Shadows of the Moon

Hello,

This is my first submission. Be gentle with me. I'm nervous enough as it is. :)

English is not my native language so there might be a few mistakes. I welcome corrections since it's the only way to learn. And I apologize if it tarnishes the story in any way.

There will be no sex in this first part and probably not in the second chapter either, if that's what you're looking for then sorry. I like story above smut.

There will be some violence. I usually try not to overdo it but if it's going to happen for the sake of the story then I will describe it.

Hope you enjoy.

**

Chapter 1

"I don't care how, just make it happen. Find her." The voice growled and the order was followed by a click as the man hung up. Liam lowered his phone slowly and looked at it with annoyance not liking the tone of voice. He didn't take orders from his brother.

"Fuck off..." He muttered stuffing the phone back into the pocket from where it came, having absolutely no intention of following through with the supposed 'order'. Instead he shrugged deeper into his hoodie, pushed off the wall and aimed for the brightly colored sign of the strip club across the street. He had a new job coming up and it would require all his focus. His brother would have to search for the woman himself.

At the door he gave the name of his contact to the bouncer and was led inside. Liam wasn't there to watch the girls. This form of place was usually murder on his senses and he avoided them if possible but work was work. Someone needed to be tracked down and there was no one with more expertise in that particular field than Liam.

The deep-seated smoke, the smell of horny men and stale beer assaulted his sensitive nose as soon as he entered and he sneezed violently. The man he was following looked back at him when he sneezed for the fifth time and looked at him with concern. "You okay there?"

Liam looked at him with watering eyes, covering his nose and mouth with his hand. "Allergic." He wheezed and sneezed once more.

The bouncer content with the answer gave him a sympathetic look and nodded towards a door further down a short corridor. "That would be it." Liam dipped his head in thanks and stepped past the man towards the door.

Snuffling, trying to quell the sneezing he knocked and the door was immediately opened by another big man who gestured for him to step inside. The office wasn't big, a desk cluttered with stuff, a bookcase looking misplaced in the corner, a couch and a small file cabinet was all there was to it and there wasn't room for much else. A man in a cheap gray suit sat in the office chair behind the desk and on the couch sat another man in a well-tailored black suit looking bored. There was an air of authority around the man on the couch and Liam fixed his attention on him, ignoring the other man behind the desk.

The man in black eyed Liam's worn street clothes and rugged exterior with open skepticism then cast a doubtful look at the man behind the desk. "You don't look like much yet they say you are the best."

Liam didn't bother to answer. He was well aware of how he looked with his torn jeans and baggy sweater with the hood up. If you moved on the streets of the slums it was better to belong than to stand out. Made life easier.

The man behind the desk laughed nervously shifting his gaze back and forth between both his guests. "I assure you this is him. They say he can find anyone. Never fails."

"Shut up Will." The man on the couch held Liam's gaze with the same measure of uncaring dominance as Liam himself projected. They measured each other silently before settling on mutual respect in an unspoken agreement. Nodding the mans hand slipped inside his suit and produced an envelope which he held out towards Liam. Inside was a big wad of cash and a picture of a man smiling nervously into the camera. "His name is Paul Wilson."

"Wetwork?" Liam asked using the street term for elimination.

"No, he has something I want. That's half the money-" he nodded towards the envelope. "-you'll get the rest when you bring him to me. The address of his last known location is at the back of that picture. I was told that was all you needed. Do we have an agreement?"

"Yes." Liam respectfully nodded and turned to leave. Find the guy and bring him back. Sounded easy enough. He preferred it to the alternative.

The guy who had originally opened door held it open for him and again the horrible cocktail of smells assaulted him. As he stepped out into the corridor a giant sneeze erupted before he could stop it. So much for gravitas he thought wryly, it was hard to look serious with a runny nose.

He passed through the main hall of the club as he hurried towards the exit. His eyes strayed to the woman on display on the stage and he slowed down. A beautiful specimen he thought as he watched her slide down the pole upside down and he felt a tug of longing. It had been quite some time since he had a woman. Hungrily he licked his lips and... sneezed. With a growl he quickened his steps to reach some less tainted air.

