One Day (de Luna Wolves Book 1) Read online

  One Day

  Blurb

  Tonya:

  Heaven is a place on earth. That’s what Belinda Carlisle says in her latest hit, but I’m pretty sure that’s a load of mung. Especially since I’m having to move back in with my mother at the same time she’s divorcing my tyrannical father. At least I get the bonus of viewing the mega hottie when he comes to visit his folks next door to my new digs.

  Pierce:

  I’ve never been one to believe in fate which is odd considering my kind is constantly on the lookout for the one fate says should be our mate. Everything changes when a new family buys the house next door to my parents and the wind carries the scent of my mate to my nose. All I have to do now is convince a human, whose only knowledge of my kind are the erroneous concepts in movies Hollywood puts out, that we’re meant to be.

  Dedication

  Joyce, Ferrell, T.M. and Mandy, thank you for reading my story and making sure my words weren’t complete garbage. I appreciate you all!

  Hotties, thank you for telling me about your favorite 80s memories. I had forgotten about the popularity of roller rinks and parachute pants. And scrunchies. And neon. And… well, all of it, minus Michael Jackson. One cannot forget the King of Pop.

  Cover art done by Bell Ames Design

  Editing done by Wicked Concepts

  Chapter 1

  Pierce

  The phone rings as I’m watching a random movie to test the RCA VCR I picked up at a garage sale because the lady said it no longer worked after a tape jammed. She didn’t like asking for money but thought a child might enjoy taking it apart. I felt bad and ended up giving her a dollar because I had a sneaking suspicion the drive spool had a remnant of the previous tape stuck under it and that was the only reason it stopped working. Even if it wasn’t, the parts alone would be worth far more than a mere one hundred pennies.

  I get up and press the stop button before answering the phone, all the while, praying it’s not someone from work. Even though it’s a Saturday, they wouldn’t hesitate to call me in for some last-minute project the boss ‘forgot’ about the week before. “Hello?”

  “You’re home. Oh, thank heaven, son! I need to ask for a really big favor.”

  Dad’s sigh of relief has me grabbing my wallet off the table and shoving it in my back pocket. “What do you need?” I ask, reaching for my keys.

  “Two things. First, Robbie and David…”

  “I’ll whoop their tails,” I interrupt with a growl. My two teenage brothers have become quite the handful lately, thinking they need to push boundaries. Robbie especially, since he graduated last spring.

  “Oh, no. They’re behaving themselves.” Dad pauses and chuckles. “A group of sweet young ladies are moving in next door, so they are on their best behavior. I do have to say, it’s interesting seeing how each daughter is a carbon copy of their mother, just at a different age.”

  “Okay?” I question, wondering what is so urgent. “So, what do you need from me?”

  “The movers attempted to pull a fast one on the poor woman when they found out she was divorced. Well, long story short, those awful men are lucky your mother didn’t rip their throats out, we’re now helping them unload furniture, and we’re hungry.”

  I chuckle. Mom is definitely the protective sort and wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to take on some dipshit, especially one who thinks to take advantage of a woman. “Pizza?”

  “Thank you, son,” Dad sighs in relief.

  Shaking my head, I ask, “Who am I feeding?”

  “Your mother says the new neighbors remind her of my sister and her brood, only better behaved.” Dad’s answer tells me that the neighbors are not only human but listening as well.

  “So…” I pause and do a quick count in my head. “Ten large pizzas? Any particular type?”

  There’s a muffle telling me Dad put his hand over the receiver, but I can still hear him ask, “What kind of pizzas do you cool cats want?” Coming back to talk to me, Dad says, “Ms. Belfast, uh, I mean Beverly, that’s the matriarch next door, says they’ll eat pretty much anything as long as it doesn’t have anchovies but the little one is currently giving me doe eyes and asking for plain cheese.”

  “Standard mix then,” I laugh, knowing that Dad just winked at the new neighbor kid letting her know that he’s okay with her asking for plain cheese.

