Unleash The Moon (The Preternaturals Book 6)

by Zoe Winters

  There was a growl from the doorway. Noah looked up to see his dad glaring at his throat.

  “Who the fuck bit and claimed you?!”

  Oh right. That.

  “Cole!” Jane said. “He’s been held prisoner for years. It’s not his fault!” So his mom had noticed the claim, too. She’d just had the good sense to keep her mouth shut about it.

  “I will kill the vampire that marked my child,” Cole said.

  Noah growled. “You will not touch a hair on my mate’s head.”

  A sick look came over the alpha. “You allowed a vampire to mark you? It wasn’t just some fucked-up experiment?”

  “Well, allowed is a strong word,” Noah said. “I knew she was my true mate, but she marked me first before I could stop her. She wanted our lifespans to match.” When he said it out loud to explain it, it was sort of sweet and logical.

  The alpha growled again, pacing the metallic floor. “There is no way that a vampire is your true mate. If you expect me to believe… Whatever happened to you when you were locked up must have messed with your mind. She must have done something to make you believe…”

  A throat cleared. Jane had gotten control of her tears. “Umm, hi, Cole. Remember your mate, Jane? The one who started out human and was only mystically able to be your true mate because of the vampire blood that somehow was part of my genetic makeup? It’s a fun story. I could break out the slides.”

  “That’s different. It’s different. You and I are… You weren’t a vampire!”

  “It’s not from being locked up,” Noah said. “It’s Sydney.”

  “Ha!” Jane said. “I told you. I told you when they were toddlers. I called it. You should have just let him feed her when they were small. There was no stopping this.”

  Cole rounded on Noah again. “Are you feeding her? She’s weak and sick and… a vampire. And if you’re feeding her…”

  “If I’m feeding her then what, Dad? I thought you’d be glad to see me. I thought you’d miss your fucking son and be glad I was all right. It’s been two decades. I wasn’t expecting balloons and streamers, but I thought you’d at least give a shit.”

  The alpha spun on his heel and stormed out of the sick bay.

  Jane’s eyes glowed red, and she partially shifted into the demon form: red scaled skin and black claws. Noah reached out and took her hand, and she melted back into her normal human visage.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  “It really isn’t. But he’ll come around. You just have to give him time. He doesn’t deal well with reunions. He doesn’t know how to process it, so he lashes out at the first thing that doesn’t line up with what he’s used to.”

  Under most circumstances, Cole was solid and dependable. But certain scenarios set off his less-than-reasonable side. This appeared to be one of them. If stories were true, his mom’s transition to demon had been another.

  “I need you to get him to come to the Cary Town Luxury Apartments, to the roof,” Noah glanced at the wall clock, “in two hours. We’re going to have a meeting. Get Uncle Cain and Aunt Tam. And Uncle Dayne and Aunt Greta. We could all be in danger. Dad needs to put this stuff aside for a night or two, then he can hate me all he wants to.”

  Jane brushed the hair out of his face. “Oh, honey, he doesn’t hate you. He’s just how he is. You’ll understand if you ever have your own pack.”

  Noah cleared his throat. “I… um… sort of have my own pack. We’re staying at the apartments. When Dad gets over his snit, I need his help with electrical wiring and security if he’s not disowning me.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  Jane left Noah alone, and he scrambled back into his clothes, hoping his mate was having better luck.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sydney had lurked outside the compound for over an hour. She couldn’t just walk in there. At some point someone had to come outside. As if the universe heard her thought, a side metal door swung open, and one of her dad’s guards stepped out. He carried a large human military-grade weapon. Despite vampire speed and fangs, sometimes a gun was still more menacing. It depended on what species the threat was.

  Their primary enemy was human, and sometimes a bullet got to a magic user better. Fangs were too close, and if they’d ingested something as a vampire deterrent it was best not to have any of their blood. It was too easy for them to turn the tables on a cocky fang-happy vampire.

  Sydney had changed at the last minute into a turtleneck, hoping her father wouldn’t question the clothing choice. Vampires didn’t always dress seasonally, anyway. She tugged at the fabric to cover Noah’s mark. Maybe her dad wouldn’t smell it before she had a chance to figure out how to tell him.

  She jumped out of the tree she’d been sitting in, and the gun swung toward her. She threw her arms up. “Reynard, it’s just me.”

  The vampire’s eyes glowed a dangerous red, and his fangs dropped. “Where the fuck have you been, Syd? The king is going to kill you. He almost killed me for letting you out of my sight. Then where would my mate have been? You think Anthony would let Persephone hang around the compound without a vampire protecting her? He’d toss her out on her ass. How would she survive all by herself out here? You don’t think about anything but yourself and your own petty dramas. Did the little princess get tired of being locked in the tower?”

  Sydney shrugged, feeling once again like she’d regressed in age back to the teen years. They’d always treated her like a kid. They’d never once seen her as an adult. She wanted to shove her dad’s vampire goon back on his ass. He deserved it. The shock and surprise on his face would be worth it. But she wasn’t ready to play that card yet. Let them think she was the same weakling that had run away.

  He cocked his head to the side. “Get in there. Don’t make me drag you in kicking and screaming. If I accidentally shoot you, you might bleed out before we can find you someone to eat.”

