Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) (9 page)

He continued watching me attentively, unaffected by my angry outburst. “If your job is to know, wouldn’t your time be better spent trying to find out why the vampires have this newfound interest in me, instead of grilling me with questions I can’t possibly answer? The sooner we know their intentions, the faster I can get out of this house. I believe that would make us both happy.”

After several minutes of standing in silence and glaring at each other in the worst standoff, I conceded. “Should I leave?” I asked finally.

After intense protracted moments of silence and cold lingering glances at each other, he shook his head and left.

Once he was out of the room, a wave of anger washed over me. I sat back on the bed and attempted to control it but it was about the consume me. My anger wasn’t solely directed at Ethan. I was angry because my mother was dead and I couldn’t save her. Life as I knew it had dramatically changed and I didn’t have a clue what to do next.

My clash with Ethan had just made things far too real for me. I didn’t know of any blood relatives who could help me deal with what I was going through. I had vampires coming after me for unknown reasons. And I didn’t know how to control my wolf; that scared me most of all. What would I do on the next full moon?

Attempting to force the thoughts out of my head, I tried to control things. The twinge changed to a surge of those familiar pains I got right before I changed. Dammit. My fingers balled so tightly together that my nails pressed into the skin. I fought to control things the best way I could. Shutting my eyes tightly, I saws flashes of color before them. Count backward from a hundred, I commanded myself. This never worked in the past; but at this point, I was willing to try anything. Now do it in Portuguese, I told myself as I continued with my effort to find calm. But it was too far from my reach as I fought the flood of emotions that was building in me.

“You need to control yourself,” declared Ethan’s voice on the other side of the door. It had lost its harsh tone and was now a languid whisper. “You shouldn’t change again today. It will fatigue you too much.”

I knew that. Who was he, Captain Obvious? Did he not realize I was doing what I could to stop it?

Ethan sat next to me on the bed. I kept my eyes closed, fully aware that if I looked at him it would just compound the irritation. He was close enough that our arms touched and I became very aware of his presence and the calm that his touch brought. He was doing something but I had no idea what. Ethan leaned into me and a peaceful warmth engulfed me, sending me to a place of serenity where I wanted to stay.

I opened my eyes in time to see him walk out the door and the blanket of calmness left with him. I was neither angry nor calm, returning instead to my place of abject emotions.

CHAPTER 4

The next day I stared out the window, basking in the bright sun as it gently warmed my face. I appreciated it for what it meant—no vampires. It was the first sunny day since I had been
invited
to stay with the were-animals. The other days were so dark and gloomy it seemed like dusk even at noon. Leaving the house would have invited another run-in with Gabriella and Chase. But today I was leaving the house to practice some well-needed escapism, no matter how impossible the task may be. Being confined here was so suffocating it was like constantly inhaling through a plastic bag. Until I came to the retreat, I never believed in cabin fever. Seriously, how could someone get tired of being in their home? But when it’s someone else’s home, it’s more possible than you can imagine.

With my computer bag across my shoulder, I managed to navigate my way to find Sebastian’s office. When Steven had given me a guided tour of the house, he brushed over the location of Sebastian’s office as though he didn’t want me to remember—but I made sure, if nothing else, I would remember that. I headed down the stairs, around the corner, passing the living room and the entrance to the urgent care, to a room several feet down the hall. I knocked on Sebastian’s office door. When he didn’t answer, I placed my ear next to it and listened for signs of movement or voices. I knocked again harder.

“What do you need?” Startled by the coarse baritone voice from behind me, I took several steps back. Sebastian didn’t seem to walk but rather glide into his position with such stealth it was hard not to feel like he was only moments from attacking. He folded his arms across his chest as he settled against the wall. His brown eyes, as usual, regarded me as though watching paint drying would have been far more interesting. Curiously, he eyed my computer bag hooked over my shoulder, the scarf around my neck, my coral-colored sweater, dark jeans and everything right down to my dark brown boots. Whoever packed my bags made sure I was prepared for whatever attire the weather called for. Today was an unseasonably warm fall day and I was about to enjoy it.

“Going somewhere?” he asked with a raised brow.

I still wasn’t sure exactly where I was, but Steven, during one of our many conversations, disclosed that I was just 38 miles from Chicago. This meant I wasn’t too far from my home. It made staying there a little easier.

I nodded. “The city … I need to go to the city,” I blurted out. “I don’t have a car, and remarkably, the GPS on my phone can’t seem to locate this place; a taxi is out of the question.”

His lips pressed together, forming an unwelcoming line. “What do you need in the city?”

I need to get the hell out of here.

“I need to go to the city,” I repeated

“What do you need? I will have someone pick it up for you,” he stated obstinately.

I let out an exaggerated sigh, “I need to get out of here. I’ve been cooped up in this house for four days, and I can’t stand it any longer. You claim I’m not being held captive—”

“—you’re not.”

“Then I would like to leave for just a little while,” I admitted.

He stared at me for a long moment; it seemed like he was about to deny my request, when he glanced up behind me. A whisk of a smile slowly settled on his face. I didn’t need to turn around; I heard her gentle gait and sensed the faint floral scent, Joan.

