Myth Of Moonlight.pdf

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Myth of Moonlight

ISBN # 9781419907029

Edited by Mary Moran.

Cover art by Willo.

Electronic book Publication: January 2007

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written

permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is

purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Content Advisory:

S – ENSUOUS

E – ROTIC

X – TREME

Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (E-rotic),

and X (X-treme).

The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated E

–rotic.

S- ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination.

E- rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word

count. E-rated titles might contain material that some readers find objectionable—in other words, almost

anything goes, sexually. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry in terms of both sexual language

and descriptiveness in these works of literature.

X- treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Stories designated with

the letter X tend to contain difficult or controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

M YTH OF M OONLIGHT

Lena Matthews & Liz Andrews

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the

following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Addams Family : Barbara Colyton

Bambi : Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Barbie and Ken: Mattel, Inc.

Calgon: Calgon Corporation

Hummer: General Motors Corporation

Pink Panther : United Artists Corporation

Technicolor: Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation

Twilight Zone : CBS Broadcasting, Inc.

Volkswagen Bug: Volkswagen AG Corporation

WWE: World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.

Chapter One

There was something wild out there, dark and overwhelming, like the black starless

night. The rapid pounding of Kimberly’s heart obscured the sounds of crickets chirping

and a night owl’s hooting. Eyes wide, she turned and looked around. The surroundings

were the same as before.

Deep within a forest she had only visited in her dreams, she was surrounded by an

overwhelming sense of foreboding that made her hesitant to take another step. Whatever

was out there was waiting for her. Stepping back slowly, she nervously jumped at the

loud snap of a twig breaking under her bare feet. Immediately the wild sounds

surrounding her came to a halt.

Easing her foot back quietly, Kimberly tried to make her way out of the darkness of

the forest. The rustling of the bushes caused Kimberly to hold her breath in nervous

desperation. He was back, just as she knew he’d be, but worst of all, he was back for her.

Afraid for her safety, she turned and began running through the dense forest.

Uncaring about the sharp stabs to her cold bare feet, Kimberly ran as if her life

depended on it. Trying to dodge as many objects in her way as possible, she kept fluid

and low to the ground. It was impossible to avoid every obstacle and her eyes began to

tear as the branches lashed at her face. Kimberly raised her hands to try and protect

herself but she didn’t slow down because she knew he was gaining on her.

Suddenly Kimberly tripped over a protruding tree trunk, falling to her hands and

knees. The underbrush dug into her and she lay stunned for a moment. Realizing she

was wasting precious time, she scrambled up. Disoriented from the fall, Kimberly

looked around wildly, trying to gather her bearings. From her right, Kimberly heard the

crackling of leaves and immediately took off in the opposite direction.

Time seemed to slow as she continued to run. Her pursuer was relentless, never

giving her time to stop and catch her breath. The forest seemed never-ending, as great an

adversary as the one pursuing her. Kimberly began to grow tired and realized it was

only a matter of time until he caught her. She couldn’t think—she didn’t know what to

do. Tripping and falling a second time she lay on the ground, breathing harshly from her

exertion. Abruptly, Kimberly realized she could hear breathing behind her as well. He’d

found her. Turning, she gazed into glowing eyes and screamed.

Kimberly jolted upright. Perspiration drenched her body as she flopped back down

on the bed. Her heart was racing.

It was only a nightmare . Even though she was safe, home alone in her bed, the thought

did little to appease her. If her dream had been a one-time occurrence, she might have

been able to blame it on the bad Chinese food she’d had the night before. But

unfortunately, it was becoming a chillingly familiar nightly routine. The nightmares

began a few months ago and had become progressively disturbing. At first, she dreamed

someone was watching her. Later, it had turned into someone chasing her. Tonight was

the first time she had seen him.

Yet she wasn’t able to get a clear picture of him because all she had really seen were

his glowing russet eyes. Kimberly knew what that meant—her pursuer was a Werewolf.

Kimberly knew because she was one too. Although she knew what she was, she just

didn’t know what it meant. She’d never lived with the Pack, her family had broken from

them before she was born. The only connection she had to that part of herself was the

beast lying dormant within her and bedtime stories she had heard as a child from her

parents.

Getting up, Kimberly walked into the bathroom, flipping on the light to study her

ashen face in the mirror. The phantom stalker was beginning to wear on her. Dark bags

underneath her eyes made it appear as if she had lost a fight instead of merely tossing

and turning all night.

Deep down, what frightened her most was her dreams weren’t always terrifying.

Sometimes she wanted to stop, turn around and see who was chasing her. But to do so

would leave her open to a reality she knew she wasn’t ready to face. Her fear was neck

and neck with her curiosity and Kimberly wasn’t sure which part of her consciousness

would win. Shaking her head at the thought, she hopped into the shower to get an early

start on the day.

