The Mating Moon

Excerpt:
TEASER EXCERPT
“You can’t run from me, Ivy.” He plowed into the back of her knees collapsing her to the ground.
A short, shocked burst of a scream tumbled from her lips. The brunt of her weight landed on her knees, scraping them against the wet mucky blacktop.
The attacker scrambled up her body, and his arms locked around her waist again as she tried to push back up. He threw his weight against her back and pressed down until she fell flat onto the ground. She struggled to breathe under the burden of his heavy body even as she tried to find purchase with her hands on the slick ground to wiggle out from under him. Her nostrils flared as they filled again with the scent of wet dog fur and dirty ground. She growled inside her throat as her senses overflowed with information.
White-hot pain ripped through her, muscles stretched and Ivy’s fingers elongated. Bones popped and distorted taking on the new shape of her tiger’s paws. Muscles throbbed and cinched down, torquing her bones into unnatural shapes while agony ripped a heated path through her body with claws that tore and ripped apart her delicate flesh. Thousands of tiny needles stung her pores as fur sprouted from her skin in a tingling rush. Her attacker’s arms tightened around her shifting form.
Her clothing ripped and dropped away onto the alley floor.
Ivy stretched her claws testing the strength in her changed body. A trembling growl emanated from deep inside her throat, the animal she had become protesting the sheer terror that had invaded her brain.

CHAPTER ONE
Ivy pounded her fists against the firm arms that held her waist in an iron grip. As panic bubbled up inside her, she tried to scream, but the sound lodged inside her throat.
The attacker hauled her backwards easily shifting her smaller frame against his hip. Her nose itched from the scent of dirty fur and the smell of decay from the garbage that riddled the dark alley.
The half moons of his long fingernails bit into her flesh and sent a small wave of pain spearing through her stomach.
Ivy’s instincts screamed “fight,” but she could only focus on the slimy sensation of his hands on the bare skin of her stomach. Her body shook as fear clawed at her insides turning her gut into an icy knot that froze her to the bone.
Ivy couldn’t seem to string together a coherent thought. She snarled, screamed and kicked like a feral animal as her fists connected with anonymous places on her attacker’s body. Her attacker’s tight hold squeezed her harder, until she felt like her ribs had been incased in cement, and she could barely manage a half gasp of air.
With a muttered curse, he pulled her feet higher off the ground.
As she squirmed in an attempt to free herself, her heel connected with his kneecap and a dull thud sounded.
The steel bands of his arms loosened, and she seized the opportunity.
Her defense training kicked in, and she went limp in his hold.
The shift in weight threw off his center of balance and, as he adjusted his grip, Ivy’s feet hit the ground.
She hunched forward using all her strength, doubling over his arms and coiling in on herself.
Ivy reared back and swung her elbow in an upwards arch into his face. A sharp crunch accompanied a yowl of pain as Ivy connected with what she prayed was his nose.
At the same time, she kicked out, catching his leg just above the kneecap in a downward angle.
A sound like a branch snapping filled the air, and he cried out as his arms dropped away from her waist.
Ivy lost her balance and crumpled to the ground.
“Stupid bitch, you broke my nose.” The attacker cursed from somewhere behind her.
Ivy focused on getting to the entrance of the alley.
Run. Now.
Run!
Spurred into motion, she rushed toward the lighted entrance at the mouth of the alley. With the darkness around her, that entrance seemed as though it was several miles away instead of only a few yards. Panic boiled up inside her, her heart racing as her feet stumbled over the piles of rotting trash that had permeated the air with a putrid stink that was like acid to the nostrils and made her stomach roll in disapproval. She pushed on even as she feared she would never make it into the light before he caught her and forced her back into the dark.
“You can’t run from me, Ivy.” He plowed into the back of her knees collapsing her to the ground.
A short, shocked burst of a scream tumbled from her lips. The brunt of her weight landed on her knees, scraping them against the wet mucky blacktop.
