Blue Moon Magic 3: Never in a Blue Moon

by Shari Dare

  “I agree with Tom,” Lucas replied, while the other two men in the room stood speechless. “We need to form a rescue party. I can be ready to leave within the hour.”

  Tom shook his head. “It’s a noble gesture, Lucas, but I have to turn you down. You and Justin are too well known. Besides, she’s been taken back five years. You said it yourself: you were there then. You could cause a paradox and then where will things be? My brothers will go with me. All I ask is that you take us to the time warp. I don’t have a clue where that would be.”

  “Agreed. How soon can your brothers get here?”

  “We’ll be ready to leave just before sunup tomorrow morning. If she’s gone through the time warp we can go to exactly where she is without much delay. We need the extra time to plan how this thing will go down. The Betas will have returned from their nighttime pursuits by then and will be asleep. That way we’ll be able to get past their sentries. It will be the most opportune time for us. We’ll meet at my apartment at three and proceed from there.”

  Once the plan was formulated, Tom returned to his office to place the call to his brothers. He prayed they would be receptive to him, as they hadn’t parted on friendly terms.

  Tymber’s phone rang twice before he answered. “Have you marked her yet?” he asked once Tom identified himself. “Should we be planning a trip to Langford & Langford for a mating at the Blue Moon?”

  “Yes and yes,” Tom replied, “but not unless you and Tan agree to help me. There’s a pack of Betas in the Brey Forest and they’ve taken her prisoner. You know what that means. The Langford Elites here are too well known to be of any use to me in a rescue attempt. I need the two of you here to go through the time warp with me. They’ve taken her back five years.”

  “Time warp,” Tymber said, as though mulling the word over aloud. “That could be interesting. I haven’t had a good fight with a Beta since the folks sent you to Langford & Langford. What time do we attack?”

  “An hour before dawn tomorrow. I really appreciate this, Tym, I’d better call Tan. We’re going to need all the help we can get on this one.”

  “I’m way ahead of you, baby brother,” Tan said. “I’m over here at Tym’s place and we were just talking about paying you a visit. The wives are on a cruise, the kiddies are with the folks, and we’re footloose and fancy-free. We thought it was time to check out your swinging bachelor pad. Do you want the old man in on this one?”

  “No, but if you could get some of the cousins to join us, I wouldn’t say no. The old man needs to be in a safe place. You know how he is when he gets wind of a fight with the Betas.” He thought about his twin cousins Romulus and Remus. They had been so named for the characters he’d read about in the legends of the beginning of Rome. They were a good pair to have in a fight. Hopefully his brothers would be able to contact him.

  “I get your drift. We’ll be at your office in ten minutes. I hope you’ve got a comfortable pad with a well-stocked bar. We’ll take care of getting Rom and Rem to come along with us. Do you have room for the four of us?”

  “There’s more than enough room, but the liquor is off limits to any of you until this is over with. Then you can get roaring drunk for all I care. This is my mate and I don’t want things botched the way they were when we almost lost the old man.”

  Tom knew he’d hit a nerve, but he didn’t care. The incident he’d mentioned had happened three years ago when the fortress his clan worked out of was breeched by the Betas. In the fight that had followed, his father had received wounds that took months to heal. The breech of security had taken place when Tym and Tan had been celebrating the birth of Tym’s twins. They were both drunk and had let down their guard. Since then, professional bodyguards had taken over the security of the family compound because it gave the brothers more freedom in their personal lives.

  Tom turned from the window that overlooked the Brey Forest to find his brothers and cousins in his office. At times like these his envy of their powers to teleport themselves from place to place turned to appreciation. Looking at them, he thought about the conversation they’d just had. It was strange that they were contemplating a visit and he hadn’t sensed it. Of course, he’d been preoccupied with Clarity. He couldn’t help but wonder if the trip was at the suggestion of their father. Travis Morrison was less than happy with the bickering his sons were so good at.

