Deny the Moon

  *****

  Frank

  He knew he shouldn’t stay too much longer. Once the cop snapped out of it, they’d be combing the area for him, but Frank needed to see her first. He needed to know he’d been right to do it.

  Blue and red danced across the side of the ramshackle building, illuminating the door. Would they be bringing out Harley, or would they be bringing out a body bag? Impatience gnawed at him as he waited.

  Come on, Harley, he thought. I know you’re too damn stubborn to die on me now.

  But what if he was wrong? He’d made her life hell, but not everything was for his own twisted amusement. Would she see it now that her eyes had been opened? Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise Frank if she died from her injuries just to spite him.

  Pain-in-the-ass woman.

  It took every ounce of will he had left to leave her there, freshly bitten, bleeding, and tip-toeing across death’s door. He should have been by her side as the curse spread inside her, been there when she woke up. This wasn’t the way this should have gone down, but if he hadn’t left he’d have ended up having to kill the cop. If that happened, he’d lose his hold over her. He’d lose her…

  A low, disgruntled growl rolled through his elongated teeth. Nah. That bitch thinks she can ditch me? She’ll seek me out before her shift. I guaran-fucking-tee it.

  Movement just inside the building pushed Frank’s thoughts aside for the moment. His claws dug into the tree trunk next to him as he squeezed it, watching anxiously as they wheeled out the stretcher.

  When he saw her beautiful, heart-shaped face instead of a zipped-up black sack or white sheet, the iron band squeezing his heart eased up. He kept a bead on them as they rolled her into the back of the waiting ambulance and hooked her up to an I.V. They wouldn’t bother if she weren’t alive.

  For just a moment, Frank let himself feel the relief spilling out of him. She was still alive. He knew she could handle it.

  There was always a chance that someone wouldn’t survive a bite. The fever that quickly overcame them would sometimes be too much for their bodies to take, or if a wolf wasn’t careful when biting, they could do too much damage and cause the person to bleed out. Healing on Frank’s level didn’t occur until after the first shift.

  When the doors to the ambulance closed, Frank sank back further into the brush. The detective was leaning against the building, huddled in on himself as he spoke with other officers. They were too far for even Frank to pick up on their conversation, but he knew the gist of what was to come.

  The trees would only hide him for the moment, until the police began to pour into them in search of the monster their detective would no doubt tell them about. Whether or not they believed his wild claims, they were beat cops and he outranked them. So they would follow orders.

  He hoped the cop would remember the warning he gave him after Harley had passed out. Though the animal in him had wanted to rip the man apart as he ran to her and put his grubby mitts all over her to check her vitals, he’d quelled the urge for the moment.

  "Remember what she just did for you," he’d warned before slipping out the back door.

  It was the only recompense Frank could give Harley. Hopefully, should the detective ever feel the need to come after her, he would remember that he was indebted to her. Who knew when that very fact could come in handy for him, as well?