• • •
The roadside where Caleb left Maddox was calmer than he'd hoped—or, at least as calm as any roadside where a van had crashed into a fallen tree trunk.
He arrived fully dressed after gathering his clothing from where they'd been discarded, and looked over the scene with Emily at his side. A tree was now blocking the path down the street, and Maddox was leaning against the wrecked van with a satisfied smirk on her face.
But that look turned to concern when she saw them approaching.
“Emily? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, thanks to Caleb. What about you? Did you knock a tree over to stop them?”
Maddox grinned in response, a look that proved to be infectious. “I was just having a little fun, and on the plus side, ruining their vehicle meant stranding them so they'd be easier to catch if, by some miracle, they escaped.”
Emily smiled, and Caleb inquired seriously, “Did you lock them in the back?”
“Yes,” she confirmed, stepping away from the van in adding, “you'd be surprised how many restraints they have back there, for holding lupines I'm guessing. But I didn't ask them any questions. I thought it would be best to wait on your uncle after I called him to update, or let you do it.”
Nodding, Caleb returned, “Thanks,” and wasted no time getting started by throwing the back doors open.
Inside, he found Margaret gagged with her hands cuffed to a bar behind her back. On the floor before her was Sam, a stocky human with a shaved head who was laying on his side, his arms tethered behind his back and legs bound together.
Neither of them looked very happy, and though the sight of their annoyance was vastly amusing, Caleb knew his eyes were glowing because his fangs had sharpened in considering what they'd done.
However Margaret had faked her death, it wasn't hard to guess the reason she'd had so many lupines abducted and murdered from the start—revenge. Evan and Carson had already stated their aim was to make the elders of Hunter's Moon suffer by hurting the people they loved, which had to be her motive, too.
So when Margaret's gaze narrowed at them—particularly upon spying Emily alive and well—Caleb had to smirk over their victory. His mate's race into the woods to kill herself under hypnosis was definitely a good indication that Margaret had done the same thing to Fiona. Topping it off, she'd caused triple the amount of grief than she'd likely suffered from Cooper's loss alone.
So while Caleb would've loved nothing more than to exact revenge for his pain by taking his rage out on her, that wouldn't be fair. Several others, including his uncle, had a right to revenge as well, and he wouldn't take their chance away.
Instead, he focused on Sam, asking Emily, “Just to be a hundred percent clear, Sam's one of the assholes who harassed you about stripping, right?”
Emily nodded plainly. “That's one of the assholes.”
“Good to know,” Caleb returned, reaching inside to grab the human's ankle and drag him to the edge of the van.
There, he jerked Sam up by his collar to slam his fist into the asshole's cheek three times, giving a reason with each blow.
“This is for hitting Emily—Bam!—This is for harassing her—Bam!—and this is just because I fucking feel like it!” Wham!
On the third hit, Maddox grabbed him to pull away, though he heard her snickering as if she thought his final reason was amusing. Caleb then found Emily winding her arms around his waist, suggesting she feared he'd resume his beating and go too far. But he relented in favor of gripping her body to his, generally satisfied with his retribution.
Besides, Sam was unconscious now, and if Caleb did more, he'd rather the human be awake to feel it.
So he turned his head to lean down and kiss Emily's temple where a bruise was forming, and at the same time, several cars came down the road behind them.
All three looked back to see two police cruisers pulling onto the scene, including Josh and Daphne's unmarked car with Travis in the backseat. Now that the sun had set, it didn't take long for Stephan to arrive from Atlanta either, and as Caleb watched him reuniting with Maddox, he admitted that he'd been completely wrong about the vampires.
Whatever happened next, he'd support Nightfall, and help spread the word however he could.
Yet his focus was soon drawn to Daphne, who wanted to take their statements about the evening's events. So the couple explained things as thoroughly as possible, and by the time they'd finished, the police officers were hauling Sam and Margaret out of the van with Travis exiting behind them.
