Shadows of the Moon Ch. 02

"Fuck you."

Dael sighed shaking his head. "Fine mam. You don't have to like it. Just come with me." He stepped to the side and he gestured towards the parking lot."

Natalie looked like she might argue but resigned herself to the situation and followed Dael out to the two black SUV's waiting in the lot. Another two people waited by the cars, a hard looking woman with steely eyes and a very fit body, and a bored looking man that at first sight seemed better suited in a Nazi gang than with his shaved head, huge bulk, heavy black boots, black cargo pants and a military style tank top.

The size and look of the man made Natalie hesitate. Where would they take her? The picture of her dead sister entered her mind and she wondered if the same fate waited her at the end of the car ride.

Dael felt for the woman. He saw her shrink back and he could smell her fear. Mace was a intimidating sight even at the best of times but being forced like this must be absolutely terrifying. He wished his alpha had given him some more information so he could offer her some peace of mind but all he could do was follow orders.

He helped her into the car and divided the rest of the crew between the two vehicles. To ease her anxiety he sent Mace to the other car and settled with having Aeryn and Eldrick riding with them. Mace and Gared was to go in the other one. Not for the first time Dael wondered why it was necessary to have two escorts just to pick up a woman.

He was informing Gared about the route they would take when Liam approached them. Without a word he opened the door to the back seat and threw a bag into the car.

Dael raised an eyebrow and gave Liam a quizzical look. "You coming with us?"

"Yeah. I am."

"About time you came back to the pack. We've missed you."

There was a grunt from Liam before he closed the door between them.

**

The hours rolled by in the car and with every mile Natalie could feel herself loosing more and more of her composure. They were driving northeast and about an hour into their drive night had covered the world in inky blackness.

The long hours left her plenty of time to think about everything that had happened that day. Questions were chasing themselves through her mind but there was no answers for any of them. Her would be abduction that morning had something to do with her father and after having asked her current abductors for permission she had tried calling him but no one answered.

Her thoughts quickly drifted to her sister. All the happy memories of growing up. All the shared laughs and tears. She thought about her sisters last minutes of life and imagined the pain and horror of being treated that way. Angrily she tried to wipe the tears away before anyone noticed them.

She hated crying in front of people, it just left everyone feeling uncomfortable anyway and it made her feel exposed in a way she was not comfortable with. She thought about Liam too and raged at her foolishness. Sexy strangers didn't show up out of nowhere to save maidens. She should have known he wasn't all he seemed. The thoughts of his betrayal sent more tears down her cheeks than she could wipe away so she turned her head to stare out of the window hoping no one would notice them.

On the fourth hour they drove past a larger town and after another few miles they left the main road. As they turned up a long avenue she saw a big sign saying Luna Spring Country Club in a twirly Gothic font. The tall maple trees on either side of the road made it feel like they were driving in a cave. There was something claustrophobic about it but not in a scary way.

Natalie stared past the trees to the fields on the other side and her breath hitched as she saw the light of the cars reflect in two pair of animal eyes in the darkness. Large predatory creatures. It made her skin crawl and she suddenly felt very small. Not knowing where she was, or who the people in the car was, or why she was being abducted left a feeling of hopelessness. How did you fight something you had no control over?

There was a point in her life when she had felt much the same. Back then she had vowed to never to let herself be a victim again but here she was. The life she had worked so hard to get ripped from her because of something she knew nothing about. Her life had by no means been perfect or even that good but it had been hers. Freedom. That's what it meant to her. Her shoddy, day by day life was freedom and she wouldn't trade it for anything if it meant loosing that.

The car stopped and she saw a big iron gate being pulled to the side. On either side of the gate the same black iron extended in a fence disappearing into the darkness and a lush green, well-groomed hedge ran along side it cutting the courtyard beyond the gate off from prying eyes. Driving up the paved stone driveway to the huge front stairs Dael turned to her.

"Welcome to the Luna Spring mam. I think you will find we're not as bad as you think. We'll take good care of you."

Giving Dael a baleful look she climbed out of the car when the woman opened the door for her. The night air was considerably colder here and she shivered, longing to be back in the warmth of the car.

Dael ascended the stair and pushed open one of the big double doors. "Come, come. We can't keep him waiting."

Natalie looked up at him from the bottom of the stair and at the sight of the dark looming entrance she felt a dark foreboding. Only rich depraved people visited places like this. People who care nothing about other people. She could disappear and no one would ever know... but there was nothing she could do about it. She was going to meet this man whether she wanted to or not.

When she reached the top of the stairs the second SUV pulled up the drive way and parked behind the first. The man she thought of as Naziguy stepped out from the passenger seat and the last of her abductors from the drivers seat. They both looked grim and unnerved and both flinched as Liam pushed open the back door.

Natalie met Liam's pleading eyes in a hateful stare before she stepped inside the building.

**

It was a huge building. She hadn't grasped the magnitude of it in the dark but stepping into the massive three storey hall she understood the magnitude of the place. There was elevator in the middle looking like a golden cage and stairs twisting around it and leading up to balconies surrounding the big square-like hall. In awe she stared up at the beautiful wooden carvings and pillars decorating the place. Lit only by decorative wall-mounted lights. It was absolutely stunning.

