Resisting the Moon: A Royal Shifters Novel (11 page)

Blake didn’t know I was a shifter and he probably never would. “Everything’s great,” I lied, “just visiting some of my family. Is there any way you can look up someone for me?” He was one of the best undercover cops in the country and his resources were vast.

“Sure, what’s the name?”

“Jaret Bleddyn,” I said, before spelling it out.

“All right, I’ll see what I can do. I’ll give you a call as soon as I find something.”

“Thanks, Blake.” We hung up and I blew out a frustrated breath. “If she’s mated, Jaret has to be somewhere.”

“Not unless the wolves killed him,” Sebastian replied. The thought made my chest tighten.

“Let’s hope not. I don’t want Amelie going through that kind of heartache.” My voice cracked and I wanted to kick myself in the ass for letting my emotions slip.

“You sound like you’ve been through it before.”

Eyes burning, I couldn’t stop the tears even if I wanted to. “I need some fresh air.” I jumped to my feet and rushed outside. Snow fell from the sky and I lifted my face to it, the cold flakes melting on my warm cheeks. Gripping the wooden rail of the porch, I squeezed it, waiting for Sebastian to join me. When he did, I could feel his warmth beside me.

“I think it’s time you told me the truth. You’re pushing me away and I want to know why. I know you’re scared; I can feel it. You don’t have to be afraid of me.” His hand closed over mine and my heart ripped wide open.

“I’m not afraid of you, Sebastian. I’m afraid of being with you.”

“Why?” He grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him. “Tell me.”

My tears burned like hot lava down my cheeks. I couldn’t keep him in the dark forever. “Have you ever lost someone you loved?” I asked.

He nodded. “A lot of them. My parents, family, some of my closest friends. I’ve been around a while.”

Which was true, he was about fifty years older than me. “What about a person you were
in
love with?”

His jaw tensed. He knew where I was going with this. “No, but I take it you have. Was his name Cliff?”

My mouth gaped and I gasped. “How did you know that?”

He lowered his gaze to our clasped hands. “I followed you the other day and heard you talk to him.”

“Looks like you have a habit of following me.”

His head lifted, eyes flashing. “I’m an unmated male trying to keep my mate safe. Given our situation, it’s the only thing that has helped. And also this,” he said, squeezing my hands. “Your touch keeps me sane.” He wasn’t lying. I could feel his tension seeping away. “Was he human?” he asked.

I nodded. “Basically, our relationship was doomed from the start. No one knew I was dating a human. My parents, especially my mother, would’ve given me a hard time. But I loved Cliff. He was a good man.”

“What happened?”

Closing my eyes, I remembered seeing his face for the last time in the hospital. I could still hear the last beats of his heart. “When I wasn’t aging, I had to cut ties with him before he noticed. A few years later, I went to check on him and found out he was in the hospital, dying from cancer. Before he took his last breath, I was able to see him again.”

Sebastian nodded in understanding. “So you’re afraid of losing me? Is that it?” He moved closer and cupped my face in his hands. “I can promise you I’m not going anywhere.”

I shook my head. “I’m cursed, Sebastian. Everyone I’ve ever loved has been taken from me.” Taking a deep breath, I blew it out slowly. “You don’t know this, but I was set to be mated to another man thirty years ago.”

“Go on.”

I didn’t want to tell him about my intimacies with other men, but it was the only way to get him to understand. “He was our pack leader and one of my closest friends. We knew that to make our pack strong, our union was the best bet. He needed a strong female and I was the strongest. However, he wasn’t the only one who wanted me.”

Recollection sparked in his gaze. “Is that why your pack split up?”

“More like demolished. As far as I know, everyone was killed, except for a few of us.”

“And your intended, what happened to him?”

I shrugged. “Killed. He said he would come for me and he never did. My pack was slaughtered because of me and I’ve never been able to forgive myself for it. Finn told me to run when I should’ve followed him and fought. I will never make that same mistake again.”

He tilted my face up. “But you lived to see another day. Things happen for a reason, love. Your choices brought you to me. This is where you belong.”

My lip quivered and I bit it. “What if I lose you too? I can’t bear the thought.”

Before I could take a breath, he closed his lips over mine, wrapping his arms around my waist. I was too tired to fight, and gave in, opening myself up to him. His lips were warm, his hands rough as they reached underneath the hem of my shirt. I didn’t want to let him go, but he broke away first.

Leaning his forehead to mine, he closed his eyes. “If you don’t finish this, you will surely lose me. The rage will drive me insane and I won’t be able to control it. You need to make the choice soon, your fear . . . or my life.” He stepped away and disappeared inside, only to emerge again and take off into the woods.

