Contents
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Other Books
Luna Proxy #6 (Werewolf / Shifter Romance)
MAC FLYNN
Text copyright 2016 by Mac Flynn
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission in writing from the author.
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CHAPTER 1
Life is a long road on which we all travel. Some of us get off earlier than others. Right then I wanted to throw myself from the back of that vehicle.
"Stop kicking me!" Bram growled.
Quill glared back at him. "There's not enough room for you to stretch out your legs, Pipsqueak."
The four of us were seated in the bed of an old truck. The vehicle saw better days some thirty years prior. Now its shocks were shot, its bed was without a tailgate, and bailing twine peaked out from beneath the hood showing some vital parts were kept together by farmer's ingenuity and the grace of God. Said farmer sat in the cab with a cowboy hat covering what few gray hairs he had left.
Around us was the wide expanse of an autumn-swept valley. The fields of wheat were cut and bundled for the year, and the animals were tucked into the barns against the coming winter. Mountains stood watch over the lowlying fields, and a river a few miles ahead of us wound its way through the valley. It was picturesque and peaceful but for the two squabbling children.
I glanced at Vincent. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he gazed out over the fields. We sat side-by-side with the two children opposite us.
I scooted close to him and gave him a nudge. He started from his reverie and looked down at me. "You okay?" I whispered.
He looked back to the view and nodded. "Yeah. I. . .I think I know this place."
Quill stopped his childish arguing and turned his attention to Vincent. "Like from a postcard or you really know the place?"
Vincent pursed his lips. "Like I really know this place. Like I've been here before a thousand times."
I swept my eyes over the beautiful valley. There was a tug inside me, like I, too, had been here before.
Quill leaned his arm over the side of the bed and glanced at the scenery. "Well, there's worse places you could've picked to live."
Bram stuck out his tongue. "There's nothing here but fields and cows."
Quill rubbed his palm against Bram's hair, and the young boy swatted his hand away. "Some people don't like the city, Pipsqueak."
"Stop calling me that!" Bram snarled.
Quill laughed. "No-can-do, Pipsqueak."
The pair resumed their squabbling in the background. I leaned forward and caught his eye. "Is the feeling getting stronger or weaker?"
"Stronger." He looked at the road ahead of us. "Definitely stronger."
"Do you think we'll reach where we're going before dark?" Quill spoke up. "Because I'm not spending another night on the god-forsaken ground."
The kind farmer who was our chauffeur turned his head and spoke through the open sliding window at the rear of the cab. "There's a nice motel a couple of miles up ahead. You can stop there."
I looked to Quill and frowned. "We don't have any money, and we can't risk using plastic."
He grinned and patted his pants pocket. "I thought this might happen, so this is where my secret stash comes in handy."
Bram's eyes widened and he leaned towards Quill. "How much you got in there?"
Quill rolled his eyes and placed his palm on Bram's face. He pushed the boy away. "Not enough to live on, Pipsqueak, so don't get any ideas."
Bram glared at him. "I was just asking."
"Sure you were, Pipsqueak, sure you were."
"Stop calling me that!"
I shook my head and returned my gaze to Vincent. His lips were pursed and he looked into the distance with narrowed eyes. I tugged on his sleeve. "For a guy who's just about at the end of a hell of a trip you don't seem too happy."
He didn't look at me when he shook his head. "I left here for a reason."
I couldn't stop my heart from sinking as a memory surfaced. "Maybe it was for Variel?"
Vincent he blinked at me. "Variel? Who's that?"
"You said that name when you were under the spell of the Proxy Plant," I told him.
He furrowed his brow and slowly repeated the name. "Variel. It. . .it does sound familiar, but I'm not sure." He clutched his head in one hand and gritted his teeth. "M. . .maybe, but I can't even see a face."
"Maybe because it's a dude," Quill spoke up. "You know, you could swing that way and not know it." I shot him a glare that made him wince. He held up his palms in front of him. "It's just a suggestion."
I sighed and shifted my weight against the bed side walls. "Well, whatever's around here I guess we'll find out soon."
"I wouldn't be too thrilled to get where we're going," Quill commented.
I raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Because I wasn't the only one following you guys, remember?" he pointed out. He nodded at the road in front of us. "So that means those guys in white lab coats might be ahead of us at a checkpoint or something, and I don't think they're following you for a scoop."
I glanced out at the road before us and shook my head. "We don't have much of a choice, but be ready for anything."
"What's the matter, Pipsqueak? Cat got your tongue?" Quill teased our short companion.
I looked back at the squabbling pair who no longer fought. Bram's attention lay on the skies behind us. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were pursed. I followed his gaze and saw they settled on the horizon. Storm clouds as dark as the mystery that surrounded Vincent loomed over the hills.
Bram's eyes never left the horizon as he shook his head. "There's something weird about those clouds. They don't move right."
Quill leaned against the bed of the pickup and sighed. "Clouds move how they want to, Pipsqueak."