The attacker scrambled up her body, and his arms locked around her waist again as she tried to push back up. He threw his weight against her back and pressed down until she fell flat onto the ground. She struggled to breathe under the burden of his heavy body even as she tried to find purchase with her hands on the slick ground to wiggle out from under him. Her nostrils flared as they filled again with the scent of wet dog fur and dirty ground. She growled inside her throat as her senses overflowed with information.
White-hot pain ripped through her, muscles stretched and Ivy’s fingers elongated. Bones popped and distorted taking on the new shape of her tiger’s paws. Muscles throbbed and cinched down, torquing her bones into unnatural shapes while agony ripped a heated path through her body with claws that tore and ripped apart her delicate flesh. Thousands of tiny needles stung her pores as fur sprouted from her skin in a tingling rush. Her attacker’s arms tightened around her shifting form.
Her clothing ripped and dropped away onto the alley floor.
Ivy stretched her claws testing the strength in her changed body. A trembling growl emanated from deep inside her throat, the animal she had become protesting the sheer terror that had invaded her brain.
With her transformation complete, she pushed up onto all four paws with a roar and bucked her attacker off her back. His hands slipped and landed in the fur near her spine, taking two fists full in his grip. He dug into her skin and it took a second time of her throwing him off to send him flying. She turned her head in time to see him bounce off the wall.
“Dammit.” The attacker steadied himself while he shook his head as if he were dazed.
Her cat had protected her, knowing before she did that she needed the help. Self-esteem bloomed inside her chest as heated warmth traveled through her limbs, and she realized now that she could protect herself.
She turned fully toward the cursing man, her chest expanding and her legs stiffening at the stench of his fear filling her nostrils as he cowered away from her.
The instinct to kill kicked in and flooded her with the desire for fresh blood, warm and rich, spilling across her tongue. Ivy snapped her teeth together.
She stalked slowly forward, anticipation firing her senses. She wanted to feel her teeth slice through the man’s skin as his hot blood hit her tongue.
The attacker pushed to his feet and backed toward the wall, his eyes widened as she stalked toward him. A new surge of fear flowed off the man in waves of acid stench and heat.
With her Were night vision she saw him perfectly in the darkness although she did not recognize him. He was clean-cut and appeared military. In fact, he wore a uniform of some sort that she didn’t recognize. Being able to only see in grey scale in her tiger form made it difficult to tell what kind of uniform he wore.
Her mind churned as she struggled to get used to the awakened senses of her new body.
Ivy growled low and lethal as she bared her fangs at him.
Power vibrated through her in this form, and she could rip his throat out in a single motion. Anticipation curled inside her belly, even though some small place inside her brain recoiled against bringing death to the weakened animal in front of her.
A strong ammonia smell hit the air, assaulting the delicate hairs inside Ivy’s nose.
The man blanched as she continued forward, cornering him against the wall of the dark rank alley.
Pride and amusement swelled inside her chest as she realized he’d pissed himself.
Her tiger wanted to dismantle the man piece by piece until he was nothing but bloody shreds of meat between her teeth.
Ivy’s world shifted, blurring her vision and making her head swim.
She tasted blood, rich and spicy on her tongue, matting her fur, slick and wet. A mangled body lay on the ground in front of her covered in dark black splotches. Small lines of blood ran from wounds in the throat.
She stopped in her tracks, blinked and realized the attacker still cowered in front of her. Not dead, but very much alive.
Anger surged through her hot and bright.
Ivy swiped at the man with her large orange paws, batting him against the wall like a child’s toy. He grunted as he hit the wall with a loud thud.
He wasn’t so strong now that he couldn’t terrorize her petite human form. Adrenaline surged through Ivy’s body causing a fire of bloodlust to explode inside her brain.
She stopped in front of him and crouched. She threw her head back and roared, a loud and feral noise that hurt her own ears. One swipe was all it would take to kill him. One paw, claws extended, ripped across his jugular, his skin tearing apart like tissue paper and he would be dead.
