Back in the lab, Luna had been left to sleep on her own in a padded room. We were worried about the restless sleep she had been having and were afraid that Gabriel, who could take control of her body on occasion, was making unauthorized visits. Noah had been watching her with me but had left earlier when her sleep seemed uninterrupted and normal.

 

Luna’s POV:

 

I don't know how long I laid there or even when exactly when I fell asleep. I just remember feeling like I was floating. It was warm and peaceful. To say it was comforting went without saying.

I yawned and stretched blinking sleep away. Sighing the first thing I did was look for the alarm clock. My brow wrinkled in confusion. There was no alarm clock. I sighed; maybe I was on the other side of the bed, which would explain the missing clock.

Stretching and with another heartfelt yawn I started to roll over. The other body occupying my bed stopped me. Turning my head the dark hair and tanned skin told me Dante was in bed with me. I smiled slightly. He knew how much I hated sleeping alone. So he would occasionally stop by the house and crawl in bed with me.

He blinked at me then smiled. It was the kind of smile that would make any hot-blooded woman melt. I was no exception. I ran a hand over his brow to cup his cheek. I kissed the end of his nose. He in turn kissed the pulse at the base of my neck. I sighed enjoying the feeling for a moment.

Slowly I started to pull away from him. I couldn’t let it go any further. Shang-Da would kill him, not to mention Patrick would be none to pleased. His grey eyes stared back at me. It took a moment for that fact to sink in. When it did I tried to pull away and he wouldn’t release his hold. Now normally Dante’s eyes were an ice blue that could sometime be grey but not the steel grey I was looking at now. Not with that wicked glint in his eyes. I had seen that look before. There was only one person that had eyes like that. Gabriel.

The name alone sent chills up my spine. It was bad enough that I could channel him. But to have him invade my dreams, that was unacceptable. Wait, dreams, I was dreaming I had to be.

Gabriel’s rich rolling voice filled the void. “Yes, my dear Luna. This is in fact a dream.” His eyes roved over my nude form then they came back to meet mine. A smirk tweaked Dante’s, or rather Gabriel’s, handsome mouth. He stroked a finger down my cheek. I suppressed a shudder of revulsion.

I couldn’t have told why he had assumed Dante’s form; his own would have worked, unless he was up to something. But what? His laugh filled the sudden silence. “You know, I had wondered about that myself.” I could feel my eyebrows rise. “I didn’t pick this form you gave it to me.”

“Bullshit.” The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it. Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows. “I wouldn’t have done that. Now what are you up to? And don’t lie to me. Why can’t you just leave me alone?” My voice had sounded hysterical even to me. There was nothing I could do about it now. I stared into those eyes and wondered where in my life I had gone so wrong. I mean I had to have done something very wrong, to be cursed with this thing. I wouldn’t think of him in any other terms.

Gabriel cocked his head to the side, appearing to consider my questions. His hand slid up my back and back down to my waist. All the while saying nothing. I was getting frustrated at his continued silence, why didn’t he say something?

When he did speak I wished that he hadn’t. “Well it would seem to me, that you find this form most appealing, do you not? What better way to get your cooperation than to choose a form that you can’t seem to say no to?”

I felt the color drain from my face and then flush with embarrassment. Sure I thought Dante was handsome. There wasn’t a whole lot that I wouldn’t have given him had he but asked. But to hear it put so clearly made me think that there was more going on here than I had suspected. My voice was breathy and held a note of fear that I despised. “My cooperation for what?”

His hand roamed over my hip down my thigh and back up. When I tried to move away his fingers dug in painfully. If this was a dream then there shouldn’t have been any pain, right? “It is a dream, but then it isn’t.” Gabriel’s words interrupted my train of thought. He knew that he had my undivided attention now. “All I’m asking dear Luna. Is one night, one night again in leopard form. Is that too much to ask?”

“Why?” I asked my voice soft. I was half afraid of his answer and some part of me knew that he was enjoying my fear. But I couldn’t seem to shake it.

His eyes bored into mine. His voice was intense. “Because I’m bored. Because I want to feel once more the thrill of the hunt. To run free through the night.” He paused, I guess to gage my reaction, then continued. “And because if you don’t the next time you ‘think’ your asleep there could be a rather unfortunate accident involving our dear sweet Maggie.” When that failed to draw an answer out of me he said, “Or perhaps it will be Gregory’s mate. I hear that she’s pregnant. It would be a pity for to lose her precious bundle of joy. But then it would be you to suffer the consequences.”

Finally finding my voice. “Yes, but if I die so do you.” I refused to acknowledge his threats against Maggie and Esther. If I let him know just how much they meant to me there was no telling what he’d do to gain my compliance.

“But there will be others. Not as strong as you however. But others who are weak and willing to let me fill them, allow me to do whatever I want. It will make them feel powerful.” Without warning he grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my face even with his. His voice was barely recognizable. “Now the time has come Luna. What is your answer?”

I was terrified. If I gave into his request there was no telling what else he’d do. If I didn’t give in he’d hurt either Mags or Esther or in all likely hood both. I was trapped between the proverbial rock and a hard place. He gave my hair a ruthless shake. I could feel my eyes filling with tears. My voice came out choked and hoarse. “Can I have some time to think about it?”

He smiled benignly, figuring that he was going to get his way, and in all likely hood he would. “You have until you next sleep to give me your answer.” Gabriel’s mouth twisted cruelly and his eyes were alight with some emotion that I couldn’t understand. “But to show you how serious I am I think I’ll leave you with this parting gift.”

I watched in horrified fascination, as his hand shifted, not into Dante’s wolf form, but into that of a leopard’s paw. The claws elongated and without warning he slashed me from chest to waist. The pain was immediate and piercing. I let out a bloodcurdling scream and clutched a hand to my chest.

I woke to Noah shaking me. My eye filled with tears, most of which were beginning to fall. I pulled my hand away from my chest and found it covered in blood. I stared at my hand dumbly not comprehending what was happening. Turning confused eyes to Noah, he seemed just a dumbfounded as I was. He ripped the shirt I’d been wearing off and gasped. I looked down and saw four ragged claw marks. They went from about my collarbone to about mid waist.

The bleeding wasn’t slowing. Shouldn’t my metabolism already be repairing the damage? My vision swam and there was an encroaching blackness. I knew I was going to faint. Maybe if I were lucky I would die. Then I wouldn’t have to make a decision. For some reason that thought made me smile. Then there was nothing.