“It was the same with my own wife, only she got so sick she died.We have no kin on the mainland she could go stay with.It was a bitter pill.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Ben.Kids?”
Shaking his head, Ben brings the tray over to me to collect my mug.“Nope.The illness makes most women infertile or struggle to keep a pregnancy.Betty Farmer, Linda’s mom, was able to have a parcel of babies, but they put the girls into boarding school on the mainland before they turned thirteen.Mavis Steele gave old Jerry a son, so he’s got someone to pass his land on to…”
An island of middle-aged women with health problems.What the fuck is wrong with this place?
“Is that why Aunt Tempest didn’t get married?Because she was sick?”
Ben looks at me with utter incredulity as he comes to sit down.
“Heck, you really don’t know nothing, do you?Tempest might not have gotten married, but she sure did have a baby.That’s why we were all piqued with interest when you came along, Miz Luna.”
Oh God, please don’t let my aunt’s baby have died in infancy or some other horrible tragedy.I don’t want to have inherited the house and inn on the back of a dead child.
“Who was the father?”The question burns my mouth as I say it.“And what happened to the baby?”
The chair creaks as Ben heaves himself out of it.Walking to the door, he opens it and waits for me to leave.
He’s not pissed; he’s admitting that he is no longer happy to tell me my own family secrets.
“Best you direct your questions at Dante’s son, Miz Luna.The old biker has retired to the mainland.It’s his son Shadow who’s in charge of Landslide now.”
ChapterSixteen
Shadow
Jaecar moves to where the bikes are parked against the clubhouse.The orange crescent of the sun has barely sunk below the horizon.
“Where are you going?”I’m jonesing for fluids.It makes me irritable and dangerous.And if I can’t go and feed on the mainland, then no one can.
Jaecar’s expression remains immobile.“Rundas asked us to draw straws to see who would stand guard at the Aherne house tonight.”Jerking his thumb towards his chest, Jaecar smirks.“And guess who drew the short straw?The least I can hope for is that furnace hot redhead coochie walking around the house naked, am I right?”
The territorial beast inside me roars with jealousy, but I cannot show my hand just yet.Every young woman visiting or living on Landslide is officially on the menu, and I can’t start breaking my own rules yet.
“Stay here.I’ll go.I’ve seen more of the recipe than you have.I’ll be able to recognize the missing page when I see it.”
Artim lets his hunger show.“Fuck the recipe.And fuck protecting Tempest’s niece.If you want to feast on her, just come right out and say it, brother.But don’t think you can keep her from us.”
Snarling, I go head-to-head with him so fast that my surroundings blur.My fangs feel so amazing as they are exposed to the night air.I forget how sensual that connection to the outside world can be.Me and my fangs displayed for a swift death as the hidden beast within strains to get out.
Pressing my forehead against Artim from my superior height, my voice rumbles like thunder when I growl.
“Luna holds the key to the future of Landslide, and you dare question my orders?”
Artim backs down.“Fine.Go search for the fucking recipe.I’m out of here.I’m going to the mainland.Who’s with me?”
Jaecar, Rundas, and Theron look at me.Jaecar tries to reason with me.
“It would satisfy us to cross the creek, brother.We can leave the bikes here if you like.Make it look like we have everything under control.”
I cannot object to that.We all need to feed.“Get back here before midnight.Hunt the campsites, hiking trails, and RVs around the Lake of the Woods only.”
I know why the Riders are so grumpy.We feasted on the city streets for a year while we waited for Tempest to find a solution to our problem.All that sweet junkie blood is hard to resist, and it is very easy to develop a craving for more.
The Riders are going through their own personal detox right now, but the most they will get high on tonight is THC and beer.Hikers and campers are notoriously straight edge for the most part.
Me, I am craving to see Luna again.Damn, but that woman is addictive.The memory of her rounded ass and thighs make me drool with lust.
