The Panther Moon by Beth Trissel

Author:Beth Trissel [Trissel, Beth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Paranormal, Fantasy, Witches, Vampires and Shapeshifters
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2016-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Wishing Won’t Get You There

“Faster, bro!” The big bearwalker drove like mad at Jackson’s urging.

Morgan smacked sideways into the truck door. Jimmy crunched next to her, and Jackson gripped Uncle Don, slumped against him. It was utter insanity to tear over the road in these conditions, but what choice did they have?

Either they flee like prison escapees, or stop and face armed Panteras. Quite possibly, the baddest one of them all. Mateo.

The name, alone, sent a ribbon of dread through her. Not now, please Lord. She wasn’t ready for that high voltage showdown yet.

Out in front, Rafe steered and Hawthorne rode shotgun in the blue truck rounding the curves ahead of them. The make of vehicles meant nothing to her, only power, and the beast from the lodge ate up the snow-covered road. They ploughed closely behind ‘Big Blue’ in Mato’s rusty orange pickup, everyone crammed in beside him.

Frowning beneath his fedora, Jackson glanced from the ominous car steadily gaining ground to Morgan. “We’ll fight, if we must. But I sure would like you to recharge first.”

“Me, too. Wish I knew how, besides rest, which we haven’t got time for. You think Mateo and his pals took Sitis and the rest of the wolves out?” She was puzzled as to why the car hadn’t slowed as she’d expected. “They could’ve gunned down the wolves, but not Sitis. Plus, we heard no shots.”

“Assuming Mateo’s with the gang on our tail?” Jackson shrugged a broad shoulder. “Maybe he blew past the party we exited to catch the bigger prize. Us. And maybe Sitis pulled a disappearing act.”

“Vampires can.” Jimmy spoke in a flat voice, his sad gaze on Uncle Don.

He was fading. His ashen face said as much. She didn’t need to feel his pulse to detect the weakening heartbeat. Without the maniacal gleam and snarl he’d worn as a recently gone-crazy werewolf, he now appeared much the same as the man who’d been like a father to her and Jimmy. He’d helped his sister, their Aunt M., take care of them after both parents were killed in a car wreck. Not an accident, she’d later discovered, but one perpetrated by city Panteras—the same monsters closing in on them again.

She sighed. “Sitis probably lived to fight another day. He’s hung on for untold centuries. We’ve got to get to the Divining Tree. It’s our best chance of survival and the only hope for Uncle Don. I just know it.”

Jackson thumbed behind him. “We can’t lead them there.”

“No.” She shuddered at the thought of Panteras defiling the sacred site.

“Got an idea.” Jimmy lifted his gaze, a newfound light in his eyes. “Change places with me, Morgan. I’m gonna need the window seat.”

She eyed him skeptically. “What are you up to?”

He patted his paintball rifle. “Watch and learn, grasshopper.”

“Careful,” she grunted, as he squirmed over her and she slid next to Jackson. Sometimes, Jimmy got cocky.

“Safety first. That’s my motto.”

She snorted. “The heck it is. They have guns, too, remember. Real ones.”

A staccato blast confirmed her warning.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.