  * * * * *

  Clarity struggled against the man who sat beside her as he roughly bound her hands in front of her. “Why are you doing this to me?” she protested.

  “Because Rowan wants you and what Rowan wants, Rowan gets.”

  “Shut up!” the man in the front seat snarled. “The bitch doesn’t need to know anything. Knowing her powers she doesn’t have to ask the question.”

  So, this is what was causing my headache. I wonder why it didn’t come through. If it had, I’d have been prepared for this.

  The more she listened to the voice of the man in the passenger’s seat, the more familiar it became. This man was Kill. Chastity had been right; Rowan was dangerous, but this was his son was even more so. Chastity had told her of her experiences as well as those of Charity. She’d been a fool to think they wouldn’t try for another of Charles’s daughters. The Betas were taking her to a time five years in the past.

  She mentally did the math. If she was being taken back five years, Lucas would be in the breeding program. If that were the case, she probably wouldn’t see him. She had a mating mark, and according to Tom, it would protect her from unwanted sexual advances, but would it protect her from rape by a Beta?

  The car came to a halt and the man sitting next to Clarity opened the door and pulled her roughly from the backseat and thrust her toward an older man waiting outside. Even without formal introductions, she would have known Rowan anywhere. She should; she’d seen him enough times in her premonitions. When the Betas had attacked prior to Charity and Lucas’s binding, he had been in wolf form, but the likeness between the two made him easy to distinguish.

  “What do you want with me, Rowan?” she spat. “I’m not a wolfen princess like my sisters.”

  “That is where you are wrong. You’re the third princess. Your royalty doesn’t come with being able to become a wolf. Admittedly, that is worth a lot but you have something I want more than that. You can see into the future. Since you will be five years in the past, you will be able to tell me what can be done to defeat the Langfords. Am I wrong to assume you have been tolerated as an outcast in your clan because you have no wolfen qualities? Years ago I told your father he was a fool to mate with a human. But he would not listen to the advice of a Beta. After the death of his first wife, he went after the first bitch in heat to come along. I have to admit Joanna was easy on the eyes. I was tempted myself, but the great Charles Langford got to her first. Now her human child will be with me. As my slave you will help me defeat your clan and obtain the princesses for my breeding program.”

  “I would rather die than help you destroy my family.”

  “Time and the right combination of drugs and sex will change your mind. I have just the wolf in mind to help you come to your senses.”

  “Never!” Had she not been bound, she would have lunged at her tormentor and scratched out his eyes.

  “Take her through the time warp, Bruno,” Rowan ordered. “I will meet her on the other side, only I will be five years younger. Maybe that Rowan won’t allow her to be mated to a younger wolf. Maybe he will take her himself, the minute he sees her.”

  Clarity could sense reluctance on Bruno’s part. A vision flashed before her eyes telling her that going through the time warp was something he feared. She also understood that the young whelp would not cross the leader of his pack.

  Tom, I pray you will hear me. We are ready to enter the time warp. We drove across the Jefferson River Bridge and headed south into the Brey Forest. The warp is an hour’s drive from the bridge along the Brey Road.

  “Why are you so afraid of the time warp?” she ask
ed, when Bruno took her toward the unseen portal.

  “I’m not afraid.”

  “Of course you are. Rowan wants me for my psychic powers. I can sense your fear. How old are you, Bruno? How old will you be when you go through the portal? Will you be a mature wolf or an untried pup? Will you see yourself as an underling? Are you ready to live that life again or perhaps see a younger self degraded?”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t I? I know how Rowan treats underlings. I’ve seen the aftermath. What did you do to so anger Rowan?”

  “Be still, bitch. You will change your tune when you are Rowan’s slave. The breeders will have a heyday with you. It’s not often they get the whelp of an Elite and a human.”

  Clarity cringed at his words. The thought of being with anyone but Tom made her tremble. It was true she’d enjoyed sex with many men in her past but that was before she carried Tom’s mating mark. No man, not Beta or Elite, would ever make love to her but Tom, even if it meant taking her own life.

