After the Moon Rises

by Karilyn Bentley

  “I don’t know. I’m surprised he’s waited this long.”

  “Well, he hasn’t attacked the ranch house.” She tilted her head to the side. “Nope. Everything’s a little tense, but essentially all right.”

  As if their talking about Sid summoned him, the sound of heavy boots crunching on gravel whispered through the trees. By the amount of crunching, Zane guessed at least six enforcers walked behind Sid.

  Okay, everyone. Get ready. Margie stood.

  He would not lower himself to beg her to let him meet Sid first. Nope. She made a plan, and as much as he hated to admit it, the plan was a good one. Except for one small thing. He refused to hide in the woods while his female, his mate, marched up to the alpha who held his sister captive.

  Not happening. Sid was about to breathe his last for terrorizing Zenia and Zane was more than happy to be the cause of that last inhale.

  “Sorry, but I’m coming with you.”

  She opened her mouth, as if in protest, and then shrugged. “If you must. But let me do the talking. This is my pack, after all.”

  Talking, he could handle. Letting her walk alone into the clearing to meet Sid, not an option. Zane walked a bit in front of Margie, not enough to where he led, but enough to where he could shield her body with his, if need be.

  “Zane?” Sid’s voice grated across his nerves, firing off a barely suppressed growl. The sound had no sooner died in his throat when Sid stepped out of the shadows, six enforcers forming a semi-circle around him. Thunder sounded in the distance, its faint rumblings muted by the trees.

  “Hey, Sid.”

  “I thought you were dead. You’ve ... changed.”

  Yeah? Having one’s engine turbocharged with alpha powers will do that to a person. “Have I?”

  Sid stared at him until Zane felt his skin crawl. Standing motionless ranked up there as one of the hardest things he’d ever done.

  “I’m Margie McLean, pack leader of London, Montana.”

  Sid smiled, his incisors gleaming in the moonlight. “I’m Sid and you have someone I want. I demand Landa back. She’s had some rough times and must be kept under close supervision so she doesn’t hurt herself or others.”

  “She seems fine to me.”

  Zane sensed Margie’s enforcers creeping through the underbrush, surrounding Sid and his men. They were good, real good. Even with his heightened sense of hearing, he couldn’t hear their steps, couldn’t see them either. Sid’s team of enforcers consisted of four males that would give their left nut to watch Sid die and two who were loyal. Not that being loyal scored them any brownie points.

  He didn’t take his eyes off Sid.

  “She’s not fine, not by a long shot. She’s a good actress, but she needs to be returned to her own people.”

  “And you need six enforcers to return her?” Margie’s hands were loose by her sides, but the pose didn’t fool Zane, and he doubted it did Sid either. Tension rippled along her shoulders, pouring down her arms.

  “Zane, hold her while I find out where Landa is.” Sid took a step forward while Zane shoved Margie behind him. He heard her growl and didn’t care.

  “No. You’re not hurting another female.”

  “What? How can you defy me?” Sid touched the torc encircling his neck. His eyes narrowed before popping wide. “How? Never mind. Your sister will pay for your insolent attitude.”

  “Like hell she will.”

  “Mark, take out Zane while I deal with the bitch.” Sid touched the torc that lay around his neck, the torc that helped him control the actions of his enforcers.

  Focus on Sid or focus on Mark? Or on Margie, who had slipped from behind him. Shit. Zane’s gaze darted between the three of them, Mark taking the choice away. His best friend, one of the four who hated Sid, strode toward Zane, his steps stilted like a puppet on a string.

  Zane, man, you have to take me down. Lurching like a drunk, Mark took two steps closer. I can smell you’re free of him. Use those new-fangled alpha powers to take me down before I’m forced to follow through on his kill order. I can only hold him off for a little while.

  Okaaaay. Instead of watching over his mate, or killing his former pack leader, he had to deal with the best-friend-under-the-influence-of-magical-torc syndrome. At least there was a cure for that.

  Zane took a couple of steps forward, meeting Mark with his arm extended, fingers jabbing into Mark’s throat. Mark gagged and bent over, reflex bringing his hands up to cover his throat. Sorry, man. Lacing his fingers together, Zane brought his palms down across the back of Mark’s head, dropping his friend to the ground.