  “Maybe my dad will kill you, then I can have your mate.”

  Reynard growled. “If you weren’t the princess…”

  “You’d what?”

  “You have no idea little girl. And you don’t want to.”

  The urge was strong to wipe the smug smile off his face. He thought her only safety and protection was who she was. He had no idea how much the game had changed.

  None of them would let her feed off their mates. Jacob had been her only human food source for years. Anthony could have made them all share, but Sydney suspected he had enough trouble dealing with the possibility of what she’d done with Jacob while feeding. The visual of girl-on-girl action would be way too much for him to cope with.

  Sydney pulled the door open and turned back. “What kind of mood is he in?”

  “Just go. He’s only had one mood since you left. Bad.”

  She took a deep breath and went up the stairs. It was quieter than she remembered. The main living area was empty. Ordinarily around this time it was loud with everyone chattering away. It was as if the entire compound had fallen asleep or died when she’d left.

  Sydney wandered the halls until she found her father’s study. The door was cracked just enough to let light out. She knocked.

  “Leave me in peace,” he growled.

  “Dad?”

  Anthony blurred to the door and jerked it off its hinges. His eyes glowed red. He was livid, but he crushed her in a hug, anyway. He quickly got control of himself and backed off. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

  “A little,” Sydney lied. Something told her not to show her hand too soon.

  He shoved her sleeves up to inspect her arms for bruises while she hoped he couldn’t tell what was different about her.

  “Where were you?” he demanded. “I sent out search parties. One of them is still out looking for you. Your mother and I have been worried sick. She’ll hardly eat. I’ve been giving her my blood to keep her strong.”

  Lie your ass off!

  Her dad looked gaunt. She hadn’t been gone long, but in that time the vampire
had defied the laws of vampirism and seemed to have aged decades.

  Typically, she was a terrible liar, but with any luck he’d be so happy to have her home, he’d believe anything she could string together into a coherent sentence. And weren’t the best lies peppered with truth?

  “Jacob kidnapped me. He made me write the letter. He had some deal to be reunited with his family by some magic users.”

  “I’ll torture him slowly. Then I’ll kill him.”

  “He’s already dead.”

  “How did you get away?”

  “I didn’t.” And this was where she had to tread carefully. Noah’s dad had probably been much cooler about all this. “Do you remember Noah?”

  “The wolf?” Anthony asked.

  Sydney nodded, hoping her face didn’t give anything more away. She hoped she didn’t look smitten.

  “How could I forget him. That stupid pup wouldn’t leave your side when you were little.” The bitterness edged into his voice. “I’d thought that perhaps if you could feed from him you’d get stronger, but Cole wouldn’t have it. Selfish asshole.”

  She was tempted to confess the full story now. If it had been her dad’s idea to let her drink from Noah, surely he couldn’t be too upset if she was mated to him, but a cowardly voice inside her head warned her not to tell.

  “He was being kept in the same facility they kept me in. He recognized me and broke out and broke me out with him.”

  Anthony’s eyes narrowed as if he could see the whirlwind romance unfolding before him. “And where is your wolf hero now?” His eyes flashed, but he quickly covered it.

  It was too late. Sydney had seen it. If Noah had done anything more than just bust her out and bring her home, her father would kill him.

  “He’s at your old penthouse.”

  A territorial growl.

  Sydney pressed on. “We’re afraid the magic users might come here. Cary Town looks abandoned, so maybe they did a quick sweep and assumed everybody moved on, or maybe they’re making plans and will show up when we least expect it. We’re having a meeting tonight on the rooftop. The wards need to be stronger. We need to rebuild the city.”

  “What is all this ‘we’? What are you going to do, Syd? I love you, but you know your involvement will be minimal. I think it’s for the best if you stay here at the compound. I’ll go to the meeting. You need to stay where you’ll be safe and conserve your strength.”

  “No way. I’m going.”

  “And why would you want to do that? Sydney, if there is something you’re not telling me… If that filthy wolf touched you, I will kill him.”

  “N-no, he didn’t. N-nothing like that.” Lie your ass off! “I just want to go.”

  “You will stay here. Your mother has been beside herself.”

  “W-where is she?”

  “She’s in our room.”

  Her parents’ room was underground at the end of the hallway opposite from the stairs.

  “Charlotte, you have a visitor,” Anthony said, pushing Sydney into the room.

  Her mother bolted up in bed. “Syd? Is that you?”

  “It’s me.” Despite the lie she’d told her father, the guilt over the truth ate at her now that she was dealing with her mom. She’d wanted freedom, but not at this expense.

  “When you’re father claimed me, he said I’d never get sick. The big fat liar.”

  Mystical bonds didn’t seem to cover the pain of losing someone you loved.

  The door slammed behind her, the lock turned into place. Sydney banged against the steel. “Dad, open this door!”

  “Never! You are never leaving this compound again!”

  “But Jacob…” If he believed her story, how could he see any of this as her fault?

  “I don’t care. I don’t want you near that wolf. If he risked life and limb to bring you back here there can be only one thing he wants.”