  “Oh, can you toss in a couple extras? The teenagers on both sides of the fence have been working up quite an appetite showing off.”

  “Not a problem. And the second?”

  “After we eat, can you stay and help us move the last of their belongings? Even though we’ve been working hard, we may not be able to make it before the moving company returns.”

  I’m nodding even though Dad can’t see me. “Sure. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Love you, son. See you in a bit.”

  “Love you too,” I say before the call disconnects. I’m still chuckling at the phone call with my father as I call the Pizza Hut closest to my parents’ house.

  “Pizza Hut, Makin’ it Great,” a young voice answers.

  “Hello, this is Pierce de Luna. I’d like to place a to-go order please.”

  “Oh hey, Pierce… I mean, Mr. de Luna. This is Ricky. Do you want to place your usual?”

  “Actually, I need my normal order plus two additional pepperonis, one additional cheese, and one additional supreme.”

  Ricky whistles into the phone. “David throwing a block party? Sorry, sir. That’s not an appropriate question for a Pizza Hut employee to ask.”

  I laugh. David and Ricky are both juniors in high school and often hang out when Ricky’s not working. “No, new neighbors and Dad’s decided to feed the lot,” I explain, having mercy on the young man.

  “We’ll have your order ready in forty-five minutes. Will there be anything else, sir?” There’s a bit of muffled arguing before Ricky comes back on the line. “Mr. de Luna, would you mind coming in? Even though I recognize your voice, it’d make the manager feel better. You know, since someone pretended to be you a couple of weeks back.”

  “I had already planned on doing so. After someone called in pretending to be me, I want to reassure the hard-working employees at Pizza Hut that their time will not be wasted.”

  Ricky gulps. While I haven’t told anyone else, I know it was my younger brother and his best friend who placed that crank call a few weeks ago. I don’t plan on narcing, but they don’t know that. Plus, it’s fun to subtly toss a bit of guilt their way to ensure they behave themselves.

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” I tell the still-sputtering Ricky before putting the phone back on the cradle. Mom tried to scold me for ‘wasting my money’ on the cordless model, but I like the freedom of being able to move around if and when I want while talking on the phone.

  Leaving my apartment, I make the short drive to the small strip mall. After confirming my order, I ask the manager, “What’s that Blockbuster store that opened up next door?”

  The manager shrugs. “I dunno. Some movie rental place or something. I give them a month, maybe two, before they close up shop.”

  I tilt my head. “Maybe you two could team up somehow? You know, run some sort of deal on Friday nights where if they rent a movie, they get a discount on pizza or an order of breadsticks or something.”

  The manager nods thoughtfully. “I’d have to run it up the flagpole, but we do Book It.” He nods some more. “I bet I could make it work.”

  To kill time while I wait on my food, I meander to the new video store.

  A teenage girl greets me as I walk in, “Welcome to Blockbuster.” She immediately sniffs the air.

  While I don’t do the same, I d
o give her a slight nod of acknowledgement before heading to the row labeled ‘Horror’.

  “You watch that?” she asks in disgust as I pick up a movie with a werewolf on the cover.

  I laugh as I place Silver Bullet back on the shelf. “They are pretty bad, aren’t they?”

  “Total gag me with a spoon. I mean, what drugs were they on thinking wolves walk upright?” Her voice drips with teenage disdain.

  I give her a look of consideration. “What’s your opinion of Teen Wolf?”

  She rolls her eyes before grinning, the fluorescent lights glinting off her braces. “Totally grody for being all wrong, but a cute movie for either the uninitiated or the Michael J fans. The sequel may be equally as gnarly…” She stops abruptly as a pot-bellied man comes out of the back room. We both wrinkle our noses at the stench we’re unlucky enough to be privy to.

  “Patricia, what have I told you about bothering the customers with useless trivia?”

  The man’s high-pitched, nasally voice makes me cringe. Seeing the young woman before me wilt like a beaten dog before her master makes me see red. She taps my arm and shakes her head when I start to growl. She gives me a quick wink before ducking her head and going back to the check-out counter. I subtly sniff the air. There’s no scent of fear coming from her. She’s… pretending?

