Caged Moon Read online

  He finally faced me and the intense rigidity throughout his body deflated. "You aren't the only one who was attacked by a wolf."

  The effect of his words discombobulated my senses. I expected excuses. The implication that he had been through something similar destroyed my entire internal arsenal. I didn't even know what to say.

  "When I saw your scar, I freaked. Your dining room ceased to exist. You were no longer human. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

  Unfortunately I did. So much so that the similarity to my earlier panic attack in the cafeteria made me eye him with suspicion. Did he know? No. Impossible, and why would he use that to deflect my interrogation? I couldn't fathom why. I had to believe it true. Besides, I never told him a wolf bit me.

  "Can I see it?" I regretted my words the moment I said them. Facing the window, I watched the valley below.

  "I'd rather not," he said. I nodded, knowing all too well about the shaky state that can bring on. Then it dawned on me. Liam understood. Somebody actually knew what it felt like to live on the edge of reality and dreams, never knowing for sure if insanity or truth dictated. Of course, I was getting ahead of myself. He never said that, only that he'd been bitten. But he did have a panic attack.

  "Do you ever feel followed?"

  Liam looked at me like I had grown two heads. There went my theory. I couldn't help the physical slouch of disappointment, despite what that really insinuated. Why would I want Liam to be followed?

  "What are you talking about, Charlotte?"

  I forced a tight grin. "Never mind."

  "Are you being followed?" He unfastened his seat belt and shifted his body completely towards me, one hand resting on the back of my seat. His sudden movement, unexpected, made me swallow hard.

  "No," I said.

  His gaze hardened. I knew he saw right through me and was getting annoyed.

  "Maybe. I don't know."

  "Who?" Flecks of gold began to fuse and melt together in his eyes and my pulse pounded in my ears. I didn't want him to think me crazy, but this intense interrogation scared me. I tried to shut it out, to stay lucid, and not see the sharp canines protruding from his gums in impossible ways. "Charlotte, who?" Reality came back, his face normal.

  "Wolves."

  There, I admitted it. Now he knew I was certifiable. I readied myself for the speech my parents and psychologist gave me so many years ago, their words almost as haunting as the movements of those just out of view, who waited for me in the woods. 'It's not real. You've been through a great deal of trauma. You're not well.' I shivered and my backpack fell to the floor by my feet. I shouldn't have said anything.

  Liam leaned in closer and I crushed myself up against the small space between the door and the seat. I should have been fumbling for the handle, but I couldn't seem to muster further movement. "What are you doing?"

  A low rumble resonated from somewhere deep in his chest and I saw his nostrils expand. It's not real. I'm hallucinating. Oh, whom was I kidding? Ty, herself, saw what happened at my house.

  "When did this start? What do they look like?"

  He moved back into his seat, allowing me to breathe, but he continued to glance over at me as if the one following me hid in my seatbelt. "Soon after the attack. Days." I smiled tightly and gave a short chortled laugh. "Liam, the only one following me is you. It's called posttraumatic stress. Relax." Please. My fingers knitted between my legs.

  He appeared to be contemplating what I just said, but his expression seemed worried. I couldn't help to feel a little flattered. He did care.

  "Okay," he said, although I could tell he didn't buy it. Neither did I, yet I was grateful to drop the subject. "Charlotte?" he asked.

  Any question hanging with a name doomed disaster, but I answered. "Yes?"

  "If you do see something or anything strange, will you tell me?"

  My fingers stopped moving. "You mean like you?"

  "Charlotte, I ..."

  "I know what I saw, Liam. I'm not crazy. What is going on?"

  He fidgeted in his seat and went to start the engine. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Don't lie to me." I caught his fingers, pulling them from the key. The engine fizzled. "I saw you. You were changing into something." I held his hand in mine, refusing to let him go. "Look at me and tell me I'm insane. Tell me I imagined the whole thing. Tell me."

  He met my gaze, and I sat there, watching the crease of his brow tighten into a twisted knot. "You imagined the whole thing."

  "Liar!"

  "Charlotte..."