  Thanks hissed through his mind as Mark slipped into unconsciousness.

  Where was Margie? Zane started to turn as a bright flash lit up the clearing. He watched as a bolt of energy slammed into Margie, knocking her to the ground.

  “NO!” The word roared out of his mouth, slamming through the clearing with the force of a tornado, ripping apart tree limbs in its path. He didn’t think, nothing mattered but that his mate was injured, if not killed, and the one responsible would pay.

  Before the echo of the sound stopped, he moved, running through the grass toward Sid who still stood with his hand raised, staring at Margie’s prone body. His head turned at the sound of Zane’s roar, eyes widening as Zane leapt, body changing, thickening until he became wolf mid-flight.

  Sid managed to get one arm up before Zane landed on him, teeth shredding into skin, claws puncturing ... dirt? He looked up only to see Sid standing in front of him. What the fuck?

  Sid laughed, his head thrown back. “It takes a lot more than that to harm me. The only reason you got your teeth in is you took me by surprise. What the hell happened to your torc?”

  Sid held his arm close to his body, darkness staining his shirt and dripping onto the ground to vanish in the shadows. Zane growled.

  “Don’t answer me, then. It doesn’t matter. You’re dead and your pretty little sister will pay for it. Think on that in the afterlife.”

  Before Zane could move, a flash of light appeared in Sid’s hand, only to be thrown his way. With a crash, it sank into his skin, under his skin, becoming part of him, as it charged through his system, fluttering his heart’s rhythm. Pain exploded through his body, his muscles twitching in agony. He dropped to the ground, blackness beckoning, a comforting warmth, his friend and yet his enemy. The last sound he heard before succumbing to the darkness was all hell breaking loose around him.

  Chapter Six

  Margie looked at a prone Zane with a mixture of horror and anger, a twitch spasming her jaw. What the hell had Zane been thinking when he attacked Sid? The last few minutes of the good-plan-gone-bad ran through her mind as she remembered her shock at seeing Zane all furry. As she lay on the ground playing her part, being dead, she had heard him roar, the sound exploding through the clearing.

  Her narrowed gaze had landed on Zane in wolf form as he jumped Sid. What the hell had he been thinking? He heard the plan, the plan that stated she would pretend to take the energy blast, pretend to be killed. Element of surprise and all. Once Sid thought her down for the count, she could use her own magic to take him out.

  Yeah, her pack had been surprised at the “M” word and her use of it. Zane had been angry that she was putting herself in harm’s way, but she hadn’t thought he’d jump Sid. Had he forgotten about the plan?

  Clearly.

  What about everyone else? Had they forgotten the plan too? A glance around the clearing showed nothing but branches dancing in the wind. At least her enforcers’ memories worked. She didn’t see a one of them, but knew they hid in the shadows of the trees, waiting.

  Sticking to the plan, unlike her mate. Five of Sid’s enforcers stood along the inner perimeter of the trees, their gazes darting from where Sid stood, to Zane’s prone form, to the dark shadows of creaking branches, obviously seeking her enforcers. Good luck there, hers were hidden but good. The sixth enforcer lay on the ground not far from her, a casualty of Zane’s
fists. One down, five to go.

  Provided the plan wasn’t clawed to hell. What had Zane been thinking?

  When she had seen a streak of white light explode in her vision and realized it hit Zane, she thought a part of her had died. Just curled right up and expired.

  Her jaw hurt from clenching it so hard, the muscle twitching in time to her heartbeat. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed her jaw. As if doing so opened a drain, the anger roiling through her system bled out, leaving behind a cacophony of other emotions. And surprise, surprise, horror won out. Margie’s heart beat double-time, thumping like a drum behind her ribcage. Was he hurt? Was he even alive? She tried to swallow, but it stuck in her dry throat. To hell with the element of surprise, her mate was down and she couldn’t lie around waiting for Sid to turn his back and not notice her.

  But if she leapt up and ran to Zane like her legs were twitching to do, she’d put her enforcers and Landa in danger. Or more danger than they were already in. The plan was dashed to hell and back but she could still salvage some of it.