  “Oh. My. God. Dad, I’m twenty-seven. Who the hell cares if that’s what he wants? Do we have to have the nun conversation again?”

  “Syd, I’m not in the mood for this right now,” her dad growled from the other side of the door. “Reynard is out here. We’ll figure out something for you to eat when I return from this meeting.”

  “Dad! You’re being insane!” But there was no response. He was already on his way to the penthouse.

  “This is bullshit!” Sydney shouted. “I am fucking going to that meeting!”

  Her mother winced. “You know how your father gets. You’re stuck here until he decides to open that door. With me in here, it’ll be sooner rather than later. Be glad for that, at least.”

  Sydney sighed. “I hate to leave with you like this, but I’m going. I need to be there with Noah.”

  Charlee’s eyes were shrewd. “There’s something going on with that wolf isn’t there?”

  Sydney buckled and told her mother about the mating link. She felt guilty, as if she’d run off to elope.

  “So, I have to be there. I can’t leave my mate and pack alone to deal with everyone—not with Noah just now being free after so long. He tries to hide it, but even under the best circumstances he gets overwhelmed around too many people. And tensions could be high.”

  “They always are when everyone gets together. But that’s reinforced steel, you’ll never—”

  Sydney wasn’t sure if her mother had finished that sentence because she’d already blurred to the door and pounded through it. Her dad’s guard was waiting for her on the other side. He startled, fumbling with his gun at human-speed. Sydney ripped the weapon from his hand, emptied the chamber and took the magazine. She’d at least learned something useful in her time at the compound. She pushed him with all her strength.

  He went flying through the air until his back hit the wall at the end of the hallway and he slumped down, eyes wide.

  “Don’t get up,” she said. “You can’t take me.”

  “Sydney?”

  She turned back to her mother. “I’d love to explain this, but I have a meeting to get to.”

  “At least I know you can take care of yourself. Be careful, and try not to rile your father up too much. You know how he gets.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Watch out!” Charlee said.

  Reynard had gotten behind her and was trying to put her in a choke hold. Sydney flipped him hard on the concrete so hard his back cracked. Even with his mate’s blood, he was looking at a good half hour healing time for that. “I said, stay down,” Sydney said. How he’d managed to stay in her father’s employ with his sub par listening skills was anybody’s guess.

  Sydney blurred out of the building and didn’t slow until she reached the Cary Town Luxury Apartments. A few of the more intimidating male pack members stood outside the front door. They nodded as she approached.

  “If a vampire shows up with dark hair and thick eyebrows… looks sort of like a caveman, acts sort of like a caveman… don’t let him in. He’s not on the guest list.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” one of them said and saluted.

  “Don’t salute. This isn’t a military installation.”

  He shrugged, and she went inside. It was still hard to get used to the way the place had fallen into disrepair, but the wolves had already been hard at work on it. She had no idea what they’d used for cleaning products. She’d heard a few of the girls were quite crafty, maybe they’d made something, but it was obvious they’d been hard at work on the lobby.

  The cobwebs had been cleared away and the mirrors gleamed as much as they could at this stage. Everything was clean, but it was still dark as a tomb without electricity. One of the wolves had helpfully put an “out of order” sign on the elevator, as if anyone would try to utilize it.

  She took the stairs two at a time to the sixth floor where a few more pack members were stationed. They nodded, but happily no one saluted this time.

  She was surprised they’d cleaned the hallway and the penthouse. The rotted peach smell was gone. She could get used to being part
of an alpha pair. Still more pack wolves stood outside the stairs leading to the roof.

  “Let me guess, we have more goons at the top?”

  Milo smirked. “Nothing gets by you.”

  “Nice job on the clean-up by the way,” she said.

  “No problem. We still have a lot of work, but we at least wanted to get the areas guests would see.”

  “Is everybody here?”

  “I think so. Noah gave me a list, but there were a couple of unexpecteds.”

  Sydney raised a brow. “Oh?” They must have been okay if they’d been waved up.

  “Yeah, but we knew them.”

  “How did you know them?”

  “Small world, I guess, but it was that witch that gave us our music and her panther.”

  Weird.

  Sydney took the last flight of stairs two at a time. She was halfway up them when she heard the vampire king roar “What the fuck do you mean she’s your mate!?!”

  Maybe she should slink away, but her conscience got the better of her. She couldn’t leave Noah alone with her dad, especially since her mate’s new immortality was just as conditional as hers.

  The metal door clanged against the brick wall, announcing her arrival.

  “Sydney? You didn’t tell him?”

  The wounded look on Noah’s face nearly killed her. As if she’d betrayed him or as if he didn’t matter to her now that they were all back home.

  “Well… I mean… He already locked me in the compound with a vampire guard when I didn’t tell him. What do you think he would have done with more information?”

  Noah growled, the fur starting to crop up on his arms. Sydney rushed to stand between her father and her mate. “We have more important stuff to deal with.”

  The vampire king suddenly looked more pained than angry. “I’m so disappointed in you Syd. I can’t believe you’d let a wolf…”

  She knew it was wrong, but she shoved her father like she’d shoved his guard. He flew across the rooftop until he landed against the brick wall. Everyone went quiet.