  "Let me out of here." I shoved his hand away and scrambled to the door. My fingers found the latch, flicking it open, and I stumbled outside.

  "What are you...?"

  I slammed the door on him and took off over the metal guardrail. The slope dropped instantaneously and my pathetic excuse for sneakers skidded and dug at the loose soil. I landed on my butt and began to slide. My hands burned as I tried to slow my momentum, shoveling up piles of damp leaves, stone, and dirt. I heard the car door open and close somewhere behind me.

  "Leave me alone," I called out, just as I managed to stop myself. Scrambling to my feet, I took off through the branches, not caring which direction I headed. I had to get away from him. My eyes burned from the run, and when I wiped them with my sleeve, I found my arm damp.

  I hated him.

  A faint rustling came from behind me and I knew it was Liam. I forced myself to keep moving, even though my lungs felt raw and my thighs ached. I ducked under a low hanging limb and pushed through a dry thorny bush. It snagged at my jeans, holding me its prisoner for a moment, until I snapped its spiny tendrils, and stamped it down with my feet. I stopped short. The river I had seen, gurgled and rolled in front of me, hopping over rocks as it rounded the bend. I refused to be trapped.

  Several rocks jutted out between the current and I went for it. My sneakers did no better on their wet surface, but I managed to keep my balance as I worked my way to the second one, and then the third. Only one remained, but when my foot touched it, the stone rolled. My ankle twisted, and with a loud groan, I fell.

  A hand grasped my arm, pulling me up before I even hit the water. Knives of pain shot up my calf, and I winced, stumbling forward.

  "Hold still. I got you," Liam said.

  "I don't need your help." I jerked my shoulder free of him and then nearly cried out as I tried to put pressure on my foot.

  "Don't move. You probably sprained it." He wrapped one arm under me, pulling me to his chest, while he scooped my legs up with the other. I felt humiliated, but in all truth, it really did hurt too much to walk.

  Liam splashed through the water, soaking his shoes, and then placed me down on the edge of the bank. Without acknowledging him, I pulled my pant leg up, to investigate the damage. I couldn't see anything, but the slightest touch made me flinch.

  He plopped down next to me on the damp dirt. Without even turning, I felt him watching me. "What were you thinking anyway, Charlotte? Were you really going to find your way home through the woods?"

  I shot him a glare. "Yes.

  "But you hate the woods."

  "It was a better alternative than being in your car."

  His expression fell and his fingers picked at the dirt. "Charlotte, I..."

  "How could you say that to me, Liam?" I grabbed a pile of mossy, soaked leaves and chucked it at him. "You know what that means to me. You lied to me."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Sorry?" I asked with a bemused snort.

  "You don't understand. I had to." He stopped fiddling with the dirt.

  "People always have choices, Liam."

  He looked up at me from under his ashen hair, his deep, slowly melting hues told me more than words. I swallowed hard. "You're not human, are you?"

  He froze, seemingly timeless, like a forgotten statue left to stand alone under the fallen leaves. "No."

  My mind spun. I took a deep breath and tilted my chin up to catch the late after
noon sun cascading down through the branches, trying to hold onto my sanity. "What are you?" I whispered. My body felt cold.

  "A wolf."

  The drumming of my pulse drowned out the babbling of the river. Everything had been true. I had known all along. The musky scent of pine, the way he moved around me, and those golden hues. I knew them. I knew him. Had it been him all along? I started to tremble.

  Liam caught my hands and held them fast. "It wasn't me. I didn't attack you. I'd never hurt you. You have to believe me, Charlotte. Please. Look at me."

  "I can't."

  A twig snapped somewhere behind me and Liam stiffened.

  "Shh." Liam put his finger to my lips, silencing me.

  "This isn't helping with my nerves, Liam." He didn't answer; his attention on something over my shoulder. "Liam?"

  "Don't move," he whispered.

