Shadow on the Moon (19 page)

She bolted for the crevasse.

A clawed hand clamped down on her
shoulder, creating searing pain. She tripped. Her tumbling body slipped from
the creature's grasp and she rolled over, waiting for the pounce that would end
her life. Instead, the attacker regarded her for a heartbeat, then lifted its
head and let out a sound.

To Dana's fear-crazed mind, the
noise resembled laughter, but she took no time to figure it out. She inched as
deep into the crevasse as possible, then hurled the torch.

With a shriek, the creature clawed
at a singed ear, batted at the falling torch. The stench of burning hair filled
Dana's lungs. She coughed and scooted further up the path.

. . . come in handy when you
least expect it.

As the creature screamed and
stomped above her, Dana shoved a gloved hand in the pocket of her jumpsuit,
seeking the smelling salts that Tony's comment referred to. But the fabric was
pulled tight by the weight of her fallen body, and the vials were deep inside.
She twisted and squirmed, trying to gain access.

Just as her fingers touched paper,
her attacker recovered. Arching like a cat, it raised its hairy arms and let
out a chilling howl. Dana's heart pounded. Blood roared in her ears. She shoved
her hand deeper into the pocket.

Snagging a vial between two
fingers, she yanked it out, snapped the paper like a matchstick, then threw it.
The acrid fumes spread instantly and she buried her nose in her sleeve.

With a gasp, the creature staggered
away, its body wavering strangely. Fur seemed to be melting right off its
fearsome form. For a crazy moment, Dana caught a glimpse of white skin, a human
toe. She blinked, certain she was hallucinating.

Then the creature gave a mighty
kick. The vial soared into the air, flying, flying, flying, until Dana could
see it no more. Now looking more dangerous, more monstrous than ever before,
the creature closed in, open jaws dripping, ruby-specked eyes gleaming
malevolently. Dana shut her eyes and prepared to die.

A furious cry resounded from the
trees.

Her eyes snapped open to see a
larger, darker figure coming rapidly toward them. It snarled threateningly, and
the white creature turned to face it, screaming back.

The sounds were both bestial and
human, and unlike any Dana had heard before. They chilled her heart so
thoroughly she curled into a ball, barely able to look at the monsters facing
off above her.

* *
*

"Get away from her,
Lily!" Morgan commanded in the Lupine language.

"Keep back, Morgan. The woman
is mine."

Morgan leaped in front of Lily,
bared his fangs, dug at the ground with a foot. "Did you forget she
belongs to me?"

"Then slay her! Slay
her." Lily straightened, put her long-fingered hands on her hips, and cast
a disdainful glance at Dana. "Look how that foul wretch cringes. Smell
that noxious stink she brings with her. Can you abide her living presence even
one moment longer?"

At Lily's words, Morgan recognized
the fumes, which still lingered in the clearing. He tried to stifle a sniff,
failed, and recoiled as the essence entered his lungs. For a moment he felt
light-headed, then it passed along with the odor.

In the meantime, Lily stepped
forward. She stroked his head seductively, waving her other hand in Dana's
direction. "When you take your first human, Morgan, nothing compares.
Their blood is rich and fragrant; it tastes like honey on the tongue. Not at
all like the rabbits and squirrels and farm animals you prey upon."

While Lily's voice crooned in his
ears, Morgan stared at Dana in rapt fascination. Her pulse beat rapidly in her
throat; terror filled her eyes.

"I give her to you as a mating
gift. Take her, my darling foolish Morgan. Take her. She's yours."

He inhaled the thrilling musk of
her fear. An insatiable lust rose from his viscera, nearly overwhelming him. He
crouched and salivated. His breaths grew shallow.

Then Dana whimpered.

"Never!" Morgan rose to
full height and clamped his enormous hand around Lily's wrist. "If you
hurt her, I'll kill you!"

Lily's dark eyes narrowed.

"You would not do that. The
Law forbids it."

"Don't test me."

An owl, undaunted by the sounds of
quarreling beasts, hooted from a tree. Water plunked from the canyon walls;
Dana whimpered on the ground. Through it all, Morgan and Lily locked their eyes
in mutual challenge.

