Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) Read Online Free
Author: McKenzie Hunter
me through. This wasn’t a house; it was an estate or worse—a compound.
I didn’t see them but I could feel all eyes on me. They were skulking in the shadows, eerily watching me as I moved through the house. I wondered if they were hiding from me, or if they didn’t want me to see them. I wouldn’t be able to name names or identify faces of the people I hadn’t met if needed. Periodically I would look over my shoulder, hoping to get a glance at a face or catch a glimpse of the people who were so obsessively watching me.
As we walked up the stairs, the dark-haired girl who had accompanied Ethan into my home was descending them. Her gaze met mine briefly. She appeared hard and palpably unwelcoming, yet I couldn’t drop my eyes from hers. There was something hauntingly intriguing about her. I stared at her as she passed us. Feeling my attention, she craned her neck to look back at me, and her deep hazel human eyes changed to … snake eyes? Long vertical slits sharpened, making her pupils resemble that of a serpent. I stared at them, transfixed, unable to pull my gaze from hers.
“Winter, is everything okay?” Joan inquired, turning to focus on the woman with the peculiar eyes.
She ripped her gaze from mine to look at Joan, her eyes back to hazel but arctic cold. “Of course,” she responded in a low terse voice. She glided down the stairs with soft purposeful movements, giving me the impression that I only heard her moving because she desired it. Any other time, she probably moved in silence, undetected, a predator on a perpetual hunt.
In the room, I sat on the bed trying to focus and gain perspective on what was going on. “What did Dr. Baker mean, that he couldn’t ‘change her’?”
“As were-animals, we have the ability to change others to our form. If the process is successful during the conversion, most if not all injuries are repaired,” her eyes roved over my face assessing me. “A change to a lesser species isn’t as traumatic but the conversion doesn’t allow the best physical repair. As you can guess, change to a greater species is far more aggressive and the survival rate is low, especially if the person is physically compromised. We were left without options for your mother.”
Were-animals? Was that what they were, humans forced to share their body, their life with an animal, like me? “You are all werewolves?” Then I remembered the animal that was at Ethan’s side when he barged into my home. It wasn’t a wolf. With everything going on around me, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw a person in the phase of midchange. By the time I focused on him again, he was a coyote. Well, I assumed the massive thing was a coyote. Its features resembled one, but it was larger than anything I had seen in the woods or zoo. It viciously ripped into the man—or rather vampire, killing one of the four people who entered my home.
She nodded her head slowly, “More than just werewolves, were-animals.”
“Why am I here?” I was hesitant to ask. The more questions I asked, the weirder things became: werewolves or rather were-animals, vampires and beautifully decorated compounds with built-in hospitals.
“Because you need help,” she stated elusively.
“What if I don’t want your help?”
The muscles around her neck tightened marginally, but she maintained the same pleasant smile. “I hope you will accept it and stay here. Then we can guarantee your safety.” She was very cautious and deliberate with choosing her words. Despite the assertive undertone and my efforts to resist, when she spoke, it was soothing.
I was silent for a long time, looking around the room. Now there were more of my things in it, set up for an extended stay. “Why do I have a feeling that your request is just a courtesy and I really don’t have a choice in leaving?”
“We will not keep you here against your will. However, it will make it much easier to keep you safe here. The vampires are wise
I didn’t see them but I could feel all eyes on me. They were skulking in the shadows, eerily watching me as I moved through the house. I wondered if they were hiding from me, or if they didn’t want me to see them. I wouldn’t be able to name names or identify faces of the people I hadn’t met if needed. Periodically I would look over my shoulder, hoping to get a glance at a face or catch a glimpse of the people who were so obsessively watching me.
As we walked up the stairs, the dark-haired girl who had accompanied Ethan into my home was descending them. Her gaze met mine briefly. She appeared hard and palpably unwelcoming, yet I couldn’t drop my eyes from hers. There was something hauntingly intriguing about her. I stared at her as she passed us. Feeling my attention, she craned her neck to look back at me, and her deep hazel human eyes changed to … snake eyes? Long vertical slits sharpened, making her pupils resemble that of a serpent. I stared at them, transfixed, unable to pull my gaze from hers.
“Winter, is everything okay?” Joan inquired, turning to focus on the woman with the peculiar eyes.
She ripped her gaze from mine to look at Joan, her eyes back to hazel but arctic cold. “Of course,” she responded in a low terse voice. She glided down the stairs with soft purposeful movements, giving me the impression that I only heard her moving because she desired it. Any other time, she probably moved in silence, undetected, a predator on a perpetual hunt.
In the room, I sat on the bed trying to focus and gain perspective on what was going on. “What did Dr. Baker mean, that he couldn’t ‘change her’?”
“As were-animals, we have the ability to change others to our form. If the process is successful during the conversion, most if not all injuries are repaired,” her eyes roved over my face assessing me. “A change to a lesser species isn’t as traumatic but the conversion doesn’t allow the best physical repair. As you can guess, change to a greater species is far more aggressive and the survival rate is low, especially if the person is physically compromised. We were left without options for your mother.”
Were-animals? Was that what they were, humans forced to share their body, their life with an animal, like me? “You are all werewolves?” Then I remembered the animal that was at Ethan’s side when he barged into my home. It wasn’t a wolf. With everything going on around me, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw a person in the phase of midchange. By the time I focused on him again, he was a coyote. Well, I assumed the massive thing was a coyote. Its features resembled one, but it was larger than anything I had seen in the woods or zoo. It viciously ripped into the man—or rather vampire, killing one of the four people who entered my home.
She nodded her head slowly, “More than just werewolves, were-animals.”
“Why am I here?” I was hesitant to ask. The more questions I asked, the weirder things became: werewolves or rather were-animals, vampires and beautifully decorated compounds with built-in hospitals.
“Because you need help,” she stated elusively.
“What if I don’t want your help?”
The muscles around her neck tightened marginally, but she maintained the same pleasant smile. “I hope you will accept it and stay here. Then we can guarantee your safety.” She was very cautious and deliberate with choosing her words. Despite the assertive undertone and my efforts to resist, when she spoke, it was soothing.
I was silent for a long time, looking around the room. Now there were more of my things in it, set up for an extended stay. “Why do I have a feeling that your request is just a courtesy and I really don’t have a choice in leaving?”
“We will not keep you here against your will. However, it will make it much easier to keep you safe here. The vampires are wise