Moonrise

by Ines Johnson

  "What if it's not? What if he's a—"

  "Don't say it," his father growled.

  Jackson clammed up at the command of his father, his alpha.

  "Your brother is not roaming. He's traveling. He's not a lone wolf."

  Jackson zeroed in on the bags beneath his father's eyes, on the crinkles of age at the edges of his whisker-covered mouth. Guilt seized any words that had a mind to leave his chest.

  What was he thinking? He couldn't leave. His father needed his help. What kind of selfish son was he? Already, the old man had one son off traipsing the countryside, shunning familial responsibilities. And now Jackson was about to desert him too.

  "It was just a short trip out of town. He will be busy once he starts on the force." The chief clapped a huge paw on Jackson's shoulder, but his palm missed and slid down Jackson's arm. Instead he balled his paw into a fist. "Both of my boys on the force with their old man. Couldn't be prouder."

  It had been awhile since Jackson had heard that phrase. It brought a wellspring into his chest as it always had when his parents looked at him with shining eyes.

  Jackson also heard his wolf growling low in his gut. He felt the beast pacing. Jackson ignored the sound and the feeling.

  "We'll both make you proud, dad." Jackson nodded to his father and stood to head back to work.

  Chapter Five

  Lucia had lived all of her life in a coven, cut off from any kind but her own. Now, all of that was changing. The scenery outside changed from forested land to ruined brick and mortar to industrial metal as they left the mountain of her coven, passed through the ruins of what once was a vibrant human development, and headed towards the integrated city of Sequoia. The one thing that remained the same was the Moon. With its proximity, it was always visible. It brought comfort to her as she left behind everything she knew for something new and hopeful.

  She gazed over at Pierce who also looked out of the train's window at the scenery passing by. His hand rubbed at the back of his neck as they passed a charred, barren field. His foot tapped out a staccato rhythm as they snaked around a crater that had once been an amusement park. Once or twice he glanced at the barred exit door. Lucia knew wolves liked to run free. She wondered if the train's confinement was getting to him.

  Her mother had met her father on a train ride into the city. He had been the first male she'd ever seen, and the first wolf. He'd taken one look at her and knew that she was his mate. Her father had been coming off a trip to the northern lands of Canada. They'd gotten off the train at the first stop, Sequoia City, and started a life together.

  "So Pierce, are you getting off at the next stop?"

  He arched his eyebrows. "This is a direct train to Sequoia. Did you board the wrong train?"

  Lucia wanted to do a face plant. "I mean, is this your first time in the city?"

  If he knew she'd faltered he didn't say. He only grinned at her like they were old friends.

  "No," he said. "I'm from the city. Grew up there. My whole family lives there."

  "You have a family?"

  The hand that had been scratching at the back of his neck came around to scratch at the whiskers on his cheek. "Everyone has a family."

  Of course he would think that. Wolves were pack animals. Just like covens.

  "Oh, I assumed you were a lone wolf," Lucia said.

  Pierce stiffened and then scooted his hips further back in his seat. "Why would you assume that?"

  "You're alone. Wolves travel in packs."

  "I like to explore." He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. "The city is stifling. So many people and nowhere to run. I mean really run where you don't see another soul for miles. There are fenced in parks in the city for wolves to shift and run in,” he grimaced. "Plus my family is overbearing. I love them, but sometimes I just need... space. Can you understand that?"

  Lucia lived for years on a mountain with fifty women. There was a ton of space for the times she wanted solitude. "I get it," she said.

  Pierce blinked, his eyes lazy as he spoke. His tongue peaked out to wet his lips. "You said you're not on a Rumwicca?"

  "I..." Was that disappointment in his voice? Was he propositioning her?

  "I admire you for that," he said. "Going against what those in your society have set out for you to do."

  "You do?" Lucia leaned forward.

  Pierce rested his head back against the headrest and sighed. "It's hard when you've been pushed one way to take a turn for what you truly want."