  Without warning the portal opened and Bruno pushed her through alone. Lights flashed before her eyes and the scent of the Betas assaulted her senses as she hurled through the dark void.

  Chapter Four

  As soon as they met with Charles, Justin, and Lucas, Tom took Tym and Tan back to his apartment, leaving Rom and Rem to get better acquainted with Lucas. Once they got to the underground garage, his brothers started giving him guff about needing a car to get from one place to another.

  “Everyone at Langford & Langford drives to work. This isn’t part of a complex like the old man has. In the business world, the people we deal with don’t have a clue about the wolfen part of the family.”

  “The old man puts up a good front,” Tym said. “I’m glad we don’t have to deal with anything like that back home.”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass about what the Langfords have to do to survive,” Tan interrupted. “Tell us about Clarity. I saw the pictures of the three girls in Charles’s office. Which one has your mating mark? Or didn’t it show up? I mean if it didn’t work, she isn’t the one for you.”

  Tom made no reply until they were in his apartment. “She wears my mark. Last night she didn’t want me to wear a condom. When we were done, she had my mark in the same place as I do.” For emphasis, he opened his shirt to show the purple rose that rested just above his right nipple. “That’s why I’m so anxious to get her back. And for your information, she’s the blonde.”

  “I’d say she’s a good match for you,” Tym commented. “It’s a good thing you marked her. Even a Beta respects the mating mark. They’re low, but not that low.”

  “We can talk about this later,” Tan said. “For now, check out these digs. This has to cost you an arm and a leg, baby brother. This makes our places at the compound look like shacks. It looks like you got yourself a sweet deal.”

  Tom turned on his brother and grabbed him by the shirt, “I’ve earned everything I’ve gotten. I make a good salary at Langford & Langford, but if I don’t get Clarity back, I can kiss it all good-bye. There would be no use in staying here if I couldn’t have her. She’s destined to be my mate and I won’t let anything stand in my way. These Betas don’t know who they’re dealing with. The position as well as the money have no meaning without her by my side.”

  “So which is it, the money or the girl?” Tym teased.

  Tom knew they were goading him, the way they’d goaded him his whole life. “The money is good, but Clarity is better. We’ve been going out for several weeks and I don’t want her to be with anyone else. She’s my mate. There won’t ever be another.”

  Tym slapped him on the back. “That’s what we wanted to hear. I know it’s early, but we need to rest. Rom and Rem are scouting out the Brey Forest. They’ll be back here by midnight. They talked Lucas into taking them to the time warp. We’ll solidify the whole thing when they get here.”

  Tom watched his brothers prowl the apartment. He knew they were beginning to morph in preparation for the mission they’d be going on in a matter of hours. They would ignore the guestroom of his apartment and curl up in front of the fireplace. In order to make them feel at home, he turned on the gas log.

  Instead of going to bed, Tom paced the apartment and concentrated on Clarity. As he did, he felt her being transported back in time. He knew when she arrived as the scent of Betas assaulted his nostrils.

  The thought of Clarity in the Beta’s den was almost more than he could stand. He considered making a pot of coffee, but decided he needed to sleep more than he wanted to pace because of a caffeine high. He had to be alert for the fight and he could only do it by being rested. Caffeine was good as a morning starter but with no rest it could be dangerous to the point of dulling his senses.

  As he made his way to his bedroom, he envied his brothers’ ability to morph and curl up anywhere to fall asleep in the blink of an eye. For him it was much harder. Since he started monitoring Clarity’s thoughts, sleep was the last thing on his mind.

  He checked his watch. It was three in the afternoon. If he popped a sleeping pill he could get in a full eight hours before Rom and Rem came in at midnight.

  * * * * *

  The scent given off by the Betas hit Clarity like a slap in the face once she traversed the time warp.

  “Ms. Langford, welcome to my den.”

  Clarity looked up to see Rowan holding out his hand to her. “You know I’m not here on a social visit.”

