kedar remembered was waking up on his couch, an empty whiskey bottle on the floor beside him. His head was throbbing, like there was a second heart where his brain should be, pounding away. He sat up too quickly and his blood rushed from his face, a feeling of intense nausea washing over him. He didn’t remember drinkin
g at all, but the empty whiskey bottle and scattered beer bottles told him otherwise. Fortunately for him, werewolves were immune to alcohol poisoning, otherwise his drinking stint would have landed him in the hospital.

  He finally stood, holding his still throbbing head. It was unusually quiet, but he was thankful for the silence. He made his way to the window, pushing aside his curtains. It was snowing heavily and it was almost pitch black outside. He could barely see it, but Samantha’s car was parked crookedly on his gravel road. The snow had long since covered any footprints that she may have left and he wondered how long she had been there and where she had gone.

  He went into the kitchen to fetch another beer, shuffling the whole way. He went back into the living room and sat on the couch before opening it. He tossed the cap onto the coffee table and stared at the brown bottle for a long moment. His stomach lurched and he put it down, holding his head again.

  Soft footsteps sounded behind him and he half turned. Samantha had entered the room, wrapped in his quilt. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair a disheveled mess. She looked as tired as his grandfather did in his final days and Kedar stood slowly. It had been weeks since they saw each other. Her crystalline eyes were filled with concern as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He sighed at the feeling of her cool cheek against his shoulder. He embraced her as well, running his fingers through her thick locks.

  “Are you okay?” She asked in hushed tones as she took a step back.

  He looked her up and down before answering. Underneath the quilt she wore nothing besides a bra and a pair of his boxers. It made him smile to see her in his clothes. He sat on the couch and pulled her into his lap, pushing the quilt aside and putting his hands on her waist. She had lost weight since he had been gone, even though it was only a few short weeks. It worried him.

  “I’m fine…” He mumbled, moving his hands to her back. He pulled her close and they kissed. She pulled away, clearly opposed to the bitter taste of alcohol that was no doubt still on his tongue. He whimpered and kissed her neck; he had forgotten how easily excited he was after he had been drinking. He wanted nothing more than to lay her down and leave behind all the events of the day.