**

"Eyes to the stage my friends, and welcome Jade. She got herself caught by the naughty police and need your help with the ransom." The voice boomed out of the speakers and the music resumed.

Natalie was led out on stage by a woman dressed in a very slutty police uniform, insanely high heels and heavy makeup. The woman led her by a thin chain connected to a collar around Natalie's neck. Her hands were cuffed in front of her and the black fluff around it tickled her naked stomach as she followed the woman out on stage. She was dressed in black and white striped stockings ending at her knees and a black thong with a matching black and white bra barely covering her nipples.

The woman leading her cuffed the chain to the pole and picked up a whip from the stage. It was a black leather contraption with several long leather stripes doing the whipping. Natalie bent over holding the pole and displaying her backside to her captor while she circled her. The first slap of the whip landed on her ass cheeks and she sighed with lust.

There was quite the crowd gathered at the club this night and she would act the hell out of this if it meant she would walk home with two nights worth of pay.

Another slap and another sigh. Bending down even further until she touched the ground she grabbed the chain where it was attached to the pole and tugged at it as if she was trying to escape. The woman kept smacking her until the second part of the act started and Natalie was pulled up by her hair by the other woman and they shared a long deep kiss. The crowd whistled and hooted drunkenly at them. When the kiss was broken the woman left the stage and Natalie, or Jade which was her stage name, was left to carry out the rest of the act alone.

As soon as she got backstage and the curtain dropped she kicked off the horrible high heels and slumped down in the chair of her makeup table. This act was getting old but it was widely popular and they earned a lot of money from it. Counting through the evenings earnings she shared some of it with Rose who did the act of the police woman. It was a good pay and Natalie was very pleased with the outcome.

"Nat. Nat. Nat." Called the jovial voice of the stage manager, making a short melody of her name. "You are as lovely as always. They absolutely love you out there. Don't you ever grow old and change my lovely."

Natalie stuffed her money away and turned to meet the irritating man. He had a wicked talent for shredding the confidence of the women working for him with his hidden taunting. It was always about age or weight or something similar to make the women doubt themselves. She didn't fall for it, the man was a weak minded fool and his insults were nothing but cheap means to feel powerful.

"And you are just as pleasant as always Taz." She said plastering one of her better fake smiles on her face.

"You know I can't stay away from you my lovely. I'm like a moth to your flame, you know that."

Natalie unbuttoned her bra and threw it at the wardrobe rack, picking up a short top to replace it with she rolled her eyes while her back was towards him. "I have to give you this Taz, you sure are persistent but you know how this will end."

"One day love. One day."

She felt his hand caress her ass as she stood bent over to remove the stockings. She bit her tongue and it took all her willpower not to turn around and stab him with the heel of her shoe. Instead she whirled and playfully swatted his hand away.

"Tsk. Tsk. You naughty man. A no is a no."

The stage manager's sleazy smile faltered for a second and a dangerous gleam entered his eyes. She received a hungry predatory look up and down her body and quicker than she could fend off he reached out and grabbed a fistful of hair. Bending her back and pressing her to his chest he stared down at her. "I have put up with your shit for a long time now... I have given you the best shifts, I have given you pretty gifts and I have been good to you. Yet you continue to deny me. If you're going to continue like this I will turn nasty. And you my lovely-" he whispered into her ear, cupping a breast with his free hand. "-wont like me nasty."

With a shove he pushed her away and she stumbled into the wardrobe rack. "You're lucky the boss wants to see you, love. Else I would get nasty with you here and now." He grinned at her.

Natalie glared daggers into his back as he walked away and realized she had underestimated him. The man wasn't as stupid as he seemed and her job had suddenly taken a very dangerous turn. After the last act she would have to split again. She was suddenly extra thankful for the large haul of money from the previous act. It would get her a long way.

