{"id":2853,"date":"2022-04-29T10:29:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T14:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=2853"},"modified":"2022-04-29T10:29:35","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T14:29:35","slug":"rogue-moon-first-chapters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=2853","title":{"rendered":"Rogue Moon first chapters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caution: Spoilers for Full Moon Saloon<\/a> ahead! If you haven’t already read Kira’s first adventure, check that out then come back here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Still reading? Okay, here goes….<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"Rogue<\/a>The tug of the full moon slapped me in the face with all the finesse of a stinky locker-room towel. Bar-interior dimness brightened as my pupils dilated. Hubbub faded as my attention laser-focused on the man serving pints half a room away.<\/p>\n

Not just any man. If Thom ever wanted a break from his current gig as bar owner, he could make a go of it as a pinup model. After all, the muscles of his forearms were dreamily displayed by rolled-up flannel shirt sleeves. The rest of him was equally super-sized, but bulk didn\u2019t equate to slowness. Instead, Thom crossed the room with all the speed and agility of what he also was\u2014an alpha werewolf.<\/p>\n

I hummed, fingers settling on the medallion between my breasts as I licked my lips. And\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cOut.<\/i>\u201d Thom shoved the man on the neighboring bar stool away from me. The guy\u2014a human\u2014uttered only one complaining syllable before he took a look at Thom\u2019s face, changed his mind, and yanked out his wallet with shaking fingers instead.<\/p>\n

Smart man. Obey the alpha werewolf. Give him space so he could wrap himself around my skin and.\u2026<\/p>\n

I snorted displeasure as an annoyingly familiar human woman joined our threesome. Subsided as she did what her role as pack hanger-on mandated\u2014she moved the non-pack male along.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the house. Here, let me get you a doggy bag for the road. Do you like burgers? Fries? How about pie? We have lemon meringue and cherry.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t bother watching Thom\u2019s employee soothe the evicted human as she drew him away from us. Because Thom was in my personal space now, finally and fully. He\u2019d settled onto the vacated bar stool, jeans-clad thighs splaying wide as he encompassed me in his alpha musk.<\/p>\n

\u201cKira. Look at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

I hummed again. Thom didn\u2019t have to ask for my attention. In fact, I thought it might be time for us to do more than look.<\/p>\n

Would his stubbled jaw feel as roughly enticing as it appeared from a distance? If I reached out to test the terrain, would he open his lips and take my finger into his mouth?<\/p>\n

My hand didn\u2019t complete its journey, unfortunately. Instead, a hot fist manacled my wrist as Thom barked. \u201cBertrand. Get over here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A suited shadow blocked the light. \u201cI can\u2019t see why you two don\u2019t just seal the deal. You\u2019re into her. She\u2019s into you. I\u2019m sick of playing chaperone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think this is ordinary behavior?\u201d Thom\u2019s voice was so deep it vibrated his hand and my arm along with it. I leaned in closer, or tried to. His muscles flexed as he fended off my advance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess not,\u201d the other man said after a moment. He cocked his head, snapping his fingers in front of my face then jerking them away as I clicked my teeth together irritably. \u201cKira. Focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

I hissed. Suit dude wasn\u2019t the man I wanted. If I shifted, my needle-sharp teeth would make him think again about addressing me while I was busy.<\/p>\n

I craved the alpha. I needed.\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cHey, hey, hey, hey. Not here.\u201d The unwanted man had his hands on my shoulders now. And Thom was gone, moving so fast I\u2019d missed his exit. Dimly, in the distance, I heard the deep rumble of his voice:<\/p>\n

\u201cBar\u2019s closing. Family emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feet shuffled toward the exit, which was irrelevant. What was relevant was Thom\u2019s distance from my aching center. I could barely smell him. The loss hollowed out my core.<\/p>\n

I yanked against my jailer\u2019s grip, but it was as firm as his alpha\u2019s had been. My voice rose into a yodel as I flung myself from side to side.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to hurt herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the woman. The woman who\u2019d crept closer to Thom than I was. How dared<\/i> she?<\/p>\n

