Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

enough not to come here,” she continued maintaining a professional yet gentle tone.
    “If I chose, I can just take my things and leave, no question asked?” My eyes narrowed, scrutinizing her. I was having a hard time believing that.
    “We hope that you choose to stay,” a baritone voice added. I swallowed a gasp; my body tensed. Some people have the ability to command a room, others to control it; when someone does both, it is consuming. He was a presence that occupied the large room, shrinking it to a quarter of its size. I felt the urge to find a small space that he didn’t occupy and cower.
    His skin was tinted a flawless deep espresso-brown. His full lips, which should have overwhelmed his face, did nothing but enhance it, despite the fact they were dipped down into a frown. Prominently defined cheekbones and a strong jawline made the look of reproach he gave me even more severe. My gaze fixed on his oval light-brown eyes that were so cold and imposing that they trapped me where I stood. As he moved further into the room, the waves of muscles that clung to his broad build moved in unison with each step.
    “Skylar, this is Sebastian, the Alpha of the Midwest Pack,” Joan explained with her brow raised as a warning. She nodded, or rather bowed her head to him in a respectful greeting to acknowledge him.
    I forced contact with the male whose mere presence left me wishing I could be anywhere else. “Nice to meet you, Sebastian,” I lied. Crossing his arms over his chest, he nodded a greeting. His eyes roved over me inquisitively. The frown remained. Whatever he saw, it left him either disappointed or unimpressed.
    “I am extending an invitation for you to stay here for your own protection. You will not be safe in your home any longer,” he stated firmly. “It would be advisable that you accept.”
    “But if I choose to decline your help and leave, I’m free to do so, right?” I challenged. Joan implied that I could leave at any time, but my gut was telling me otherwise.
    His face tensed, making his appearance harsh and strident. I got the impression Sebastian wasn’t questioned or denied often. “No one will stop you, but I doubt you will be gone long before the vampires come for you again, and your fate with them will be far worse than being a guest here,” he responded in a crisp tone.
    I tried to meet his gaze but it was too intense, scary. “Who petitioned you to protect me?” I asked.
    The stern look remained as he spoke, “That’s irrelevant. They want you alive; that is all you need to know.”
    “And the vampires? Why do they want me?” I asked. Now that I knew there were other were-animals—enough to form a pack, this had nothing to do with me being a werewolf. Except for being a werewolf, there wasn’t anything else exceptional about me.
    “At this time, we don’t have that information,” he admitted in a stiff voice.
    “Let me see if I understand. The vampires have an interest in me. You were petitioned to protect me by someone who seems to want anonymity, and you have no idea what the vampires want with me, but still you have chosen to help me?” I asked incredulously.
    It was obvious from the way the muscles of Sebastian’s neck and jaw twitched with tension that he didn’t like questions or being in the dark any more than I did. And pointing it out wasn’t winning any favor with him either.
    “Why would you choose not to stay?”
    I shrugged, “Let’s just say I have trust issues and don’t believe in altruism. I don’t understand why you want to help me.” That was a slight lie. I did believe in altruism but I surely didn’t believe he was capable of such an act.
    He nodded his head slowly, still assessing me with that penetratingly intense gaze. Sebastian didn’t just share his body with his animal; he had bonded with it and become one with it. The primordial nature of his animal was so tightly interwoven with the man before me that he was something different—a