Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

rack. The house was quiet. Too quiet. “Brianna?”
    No answer.
    He hurried down the hallway toward the living room. Empty mugs, glasses, and a few small plates were still strewn on the coffee table. He found the kitchen empty also. His heart pounded erratically against his ribs. What if Brianna was just like all those other whores? He felt his face heat up as he thought about her and Tony.
    They were probably up in her room right now. His hands clenched into fists. He didn’t have to put up with that shit in his own house. She could pack her shit and leave with Tony if that’s what she wanted.
    As he started for the stairs, he heard a loud thump outside. Pausing, he waited and heard it again. This time louder. When he pushed back the sliding glass door, he stepped onto the back deck. His boots were silent as he crossed to the stairs.
    Once he stood on the snow, he paused again.
    “Get off me,” Brianna gasped.
    Rage snaked through him. Grabbing a small shovel he’d left leaning against the stairs, he hurried toward the east side of his house.
    With his back facing Edward, Tony had Brianna pressed up against the side of the house. He had one hand around her slim throat and the other was shoved down her jeans. Brianna’s eyes were wide and frightened. She struggled against him, but with her small frame she was no match for Tony’s linebacker build.
    “Quit struggling, you stupid whore. You think you’re too good for me, huh? You’re gonna like everything I do to you.” Tony’s words were a low growl as he leaned toward her terrified face.
    Edward was going to kill him. That was a fact. He didn’t announce his presence or make a sound. Creeping up behind Tony, he lifted the shovel and slammed it down on his head full force. The cracking sound split the night air with a violent rush.
    Blood spurted from his skull as he fell into the snow. It created a crimson river that made Edward’s body heat up.
    Clutching her throat, Brianna fell to the snow next to him. Coughing and sputtering, she tried to catch her breath. In that moment he felt shame for thinking she’d betrayed him by fucking Tony. He dropped the shovel and fell to his knees.
    “Are you okay?”
    She nodded and tried to suck in air. “Thanks…to you.”
    That’s when he noticed her sweater had been torn and the side of her face was already showing a purple bruise. A dark rage threatened to overtake him. “He hit you.”
    “He would have done worse if it hadn’t been for you.” That’s when she surprised him. She threw herself againsthim and wrapped her arms around him. When she buried her face against his neck, he realized she was crying.
    It was weird to have a woman come to him for comfort. Most women—and sometimes men—turned away from him in disgust. He patted her back, hoping she’d let go, but she just held on tighter. As she gripped him tighter, something strange surged through him. She needed him. It was so obvious. He might hate that he needed her approval, but she wanted his comfort.
    He tightened his arms around her slight body, but as he felt himself start to get hard, he jerked back in horror. He couldn’t touch Brianna like that. Not her. She was perfect.
    Disentangling her arms, he stood and held out a hand for her. “We need to get rid of the body.”
    Sniffling, she nodded as she stood. “Isn’t he your boss’s son? What’s going to happen to me now?”
    “No one will ever know what happened tonight.” Edward picked up the shovel from the ground and looked at the body as a plan formed. Joseph had left to take care of some business down in Georgia and wouldn’t be back for a couple days, so they didn’t have to worry about him coming back. And Greg wouldn’t question him.
    “What are we going to do?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around her trembling body.
    “I keep some dogs nearby. I think we can use this to our advantage.” Edward checked Tony’s pulse to make sure he was dead. Yep. Now all he had to do was let his dogs maul the body. Once he’d been ripped to shreds, they could dump Tony somewhere in town along with his truck.
    It would look like shifters had done it. Hot damn. He was sorry Brianna had been hurt, but this was the bestthing that had happened to him in a while. This would bring heat from the local government and from the APL’s national office. Tony might have been a piece of shit, but his father was very important.
    Edward smiled to himself. This was going to work out just