Riley's Torment, A Moon's Glow Novel #2 (23 page)

I smiled,
feeling thankful for letting her back into my life.

“I think it’s
time for you to talk to Nate. Since I’m so happy with Joe, I want
us all to move past this.”

I shook my head
turning away from her. “It’s easy for you to say that. Charlotte
turned you and Nate. You both hate her for doing it.” I faced her
again, my hands trembling at my side. My eyes burned with the
threat of tears. “But I can’t hate the person who turned me, can
I?”

Her face fell,
her eyes turning sad.

“Even if my
human side wanted to, the wolf he made me into wouldn’t let me,” I
sighed.

Lauren’s face
was full of sympathy as she nodded.

“When I thought
Charlotte did this to me, it helped to be angry with her, to have a
person to blame for what I had become. I wanted her dead for it.” I
laughed softly, the sound lacking humor, as I stepped toward my
dresser. I rubbed the crack on the cherry wood, my back toward my
friend. I lowered my voice as I continued to explain what was
keeping me from forgiveness. I had not planned to voice these
thoughts, however, now that I was, I felt a weight lift from my
weary heart. “But then suddenly, it turns out that it wasn’t the
evil witch after all. The man I love who I was planning to marry
did this to me. So, now what do I do with that hatred? Am I not
supposed to be angry about it, now that it wasn’t her?” I spun
around and stared at her. “I can’t hate the person who did this,” I
repeated brokenly. An ache sliced through my core, and tears began
to fall down my cheeks. Before I could push them away, I was
wrapped in Lauren’s arms. The smell of her familiar scented shampoo
was as much comfort as her arms.

“I’m sorry,”
she whispered into my hair. “I never thought of it like that.” She
pulled away to gaze into my eyes, her hands resting on my
shoulders. “You take all the time you need, okay? I won’t pressure
you anymore to forgive him. I’m not sure what I’d do in your
situation. But as much as you’re confused about what he did, he’s
in worse shape. He knows that you should hate him—he hates
himself.”

A sharp breath
escaped my lips. “That doesn’t help, it just makes it worse. I
shouldn’t feel guilty for my feelings.”

“Then don’t.
Feel what you have to. Yell at him, punch him, do whatever is
necessary, he’ll understand.” She paused, squeezing my shoulder.
“And so will I.”

When I nodded,
she continued the hug. I didn’t realize how much I needed someone I
trusted to give me comfort. Before I knew what was happening, I was
crying again. And being an awesome best friend, Lauren held me
until my sobs subsided.

By the time
Adrian arrived to pick us up, all the evidence of my crying jag was
gone. I had showered, yanked my hair up into a ponytail, and
dressed in my gym clothes. The sun was hidden under thick dark
clouds. There was no rain, but the air was freezing. Since I had
turned, it wasn’t easy to make me cold. But today, as we had waited
for Adrian, I hugged my coat close to my body as a frigid wind
whipped around us. Strands of hair came loose and danced in my
face.

“Hey, who’s
your friend?” Adrian asked, when he pulled into the driveway.

I climbed in
the front seat of his Jeep while Lauren got in the back. “This is
Lauren. She was turned into a werewolf at the same time I was,” I
lied. “I want her to learn to protect herself too.”

He turned to
Lauren with a small smile. “I heard about your kidnapping. I’m
sorry that happened to you.”

Lauren nodded,
her face blank, not yet willing to trust my new friend.

His brow rose
as he turned back to the front. “Okay,” he said, putting the Jeep
into gear. “Are you ready?”

I nodded,
giving Lauren a pointed look that was supposed to say, “Give him a
chance.”

She shrugged
her shoulders in a “What did I do?’ gesture.

The drive to
the gym was quiet and just a little awkward. The inside of his Jeep
was clean except for two candy bar wrappers in the cup holder and
his duffle bag in the seat next to Lauren. The pine air freshener
hanging from the mirror was a little strong for my taste. It could
be my extra senses working overtime. It didn’t seem to bother
Adrian.

It wasn’t until
we were halfway there that anyone spoke. Unfortunately, it was
Lauren. “So Adrian,” she said breaking the silence. Her hand was
resting on his seat as she leaned forward into the front. Adrian
peered at her through the rear-view mirror. “Did you know that the
girl who kidnapped us had four other werewolves with her?”