I lashed out, fingernails turning into claws as fur rose on a dwindling body. Soon I was smaller than all of them, approximately the size of a well-fed tomcat.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t a tomcat, though. I was a fox. And that grip on my shoulders after one fast wriggle? Gone. Their ability to catch me as I slipped through grasping fingers? A joke.<\/p>\n

Now it was my turn to take control. First order of business: the woman was going down.<\/p>\n

Except I wasn\u2019t the only four-legger in the bar. I skidded to a halt in front of a wolf who\u2019d planted himself between me and the woman. A tie dangled from his neck and suit pants slid off his rump.<\/p>\n

Which should have been humorous, but the wolf\u2019s size wasn\u2019t funny. His raised ruff radiated menace. The shadows beneath his legs were large enough to swallow me up.<\/p>\n

Not that I intended to hide myself. Not between his<\/i> legs. I\u2019d gotten turned away from my target, but now I realigned myself. The alpha.<\/i> He was still in human form, which was good. Shortly, I\u2019d be human again, and naked. It wouldn\u2019t take much effort to rip his clothes off as well.<\/p>\n

Well, the belt might present a challenge since my brain was oddly muzzy. He could take care of that part. I took a step\u2026<\/p>\n

…and something soft and warm dropped over my nose and back. Enveloped me just like I wanted Thom\u2019s arms to do.<\/p>\n

But this wasn\u2019t arms and it didn\u2019t smell like alpha.<\/p>\n

I spat and hissed, but the bindings just pulled tighter. Then the woman\u2014I could smell her\u2014scooped me up. The swaddling fabric that stunk of her man resisted the tearing of my claws.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive her to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment, cool air pressed through cloth bindings, then the warmth of body contact rekindled. I was no longer restrained by the woman. Instead, I\u2019d found the arms of the alpha, my goal from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d This was suit dude, returned from wolf form to question his alpha.<\/p>\n

I growled. You didn\u2019t question<\/i> an alpha. You obeyed him. Lay beneath him. Let him pet you until you shattered from pure pleasure and delight.<\/p>\n

Like I wanted to. Hadn\u2019t yet but would soon, unless.\u2026<\/p>\n

A distant memory of Thom\u2019s months-old explanation<\/span><\/span><\/span> filtered through the moon craze. \u201cThe Faris curse,\u201d<\/i> he\u2019d confided. \u201cSingle parents going back at least three generations. I\u201d<\/i>\u2014he\u2019d cleared his throat\u2014\u201cneed a committed relationship before I\u2019m willing to be intimate.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Now I was the one who shook my head, whipping<\/span><\/span><\/span> irrelevant human words away and fragments of the past along with them. I wanted Thom and I\u2019d smelled how much the alpha wanted me. It was time for us both to take.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on,\u201d Thom answered suit dude, his voice slightly choked. Could he smell my arousal the same way I smelled his presence? If so, he knew I craved his skin slicking my skin. He knew.\u2026<\/p>\n

Thom took a step backwards, his voice hardening as he shared our private business with those irrelevant to us. \u201cTwo months ago, it started with flirtation. Last full moon, Kira wasn\u2019t herself, but she held it together. Tonight….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought moon phases didn\u2019t impact werewolves.\u201d This was the woman. Why was she still so close to my alpha?<\/p>\n

I struggled and Thom\u2019s hand settled on my nape, caressing me through the fabric. My muscles eased.<\/p>\n

Yes, he\u2019d take me to bed shortly. I could wait a moment while he addressed annoying pack members, sent them away and won privacy for our tryst.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoon phases are<\/i> irrelevant to us,\u201d Thom confirmed, his rumble like a rocking boat lulling my senses into somnolence. \u201cShouldn\u2019t impact kitsunes either. Something\u2019s wrong, and I intend to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other male snorted then muttered, \u201cGood luck with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bChapter 2<\/h1>\n

I woke to a pounding head, Pumpkin on my chest, and Charlie\u2019s face inches from my eyeballs. \u201cRise and shine!\u201d<\/p>\n