  "What do you truly want?" There was an armrest dividing their seats. Lucia breeched the divide.

  Pierce turned and looked down the train car aisle, towards the red exit sign. "I don't know? I only know what I don't want."

  "And what's that?"

  He turned back to her. His brown eyes with golden flecks focused on her, staring at her with no fear of a spell. His secrets shone bright in his dark irises. He was entirely open. And that's when Lucia knew she was in love.

  "I...it doesn't matter." He leaned back again and offered her a warm smile. "Let's talk about you. If you don't want a Rumwicca, why are you coming into the city?"

  It took Lucia a moment to focus, to remember anything before she met this man and fell into his arms. But then she remembered another pair of arms, another smile. "I want to find my father."

  Pierce's eyebrows rose. "You know who he is?" He cringed, and those perfect lips twisted. "I'm sorry. That was crass."

  "I know who he is," she waved it away. "He's a wolf."

  Pierce cocked his head to the side like she'd seen wild dogs do when they were unsure if it was safe to approach. He opened his mouth. Then thought better of it and closed it. Finally, he leaned in, across the barrier of the armrest. He sniffed her once, then twice. Instead of a third sniff for confirmation, his handsome face broke out into a grin.

  "I've never heard of such a thing," he said. "Wolves mate for life. A wolf would never leave his mate or his cub."

  "My father was a lone wolf. He was out roaming when he met my mother."

  Pierce dropped his gaze, the words sounded pained when they came from his lips. "And he didn't stay? Did he know about you?"

  "He stayed. He stayed until..." Lucia trailed off, not wanting to remember the circumstances under which her father left them. "I was young, but I have memories of him. My favorite is when he held me in his arms and tossed me in the air. He said he loved me and he'd protect me. But he left."

  Pierce grabbed her hands. They were shaking; his not hers. In that moment, she loved him even more for his sympathy towards her. She wanted to assure him she was fine now because she'd met him. To tell him that when he'd held her in his arms, she'd felt protected once more. To tell him that all that was missing was for him to tell her he loved her and claim her.

  "I'm going to the city to find him," she said instead. "I have his name. Perhaps I can find his family and then track him down. Or wait for him to return. Loners always return to their families, even if for a short period."

  Pierce nodded, his eyes faraway. When they came back into focus he said, "I'll help you."

  "You will? Why, you just met me." She wanted the reason to be that he loved her.

  "Because..." He stumbled.

  She knew all about love spells. It would take nothing for her to spin one now with his open gaze on her. But she didn’t. She decided to let true love work its magic.

  Pierce blinked. “Because it's the right thing to do."

  With that settled, he gave her hand a friendly pat and settled back into his seat.

  Lucia tried to stifle her disappointment. It had taken her parents the entire train ride to fall in love. This journey had only just begun. They had hours before it came to an end.

  The train chugged on. Pierce didn't stare into her eyes nonstop or profess his love, but she had his full attention as she told him about life in the coven.

  He didn't inhale deep breaths of her scent as he told her about his travels through the lands of the
north and the ruins of the old cities.

  He didn't nuzzle her neck as they talked. But Lucia knew this was the man she wanted to make babies with when he told her about reading bedtime stories to his baby sister. This was the man she wanted to stand next to as he told her stories of his brother, who he appeared to hero worship. This was the man she wanted to kiss as he told her stories about his parents and their public displays of affection at school functions, which Pierce pretended to hate but secretly loved to witness.

  All too quickly, the train pulled into the city station. Lucia tried not to panic as Pierce stood and took down his bag.

  She waited beside him, as she had nothing of her own to claim. He continued to tell her about the snows of Canada as they queued up in the aisle to debark. But still he spoke no words of love or devotion.

  He stepped off the train and onto the platform without laying a claim on her. He offered his hand to help her down. But as she reached for it, he yanked it back with an apology.

  "I keep forgetting," he said. "Witches don't approve of chivalry."

