Full Moon Rising

He stepped through the door, then took my hand and brushed a kiss across my fingertips. Warmth spread like quicksilver through my body, and deep inside, my soul trembled

“Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome.”

I took my hand from his, then walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda and a synth blood pack from the fridge. Qui

He accepted the blood pack with a smile, and said, “I can’t see any of them.”

“You’re not supposed to.” I dropped my bag and popped the soda. “Rhoan and Jack are guardians, and good at what they do.”

I gulped down the soda, then walked back into the kitchen to dump the can into the rubbish bin. Qui

“Easier said than done.”

I bent and tried to adjust the weapon. Just getting my hand down the side of the boots was hard enough, and I fleetingly wished I’d gone for something more flexible in footwear. But Talon had liked them and might be inclined to leave them on. They were practically a second skin, and under normal situations would have shown any weapons shoved down them

But the Directorate’s knives were far from normal—three of them were thin, clear sheets of plastic that were as rigid as steel and could slice through just about anything—or so I’d been assured. The other was almost identical, only it was made of a special compound that reacted with blood and disintegrated—revealing the silver strip that ran down the heart of it. Ideal, Rhoan assured me, for pi

Qui

When I finally got the knife in a comfortable position, he wrapped his fingers around my arm and pulled me close. I rested my cheek against his chest, listening to the slow beat of his heart, feeling safer than I ever had in my life

An illusion, but one I could have easily surrendered to

“It’s close to nine,” I said, after a long while. “Hope they get here soon.” Before whatever courage I’d started with got up and walked away

“There’s a van moving up the street,” he said, his voice a rumble that vibrated through my ear. “There are eight people inside.”

“I think I should be offended that Talon’s only sent an extra two to deal with me.”

He laughed softly and brushed his lips across the top of my hair. “They’re expecting the element of surprise.”

“They should also be expecting a fight.”

“Talon’s never seen you in action, has he? And six were quite enough to overpower me.”

I looked up at him. “You never satisfactorily explained that.”

He grimaced. “It was simply the fact that they were all the spitting image of Henri. I wasn’t expecting it and it shocked me. In a life-or-death situation, a second’s hesitation is all it takes to change the odds.”

And it was almost his death. “So why the garden center?”

“As I said, I suspect they wanted it to look like a random vampire killing.”

It made sense. Given the amount of vamp murders that had happened over the past few weeks, no one would have raised an eyebrow. And while the Directorate would have investigated, if it had looked like a singular event rather than gang-related, it probably would have been given lower priority

“They’re getting out of the van,” he said softly

Tension wound through my limbs, and my stomach began doing tight circles. “Clones?”

“Mix of clones and werewolves.”

I took a deep breath, then raised on my toes and gave him a kiss. “Good luck.”

His lips lingered on mine, his breath warm against my skin. “You too.”

The doorbell rang. I took another breath, then broke away from his grasp and shook nerveless fingers. “Yes?”

“Special delivery,” a gruff voice answered. “Needs to be signed for.”

I glanced at Qui

I hit the ground with a grunt, but rolled immediately to my feet. There was blood gushing from my nose and people flowing through the doorway. They smelled of rubbish left too long in the sun. Whatever method Talon was using to create the things was also killing them

Then there was no more time to think as two of them rushed at me. I ducked the blow of the first creature, but missed the second. His fist smashed into my chin and the force of it had me sprawling backward. I hit the floor a second time, my breath leaving in a whoosh of air. For a moment, stars danced, the world went dark, and the bitter taste of blood filled my throat

Someone who smelled of sex and death fell on top of me. Though gasping for breath and fighting the blackness threatening to invade my mind, I still heard the creature snarl. He smelled and looked like a wolf, but his teeth were extending, saliva dripping from the ends in expectation of a feed

The bastard wasn’t going to feed off me, not if I could help it

With as much force as I could muster, I slammed the heel of my hand into his face. Bone and cartilage shattered under the blow, and he screamed. I thrust him off, scrambled to my feet, and swiped a hand at the blood ru

Air rushed from the left. I pivoted on one foot, kicking hard. The blow landed in the gut of the clone rushing at me, but didn’t seem to have the slightest effect. He grabbed my foot, twisting it hard, making me yelp. His smile was greasy and overconfident and I saw why a second later when he raised the gun. I jerked my foot from his grasp, heard the slight “pop,” felt a brief sting of pain in my arm. Looked down, and saw the dart

Being drugged was better than being battered unconscious

Even so, I went down fighting

Talon would expect nothing less

Chapter 15

Awareness snuck in slowly, and with it came a sense of déjà vu. Voices surrounded me, some that were ti

As awareness sharpened, it formed a picture of rising pleasure and lingering pain. My arms were raised above my head, the pins and needles in my fingers suggesting they’d been that way for some time

Sweat stung the air, mingling with the heady aroma of sex and lust. The moon fever seared through my system, the sheer strength of it a warning that the time of changing was near

My back was pressed against something cold and hard, my stomach against flesh as hot as the sun. My skin was on fire and every muscle quivered

Hands were on me, bruising and familiar. Heat filled me, thrusting deep, pushing me toward the crescendo I both wanted and hated

As before, it wasn’t a dream. Talon was in me, and I was responding as strongly as I ever had

Pleasure spiraled, until it became a force that would not be denied. I came at the same time he did, but bit my lip against the strangled gasp rising up my throat. My body might be conditioned to respond to his touch and his smell, but I wasn’t a willing participant in this mating, and I’d be damned if I’d give him the satisfaction of knowing he could still make me come

He gave one last thrust, then withdrew and stepped back. The room behind him was narrow and long, the wall opposite all glass. Comfy chairs followed the curve of the glass, and behind these, several sofas. It reminded me of the private boxes often seen in sporting venues. The only thing that differed was the long control panel and desk to my left