His face held
no reaction as he nodded his head. “Yes, Megan told me.”

“Isn’t it odd
that you are in town at the same time as Charlotte?”

He shrugged. “I
didn’t know she was still here, Megan didn’t mention it.”

I shifted in my
seat so I could glare at Lauren and then focused on Adrian. “I just
found out yesterday after you dropped me off. Nate caught the scent
of one of the guys with her on the island, so they assume she’s
here as well.”

He tilted his
head and glanced at me through the corner of his eyes as he stopped
at a red light. “Did this werewolf lead him to the girl?”

Lauren answered
before I could. “No, but he talked to him, along with two of his
friends. They confirmed that she’s here.”

He pulled back
out into traffic following a bright yellow station wagon, his face
still neutral. “That’s good, I hope they find her. She should pay
for her actions.”

I was hoping
that the inquisition was over, but no such luck. Lauren was
suddenly like a dog with a bone.

“Nate found the
three werewolves at a restaurant around lunch time yesterday. I
wonder where the fourth one was.” It was obvious what she was
implying. Lauren believed that Adrian was the fourth.

“I wouldn’t
know, I was with Megan, and I haven’t met any others.”

Lauren folded
her arms in front of her and narrowed her eyes at him. “Hmm,” was
all she said as she sat back into the leather seat.

I had never
been so happy to end a car ride in my whole life. I almost cheered
when he turned onto Bay Road, the street where the gym was located.
Tommy and Lola were just coming out of the building as we arrived.
Once again she asked Adrian to let anyone who might stop by to come
back in an hour. And as the day before Tommy remained silent, so
far I had seen him twice and had yet to hear his voice.

The heavy bag
was already in place, and after we peeled our coats off, Adrian
pulled two sets of boxing gloves out of his bag and helped us put
them on.

“Lauren, have
you ever done any kickboxing or any other fighting moves before?”
he asked.

She stood next
to me, eyeing the bag with trepidation. “No, I’ve never had any
reason. I’ve always felt protected by my family.” Her voice was
cold, her eyes matching the temperature of her tone.

“Lauren,” I
said in warning. I had no idea she’d be so rude to my new friend. I
knew she was a little unsure of his motives, considering I had just
met him, but this was not like her. Lauren was one of the kindest
people I knew. The problem was, she wasn’t the same the girl I had
been friends with for the last six months. As she told me
yesterday, the bite had brought on other changes besides turning
her into a hairy animal. It was wreaking havoc on our emotions.

She held up her
hand to stop me from saying anything else. “But, now that I’m a
werewolf, I would feel more confident if I could defend myself
against others.”

I smiled and
bumped her with my hip. I knew my friend was in there.

Adrian clapped
his hands together. “Okay. I’ll go through the moves again for you
to see and to remind Megan. First, I’ll go get another bag for you
to practice with.” He headed to the back corner and disappeared
into a small room.

“So, what do
you think?” I whispered, so Adrian wouldn’t hear.

She moved
closer, leaning into my ear, her scent was stronger than ever. “I’m
not sure we can trust him yet, but you’re right. If he was with
Charlotte, why would he teach us to fight?” Her voice was as low as
mine.

I lowered my
voice even more since she was so close. “Exactly, and once you get
to know him, you’ll like him as much as I do.”

She opened her
mouth to say something, but when Adrian emerged carrying a blue
leather heavy bag over one shoulder, she closed her mouth and
pressed her lips together. She took a few steps away from me.

We watched as
he hung the bag, noticing the muscles on his arms flex. He was
wearing white sleeveless shirt like weightlifters wear. Once the
bag was in place, he turned to face us, his dark eyes flashing with
excitement. Yes, he was definitely in his element here.

“Megan, can you
show Lauren the stance?”

Lauren’s brows
rose as I turned to her, taking the position I had learned
yesterday. As I did this, Adrian explained what I was doing.

“Bend your
knees, hands up to protect your face, elbows in tight to protect
your rib cage,” he said. “Very good, Megan.”

I grinned at
him, proud of myself for remembering.