**

As soon as her last act ended she hurried off stage, grabbed her clothes and purse not even wanting to waste time changing. Shrugging into the jacket and changing her shoes as she walked, or on some occasions hopped, towards the back exit of the club. She wasn't about to let that asshole Tomas get her.

Stopping just inside the door she slid a butterfly knife out of her purse and with deftly fingers she swung it around to expose the blade. If she could just get to her apartment and get the rest of her things she would be gone from this town before dawn came.

Pushing the door open with caution she looked around for any signs that something would be amiss but the alley was empty, not even as much as a street cat. Natalie wasn't fooled. She hadn't seen Tomas for the past hour, the man was up to something. Pretending to hug herself to keep warm she hid the knife between her arm and body, drawing comfort from it's presence. At least she wasn't going down without a fight.

It was a long walk home and on any normal night she would have called it insanity to walk home alone. The girls working at the club had devised carpools or escorts of some kind to make sure everyone made it home safe. You couldn't expect to stand on that stage all night with drunks and creeps leering at you and to be left alone when you stepped off it. The world just didn't work that way. But tonight she didn't have a choice. The other girls would do a group routine after her performance and she would rather risk the street for a few minutes than be alone backstage knowing Tomas was coming for her.

When she made it three blocks from the club, looking over her shoulder constantly, she began to relax. It was looking like she would make it home without incident after all. Cheering inwardly at her luck she slowed her step slightly.

As she passed another side alley she saw the contours of a man from the corner of her eye and her heart stopped. In one panicky moment she was sure she was done for. The man was leaning against the wall his head bowed and his face hidden behind the hood of his sweater. He didn't as much as look up when she turned towards the dark looming opening and stumbled back in fear.

With her heart hammering and her breath rushing in and out of her she slowly realized it wasn't the stage manager. Just a stranger talking on the phone. The stranger tensed and his gaze flickered her way. For a few seconds their eyes met and Natalie stared into mesmerizing green. There was something about those eyes that had her dumbfounded. The moment dragged on and she could still not break the contact.

Was she really having a moment with a street thug? This is ridiculous!

Her mind was screaming at her but still she did not look away.

A car passed on the street behind her and honked. With a snap Natalie came back to reality. She was still mostly dressed as a stripper with her short slitted skirt and the revealing bra under her jacket and she was ogling a stranger who was hiding out in an alley. She had reached her limit of stupid for one night. Enough was enough. She started to run. It wasn't much further to her apartment and the faster she got there the safer she would be.

Bolting down the street she made it another block before something stepped out from around a corner and grabbed her around the midriff. Feeling herself being hauled backward she kicked furiously trying to get free. With a powerful heave she was slammed back against a wall and her head bounced painfully against the hard surface. An arm pressed against her throat and she was pinned to the wall. Disoriented she tried to clear her head from spinning and when things came into focus the angry red face of Tomas was grinning menacingly at her.

"Hello love. Thought I would leave you alone did you? You are mine. All of you girls are mine."

She could feel his warm drunken breath on her face and an urge to throw up rose within her. The man was utterly disgusting. His greasy brown hair that he was so proud of was disheveled and the condescending smile he always used, now seemed cruel and predatory. He grabbed her chin to turn her cheek towards him while he licked her face from the corner of her mouth up to her eye.

Realizing she still held the knife she angled it and thrust it upwards between his ribs. With a high pitched screech he let her go and backed away a few steps. She stumbled as she was suddenly free of his weight and made another dash to get away.

He was faster and grabbed her wrist pulling her back. There was blood down the front of his shirt and a crazy gleam in his eyes. He wasn't about to let her go, blood or no blood. Natalie changed her grip on the knife and stabbed the arm holding her in the shoulder. With an angry roar he grabbed her hand and pried the knife from her fingers. Slamming her back against the wall again he grabbed her purse and threw it down the street, spilling it's contents all over the ground. A hand gripped her chin painfully and she could feel the blood smearing on her skin.