Instead, he paled as she swiped at him again and her claws tore open his shirt. With an Oof, the breath rushed out of his lungs as he hit the red bricks again. His eyes rolled back in his head before his body slid down the wall like his form was made of Jell-O instead of bone and muscle. His head landed in a puddle of dirty sludge.
The attacker’s body lay motionless on the wet ground. Ivy’s brain raced as her tiger screamed for the taste of blood, but her human side disagreed, trying to keep a tight grip on the tiger side of her personality. She growled deep inside her throat, a purr of pleasure at having defeated him.
He had passed out and she considered it a personal victory that she could affect him enough to make him lose consciousness. That wasn’t enough for the tiger, though, it still wanted blood.
Ivy padded closer to the body and nudged it with her nose. When the man did not move, she swiped her claws down his chest enjoying the resistance of the soft flesh.
When she pulled her paw back, there were rips in the already tattered uniform shirt. Blood welled from the wound and dark splotches began to stain the shirt.
Ivy lowered her head and sniffed. The rich spicy tang of coppery blood filled her senses. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth and she lapped at the wound.
As her tongue touched the hot liquid, the small voice inside her head screamed, “No!”
The tiger inside her raised its head as if it sensed danger.
She backed away, licking her lips. The copper taste was exactly what she wanted. She wanted more.
The sound of a siren flooded the night, hurting her sensitive tiger’s ears. The sirens were getting louder, coming closer.
Ivy’s fight-or-flight response kicked in and she ran.
The darkness of the city enveloped her as she stretched her legs and allowed her tiger free reign.
Her muscles burned making her body hum inside. She was so free and wild. So right. The growing warmth through her heart and the lightness in her head was a sure sign of her adrenaline-drenched joy.
Ivy didn’t stop until she was home.
Her heart labored in her chest and her breath came in pants. She easily jumped the fence into the backyard of her two-story condo. Her tiger paced the back yard breathing in the familiar scents of home. The fresh dewy scent of cut grass surrounded her even as the sweetness of the night-blooming jasmine grazed her senses.
She knew she was home, but she couldn’t think beyond that. A small part of her brain screamed for her to pay attention. After several minutes of pacing like a caged animal, she lay on the concrete patio and focused to force her change back to human.
Several long minutes passed and nothing happened.
Ivy concentrated on what the change would feel like coming over her body.
Finally, the familiar slow ache started deep inside her bones and her body shifted. She roared out in pain when her bones popped, her tendons shortened while her paws shrank into human hands.
The striped orange fur of her tiger itched as it receded, leaving her naked skin at the mercy of the cold concrete beneath her.
She lay on the ground curled into a ball, whimpering as she wrapped her arms around her knees. A cool, night breeze flowed gently over her skin causing it to turn clammy where the sweat beaded on her body.
Her muscles still burned from the quick sprint home, but she was safe. The tiger was safely caged.
Ivy remembered another time when she lay naked and shaking in the cold night air. Her body had been covered with cold blood, which made her shiver then, and now made her stomach lurch with disapproval.
Ivy threw up into the grass. Her knees and palms burned where she’d scraped them in the alley, and the acidic smell of her soured stomach lingered in the air near her head.
This couldn’t be happening. That night so long ago was back to haunt her, and she wasn’t ready.
Slowly Ivy unwound her limbs and crawled over to the potted palm that sat next to the door. The huge plant wouldn’t be easily lifted by a human. Her naked frame shook as she pulled up the edge of the pot and reached for the key underneath. It would have been easier to move the pot in tiger form, but she hadn’t been able to think that far ahead. She was surprised she had been able to control herself enough to force the change to happen.
She unlocked the single French door and rushed inside. A few more steps took her to the keypad mounted on the wall, where she punched in the code to disable the alarm and quickly reset it.
