Moon Madness Read online

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  Lyrical Press, Inc.

  www.lyricalpress.com

  Copyright ©2008 by Mina Carter

  First published in 2008, 2008

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Moon Madness

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Epilogue

  About Mina Carter

  Lyrical Press

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  Lyrical Press, Incorporated

  Moon Madness

  Copyright © 2008, Mina Carter

  Edited by Pam Skochinski

  Book design by Emma Wayne Porter and Renee Rocco

  Cover Art by Renee Rocco

  Lyrical Press, Incorporated

  17 Ludlow Street

  Staten Island, New York 10312

  www.lyricalpress.com eBooks are not transferable. All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher's permission.

  PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  Published in the United States of America by Lyrical Press, Incorporated

  First Lyrical Press, Inc. electronic publication: November, 2008

  Moon Madness

  by Mina Carter

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Dedication

  To Will, Doug and Layla. The best support group a writer could have!

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter 1

  "Bite me!"

  Penny sighed as the familiar demand intruded on her thoughts and her shopping. Didn't she have enough problems without this as well? But then, when had her life ever been simple?

  She'd picked stereotypical, small town Garmin because it was so far out in the middle of nowhere that even the tumble weeds packed passports, and because no one knew her. That was a plus, the fewer people who knew her location, the better her chances of staying alive.

  But she hadn't counted on the paranormal groupies.

  Okay, it was an insult to paranormal groupies to class Sam Davis in their number. A security guard at the local mill, he was more conspiracy theorist than paranormal nut. So when he'd caught a look at the security camera just at the moment Penny had gotten careless and seen the reflection of her eyes, a reflection that wasn't human, he'd almost been in ecstasy.

  The brief glimpse had been enough for him to make all sorts of connections and guess she wasn't human. Which was correct. But somehow he'd got his thinking muddled and decided Penny had to be a vampire.

  She wasn't, although some days she'd prefer it. Immortal life, languishing about in the moonlight, and looking romantic? Sure, you had to drink a little blood every now and then, but it beat her lot in life.

  Penny was a werewolf. At present not a happy one. In fact, right at this moment, she was edging into ‘pissed off werewolf’ territory.

  "Look Sam, I have no idea what you're on about okay? So would you quit it, I'm trying to shop here.” She studiously ignored the lean, lanky youth leaning against the pillar next to her and concentrated on the shampoo shelf.

  Never let it be said Garmin's one convenience store lacked for shampoo choices. Jasmine and geranium, apple-blossom and rose, strawberry and kiwi ... She frowned at the last one, she wanted to wash her hair in the stuff, not eat it. A pity that at certain times of the month the ‘family’ sized bottles on display just weren't big enough. She needed something bigger. Perhaps a bucket.

  She sighed again. Despite the bright and cheery advertising campaigns run by the major brands, she didn't think any of them were going to solve her problems for her as promised ... ‘Just wash your hair in our tropical flowers shampoo and be transported by magic to a rainforest waterfall with a hunk on tap to rinse the suds out.’ Pity it was an advertisement, because it would solve all her problems in one fell swoop.

  "I know what you are, remember? I saw! And I could make things very difficult for you. Somehow I don't think Mrs. Winchester would be very happy about renting her house to a blood sucking fiend from beyond the grave,” Sam's pale, bulbous eyes glittered with purpose as he spoke, trying for an ominous undertone. It didn't come over as ominous though. Instead, just an irritating whine that got on Penny's already hormone-strained nerves.

  What would he do if I did bite him? She gritted her teeth and ignored the temptation. She was too close to her heat phase to even be thinking about biting anyone. In fact, her heat was so close, the only safe option was the chain in the basement. At least until she considered herself fit for human company again.

  She reached out and grabbed a purple bottle off the shelf, not bothering to read the label. It was purple, so whatever it contained, she'd like it. An odd logic that had led to bathroom shelves filled with purple bottles of varying shapes and sizes, but it worked for Penny.

  "Sam, what time is it?” She asked as she carried on down the aisle, bypassing the laundry products and heading straight for the cakes section.

  "Hmm, half past twelve I think...” he twisted his watch around on his thin wrist to check. “Yeah, twelve thirty-three. Why?"

  "And what's the weather like outside?” She frowned as she tried to fit three chocolate cakes into the basket on top of her other purchases. She'd not been in heat yet, but if it was anything like her normal furry ‘time of the month’ then she'd be starving afterwards. And sometimes a girl just had to have chocolate cake.

  "Erm ... It's bright, sunny with clear skies,” he replied frowning, confusion about this line of questioning evident on his face.

  Penny flicked back the heavy fall of her hair, a dark dye concealing its natural deep red, and looked at him.

  "Sunny as in sunshine?” She asked. “Just so we're clear on that, because last I checked vampires tended not to sunbathe so much. Not good for their health.” With a sigh she gave up on the cake box puzzle and put two back. Her hips would thank her for it later.

