Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) (23 page)

He sighed, his face turning into a scowl. “Megan,
where are all these questions coming from?”

“I told you, I just want to get to know you more.”

He smiled slightly. “I understand, but you sound like
you don’t trust me. Like you think I’m hiding something.”

“Are you?” I really didn’t mean to blurt that out. But
now that I had…

He seemed shocked by the question. “Of course not. Why
would you think that?”

I couldn’t answer that in one sentence. I just had a
feeling that he always held things back. He still never explained what happened
on the boat after he told me he loved me. Every time I noticed something
strange about him, like his eyes, he made up some excuse. Plus there was a
whole week of him saying he was so busy and couldn’t spend time with me without
much of an explanation.

All of these things were on the tip of my tongue, but
instead I just said, “Never mind, we’re here.”

He pulled up to my house and I was disappointed to see
that the driveway was overloaded with cars.

“Are you ready?” he asked, taking his seatbelt off and
opening his door.

“No,” I grumbled, but climbed out anyway. Together we
walked around the house to the back patio where everyone was gathered.

The Garden Party

“There’s our guest of honor,” my mother cooed as we
made our way to where she stood talking to the mayor. “Megan, you remember
Mayor Gibbons.” She laid her hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, hello. Mayor, have you met Nate Green?” I shook
the mayor’s hand, glaring at my mom, who was in her glory.

“Yes, I have. I’ve donated to Riley House a few times.
I’m quite impressed at what a man so young has accomplished there. The Rileys
are lucky to have you.” He reached his hand out to shake Nate’s. “I hear you’re
skipping college to work at Riley Department Stores.”

A woman in a black and white uniform came up with a
tray of champagne glasses. The mayor withdrew his hand from my boyfriend’s and
handed each of us a glass before taking one himself.

“Yes, part time, but my focus will be on the shelter,”
Nate explained as he took a drink of his champagne.

The mayor nodded and moved onto me. “How about you, Megan?
Your mother tells me you haven’t decided what school you want to attend yet.”

“No, I don’t know what I want to do for a career. And I
don’t want to spend my parents’ money until I do. I’m going to work at the
charity full time until I can figure out what I want.”

His smile was warm and his eyes were sincere. “That’s
good. Put your free time to good use.”

My mother took advantage of the lull in conversation
and started talking to him about my father’s work. I took that as a hint for us
to leave. I grasped Nate’s hand again and wandered over to the food table.

The rest of the afternoon was spent mingling with my
parents’ acquaintances and business colleagues.

Before I could look away, Mandy’s mother caught my
eye. I looked around for an escape, but found none. Nate was busy talking to an
older bald man in a business suit and Mona was busy speaking to the caterers.
Unable to find a way out, I tensed for the inevitable confrontation.

Madeline was suddenly in front of me.
“Congratulations, Megan.” She pulled me into a quick hug, the strong smell of
her perfume making my eyes water.

“Thank you, Madeline. I’m so happy you could come.” My
words were said through gritted teeth, obviously fake. But in this world that
was the only emotion understood.

“I would never miss a Banks party. I’m sorry Mandy
couldn’t come, but she wasn’t sure if you’d want her here, considering what
happened. I tried to tell her that you wouldn’t mind. You two are best friends;
of course you’d want her at your party. But she wouldn’t listen to me.”

I planted a phony smile on my face. “Oh, I’m sorry,
but she must not have told you that I no longer consider her my friend.”

She gasped in horror, raising her hand to her mouth.
“You can’t mean that. You two were so close. You’d do anything for each other.”

“Well, would you consider leaving your friend as she’s
driving off to a burning building and not calling to see if she’s okay a friend
that would do anything for the other? What if that same friend stood by while
her boyfriend threatened you? Would you still consider her a friend? Because I
don’t.” I walked away, leaving her standing with her mouth hanging open.

After dinner, I excused myself to use the ladies’
room. I walked away from Nate, who was cornered between the food tables by Mrs.
Erickson, who was flirting with him. The dirty look he gave told me he would
get back at me later. Since it was the second time I’d left him when he needed
me, I knew he wouldn’t forget.

I used my bedroom bathroom and after I touched up my
makeup I thought I’d better head back to save Nate.

I noticed a man standing near Nate’s car. It was
parked outside my patio door. His back was to me as he gazed at the backyard as
if waiting for someone. “Hello, can I help you?” I asked, heading toward him.

When he turned around, I was surprised to see who it
was—Conner, the man from the grocery store. “Oh, hi. What are you doing here?”
I stood beside him, leaning against Nate’s car, but pushed off instantly. The
black paint reflected the hot sun, almost burning me through my dress. For some
reason it didn’t bother Conner.

He smiled. “I just started at your father’s company
and he asked me to come. You look beautiful.” He was wearing his leather jacket
again. I was just wearing my strapless dress and I was still hot. The sun was
glaring down on us. If it wasn’t for the breeze, the heat would be unbearable.

“Thank you. I really hate this kind of thing,
especially when they pretend it’s about me. But I shouldn’t say that about your
new boss.”

“Megan! Step away from him, now,” Nate’s voice boomed
from behind me.

I turned to look at the side of the house and saw him
coming around the corner, having slipped away from the party out back.

“Oh, hi Nate. It’s all right, this is Conner. He
helped me at the grocery store. Can you believe he got a job at my father’s
office? What a coincidence.”

Nate rushed over to us so fast I barely saw him move. Before
I knew what was happening, he was shoving me behind him.

“It’s so nice to meet you.
Nate
, is it?” Conner
replied with a smile, holding out a hand to shake.

The noise that came out of my boyfriend could only
have been described as a growl. “Megan, go inside, now!” His voice was low and
demanding.

