Chasing The Moon by Loribelle Hunt Read Free Book Online

needed it, she knew where to go.
    The shift dragged on through the evening, and she gratefully punched out at midnight. The drive to the small house she shared with Wyatt was short, and she was standing on the back stoop in minutes.
    Like many nights recently, he had company. She lingered outside a minute listening, closing her eyes against the guilt.
    He plotted against Jackson. The Appalachian pack was her pack but, despite the loyalty she felt toward it, she couldn’t betray Wyatt. Once she’d thought to, but he made it clear he would take it out on her parents, and she couldn’t risk that.
    Tonight was different. An excited hum vibrated through the air, and she tried to determine its cause. She couldn’t linger outside too long, but he would end the conversation when she entered. She rolled her eyes. Nothing like mates who trust each other . After a moment, she began picking out separate voices.
    “He’s taken a mate,” Wyatt said with excitement. Chloe got the impression the phrase had been repeated many times through the night.
    “He is the Alpha,” someone responded. “We knew he’d have to eventually.”
    “Reluctant, too,” someone else piped in. “Rumor is he had to kidnap her to get her here.” They discussed spreading those rumors further. Nothing caused loss of face in the werewolf world quite like having a reluctant mate. For an Alpha to have to go through such great lengths?
    Embarrassing and damaging to his reputation, and Wyatt was all about making Jackson look bad. While Chloe felt guilty for not finding a way to contact the Alpha, she was certain he could handle rumors.
    When Wyatt starting talking again, though, her heart slammed in her chest. “What would he do if she was threatened, I wonder?”
    “We can’t get close enough to the house to see,” someone said.
    “He can’t keep her locked up for long, though. People will want to see her, to meet her. Before long he’ll drop his guard and give her free rein to go where she wants. Then I take something from him, like he did to me.”
    Breathing shallowly, Chloe leaned against the side of the house and fought to sort through her racing emotions. Closing her eyes, she warred with herself. On the one hand was her parents’ safety. On the other, she couldn’t not pass on this kind of threat. She finally decided to go back to the diner and call Billy, but she was too late. She hadn’t heard the silence grow or the house empty. When she straightened from the wall to go to her car, a hand wrapped around her throat and the world went black.

    * * * * *
    The next few days passed in blur. Jackson breathed a little easier with Summer close by but, confined to the house, she was beginning to climb the walls, and he spent too much time trying to determined who was trying to undermine his control to take her out. He and Billy worked on the problem so much they were both irritable and unpredictable. He wasn’t sure what was going on with his normally unflappable Beta, but if the were didn’t chill out soon, Jackson was likely to rip his throat out himself.
    As they came into the kitchen after one particularly bad questioning session, Billy growled at one of the men doing work outside the door. Jackson finally lost his temper.
    “My office,” he ground out. Both men trudged up the stairs and Jackson slammed the door shut behind them. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
    Billy’s clenched his hands and his narrowed eyes met Jackson’s briefly before he cut them away.
    Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to challenge his Alpha.
    “Nothing,” he grumbled. “Just some…personal issues.”
    “Well fuck her already and get it out of your system. I need your head on your shoulders, not in your pants.”
    For a split second, he thought Billy was going to come over the desk after him. A growl rumbled low in his throat and his eyes glowed electric blue. Jackson set his hands on his hips and arched an eyebrow, watching as the other werewolf