Moon Child
Chapter 23

After a week of nothing but peace and quiet the pack began to calm down slightly. Just enough to allow Dawn the ability to go for a walk, even if it was with an escort. Keith moved through the trees with her, talking about everything and anything.

He was in a great mood and rightly so. Ren had opened up to him, if only a little. They had started patrolling together and she seemed more relaxed than her normally stoic self. He spoke of her like she was the most beautiful portrait ever painted, something that had Dawn smiling along with him.

"...and then she said..."

A howl broke their peace, both of them whipping around to face the direction of the warning.

"Kane."

Keith grabbed Dawn by the hand, racing back to the houses. It was a war call, something she had heard too many times to count in her old pack. They had used it for every attack, happy to shed blood everywhere they went. Here it felt more serious, as if the threat was far greater than one or two hunters.

"Keith you need to replace Kane."

He ignored her, racing with her through the trees.

"Keith!"

She pulled her hand out of his, slowing only slightly. He turned to look at her, his face the mask of a soldier ready to die for his people. Her heart skipped a beat.

"I'll take shelter, so please. They may need you."

After a hesitant moment he nodded, turning and racing through the trees in another direction. She felt Kane's anger, his strength pouring through her. This was no human threat. They had taken on the wolf's form. That meant it was something far more dangerous than a mortal with a gun.

She raced toward shelter, to the underground bunker. She wanted to be with Kane, but he had been right. Putting herself in danger would only cause him to lose his focus. Being useless was the most useful thing she could do.

When she got to the bunker she froze, quickly hiding behind a tree at the sight of a large grey wolf. What in the hell had she just seen? Peeking around the tree she noticed it was sniffing the ground around the metal bunker door. It had been covered with leaves, but it wasn't completely hidden. It would be locked now and she couldn't get past the monster before her.

It wasn't one of them. That beast wasn't a friend. She felt nauseous as a memory caught at the edge of her mind. Grey, patches of fur missing. She knew the wolf and it meant he knew her too. This wasn't good. If he was here it meant there would be others and she was out in the open. Her hand instinctually moved to rest on her stomach.

Standing with her back against a tree she listened carefully. The beast was scratching at the door, clearly unaware of her presence. He was too focused on the possibility of getting to her pack. Her family. Clenching her fists she took in a steadying breath. She could take him, right?

Peeking around the tree again she watched him dig at the metal door. Suddenly, as if he had sensed her watching him, he looked up. As they locked onto each others gazes she felt her heart skip a beat. Those green eyes grew dark and suddenly she forgot herself. She could hear his voice in her head, telling her to shift. Commanding it.

Trembling legs stumbled backwards as he moved toward her, his mouth opening to reveal sharp teeth rotted with blood and grime. She shook her head, trying to replace the strength she had felt when Kane was with her. Where was the brave girl that had saved Hazel's daughter, or escaped that damned pack in the first place?

His form shook and before her eyes he took on the shape of a man. That grimy smile spread from ear to ear as she moved back another step.

"Now I see why he wanted to come here, so far away from the camp. Here she is, the slut that got away."

The way he moved toward her, his confidence, made her stomach churn.

"Don't come near me."

His grin fell into an angry mask that promised pain.

"You think you can stop me? How many times have I had you, hmm? Just shut your mouth and kneel girl."

Her fingernails sharpened with his every word, her teeth like razors behind her lips. The wolf within was begging to come to the surface. As he closed the distance between them she felt her bones cracking, but her mind still refused to relinquish control. Her fear of the past was nailing her into this flesh covered coffin.

"I said stop!"

Suddenly she was tackling him to the ground, stabbing her claws into his chest over and over again. If she couldn't take the form of her wolf then she would kill him like this. All the times he held her down. For the times he watched as others in the pack raped her and beat her black and blue. The Hell she suffered through, for his entertainment.

"Why won't you stop? Just stop!"

Tears ran down her cheeks as her claws dug deeper into his flesh. His heart, she could see his heart. He tried to grab her, but her mouth lashed out to stop him. Those sharp teeth tore straight through his arms, leaving him defenseless and slowly bleeding out. It wasn't enough. What if he healed? He could come back for her. He could take her again. What if he lived?