For several seconds, I blinked confusion. Had the craziness of last night merely been a stress dream? The evidence seemed to suggest as much. Because here I was with my entirely human housemate along with Thom\u2019s cat who slipped in to sleep with me every night before wandering back to the bar to be fed by his real owner. Meanwhile, the light\u2014or lack thereof\u2014pointed to this being just another ordinary January morning.<\/p>\n

So why did my fingertips throb as if I\u2019d used them in an attempt to rip away bindings? Why, as I sat up from a couch that released me reluctantly, did a quilt crumple to the floor and cold air slap my naked stomach and thighs?<\/p>\n

Because that stress dream had been reality, despite the fact I had no explanation for my out-of-character behavior. It had been reality that faded into darkness after Bertrand and Dixie Lee left me and Thom alone in the Full Moon Saloon.<\/p>\n

Well, alone except for my moon-crazed refusal to abide by Thom\u2019s relationship line in the sand. My head fell into my hands. \u201cOh shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before I could indulge in full-on hysterics, a fried-egg sandwich nudged its way into my view field. The offering wiggled as Charlie misunderstood the reason for my distress.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, you overslept, and on the lumpy couch instead of in your bed. We all drink too much sometimes. Or were you feeling foxy? Whatever. Eat and you\u2019ll feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n

My lips quirked at Charlie\u2019s mothering, humor cradling me for one split second until my hand rose to the empty spot where Thom\u2019s medallion should have hung at my throat. The jewelry<\/span><\/span><\/span> was missing, just like my clothes. Missing…along with the bond it implied?<\/p>\n

Eating abruptly felt impossible. I drew the discarded quilt up over me instead, an action Charlie\u2019s keen eye didn\u2019t miss. \u201cHey, you don\u2019t have to cover up on my account. Casual nudity. Shifters. I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve come a long way since last fall,\u201d I murmured, hugging the quilt a little tighter and hoping it would warm the cold hole in my belly.<\/p>\n

\u201cShifters. Magic.\u201d Charlie shrugged. \u201cOnce I accepted that the majority of the human body is made up of empty spaces between electrons, everything else was a breeze. Now eat.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

The trouble was, the cut egg yolk oozing out of my half of the sandwich was precisely the texture of semen. I had an abrupt urge to hit the bathroom and peer at my thighs in search of crusted substances. Because if Thom and I had broken our friends-only agreement…well, he might never forgive me.<\/p>\n

\u201cKira. Food. I mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie wasn\u2019t going to let the matter slide. So I forced myself to pick up her gift, allowing the awfulness to drip onto the plate while I contemplated bringing it to my lips.<\/p>\n

A bite was beyond me, but a word wasn\u2019t. \u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, apparently that was enough for Charlie because she took a deep breath then spoke a little too fast. \u201cSo…Jessie\u2019s coming to visit this weekend. She\u2019s bringing the whole family. You good with that?\u201d<\/p>\n

My eyebrows shot up, the question marks of last night fading for one split second. I hadn\u2019t seen Charlie\u2019s twin since college. Hadn\u2019t seen Jessie\u2019s husband either, which was very understandable since Ito was the reason the Raven girls and I had lost touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Ito willing to see me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not un<\/i>willing,\u201d Charlie prevaricated, polishing off the last of her sandwich then licking crumbs off her fingers. A dab of yolk on the corner of her mouth made my gorge rise. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t blame you for not being able to find his brother, you know. You and Thom pulled out all the stops, uncovered everything there was to uncover. The trail is simply cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

While true, my recent failure to track down Charlie\u2019s sister\u2019s husband\u2019s brother\u2014and, yes, I knew how convoluted that sounded\u2014only layered on top of Ito\u2019s and my ancient history. History that culminated with my sister using his brother to fuel a spell that locked Kaito in a coma for over a decade. No wonder Kaito had fled after waking up three months ago, completely disappearing off the face of the earth.<\/p>\n

