Empire of the howling moon

Chapter 5

The Sunday morning sun felt like an accusation. Stewart sat at the kitchen table watching Claire make pancakes, Danny chattering about cartoons while the baby gurgled in her bouncer. Normal. Everything looked so devastatingly normal.

"You barely touched your coffee," Claire said, sliding a plate in front of him. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Just tired." Stewart forced himself to take a bite. The pancakes tasted like ash. Everything tasted wrong now. Too sweet, too bland. His body wanted meat. Raw meat. The craving made his stomach turn.

Claire sat across from him, studying his face with the intensity of someone who'd learned to read the smallest shifts in mood. Seven years of marriage, most of them hard. She knew when he was hiding something.

"Stewart."

"It's nothing."

"Don't do that. Don't shut me out. Not now, when things are finally looking up." She reached across the table, taking his hand. Her skin felt impossibly warm. He could feel her pulse against his palm, steady and trusting. "Whatever this job is, whatever Rowan wants from you, we'll handle it together. Like we always do."

Stewart opened his mouth to tell her everything. The words climbed up his throat, desperate to escape. But then he remembered Gabriel's hand crushing that phone. Marlene's casual threats. The contract's termination clause. If Claire knew, if she tried to help him run, the pack would consider her a threat.

They'd kill her. Kill the kids. And make him watch.

"I know," he said instead. "I'm just adjusting. This is a big change."

"Good change though." Claire squeezed his hand, smiled. "We're going to be okay now."

The doorbell rang before Stewart could respond. He went to answer it, grateful for the interruption. A delivery person stood there with a massive box, professional and efficient.

"Stewart Lennox? Delivery from Rowan Ashford."

Stewart signed, carried the box inside. It was heavy, substantial. Claire helped him open it. Inside were gifts. Designer clothes for the whole family. A new laptop. An envelope stuffed with cash—at least five thousand dollars. And a note in Rowan's elegant handwriting.

*For your family. The pack takes care of its own. See you tonight.*

"Tonight?" Claire looked up from a dress that probably cost more than their monthly rent. "You have to go back?"

"He wants to introduce me to some of the other team members. Social thing." The lie came easier now. "Nothing formal."

"Take me with you."

Stewart's blood went cold. "What?"

"I want to meet your friend. Thank him for the opportunity. For all of this." Claire gestured at the expensive gifts scattered across their living room. "He gave you this chance when no one else would. The least I can do is shake his hand."

"It's not that kind of event. It's work. You'd be bored."

"Stewart, I've been sitting in this house alone with two kids for months while you worked yourself to death. I'm going stir crazy. Please. Just a few hours. Your mom can watch Danny and Emma."

He wanted to say no. I needed to say no. But Claire's eyes held something he hadn't seen in years—hope. Real, genuine hope for their future. How could he crush that? How could he tell her that the man who'd saved them was also the monster who'd damned him?

"I'll ask Rowan," Stewart said finally. "But I can't promise anything."

Claire kissed him, quick and warm. "Thank you."

After breakfast, Stewart retreated to the backyard, pulling out the phone Marlene had given him the night before. Different from his regular cell. This one had only a few numbers programmed in. He selected Rowan's.

Two rings. "Stewart. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Claire wants to come tonight. Meet you. Thank you for the job."

Silence stretched out. Stewart could hear background noise, voices, movement, and the pack going about their business. Finally, Rowan spoke. "That's not possible."

"I know. I told her no, but"

"Bring her."

Stewart's grip tightened on the phone. "What?"

"Bring your wife. Let her see how successful you'll be. How powerful. How protected." Rowan's voice was smooth, calculated. "Let her meet the pack. Then she'll understand why she needs to support your new career. Why does she need to keep certain details private."

"You want to intimidate her."

"I want to educate her. There's a difference." Rowan paused. "Unless you'd prefer we handle this another way? Marlene could visit. Explain things in her own style."

The threat was clear. Stewart closed his eyes. "Fine. We'll be there."

"Excellent. Seven o'clock. Wear something nice. And Stewart? Make sure Claire understands she needs to be on her best behavior. Pack doesn't take kindly to disrespect."

