Page 2 of Feral Moon Rising
“Yes, Gray. It’s clear,” Blake mumbled.
I towed him out the back door and into the alley behind the club the staff used for smoke breaks. Shattered glass skittered around my boots as I gave him a hard stare. “Clear?”
“Yes!” He threw his hands up. “Fucking clear, all right? I’m sorry I let her get to me. She smelled like a bitch in fucking heat and all I could think about was sinking into her. Like she called to me or something.” He rubbed the back of his neck where I grabbed him on the stage.
A twinge of guilt hit me for handling him so roughly.Only in bed for that shit.Getting run out of Canada still shit me. I’d make it up to him later. But this couldn’t be a lesson soon forgotten.
“Better be,” I barked, letting his arm go to rake my fingers through my hair. I got that he felt bad. I did too, but that didn’t change anything. “Twice, Blake. Twice you’ve done this. First home, now here—”
A tiny sound turned both our heads, halting me mid-tirade. A sound like a wounded animal.
I frowned, sourcing the noise that could have come from a child, but didn’t. Her scent hit me first, a wave of sweet and salty and full of desperate, uncheckedneed.
Freedom, clear skies, and new moons.
The darkest of nights. Feralness and hidden secrets under a moon I had no name for. That’s what I inhaled. The nights when I could shift and run for fucking hours. Kill and feast and wear the blood of whatever got in my way. Fuck, too, if that’s what hit me. And right now...
Blood rushed through my body, her scent calling my beast to the surface. I shucked off my jacket before I could think the action through, too caught up in the moment as her need wrapped around me. Hell, I hadn't seen her yet, didn’t know where she was, but I was ready for her.
Shadows rippled under my skin. My vision darkened, narrowing to a pinpoint. A single glance at Blake showed me he was on the cusp of his own shift, fighting for control too.
I swung about, searching for the source.
In the far corner of the alley, amongst the rubbish and discarded trash curled a filthy creature, all skin and bones and matted hair. Lips parted to display white teeth as she gasped and cried. But I could barely focus on whatever hurt her.
If need has a scent, this girl is it.
She was ours, and we both knew it. This was our mate. We’d never bothered to try to find someone who suited us both, not after the debacle at college, and that had been over ten years ago. But what this girl had ... whatever ran through her blood was undeniable.Undeniably ours.
Three fast strides as the alley walls blurred, the nightclub’s pounding tempo muted behind double brick, I crouched at her side and cupped her face.
Her scent was stronger here, and it took everything in me not to ruin my last goddam suit.
“Who are you? Can you tell me your name?” I rasped, my throat thick with the desire to hold her, lick her skin clean. Mark her as ours.
Thick lashes fluttered over closed eyes that ever so steadily rose to meet mine. My world stopped. Somewhere behind me, Blake swore.
Her eyes were ringed in a galaxy of purple starlight.