  Lucia wanted to correct him, but he stepped aside to give her space.

  "Where are you staying?" he asked.

  Lucia's forehead crinkled. Pierce's eyes widened as he realized her predicament. Lucia's entire body warmed that they could communicate without words just like in the romance manifestoes her Sisters ridiculed.

  "You can stay with my family," Pierce said. "We have a spare bedroom since my brother moved out a few months ago. I warn you, my mother will fawn all over you. She's the definition of maternal."

  Lucia's smile and acceptance was hesitant. "Even though I'm a witch?" She knew her father's family hadn't taken kindly to having a witch grafted into their family tree.

  "What difference does that make? There are witches in the city."

  Lucia blinked. "There are?"

  "Of course. Warlocks, too."

  Lucia shrank back at the thought of loose warlocks on the city streets.

  Pierce chucked a finger under her chin. "Hey, don't worry. You're perfectly safe. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you."

  Lucia leaned into his hand, closing her eyes. She felt perfectly safe. This may not have been his declaration or his claiming, but she felt possessed nonetheless.

  "Hey, witch."

  Lucia opened her eyes. She caught Pierce’s confused gaze as he watched her nuzzle into his palm like a besotted puppy.

  "You thought that trick was funny? Well, I've got something for you."

  They both turned towards the shouting. It was Pockmarks. His lips were bruised from fervent kissing and his neck was covered in love bites.

  Pierce released Lucia. She caught a flash of silver and his growl rumble through her as he swung into action. If she was not a witch, she would've swooned to watch her man, her mate, leap into action to protect her.

  Only, Pierce didn't leap.

  He flew.

  Onto the train tracks.

  From the opposite side Thumbsucker whacked Pierce with a thick board. Pierce flew through the air, another growl tore through his lips, this one more menacing than the first. When he landed, a metallic thunk silenced him. His eyes rolled closed and his body stilled. He'd hit his head on the metal rails.

  "Now it's your turn, bitch."

  The kid dropped the board and approached Lucia along with his red-faced friend. There was even more sinister intentions in their eyes for her. Two pairs of eyes that looked directly at her.

  Lucia saw red.

  With the Moon high in the sky, she pulled the pale energy into her fingertips. The red anger turned to a cold, dense silver. The spell only took a few words.

  Lucia turned away from the two men as they pummeled one another as brutally as they'd attacked Pierce.

  She jumped down onto the train tracks. She checked Pierce's pulse. He was alive.

  The sound of a loud whistle caught her attention. She stood to see a train speeding towards them. She was too far away to spell the conductor to stop. She dropped back down to Pierce's limp body sprawled on the tracks. With just one glance at him it was apparent that not even the strongest witch could lift his bulk back up onto the platform. She peeled his irises open, but no attempt at a spell could work if the soul was unconscious. Peering up above, everyone on the platform averted their gazes from her.

  The train's whistle blew another warning. She climbed over to the other side of Pierce. She put her hands on Pierce's back, braced her hind legs on the tracks, and she called to another side of herself.

  There was no longer black and white in her vision. Everything before her eyes was liquid silver as she shoved at Pierce's body.

  The train's wheel's screeched in a hopeless attempt to brake. A growl tore through her as she gave one final push and shove. Finally, Pierce's body moved.

  The momentum of her shove caused her to tangle in his limbs, leaving Pierce on top of her as they rolled under the platform. His lips pressed against her collarbone. His thigh shoved between her legs. But they both were alive.

  Pierce's abdomen landed on hers and he unconsciously let out a breath. His teeth brushed against her neck, his hand splayed across her breast. In this position, as far as Lucia was concerned, she was well and truly claimed by this man.

  Chapter Six

  Jackson swirled the whisky in his glass. He saw his reflection in the liquid, but not his eyes. They melded into the liquid, as they were the same color.

  In his pocket, his phone vibrated an anxious rhythm. Jackson pulled it out. He looked at the caller ID. His thumb hovered over TALK, but instead he brought his drink up to his mouth and took a long pull until the phone went silent.

