Moon Bound

by Stephanie Julian

  “You have proof to back up your claims?” he asked.

  She nodded. “The testimony of an eyewitness.”

  Barrasso turned to Levanti. “May the Blessed Goddess protect you—”

  Levanti shifted so fast, she almost missed it between one blink and the next.

  Barrasso and Weichelt weren’t far behind but Levanti had the element of surprise on his side as he leaped across the table straight for Bella.

  She braced for impact—and gasped in horror as Steven pushed her behind him and met Levanti’s attack head on.

  Levanti’s paws hit Steven dead in the center of his chest and the wolf’s weight and the force of his attack took Steven to the ground.

  Stunned, Bella scrambled up to help Steven but found herself caught in Dorian’s arms.

  “No, Bella. You can’t risk getting hurt. Let them help Steven.”

  Fear made her struggle against Dorian, even as she watched Barrasso and Weichelt latch onto Levanti’s haunches with their powerful jaws and attempt to get Levanti away from Steven.

  Steven had managed to keep the lucani traitor from biting him by getting his hands around the animal’s neck but the beast’s mouth was getting closer and closer to Steven’s neck. Steven struggled to throw the wolf away from him but the wolf was heavy and had his paws planted on Steven’s chest.

  Levanti had desperation on his side. He’d basically admitted his guilt by going after her. He had to know the only outcome of this situation was his death. But she planned to make sure he lived long enough for Andrea to dig into his mind and expose his secrets.

  And for harming Steven… She’d make damn sure he suffered.

  Grinding her teeth, she watched Steven struggle as Barrasso released Levanti’s leg and lunged for his midsection while Angelone, also shifted into his wolf, made a play for Levanti’s throat. Even outnumbered, Levanti made no effort to protect himself. Instead, he growled, low and deep, a millisecond before he managed to loosen Steven’s hold and went at his neck.

  Screaming, Bella struggled against Dorian’s hold, helpless and horrified as Levanti scrambled up Steven’s body, managing to drag Barrasso and Weichelt the precious few inches he needed to reach the most vulnerable part of Steven’s body. His jaws opened and—

  Levanti flew across the room on a gust of wind so powerful, it scattered everything in its path, furniture and bodies. Weichelt, Barrasso and Angelone hit the wall as hard as Levanti.

  Quinn and Patrick had flanked Bella, Marco and Dorian as the wolves fought, which was the only reason they’d remained standing.

  The room fell silent except for the sound of labored breathing.

  Bella looked at Steven, still on the floor. She watched sweat drip down his face and made a motion toward him. But Dorian refused to release her.

  “No, Arabella. Not now.”

  Thunder cracked. Inside the room. Wind whipped through the space as if they were outside in a storm, all of it circling Steven. Static electricity charged the air.

  Bella knew lightning wouldn’t be far behind.

  And the wild look in Steven’s eyes didn’t bode well.

  “Let me go, Dorian, or none of us are safe.”

  It took a few seconds but finally the praetorian released her and Bella dropped to her knees by Steven’s side. He didn’t see her though he was looking right at her. His entire focus was inward.

  His hands shook and his eyes were glazed. He looked ready to collapse as the wind continued to blow and the thunder crackled.

  “Steven.” She reached for him—

  And found herself on the other side of the room. Her back and head hit the wall with an audible crack and she swore she smelled burning hair. Looking down at her arms, she saw the hair on her arms looked singed.

  Low, angry growls from the other side of the room told her Barrasso and Weichelt had recovered. They would take care of Levanti.

  But all of them were in more immediate danger from Steven.

  Staying on her butt on the ground, she slid back across the floor, but didn’t make the mistake of touching Steven this time.

  “Steven, come on, love. Pull it back. I know you can do it. You know you can do it.”

  “Bella.” Her name was a groan, ripped out through his clenched teeth. “Get out. Everybody.”

  “No. You have to—”

  A tiny bolt of lightning cracked above Steven, the scent of ozone wafting through the room.

  She knew where the next one was headed. “Steven! No!”

