Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(3)

"I'm sorry, Mena," he said through a tight jaw.

"Why did you do that?"

Salacious Limerick was playing quietly through my speakers and, even though I loved the band, I reached over and tapped the power button, leaving only the sound of the motor purring softly under the hood to fill the silence between us.

I threw my hands in the air and huffed when he didn't bother to answer me, then I shifted in my seat so I could stare out the passenger window. There was no winning, not with him.

My wolf wanted me to continue pressing for answers, but I didn't like fighting with people. I supposed I was just too nice for my own good. I could feel that part of me slipping away, and I struggled with all my might to hang on to it, at least a little of it. I felt that was the only thing left between me and my dwindling humanity.

I didn't want to be a cruel leader.

I watched in silence as we drove by tombstone after tombstone. The cemetery was so peaceful and beautiful, and it was only a few miles from my home. I actually jogged through it on my morning runs sometimes. I didn't feel comfortable doing that anymore, not now that there were two men buried there that I had killed.

The trip had not taken long, and when Daryn put the Audi in park inside my garage, I was out of the car and headed for the door of my house, anger swiftly returning to my mood with a fierce vengeance. I had to put some distance between us. My wolf had been looking for an excuse to make her grand entrance into the world, but I wasn't ready for her to do that, not yet, not on Daryn. I could handle him. I was almost sure of it.

I heard the driver's door of the car open just as I put my hand on the door knob.

"Mena, wait. Please, don't be angry with me—"

I turned and glowered at him and he stopped three feet from me. "Answer the question, Daryn. That's an order."

My eyes widened as he dropped to one knee on the cement floor of the garage and bowed his head low. "I was only trying to get you away from the detective—"

"By making it appear as though we are dating?"

"It was the only thing I could think of—"

"Are you brain dead?" I pointed out the still open garage toward the east, where the cemetery was located. "I've just buried my husband and you made it look to everyone at the funeral like I was having an affair!" I said, aghast. "If my wolf hadn't been on top of her game and suggested we tell the detective that you were just an overprotective cousin, the news media would have chewed me up and spat me out tomorrow at the press conferenece!"

Daryn lifted his head and stared up at me with apologetic emerald eyes. My wolf wanted to rip his throat out, but what was left of my soft heart had me sighing in defeat. He had made a mistake, a big one, but nobody was perfect. I just hoped it didn't come back to bite me in the ass later on.

"Go home, Daryn. I've had all the excitement I can handle for one day."

"You're not kicking me off your detail?" he asked in surprise.

I shook my head as I let myself into the house. "Not today."



V''''V



Mena



My mind was too crowded and I didn't have a clue how to stop thinking long enough to get some actual rest. I hadn't slept more than four hours since Friday and the sleep deprivation was beginning to take its toll on me.

Glancing in the mirror of my master bath, I winced at seeing the dark circles that had already begun to show around my sunken-in eyes. Even the vivid light green of my irises had dulled to a cloudy jaded shade. Well, the silver lining was that I didn't have to try and act the part of a grieving widow; my physical appearance showed all the signs. Never mind that my husband dying wasn't really the reason I looked like crap. Whatever helped my case, I thought, and turned away from my sickly-looking reflection to start a hot bath.

As I soaked the tension away from my stiff muscles, images of the last few days pried their way back into my thoughts.

Bright ice-blue eyes filled the space behind my closed lids and I smiled.

Phoenix.

The sight of him in my mind was something I definitely didn't mind seeing, and I let myself sink down farther into the bubbles.


Phoenix's lids closed and when they opened again, hazel irises stared back at me and the picture of Phoenix was replaced with the face of Alex.

I shot upright in the bath, splashing water onto the floor as I gasped in horror.

Despite the warmth of the hot water, goosebumps broke over my skin as the wolf in me stirred.

"You can't have him," I said, but got no response. There was only silence in my mind—for once—but I in no way believed she agreed with me.

My cell phone tweeted, indicating I had received a text message. I rolled my eyes as I stood and took a towel from the shelf in between the Jacuzzi tub and the shower. It was beginning to look like resting was something I would have to do when I was dead, whenever I'd get there. A dog only lived one-seventh of a human life. I didn't have a clue what the lifespan of a werewolf was. I had a lot to learn about the non-human part of me.

I swiftly dried the water droplets from my body and picked up my phone. The text was from Daryn. He mentioned nothing about the spat we'd had earlier in the day, only that there was a meeting at 7 p.m. with the pack. I made quick work with the keyboard and asked the address. Regardless of the fact that I was now the pack leader, I still hadn't been invited to the wolves' den. I hadn't made a fuss about it; I wasn't sure I was even ready to see it. Looking at the message again, I assumed the option was being decided for me. I had to get control of things and fast or I would have challengers left and right.