Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(2)

I forced a small smile and he nodded, then walked away to greet one of Marc's uncles who had sat beside me during the services.

I took that as my cue to stand up and find Daryn, but when I turned, I was face to face with the city's homicide detective, Alex Rhodes.

Company—the bad kind. Crap!

Alex gave me a sympathetic expression as I slid my sunglasses into place over my eyes. "Mena, I'm so sorry to hear about Marc. All of us down at the precinct were blown away by the news. We're here for you. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call me."

I sighed in relief, and my mouth curved up into a genuine smile. Alex and Marc hadn't exactly been friends. Marc had been a defense attorney, so the criminals the cops locked up, Marc had set free. And he had been damn good at his job, too. I, however, had never had any problems with Alex; he had always been kind to me.

"Thank you, Alex." It was all I could think of to say, because the wolf inside me seemed mesmerized by the detective's hazel eyes, strong jaw line and that perfectly tousled brunette hair of his. I swear she was drooling.

Embarrassed because I was staring at him, I tried to look away, but she wouldn't let me. I was happy I had remembered to put on my sunglasses; the hungry eyes of my wolf had to be showing.

No! I scolded her in my thoughts. Not only is Alex off limits because he's a detective, but he's human! I'm supposed to be in mourning and you want to hump his leg! No. Sit down and let me get rid of him. He is dangerous to us.

A shudder rippled through my body, and I could tell she wasn't at all happy with the way I had stood up to her, but I could feel her pouting and knew she was going to let me have my way—at least for now. I made a mental note to avoid Alex Rhodes at all costs.

"Can I give you a ride home? I—"

"Mena, the car is ready," Daryn's voice interrupted, and I could feel his anxiety as he moved into my personal space, the overgrown male crowding Alex in the process.

Alex observed him for a moment, and then casually took a step back, his hand coming up to offer an introduction. "Alex Rhodes. I don't believe I've seen you around Montgomery. Were you a friend of Marc's?"

Daryn eyed the outstretched hand and, instead of taking it, he brushed my lower back with his fingers and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to him possessively.

I was in too much shock to respond. What the hell was he doing?

"I wouldn't say we were exactly friends," Daryn said. "Marc was family… sort of."

Those hazel eyes shifted from Daryn to me, and then Alex lowered his arm and nodded, seeming to understand something that was not true, that Daryn and me were dating, and going public with it at my late husband's funeral. No! That's the last thing I needed on the front page of the Daily Independent tomorrow, the same morning that I was to give the press conference.

I lifted the heel of my left foot and casually placed it on the toe of Daryn's boot, then transferred the weight of my body onto it, aiming to cut one of his toes off with the stiletto if I was lucky.

Daryn's body went rigid and his arm dropped from around me.

I smiled at Alex as Daryn limped away. "Sorry about that. He's my cousin and very protective of me. I guess he thought you were trying to make a move on me at my husband's funeral."

Oh, God! Where had that come from? I rolled my eyes when my wolf sniggered.

Alex took a cautious step back from me, and gave me a sheepish grin as heat flooded up his neck. My wolf liked that. She liked that a lot.

Despite my wishes of staying away from Alex, my wolf forced my hand out to touch his arm. "Don't worry about it, Alex. I know you were only offering your condolences. Just ignore him."

He chuckled lightly as he scratched his eyebrow with his thumb. My wolf followed every move he made and encouraged me to notice that his ring finger on his left hand was free of any jewelry.

Of course, I already knew Alex was single, but him being unattached to anyone wouldn't help my wolf get her way, and I reminded her again that he was a detective—the detective—working Marc's murder case. She didn't understand that this guy would lock me up and throw away the key if he found out I was the one who killed Marc.

"Call me if you need anything, Mena. You know where to contact me." Alex pulled the sunglasses that were on his head down over his eyes, but with my newly enhanced vision, I could see him watching as Daryn retreated.

My wolf resisted when I went to take my hand from Alex, but I caught her off guard and took a step back, well out of reach from the man. I gave him a small smile as I nodded, and then I turned and walked toward the line of vehicles.






Chapter 2



Mena





I slammed the door of my Audi and crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at the side of Daryn's face. He hadn't been the one to drive me to the funeral, but he was obviously the one who was driving me home. I wondered whom he'd had to threaten to get the keys. Daryn had stayed as close to me as I would allow since I accepted the moon. It was quite noticeable that he was sucking up, hoping I would choose him as my second.

He stared straight ahead at the truck in front of us, and put my car in drive when the progression began to move forward.

I was pissed, and my wolf wasn't too happy with him, either.

"Daryn—"