Chapter 5: Full Moon Fever
Chapter 5: Full Moon Fever
The full moon hung heavy over Manhattan, bathing Luna's apartment in silvery light. She paced the reinforced confines of her living room, muscles trembling with the effort of containing her wolf. The first transformation after finding a mate was supposed to be celebrated - a joining of souls under lunar magic.
Instead, Luna fought the change alone, rejection burning through her veins like poison.
"Deep breaths." Sarah's voice crackled through the phone's speaker. "You've handled full moons since you were twelve."
"This one's different." Luna braced herself against the wall as another wave of need crashed through her. "The bond - it's pulling harder tonight."
"Because Dante's feeling it too." Sarah paused. "Pack scouts report he's been circling your neighborhood for hours."
Luna's wolf surged at this news, claws breaking through her fingertips. "He needs to stay away. Sterling Industries had me drugged for two days. If they're watching..."
"They're not. I checked. Alessandra's at some charity gala uptown, and Marcus's security detail is with her."
The mention of her captors made Luna's hands shake. She'd barely escaped Sterling's executive suite, thanks to a conveniently timed fire alarm that reeked of Sarah's brother's hacking skills. But the drugs they'd forced into her system still lingered, making her wolf unstable.
A howl echoed through the city streets - deep, desperate, undeniably Dante. Luna's body responded instantly, fangs lengthening as the mate bond pulsed between them.
"Sarah, I have to go." Luna ended the call before her friend could protest. She needed to focus everything on control.
The moon climbed higher, its power intensifying. Luna's bones ached with the need to shift, to run, to find her mate. She cranked up the classical music playlist that usually soothed her wolf during transformations.
It didn't help.
Every cell in her body screamed for Dante. The rejection bond felt like fire beneath her skin, punishment for denying their true nature. Luna pressed her forehead against the cool window glass, watching the city lights blur through tears of pain.
The security system chimed a warning.
Luna spun toward the door, catching Dante's scent an instant before it burst open. He filled the doorway like a storm given flesh, his eyes blazing gold in the darkness. The sight of him short-circuited her rational mind.
"You shouldn't be here." Luna backed away, but her wolf pulled toward him with magnetic force.
"You were captured." Dante's voice was more growl than speech. "I felt your fear. Your pain."
"Sterling Industries' hospitality needs work." Luna tried for lightness, but her words came out shaky. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
"They drugged you." Dante stalked forward, power rolling off him in waves. "I smelled it on you through the bond. Heard your wolf crying."
Luna retreated until her back hit the wall. "Like you care. You rejected us, remember?"
"Because they threatened to destroy everything." Dante slammed his hands against the wall on either side of her head. "My pack. My company. Your sister's future. Everyone I'm responsible for protecting."
Understanding dawned through the haze of moon fever. "The bond suppression drugs. That's how they're controlling you."
"Forcing me to reject you was their test run." His head dropped to her shoulder, breathing in her scent. "But they didn't account for the full moon."
Luna's control slipped further as his proximity overwhelmed her senses. "Dante, we can't..."
"I know." But he didn't move away. His hands slid from the wall to her waist, gripping hard enough to bruise. "Luna, I can't..."
The bond exploded between them. One moment they were struggling to maintain distance, the next Luna found herself pinned against the wall, Dante's mouth crashing down on hers with desperate hunger.
Her wolf howled in triumph as the kiss deepened. This was right. This was natural. This was what the moon demanded. Luna tangled her fingers in Dante's hair, letting the bond sing through her blood.
Then Dante jerked away with a snarl of pure anguish. Luna saw the battle in his eyes - alpha dominance warring with manufactured resistance. The drugs might be weakened by the full moon, but they still held him in their chemical grip.
"I'm sorry." He backed toward the door, body shaking with the effort of rejection. "I never wanted... they're watching my pack. Your sister. I can't risk..."
"We'll find another way." Luna forced the words past the pain of separation. "Give me time. I'll expose what Sterling's doing."
"No." Real fear flashed across Dante's face. "Stay away from Sterling Industries. Marcus Carrington will kill you before he lets anyone discover Project Moon Phase."
"Then help me stop him."
"I can't." Dante gripped the doorframe, his claws leaving deep gouges in the wood. "The drugs bind me to his orders. One dose and I'll be forced to turn you in myself."
Luna's heart broke at the defeat in his voice. The most powerful Alpha in Manhattan, reduced to a puppet by chemical warfare.
"Just..." Dante's eyes flickered between gold and gray as he fought for control. "Stay alive. Please."
He vanished into the night, leaving Luna alone with the wreckage of their almost-surrender. She touched her lips, still burning from his kiss. Even now, the bond pulled her toward him with physical force.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Sarah: "You okay? Guards reported howling."
Luna stared at the message for a long moment before replying: "No. But I know what we have to do next."
"Which is?"
"Find proof of Sterling's illegal experiments. All of it." Luna's wolf settled into hunting mode as a plan formed. "And then we're going to destroy every dose of bond suppression drug they've ever made."
"That's suicide." Sarah's response was immediate. "You saw what they did to you for just accessing files."
"They're torturing my mate." Luna watched the moon climb higher, feeling its power pulse through her veins. "And they're trying to enslave our entire species. Whatever it takes, whatever the risk - Sterling Industries is going down."
She turned away from the window, determination replacing desperation. The full moon might have broken their control tonight, but it had also given them valuable information. The drugs could be fought. The bond couldn't be completely suppressed.
Which meant Luna didn't have to win against Sterling Industries' entire empire.
She just had to keep Dante away from their drugs long enough for their true bond to break through.
The hunt was on.