Outside her window, Luna concentrated on looking outside, willing those tears away. Spying two large black birds swooping through the grey sky, she longed to the same. What I wouldn’t give to sprout wings and fly away … fly far, far away, where no one could find me, where no one would have to hand out vials of death. Where no one would have to die so I could live. At last, the tears fell, burning her skin as they trailed down her pale cheek slowly.
Chase leaned over, resting his hand on her knee. “Princess, talk to me.”
Shaking her head, Luna wiped the tears from her face. “Pour quoi? Why? Do you really need me to talk after everything Cassandra said?”
“Just … talk to me. I can’t stand this silence between us.” Chase’s voice was gentle, but it was hard to escape the strain within it.
A sigh escaped Luna’s lips. “Fine. Would you like me to talk about the fact that this deranged alpha wants to rape me and force me to have his baby so that he can bring about the end of the world? Or perhaps you would like to discuss the finer points of my curse if I should survive this attack?” Despair and anger rippled through every word, growing stronger with each syllable.
“None of that shit is going to happen. Neither Michael or I will allow that to happen.” Luna glanced over to see his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel, his face struggling to maintain a neutral look.
The birds flew away in the distance, sending a wave of sorrow flowing through her. Come back, take me with you, she cried out in her mind. Suddenly her lungs struggled to take in oxygen. Every time Luna inhaled, felt as though she was trying to lift a boulder off her chest. Terror exploded through her, dark, unending terror that sucked every ounce of air from her lungs and the light from her eyes. She could vaguely hear words, or what she assumed were words, but they couldn’t penetrate the thick fog of despair that cut her off from the world.
Fingers gripped the sides of her face, forcing her eyes to open. The light returned to her eyes, creeping in from the sides, melting away the darkness until all she could see through the blur of tears were warm melted chocolate pools staring at her. Chase’s lips were moving, but she couldn’t make out what he was trying to tell her. Agony tore through her, ripping into every fibre of her being.
After what seemed an eternity, Luna finally heard the word breathe, repeated over and over again. She clutched at it, using the word as her lifeline as she struggled to escape the ocean of despair determined to drown her. Desperation yanked hard on her chest, overriding every sense. Bundling his shirt in her fist, Luna wept, attempting to draw in a breath. At first, she could only suck in small slivers of air, but the next was larger, and larger, until it finally felt as though her lungs weren’t going to explode. All the time, Chase reassured her, stroking the sides of her face, keeping her eyes focused on his. A wave of calm in the storms that were threatening to bring her under.
Finally, she sagged against him, his arms enveloping her, his strength offering comfort and reassurance. “I’ve got you, I’ve got you. Breathe for me, princess,” he repeated, his tone soothing.
“Why?” Luna hated the whine in her voice, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her hands gripped leather, the material cold within her grasp. “Chase, why me? I tell myself it’s wrong, but I wish this was happening to someone else. Anyone else. Hell, I wouldn’t care if it was some random person on the street, just as long as wasn’t me. Then I feel so guilty every time the thought pops into my head.”
“You’re feeling guilty for being human? Those thoughts are normal. Don’t feel guilty for something you can’t control.” His face had taken on a grim expression, but his eyes and tone were gentle.
Head spinning, Luna buried her face into his chest, the smell of forest and musk invading her senses. Sweet god, I love this scent. “I can’t help it, Chase. What if Cassandra’s right? Say if he does get hold of me; that means the start of the demon invasion. Michael will die, you’ll die, and everyone else will die! As it is, several of the pack has already died. How many more lives can I put on the line before someone says enough? My life cannot be worth theirs. Maybe I should drink the poison and save everyone the hassle,” she whispered, the words in her throat slicing at her like barbed wire as they tumbled out.
A hand raised her chin, so she was forced to see her reflection in Chase’s gleaming eyes. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that sort of thing, Luna. Your life is worth just as much as anyone’s. I don’t care if I have to sacrifice everyone in this world, I’d do it just to keep you safe and wouldn’t give a damn about anyone else.”
His words lit a fire within Luna that she couldn’t extinguish no matter what. It only took a second for her to bridge the gap that separated them, claiming his lips with her own. Feather light, his lips moved gently against hers, parting the seam of her mouth with his tongue. Usually, Chase’s kisses were hot, passionate, demanding, but this time was different. A tender, sweet, slow worship of her mouth, although just as all-consuming. Swallowing down her groans, he pulled her closer, both ignoring the gear stick separating them. His hands cupped her cheeks, his thumb tracing circles along her skin.
Luna’s heart fluttered against the confines of her chest, warmth thrilling her blood. The world melted away. Thoughts of demons and curses dissipated with each soft caress. Nothing but peace and warmth spread through her. Luna sank into the sensation of his slow kisses, so faint they were whispers, comforting in ways mere words would never be able to do.