I stood there frozen, with the weight of this words sinking in. He’d given me his terms and now it was my turn. Only, I didn’t know what to do.

Tyla

F
or the rest of the night, Sebastian stayed in his wolf form and kept guard outside. I tried to search for the stone but couldn’t find it. He had it hidden well. It wasn’t until the early morning hours when I awoke to sounds of him coming inside and hopping in the shower. He was avoiding me. I guess I deserved it.

“Knock, knock,” I said, tapping on the bathroom door. It opened slightly and steam billowed out.

“Yeah?” Sebastian replied.

I could see his form through the cloudy, glass shower door. I fought back the urge to say ‘fuck my fears’ and jump in the shower with him. When I didn’t answer, he opened the door and looked at me.

“Can I help you?”

Clearing my throat, I turned my head. “Where’s the stone?”

He shut the shower door. “Safe, why?”

“I want to use it. We need to know more.”

Opening the door again, he turned the water off and got out. I met his gaze and it took all I had to keep it there. “Let’s go to Amelie’s again and search around. If by the end of the day we don’t find anything new, I’ll let you use it. You don’t want to be like the walking dead right now, it’ll waste the rest of the day.”

As much as I wanted to fight it, he had a point. Nodding, I stepped back. “Deal. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

While I waited for him, I heated up my leftover steak from the day before and saved half for him, putting it on a separate plate along with half of my baked potato.

He stopped at the door and lifted a brow. “What are you doing?”

My stomach growled. “If I’m hungry, I know you are too. You didn’t eat anything last night, so I’m giving you half of my steak.” When he sat down, I could tell a smile was just beneath the surface. I passed him a fork and he stuck it in the meat. “When we get back to Wyoming, I’ll cook you a meal. I’m actually pretty good at it. So don’t judge me by this chunk of reheated beef.”

He ate a bite and smiled. “So I’ve heard. Everyone talks about your cooking. I’ll admit, I was jealous when my brother told me you made him an apple pie.”

I burst out laughing. “It was an apology for giving him a black eye. Don’t let him make you think it’s because he was special.”

“I’ll have to tell him that.”

We ate the rest of our food and I was glad to finally see a smile on his face. “Are you going to help me look through the house, or patrol the perimeter?”

He got up and put his plate in the sink. “Both. I want to see if there are any new tracks. Maybe even a sign from Jaret. We still don’t know if they completed the bond.”

“True. I didn’t smell anyone other than my family in her house.”

“Then they must’ve been meeting at his place,” he said, opening the front door. “If only we could find it.”

My phone rang and I quickly pulled it out of my pocket. “Blake, hey. Did you find anything on Jaret?”

He sighed and I knew it was going to be bad news. “Are you sure his name is Jaret Bleddyn?”

“Yes.”

“Tyla, I can’t find anything on this guy. There is no Jaret Bleddyn in any part of the world.”

Sebastian heard and looked dumbfounded. “I don’t know what to do,” I whispered, more to myself than to anyone else.

“You’re not in any trouble are you?” Blake asked.

“No, it’s not like that. I’ll be fine. I guess I just got his name wrong.”

“And you’re
sure
you’re okay?”

“Yes.” I laughed, hoping to appease him. The last thing I needed was for him to get involved with what we were doing.

He sighed. “All right. Call me if you need anything else.”

“Will do.” I hung up and slammed my phone down on the table. “Looks like we’re back to square one. My cousin is involved with someone she doesn’t even know.”

We walked out to the car and Sebastian glanced at me from the other side. “We need to find out who he is, and fast. There’s a reason he didn’t want her to know who he was.”

Amelie’s house was almost completely cleaned up by the end of the day, but I couldn’t find any more clues, other than a couple of pictures in her room of her and the mysterious Jaret Bleddyn. I was ready to head back to our cabin and try the stone. Surely, I’d have more luck with it.

Sebastian had been patrolling the grounds for the past couple of hours, searching for tracks. If he’d found something, he would have been back long ago. The sound of footsteps scraped across the wooden porch and I rushed downstairs.

“Did you find anything?” I asked, turning the corner into the living room.

The man in front of me wasn’t Sebastian. He was a wolf, yet I couldn’t smell him. Tall, with dark green eyes and long, brown hair, the guy was dressed in dirty jeans and a plaid button down shirt. His eyes flashed when he saw me. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

He walked forward and I took a step back. “Who are you?” When I took another step back, a set of arms snatched me from behind. “Let me go.” I growled and bucked. My nails lengthened and I dug them in his arms, ripping his flesh.