The elder had a solemn look on his face as he walked over to join them on the roadside, asking in concern, “Are you guys okay?”
“We will be,” Caleb confirmed. “But what about you? You don't look so hot.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “I just found out that Charles is dead. We're gonna investigate further, but the way Hammond told me his fate didn't sound like a lie.”
Caleb frowned. “Do I even wanna know?”
“Probably not,” Travis muttered. “Hammond had a good set up though. I'm actually not surprised she evaded us for so long.”
Caleb couldn't disagree with that assessment, inquiring, “Speaking of, do you have any idea why she was reported as deceased?”
“I actually learned the answer to that a few hours ago. Our background check on Sam revealed that he was almost her stepson through a previous engagement, and was also closely associated with the police force where Margaret and John lived. So he used those ties, and paid some people off to falsify information. As a result, Margaret died and started going by Peggy Tate.”
Caleb groaned low at the explanation. “This shit's just a mess, and I'll be glad to wash my hands of it.”
“Took the words right outta my mouth,” Travis agreed, then informed his nephew more seriously, “Hunter's Moon might need you two to testify, but we'll deal with that later. So I'll get Josh to take you home, but first, I've got some good news to pass on.”
“Yeah? We could use some good news.”
Nodding, Travis actually grinned. “On the way here, I called Conner to make sure he was okay after the stunt those humans pulled, and he sounded a hell of a lot more ecstatic than I'd expected. When I asked why, he said Joslyn just told him that she's pregnant.”
Caleb's jaw dropped in time with Emily's, their mirrored expressions amusing his uncle. “I thought that'd make your night.”
Grinning, Travis departed to go ask Josh if he'd give them a ride, and Emily hugged Caleb excitedly.
“That must be what Joslyn meant when she said she still hadn't told him!”
Caleb grinned, reeling from the news that he was going to be an uncle—again. Yet his chest clenched when he thought about just how much he could've lost that evening, too.
“If those fae hadn't been around,” he started, “we would've lost both of you, and hell, I would've been dead, too.”
Staring off into nothing, he tried to push the horrific thoughts away, only to find Emily taking his cheeks to tilt his face down and lock gazes.
“Don't think about what could've been, Caleb. Let's just find a way to thank them, because they deserve it, and so do Maddox and Stephan.”
“Definitely,” he agreed, leaning down to kiss her for her thoughtfulness.
Still, his gratitude toward the fae and the vampires soon turned to doubt, causing him to suggest once their kiss broke, “But I guess you've changed your mind about becoming a lupine after all this bullshit.”
In response, Emily seemed confused. “Why would I?”
He shrugged. “Don't you think you'd be better off remaining human? Besides, it's a big change to deal with.”
Thoughtfully, she pursed her lips, conceding, “Maybe, but you know what Joslyn's dad says about change?”
He shook his head.
Smiling, she quoted, “Sometimes it's not fun, but it leads to good stuff, too, and Caleb, if tonight's told me anything, it's that I'm really looking forward to the good stuff we'll have together.”
/> Finally, his lips curled in a bright smile, his forehead coming to rest against hers.
“You know what, Emi?”
“What?”
“So am I, and we're gonna have some damned good stuff. I promise.”
Chapter 37
Three Weeks Later
“So, tonight's the big night, huh? Full moon?”
“Yeah, T minus ten minutes until I'm no longer human.”
Despite Emily's joke, silence sounded on the other end of the phone, and she pursed her lips. “I guess you're still against my turning, huh?”
“It's not that, it's just … really weird now after everything that's happened, and I … you know.”
Finally, she smiled. Over the past month, one thing Emily had quickly learned was that her brother sucked with apologies.
“I know, Evan, but I'll still be the same person.”
“I really hope so,” he admitted sincerely. “And I hope you don't hate me for what I've done.”
Sighing, she pointed out, “I'd be lying if I said you'll ever be the pack favorite, but I don't hate you. You didn't have all of the facts, and Margaret used your anger and ignorance against you.”