  I had opened my mouth to protest when I heard it. Soft padded footsteps inched closer. I wanted to turn, but I couldn't. Everything in me shook as Liam shifted his body from where he sat next to me, into a half crouch, his hands splayed on both sides of my legs. His attention focused with pin point intensity on something behind me. I didn't even know if he realized I still sat there. The dampness from the soil seeped through the thin material of my shirt as I instinctively inched down away from the uncomfortable proximity of Liam's chest. A thick cloud of musky pine invaded my nose and then a low rumble reverberated from his throat.

  My muscles quivered so badly, they hurt.

  Another growl joined his and I wanted to scream. I opened my mouth, but nothing came. My focus squared on Liam's hands. Long sharp claws broke through from under his fingernails, slicing down into the dirt.

  This isn't real. This isn't real.

  Liam's shoulders shook and the soft crack of steps moved closer. In my mind I saw jowls tearing into my flesh, opening my scar. This time, I screamed...and then the world went dark.

  Chapter 8

  The sound of clanging pots stirred me from my murky state of consciousness. Where was I? My hand moved to my scar. The rough, dry skin told me no one had reopened my wound. Had I imagined the whole thing?

  A soothing combination of scents hit my nose, chamomile, honey, and pine. Musky pine. My eyes flew open and I sat up, shifting to put my feet on the floor. I instantly regretted doing the latter. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, the movement on my ankle killing me.

  Liam appeared at my side, ushering me to lean back on the couch against the pillows. "It's okay. Relax. I'm making you some tea."

  "Wolves drink tea?"

  Liam smiled down at me. "It calms the nerves," he said. He moved back away from me and headed into the kitchen. I heard him turn the water on and off and then place what must have been the pot on the stove.

  I turned my head to the side of the pillow as I took in the room. A small scuffed up coffee table sat in front of where I lay on the couch. The rest of the living area appeared sparse, except for a few large body sized pillows haphazardly thrown about the floor. At the far end of the wall, a large stone fireplace reached up, disappearing through the thick beams that ran horizontally along the ceiling.

  "Where are we?" I asked.

  Liam returned, sitting down on the coffee table across from me, and extended a large steaming mug. "My house," he said, placing a matching cup down beside him.

  I slowly took the mug from him and paused to inhale the sweet damp steam. It did help. "You have a house?" I asked.

  Liam smirked slightly and then leaned forward on his knees. "Don't act so surprised."

  I took a sip of the tea, rolled its smooth taste over my tongue, and then swallowed. "Sorry," I said. "It's just, I'm trying to wrap my head around this whole," I paused, "wolf thing." I nervously tapped the handle of my mug. "I didn't imagine that, did I?"

  "No," Liam said. The corner of his lip turned up. "And I'm not always in wolf form, Charlotte." He motioned with his head for me to look at the way he was dressed. My gaze followed, noticing the way he sat made his faded gray tee shirt hug his abs. I quickly looked up, and covered by drinking some more tea. The subject needed to be changed.

  "So what happened? How did I get here?" Strange, how I could have meant that in more ways than one.

  "You passed out. After I scared the other wolf off, I carried you here. You're hurt."

  He reached for my ankle, but I tucked it back under me with a wince. "So there was another wolf?"

  "Yes, but not like me. That one was purely animal. He probably sensed your injuries, figuring on an easy meal."

  My jaw dropped. "He was going to eat me?" My stomach coiled.

  Liam took the mug from me and placed it down next to his. "Wolves don't usually attack humans. It had to be desperate. I could tell my scent confused him."

  "Because you look human?"

  "Yes."

  I didn't want to ask Liam if he had reacted like a wolf to communicate to the other one properly, or if instinct had dictated that. The whole thing made me feel numb. I wanted to wake up.

  Liam offered my cup back, but I shook my head. "Why do you look human? Are you some kind of werewolf?"

  "I don't know."

  "But a wolf bit you. You were once human."

  Liam stared down at his sneakers as steam rose off his untouched tea. "I never said a wolf bit me."

  My jaw dropped just as the front door to the living room slammed open. A heavy clamber of footsteps and male voices filled the air. Liam put his finger to his lips, and then took off over to stop them before they entered the doorway.

  "Ah, Liam. Thank God you're here." I recognized the voice as Steve's.

  "Guys, this isn't the time. I need you outside."

