After the Moon Rises Read Online Free PDF Page A

He had to catch them, had to get Elizabeth back. And what was that weight in his hands?
    Oh, yeah. The rifle. Shit for brains, he could fire on the motherfuckers. Except if he did that, the car could flip and Elizabeth could die. But he had to stop them and chasing after the car on foot wasn’t working. How to stop them?
    He had a truck. Yeah, the truck. Four wheels chased faster than two feet.
    His lungs burned with the exertion, but he couldn’t rest, couldn’t rest until Elizabeth was back in his arms.
    Tom took off, sprinting back to the truck. Halfway there, he heard footsteps behind him. His heart picked up the pace, triple-timing it as he realized the wolf followed him.
    Shit, he didn’t have time to be eaten by a wolf. He needed to save his daughter.
    If he got to the truck, he could leave before the wolf caught him.
    Keys, he needed his keys. Neither of his pockets contained them. He remembered his rifle, but left his keys who knows where? How could he chase after Elizabeth without his truck? Fly? Stupid idiot. And the wolf was still behind him keeping pace, stalking him.
    Tom darted behind the truck, aimed his rifle at the wolf and tried to get his breathing under control.
    ****
    Circling around, Vonda followed Tom back as he sprinted toward the house. She saw Sam push himself to his feet, his body undulating, his collar jingling with the motion.
    Thank God he didn’t seem hurt. She reached out with her mind, rummaged around in his thoughts, learning he was sore, but not badly injured.
    Since Sam was okay, her attention turned back to Tom, only to see him on the other side of his truck, his rifle pointed at her. Oh, shit.
    Tom, it’s me Vonda. Put the rifle down!
    Like her thoughts would help. Most humans couldn’t understand her telepathically. But she had to try. Being shot was not high on her to-do list.
    ****
    Tom felt a buzz like insects in his head and heard words. Tom, it’s me Vonda. Put the rifle down!
    Oh, yeah. He definitely got hit harder than he thought.
    But what if that really was Vonda? Okay, he didn’t get hit that hard, like a woman could turn into a wolf. He tightened the grip on the rifle, his chest pumping like a bellows.
    Tom, please! You don’t believe it, but it’s true. It’s Vonda, please don’t kill me. Please. Shit, he doesn’t hear me.
    What if it was Vonda? The blood that wasn’t pounding in his head rushed to his dick at the thought of her. Great, just great. Kidnappers just drove off with his daughter, he sees a wolf, hears voices in his head, and gets a hard-on. What kind of a fucking freak was he?
    Why not humor the voices? How much worse could it get?
    “Fine. If you’re really Vonda take two steps to the right, sit and wait right there.”
    The wolf walked two steps to the right, eyes on him and sat. Damn.
    He had no time for this shit. Each minute he spent aiming the rifle at the wolf, his brain obviously tripping on a hemorrhage, was one more minute those fuckers had his daughter.
    To hell with that. The wolf was either Vonda or it wasn’t. Some things you just had to trust to fate no matter how unbelievable.
    “Get your ass in the truck while I get the keys.”
    Not waiting to see what the wolf would do, Tom lowered the rifle and darted up the steps into the house. Layla poked her head out from behind the couch. Ignoring her, he grabbed his cell phone and keys off the table by the door. Spinning around, he almost tripped over Sam as the dog came into the house.
    Cursing, he side-stepped Sam and yanked the door shut. The wolf sat by the passenger door of the truck, looking over her shoulder at him.
    “Are you really Vonda?” he whispered.
    In the flesh.
    He paused, trying to stop breathing like a race horse. If that wasn’t Vonda, his ass was pretty much screwed. One foot after another, his breath caught in his throat, he walked toward the wolf. Dear God, let her be Vonda. One thing finally went well on this hellacious evening—the wolf didn’t bite him