“She did, but I still threatened you just because I was pissed off.”
“It's not the first time.”
“That doesn't make me feel any better.”
“It's not supposed to,” Emily answered sincerely. “But feeling bad about what you've done just proves how sincere you are about making up for it, and that's what matters.”
Evan was quiet in response, as if weighing her statement, and she waited patiently for a reply.
It was only the third time they'd spoken since Margaret Hammond was arrested and his memories were restored. Now, Evan clearly recalled the night Cooper died, relating that work had kept Margaret from joining them on their hunting trip, but at the last moment, she'd managed to talk her employer into a few days off, and drove up to the cabin to surprise them.
As a result, she'd inconspicuously witnessed Cooper's death, and later told Evan how lupines had killed his father—she'd simply made the story sound like cold blooded murder instead of an accident.
Evan also recalled her mentioning the way her witchcraft had become more potent since Cooper revealed the truth of the supernatural to her—without permission. As an uninformed human, she'd practiced it for years in secret to appease a conservative family, and just as Aislinn stated about knowledge powering magic, Margaret's skills strengthened upon learning the truth.
This allowed her to do much more than before, and since no one knew she was a practitioner, including the Order of Witches, she was free to do as she pleased.
But since her arrest, Evan had learned a lot more about the supernatural than Margaret revealed, and his views on lupines had changed, albeit marginally. He still wasn't fond of them, and hadn't liked Emily's choice to be turned, but he'd accepted it—and there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway.
The Bastion was still holding him, and would continue to until his trial scheduled for next week. Emily had no idea what the outcome would be, but Stephan related that he'd get a more lenient sentence if he chose to work with them and exhibited good behavior in the process.
Thankfully, Evan seemed willing to try, and even called Emily with updates whenever he could. Their conversations were usually awkward, and she hadn't forgotten the things he'd done, but she was glad to hear he was getting along as well as possible, and truly hoped this change would last.
After all, it was nice knowing he didn't actually hate her.
“I guess you're right,” he finally replied. “But I'm gonna let you go. You've got a long night ahead, and I wanna call mom before I have to go back to my cell.”
“Okay. Would you tell her I love her?”
“Sure thing, and you tell Caleb he'd better treat you well, or I'll fuck him up.”
Emily snorted. “Yeah right.”
With a few chuckles and their goodbyes given, they hung up, and she placed her phone in the cup holder on Caleb's dashboard.
“Did he really just say he'd fuck me up if I didn't treat you well?” Caleb asked from his place next to the open passenger's door of his pickup truck.
Emily grinned, accepting his help in climbing out with her response. “Yep.”
Caleb grumbled, but she knew he didn't take the threat seriously. Instead, he returned, “Nice to know he has a sense of humor.”
She snickered, parting her lips to respond, but distant howling coming from the nearby woods distracted her. Not only did it hail the start of the monthly pack hunt under the full moon, it was also a reminder of her impending turning. This is it.
When Emily first told Caleb she wanted to be turned, she'd only had a vague idea of her willingness to live that life. But spending three weeks with him proved beyond a doubt that she not only wanted to be turned, she needed to be tied to Caleb, and have him by her side for the rest of their lives.
So saying she'd anticipated the full moon wouldn't have done it justice—though an unexpected wave of anxiety assailed her when she heard the pack's howls.
Caleb must've sensed it, too, because he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I'm fine,” she insisted, offering a warm smile. “I mean sure, I'm nervous, but I'm also eager.”
He smirked, dragging his knuckles across her cheek. “You got any last minute questions, then?”
Emily considered it, having discussed the topic with Caleb too many times to count. So she knew all of the technical details on how they'd proceed; he'd shift, bite her neck, and she'd black out while in the form of a wolf. Later, she'd have to learn to control her new impulses before she could shift at will.