Whatever Charlie said, given the fact that all my efforts to track down Kaito turned up goose eggs, I didn\u2019t expect Ito to be keen on seeing me tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I should make myself scarce,\u201d I offered, letting my half of the breakfast sandwich drift back down to the plate.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Charlie was halfway across the room now, pulling on her coat, hat, and gloves. \u201cI want you here. It\u2019ll be fine. Oh, and Thom asked me to give you this.\u201d<\/p>\n

My cell phone tumbled through the air between us. The phone…but no medallion.<\/p>\n

I must have winced because Charlie breezed back over to pat me on the head the same way she used to when I was the younger tagalong to her two-sister posse. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about my brother-in-law. Ito is a teddy bear. Once you two spend a little time together, you\u2019ll be BFFs.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d actually forgotten about Ito already. And about the fact that Charlie\u2019s sister\u2019s visit wasn\u2019t the only thing my housemate had wanted to discuss with me. I forced my voice to brighten. \u201cYou said we had two things to talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie considered me for a moment, then she shook her head. \u201cLater. Don\u2019t want to make us both late for work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bChapter 3<\/h1>\n

I wasn\u2019t late for work, but only because I lacked a permanent job. I did have a login to an app from a temp agency, though, one that offered the best gigs to the earliest applicants to rise.<\/p>\n

It was already half an hour past my usual check-in time, but I headed for my personal messages first. And there, at the top of my notifications, was a text from Thom.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing happened.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

My breath whooshed out in what was only half relief. Nothing happened…because Thom had stood firm against my wild advances? Because he\u2019d brought me home and, what, sedated me?<\/p>\n

And if nothing had happened, why hadn\u2019t his mother\u2019s medallion been sent back to me along with my phone?<\/p>\n

Just like Charlie\u2019s aborted conversation, Thom and I would need to talk at some point. But, right now, retreating ice beneath my skin turned that drippy egg yolk back into food I was ravenous for. I wolfed it down while opening up the temping app.<\/p>\n

The best jobs went to the early birds and I\u2019d overslept. Which is how, three hours later, I came to be standing on a cold street corner dressed like a slice of pizza while twirling a saucer of fabric that was supposed to look like dough over my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelicious pizza! Get your slice here!\u201d<\/p>\n

A couple of teenage boys walked past, snickering into their fists. \u201cI\u2019d like a slice of that,\u201d one said just loudly enough that even a human would have overheard him.<\/p>\n

I ignored the commentary and focused on the lines I\u2019d been given. \u201cHot and ready! Deep dish!\u201d<\/p>\n

The next laugh was feminine, familiar…and behind me where no one should have been.<\/p>\n

I spun on feet that weren\u2019t as fleet as usual when bogged down by the non-bending crust of the pizza costume. My star ball\u2014the magic that let me turn into a fox or materialize pointy as well as non-pointy objects\u2014tingled at my fingertips, but I didn\u2019t dare pull a weapon out of thin air at the moment. Not here among humans. Not in front of someone who had been known to put non-shifters to death for seeing things they shouldn\u2019t see.<\/p>\n

Instead, I greeted the woman who used to employ me with her name only. \u201cScarlet.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

When I\u2019d seen her last, my ex-boss had been vanquished but not downtrodden. She\u2019d tossed warnings back over her shoulder at me and Thom. Warnings that had teeth as sharp as any werewolf\u2019s. Specifically, she\u2019d sworn to gather more alphas to defeat us if we didn\u2019t keep the magic of Gate City under wraps.<\/p>\n

But the fox skull in the Full Moon Saloon\u2019s crawl space was locked away beneath a newly formed trapdoor only Thom and I were aware of. The drama of a werewolf battle on city streets had faded as those not in the know accepted Thom\u2019s reimagining of events.<\/p>\n

Noses were clean. Scarlet had no reason to track me down. So I twirled my pizza with only a small twinge of trepidation while demanding:<\/span><\/span><\/span> \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