  Taking a deep breath, Margie focused on calming herself. The forest sounds faded to background static as she concentrated on breathing, imagining a blank landscape before her eyes. No more clearing, no more mate, just her breath as it went into her lungs and out through her mouth.

  In and out. In and out. Her breath expelled from her mouth in a rush, forming a small bubble of fog that hovered in front of her face. Another breath in and out and the fog expanded, circling around Sid’s enforcers, blinding them, but allowing her pack to see clearly. Wasn’t magic grand?

  “What the fuck?”

  “Where did that come from?”

  She smelled their tension, their fear. Sid, who headed to where Landa hid in the shadows, paused, turning to stare at the fog surrounding his enforcers.

  Not caring if Sid saw her, Margie rolled to her feet. Staying in a crouched position, she darted to Zane. Yells sounded from the fog, the roars of her enforcers, the whimpers of Sid’s. When she reached Zane, she dropped to her knees, fingers seeking and finding his pulse. Unlike Mike, he didn’t look like a crispy critter left in the sun to bake. If she hadn’t seen him fall, she would have thought him asleep.

  His pulse beat slow but strong under her fingers. Thank heaven Landa had removed Zane’s torc, allowing his alpha powers to shine through. When Sid’s blast smacked her down, she’d felt its strength, its power. But even if she hadn’t thrown a shield of magic around herself, she would have survived it. Geared to take down a beta, the energy blast he threw would only knock out an alpha. Why Sid would toss a blast designed for a beta at an alpha, she didn’t know. Hopefully it meant he wasn’t as powerful as he liked to think.

  “Zane?” she whispered, her mouth close to his ear. What would she do if Zane didn’t make it? If her guess was wrong? “Zane, wake up!”

  Nothing. She tried to swallow. At least he breathed.

  A high-pitched scream cut through the night, followed by a deep rumbling bass of thunder. In a blink, Margie tracked the scream, following it until she saw Sid standing at the edge of the trees, one hand clamped around Landa’s arm, dragging her out of a bush.

  Another blink and she glanced to the sky. Despite the thunder, no clouds hung directly overhead, allowing stars to flit like diamonds on black velvet. Above the pines, black clouds perched like ebony cotton balls, blending into the dark sky. A third blink and she rolled to her feet, drawing energy into her palms until a ball of shimmering light danced on top of each one.

  The SOB managed to knock out her mate, but he sure as hell wasn’t taking off with her newest pack member. That happening was a no-go. Plus, he had some payback coming for taking out Zane. Not bothering with niceties, like, hey Sid, you slimy bastard, I’m going to take you down, she took two steps forward and lobbed a ball.

  Landa’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as the energy ball streaked toward Sid, slamming into his back. He stumbled into Landa, releasing his grip on the blonde’s arm. Landa fell backward, landing on her butt as Margie darted toward Sid. Why wasn’t he down? Sure, she didn’t lob energy balls all the time—okay, hardly ever outside of the practice field—but that one should’ve knocked him down.

  He recovered his balance, turning to glare at her as she ran toward him.

  Despite telling herself not to, her breath caught at his appearance. White hair and a close trimmed beard gave him the look of a kind grandfather, if not Santa Claus himself. Although his flat gaze reminded her of portraits of killers flashed on the nightly news, dead and lifeless.

  She threw her energy ball. He countered. His met hers with a blinding crash. Margie formed another ball and threw it, but Sid deflected it with a pop into a tree. Whoosh! The tree caught fire, flames licking toward the stars, the scent of burning pine filling the night. Sid laughed, a mirthless roar of air. Margie circled around him, heart hammering in her chest, muscles twitching the jitterbug. Her peripheral vision showed Zane moving—praise God—his feet inching forward, his body low to the ground.

  Sid threw a ball and Margie dodged it, leaping toward the tree line, putting Sid’s back to Zane as he turned to face her.

  “Pesky fool. You’re going to die tonight and your pack will belong to me.” Another ball shot her way, this time nipping her in the leg as she dove behind a tree. Fiery shots of pain streaked up her leg as she dashed tears from her cheeks.

  Dream on, jackass.

  “No response? What, afraid of the big bad wolf?”

  Maybe a bit, but she’d be roped and dragged before she admitted it.