  “You are so confused, my dear. This isn’t the terrible thing you envision. With your sexual appetite, you will enjoy my breeding program.”

  “You give wolves a bad name, Rowan. You’re more like a rutting old goat. Do you ever think of anything other than sex?”

  “Do you? Your reputation precedes you, Clarity. I know you’ve been sexually active for a long time. You may fool Charles, but not me. Once you see the breeding program, you’ll change your mind. Now, let’s see what you have to bring to the table.”

  “I’m not a piece of meat from your latest kill,” she said.

  Rowan laughed at her comment as he unbuttoned her blouse. The way her hands were bound, she couldn’t even move them to fight back, but in her present condition she could only endure the agony of having this man touch her.

  “Magnificent,” he said, as he ran his rough fingers over the lace cups of her bra. She cringed as the calluses snagged the delicate lace. “Absolutely magnificent. I’ve forgotten how large a human woman’s breasts are. I must see those delightful nipples.”

  He unhooked the front closure of her bra and pushed away the cups covering her nipples. “What the hell is this?” he shouted as he took her breast in his hand and traced the purple rose. “Who in the hell put his mating mark on you?”

  “It makes no difference who put it there. I am mated and even a lowlife Beta like you knows that I cannot be touched. Now take me back to my time.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, my dear. You are my slave and you will do my bidding. In time the mating mark will fade. When it does, I have many young Betas who will breed you again and again. You will bring forth many pups, and with luck one of them will have your psychic powers. For now my bitches will undress you and take you to the breeding room. Your naked body will give the breeders an inspiration to sow their seed in the bitches.”

  “I can undress myself. I don’t need your bitches to do it for me. I’d be afraid of catching something if they even touched me.”

  The women who crept steadily closer, snarling obscenities, now stood directly in front of Clarity. “Let us at her, Rowan. It won’t take long for her to learn to be a good bitch and breed good whelps.”

  “Back off,” Rowan growled. “I’ve changed my mind. You two would never enjoy her body in the same way as Kill and Rufus. My sons may not be able to fully enjoy her body, but they can play games of touch and feel.” He turned his attention back to Clarity. “Once they touch you, it will give you so much pleasure that you’l
l never want to go back to the wolf who has marked you.”

  “That will never happen. I can’t stand the thought of having the stench of a Beta on me. I will take my own life before I bring an Alpha into the world. It’s a terrible thing to do to an innocent child.”

  “No child is innocent, my dear, at least not in our society. They are the product of their parents, and most of them don’t even know who their parents are.”

  “Maybe that’s the way it is for the Betas but the Elites know and enjoy their families.” She almost said that Lucas also knew his parents, but held her tongue. She was five years in the past, and to say anything could easily get one or both of them killed. If that happened, what would happen to Charity?

  Rowan looked at her like a kid eyeing a piece of delectable candy he couldn’t have. She cringed at the thought of him putting his hands anywhere on her body again. Instead he emitted a high-pitched howl. The very sound of it grated on her nerves.

  Turning from him, she tried to concentrate on anything but the howl. She spotted two males slinking toward her in wolf form. As wolves they were not as sleek and beautiful as her sisters and their husbands. They looked scruffy, as though they had just survived a long, hard winter in the cold.

  As they came closer, they morphed back to human form. Seeing them close up, she decided she preferred the scruffy animal to the ugly men who were coming toward her. Both sported beards like they hadn’t shaved in a week. They certainly didn’t have well-trimmed beards like the one her father always wore. Then there was the stink of the Betas; combined with that of unwashed bodies it was enough to make her want to retch.

  “This is the most important of the Langford princesses. Take good care of the regal Ms. Clarity. Do with her what you want, but don’t mate with her. She carries a mating mark. Until it fades, she is not for either of you. Do I make myself clear?”

  Kill, like Rowan, needed no introductions. Having seen him not only in her visions but also when he’d attacked the bunker just prior to the mating of Charity to Lucas, she would have known him anywhere. Granted, he was younger and age had given him a more mature look, but he was still the same as she remembered.