"Stop!"

She reached into his chest and ripped out his still beating heart, those dark eyes going wide. His mouth fell open, blood spilling out as she looked toward the warm organ. When it stopped beating she felt suddenly light headed.

What had she done? Looking down at him she felt her own heart stutter. He was dead. Who had done this? It couldn't have been her. What kind of a monster...

A howl ripped through the trees and suddenly she was dropping the heart and frantically trying to stand. Covered in his blood she remembered biting his arms to pieces, her faced smeared with the crimson poison. That made her stomach churn. Running to the closest tree she fell to her knees and released the contents of her belly.

Trembling, she wiped her mouth with a hand. The blood soaking her fingers smeared across her lips. In a haze she began to wipe the liquid death onto her dress, the blue fabric now caked in it. What was she doing? Her heart was racing as she stood, only to be faced with the body of her victim. She had done it.

She killed him. Shouldn't she feel happy? Free? No, she felt sick. The reality was hitting her in the face like a cold wind. She had gone too far this time. It felt like a piece of her had fallen into its rightful place, a dark void within her being. A murderous desire to end all of them. Every man that had ever hurt her.

She knelt on the ground, hands trembling and heart racing. Another howl claimed the night and suddenly she felt his warm breath on her back. He was looking toward the carcass, she knew it. She felt his surprise, his worry. When he nudged her shoulder with his nose she wanted to turn to him, but she couldn't.

In the next moment he was in front of her, kneeling in his human form. His hands rested on either side of her face, but when their eyes met he knew she wasn't with him. Those silver irises were far away, and her skin felt chilled. He ran his thumb over her blood smeared lip.

"I asked him to stop."

That small voice, so different from the happy tone he was use to hearing from her recently. It made him want to kill everyone that ever hurt her. This one though, was already dead. She made sure of that. He was proud of her, but also worried. He knew she wasn't use to hunting, to killing. Even to protect herself she had gone too far within her own mind. He would've done far worse to the man had he found him first.

"I begged him to stop."

Tears filled those silver eyes, his black as night as more of the pack moved in around them. Jeremiah and Keith moved to clear the body, but as soon as they tried to touch him Dawn scrambled to her feet.

"No!"

She ran to stand between them and the fallen shifter. Kane stood, watching her close as the men stepped back and looked to him for a command. Why was she protecting the trespasser she had just killed? What was going through her mind? He felt it, her ever growing fear was limitless.

"Dawn, we're just going to move him. He can't stay here."

Shaking her head she looked toward the corpse, keeping her distance even as she blocked them all.

"If he heals he'll hurt you. All of you. If he...he's still alive he'll come back from whatever grave you bury him in. He never dies."

Her hands moved into her hair, where blood was already drying into her curls.

"It's my fault. I told him to stop and now he's going to come for all of us. He won't stop and now..."

Keith and Jeremiah backed off as Kane moved in. He stepped past her and just as she moved to grab him he took a hold of the dead bastard's hair. In front of his mate he ripped the head clean off the shifter's still shoulders, blood spraying everywhere as he tossed it aside. Turning to face her he locked onto Dawn as if no one else existed. His hands soothed her soul as he rested them on her hips, his forehead gently touching her own.

"My goddess. No one will ever hurt you again. I won't allow it."

Green sparkled in the depths of her eyes as he pulled her back to reality. Kane was here with her. No one was hurt. The shifter wouldn't hurt anyone ever again.

"Kane?"

He leaned back, her eyes emerald green as he looked over her face. She was back, his sweet woman. His hand moved up to her face, her head tilting to the side to rest in his palm as the men moved around them to clear the body. She was ok. This too would pass.

His only worry now was the fact that this wasn't the only shifter. There had been two others and they had caught one of them. The other was still out there. If she knew this one it was almost inevitable that she would know at least one of the others.

If she reacted this badly with this one, how would she handle the others? Could he protect her from ever seeing them? It wasn't something he felt too lucky banking on. She would need to know, if only to make sure she was ready and willing to protect herself if need be. First he needed to get her home and have Magdelynn look over her.

Then they needed to talk, because it was happening sooner than he thought it would. Soon she would be defenseless. Almost human.