  She ducked another energy ball, peering from behind the thick trunk of a pine to see Zane converging on Sid. Muttering came from her left, Landa’s lips apparently forming not-quite-soundless prayers. Margie picked up a rock and pitched it to her right. Sid turned toward the sound as the rock rattled against bark, thudding to the ground. She lobbed another energy blast right into his chest.

  Score! Sid stumbled backward as Zane leapt forward, claws sinking into Sid’s back. Canines flashed white as they attempted to bite into Sid’s neck. One minute Zane latched onto Sid’s back and the next he went flying, landing with a whimper. Margie jumped forward, flames burning in her hands.

  Sid knelt on the ground, stretching one hand toward her. Even though he didn’t touch her, she felt like he squeezed her throat, cutting off her air, his invisible grip crushing her windpipe. The flames died in her hands as she struggled against the invisible force. She couldn’t move, couldn’t fight it, couldn’t draw in a breath. Dark dots danced across her vision as her ears caught waves of chanting coming from where she last saw Landa. Margie sank to her knees, her hands clasped against her throat, her eyes level with Sid’s.

  So this is what dying felt like.

  She wasn’t going down without a fight, dammit. As both hands clasped around her throat did nothing to reduce the choking pressure, she dropped one. Focusing her energy into her palm, she tried to summon a flame, but only a wisp of smoke danced and disappeared. She tried to move forward, tried to reach Sid, tried to stop him but his invisible grip around her throat held her immobile.

  Fight him! Fight him!

  Her mind gave the command, but her body refused to move. Dying. She was dying. Despite her wish, despite her will. Her gaze sought Zane, wanting one last glimpse of her mate before she died, before her life journeyed to a new existence. Where was he? The last thing she saw before darkness consumed her vision was Zane appearing in a rush of flying fur, soaring toward Sid.

  ****

  Zane jumped at Sid, the force of his momentum shoving the sorcerer to the ground with an audible whoosh of breath. Margie toppled sideways, her hand still at her throat as she landed on the grass. He couldn’t tell if she breathed or if Sid had killed her. A bone-shaking growl ripped from his throat as he swiped a paw across Sid’s back. His claws seemed to slide off Sid’s skin, shredding the shirt, but leaving the skin unmarred. What the fuck?

  Sid scrabbled in a vain attempt to get out f
rom under Zane. Not happening. Sid tried to kill his mate. Twice. Dying was too easy. Pain had its good points.

  Before he slashed his claws against Sid again, Sid’s torc began to glow like a red-hot poker. High-pitched humming vibrated from the torc, the same painful frequency as when Landa removed his own torc earlier in the day. Zane let loose with a howl before ducking his head between his legs and trying to stick his paws over his ears.

  He heard Sid yelling, a string of no’s running together so fast as to become its own ululating shriek. Right when Zane knew his eardrums would burst, the sound stopped like an electric guitar being unplugged.

  “Noooooooo!”

  Too busy trying to protect his ears from exploding, Zane rolled off Sid, allowing the alpha to scramble away. As Zane watched, Sid grabbed something out of the grass, muttering words over it. Whatever. Didn’t matter what it was, those muttered words would be Sid’s last.

  Zane sprang forward, his claws ripping through the skin of Sid’s back, blood wetting his paws. Sid screamed, a drawn out sound of pure terror as he dropped what he’d been holding. His torc. His source of power. Lying in the grass.

  Biting into the soft skin of Sid’s neck, Zane’s teeth ripped and pulled, silencing Sid’s screams forever.

  Zane stood over his kill, staring at the man who had tortured his sister, denied him his powers, made his life hell and felt nothing. Nothing. Shouldn’t he be excited? Shouldn’t he feel relief? Shouldn’t he get out of his own head and check on Margie?

  As he raised his head, he heard movement to his right, a rustle of leaves, followed by scratching branches. Landa scrambled, half crawling, half walking to where Margie lay. Zane hustled to get to Margie first. She belonged to him. He needed to be the first one to check on her.

  Sticking his muzzle against her neck, he sniffed. Blood pounded in the vein of her neck, pounding a rhythm that assured she lived. Air whooshed out his nose, a pent up breath he hadn’t realized he held. Margie sucked in a wheezy gulp of air as Landa clutched her wrist, feeling for a pulse.