  She watched as he turned his hand palm up just as another bolt began to crackle. It sparked and sizzled and arced directly into Steven’s outstretched hand. Awestruck, Bella watched him grab the bolt as if it were a solid object.

  Then, between one second and the next, the lightning absorbed into his body, like water into a sponge. Gone.

  He sat so still, Bella would have thought he was dead if not for his shaking hand and the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

  “Steven?”

  From the other side of the room, Bella heard renewed growling and the sound of claws scrabbling against the floor. She didn’t bother to see what was going on. Barrasso and Weichelt could handle Levanti.

  “Steven?” She reached for him.

  “No, don’t touch me.”

  His voice sounded strange. Lower, with a hint of something dark. Something not the Steven she knew.

  Cold fear curdled her stomach as she slid closer until she was sitting next to him. His eyes were shut tight, his mouth clenched. They barely moved when he said, “Just…give me a minute, Bella.”

  In her peripheral vision, she saw Quinn and James Patrick move toward Levanti, snarling but pinned in a corner by Weichelt and Barrasso.

  Steven sat there, breathing, staring straight ahead. Finally, after a minute or so, he shook his head, blinked and turned to face her. She waited for him to make a move and when he reached for her, she threw her arms around his neck and held on.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “How is she?” Bella asked.

  “She won’t open the fucking door.”

  Diego’s voice held a violence that was directed inward and Bella sighed, knowing exactly how he felt.

  Steven hadn’t said anything other than “I’m fine, Bella” for the past half hour.

  He wasn’t. He smelled worried, confused. And nauseous, if the constant hand he rubbed across his stomach was any indication.

  She didn’t think he was reacting to what they’d done to Levanti. His screams still rang in her ears but it was the images in her head as Barrasso had forced him to change against his will that kept her own stomach in turmoil.

  She’d walked out of the meeting room intending to force Steven to go with her to talk to Cole but Diego had grabbed her the second she’d stepped out the door and dragged her upstairs.

  “She locked the door and I don’t want to break it down but I will,” Diego said.

  From inside the room, Amy Jo yelled, “No, you w-will not, Diego. I’m f-fine. I just need a l-little time.”

  Even through the door, Bella could hear the pain in her voice. Maybe the price to get Levanti had been too high. “Amy Jo, can I come in? Just for a few minutes?”

  Silence. For at least half a minute. Then finally the lock on the door flipped.

  Diego sucked in a sharp breath as the door cracked open a bare inch.

  Bella peered in but couldn’t see Amy Jo. She could only hear the other woman’s voice. “Just you, B-Bella.”

  Diego looked ready to argue but Steven said, “Diego, come on, man. I could use a drink. I’ve got a few bottles in my room.”

  The last thing Bella heard before she slid through the door was Diego’s heavy sigh.

  Then she saw Amy Jo, curled in a shivering ball on the bed. Her mouth quivered, her skin was pasty white and her pupils were dilated.

  Bella ran for the bed and put her arms around her. “Oh Gods, Amy Jo. Let me get Dr. Kent. Where’s Andrea?”

  “Sh-she went t
o get s-something from her room.”

  “You’re freezing.” Bella grabbed the blanket at the bottom of the bed and wrapped it around her, then went to the closet for more. “Let me send Diego for Dr. Kent, please. He’ll know what to do.”

  “No. I don’t want to s-see anyone. D-did you get the guy? At least, tell me this wasn’t for nothing.”

  “Yeah, we got him. Don’t worry about that now. Please, let me get Diego. He’s going crazy—”

  “I d-don’t want him to s-see me like this.”

  Diego had told her what Amy Jo had done to get them the information they’d needed. It made Bella sick to her stomach to think about what Amy Jo had endured.

  “He doesn’t care what you look like. He just wants to be with you.”

  Amy Jo’s eyes, already red and puffy, welled with tears. “If he k-knew what happened, he wouldn’t be able to look at me.”

  Bella sat on the bed, her arms going about the other woman’s shoulders. “No, Amy Jo. If you let him in, you’ll see he just wants to comfort you. None of what happened to you is your fault. You have to know that.”

