Moonlight by Lisa Kessler Read Free Book Online

jerked back, instantly alert.
    “What’s wrong?” she whispered. Then she smelled it too.
    Blood.
    Forcing myself away from Lana, I leaned over the edge of the boulder. I didn’t see anyone below, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone there. Eyesight wasn’t my strongest asset. Being a werewolf, I relied on my heightened senses of hearing and smell more than my sight.
    A moan drifted up on the breeze and I froze.
    I looked back at Lana and whispered, “Wait here.”
    “No.” She got to her feet. “I’m going with you.”
    I shot her a back-off glare. “I don’t have time to fight with you.” My eyes narrowed, trying to find any movement below. “Stay here.”
    I didn’t wait for an answer. Leaping from the boulder, I managed a pseudo-silent landing. The scent of blood grew much stronger closer to the ground. My gut clenched in response. I prayed it wouldn’t grumble and reveal my location. Blood always made the wolf inside of me restless, with or without a full moon.
    After making my way through the bright yellow mustard plants and sagebrush, I finally found what I searched for.
    I rushed to Gabe’s side. Or what was left of it. Shit . What the hell happened to him? His entire right side was sliced up. I could see the white bone of his ribs in a couple of places, and his shirt was drenched in blood. My chest constricted. I needed to get him out of here. He couldn’t die. Not Gabe.
    He’d been my Pack mate and my friend my entire life. What was he even doing out here? The Pack was supposed to be patrolling the city last night.
    “Dammit,” I groaned, searching the area for his attacker.
    “Adam?” His voice sounded raspy and…wet. “That you?”
    “Yeah, I’m here, Gabe.”
    He lifted a shaky hand to clasp my forearm in the traditional greeting of the Pack. “Jaguar. Edge of town. Tell the Pack.” He coughed and blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. A cold chill shot down my spine. A jaguar did this. While I’d been tracking Lana I thought I caught the scent of another jaguar. And I didn’t warn them. I should have made the fucking call.
    This was my fault.
    I didn’t have time to think about it right now while Gabe bled out. I pushed the thoughts from my mind and did my best to focus on my friend. “You can tell them yourself. We’ve gotta get you out of here. Jason will sew you up.”
    He started to smile, then grimaced. His teeth were stained crimson. The scent of blood teased and disgusted me at the same time. Too much blood.
    “Give me your shirt,” a voice said from behind me. I looked up to find Lana holding out her hand. I never heard her coming. I should have. “Come on, Adam, we’ve got to stop the bleeding.”
    She knelt down beside me. Just having her close by made it easier to breathe and think clearly.
    “We need your shirt,” she prodded again. “I did ride-alongs with EMTs for a couple of articles a few months back.”
    I yanked it over my head and handed it to Lana. She wadded the fabric into a compress and pressed it against Gabe’s side, making him groan in pain.
    Until he caught her scent.
    Gabe’s eyes popped open wide, and he pointed at her with his other hand. “She’s a—”
    “It’s okay, Gabe.” I tried to calm him, but he shook his head, struggling. “Gabe, this is Lana. She’s trying to help you.”
    He caught her wrist, trying to pull her hand free, and shifted to turn away but the movement made him cry out in pain.
    I reached for his shoulder. “You need to stay still.” His arms collapsed, and he turned his head, coughing up blood and clots of tissue. “Gabe, no!”
    A final breath gurgled out of his mouth, and his eyes closed. I shook my head, praying he’d breathe again, but he didn’t make a sound.
    Gabe was gone.
    “Oh my God.” Lana shook my shoulder. “Call nine-one-one. Adam, he needs an ambulance.”
    I shook my head.
    “What?” She stared at me like I was nuts. She might be right. One of my closest friends just