Dark of the Moon Read online

  "I don't like smart-asses," he said with an edge to his voice that made me wonder if he'd gone off the deep end.

  "I don't like stupid questions. My fur? I don't know what you're talking about."

  "You're saying you're not a werewolf?"

  I rolled my eyes. "You still think they really exist?"

  "I know they do. Do you know Devlin?"

  Who didn't? He was Lucas's brother. The one who'd betrayed us. He was dead now, but Mason obviously didn't know that. I wasn't about to enlighten him. "Of course, I do. He's a certified nut job."

  Mason smiled. "He told me that werewolves live in this area. We caught one. Lucas."

  I arched a brow, pleased that I was able to give a cocky facade when I was actually pretty scared. "Lucas is a werewolf? You've, like, what? Seen him go all furry?"

  Mason's expression became defensive and mulish. "No, but Devlin told me. And the wolfs fur…it was the same shade as Lucas's hair, which you have to admit is a fairly unusual combination of colors."

  "Doesn't mean it was Lucas. I mean, really, listen to yourself. Werewolves?"

  "I know the sherpas are werewolves. You're a sherpa, so don't deny it. I know it's how you protect your secrets within the national forest, how you keep outsiders from getting in. You control where campers and hikers can go."

  He knew a lot more than I'd given him credit for.

  "How many ways can I say this? Werewolves don't exist." It was the mantra Shifters were sworn to repeat. How else could they keep their existence a secret?

  "You're going to shift for me, one way or a—"

  "She's human," someone said.

  Mason twisted around. "Are you sure?"

  I looked past Mason to see Ethan striding toward us. He'd been part of the group we'd led into the forest earlier in the summer. He was so pale that we'd pegged him for the indoor type right away but we hadn't thought anything about it since Dr. Keane had claimed he was taking his biology students into the wilderness to study it.

  "Blood doesn't lie," Ethan said. "Hers is human."

  They'd taken my blood without me knowing? The bastards' I didn't think I'd ever be as grateful as I was at that moment that my mom had slept with a Static.

  "But the other one"—Ethan grinned—"bingo'"

  "What other one?" I asked, dread tightening my stomach.

  With a smile as broad as Ethan's, Mason glanced over to the side. I followed his gaze. That's when I saw their other prisoner, lying on the ground, with his hands tied behind his back, his ankles bound together, and his eyes closed.

  Connor'

  TEN

  "We've got ourselves a werewolf," Ethan said.

  "Are you sure?" Mason asked again.

  "Oh yeah. There's a little bit of human, but mostly it's wolf."

  I felt everything within me sink into despair.

  "You don't seem surprised by the revelation that he's a werewolf," Mason said.

  I jerked my gaze up to his. In retrospect, I suppose I should have had some sort of stunned reaction, a gasp, an "Oh my God," but I'd been too worried about Connor. Connor, on the other hand, would have taken offense at being referred to as a werewolf. He was a Shifter. I shored up my bravado. "I'm simply at a loss for words. Your little group is beyond insane—"

  He sliced his hand through the air, nearly hitting my nose, cutting off my words. "Save it," he said. "The proof is in the blood."

  Which hopefully could be explained away as…I didn't know what, but surely as something. That was all they'd ever have. I knew Connor would never shift in front of them. He'd never confirm what they suspected. No matter what they did to him.

  My blood suddenly chilled with the thought of what they might have in mind for him.

  "All righty, then. Let's pack up," Mason suddenly barked.

  "What about the girl?" Neanderthal asked. "Let her go?"

  "No," Mason said in a tone that was normally used when addressing idiots. "She'll tell the others. She comes with us. Besides, I have a feeling we can use her to get what we want from the werewolf."

  As Neanderthal wrapped his beefy hand around my arm and lifted me to my feet icy fear ripped through me. Connor wasn't the only one in danger. I didn't even want to contemplate what Mason had in mind for me.

  They dumped us in the back of the van, slammed the door closed, and locked it. Other doors closed as people got in. Mason looked over the backseat at us. His expression reminded me of hunters admiring the deer they'd shot. "Don't try anything. Johnson here has a stun gun and a tranquilizer gun."

  I could see the back of Johnson's head. I wasn't surprised to discover he was the Neanderthal. A guy who could have passed for his twin was driving. Ethan was in the front passenger seat.

  "Where are we going?" I asked Mason.

  "The lab. It'll make it easier to study wolf boy."

  "What is it you want to learn?"

  "Didn't Kayla tell you?"

  She had, but I was hoping to stall for time. Maybe someone would come across us before they drove off. I gave what I hoped was a pitiful shake of my head.

  "Whatever causes him to shift"—he jerked his head toward Connor—"I want to know how it works and recreate it. The ramifications for medicine and the military are astronomical. Not to mention the recreational uses. If you could take a pill and be a werewolf for an hour, wouldn't you?"

  I turned my head away because I didn't want him to see how badly I wanted what he might one day be offering.

  "Let's go," he said.

  The van started up and was soon bouncing over the road. They had the windows rolled down and the wind whipping through made it difficult to hear their exact words. As much as I strained, all I could hear was the droning of their voices.

  Then I heard, "What the f—"

  "Shh," I whispered, my face only a couple of inches away from Connor's. There was light coming from the dash, the moon, the stars, maybe even streetlights…I didn't know. Or maybe my eyes had just adjusted to the gloom but I could see his features through the shadows.

  "Brittany?" he questioned in a low voice.

  "Yeah." I saw the whites of his eyes as he rolled them upward, trying to see. "Mason," I said, striving to keep as quiet as possible. With the wind drowning out our voices maybe we could figure out an escape plan without them hearing us.

  I could see Connor straining against his bindings. "Save your strength," I suggested.

  With a low grunt, he gave up. "I can't believe they got the drop on me."

  "I can't either." Surely he would have smelled them before they got too close. "How—"

  "They shot me with something."

  Thinking of the wolf in the woods, I realized they'd probably used a tranquilizer dart on Connor. I didn't know why they'd decided to take the close approach with me. Maybe they'd run out of darts. I was crushed that they'd overpowered me so easily. Connor had been right. No matter how much I'd prepared, I hadn't been fully prepared.

  "Any ideas for how we get out of here?" I asked.

  "Guess we try to convince them that we're not werewolves."

  They'd already figured that out about me, but Connor didn't know that. I thought about telling him, but I was still reeling from my shame over my mixed parentage. "They tested our blood. It's not human." One truth, one lie. His wasn't human. I wasn't yet ready to say out loud that mine was.

  I heard the frustration in his groan. Then I was acutely aware of him shifting, not into wolf, but into warrior mode. His shifting into a wolf might mean he could escape, but it would also confirm for them the existence of our kind. Besides, transforming while he was still bound would have been difficult, and I wasn't certain it would free him from the restraints. I could see him studying our surroundings and recognizing the futility of our present predicament. A time might come when we could escape, but it wasn't now.

  "This sucks," Connor hissed beneath his breath. Then he looked at me. "Are you hurt?" His voice reflected genuine concern.

  "Just my pride."