  “But how can he want me after… after…”

  The door opened and Andrea walked in with a glass of something in her hand. “Alright, Amy Jo. I want you to drink this. All of it. Then I’m going to insist you get some sleep.”

  Amy Jo’s eyes held hope and despair. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”

  Andrea nodded. “You will after you drink that.”

  “I’m afraid to sleep.”

  Andrea’s smile was a little strained. “There will be no dreams, believe me.”

  Amy Jo drew in a breath. “Okay, good. That’s good.”

  Stomach roiling, Bella took her hand. “Let me get Diego. You’ll sleep better if he’s here.”

  Amy Jo took a deep breath, dropped her gaze to the glass then nodded. “Alright. You’re right. I’m b-being silly.”

  “No, you’re not,” Bella said. “You’re entitled to feel however you want, but he cares about you. Let him take care of you. I think we all could use a little TLC right now.”

  * * *

  Diego leaned against the wall in Steven’s room, a gnawing fear eating at him from the inside out.

  To his right, Marco watched Steven with wary eyes as Steven pulled a liter of Mezzaluna vodka out of the mini-fridge.

  Marco was freaked, possibly in shock. From what Diego had heard from Dorian, Marco had good reason after what’d he’d seen in that room—not only Levanti’s punishment but Steven’s display of power.

  Diego had never seen the guy throw so much as a sleep spell at anyone. According to Cole, Steven’s power rivaled the strongest of the grigori. Possibly the gods. He could’ve wiped out the whole room in a few seconds.

  And Marco’s death would have been Diego’s fault. Because he’d sent Marco.

  Diego should have gone himself but he hadn’t wanted to leave Amy Jo. Even though she refused to allow him in the room while Andrea screwed with her mind.

  He hadn’t been able to hear a sound from the room and realized Andrea must have erected a sound barrier spell. His cat wanted him to shift so he could rake at the door with his claws.

  Then one of Cole’s lucani had told him he should get downstairs, that Marco needed him…

  If anything had happened to either of them—

  A glass appeared in front of his face, the liquid waving back and forth like a rough sea.

  Steven wasn’t too steady either.

  Diego took a good look at the guy. Hell, Steven wasn’t even trying to hide the fact he was holding himself together by a string.

  Diego took the glass and swallowed a quarter of it.

  The warmth of the alcohol spread through his blood, calming some of the nerves. He watched to make sure Marco drank then focused again on Steven.

  “You okay?”

  Diego admired the guy for not lying when he said, “Not sure yet. Ask me after we kick this bottle. Maybe a couple more.”

  “Marco.”

  Marco grunted.

  “How are you?”

  Marco considered the question for a few seconds before he nodded toward Steven. “Did you know he can create lightning and then catch it in his hands?”

  Diego’s eyebrows rose at Marco’s expressionless tone and he again wondered if his brother was in shock. “Yeah, I knew. But I’ve never seen him do it.”

  Marco shook his head, took another drink then looked Diego right in the eye. And smiled. No hint of snark or smart-ass to be seen.

  Holy shit. Diego felt his lips curve into an answering smile.

  “Coolest fucking thing I ever saw,” Marco said, shaking his head.

  Steven snorted and nearly choked on his drink. “Glad you enjoyed the show.”

  Now, Steven’s voice…that held a whole roomful of smart-ass but Diego also heard worry.

  Diego hadn’t been too keen on Steven, though he’d only met him once or twice before the airport incident. Everything he’d heard about the guy had been bad. Hell, the fact that he’d been born Mal damned him in Etruscan society.

  But Steven had proven himself loyal to Cole and Bella, loyal to a fault, maybe. He’d sworn not to use his powers but, with this threat to Cole and Bella looming over their heads, he’d be forced to make more of the same choices he’d had to make today. Use his power to save his loved ones and risk becoming the evil most people already believed him to be. Or stand by and possibly watch his mate and best friend be killed.

  “Can I do anything to help?” Diego asked.

  Steven’s gaze shot to his. His shock at Diego’s sincere question would have been laughable at any other time. As it was, Steven didn’t answer right away, as if waiting for the hidden backslap to come.