Finally, Lily turned her head away.
"You stupid omega whelp," she said in disgust. "I never should
have made you. You are unworthy."

"You made me too well."
Tightening his hold on her wrist, he stepped forward, widened his jaw, and
feinted a move toward Lily's throat.

"Imagine," he jeered.
"An alpha slain by an omega. How humiliating."

"No-o-o!" Lily threw back
her head and yanked, straining to break Morgan's grip. Although she was strong,
he was stronger, and she knew it. He sank his claws deeper into her wrist. She
flinched, then spit at Morgan's face.

She missed her mark, but he
wouldn't have cared had it been otherwise. He had no use for Lupine law or
protocol. All he cared about was Dana.

If he'd arrived just seconds later

So great was the pain, he couldn't
bear to think of it. And this snarling bitch who'd tempted him so cruelly
filled him with such hate he could joyfully take her life. With a burst of
rage, he reached out and closed his jaw around her throat.

"Ki-yi-yi-yi!"

Lily pawed at him with her free
hand and twisted her body, battling to drive a powerful leg into Morgan's soft
underbelly. One of her claws caught his cheekbone. He felt it pierce and split
hair and skin. Still holding her neck in his mouth, Morgan snaked his leg
around her thigh and jerked.

Caught off-balance, Lily toppled,
pulling Morgan with her. They fell amid a cloud of scattering dirt and gravel,
with Lily on her back. Morgan's massive shoulders pinned down her heaving
chest. His knees were between her legs, his teeth still at her neck.

Kill her! he thought. Kill her now!

He felt her shudder beneath him,
heard heavy panting in his ears.

"Copulate with me,
Morgan," she urged. "You know you want it as much as I."

A wave of revulsion swept over him.
He pressed his teeth deeper into the soft, loose folds at her neck. A single
sharp bite could slice her jugular vein, spill her blood like those of the
countless mortals she had slain. She lifted a hand, drew it languorously down
his back. Her legs opened wider and he fell deeper between them. "Now,
Morgan!" she panted urgently. "Here! On this sacred ground!"

Suddenly his revulsion got lost in
a burst of pity. He'd been on the verge of snuffing out her life, yet she
wanted him so badly.

Praying he wouldn't regret his
decision later, Morgan released Lily's throat and climbed to his feet.

"I'll never be your mate,
Lily," he snarled, yanking her up to face him. "Never in a thousand
Lupine lifetimes!"

"You cur-r-r," she
snarled back. "You mortal-loving cur."

"Your insults don’t mean a
thing to me."

With a firm grip on her arm, he
dragged Lily toward the forest. She strained and struggled, yowled and cursed,
but couldn't free herself. When they reached the edge, Morgan shoved her inside
the trees, then looked back to the cringing Dana.

"Run!" he cried in the
mortal tongue.

* *
*

Dana had wrapped herself into a
tiny, shivering ball, but that single word spurred her to action. She sprang to
her feet and raced up the path. The white creature's yowls and cries continued
ringing in the forest, driving her on. By the time she reached the top, she was
out of breath, her shoulder ached, and her legs felt weak and trembly.

Too terrified to stop, she swept
down to scoop up her dropped gear, then continued running until the snow turned
into impassable powder. She paused only long enough to get into the snowshoes.

Her mind whirled throughout the
seemingly endless journey, trying to make sense of what had happened.
Everything she'd been reading over the last few days told her she'd been
attacked by a werewolf—and also saved by one. At the same time, she knew her
conclusion was impossible.

But what then? That creature was no
animal she'd ever seen. And the dark one had spoken to her in plain English.
Could they have been humans dressed in animal skins? Perhaps from the Indian
tribe?

Or even more sinister, could the
men be part of some kind of cult that lured people in for sacrifice? Had she
stumbled on the secret Mission Lobo had been sent to uncover?

But one of them had defended her.
What was more, that didn't explain the fangs and claws. Maybe, she thought
wearily, she'd seen fetishes hanging from their cloaks, and in her fear,
imagined them to be real.

Each answer spawned a new question.
Soon her mind grew as tired as her body.