My ex-boss<\/span><\/span><\/span> graced me with a smile that didn\u2019t reach her eyes. \u201cI\u2019m here about<\/span><\/span><\/span> your darling niece.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dough splatted onto the sidewalk. \u201cChipmunk? What\u2019s wrong with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSniffles. A cough. I hear she cries half the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now my star ball was a stiletto. A knife small and thin enough not to be obvious to passersby, but wickedly sharp anyway as it dug into the skin above Scarlet\u2019s left kidney. Rather than threatening with words, I released a vulpine growl.<\/p>\n

Scarlet merely laughed. \u201cRelax. I saw the baby when I asked your sister for a favor. She turned me down, so I\u2019ve come to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I snorted. If Mai didn\u2019t want to assist Scarlet, I didn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n

Still, the fastest way to get rid of Scarlet likely involved hearing her out. \u201cI\u2019m listening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, she didn\u2019t tell me what she wanted immediately. Instead, she tried to reel me in first. \u201cI\u2019m in a bind that requires a kitsune and you have a hankering to meet your sister\u2019s newborn. Make a deal with me and we can both get what we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

The knife sagged for one split second. I wanted that. I wanted that badly.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t happening. Pressing the weapon back into place, I shook my head. \u201cLet me guess. You\u2019re asking me to drink a werewolf\u2019s blood on video and turn into a pariah while nearly bringing my family down with me. Oh, wait, that happened already. What else do you have planned?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take things so personally. Last fall was only business.\u201d<\/p>\n

I dropped my voice as I let the knife dig in deeper. \u201cMurdering an innocent was only business?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was meat. Irrelevant.\u201d Rather than taking evasive action against my very tangible threat, Scarlet flicked a speck of invisible dust off the sleeve of her silk blouse. \u201cDo you want to be back in the packs\u2019 good graces or don\u2019t you? This is your path home.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I did want that, darn Scarlet anyway. I wanted to be able to see my niece in the flesh, rather than through a phone screen. I wanted to be able to smell her and hold her and have her understand I was present in a way she couldn\u2019t via video chat.<\/p>\n

I wanted all that…and at the same time I wanted to make sure my sister\u2019s family remained safe. That my mistakes in the past didn\u2019t color Chipmunk\u2019s future. That angry werewolves didn\u2019t invade the Fairwood territory to take out what many considered to be a threat.<\/p>\n

Kitsunes. Our reputation for danger had doubled after I drank the blood of three alphas and forced them to do my bidding. Oops.<\/i><\/p>\n

I stood by my decisions last fall, especially the one where I\u2019d broken off official ties with my sister so my actions wouldn\u2019t blow back on her. It was why I hadn\u2019t been present for the birth of her daughter. It was why I was trying to make a place for myself in Gate City, even though half the werewolves there didn\u2019t trust me and their alpha now likely considered me a loose cannon with a lit fuse.<\/p>\n

Despite the awkwardness of last night, the thought of Thom settled me. What would he say in the face of Scarlet\u2019s insidious offer?<\/p>\n

Words that tasted like Thom rolled off my tongue easily. \u201cI\u2019d need assurances this time. That I\u2019m acting in an official Lawkeeper capacity. That what I do is entirely aboveboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because that was the clincher. Scarlet had tricked me twice already. A third attempt at trickery was\u2014as Charlie would have said\u2014a statistical likelihood. I\u2019d be an idiot to ignore that fact.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, my ex-boss\u2019s lips pursed. \u201cWell, that\u2019s the trouble. It won\u2019t be aboveboard. You\u2019ll be hunting on the land of one of the alphas whose blood you drank and who has no wish to see you living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her words wound around me like slithering snakes as she continued. \u201cBut if you catch the fox who\u2019s wreaking havoc, I give you my word I will do everything in my power to polish your reputation so you can safely go home to your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her words reeked of truth.<\/p>\n

\u200bChapter 4<\/h1>\n

I was going to do it, or at least I was going to stick my nose into the problem and hope to come out better than I\u2019d started. I knew that even as I snapped back at Scarlet. \u201cI\u2019m surprised you don\u2019t think Mai and I are responsible for whatever\u2019s happened.\u201d We were, after all, the only known kitsunes in the United States who weren\u2019t currently stuck in the form of a fox.<\/p>\n

