Blue Moon

Chapter 18

Lyla turned the corner, faced with the trash-filled alley that she'd only just walked through. The plan was simple, she'd completed it without issue, and now it was time to continue onto the next part of the plan. The only problem was that they hadn't figured this part out yet.

The werewolf guards were a problem, and that misting creature was an unexpected issue that she didn't want. Lyla knew that this Aneska woman was going to cause problems.

Looking either side of the street, Lyla crossed the wet asphalt to the vampire that was waiting. Lennon leaned against the bricks of the shop, watching the entrance to the black market.

Seeing the figure emerge, Lennon let his gaze turn for just a moment. Now that she'd slept, eaten and had hope, she was a different woman. Lennon surmised that she would never be the same again, but with a little luck, she might be happy once more. That is once they got the brat back.

"Well?"

"You were right. They were in the middle of brewing a sleeping agent to take down Adley. Where's the tyre slasher?"

Lennon nodded to the bushes on the far side of the road. The shoes stuck out from the bottom, only because Lennon struggled to get him in there and knocked a lot of leaves off and broke the thinner branches. It was a farce that had Merissa in stitches as she laughed.

"Merissa voiced her complaints at being stuck in the car while I was dragging his heavy ass across the street. She is, as always, a subtle and quiet creature. Learn anything else?"

"Yeah, boss man intends to keep Eloise for himself."

"Not surprising."

Lennon was mildly amused until he saw the frown being shot at him.

"Oh, yeah. Totally appalling, right? A grown vampire like him should know better. Shame on him."

Lyla rolled her eyes, then pulled Lennon into an alcove.

"Tell me about Aneska."

"Shit, seriously?"

Fear rolled in Lennon's stomach as Lyla nodded.

"Okay, that's it. Sorry about the kid, but I'm done. Washing my hands, right now."

Grabbing his leather jacket, Lyla stopped him from leaving.

"You are not leaving. I can take down as many vampires as you want me to, but a creature that mists? That's a problem for me."

"Sure. Wait, what?"

"Aneska, she misted out of the car and then under it."

"Yes, I know that she can do that. Go back to you taking down vampires. What's that about?"

Lyla held firm for a few seconds, then huffed as she rolled her eyes. She didn't want to tell the world. Being a part of an elite tactical group came with a high level of secrecy so blurting it out to the masses was not ideal.

"Let's just say I can shoot a gun."

"How well?"

"Better than you."

Lennon scoffed with amusement.

"Everyone can shoot better than me. It's not an achievement."

"I'll be fine."

Crossing his arms, Lennon narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out the secretive woman in front of him. Clearly, she'd kept a few things to herself, like how rebellious the brat was. This, however, was far deeper than a wayward teenager.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"To get in there before Carson."

"That means we need to distract those two werewolves and any that are lingering around unseen."

Taking her hand, Lennon dragged Lyla across the street, slipping between the cars and into the bushes.

"Adds," he called out softly.

Adley walked over, lowering to his haunches. Soft grunts escaped as he spoke to Lennon.

"Wow, okay. Just the two guards. That's odd."

"What, why is it odd?"

"Because it's not like the legion to leave a posting so under guarded. Joe would be paying per wolf, so maybe he's being a tight ass."

"Maybe it's got to do with Aneska."

Adley turned with a wild fear on his face, falling backwards. Lyla had no idea what he was saying, but she figured it was similar to what Lennon said. This sorcerer had these two in a spin. Grabbing his ankle, Lyla hoped to reason with him.

"Come on, Adley, I need you here. You're not going to let another creature make you run away with your tail between your legs, are you?"

"No, he's not, but that's only because Aneska's not out with the guards. She's inside protecting Joe."

Something dark filtered into Lennon's mind as he thought about Aneska's presence and the secretive mother beside him.

"Lyl's, I need to know why Aneska has been brought in, so how about you fill in those missing blanks. Maybe it might help me a little."

Adley frowned as he looked at the strange human.

"She knows how to shoot a gun."

The werewolf replied that lots of humans knew how to do that. It was not an interesting fact about her.

"Yeah, but she thinks that she's better than everyone else and Lyla doesn't strike me as the lying type of human. Keeps things secret, sure but not those little fibs. So, spill the beans."

"Fine. I'm Special Ops for the government. It's supposed to be a secret."

"And there is the reason for Aneska. Clearly, your brat has told Joe that her mother can take him out with a single bullet from a mile away."

Adley smacked his finger into the centre of his forehead, making a bam noise then grinning wildly.

"You know, that kind of information would have been handy at the beginning."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, I wouldn't have given you a gun with blanks in it."

"Oh, that." she said dryly. "Your bullets are in the glove compartment with the crappy gun you thought would fool the sharpshooter Carson has working for him. Good move. Lucky that I brought my own equipment. Are you ready to go? I'm itching to get me a werewolf skin rug."

Adley's eyes widened as he abruptly turned his head to Lyla.

"Not yours, Adley. I like you."

The werewolf sighed with relief, grateful that she didn't want to do horrid things to him.