Full Moon Rises

Chapter Six

I trailed after Daniel into a spacious living room. A group of young adults all silenced their conversation and turned towards me; nine sets of yellow eyes bore into me. I suddenly felt cornered. Without knowing it, I backed myself into the nearest wall and felt a low growl building up in my throat.

And seriously, when the f**k did I start growling at people?

The tension in the room escalated at my response and before I knew it, Daniel was standing in front of me, cupping my face in his huge hands and forcing me into eye contact. Something in me just melted at the touch, calming me without words.

“I’d like to introduce you to my pack,” Daniel said, never taking his eyes off of me. “Yours too if that’s what you decide.”

“Pack?” I was confused. What the hell does pack mean?

“Let me introduce them, and they’ll leave, and then I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, not really sure if I wanted to know.

Daniel smiled warmly and stepped back. “You’ve already met Alex, Lane, and Noelle,” he gestured to them, and they smiled back… well… Alex’s was more of a grimace, but the effort was there.

“This is my sister Sarah,” a small brunette stepped forward. She really looked like Daniel, with dimples and everything.

“Steele and his mate Hirano,” two guys stepped forward. Correction, two cowboys stepped forward. I wanted to laugh at the rather hilarious situation, an European and Asian cowboys...  but I knew that that was inappropriate, and they could both kick my ass into next week, so I stayed quiet.

Daniel leaned into my ear, whispering, “Trust me, I laughed too.”

I couldn’t help snort a laugh at Daniel’s words before cowering from Steele’s glare.

Steele instantly broke into a smirk, “I like her, Daniel.”

“That is a great honor,” Daniel told me earnestly.

“I’m not that hard to be around!” Steele defended.

“Yes. You are.” Hirano finished, causing the room to break out into laughter.

“These two lovely ladies here are Nina and Estela. Careful around Nina, she’s got a sharp lip that’ll cut you in half,” Daniel laughed as the redhead cut him the most terrifying glare I had ever seen. Worse than Steele’s. The black-haired girl, however, smiled sweetly and gave me a little wave.

“And finally, there’s Shawn.”

Another man stepped forward, “Love how you left me until last, Daniel.” he grumbled.

“Best till the last baby,” Daniel winked comically at him, and even though I knew he was joking, I couldn’t help the intense jealousy and possession that pulsed through me.

“Bite me,” Shawn narrowed his eyes at Daniel but gave a dazzling smile to me. “Well done, Dan, she’s hot.”

I blushed furiously at the words and felt a tinge of excitement at Daniel’s warning growl.

Damn, that was freaky but oh so attractive.

“Alright, alright,” Shawn held his hands up in defense. “I heard you loud and clear. We’ll leave you two to it then.”

With that, the room was suddenly empty, leaving only Daniel and me behind.

“That’s a lot of names to remember at once,” I spoke shyly.

Okay, I was a shy girl, but the way I felt around Daniel was just ridiculous. I’ve known the guy for the grand total of an hour for god’s sake.

“You’ll get used to them,” he promised. “Now… on to you.”

“What’s wrong with me?” I knew there was something because… well, I had freaking growled twice in the past ten minutes.

Everything in the past twenty-four hours was just not adding up.

“And your eyes, all of your eyes… why are they yellow? And Alex’s teeth? Hell, your teeth! I know you had teeth just like him, and then you... you bit me!”

“I didn’t bite you,” Daniel defended.

“Well, it was close enough!” I was fuming, I was suddenly on edge and terrified, and I just wanted to know what was going on. “What’s happening to me?” I whispered desperately.

“Last night, you were bitten by someone like me… like my family,” Daniel told me.

I almost wanted to purr at the way his hands were caressing my arms to calm me down, his touch sent hot shivers right through my body.

“And what are you?” I asked, not even sure if I wanted to know.

“A werewolf,” Daniel stated simply. “Well… really I’m just a guy who turns into a wolf. I don’t hurt people, nor do I go off looking for fights. I was born this way, and you were unfortunate enough to get in the way of one of the wolves that were trespassing on my territory last night.”

I stiffened. That wasn’t what I was expecting.

Clearly, Daniel was crazy… but then… that would explain a lot of things. Like their eye color, very wolf-like and similar to the wolf that bit me last night.

Then there was the way Daniel scared the wolf off without actually doing anything. It would explain how I could hear a whispered conversation through a wall. The overly strange sensation to roll over and do anything Daniel wanted, though that could just be my hormones overriding my brain.

Then, of course, that explains the fangs Alex and Daniel both produced perfectly. Hell, maybe I was the crazy one.

“And… am I?” I trailed off, not even sure what I was going to say because this was all insane.

“Yes,” Daniel replied simply. “The bite turned you. It’s why your skin is harder, why you keep growling, why you’re so confused and agitated is because your body is working overtime. Your hearing, vision and sense of smell are also enhanced. In a few days, your eyes will be like ours too. Then once the moon is full in a month’s time, your body will shift and everything will fall into place, the transformation will be complete and your head won’t be all over the place anymore.”

I took the time to let Daniel’s words sink in, when I came to think about it, Daniel’s words made a lot of sense. However, that was a lot to take in. I didn’t even notice that Daniel had wrapped me up in his arms until my senses were attacked by everything Daniel. His scent was earthy and spicy and delicious. His heartbeat and gentle breathing were making me want to curl up and sleep... it was so soothing. His body was so warm, radiating heat straight into mine.

I didn’t know how it happened, but I suddenly found myself nuzzling at Daniel’s throat, taking in his scent and letting my instinct lead.

A low, encouraging sound escaped Daniel, and I grinned against his skin, placing gentle nips against his pulse point. Once my brain caught up with whatever the f**k I was doing, I jumped back like I had been electrocuted.

“God, I’m so sorry!” I apologized, scared that Daniel would hate me.

Daniel, on the other hand, was looking quite flustered, his breathing had increased and his eyes were almost glowing. “That’s fine,” he breathed. “Don’t worry about it.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before finally facing me once more. “It’s okay,” he assured.

“Why did I do that?” I asked, my voice pleading. “Why do I keep reacting to you like this?”

Daniel didn’t answer me for a long moment, then when he did, I almost wished he hadn’t answered at all. “I wish I knew, but you’re not the only one reacting.”