And even though my tone had been as sharp-edged as the blade I still pressed into her side, Scarlet\u2019s scent sweetened. She knew she had me. \u201cWell, I would have made that assumption if the fox had been female.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curiosity tugged words from my lips before I could edit them. \u201cThat makes no sense. Kitsunes are always female.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t bother to expand on the information, to tell Scarlet what became of the sons and cousins of fox shifters. Traditionally, male relatives were turned over to a different kitsune mistress to form her honor guard, boosting her magic<\/span><\/span><\/span> with their mindless devotion. So, yes, in their own way, males were powerful. But they didn\u2019t shift into fox form.<\/p>\n

Of course, mentioning that semi-parasitic relationship to Scarlet was bound to turn me into even more of a dangerous outsider. I winced and Scarlet noticed because her eyes glinted.<\/p>\n

She stuck to the point, however, when she answered. \u201cThat was my understanding also. But this fox? He was male.\u201d<\/p>\n

Male and, as I learned when Scarlet added more details, performing some sort of ritual in the Reed pack\u2019s territory. Once a month, on the night of the full moon.<\/p>\n

My breath must have caught at that point because Scarlet\u2019s eyes narrowed again. \u201cYou know something about this already.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d I didn\u2019t know<\/i> anything. But I was drawing conclusions about the strange obsession that had come over me at the exact same time this male fox trespassed. And, perhaps, about Kaito, woken from his coma then disappearing off the radar a short time before the first tug at my libido that just happened to coincide with the November full moon.<\/p>\n

If the fox in question was Kaito…. Well, any information Scarlet had would help me figure out how to approach the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou say he\u2019s male,\u201d I pressed, \u201cso you\u2019ve seen this fox. Why didn\u2019t you deal with him already?\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time, Scarlet showed signs of agitation. Her foot tapped. Her muscles stiffened. She wasn\u2019t lying, just unhappy with what she was about to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t see him,\u201d she admitted after a pause. \u201cWe smelled him. The Reed alpha found his trail after the first incursion, patrolled and prepared then somehow ended up running in circles during the second full moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they called in the Lawkeepers,\u201d I guessed.<\/p>\n

Scarlet nodded, a sharp jerk of her chin. \u201cLast night, I was ready for anything. I had two wolves with me as backup. And all three of us ended up falling asleep in the forest, waking to the scent of an absent fox.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inhaling deeply, I let my knife seep back into my fingers. The danger from Scarlet was no less, but it wasn\u2019t imminent. Instead, peril hung on the fine line I intended to walk.<\/p>\n

Because I wasn\u2019t about to turn Charlie against me. My human friend loved her brother-in-law and that brother-in-law loved Kaito.<\/p>\n

But if Kaito was manipulating my emotions, I needed to stop him. To help him find another way to achieve whatever desperate end he was working toward.<\/p>\n

Teaming up with Scarlet, however temporarily, might achieve that effect.<\/p>\n

A shout from behind us interrupted my thought processes. \u201cHey!\u201d My boss for the day, a plump woman with a drill sergeant\u2019s voice, had burst out of her restaurant\u2019s door and stood with her hands on her hips, glaring. \u201cMore tossing, less gabbing!\u201d<\/p>\n

And it turned out I didn\u2019t need to make my case because Scarlet\u2019s smile was almost feline. \u201cYou have twenty-eight days to find this fox,\u201d she told me. \u201cHe needs to be caught before the next full moon. Miss this window and my offer is void.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I could have gone hunting alone in an enemy werewolf\u2019s territory, or I could have left my shift early and headed to Gate City to ask Thom for help in person. Instead, I took the middle road and texted him my plans.<\/p>\n

Thom\u2019s reply was quick and helpful. He wasn\u2019t keen on the idea, but if I was going he was going. He was willing to strategize and even offered a GPS address at the edge of his territory, one that appeared to represent a place where we could park cars on Gate City turf and keep our trespassing to the bare minimum.<\/p>\n

