Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) (19 page)

“Trying?”  Kedar raised an eyebrow as he shifted his car into drive.

“Yeah, I told him no.  That I would chose who I saw.”

Kedar smiled softly, “Good…  Because I’d be very upset it I couldn’t see you anymore.  He kissed her before pulling away.

***

The day the hunting group was supposed to leave practically snuck up on everyone.  Samantha and Kedar stayed in that morning, enjoying each other’s silent company.  Samantha worried that Kedar would be hurt, or that he may not come back, and Kedar feared that Samantha would stop caring for him in his absence.

Eventually, they dragged themselves out of bed and Samantha drove Kedar to the McLaughlin’s house.  They sat in the car for a long time.  Samantha held onto his hand tight, not saying a word.  He squeezed her hand gently.

“I’ll be alright,” Kedar whispered.  He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it gently.

“I know…”  Samantha whispered in response.

“You can keep staying at my house, if you’d like.  There’s a fake rock with a spare key by the door, the combination is my birthday.  And check on the store every once in a while, just to make sure that it hasn’t been broken into or anything.”

Samantha nodded slowly, “Of course I can do that.”

Kedar reached out and brushed her hair out of her face, leaning forward. “Don’t miss me too much.”  He kissed her forehead.

“I’ll try not to…”  With that, Kedar got out of the car and walked away.

CHAPTER 22

In the absence of the hunting trip, Kyle and Maia filled the missing pack member roles, becoming more like pack members rather than refugee strays.  They did as much as they could when Bridgette asked them, as she was reigning alpha until Colin returned.  Mostly they helped with patrols and watching the pups of the pack when necessary.

Samantha spent her days waiting for Melody to wake up from her coma, whether it was at Olivia’s house, at the hospital or at Kedar’s too-big-to-be-empty home.  Many days Maia, Alex or Olivia sat with her, providing her with some type of solace.  Charlotte didn’t dare visit Samantha or Melody, knowing that Samantha was still cross with her.  Time dragged on, and still Melody had yet to wake.

The day before the hunting group returned, Samantha was particularly down.  She still worried that Kedar wouldn’t return home, that the hunt would have been fruitless, and that Melody was never going to wake up.  She was only seventeen and had already experienced so much loss in her life, she wasn’t sure if she could handle anymore.  She spent the day staring through the window on Melody’s door, watching her.  She ate lunch by herself and when she went back up to the ICU she was so emotionally drained that she collapsed into the chair right outside of Melody’s room.  She curled up in a ball, closed her eyes and stayed like that for a long time.  She opened her eyes when she heard someone sit beside her and she looked up.  It was Maia.

“Hi…”  Maia’s voice was soft, as though she didn’t want to break the delicate silence that Samantha had been basking in.

“Hey, what’s up?”  Samantha asked as she sat up right, her voice equally as soft.

Maia shook her head, “What’s up with you?  How are you doing?”

Samantha was quiet for a moment, “I’ve been better.  I’ve spent all day waiting for her to wake up…”

Maia nodded, “I’m sure she will soon.”  She reassured.  Samantha didn’t say anything in response.  Finally, Maia spoke again.  “How long ago did you lose your mom?”  Her voice was almost inaudible and it trembled as she spoke.

“Almost ten years ago…  I was eight…”  Samantha responded warily.  She turned to Maia, “Why?”

“Does it get easier?  You know, not having a mom…”

Samantha was quiet.  She turned away from Maia.  She had almost forgotten that Maia’s mother had been killed by the vampires that she was so vigorously hunting, “It doesn’t get easier, you just learn to deal with it better.  Time goes on, it tears at your memory and helps you find closure.  It isn’t easy though, it never will be.  But I deal with it.  You will too.”  She sighed.

“I don’t want to forget them…”  Maia’s voice trembled more, as though she was about to cry.

“Them?”  Samantha turned to her, she had assumed that only Maia’s mother had been killed, she and Kyle never mentioned anyone else.

“My mother and my sister, Lara.  She was only twelve, the age of Malcolm’s little girl.”  She wiped tears from her eyes.

Samantha leaned forward and put her hand on Maia’s, “Do you want to talk about it?  After my parents died talking about it helped me a lot.”

“The vampire’s ambushed during a pack meeting.  There must have been a mole in the pack, or information was leaking somehow.  I don’t know.  All I know is our alpha, Dominic, instructed Kyle and I to get the children out to safety.  But Lara wanted to help our mom.  She ran towards my mother to save her from a vampire.  I tried to stop her, but she struggled out of my grasp, so I went to go after her.  Kyle grabbed my arm and pulled me back behind the couch before I could.  He said mom could fight the vampire off, that someone else would help them.  But nobody did.  I watched as the vampire killed both my mom and Lara, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”  Maia held her head in her hands and she began to cry hard.

Samantha didn’t know what to do.  She gently placed her hand on Maia’s back, patting gently.  She got the feeling that Maia hadn’t talked about her sister since she died.  Maia held herself as sobs racked her body, gasping for breath in between her ragged weeping.  She cried for quite a few minutes, but she was able to compose herself after a while.  She sat back up and wiped her eyes.

“Kyle was a coward…”  She whispered, resentment seeping into her once soft voice, “I never even got to hold my baby sister one last time.  I swore to her as Kyle and I fled that I would never let Anastasia kill another child…  I just really hope I can do that.”

“I’m sure that you’ll be able to…”  Samantha patted Maia’s hair, still unsure of how to comfort her.

“But what if I can’t?”

“Trust me, you will.  We’re going to get the bitch who killed your mom and sister and she’ll never hurt another child again.  I swear.”  Samantha smiled warmly at Maia, who managed to smile back at her even through her tears.

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 face.  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?”