  "Ah yes, well, I've been thinking about that. You're a day walker vampire.” His voice rang with triumph as he trailed her to the checkout. Penny held onto her temper with an effort.

  How the hell did she get herself into these messes? A year ago, she'd been just like everyone else. Good job, nice neat little apartment in a good part of town, and her family not far away. She'd been human and werewolves had belonged in films and books. Then a bite from a ‘stray’ dog had changed everything.

  Okay, she thought as she waited for Roger, the store owner and cashier, to ring up her purchases, I should have known no stray looked like that. But she'd never even seen a wolf before, so how was she supposed to identify one? Especially when it was trying to make friends
and cadge treats, holding up a paw with a pathetic whimper until she'd caved in and shared her sandwich. As soon as it had wolfed down the scrap, the ungrateful brute had nipped her! A nip she didn't think anything of, until the next full moon found her with a bad case of the furries.

  "So, like Blade?” She couldn't help asking the question, and found herself drawn into Sam's little fantasy world. Roger, across the counter, rolled his eyes and smiled in sympathy. Everyone in Garmin was used to Sam's wild stories, everything from supernatural critters to conspiracy theories.

  Personally, Penny had liked the one where Sam had been convinced the government was reading his mind and walked around all week with tinfoil on his head. Most of the time he was harmless, Penny was just in the unfortunate position of having something to hide.

  "See! You admit it, you know what I'm on about,” he crowed. Penny shook her head, chuckling as she paid and gathered her purchases.

  "Nope, I just like watching films. Thanks Roger, see you later.” She said, heading outside.

  Even though she expected it, the heat hit her like a physical blow, taking her breath away for a second before she forced herself out onto the sidewalk. Why the hell had she decided on the south? She was a grey wolf, more suited to the north. However, south was the last place Big Jimmy would think of looking for her, so she had to suck up the discomfort in the interests of staying alive. No one left Jimmy, ever. Until her.

  "C'mon ... you have to bite me, I'd make such a cool vampire,” Sam wheedled as she headed out to her car. She opened the door and tried to load up the ancient little compact without getting her arms roasted from the heat inside. It would take more than a couple of minutes with the door open until the car reached a bearable temperature to sit in. Lord knows, she didn't want to scald the skin off the backs of her legs. She opened her mouth to tell Sam to get lost, her temper hitting breaking point, but she didn't get the chance.

  Two things happened at once. The scent of another wolf, musk mixed with citrus and sandalwood, hit her heat-sensitized nostrils, and a silken voice inquired from the shadows. “This geek giving you trouble, Penny?"

  Penny stilled, every cell in her body wary. She didn't recognize the voice. Which meant nothing. At the moment she wasn't pleased to see any wolf. The more of her kind who knew she was here, or even that there was a female wolf living in Garmin, the more chance word would get back to Big Jimmy. Then she would be back to square one, running for her life. A place she wasn't fond of.

  Her response dried up in her throat as she turned and got a look at the speaker, her eyes latching onto the figure slouching against the wall in the shadows. Recognition filled her. No woman forgot Cade Steele in a hurry. Penny had only seen him fleetingly, his mere presence enough to give whatever pack member she was with the heebie-jeebies and hurry her away, but those brief glimpses were enough. She would have known him anywhere.

  Tall and handsome, with a lean, muscular build, Cade had the sort of looks that hijacked a woman's attention and took it for a joyride. Looks that couldn't be mistaken for anything but male, oozing virility. A potent combination of masculinity and something else, an extra earthy edge that made Penny's wolf sit up and take notice.

  A stirring started under her skin, a subtle shift and a feeling like fur brushing against her skin, against the inside of her skin, all over her body. A sharp scent filled her sensitive nostrils, of cool forests and grass after the rain. It was the smell of freedom, the scent of her wolf as, unbidden, it almost broke free of her control.

  With a gasp Penny got a grip on herself, sweat beading in her hairline as she fought the shift back down, allowing her wolf only the thinnest connection to the world around them. It was the technique she'd been taught when newly turned, along with a warning never to let the wolf have free rein ... or control.

  She shuddered. There was no way she could change in the middle of the high street in broad daylight with a witness in attendance. She gritted her teeth as the wolf retreated, her panic aiding her in the struggle. She'd never lost control before, not ever. Not even when she was newly bitten. She'd always had a high level of control over her wolf, unusual for a bitten wolf. It was more a trait associated with born wolves. But never, never had she had another wolf call hers that way.

  "You know this guy Penny?” Sam glared at the newcomer, no doubt needled by the ‘geek’ comment. He stood straighter as Cade pushed off from the wall, almost squaring off against the wolf as he approached. The natural posturing of a male who thinks another is encroaching on his territory. Penny had to admit, Sam had guts. Cade was taller, with a longer reach, and that wasn't the half of it. The elders of the pack had called him Wargwolf, Rogue Wolf. Swearing allegiance to no pack, he lived on his own.