What he didn\u2019t mention was anything more about yesterday. Nor did he clue me in that he planned to invite the entire pack.<\/p>\n

Which is why I slammed on my brakes as I drove down the isolated forest-service road expecting Thom\u2019s truck to be the only one in the pull-off and found a dozen vehicles crammed along the verge instead. Men of all ages were stripping, breath pluming in front of headlights but shivers irrelevant since fur was quickly forthcoming. Half were four-footed already, chasing each other through the trees in werewolf joy at running wild. The rest were well on their way to lupine form.<\/p>\n

Except me, Thom, and the shifter who\u2019d apparently left his only family member<\/span><\/span><\/span> behind in Gate City.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat part of all hands on deck sounded optional to you?\u201d Thom demanded, his voice both firm and commanding<\/span><\/span><\/span>. Raised by a human father, Thom had been a reluctant alpha. Now, though, his newfound combination of power and control drew me in closer. It wasn\u2019t the moon this time that made my eyes soak up his form as if he was water in the desert. It wasn\u2019t the moon, so I managed to keep my thoughts to myself.<\/p>\n

Still I advanced. And as I did, I noted the moment my scent invaded Thom\u2019s nostrils. Saw his eyes flick toward me then away again.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t spare me any words however. Not even a carefully weighted admonition like the one he\u2019d lowered on his underling. I flinched. Clearly, even though he said nothing had happened, Thom wasn\u2019t over last night.<\/p>\n

The urge to clear the air with words was nearly overwhelming, but this<\/span><\/span><\/span> was very much not the time or place. Especially since the shifter Thom had addressed was muttering a half-hearted explanation. \u201cKid wasn\u2019t feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an effort, I transferred my gaze from Thom to Hank, taking in as much of the latter as I could with his ever-present cowboy hat blocking moonlight from his features. Even without a view of the shifter\u2019s face, I could sense his recalcitrance. Saw it in the way his square chin turned away from his alpha. Smelled it in the acrid scent that lingered in the air.<\/p>\n

That resistance to Thom\u2019s orders was odd coming from a shifter who acted as a dependable protector to his decade-younger brother. By lone wolf standards and despite being only in his early twenties, Hank was a solid family man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that you want to protect him,\u201d Thom answered, his thoughts likely following a similar path to mine. \u201cBut your brother is old enough to shift and he\u2019s part of this pack. I want him here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proper response would have been an apology or at least an explanation. Instead, Hank shrugged. \u201cToo late now. Kid\u2019s in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

He punctuated his statement by spitting on the ground in<\/span><\/span><\/span> a mild act of insolence. The stream of fluid, I noted, was aimed well clear of his alpha.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Hank hadn\u2019t counted on my proximity. Perhaps hadn\u2019t smelled me the way Thom had.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reason, liquid splattered against the boots I\u2019d drawn back on after shedding my pizza costume. Thom\u2019s scent turned dark and dangerous as his fists clenched.<\/p>\n

\u200bChapter 5<\/h1>\n

Up until the spit hit my boots, it had appeared that all other werewolves were busy kicking up their heels and reveling in their fur forms. But every action in the pack<\/span><\/span><\/span> revolved around Thom. Even the most hardcore frolickers kept one eye tuned to their alpha as they played.<\/p>\n

No wonder silence and stillness settled on the gathering like dust after an explosion. The only sound came from a single werewolf caught midshift who seemed to be afraid to move backward to humanity or forward to fur form. The stuck shifter\u2019s pain nipped at my nostrils while his lupine hind legs scratched uncontrollably against the earth.<\/p>\n

Despite being able to smell the issue as well as I could, Thom did nothing. Well, nothing other than loom and glower like the alpha he\u2019d become over the last three months.<\/p>\n

No wonder Hank\u2019s cowboy hat bowed down in apology. \u201cForgive me, Chief Faris.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thom didn\u2019t absolve him, but he didn\u2019t attack either. Instead, he made a sound in the back of his throat that could have been acceptance if that\u2019s what you were listening for, then he turned away to strip alongside the rest of his pack.<\/p>\n