When the little red light winked at her, she blew out a huge breath and sank to the cream tiled floor. Ivy was safely locked inside her home. A sense of relief washed over her at the same time the night’s events took hold. She dropped her head into her hands, a muffled cry escaped her lips as the attack tore open the vulnerable side of her being.
She would not break down. Ivy didn’t want the attack to overwhelm her, she wanted to be stronger than her fear, but she just couldn’t seem to stop it from sinking its bloody claws into her gut. Tears invaded her eyes.
Ivy had been so scared when the attacker grabbed her that it had flashed her back to when she was a teenager. She was supposed to go on a double date with her twin, Ian, but he had gotten sick at the last minute and wasn’t able to go. Ivy went without him, even though he begged her not to go, just like tonight. To this day the guilt of what happened to her that night still haunted Ian.
What she remembered of that night was all spotty memories at best, flashes of her tiger form and blood. So much blood.
Ivy rubbed a hand over her eyes and pushed herself off the ground. The past was best left in the past.
She inhaled long and deep to calm herself. Her thoughts were scattered, bouncing inside her head as memories of that night long ago pummeled at the door of her mind, begging for entrance.
Ivy slowly climbed the stairs, but paused in the hallway, her gaze wandering toward the bathroom. She could probably use a shower after the change, and a moment or two to wash the night away. However, taking a shower seemed like more effort than it was worth, so she continued toward her bedroom.
Ivy opened the top drawer of her bureau and chose an oversized gray T-shirt and boxers. She just needed to calm down and maybe call Ian.
She tugged the shirt over her head and cold dread pooled inside her belly as she realized her lanyard from the concert was missing. Ivy’s license and house key had been safely tucked inside behind her press pass.
“Oh, no.” Her hands trembled as she brought them to her mouth. Ivy’s chest cinched into a tight ache as fear descended again. When had she lost her lanyard? Ivy prayed she hadn’t lost the lanyard during the attack.
What if her attacker had found her license and house key? What if he now knew where she lived? Ivy’s brain raced with scenarios of him coming after her in her home, her safe place.
New tears formed inside her eyes as her breathing became labored. She forced the thoughts away and held onto the tears as best she could.
Ivy took a long deep breath and dashed the tears from her eyes. Her alarm was set she would be safe tonight. Ivy clenched her teeth together against the fear that her attacker might show up tonight. She had injured him pretty badly, surely that alone would detour him from seeking her out. Ivy pulled the boxers on, crawled into bed and glanced at the phone.
Would Ian be up? Would he be busy? Ivy needed to talk to her brother, to hear the sound of his comforting voice. She should have never gone without him to the concert. He had asked her not to go alone, she should have listened to him. What would he say? Her only worry was that he might be angry with her for not listening to him.
Ivy picked up the phone.
The phone rang three times before he picked up.
A giggle sounded over the line, and Ivy rolled her eyes. He always had someone sleeping over.
“Hello?”
“Ian?”
“Ivy, it’s two in the morning. Is everything all right?” He shushed the giggles in the background.
“No.” Tears flowed slowly down her hot cheeks. Although fear twisted her gut into a firm ball, a blazing anger radiated up into her face. She was angry for a couple of reasons⎯angry at herself because she should have been more careful, and angry at the attacker for throwing her carefully constructed view of the world on its ear.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Ian’s sharp tone radiated protectiveness and concern. This is why she loved her twin brother, he always cared about what happened to her. “Hold, on, Iv.” His voice muffled. “You need to leave.” Sounds of protest met his words, and Ian’s angry growl was quickly followed by a slammed door. Then, he was back on the line.
“Tell me what happened. Do you need me to come over?”
She knew Ian’s guilt still ate at him from the night back in high school when he wasn’t able to protect her. The guilt was what made him so concerned for her safety.
“No. I went to the concert and when I left, this idiot grabbed me.” Her entire body shook as fear and anger swirled around her burning like acid against the back of her throat and she sobbed into the phone. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she forced herself to take slow, deep breaths.
“I’m coming over.”