  The man goes to the other side of the store, and I make a beeline to the counter, grabbing two random movies on my way, determined to make sure this young wolf is truly safe.

  My scowl of confusion makes her smirk. She peers around me before murmuring, “My twin sister is Patricia. She’s human.” She clears her throat. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  I turn and see the manager staring at us, so grab a candy bar off the display at my side, pretending that’s what I was after the entire time. It’s only then that I realize that I grabbed Batteries Not Included and… oh, I grabbed Predator as well. I mentally applaud my choices.

  “I’m trading places with her just for this shift so I can tell her if she needs to quit or what,” she mumbles before asking, “Do you have an account with us, sir?”

  I shake my head and she hands over a card for me to fill out. I pretend I’m asking about something on the card, but actually whisper, “Don’t get yourself into trouble.”

  “I’m a good girl,” she smirks. If her quickly ducking her head wasn’t enough to tell me he’s approaching, the overwhelming stench of body odor poorly masked by copious amounts of aftershave would.

  “Patricia…”

  Not-Patricia’s eyes flash. “You know, if I motor, you have to take care of everything, including the bathroom that I can smell from here. So, either take a chill pill and step off your power trip any time someone walks in the door or explain to your boss why yet another teenage girl quit on your skeevy self. Oh, and if I book, you better believe that I will put the word out on exactly why I quit. Good luck getting anyone to step foot in here after that.”

  Not one to tolerate a bully, I hold up my white bit of cardboard, poised to rip it in half, as I wait on the rotund man to make his decision.

  He glares at the both of us before going back to the room he exited earlier.

  Grinning at the muffled curses coming from behind the door, she holds out her hand. “Thank you,” she glances at the card, “de Luna? Really? Radical!” she laughs, not waiting for a reply. Still grinning, she places the tapes in a bag. “Your movies are due back in three days. Blockbuster asks that you be kind and rewind before returning your feature film.”

  I chuckle and shake my head. “Have a good one, little alpha.”

  She dissolves into a fit of giggles at my compliment regarding her fierceness. A glance at my watch tells me I still have another twenty minutes before my order will be ready, so I head to the supermarket a few doors down and quickly load up on a variety of soft drinks and potato chips.

  “Your last pizza is coming out of the oven now,” Ricky calls out as I walk back into Pizza Hut.

  “Would you like help out to your car?” the manager asks as he enters my order into the register.

  “I’d appreciate that,” I reply, writing out the check.

  Ricky pouts when the manager waves over two others, but quickly changes his attitude when a group of girls in cheerleader uniforms walk through the door.

  I stack the pizzas in the back seat of my ‘86 Dodge Daytona and settle behind the wheel so I can make my way to my parents’. Before hitting the road, I adjust the dial on the radio. Heaven Is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle blasts out of my speakers and I wonder if any of my past lovers have thought being in my bed was heavenly. Then again, they’ve all been nothing more than passing flings, so I really don’t care beyond the obvious ego boost.

  I pull into Mom and Dad’s driveway and the sound of my brothers acting like a pair of rabid hyenas greets me before I can even open my car door. They race over and immediately start arguing over who gets to carry in the pizzas.

  “Have you been acting like this in front of the neighbors?” I ask, subtly nodding my head where an attractive brunette in a bright pink shirt is standing on the porch. I know Dad said they were on their best behavior, but I didn’t really believe it until they both clamped their mouths shut and stood there patiently while I pulled the boxes from the back seat and the drinks from the trunk.

  “Do you need help with anything else?” David asks with the politest tone to ever leave his lips.

  I poke his cheek. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

  “Whatever dude,” he snarks, jerking his head back. “You just wish you had my rad skills.”

  The wind shifts and it’s like a punch in the gut. I turn to follow the scent, but Robbie steps in front of me. “Dude! Come inside before you scare her away with your snarls.”