The cabin came into view at last.
Although she hadn't set the dogs to barking as she'd feared, as she got nearer
a few of them began whining excitedly. Even those small sounds set Dana's
battered nerves afire. She veered off, coming closer to the shadows of the
woods than she preferred.

Her shoulder ached and she felt
sure it was bleeding. Her legs felt like weights of steel. To make matters
worse, feathers kept blowing into her face from the tear in her jumpsuit. Just
a few more yards, she told herself. A few more. Then she'd be at the cabin
door.

Just a few more yards.

A dark shape stepped out of the
forest. A large hand wrapped around her wrist.

She let out a shriek.

"Dammit, Dana! What are you
doing out here?"

"M-M-Morgan." Which was
all she could say before speech escaped her. But her mind continued racing, and
she could only think that she'd now have to tell him she'd lost Fenris.

"I distinctly ordered you to
stay inside at night." Morgan let go of her wrist, shoving his hands into
his hair. It was so dark where they were standing, she could hardly see his
face, but she could certainly feel his anger. "Lord, what am I to do? I
can't watch you every second. Why in damnation can't you honor my simplest
request?"

He grabbed her arms and shook her,
causing her teeth to chatter even more and sending sparks of pain through her
injured shoulder. A cinder of helpless rage had been smoldering beneath her
terror and now ignited and snapped her mute streak.

"What the hell are you doing?
Let go!" She slapped Morgan's hands away and backed up a few steps.
"Don't ever, ever do that again!"

"Where have you been?" He
didn't sound the least bit contrite.

"Where have I been? Where have
you been? Why are you always roaming around out here at night?"

Just then, something whined and
darted around their feet.

Dana's sudden rush of relief
weakened her legs.

"Fenris," she cried,
taking the runt's paws in her hands and making glad cooing noises. She looked
up at Morgan's shadowed face and saw a deep scratch that she hadn't noticed
before. "Where did you find him?"

"Answer my question. After all
my warnings, why were you out of the cabin again?"

She let go of Fenris, but kept a
hand on his shoulder as she tried to explain.

"The dogs, they were barking
up a storm. I've never heard them act like that before. Then I saw a dog along
the ridge. At first I thought Aphrodite had escaped again. But she
hadn't." She put her hands on her temples. Her head injury throbbed nearly
as much as her shoulder, and her legs still felt weak. Glancing up at Morgan,
trying to decide where to begin, she vaguely noticed that he seemed even taller
than usual; then she worked at collecting her thoughts.

As briefly as possible, she told
him about Fenris darting from the cabin, then chasing after the other dog. How
she'd followed them along the rim, only to lose them near the forest.

"Do you know those Indians,
Morgan?" she asked accusingly, after she'd mentioned seeing them. By this
time, she'd already discarded the cult idea and convinced herself that one of the
men attacked her because she'd released the sheep. The second one simply hadn't
approved of his method and had come to her rescue.

"Yes, but what does that have
to do with anything? None of this is any excuse for—"

"I'm gaining evidence that
wolves are up here. That tribe's doing some kind of appeasement ceremony by
leaving sheep out to feed them. It's not right! And it's making killers out of
natural predators. What do you know about it?"

"Hear me, Dana, and hear me
well," Morgan said coldly. "Don't meddle with things you don't
understand."

"Understand? I'm just
beginning to understand." But suddenly she wasn't sure she believed a word
of what she was saying. The full horror of what had happened rushed back.
Dropping her head to her hands, she whispered, "Someone attacked me down
there, Morgan."

"I kno—"

Dana's head snapped up.
"What?"

"I know you believe there are
wolves in the canyon." Although the words were heated, Dana heard pain in
Morgan's voice. "You're dead wrong. And if you're not careful, you'll just
be plain dead. Those aren't ordinary Indians. Keep away from them. Stay in the
cabin at night." He turned then and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come, let's go inside."

It was an order, not a request.
Dana considered protesting, but inside was where she wanted to be anyway. She
also wanted to be with Morgan. True, he was angry with her, rightfully so. But
his presence still made the terror of that canyon seem further away. She could
think more clearly, put it all into perspective. Without another word, she went
along.

They entered the cabin, stepping
into a puddle of water so deep it reflected the gaslight lamps.