“No, really, Ian. I just needed to talk to you. I’m safe…really.” A slight sense of peace washed through her at Ian’s offer. To have that kind of male protection would be welcome, but she didn’t want him to see her as weak, so she protested. Ivy blinked to stop the tears that still fell as her body calmed, and she settled into the covers. She didn’t tell him she’d lost her house key and ID.
“If I come over, I can scent him off you and go after him. I’ll kill anyone who puts his hands on you.”
“No, Ian, he’s not worth it. I don’t want you to hurt anybody. Really, I’m just shaken up,” she managed between sniffs.
“So…what happened?”
Ivy relayed the events in the alley, but she hesitated when she reached the part about her change into a tiger. The man had seen her change, which was never allowed, but she didn’t know if she should tell Ian.
Part of the pack laws decreed they not expose themselves to humans. Anyone who did, answered to the Alpha of their pack, and punishment from him was always harsh and swift. Allowing a human to see you change was as bad as murder in the human world. Although in the world of the pack, it usually came with a severe beating as punishment instead of imprisonment.
Ian stayed silent as he waited for her to finish.
She figured she might as well tell him. “I changed. Right there in front of him and had to fight the urge to rip his throat out.” Ivy remembered the way her whole being had yearned and ached for the blood of her attacker. She could still feel the rush of power that flowed through her body as she’d taken the small taste of his blood. “I wanted to kill him.” Ivy shook her head as she wiped at her face again and remembered how dominant she’d felt in tiger form. That dominance made her lock her breath down in her lungs as she was enveloped by the cool calm of self-righteousness. Ivy curled up on her side, goose bumps coasting over her skin as the foreign sensation ran through her veins. With her head cushioned on her pillow, she wrapped her free arm around the tightness of her rib cage.
“Ivy, it’s okay. You got away from him, that’s all that matters now.” His voice held a gentleness she had come to rely on for comfort.
“But, I wanted to kill him,” she whispered, her torso tight with anxiety. Her heart beat hard against her hand resting on her chest.
Ian sighed, and she pictured him raking a hand through his short blond hair. “You’re a tiger, Iv. You can’t fight your instincts.”
“I know but…” Ivy worried her lower lip between her teeth wanting so badly to scream at the sheer frustration of the whole situation. If only, she had paid more attention to her surroundings. If only, she hadn’t gone without Ian. The ifs pinged off the walls of her skull like little shouts of distress.
“You can’t expect your cat not to react when you’re in danger. It’s our nature to protect ourselves, to kill when necessary.” Ivy considered Ian’s words as she twisted her T-shirt in her hand. “You can’t be upset about the way you dealt with him. Besides, you didn’t kill him…did you?” A hopeful hint colored his voice.
“No. I did stalk him, though,” she admitted even though it made her angst die a little because she still knew it was wrong. “I think I made him pee his pants.” Ivy reflected on the power that had soared through her. Her lips lifted at the corners into a small smile. A Were could become addicted to that kind of power. The feeling of strength and control had filled her with false self-esteem and made her want more.
Ian laughed and she couldn’t help the small giggle that slipped out.
“See, you did what you needed to do. Not everything that happens will end up like Chad, Ivy. You’ll be okay.”
“I just wish I knew exactly what happened that night with Chad. I don’t remember killing him.” Ivy bit her lip trying to make the memories come to the fore front of her brain.
“That was a long time ago and it doesn’t matter now anyway. What happened is in the past.”
“I know it just haunts me. Sometime I dream bits and pieces of that night, but I never see what happened. All I see is him dead and all the blood.”
“Stop it. I won’t let you do this to yourself.” Ian’s no nonsense tone made Ivy shove away the thoughts of Chad.
“Hey, I have an idea. Come with me to the club on Saturday and you’ll forget all about tonight.” Ian’s complete change of subject took Ivy by surprise. Clearly he didn’t want to talk about Chad.