And I stripped too. Stripped and shifted, not to wolf but to fox form.<\/p>\n

Fox with a magical backpack created out of my star ball. Because I wasn\u2019t about to trespass without tools.<\/p>\n

In this case, I chose to bring along my cell phone plus a vial of stolen werewolf blood that would hopefully keep the Reed alpha in line if we came face to face with him. I\u2019d used the blood once before, last fall, to force invaders out of Thom\u2019s territory. If I had to, I\u2019d drink another sip and force Chief Reed to let our pack go today.<\/p>\n

Even though my entire purpose in materializing the backpack was to protect us<\/span><\/span><\/span>, Thom\u2019s wolves still shied away from the luminous evidence of my difference. Teeth bared, they put space between themselves and the glowing star-ball magic. Their larger size was daunting in moonlight.<\/p>\n

But there was no time to be daunted. Not when Thom was drawing us all into the darkness of tree cover. The pack avoided me at first, then accepted matters and enfolded me. Behind us, one by one, shifters left in charge of idling vehicles winked their headlights out.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I once read that wild wolf territories contain unused spaces running the length of boundaries, the no man\u2019s land meant to prevent bloody battles. But werewolves are half-human with the two-legger urge to mark the exact edges of their property. No wonder I smelled piss on both sides as we leapt one by one over the line that separated Thom\u2019s land from the domain of the Reed pack.<\/p>\n

Now we were trespassing, silent save for frost crunching beneath our paws as we pressed deeper into Reed territory. In our planning texts, the ones where Thom had neglected to mention he was bringing along the entire pack plus a bad attitude, I\u2019d suggested that he howl and draw the patrols away so I could sleuth solo. But he\u2019d rejected that plan, wanting any discovery of our presence to appear organic. Now, we slowed our footfalls and spread out into a looser wedge, the better to be stumbled across.<\/p>\n

Then I smelled it. The first hint of fox scent suggesting Scarlet hadn\u2019t been playing with me. Scent not just vulpine but also undeniably male.<\/i><\/p>\n

And now that I\u2019d had time to digest Scarlet\u2019s bombshell, maybe the presumed impossibility made sense after all. Yes, it was true that, unlike werewolves, kitsunes were always female while male relatives donated their latent magic to a mistress. They had no ability to form a star ball or to shift, but wouldn\u2019t those males still smell a little foxy? Especially if they were performing a magical ritual, one that might or might not have forced me to make a fool of myself last night.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reason, I smelled a male fox now. I couldn\u2019t tell if this was<\/span><\/span><\/span> Kaito, but I intended to follow that scent trail and discover what lay at the end of it regardless. Veering away from Thom and his pack mates, I leapt onto a fallen tree and used it to bypass a tangle of thorns and brush.<\/p>\n

The fox scent beneath my feet was fresher than the wolf urine at the boundary, suggesting whoever I smelled was actively walking through the forest right at this moment. Which was a good thing. Maybe we could nab Kaito and be back at the cars before our presence was noted. Perhaps it would be simple to talk him out of whatever he was doing, simple enough that I could set Scarlet\u2019s mind at ease without handing Kaito over to the Lawkeepers.<\/p>\n

A howl rose from behind me. Another, then a sharp bark of warning.<\/p>\n

No such luck.<\/p>\n

Keep reading on the retailer of your choice….<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caution: Spoilers for Full Moon Saloon ahead! If you haven’t already read Kira’s first adventure, check that out then come back here. Still reading? Okay, here goes…. *** The tug of the full moon slapped me in the face with all the finesse of a stinky locker-room towel. Bar-interior dimness brightened as my pupils dilated. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,162],"tags":[151,14,7,27,23,8],"class_list":["post-2853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excerpts-aimee-easterling","category-series-kira-fairwood","tag-kitsune","tag-paranormal-books","tag-shifter-books","tag-urban-fantasy-books","tag-urban-paranormal-romantic-fantasy","tag-werewolf-books","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2853"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2855,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2853\/revisions\/2855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}