  Most wolves wouldn't consider it. Wolves needed a pack, needed the structure of the society. A lone wolf was easy prey. Which meant an exiled wolf didn't tend to live very long. The ones who did were mean as hell, creatures you really didn't want to get into a fight with, in particular ones like Cade Steele who'd turned mean into an art form as both a human and a wolf.

  "Yeah, I know him,” Penny replied, watching Cade move with appreciation. While she was happy to admit human men could be pretty to look at, there was nothing on earth that moved quite like a male wolf in his prime. And Cade was in his prime. There were tiny, almost imperceptible differences about the way he walked, the loose limbed stride that held the potential of explosive power, all little clues that were easy to spot if you knew what you were looking for. And as a female wolf about to go into heat, Penny knew without thinking about it what to look for.

  "Oh ... right ... uhm, I should ... uhm, let you guys catch up then,” Sam stammered, as though unwilling to leave her alone with the other guy.

  Like Penny, his eyes were riveted on Cade as he stalked towards them, although for very different reasons. Even now she could smell the fear seeping out the pores of his skin as his instincts, the hard-wired primeval ones that had helped humanity get out of the caves and claw its way up to the apparent top of the food chain, were screaming at him. Even if humans didn't believe in monsters like vampires and werewolves any more—a definite plus for both species, especially as far as human survival instincts were concerned—they easily recognized a predator when faced with one. Especially one like Cade, who was making no effort to disguise what he was.

  Penny tapped her tongue against the back of her teeth in frustration. Sheesh, never mind her changing in the middle of the street, Cade might as well go for it as well, she thought as he rounded on the smaller human, all but growling as he spoke.

  "You do that...” His gaze dropped down to the name tag on Sam's shirt. “Samuel Davis.” He smiled. It wasn't a nice expression, more an excuse to bare his teeth. Teeth that looked suspiciously pointed. Somehow he managed to make just saying Sam's name sound like a threat. All bravado deserted the young security guard as his fight or flight instinct took over. Backing away, his mouth working with no sound, he tripped over his own feet in his haste to get away. Booted feet scrabbled at the tarmac, kicking up the dust on top until Sam regained his feet and ran off as fast as his legs could carry him.

  Penny shook her head as he disappeared around the corner, her eyes flicking over Sam's truck parked two spaces down. Looked like he was walking home today. “Well, way to go.” She clapped and the sound rang around the empty street. “Great little performance there, fancy dragging me off to your cave by my hair for an encore?"

  His pale eyes flicked to hers, humor written in them as his lips quirked. “If I didn't fear bodily harm, then I might take you up on that offer.” He leaned on the top of her open car door, his forearms resting along the top of the hot metal as Penny leaned back against the car body, her arms folded as she eyed him warily.

  "So, how you doing?” he asked.

  His eyes seemed to search her face, her appearance, and, if she wasn't mistaken, there was concern in his eyes. Which didn't make sense. Cade was famous for shunning any contact with other wolves. So wh
y would he be interested in her? Could it be because she was an outcast too, unable to join any pack in case she brought down Big Jimmy's wrath on them? Outcasts anonymous, banding together for protection? She had a few issues with that line of thought. The main one being Cade Steele didn't need anyone's protection, much less hers. So what gave?

  "What do you want Cade?” She crossed her arms over her full breasts and tried to ignore the heat making her shirt stick to her skin. Although petite, Penny had never been what you could be described as waif-like, not even when she tried to half starve herself in order to achieve it. Since becoming a wolf though, she'd more or less given up on controlling her weight. It was hard to diet when you were always ravenous.

  "And how did you find me?” she demanded, fear spiking sharp in her chest. She'd been so careful to cover her tracks, hoping to be able to just disappear.

  He shrugged again, a one-shouldered nonchalant movement. “I have my methods.” He frowned, and while Penny watched, he drew a deep breath into his lungs, lips parting a little to roll the air over his tongue. Tasting it. Amber bled into the pale color of his eyes, a split-second glimpse of the wolf within.

  "You're going into heat."

  "Well thank you Captain Obvious!” Werewolves had an excellent sense of smell. That she was almost in heat would be obvious to any wolf with a nose on their face. “Is that what you hauled your hermit ass out of the wilds for? Because if it is, you can just damn well high-tail it back."

  He didn't deny it, just watched her, all amusement gone from his expression. Still working out the lay of the land, she realized. Braving the heat of the car she slid behind the wheel and started the engine. The temperature inside the small vehicle was barely tolerable, but she didn't care. She didn't want to discuss going into heat with anyone, never mind a walking fantasy like Cade.

  "You have a mate then?"

  He refused to relinquish his hold on the car door. Penny eyed him for a moment, trying to work out if it was jealousy tinting his voice. It couldn't be. Cade had never shown an interest in her before. He'd always been on the outskirts back in Roakestown, always on the edges of the pack but never a part of it.