DARKSIDE OF THE MOON (13 page)

“I’m so sorry, Skylar. While I’m like this and unable to control my shift or my actions, I am a danger to you.” He stood and shook his head and looked around her apartment. “I can’t stop ruining the clothes you get me, but I can’t stay here.”

He hated this. He hated not having any kind of damn control over anything. He lived his life by the code of the Pack, and he’d strived his whole life to keep his body in control and under discipline.

Hell, control and discipline were what made him a good soldier. That was what made him a hell of a Guardian.

“You can’t leave.” She jumped to her feet. “Where the hell are you going to go? Someone is going to see you shift, and then where will you be?” Her eyes widened with each word.

“If there’s a risk that I can lose control and hurt you, then I can’t stay here. You know that.” His words came out harsher than he meant them to, but his gut was still twisting with what could have happened if Skylar hadn’t knocked him out.

“I can handle myself. You said so yourself. You don’t need to worry about me.” She stuck her hands in her jeans pockets and lifted her chin in that defiant way she’d had as a child.

“I could never live with myself if I hurt you, if something happened to you. Don’t you understand?” He grabbed her arms and gave her a little shake, hoping the gravity of the situation would sink into that thick skull of hers.

“Don’t do that. You don’t tell me what to do.” She wrenched free of his hold and took a step back while piercing him with a glare.

“Stop being so unreasonable. You know as well as I do that if I lost control, I could hurt you.”

“And you know that I can handle myself. Believe me, I’ve had to do that since I was a child.”

“This is different. This is dangerous.”

“What did you think my childhood consisted of? Puppies and cartoons?” She curled her fingers into fists and leaned into his space. “By the time I was old enough to walk, I knew I had to find places to hide to keep my father from hitting me when he got drunk. By the time I was in school, I knew enough to stay out of his way and hide the food I managed to take from your house under my bed so I wouldn’t go days without eating. And when I hit puberty and started looking like a young woman, I had to learn how to hit back hard enough so I wouldn’t be raped by my father’s friends. So don’t you sit there and tell me I’m some helpless female when it comes to out-of-control werewolves who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves.” Chest heaving and eyes flashing with anger, she spun on her heel and headed into the bathroom.

Zane felt like he’d been hit in the chest by a two-by-four.

He’d known her life had not been easy, but never in a million years would he have guessed she was physically abused.

Anger flooded his body like lava in a volcano. The image of her piece-of-shit father trying to hit her—or even worse, letting his friends try to lay their hands on her—had rage flooding through his body.

He was quickly losing control, and he didn’t fucking care anymore. He lifted his head back and growled as the shift began to take over his body. He wanted nothing more than to seek out her offenders and rip them apart with his teeth until they were nothing but a bloody smear on the ground.

***

The bathroom door flew open and Skylar came barreling out as a loud roar echoed through the small apartment.

“Zane, what the hell are you doing? Keep it down, or nosy old Mrs. Nelson is going to call the cops!” she hissed at him. He once again shifted into wolf form and began pacing the tiny living room floor. He would make it two steps before turning around. He looked more like a caged tiger than a werewolf.

“The last thing I need is her interference.” She didn’t have time to look for another apartment, and she doubted she could find one as cheap as this one. Every spare cent went into her business. She wanted to keep a low profile, get her business on solid footing, and get her project going for girls who needed a safe place to stay.

That was her priority, and now Zane was going to ruin everything with his whole alpha male routine.

Knock, knock, knock.

She stiffened, and Zane stopped his pacing. Maybe if they stayed quiet, whoever it was would go away.

Knock, knock, knock.

She shot him a glare when she saw that wasn’t happening.

“Go in the bedroom and stay there,” she whispered.

He didn’t move for a few seconds, and she wondered if she was going to have to grab him by his hairy tail and drag him.

He stared at her through intense, wolfy eyes, and she fought the tiny shiver of fear that zinged through her stomach at the memory of what had happened the last time he shifted.

She didn’t want to hurt him, nor did she want to draw attention to herself by having him here.