“Ian, I don’t know. Maybe.” She sighed and sniffled one last time. Ian was always so good at distracting her and giving her a way out of her own head. She loved him for that, but she hesitated, not sure if she should indulge herself this once or not.
“Not going is not an option, Iv. I’m taking you out and you’re going to have a good time.” Ian’s voice softened and Ivy cringed. She didn’t want him feeling sorry for her. “You’ve been alone too long, it’s time we find you somebody. The full moon’s only a night away.”
Most young Weres were absolutely obsessed with the hunt for a mate and kept several partners while looking for new ones just to make sure they covered their bases.
As her father said, to maintain the pack, young were needed, and to breed young you needed a mate.
A female Were could only become pregnant on a mating moon when their hormones peaked and they were at their most fertile.
Ivy hated when Ian teased her about the full moon.
She had never allowed herself to mate with anyone on the full moon. Usually she just rode the heightened sexual desires out by herself. Her own version of penance for her crime.
Her mind drifted back to that horrible date in high school, a flash of blood-soaked skin momentarily colored her vision red.
She just couldn’t seem to find anyone worth keeping for more than a date, if that long. Besides, she didn’t trust herself or her tiger to be around a man without hurting him. Well, at least not a human man. Maybe a Were male would be okay if she could find one she liked, but she hadn’t tried to date in a long time.
Deep down Ivy knew Ian was only trying to help by fixing her up with an endless stream of eligible Weres. He loved her and wanted to see her happy. Beyond that, when his mind was set, the argument ended. That’s just the way it was with Ian.
Ian was only trying to help, but it still made her twist her hands in the covers with nervousness. There were just so many things to consider before she dated on the mating moon.
“I’ve had a horrible night, Ian, and I don’t really want to go out. But I also know you’ll make my life a living hell until I agree. Fine. I’ll go.” She sighed and shoved her worry down into the bottom of her stomach, where she usually kept her feelings. The worry could just sit there for the rest of the night, she was too tired to fight her emotions. “Thanks for talking to me.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Now, go to sleep, I’ll call you later.” He hung up.
She replaced the phone on the cradle and snuggled down into the cool sheets. What a night.

~~~

Ivy tossed and turned as the familiar nightmare formed inside her mind.
She was back inside Chad’s truck, her human date from high school. He kissed her on the mouth and squeezed her breast so hard it hurt. Fear knotted inside her stomach as his hand rubbed down her side and he slipped under her short skirt. The dream morphed quickly, and Chad’s voice boomed through her head. “You stupid, little bitch. You think you’re better than me? You’re just a tiger whore like all the rest of them.” Chad’s usually pale face was riot-red, his features contorted with rage, his lips pulled back in an animalistic snarl as he came at her with a baseball bat he’d pulled from under the front seat.
Instantly, her hands sharpened into claws extended for attack, and her lips pulled tight into a snarl full of pointed teeth ready to rip through skin and cleave meat from the bone. Her teeth sank into soft flesh, hot coopery blood filled her mouth like rich thick wine.
The soft thunk of the baseball bat dropping onto the blacktop barely registered over the urgent rush of his blood.
Blood coated her fuzzy face and wetted the now matted fur of her chest. She threw her head back, shaking it as a roar tore up and out of her throat.
Ivy shot up in bed with a gasp and clawed at the sheets that had constricted her limbs. They were wrapped like coiled snakes around her body. She shredded them from her torso and arms in an attempt to get away from the bindings. Frantically she touched her face, her throat, and her chest checking for the blood that had tinged her skin red and chilled her to the bone.
“It was just a dream.” Her heart labored in her chest, and Ivy’s body pulsated with the heat of the fear running through her veins. As the memories rushed back, she labored for a full breath while her eyes ran with scalding tears and panic beat her chest like an alien trying to tear her apart. She curled tight into a ball, her arms wrapped around her shins as loud deep sobs wracked her back and shoulders, making her hunch even farther into herself.
All she could see was the blood.