Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) by McKenzie Hunter Page B

scatter? Blindly, I searched through the house, listening for an unfamiliar voice, tracking an unfamiliar scent, looking for that unfamiliar person. Each room I passed, I placed my ear to it, listening for anything—voices, screams, even a wicked cackle. I didn’t care; I just wanted something.
    My final stop was by the room Ethan stayed in, which turned out to be a bust. This Josh had to be somewhere in this house because I could sense something amiss. The problem was he could be anywhere in the maze of rooms and hallways of this absurdly large house.
    Maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t found him. He clearly wouldn’t be alone. What would I say? Hey, Josh, I was just stalking you. Can we talk?
    “Did you need something, Skylar?” Surprised, I looked in the direction of the sound. My ears easily identified him before I could see him.
    “Ethan.” I called out into the dark hallway.
    “Are you lost?” His crisp voice asked as he appeared in my line of sight.
    “No, just looking around.”
    His eyes narrowed as he leaned against the wall, “What were you looking for Skylar?”
    “You. I was looking for you. I hadn’t seen you since earlier and I wanted to make sure you were alright,” I lied. I didn’t care for lying to people but I didn’t want to tell him I was stalking Josh, either.
    “I’m fine,” he said. “You did well today. It is greatly appreciated.”
    I smiled. Before I could walk away, he stepped closer, forcing me against the wall. His palm rested on the upper part of my sternum keeping me firmly in place. He leaned in close, inhaling as he ran his nose along my jawline until his lips rested against my ear. I scowled.
    He whispered but it came out as a growl. “You’ve lived so long in your human world that you have not developed the skills to successfully lie to a were-animal. Do you hear it—your heart rate; it’s beating too fast—and your breathing’s changed; it’s irregular.”
    “Perhaps my heart is beating fast and my breathing is irregular because a scary werewolf has me cornered in a dark hallway,” I said, sounding calmer than I felt.
    He pressed closer into me, “I really hate to be lied to.”
    I challenge you to find a person that enjoys it.
    “Tell me; what were you looking for?” he asked again.
    “I want to talk to Josh,” I admitted, trying to push myself up from the wall, but he pressed in harder, keeping me in place.
    Too much time passed as he stood staring at me. “No. Not today,” he asserted.
    “Yes. Today, and preferably now if you can make that happen.” He let me push my way past him, but he held me a few moments as a reminder of who really was in control.
    “No.”
    I was fuming by the time I turned to face him. He looked amused by my anger. If only he knew the many ways I was contemplating wiping that smug look off his face, it would have vanished quickly. “If he’s here, why do I have to wait until tomorrow? Why can’t we just get this over with tonight?”
    “Because.”
    Was he kidding me with this! I never understood the answer: “because I said so.” I realized many people grew up in households like that, but my mother worked on logic. My household wasn’t a dictatorship. There was a reason for everything, which I was always given. I needed a reason. “This is bullsh—”
    “Skylar, you will speak to him when it is time. Throwing a tantrum isn’t going to change things. Go to sleep.”
    Screw you! I may not have said it, but the hate-filled glare I casted in his direction said it far better than words could.
    Harsh eyes shot back at me. The amused grin disappeared, replaced by a clenched jaw and scowl. “Go to the room or—”
    Or what? Was he going to drag me there kicking and screaming? There was a tense, long silence between us; I was seething and he was infuriated.
    Something changed; I think his anger tipped just a little too far because he looked like he was working hard to control it. It was obvious he wasn’t used to