  "But, Liam. I saw tracks. Something's out there." He must have tried to move past Liam, because Liam's arm shot up and blocked the door jam. "What's going on?"

  Byron leaned over and his face broke into a grin. "Hi, Charlotte."

  I sank down into the couch and buried my head under the pillow. "Go away."

  "Come on you guys. You heard her."

  "Since when does she rule the house?" I couldn't tell who said it, but a low gurgling snarl came from somewhere deep in Liam's chest. "Leaving," the voice said and the front door opened and then clicked softly back in place.

  "But what about the tracks?" Steve asked.

  "Solitary wolf from what I could tell. Met him down by the river. I would have smelt others if there were more. He was desperate. Something must have scared him our way, but I'll be checking into it. Don't worry."

  I saw Steve nod and then he peeked down under Liam's arm. "Bye Charlotte," he said with a little wave.

  "Get out of here," Liam said, as he dropped his arm and playfully shoved Steve towards the door. Byron took the opportunity to slip in and gave a quick wave too. "All of you," Liam said, pointing. "Now."

  Byron chuckled, but I heard the door open and close again. Liam made his way back over to where I lay. He sat down next to me on the edge of the couch, instead of the coffee table this time. He touched my arm. "You okay?"

  I peeked around the edge of the pillow that I held over most of my face and muttered, "Is it safe?"

  Liam chuckled. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

  "Are they...?"

  "Wolves?" he asked. "Yes, but they were bitten."

  I took a moment to roll that around in my head, but it still didn't make sense. If Liam hadn't been attacked, what did that really mean? My nerves started to go haywire and I extended my hand towards my mug sitting on the edge of the coffee table.

  "Want me to heat it up?" Liam handed me the cup. I shook my head and took a long, deep sip.

  "Do they live here?"

  "Yes."

  I expected as much, although I did feel guilty about getting them kicked out of their own home. Liam seemed to read my thoughts.

  "It's still my house, Charlotte. I took them in. They need to follow my rules. Besides, outside isn't exactly a punishment for a wolf." The corner of his mouth lifted and
for the first time I saw how even that small gesture had an animalistic undertone. "They're fine."

  I swallowed and took another sip of my tea. "So if you're in charge of them, would that make you their Alpha?"

  Liam chortled a small laugh and then rubbed his forehead. "Yeah."

  "What?" I asked. "You don't sound too thrilled."

  He shrugged and then brushed a stray hair from my cheek. It made me shiver. "I never asked for this. My brother's the one who always wanted power and control. Even as pups. I'd rather just hang out, hunt, and do my own thing."

  "More of a solitary wolf," I said, purposely ignoring the fact that he said he had once been a pup. My mind wouldn't grip that, at least not yet.

  He smiled. "Maybe that's why I turned human."

  I sat up a little bit further without trying to move my foot. "Wait a minute, you mean you were a wolf first?" My mind tried to catch up with what that meant. I knew he said he was a wolf, but he couldn't mean he really was wolf. He meant, werewolf, right?

  Liam cleared his throat and looked a little uncomfortable. "Yeah," he said. "I was born a wolf. When I was about three in wolf years, I woke up one morning human. Scared the life out of me, but yeah."

  I think I stared at him in shock for a good two minutes, not even knowing what to say. "So you were three, out in the woods, human, all by yourself?

  "Well, no. My brother was with me and soon after we ran into a guy named Thomas who sort of adopted us. Long story."

  "Okay." I rubbed my forehead trying to get all of this to sink in. "But, how did this happen? I know how the werewolf thing works." I think. "Don't you have to be bitten or something? I mean, you were like bitten by human were you?"

  Liam chuckled, shaking his head. "No. I don't know why I turned human. I've searched for a reason for years, but still haven't found the answer. Guess I'm just a freak."

  "Maybe," I said, teasing. His knuckles rested on my cheek and I had to admit, it felt really nice. The scent of him so close combined with the sweet tea felt like home. I saw Liam swallow hard, as his gaze searched mine. I thought he might kiss me, but instead he asked, "All of this isn't making you run away?"