"This way." Came the chirpy voice of Dael from across the room where the elevator was.

The woman from the car followed her as she made her way over to him but the three other men wandered off and disappeared down a corridor. Dael closed the gilded cage around them and pressed the top-floor button.

Natalie's eyes were drawn to the door as the elevator started to rise. Liam stood alone watching her, his body outlined by the darkness outside. His gaze followed her all the way up. There was something there she couldn't quite place. His face showed no emotions but she felt a longing from him. Not that she cared of course. He was nothing to her.

They stepped off on the top ring balcony and she was guided down a corridor while Dael cheerfully chatted away. He explained that the top floor was dedicated to the master of the house, the man she was here to meet and very few was allowed up here. The west wing was where the master himself stayed with his... wife and Liam, whenever he graced the place with his presence stayed in the east. From his description she understood that usually the masters whole family lived on the top floor but that there had been some sort of accident or something like it that had reduced the population to only the master and his... wife. Dael seemed reluctant to go into details and promptly avoided the subject when asked.

Natalie was led into a big office. Heavy looking bookcases lined the walls from top to bottom and a massive desk was placed opposite of the door with a huge window as backdrop. Dael pulled out a well padded chair and gestured for her to sit.

"Please. Have a seat. He will be here shortly. Can I get you something to drink?"

Natalie shook her head and slumped into the chair. All she wanted was to get this over with. They all left and she was alone in the big room. She was emotionally exhausted to the point where the red carpeted floor looked like a good place to rest. Zoning out she didn't hear the door opening or someone approaching until a stern looking man lowered himself into the great desk chair on the opposite side. He had a dark blond backslick with steely green-grayish eyes that seemed to pierce right through her, hard angular features and a body language that screamed dominance. This was the man in charge there was no question about it. There was some resemblance to Liam, she could see that but not as much as you might expect from brothers.

He leaned forward over the desk to study her closely. Natalie squirmed and despite every effort to defy him she was the one who averted her eyes first.

He leaned back in the chair. "Where is your father?"

Natalie sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in four years."

"Talked to him?"

"No."

"How come?"

"That is none of you business!" A long cold stare from him and a pressing silence made her give in. "It's personal. We had a falling out of sorts."

"I see. Did you know much about his work?"

"No. Some research crap. Look." She shifted to the edge of the seat and leaned on the desk. "All I know is that my father was a controlling ass, who was never at home and was never happy with anything the rest of his supposed family ever did. And frankly that is all I really care to know. Now I have fake agents knocking down my door trying to abduct me, people spying on me, I have been driven halfway across the country by people I have never met and I don't fucking know why!" Her voice got louder and louder as she spoke and she practically screamed the last words.

The man seemed completely unfazed by her outbreak. The same cold eyes stared at her with the same cold expression until she calmed and shrunk back into the chair.

"I can understand this is disconcerting."

She gave him a disbelieving look. Disconcerting was the understatement of the year.

"I'm sorry." He said with a slight smirk. "I have only seen my part in this hunt and maybe I have been blinded to other victims in this. You'll be given a room here and everything you need to feel comfortable. I was eager to talk to you but seeing how tired you are I'm thinking that it can wait another night. I rather we both be rested because this will take some time. How does this sound?"

"Do I have a choice?"

He grunted. "You do. But I recommend my suggestion else we won't be done with this until the sun comes up."

Natalie was quiet for a moment and then nodded. "Some time alone would be nice."

"Then lets leave this for now."

He pushed himself up from his chair and escorted her to the door. Outside waited a young bright eyed woman with chocolate brown hair in a tight knot on top of her head. She bowed her head at the blond man.

"Eileen will see you to your room." He gestured at the woman. "And if you have any other requests she will help you with them. Someone will come and fetch you tomorrow. Good night Ladies." He said and nodded at them.

The woman, Eileen, gestured for her to follow her down the corridor and Natalie complied.

**

Aarik watched the women disappear around a corner and turned towards his own rooms. He had been very eager to speak with her but h had changed his mind when he saw her. It was clear to him she was upset and exhausted and nothing good would come from pressing her further.

He passed the first intersection of the corridor outside his office like so many times before when he heard a familiar voice from the shadows behind him and it made his skin crawl.

"What do you want with her?"

Aarik turned to face his brother. "Liam." He said coldly. It was very disturbing how his brother never seemed to make a sound. He was the best hunter in the pack of that there was no doubt.

They started at each other for several long moments and the frosty tension in the corridor was palpable.

"Liam, if you have no intention of sticking around then this does not concern you."

"I found her."

"Yes you did." Aarik turned his back to his brother intending to continue to his room. There was a low threatening growl from behind him and slowly he was forced to turn back realizing his brother would not back down.

Another long frosty silence.

"It is a long story. As I told her, it is one better suited for a rested mind. Go to sleep and if you by some miracle is still here in the morning we can discuss it."

Liam seemed intent on pressing the subject but in the end he took a step back and turned, leaving Aarik at the intersection.

"Liam!" He called after him and watched his brother pause. "If you want to belong to this pack then I am your alpha and you will treat me as such."

Liam walked away.