“Fine,” announced his forced surrender through tightly pulled lips as though obliging my request pained him. I was willing to bet it was because he hated that Joan forced him to be amicable, when all he really wanted to do was keep me locked up.

“If it makes you feel better, I will stop by a church to get some holy water, and I am wearing a cross,” I informed him.

He held the cross between his fingers, “Unless you plan on giving the cross to the vampire as a gift and providing the holy water as a refreshing beverage, then you are pretty much defenseless,” he stated dryly. “They have an aversion to the cross but it doesn’t make them weak as legend would have you believe. If anything, it’ll further irritate them and they’ll just take your arm with it as they snatch it from you.”

I shuddered at the image. “Unless they’re up for a daylight stroll, I will be okay.”

“Ethan will take you,” he stated firmly.

Well, Sebastian, that would totally defeat the purpose of this day-trip, which was to stay as far away from him as possible.

“Is Steven here?” I asked.

“Yes he is. Ethan will meet you out front,” he walked passed me into his office and closed the door.

Ethan met me out front in a dark SUV. He looked about as happy chaperoning me as I was about him taking me. It was quite apparent, even if I couldn’t feel the palpable anger that surrounded him like a cocoon. The petty side of me found a little joy in that.
Ha! Ha!

On the drive away from the house, I saw why the GPS couldn’t pick up a signal and navigating from the house was so difficult. It was placed in the middle of no man’s lands, only enough land cleared of trees and vegetation to build the small compound. Calling it a house seemed so inefficient; an estate seemed too pristine. There were three exits from the back, side and front. It was close to a three-mile ride to get off the property. Then it dropped into a single-lane road that I’m sure wouldn’t show up on my GPS either. This was where you go to disappear, your existence camouflaged by nature and desolation.

I made a mental note that it was nearly a half an hour before I was in civilized territory, where the map on my phone could determine where I was, where I felt that if I ran into someone, they wouldn’t be hiding from the world.

He was quiet as he navigated through the city, darting in and out of the congested freeway traffic, pissing off people without remorse. After close to an hour of horrid Chicago traffic, we found ourselves driving through the crowded streets, bumping over roads destroyed by the menacing winter snowfalls. “Where do you need to go?” he asked his voice rough, angry.

“Just park near 96
^th
,” I said.

“Where do you need to go?”

I really shouldn’t be this petty but I couldn’t help it. I just repeated my direction to a very angry Ethan who looked like he was ready to make me his next victim.

We continued to drive down the street with Ethan shooting me baleful glares every so often. We lucked upon a prime spot just a couple of blocks from where I wanted to go.

I missed the city. It’s not that I am a true city girl. Public transportation gave me the creeps. Traffic annoyed me as much as it did Ethan—although I would never let him know that. Paying ridiculous amounts of money to park or driving around for thirty minutes just to find a parking space made me understand road rage—or city rage. I despised buildings that were so preposterously tall that they nearly blocked the sun, which the Midwest rarely received. The obtrusive buildings made the areas seem bleak and gloomy. But the museums, art galleries, shopping, boutiques and abundance of good restaurants made you ignore those other nuisances.

I got out of the car and started toward a coffee house just two blocks away.

He scoffed, “Are you serious? There’s coffee at the house.”

I didn’t respond. It wasn’t the same. It seemed like a lifetime since I sat in a coffee house sipping on chai tea while people watching. It was refreshing just to observe people being normal. It came so easy for them; and for me, it offered hours of entertainment. They had such simple lives without full moons, cages and freakish capabilities. I needed a break from the new weirdness in my life.

Marissa’s was comfortable, set up like a large eclectic room in a house. There were bookcases placed at each corner, filled with books that patrons donated for various reasons but mostly because the books sucked and most people are conditioned not to throw them away. A variety of sofas, lounge chairs and ottomans were scattered around the vast room. Several dining-style tables were peppered about. In the middle of the café, sat a large double wood- burning fireplace that leant the café its cozy atmosphere.

Not only did the café serve various coffee drinks but it also had an appetizing menu, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes. That’s how it remained so successful. People would come with their laptops or a friend and sit for hours in the cozy living room. Patrons would order everything from coffee drinks, alcoholic drinks, breakfast, lunch and dinner. It wasn’t until your bill came that you were hit with the realization that you’ve been sitting in a restaurant for six hours ordering overpriced beverages and food and had the extravagant bill to show for it. I can’t count the number of times I fell victim to this marketing tactic, but in the end, it seemed worth it.

I found a seat in a far corner on a loveseat and surfed the Web while I waited for Ethan to get the drinks. He walked slowly toward me giving a once-over to everyone and everything as he became familiar with the surroundings. My attention diverted from him to the two women sitting in the corner by the door who had been watching him since we walked in. One of them nudged the other and must have said something amusing about Ethan because her friend began to giggle like a schoolgirl as they watched him walk through the café.

I had to admit, he could get your attention. He was classically handsome with strong broad features, a defined jaw line, aquiline nose and cerulean eyes that would have been appealing if they weren’t so rapacious and hard. The dark blue Henley shirt and khakis complemented his eyes and physique.