* * * * *

Stepping into her office, Kimberly hung up her coat and headed toward the break

room to grab a cup of coffee. She enjoyed early mornings like this when the office wasn’t

too busy yet. Even though the law office was small, Lewis and Sinclair had a vibrant

practice and she usually worked nonstop.

Work hadn’t always been so exciting, but since her recent promotion from file clerk

to paralegal, life had become so much more interesting. It was exciting for Kimberly to

finally be making her own money. It was just further proof she could live on her own,

despite her brother’s vehement protests.

Even David couldn’t complain about Bayside, except that it was a few hundred

miles away from him, which to Kimberly was a plus in itself, besides the many other

perks that came with the beautiful, picturesque town. A quiet little city right on the edge

of the redwood forests, Bayside was filled with open-air markets and shopping galore. It

wasn’t so “small town” that everyone knew everyone else’s business, nor was it too

large that it was an impersonal metropolis. It fit Kimberly just right, much as her new

job did.

Walking into the break room, Kimberly stopped short and muttered under her

breath when she noticed the crowd. Maybe she wasn’t the only person having

nightmares. The doors didn’t officially open until nine, yet already there were people

bumbling about. Turning, she paused when she caught the earthy scent in the air. Nose

flaring, she turned back to scan the faces of her coworkers. The musky odor had recently

become as familiar to her as the back of her hand. Her senses were heightened because

of what she was, but her youth prevented her from being able to home in on those

abilities.

Kimberly’s lip tensed and curled up a bit at the edge but she bit back the emotions

clawing from inside her. There was someone impinging on her territory. Narrowing her

eyes, she had to force herself to relax and refrain from giving the warning growl tickling

the back of her throat. Kimberly wouldn’t give in to her beast. She was not an animal,

despite her split DNA.

Caffeine , all she needed was a shot of java and she could get through the day. Trying

to ease closer to the coffeepot, Kimberly rocked from one foot to the other for several

seconds, trying to patiently wait her turn before giving up and turning away. Halfway

out of the room a voice called to her, freezing her in her tracks.

“Cream and sugar, right?”

Kimberly would recognize Nico Cassamonti’s sultry, sexy voice anywhere. He was

one of Lewis and Sinclair’s very high-profile clients, which was one of the reasons he

had access to parts of the building other clients did not. The Powers That Be wanted to

keep him and his money as happy as humanly possible, and for some odd reason it

seemed to please Nico to mingle with the underlings. She had only become aware of

him when she started her new paralegal job and finally allowed in the break room on the

third floor. Prior to her promotion she’d been tucked away in the file room and never

had the opportunity to meet any of the clients, and now it seemed as if she couldn’t go

three feet without bumping into them, Nico especially.

Not that it was a bad thing though, because Nico was a walking god. He was tall and

muscular, with thick black hair and eyes so dark she couldn’t tell exactly what color they

were. Although she secretly lusted after him, in her heart she knew he was way out of

her league. He was worth more than some small countries and she was barely scraping

by on her salary. Kimberly seriously doubted they had much in common.

“I’m sorry, were you speaking to me?”

“No need to apologize, Ms. Brenin.” He turned with two coffee cups in his hands

and tried to hand one of them to her. Kimberly hesitated and took a step back.

“Thank you, but no, Mr. Cassamonti,” she murmured, her gaze darting around the

room, hunting for the nearest escape.

Nico shook his head mockingly. “What have I told you? Please call me Nico.”

“I really don’t think it would be wise,” she stammered, avoiding the cup as if it were

poison instead of coffee. Kimberly always seemed to stammer around him and she had

no idea why he made her uneasy. It could have had something to do with the fact Nico

towered over nearly every other man in the room. Or it could have been the way he

always seemed to look directly into her soul, but either way, she was never comfortable

being in his presence for too long. And it was one reason she shied away from him.

“But I insist.” Nico held the cup firmly out in front of him, daring her to refuse.

Aware of everyone eyeing them speculatively, Kimberly cautiously reached out and

took the cup, not wanting to give the group more reason to stare.

Just then, two of the firm’s associates walked into the room addressing Nico and

starting up a brief conversation about business. Kimberly breathed a sigh of relief and

quickly escaped. Even though she didn’t dare glance back, she could sense Nico

watching her. His gaze caused a tingling sensation down her spine. She didn’t know

what to make of it. Maybe she was imagining something where there was nothing.

Of course she seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Her late-night dreams and the

lingering musky scent were beginning to wear on her nerves. The odd scent was

becoming more frequent and pronounced, but unfortunately, she still couldn’t pin down

the source. As she approached her desk, Kimberly heard the phone ringing. Hurrying

over, she picked up the phone, “Lewis and Sinclair, Ms. Reynolds’ office, Kimberly

speaking, how may I help you?”

“Come home for a visit.”

Closing her eyes, Kimberly said a silent prayer for patience before opening them

slowly and letting out a calming breath. It had only been a few days since she had last

talked to her brother, yet he insisted on trying to keep long-distance tabs on her. “David,

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