“Please,” she implored.

He gave a low growl and lumbered back into the bedroom. She closed the door behind him.

She grabbed the remote control off the small table by the couch and turned on the stereo system.

Glad she’d put her robe on, she slowly walked to the door and pressed her sweaty palms to her thighs before reaching for the doorknob.

Easing open the door, she blinked in surprise.

“Hector, what are you doing here?” He was standing there holding his daughter, Sophia, in his arms. Skylar looked over his shoulder as Mrs. Nelson popped her head out her own door, scowled, and slammed it shut.

Thank god the old woman didn’t want to talk.

“What the hell is going on in there?” He cocked his head and looked around her.

“Just listening to the radio, that’s all,” she said a little too quickly. She held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t ask to come inside. She wasn’t sure how Zane was going to react to another male in her apartment.

“Look, Maria is in labor, and I need Sophia to stay with you tonight.” He gave her a wide-eyed, frantic stare as she sleepy-eyed child raised her head off his shoulder and held her arms up for Skylar to take her.

Her heart tugged as she took Sophia in her arms. The little girl laid her head back on her shoulder.

“Where are your other kids?” She looked out behind him to make sure they were not in tow, but he was alone.

“They are at the neighbor’s house. I couldn’t leave Sophia there because she’s allergic to the neighbor’s cat. The last time she went over there, she had hives for a week.” His breathing grew more rapid.

“What about dogs? Is she allergic to dogs?” Zane had probably shed enough to make a coat. She didn’t need Sophia to have a reaction to that as well.

“No, just cats.” Hector shook his head. “Look, Skylar, I understand this is really bad timing, but I don’t have anyone else I can call.” He pressed a small pink princess backpack in her hand and began backing away.

“I’ll be back tomorrow to pick her up. My mother is driving in from Louisiana to stay with the kids. He jogged to his truck and called out before jumping into the driver’s seat, “I owe you one, boss.” With a wave of his hand, he cranked up the old truck, backed out of the parking space, and tore out of the parking lot.

“Skylar, I’m tired.” Sophia wrapped her arms tighter around Skylar’s neck and settled against her shoulder.

She couldn’t help but smile, and she patted the child’s tiny back. Her fingers brushed the soft cotton pajamas that were the color of cotton candy. She stepped inside and shut the door.

“Doggie,” Sophia said in her sleepy voice as she raised her head and looked over Skylar’s shoulder.

She spun around. Zane stood in the middle of the open bedroom doorway.

“How did you get out?” Her eyes widened.

He cocked his head to the side and stared at Sophia in her arms.

“Shit.” She slammed a hand over her mouth. She never cursed, and certainly not in front of children. But Zane made her do a lot of things she didn’t normally do.

“Skylar said a bad word.”

“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.” She tightened her hold on the little girl. She might care for Zane, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him hurt Sophia.

“Doggie.” Apparently, Skylar’s bad language was quickly forgotten as Sophia turned back to Zane. She tried to wiggle out her other arm to reach for the animal, but Skylar tightened her hold on the child.

“Doggie,” Sophia whimpered.

Skylar met his wolf’s gaze and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you dare think about touching her.”

Much to her surprise, he lowered his head and then curled up on the floor, all the while keeping his eyes on them both.

His eyes no longer glinted yellow, promising bloodlust. Instead, they were his normal blue color.

She slowly turned so Sophia could look at the “doggie.”

He rested his long snout between his outstretched paws. His dark fur ruffled a little as the air conditioner vent overhead circulated the cool air. He kept her gaze, only breaking his stare to blink. His chest rose and fell in an even rhythm, one she’d not seen when he’d shifted before. Odd. Usually he was on edge, angry, and dangerous. But now, he looked as if he could control his emotions a bit better.

“Zane.” She spoke his name quietly and stepped closer. Right now, he was between her and the bedroom door. She needed to get Sophia to bed, and she didn’t intend on spending the night on the couch with a four-year-old. She had too much work she needed to get done tomorrow since she was a day behind.

“I need you to move so we can get to bed.”