"You little bitch!" He screamed in her face. "I will kill you for this!" The knife, her knife, was thrust in front of her face. "I will fuck you and I will kill you!"

In the suspended moment of terror while Natalie's mind tried to process her dire future there was a shuffling sound to their left and Tomas turned his head to inspect the sound. Natalie could only see what was happening from the corner of her eye but it looked like the man from the alley squatting amongst her scattered belongings. He looked up and gave the man holding her a dark look. "I will have to call you back." He spoke into the phone he was still holding, his eyes never leaving her tormentor.

Chapter 2

He was on hold waiting to speak to his friend when he heard the woman squeak as she noticed him. His first thought was to simply ignore her, she was no threat and by the sound of her heartbeat she was wound up enough as it was, but then her scent drifted by him and it was the most intoxicating smell he had ever experienced.

As he looked up he saw it was the same woman that he had seen dancing on stage not even fifteen minutes ago. His wolf growled with pleasure but was left just as perplexed by the situation as he was. Neither of them had prepared for this and both were left baffled. He felt the oddest desire to lick her. Find out what she tasted like. If she tasted anywhere near as lovely as that smell...

The blaring sound of the passing car had the woman sprinting down the street away from him. He stepped out from the alley and was about to follow when he heard a voice call his name. Still staring down the street after her he put the phone to his ear.

"Liam?"

"Yeah, It's me. Look can I call you back later? Something just came up."

"Eh. Whatever man. You called me remember. I thought that maybe you have something new." The voice sounded hopeful.

"I do." There was a pause as Liam distractedly stared at the corner where she had disappeared. "Paul Wilson. I need the usual info."

"Geez." There was a scrambling noise as if someone covered the phone in a hurry. "Be more direct about it will you. For fuck sake, I can lose my job." The man hissed back.

A scream of pain echoed down the street from what he had come to think of as her corner and before he really knew what he was doing he was running down the street towards the sound. As he rounded the building a man had the woman pressed against the wall. Liam was about to charge straight into them as his eyes caught on something on the ground, something that snagged his attention with it's freaky coincidence.

Crouching he picked up a plastic card that said Natalie Bryant in big bold letters. The conversation with his brother from earlier that night drifted back to him. That had been the name of the girl he had been ordered to find wasn't it? What the hell did his brother want with a stripper?

The struggle had subsided and when he looked up he found them staring at him. Realizing he still held the phone he lifted it back to his ear and told his contact that he would call him back. Something more important had just landed in his lap.

The man holding the sweet smelling woman let go and threw her to the ground. She cried out in pain and cradled her hand close to her chest turning away from both the men. Liam rose to his feet and stood to meet the man who slowly stalked towards him.

"This is between me and my bitch! You fuck off or I'll gut you!" The man yelled at him waving the knife around and splattering blood from his wounds across the street.

Liam could smell the insecurities of the man. He was one of those men who had too much power but had no idea what to do with it. The man would never had made it past omega had he been a wolf. Looking down at the knife he started to laugh. "You couldn't hurt me with that even if you knew what you were doing."

The man stabbed the air in anger but Liam didn't move. He wasn't even watching the hand holding the weapon, it was in the eyes. Whether you were ready to kill someone or not. This man didn't know how to fight and when challenged he would run with the tail between his legs.

The mans resolve was clearly weakening as Liam refused him the proper fear and respect a knife should have brought him. He was pacing anxiously hiding behind his anger. Suddenly there was a shadow behind the man and a dull clunk sounded as something connected with the back of his head. The man fell to his knees and slowly pitched face first into the pavement.

Behind the fallen man stood the woman. It was one of the sexiest scenes Liam had ever seen in his life. The woman stood dressed in her ridiculous skimpy outfit, white sneakers, her legs spread far apart and her hands clasped around a metal pipe.

His mouth watered and his eyes were glued to her. The wind shifted and he was hit with the full force of her scent. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and felt his wolf press against his control. There was something about this woman who made him want to shift. A primal urge to be with her.