Bram whipped his head to Quill and glared at him. "They're moving in the opposite direction they should."
"You mean they're moving closer?" I asked him.
Bram nodded. "Yeah. In Celatum they moved from west to east, but these ones are following us."
Quill shrugged. "Celatum's a long ways off. Maybe they move differently in this weird valley."
"I know what I'm talking about!" Bram insisted.
Quill held up his hands. "All right, kid, I'll believe you, but don't get too afraid of what's behind us. I'm more worried about what's ahead."
I glanced down the road and pursed my lips. So was I.
CHAPTER 2
We reached a small town and its motel by dusk. The town harbored a few hundred inhabitants, all of whom were part of the agricultural trade. The few rows of houses and the main street sat by the river and were surrounded by the long fields of the valley.
The motel stood along the main street and was a single-floor, stiff c-shaped building with small rooms with even small air conditioners that stuck out the rear windows. The paint peeled from the walls, the roof needed replaced in a few places, and the neon sign had half the letters missing.
Quill leaned over the side of the bed of the pickup and smiled. "Finally a bed."
The farmer dropped us off and waved before he drove away. Most of our worldly possessions we
re tucked away in the white bag slung over Vincent's shoulder. We turned our attention to the small attached room that served as an office and went inside. An old, hefty man sat behind a desk that was two-sizes too small for him. He grinned at us and nodded his head.
"Good evening. What can I do for all you lovely people?"
Quill stepped to the front of our little group. "We need two rooms."
The proprietor nodded and took down a pair of keys. "All right. Of course, I expect payment in advance."
Quill smiled. "Of course."
Our rooms were paid for and we stepped out into the parking lot. The rooms were side-by-side at the long side of the building. We turned to each other and Quill held a key out to me.
"I suppose the lady will want her own room," he teased.
I took the key and glanced at Vincent. "Actually, I wouldn't mind sharing with Vincent."
Vincent started back and pointed at himself. "Me?"
Bram laughed. "You guys finally gonna get it on?"
Quill jabbed him in the side, but there was a grin on his lips. "Cool it, Pipsqueak. You're too young to know about this stuff."
Bram stuck his tongue out at him. "Am not."
"Don't argue with your elders, Pipsqueak," Quill scolded him. He turned to me and wagged his eyebrows. "I suppose I could put my two headliners together in the same room and hope a juicy story comes out tomorrow."
I rolled my eyes. "Each room's got two beds, you idiots." I turned back to Vincent. "You don't have to come, but I'd like the company."
A faint blush appeared on his cheeks, but he smiled and nodded. "I'd be glad to."
We broke into our two groups and separated into the two rooms. Each room had two beds, an ancient TV, and a bathroom that was plain, but clean. The floor was carpeted and the linen sheets were still white. A large window on the front wall behind the TV and opposite the beds looked out on the motel parking lot.
Vincent sat down on the end of one bed and plopped the sheet bag beside his feet on the floor. "It's nice to be in a real bed, isn't it?"
I pulled aside the curtain and glanced out the window. "Yeah, but the other bed isn't exactly why I asked you to share a room with me."
His reflection in the window showed his blush deepen. "I-it isn't?" he squeaked.
I dropped the window and turned to him. "No. I wanted to ask you about when I was in the mirror. How'd you know where I was?"
His blush disappeared and he shrank into himself. "I've. . .well, I've dreamed about that place for as long as I can remember."
I raised an eyebrow. "And that goes back how far?"
He shrugged. "A couple of weeks. Right before I met you."
I walked over and stood before him with my arms folded over my chest. "And what's in those dreams?"
He stared at the ground and furrowed his brow. "Another me. At least, I think it's another me."
My eyes widened and I dropped my arms to my side. "Is he taller than you and has dark eyes?"
Vincent whipped his head up and blinked. "Yeah, why?" He stood and frowned. "Have you seen him, too? Is that why you were in there in the mirror?"
I turned away from him and shook my head. "I don't know. I've been having these weird dreams since I met you. About that place, and that other you. He keeps telling me things and warning me."
Vincent grasped my shoulders and forced me to face him. His eyes stared into mine with an unwavering intensity. "What's he been telling you?"
I cringed beneath the dark look in his eyes and shook my head. "I don't know. Some stuff about knowing who I am, and about helping you find out who you are." I searched his eyes. "What does he tell you?"
Vincent pursed his lips and his hands slipped from my shoulders. "The same."
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Great. And that doesn't help either of us."
Vincent tilted his head to one side and studied me. "It does tell us there's something between us he wants us to know."
I dropped my hand and shrugged. "It probably has something to do with that whole Proxy thing and-" My words were cut off by a sudden thought. I whipped my head to Vincent. "The Proxy Plant!"
He frowned. "What about it?"
I rushed past him and knelt in front of the sheet bag. My fingers fumbled for the string that tied it shut, but I managed to pry open the cloth and dig through the contents. "Maybe this plant will finally be really useful."
