Free Rise of the Moon (Moonlit Series Book 1) by Rachel Hera Page A

turned to leave, but stopped as footsteps fell upon our front porch. We all exchanged a look, not expecting anyone at this hour. It was pushing eleven p.m. and while we were still at work, we were all just waiting for Carlos’s go ahead, so we could stop and perhaps go for a run.
    “I’ll grab it,” Noah handed his joint knife to his son, then left the room. Jason held both his own and his father’s, unsure of what to do with both of them in his hand. Carlos, however, came to his aid.
    “Let’s tidy up,” he looked around. “We should be able to finish this up within the next few days. We can stop the late nights.”
    “Thank goodness,” Kaya rubbed her neck. “Thank you, Carlos, for ensuring I never want to go into the construction business.”
    “Well, considering you don’t know what to do with your life as it is, you really should be thanking him,” Jason set the joint knives down beside the pan that held the drywall mud. There wasn’t much left, but he just left it there. Noah would give him shit about that tomorrow when we started, but at this point, no one cared.
    Noah came back down the stairs, pausing at the bottom before coming back to us.
    “We have… guests,” he said to Carlos, “Of the shape-shifting variety.”
    “Shape-shifters,” Carlos repeated. A sigh. “The foxes. Well, I was expecting them sooner or later, though by later I didn’t mean this time of night.”
    “Better late than never,” Noah shrugged. “Should I show them to the sitting room?”
    “Please,” Carlos sighed. Noah left again, and the Alpha turned to us. “Michael, make sure they clean the pan out properly for tomorrow –” Jason scowled. “—Blake, come on. Jason, you, too. You’ll need to know their faces. Or, at least, their scents.”
    Jason, who had been bending to pick up the pan, straightened up without touching it, a grin on his face. The two of us followed the Alpha down the hallway, through the door that would be hidden with shelves on the other side as he headed back upstairs to meet the fox shape-shifters. The original basement would be made into a gym and laundry room.
    “I’m assuming one of these will be the one you met earlier,” Carlos said as we reached the top. Not concerned about them hearing us. Unlike werewolves –and other were-creatures – shape-shifters didn’t get many added attributes unless they were in their shifted form. Werewolves got the power, the super-senses, and the agility. On the other hand, shape-shifters didn’t have the long painful transformation like we did. “And they’re probably not too happy we’re in their territory.”
    “Their territory my ass,” I muttered.
    “Let’s leave the talking to me, Blake,” my father grinned.
    I rolled my eyes as we continued through the house. The room where Noah had led the foxes was the first room on the left once they entered the house and went through the foyer. It was white, with black, minimalistic furniture. Overall, it had an uninviting feel –not that it was supposed to have a homey atmosphere. Two chairs faced away from the door, towards Carlos’s chair over a low coffee table. Noah stood behind the Alpha’s chair, this one black unlike the one that sat in our new living room, waiting for us to arrive.
    The foxes rose when Carlos entered the room. There were three of them, all with hair in different shades of red. One of them stood off to the side, leaning against the wall –or he was until he saw our Alpha, where he then straightened, stiff and alert. The three of them remained standing until the Alpha had crossed the room and taken his seat. I took up my position behind his chair, to the left of Noah. Jason stayed by the door, closing it gently.
    I looked over the three foxes. One of them was the one from the ice cream parlour, the one that seemed to dislike Evelyn, and she sat in one of the two chairs. I glanced at Jason, who seemed to realize this, too. I hated that foxes’ human appearances were