  Jackson looked around the bar. It was a favorite watering hole for the PPU officers. He saw Falun in one corner with two fairies in his embrace. Off to the side, a mix of all breeds surrounded Warwick. Fairies, she-wolves, and human females were drawn to the magnetism and mystery of warlocks.

  On a different night, Jackson may have joined them. Wolves were frisky when unmated, but once they found their mate, they were unflappably loyal and monogamous.

  Jackson had never been much for playing the field. He liked the stability and familiarity of one partner at a time; a serial monogamist his last girlfriend had called him. As the eldest son of his family pack he had a lot of responsibilities thrust upon him, including sharing with his siblings. Jackson didn't mind sharing any of his possessions with his friends and family, but he didn't share his women.

  The fairy that had been kissing Falun's neck a moment ago sauntered her lithe body over to Warwick. She made her way to the front of the line and looped her arms around Warwick's neck.

  Warwick had no family that Jackson knew of. No mother to fuss over him. No little sister for which to scare the boys away. No brother to steer away from trouble. No father to spend his life trying to live up to and impress. As far as Jackson knew, the warlock was alone in the world.

  The after burn of the whiskey dripped a slow burn into Jackson's stomach as he watched his partner loop an arm around the fairy's slim waist. Warwick was alone, but never lonely. The warlock headed towards the door with his conquest for the night. Warwick caught Jackson's eyes on the way and tilted his head in a question. Jackson raised his glass in front of his eyes in answer to his partner and then downed the last swallow.

  Jackson turned back to the bartender for another drink. He reached for his wallet to pull out a bill. In the picture section of the leather, he saw a candid family photo taken last solstice. Pierce's mischievous grin gleamed at him. But his brother's eyes looked off in the distance, not at the camera. His baby sister, Kayla stood in front of Pierce, leaning back against her big brother's chest. His mother stood at one side of Pierce with her arm wrapped around his bicep. Jackson stood on the other side of his brother with their father behind them all. It was as though they were boxing Pierce in.

  In his pocket his phone began it's anxious vibrations again. Pierce's train had arrived, and he was likely w
alking into the front door of the family home at this moment.

  The bartender sat another drink down in front of Jackson. Before Jackson could hand him a bill, a slender hand stopped him.

  "I'll get that." The she-wolf handed the bartender her currency card and gave Jackson a sultry smile.

  Jackson wasn't in the mood for company. But he was male. He took the woman in in one glance. She was exactly his type. She had curves from the top to the bottom. Her smile told him she was confident. Her offering to pay for his drink told him she was independent. Her form-fitting business suit told him she had it all together. Exactly his type of woman.

  His wolf didn't even lift its head at the prospect. Jackson sighed and looked into the fresh glass set before.

  "Let me guess," she said. "You're nesting?"

  Nesting was when a male wolf prepared for the coming of his mate. Very much like when a mother began preparing for the arrival of her newborn cub. Male wolves lost interest in any other woman. They fixed up their dens, or as in Jackson's case, they purchased a house and fixed it up.

  "Congratulations," said the she-wolf." Is she playing hard to get? Or has she not arrived yet?"

  "She hasn't arrived." But, Goddess, Jackson hoped she got here soon. He hadn't had sex in the last three months and it was wearing on his right hand. He took another glance at the she-wolf, wondering if he might forget all of his problems inside her arms for the night.

  She must've seen the trajectory of his thoughts. She must've also seen the inevitable conclusion. Even though he hadn't yet met the woman who would be his mate, his wolf sensed her impending arrival, which made him as good as mated.

  "I hope she's a hellion and can keep up with a fine specimen like you." The she-wolf slid off the barstool. "Enjoy the drink."

  Jackson tossed the fiery liquid down. The last drop burned his throat as his phone buzzed again. He pinched the bridge between his nose, but he answered the phone. "Hey, ma."