  I whirl on my brother, ready to rip his throat out for telling me I can’t go to my mate, but his words stop me.

  “Pierce, I’m in a pickle and need your help. The second youngest sister, Angel, is my mate, but she’ll never accept me.” He snorts in irony. “She hates dogs.”

  I take a beat to remind myself that the scent on the wind is human. It would do me no good to go over and loudly declare my desire to mount her then and there. Determined to ease my brother’s worries as well as calm my own attitude, I grin and follow my younger brothers into the house. “Good thing we’re wolves.”

  Chapter 2

  Tonya

  I dig my fists into the small of my back and stretch as Mom continues to bark orders at not only me and my three younger sisters, but the neighbors as well. A small chuckle escapes as I imagine her showing drill sergeants how to take a ragtag bunch of cadets and turning them into a well-oiled, well-behaved machine.

  While the teenage boys from next door have done all the heavy lifting, the back and forth has made me even more determined to increase my aerobics classes. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. No way am I going to let it be because Wesley decided to flaunt the fact he was hooking up with some blonde bimbette with a bubble butt. Right as Mom and Dad split too.

  A sleek red sports car pulls in next door, and I pretend I’m using the side of the house to stretch but I’m really checking out the hella drool worthy specimen that’s exiting the vehicle, loving the way his Def Leppard t-shirt stretches across the muscles of his chest. Robbie and David’s whoops of joy lead me to believe this is the brother they were discussing earlier. His pulling pizza and drinks from the car confirms it.

  It looks like he’s about to come over, but I have to swallow my disappointment when Robbie and David stop him. It’s probably a good thing since I’m majorly grody after spending the morning moving box after box of stuff. Not that I’m all that hot to begin with. I shake my head and scold myself. No, I am bitchin’ and no one is ever going to tell me otherwise.

  Mrs. de Luna puts her hand on my shoulder. “Come over and take a break, my dear. Pierce has brought pizza and, for as hard as everyone’s been working, I do bel
ieve we are all due.”

  I smile at the brunette as I fix the ponytail above my left ear. “Thanks, Mrs. de Luna. I’m totally jonesing for a slice.” I try to hide the fact I’m wigging out at meeting Pierce, but I don’t think I’m very successful.

  She loops her arm through mine as we walk across the yard. “Oh, please. Even though you’re young enough to be my daughter, we are both grown women. Call me Joan.”

  I grin, still unbelieving the woman at my side had so many children. Five of them have spent the morning helping us move, and Pierce makes six. Mom’s belly got a little bigger after each of us, but Joan de Luna looks like she could be one of the kids. Hell, she doesn’t even have gray hair, which I can see since my five-ten bod puts my eyeballs far enough over her five-six frame.

  The chaos is deafening when we enter the de Luna house. Joan mimes covering her ears and waits for me to comply before she lets out a shrill whistle, instantly silencing the din. “You know the rules,” she says while placing a hand at the small of my back, guiding me to the front of the line that just formed. I glance at Mom, but she’s herding my sisters to get into line behind me.

  The brother that just arrived smiles at me. “What can I get you? There’s supreme, pepperoni, and cheese.” Damn if his voice isn’t totally fantabulous with exactly the right amount of rumble.

  “One slice of supreme and one of pepperoni, please,” I choke out while trying to not drown in his blue-green eyes.

  There’s some snickering from behind me, but he and I both ignore it as he places the requested slices on my plate with a smile and a quick wink. I move over and my seventeen-year-old sister steps up.

  “Three pepperoni,” Victoria practically purrs, not even attempting to hide the fact she finds him attractive. Not that I can blame her. He’s hella bodacious with his sandy-blonde hair and eyes the color of the ocean. I bet if we lived anywhere near a beach, he’d fit in with the surfer crowd as he catches wave after wave. I sigh, pulling myself away from daydreams of his body covered in salty sea water, and add a handful of chips to my plate before grabbing a can of RC Cola and heading to the dining room.