The line went dead. Stewart stood in his backyard, phone in hand, and felt the wolf inside him stirring again. Hungrier now. Angrier. The full moon was tomorrow night and his skin felt too tight, like something was trying to claw its way out from the inside.

A new scent caught his attention. Someone was watching him. Stewart turned slowly, scanning the treeline that bordered their property. Nothing visible, but the scent was distinct. Male. Unfamiliar. Predatory.

Stewart's lip curled back in an unconscious snarl. His territory. His family. The wolf inside him rose to the challenge, ready to defend what was his.

"Easy there, pup."

A man stepped out from behind the oak tree, hands raised in a gesture of peace. He was older, maybe fifty, with salt-and-pepper hair and eyes that had seen too much. He wore casual clothes but moved with military precision.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Victor Strand. I'm a friend. Or I'd like to be." The man stopped at the property line, carefully not crossing it. "I've been watching Rowan Ashford for a long time. And I watched him turn you three days ago."

Stewart's hand clenched into a fist. Claws tried to emerge, sharp points pressing against his fingertips. "You should leave. Now."

"I know what you're going through. The confusion. The fear. The hunger." Strand pulled out a business card, set it on the fence post. "When you're ready to talk, when you realize what Rowan really is and what he's made you into, call me. I can help."

"I don't need help."

"Everyone needs help, son. Especially when they've been turned into a weapon against their will." Strand backed away slowly, maintaining eye contact. "That family of yours is beautiful. It would be a shame if Rowan's war came knocking on your door. Think about it."

He vanished into the trees. Stewart grabbed the business card, intending to destroy it. But something stopped him. Instead, he pocketed it, glancing back at the house where Claire was playing with Danny, blissfully unaware of the monsters circling their lives.

That evening, Stewart and Claire drove to a restaurant in the financial district. Upscale, expensive, the kind of place Stewart had never imagined eating at. Claire wore one of the dresses from Rowan's gift, looking beautiful and nervous. Stewart wore a suit that actually fit, feeling like a fraud in borrowed skin.

Rowan had reserved a private dining room. When they entered, a dozen people were already there. Marlene. Gabriel. Julia. Others Stewart recognized from the warehouse. All dressed immaculately, looking like successful professionals rather than supernatural predators.

"Stewart! And this must be Claire." Rowan rose, charm radiating from him like heat. He took Claire's hand, kissed it in a gesture that seemed old-fashioned and perfect. "I've heard wonderful things. Your husband speaks of you constantly."

Claire blushed. "Thank you for everything, Mr. Ashford. For the job, for the gifts. You've changed our lives."

"Please, call me Rowan. And it's my pleasure. Your husband is special. I knew it the moment I saw him again." Rowan guided them to seats at the head of the table. "Tonight is about celebration. About welcoming Stewart into our family properly."

The dinner was elaborate. Course after course of expertly prepared food. Wine flowed freely. The pack members were on their best behavior, charming and professional. They asked Claire about her children, her background, made her laugh with carefully chosen stories.

Stewart watched it all with growing dread. This was a performance. A carefully orchestrated show designed to make Claire comfortable. To make her trust Rowan. To ensure she wouldn't ask difficult questions.

Between the main course and dessert, Rowan stood. "I'd like to make a toast. To Stewart Lennox, who's proven himself a valuable addition to our organization. And to Claire, who raised a strong family through impossible circumstances. You both deserve this success."

Everyone raised their glasses. Claire was beaming. Stewart forced himself to drink, the wine tasting like blood in his mouth.

After dinner, while Claire was in the restroom, Marlene leaned close to Stewart. "She's lovely. Be a shame if anything happened to her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means the full moon is tomorrow. It means you're going to change, going to hunt, going to kill. And if you can't control yourself, if you can't keep your wolf in check, your pretty wife might be the first thing you tear apart." Marlene's smile was cold. "So tomorrow night, when Rowan takes you to the preserve, you better learn fast."

Stewart's claws emerged fully, piercing through his fingertips. Blood dripped onto the white tablecloth. Marlene grabbed his hand, forcing the claws back with supernatural strength.

"Control it," she hissed. "Or lose everything."

Claire returned, noticing nothing. The dinner continued. But Stewart felt the wolf inside him growing stronger, hungrier. Tomorrow night, under the full moon, he would become something else entirely.

And he had no idea if he'd ever come back.