“What’s the problem?” I asked, a feeling of uneasiness
began to creep inside me.

“Go!” he growled, gritting his teeth.

I really didn’t appreciate him ordering me around, but
his tone of voice said that now was not the time to argue about it.

I slunk back into my room and started to pace. I was
so angry, I was sure steam was about to come out of my ears. Who did he think
he was, giving me orders like that and in front of a stranger? I had to put a
stop to this today. There was no way I was going to let him tell me what to do.

Walking over to the window I peered out and saw that
the driveway was empty. They were gone.

With a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, I
stepped out of the door to look for them. I couldn’t see anyone. I heard the
laughter and voices from behind the house, but that was it.

A bird screeched above me and as I looked up to watch
it soar toward the forest, I spotted Nate and Conner. They were by the edge of
the woods that surrounded our property. The two of them were arguing. Nate was
gesturing wildly, but Conner just kept the same bored, defiant grin on his
face.

Nate’s back was to me, but Conner looked up and his
eyes locked right onto mine. His grin spread, he said something to Nate and
then took off running into the woods.

Before I could figure out why he would run, something
else happened that I couldn’t comprehend. Nate jumped up into the air and his
body exploded. That was the only word I could think of. He
exploded
into
a…
wolf
. His suit ripped into shreds, falling all over the long grass.

One minute he was my sexy, human boyfriend and the
next he was a wolf, a wild animal, growling and snapping savagely at Conner. He
dove into the woods, chasing him.

I could no longer see what was happening once they
disappeared behind the towering trees. But the image of Nate turning into a
wolf would be burned into my memory forever.

I backed up, completely dazed, rushing back into my
room, slamming the door and locking it behind me.
That did not just happen.
He couldn’t have done what I saw him do. My mind was just playing tricks on me
.

I started to feel lightheaded and I staggered over to
sit down on my bed. I was stunned. I just wanted to brush off what I had seen
and forget it. But I couldn’t. Memories started flashing in my head. The night
he was at my house and his nails turned long and pointed. Two weeks ago, when
his eyes turned yellow. All the times he said he wasn’t good for me or that he
was dangerous. Images of all the things I had wondered about him kept flashing
in my head until I was dizzy.

I had to lie down before I threw up. I just wanted to
forget what happened, I couldn’t even fathom that Nate, the guy who I thought
was sweet, kind and very generous, wasn’t human.

No, it’s not possible. I had to have seen it wrong.
Standing up, I walked slowly to peer out my window, hoping that when I looked,
the lawn would be empty. But no, Nate’s clothes were still scattered on the
grass where he had left them. It was true. He was something else. But what? A
werewolf? There was no such thing. But how could I deny what I saw?

I lifted my hands into my hair, spinning around the
room.
Oh my God
, what was I supposed to do? He was chasing Conner. He
could be dead. The memory of the radio report popped into my head and I
stopped. That’s why he was so upset. He must have been the one who killed those
people.

I had to call the police, but what was I supposed to
say?
My boyfriend is a werewolf.
I couldn’t tell them what I saw, no one
would believe me.
I
didn’t believe me. I could just tell them that he
killed those other people. I didn’t have to mention anything about werewolves,
unless of course, I wanted to be fitted for a straitjacket. I picked up my
phone and dialed. My hands were shaking so hard I had to hang up and redial a
few times before I heard, “Nine-one-one emergency, how may I help you?” on the
other end.

“I know who killed those people in the park,” I
whispered, unable to say the words out loud.

“Can you speak up? I can’t hear you.”

I cleared my throat and took a deep breath, gathering
the strength I needed. “I know who killed those people in the park,” I said a
little louder. “His name is Nate Green and you can find him at 321 Maple View,
side patio door.” When she asked my name, I hung up.

I sat down on my bed, shaking with fear. I couldn’t
believe I thought he was good. I knew there was something off about him. How
could I not know? Was I doing the right thing? I loved him. But how could I
love a monster that lied to me over and over?

He must have killed those people. What else could it
have been? That’s what werewolves did, right? They killed people.

What was I doing? Was I really talking to myself about
werewolves? I must be going insane. I couldn’t catch my breath. I had to calm
down.

I ran into the bathroom to splash cold water on my
face. When I looked in the mirror I didn’t recognize myself. My eyes were huge,
my skin bone white. The contrast of my white skin was stark against my almost
red hair. I poured water into a cup and took a sip, breathing in through my
nose and out my mouth trying to soothe myself before I had a panic attack. It
was working. My color started to come back and my eyes were back to their
normal shape.

I heard the door open and close in the other room and
froze.
Damn
, I had given him a key.

“Megan?” Nate called from my bedroom. I took a deep
breath and looked at myself in the mirror again. “I can handle this,” I whispered
to my reflection. The police were on their way. I took another deep breath,
closed my hands into fists and turned the corner, walking over to sit down on
my bed.

He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. There was a
scratch above his left eye and a cut on his upper right arm. He smiled
sheepishly. “I’m sorry I got so angry, but I didn’t like the way that guy was
looking at you.”

I looked down at my hands. They were shaking and my
nails were cutting into my skin from squeezing so hard; they were starting to
bleed. I put them behind my back before he could see that something was wrong.
I couldn’t stand the thought of being so close to him. “Where is Conner?”

He chuckled. “We got into a fight, but when we heard a
car pull in the drive he took off. I went home to change. I ripped my suit
during the fight.” He stepped over to me, sitting beside me on the bed and
touched my chin. “Look. I’m sorry. I know you must be upset with me, but I
couldn’t help it. There was something about the guy that I didn’t like.”