Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf (Black Swan 4) by Victoria Danann Read Free Book Online Page A

look of emptiness and longing that showed in the expression of a werewolf without a mate. Hopelessness was hard to look at.
    They were going to die off and it seemed there was nothing he could do about it. No enemy to kill. No threat to scare away. The keyword was no. As he trotted along the ridgeline path that word rang in his mind over and over, increasing in volume. No. No. No. Until finally it rang out loud and true and clear. No! I will not accept this!
    If the purported miracle worker, Monq, would not come to Elk Mountain, the king of Elk Mountain would go to Monq.
     
    ***
     

     
     
    CHAPTER_4

    Ram and Elora had left a trail of "firsts" in the wake of their turbulent and torrid relationship. For the most part, they took pioneering in stride. So becoming the first family to be quartered in a Black Swan Unit with an active Hunters Division didn't seem all that out of the ordinary - for them. Possibly because, until fairly recently, they had been hunters themselves.
    After remodeling one of the extra large sixth floor corner apartments and annexing the adjoining rec room to their overall square footage, it wasn't that bad. At least not to Ram. He wasn't just mouthing words when he said he could be happy anywhere so long as Elora and Helm were with him. He was completely sincere.
    Elora worked at hiding a dash of melancholy. She felt like she had come so close to her fantasy of a small Irish farm/kennel only to have it slip from her grasp when she had barely gotten a taste. Still, she knew there were far worse scenarios than sharing smallish quarters with the two boys who put stars in her heaven. Several hundred times a day she told herself that it wasn't that steep a price for Helm's safety and Ram's peace of mind.
    Sol had asked her to resume her hand to hand classes for active and in-training hunters in exchange for free room and board and she was glad to do it. It kept her skills tight, kept her in good shape, and, more importantly, something one of the knights learned from her might save a life someday. It's rare that an opportunity with no downside comes along.
    Ram had been right about having a legion of in-house babysitters. Helm was precious, magnetic, and fun. Put that together and it meant there was never a shortage of hands ready to grab for him. In other words, there was no question about the baby's paternity.
    One nurse, who was hired after Elora left Jefferson Unit, said she didn't want to offend, but that she worried that the chemicals used in dying the baby's hair that color might not be good for him.
    Sir Hawking, Black Swan Knight, Retired, quickly grew tired of nothing to do. He commandeered a couple of classrooms not in use and established a new music department. He used one to teach music as an extracurricular to the trainees who were interested. The other was being outfitted as rehearsal space for the band he was forming with some of the kids who played instruments.
    He told Elora that he had never forgotten what she'd said about warriors in her world being required to also write poetry or play musical instruments so that they would be balanced.
    "Rammel." She laughed at him. "I was talking about pan pipes. You don't balance warrior energy by plugging into heavy metal. That kind of music makes angst simmer like lava that's always threatening to erupt."
    "There you have it then. 'Twill be a great release for the boys."
    She just shook her head and smiled.
    Ram thought it would be romantic to retrace the steps of their first date, even though it hadn't been officially called a date at the time. When the anniversary of that occasion came around Manhattan was, once again, decked out in all her glory for Yule. They left Helm with Elsbeth, the nurse who had become Elora's first female friend in Loti Dimension, and Sir Finnemore, who had been spending a lot of time hanging around Elsbeth lately.
    On the way out Ram said, "Remember that you two are supposed to be babysittin'. Bottles in the refrigerator