  But Diego wasn’t kidding. As much as Diego trusted anyone, he trusted Steven.

  Steven nodded his head, just once. “Thanks, but I just need a little time to decompress.”

  Silence fell for a few seconds before someone knocked on the door.

  “Come in, Bella,” Steven called before Diego had even caught her scent.

  Bella opened the door, her gaze running over Steven before seeking out Diego. “Amy Jo needs you.”

  Finally. Damn it, Diego felt like a weight had lifted off his chest. As he headed for the door, he saw Marco bow his head over his drink, hands clenched around the glass.

  And realized he was about to do something he couldn’t turn back from.

  “Marco, let’s go.”

  His brother’s head whipped up, his gaze startled. “What—”

  “Just come, brother.”

  * * *

  Amy Jo drank the sweet-tasting liquid Andrea had brought her and knew there had been more than herbs and fruit juice in the glass.

  Not alcohol but something… else.

  Well, you’re not in South Carolina anymore, are you?

  Not by a long shot.

  “So, the, uh, drink is…uh, magic?”

  Andrea smiled that sphinx smile again and nodded, sitting on the bed and tucking the covers around her like she was her mother. The woman didn’t look more than thirty, but there was something about her, something in her eyes that seemed much older.

  “Yes, it is. A spell to calm you. Are you sure you don’t want me to erase your memories, Amy Jo?”

  Gosh, how easy would that be?

  Too easy, really.

  She’d never been a coward. She’d gotten through her life to this point, survived a brutal attack, became…something else, found a man who might actually want her even though she had probable mental problems.

  And here she was huddled in a ball on a bed.

  Well, fuck that.

  She shook her head, swallowing the rest of the potion. “No. No, I don’t. I want to do this on my own. I need to know I’m strong enough—”

  “Not on your own.”

  She turned toward the door to see Diego and Marco walk through.

  An emotion she refused
to dissect hit her square in the chest. At least it displaced some of the fear.

  Andrea rose from the bed. “Drink all of that and I’ll check back with you later. I’ll just go…do something somewhere else.”

  Jeez, that door should revolve.

  “How do you feel?” Diego walked to the end of the bed, gripping the footboard so tightly his knuckles turned white. Marco leaned back against the door, arms crossed over his chest, his expression as set as Diego’s.

  Okay, how weird was it that she was glad they were both here? Shouldn’t it be just a little weird, considering she’d spent the night tying Diego to this bed? Did Marco know? Why was he here?

  Maybe it was better not to think about that. Instead, she asked, “Did you get the bastard?”

  Diego nodded. “He won’t harm anyone ever again. He gave us some leads, other names, before he was…disposed of. You’ll never have to worry about him. We’ll hunt the others down. They won’t get away.”

  Another one of those weights lifted from her shoulders and she took a deep breath. Her eyelids dropped, closing out the room and the brothers.

  “We won’t let anyone ever harm you again,” Diego said. “Don’t. Don’t shut us out, Amy Jo.”

  Funny, that “us” and “we” did strange things to her nerves and had nothing whatsoever to do with her memories of that horrible night.

  “I’m not. It’s just…for so many months, I’ve dreamed of making those men pay for what they did to me, of what I’d do to them.” She opened her eyes and looked at Diego then Marco and back to Diego. “But if not for them, we wouldn’t have met. And I’m glad we met.”

  Diego smile was blinding and Marco’s actually mirrored his brother’s. “Then I guess it’s a good thing we want to keep you around.”

  * * *

  “Steven?”

  “Yeah?”

  Bella cocked her head to the side, unable to get a read on him as he stood in the middle of the room, studying the empty glass in his hand. Avoiding her.

  “Are you okay?”

  As soon as she said the words, she cringed. It was a really fucking stupid question. Of course, he wasn’t okay.

  “Damn it, I’m sorry—”

  “Bella. Stop.” Finally, he looked at her and she was shocked to see he was clear-eyed and steady. She’d expected to find him shaken. Maybe a little scared.