Zane lifted his head and squinted at her. Her heart stumbled to a halt in her chest, and she forced herself to suck in deep breaths. Just getting upset and showing fear was the worst possible thing she could do right now.

“Move,” she repeated and hugged Sophia close to her chest.

A low rumble came from behind his closed lips, yet he didn’t show his teeth. He looked like he was pissed at having to move his large body out of the way.

Slowly he got to his feet and let out a sigh like she was inconveniencing him. He padded over to a corner, walked out a circle, and lay down.

She arched an eyebrow and waited a few seconds before heading into the bedroom and shutting the door behind her. She reached out to turn the lock on the doorknob. Her fingers brushed across something wet.

“So that’s how he opened the door. With his mouth.” She wiped her hand on her jeans as she walked over to the bed. Pulling down the comforter, she placed Sophia in the soft bed and tucked her in.

“I’ll be right back.” She brushed the hair out of the child’s face as her eyelids fluttered closed.

She turned on the faucet and made quick work of brushing her teeth. She peeked her head around the corner to make sure Sophia hadn’t gotten up.

A smile lit her face as she watched the little girl sleep deeply. Her arms were stretched over her head and her pouty lips were slightly parted. Her pink pajamas were hiked up, showing off her chubby stomach.

She tiptoed in the room and carefully opened a drawer and pulled out an old T-shirt and some shorts. She didn’t usually sleep in anything, but with Sophia here and Zane in the next room, tonight called for clothing.

After donning the T-shirt and shorts, Skylar slipped between the covers, careful not to wake her little bed partner. Out in the distance, the first peals of thunder echoed and a brief flash of lightning slashed across the sky.

Skylar settled into the bed and smiled with the promise of rain. At least it was going to be a good night to sleep. After today’s events, she needed it.

***

Zane woke to booming thunder that rattled the tiny windows of the apartment. He sat up and frowned at his nakedness.

Easing up off the floor, he looked around. His gaze landed on a green bag sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter. He remembered Skylar bitching about having to buy him clothes.

Another round of thunder echoed outside.

Despite her own hectic schedule, she always seemed to be anticipating what he would need next. She was fluidity to his discipline.

He opened the bag and pulled out a white T-shirt with an eighties band scrawled across the front, then a pair of jeans. They were just his size. At least he didn’t have to replace the boots she’d bought him earlier. That was the one thing he never ruined when he shifted.

He pulled on the jeans, smirking as he realized she didn’t buy him any underwear. Maybe it was a subconscious thought on her part.

Lightning stretched across the sky like claws.

He ambled over to the window and pulled back the flimsy white curtain. Resting his hand on the top of the windowsill, he gazed out at the summer storm rolling in.

The parking lot was half full and all the other tenants’ windows were dark. The only light was the lightning in the bleak sky. He glanced over at the clock on the microwave and noted the time. Two a.m.

It would be light in a few hours. And once that sun came up, he was going to have to leave. He needed to find the cure to whatever was preventing him from controlling his shift.

Pushing away from the window, he sunk onto the couch. It was too short for him to be able to stretch out, but if he bent his knees, he should be able to sleep in that position.

He’d slept in worse conditions than this.

Hell, at least he was inside and out of the weather.

Skylar yawned and stretched out in the bed as the light of dawn sparkled through her window. She glanced over and noted the sky was bright and clear with no evidence of last night’s rain.

She turned over to check on Sophia. Her heart stuttered to a standstill when she saw the bed was empty.

She jumped out of bed and threw open the bedroom door. She made it only a few steps before she froze at what she saw on the couch.

Zane had shifted back into his human form and was lying on his back on the couch. Little Sophia was lying sprawled on his bare chest, and he had his arm draped over her back, making sure she wouldn’t fall.

Her heart and her womb lurched at the tender sight.

She let a sigh slip past her lips as she brushed her hand over her heart.

Zane stirred and blinked awake. He glanced down at the child in his arms and then up at her.

“Morning.” His hoarse voice had her stomach turning warm with desire.