As for the way her turning would feel, Ashley and Nicole related their experiences. Both described a rush of wild aggression rising up just after being bitten, and in Nicole's case, waking with the overwhelming need to get as close to her mate as possible.
So Emily confidently answered, “Nah, I think I've got my bases covered.”
Nodding, Caleb leaned to kiss her so gently her heart ached, simultaneously starting the task of getting undressed. She had to admit, it felt strange to take off her clothes in the great outdoors, yet he stole all of her doubts with a simple declaration.
“I love you, Emi, and don't worry. Tonight's gonna be great.”
“I know, and I love you, too.” Smiling, she allowed him to toss what was left of their clothing into his pickup, then shut the door and lead her toward the trees.
Once they were hidden away from prying eyes by a tangling of branches and shrubs, he turned to face her with another kiss, one that inevitably took them to their knees. Thankfully, whatever anxiety she'd experienced faded in the process—maybe it was just a momentary case of nerves, or perhaps his presence and her trust was too strong to allow doubt to endure.
But when Caleb asked if she was ready, all she had to give was a confident nod, thinking of the good stuff this change would bring.
So he shifted, and as the dark silver wolf he became drew near, peering at her with glowing, copper eyes before lovingly nuzzling her neck, she smiled, combing her fingers through his glossy fur—until he opened his mouth. The press of sharp fangs against her throat had her fingers tangling his fur in a tight grip, her eyes squeezing shut, and thankfully, he didn't make her wait.
Biting down swiftly, Emily let a sharp yelp, clutching him in a tight, unrelenting grip. Yet the painful pinch didn't last long, and she vaguely perceived Caleb licking her cheek as dizziness assailed her.
With it came a sensation of wildness rising up inside, distracting her so thoroughly that she didn't even realize she was now laying on her side. Just as Nicole and Ashley described, that sensation took over, like a tidal wave crashing down.
And when it landed, Emily blacked out.
Caleb had been just as eager for the pack hunt as Emily, but no matter how thoroughly they'd prepared, it wasn't easy watching her body contort on the forest floor.
Hoping to make this transition easier to handle, he nuzzled her neck with a series of whimpers, and was thankful the shift occurred quickly. His mate's image soon wavered, her shape changing to that of a light silver wolf with white paws and darker fur lining her back and tail.
With the change completed, the newborn wolf finally relaxed, and her eyes inevitably opened again, now glowing a vivid blue.
Clumsily working her way to her feet, she shook her head in confusion, so Caleb barked to get her attention. Yet the sound must've startled her because she hopped to the side, suddenly looking around the forest as if she had no idea where she was.
But her vision soon landed on him, and her ears folded down warily.
Caleb remained still, waiting for her to start an inspection in the hopes that his scent would help her identify him, then form a bridge between the animal she was now, and her normal self. Of course, she wouldn't consciously recall anything that happened tonight regardless, but the more she connected to everyone she knew during this first run through the woods, the easier her adjustment would be.
Surely enough, the moment she laid those beautiful sapphire eyes on him, she started sniffing in his direction, simultaneously issuing a low growl that said stay back until I know who you are.
So Caleb did just that, and finally, her ears perked high in recognition.
Emily was surprised, quickly trotting over to him to get a better scent. In turn, Caleb didn't hesitate to nuzzle her—and the instinct telling him she was his mate was stronger than ever.
In true wolf fashion, the couple took turns brushing against one another in both greeting, and excitement. In fact, Emily was too energetic to stay still, excitedly prancing around him with playful yelps—until another howl sounded, drawing her full attention.
As if she'd never heard anything like it, her ears flickered and she swiftly padded several feet away in the direction from which it'd come, completely engrossed.
So Caleb moved in beside her, taking advantage of her distraction by playfully nipping her neck, then running before she could retaliate. The result was a swift chase leading to the rest of the pack gathered for the hunt, and her arrival went better than he'd expected.
Hunter's Moon Page 31