Adrian and I
gazed at Lauren. “Your turn,” I said feeling a gurgle of excitement
of my own erupt from my belly.

She sighed and
assumed the position.

“Good,” Adrian
commented, sounding like a teacher. “Ready to give the punches a
try?”

Lauren snuck a
peek at me and then gave us a sharp nod.

We each stood
in front of a bag, and when she remained motionless, looking
uncertain, I shot my arm out in a jab, rotating my shoulder. The
feeling of strength that made me feel powerful yesterday returned.
I did the move a few more times and then stopped when I realized
Lauren had yet to hit the bag. She was starting at me, her face
expressionless.

“You’re really
good at that.” Her voice was filled with admiration and
surprise.

I beamed,
feeling myself puff up with pride. “It’s fun, give it a try.”

“Okay, here
goes,” she said hesitantly. She went into her stance and then swung
her arm out; rotating her shoulder the way I had, with a low thud.
When the bag bounced back, she grinned. “You’re right, that is
fun.”

We both went
through all the punches with Adrian occasionally correcting us—me
only once, Lauren a few times. The room was quiet, except for the
thumps from our punches on the bags, and a few squeals from Lauren
who was enjoying herself as much as I knew she would.

When we moved
onto the kicks, she smiled over at me and winked. It was all the
thanks I needed.

When our hour
was up, Adrian had to remind us we could return tomorrow in order
to get us to leave. There was a class starting soon, so we
reluctantly took off our gloves and put on our coats.

Outside, the
clouds were even darker. The sky had opened up with raindrops the
size of quarters.

In the car,
Lauren surprised me. “Thank you, Adrian. That was fun,” she said,
beaming.

His lips
twitched as he gazed at her through the rear-view mirror. “You’re
welcome. I’m glad you liked it.” He tuned on the jeep, and started
out of the lot. Once he was heading to the end of Bay Road, he
turned to me. “So where to? Your house, or do you want to go get
some lunch?”

Lauren smiled
and shrugged her shoulders when I glanced her way. “Lunch sounds
good,” I replied. I left it up to him to choose the place, and we
offered to pay. It was the least we could do for him helping
us.

Nate was
supposed to be working from home. All the time he had taken off had
left piles of work that needed his attention. He thought someone
was taking care of his job in his absence, but by the number of
files Will had dropped off this morning, he was wrong. It was
difficult to concentrate on profits and expansion when every time
he blinked, the image of Megan below him flashed in his mind.

He had dreamed
that he had snuck into her room and crawled into bed with her. It
was the same dream that had haunted him ever since she’d left. Her
fiery hair had been splayed out over the pillow as her hooded green
eyes gazed into his. Her skin had been silky soft as he trailed his
finger over her cheek. It had been so real. He had felt her warmth
as he slid under the blanket with her. It was where he was supposed
to be.

He woke up
every morning with an emptiness that consumed him. He had lived
alone for over a hundred years and had never really felt lonely
until now. When Megan was in the cottage, her presence echoed in
every room. And even though her possessions remained, it was just a
constant reminder that the owner was gone.

He knew he had
to give her time to adjust to what he had done, but it was getting
more and more difficult every day to be away from her. He had
stopped running with Lauren at night for fear he would be unable to
prevent his wolf from going to her. Nate knew what he had done was
so horrible that she needed to be the one to come to him. He had
promised to give her space and damn it, he’d give it to her.

With his
determination to find Charlotte, the wood piles were no longer
getting any higher. He now used his frustration to scout for the
wolves. Charlotte was still his main focus, and he would take out
his pent up frustration on someone who really deserved it. He had
hoped to get the reports done so he could go out and search some
more. With that many werewolves in town, there had to be all kinds
of scents in the area. Now that he knew her gang was killing, he
was on even more of a timeline. They needed to be stopped, before
the town realized that normal animals weren’t behind the
killings.

With only a few
more reports to look over, he could go out and resume the hunt.
Just as he was on the last one, his phone rang. The shrill sound
made him jump; the cottage was extremely quiet in Megan’s absence.
It was Will on the phone, asking him to meet him at the main house.
All he would tell him was that Lionel found something he wanted to
discuss.