Growling, I shake my head to rid it of Luna’s luscious image.
Flipping my focus to the problem of the recipe, time goes quickly as I sort the pages into order.I start listening for the sound of the rooster in the henhouse on Ben Magoo’s property as it senses the approaching dawn.
This much I know.Luna can never be left alone at night anymore.A shadowy guardian must constantly watch over her.
And the last page—the most important step—of the recipe is missing.
Returning to the inn is easy from Tempest’s house.Kicking the stand up, I coast the bike downhill with the engine off.I’m halfway there before the momentum runs out and I have to turn the engine on.
Momentarily, I forget the sorrows and stress that have plagued me since the first day of my monstrous existence and allow myself to enjoy the early morning pre-dawn air.But unlike the billions of normal people in the world, my skin does not prickle when it feels a chill on it.The hairs on my forearms do not rise up against the cold.Inert, they lay flat against the alabaster surface.
Letting the engine purr at low revs, I maneuver the bike to stand next to the other four machines.I have less than an hour left to explain everything to the other members of the club.
Slithering into the basement through the connecting clubhouse portal, I find the others ready for sleep.What I have to say will wake them up soon enough.
“Arise.Time for church.Y’all need to hear this.The half-breed made some kind of a connection with Luna—and he’s able to give her delightful nightmares.”
The squeak of leather as all four of my brother riders rise pronto.
Theron whistles.“Woo.That was quick.She’s only been here a week.”
“Slick.”Rundas growls.“But how did he get on top of things so quickly?”
“He’s been to the house.Shit, he was probablylivingthere until Linda Farmer started tidying the place up for Luna’s arrival.That fucking bastard must have been in seventh heaven when he saw Luna arrive.”
Silence as the riders absorb this.Time for me to fill in the gaps.
“Tempest hasn’t made this easy for us.She left no clue with the lawyer.Luna is a blank slate, too.But Tempest did good because she knew what would happen once the supply ran out.She knew he would come looking for it, so the last page of the recipe is missing.”
“You call that doing good!?”Jaecar is furious.“The reckless slut has ruined us all!”
The monster inside me roars.“Never call Tempest that again!You know how strong the glamor is.What human woman could ever resist it?”
I keep the revelatory glimpse of ghoul that Luna saw to myself.It was not my finest moment, and I still cannot make sense of it.Almost as if my dark soul is forcing me to tell her the truth whether I want to or not.
“Listen, Luna seems to be cool with what I have told her so far.She knows we need the recipe, and she allowed me to stay overnight to gather the pages together.It’s a start.”
Artim says what we are all thinking.“No, it’s only a start once the fucking fluid is brewing!Until then, we are in deep shit, brothers.”
“Rundas, you’re in charge of night duty tomorrow at Tempest’s house.We can’t let him get access to Luna’s bedroom again.”
“Does she have any idea what he’s doing to her?”Rundas wants to know out of curiosity.
Trying to sound nonchalant, I grunt my last words as I settle down to sleep.
“Luna thought she was dreaming of me.I’m flattered.There’s no need to alarm her yet.”
As the sun crawls higher in the sky, I think about Tempest.
She told me her sad story so many times that I know it by heart, like an elegiac poem a child is forced to learn at school.
Damn it, but there was something about that female that got me straight through to the soul, from the first time we laid eyes on each other.
Tempest’s father, Sam Aherne, played by the rules, just like his father had done so before him.He traveled to the mainland, found a woman, and brought her back to Landslide as his wife.
But Laura Aherne was a stubborn, spoiled, backstabbing bitch.She was one of those women who manage to claw their way out of a strict and poor family upbringing by latching onto the first man to pay them attention.She lured Sam into wedlock with the promise that he could be the one to take her virginity.
The poor guy was cunt struck and pussy whipped.It was slim pickings when it came to women on Landslide at the best of times.He couldn’t wait to get that ring on her finger and bring her back to the family home.