Vincent moved to stand beside me. "I think saving your life was pretty useful."
"I meant for you," I rephrased. My hand brushed against a dried plant, and I pulled out the few thin bits of Proxy Plant that remained. I stood and turned to Vincent. I held out my hand in which was clasped some of the plant. "This might be the answer to your questions."
Vincent leaned away from me and stared hard at the withered plant. "How?"
I stretched out my hand closer to him. "This might help you to change into your werewolf form, and in that form you might remember who you are."
Vincent winced and shook his head. "I'd rather not try. Not around so many people."
"But you were able to control yourself on the dock. I know that was halfway to being a werewolf, but I know you can control yourself if you really try," I insisted.
He clasped his hands over mine that held the plant and looked me in the eyes. His voice softened and lowered to a whisper. "That's. . it's only because you were there."
I frowned. "And I'm here now."
He smiled at me. "Yes, you are, and that makes me glad."
My cheeks warmed with an annoying blush. I pulled my hand from his grasp and took a step back. "We've got to take this chance. You transforming using the Proxy Plant might be the only way we can both find out what's going on with us."
Vincent furrowed his brow. "I don't think the me at the lake was part-way to my transformation."
I raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you think it was?"
"I think. . .I think it was me," he revealed.
My eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He half-turned away from me and pursed his lips as he stared at the floor. "I think what happened on the dock and what the Proxy Plant did to me that night are different, and yet the same."
I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned. "You're not making any sense. You weren't completely a werewolf at the lake like you were at Celatum."
He sat himself on the end of the bed and gave me a small, sad smile. "I know it doesn't make much sense, but when we were on the dock and I was transformed I felt more powerful, more complete than I'd ever felt. It was like that form was the true me and not that werewolf thing I became at Celatum."
I sat down beside him and studied his face. "Then if you ate the Proxy Plant-"
"I'd be turning into a monster that might hurt you, and I wouldn't remember anything," he finished for me.
I looked down at the plant in my hand and pursed my lips. "Damn it."
He lay his hand over the plant and my hand, and leaned forward to catch my gaze. "I know you're frustrated. I want to know the truth, too, but I know we're getting closer to something. I can feel it in the air."
I sighed and shook my head. "I hope you're right because we can't keep relying on you changing without being in control."
Vincent smiled and held out his hand. "But I can control it."
I started back and my eyes widened as his hand transformed into the long claws that were now so familiar to me. My mouth drooped open before he withdrew his hand and tucked it into his overcoat.
His hurt eyes searched my face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
I shook myself and whipped my head to stare at him. "I wasn't scared, just a little surprised. How long have you been able to do that?"
He smiled and shrugged. "Only since the lake," he admitted.
I gestured to all of him. "And can you change everything?"
He pursed his lips and shook his head. "I haven't tried."
I leaned back and sighed. "You being able to
change is something in our favor. Now we've got a fighting chance."
CHAPTER 3
We slept in separate beds, but Vincent wasn't far from me nor my thoughts. His presence crept into my dreams as I found myself in the same desolate valley as so many times before.
There were a few differences, though. The canyon was replaced by a weak brook that gurgled over blackened rocks. A few scraggly trees dotted the faraway landscape.
"Just a little closer now."
I spun around and found myself staring at the Dark Vincent. He was half-turned to me and his head was tilted back so he looked at the gray sky above us. His dark eyes watched a few black clouds float over the horizon.
I took a step towards him. "Closer to what?"
His sly smile slipped onto his lips. "To the revival. His mind is awakening. Our mind is awakening. Then he'll know everything, and he will have to make a choice."
I frowned and narrowed my eyes. "What choice?"
He tilted his head towards me and chuckled. "The choice between the darkness and the light."
My eyebrows crashed down. I balled my hands into fists and marched up to him. "What the hell does that even mean?"
The world around me darkened as though someone had shut off the sun. I stumbled back and whipped my head left and right. There was only the impenetrable blackness.
I cupped my hands over my mouth and called to the darkness. "Are you too afraid to face me? Is that why you're hiding from me?"
His laughter echoed around me. I dropped my hands to my sides and spun around, but the sound came from every direction at once.
"We'll see each other soon enough, my Proxy. I can feel it in the air."
I gasped and sat up in bed. The first rays of the morning sun shown through the flimsy curtain over the front window. I glanced to my right. Vincent lay sound asleep in the other twin bed. I looked at my lap and ran a hand through my hair.
"I can feel it in the air. . . " I whispered.
I didn't get much sleep before Vincent woke up. We met our friends outside our rooms at around eight. The bright sun was bittersweet. Dark clouds in the western skies warned of an impending storm.
Quill stretched his arms over his head and sighed. "Nothing like comfortable bed and a hot shower to make a man feel alive."
Bram snorted. "What would you know about being a man."
Quill grinned and rubbed Bram's head with his hand. "More than you, Pipsqueak." He glanced at Vincent and me, and grinned. "Speaking of that, you two sleep well?"