Pulling away, Chase stared down at her, flecks of amber peeking through the warmth of his chocolate brown eyes, his gaze a warm caress. Emotion swelled up inside her chest. Every time Chase’s wolf peered through his eyes something tightened deep within. She could stare into those eyes forever, lose herself, and never be found again.
His thumb skimmed to the corner of Luna’s mouth, tracing the seam, leaving a trail of slow warmth in its wake. “You OK, princess?” he asked, concern in his voice.
Nodding, Luna felt a blush blossoming on her cheeks. The tightness in her chest had disappeared. “Oui. Much better now.”
“Good, no panic attacks allowed in my car anymore,” Chase told her, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes.
Confusion creased a line between her brows. “Has someone else had a panic attack in your car?”
Chase snorted. “Your brother. Thought he was going to run us off the road at one point.”
“What happened?” Curiosity laced her words.
Chase gave a small snort of laughter as he recalled the time. “When we were eighteen, we went out drinking with a few buddies to try out our newly acquired fake ID’s. Of course, the bouncer knows they’re fake and threw us all out on our asses. So, we ended up at this little dive bar in the middle of nowhere. We get in, start drinking some beers and shoot some pool. Typical stuff. Then Michael starts looking over my shoulder. Keeps doing it, his face getting darker each time. I finally ask him what’s up and he tells me to look.”
“What did you see?”
“Some asshole pushing around his woman, being a general dick to her. You know your brother, he hates that shit as much as I do. Didn’t help that she looked similar to you and the moon was almost full that night. When it gets close to the full moon, it can be hard to control our wolves. Well, I guess the temptation of the moon was too strong because the next time that guy pushed her, he strode over to her, grabbed him, and threw him outside. Beat the bastard until he was crawling in front of his girl begging her forgiveness.”
“Sounds like the pig deserved what he got,” Luna said quietly.
Chase nodded. “Oh, I agree, princess, but while he was getting his ass kicked, somebody called the cops. We hightailed it outta there, passing the cops on the road home. Got about a mile down the road when Michael starts breathing fast, his eyes turning gold, cracking the steering wheel under his fists. Within seconds he had a full-blown panic attack. Had to calm him down, too.”
“Did kissing him work like it did me?” Luna tea
sed.
Laughter tore from his lips. “A gentleman never kisses and tells, princess,” he told her with a wink.
Luna snorted in amusement. “Did Dad ever find out about the incident?”
“Yeah, we had to tell him. George wasn’t only Michael’s father; he was our alpha, and alphas can always tell when someone lies. Your brother thought George would tear his hide, but instead, he handed him a beer. Told Michael a good alpha is one that looks out for everyone, whether they’re pack or not, that he showed potential.”
“Michael has always been protective,” Luna mused. “Did I ever tell you about the time when he saved me from falling in the Seine?”
“No. What happened?”
A ghost of a smile fluttered on her lips as Luna recalled. “Five years ago, Michael came over to Paris to spend a few weeks with me. He knows Paris quite well, but this time we took a walk down the river in a part of the city neither of us were that familiar with. Anyway, we’re walking along, talking away, when we hear shouting behind us. As we turn around, some man pushes past me, pushing me over the railing and running away. I’m falling backwards, the sky has swapped places with the ground, and all I can see dark water. I was certain I was going to drown, but just as my feet were going over the railing, Michael caught me. Never in my life was I so glad he was there.”
“I’m glad he was there, too.” The gentle tone of his voice was sincere.
A small sigh flowed from between her lips. “Seems Michael has an aptitude for saving women. Maybe we should hire him out?”
“After we save you first, princess,” he replied, the words coming out in a ragged tone.
Luna saw the shadows darkening Chase’s eyes, and she knew that he was kicking himself for saying those words. “I’m scared, Chase. What happens if they really do get hold of me? I don’t want to open the gates to hell.”
Chase’s hands flew instantly to her head, cupping her cheeks once more. He brought her towards him, resting her forehead against his. The warmth of his skin attempted to break through the iciness that now flowed through her blood but couldn’t. “You won’t, Luna. We will not let you. I will not let you go anywhere with that bastard. Even if I should fall to the depths of hell, I will never let you go.”
Eleven
“Another of our wolves is dead.” Although Michael’s voice was barely more than a whisper, his words carried throughout the kitchen.
“Shit,” Chase exclaimed, his hand gripping Luna’s tightly as they stopped in the doorway, his voice thick with anger. “What the hell happened?”
“Mike called while you were in D.C. Apparently Russo’s pack got hold of the informant and our man before we could bring him in. Said he could barely tell which parts were skin and which were bones. It was only by his rings and eyes that he could tell it was Kevin.”
“Fuck!”
“Fuck ain’t quite the word I’d use, but it’ll do for the moment.” Lifting the bottle of whiskey to his lips, he swallowed long and hard. Grimacing as he pulled the bottle from his lips, Michael shook his head. “I tell you, when I get my hands on this guy, I’m going to tear him limb from limb, sew him back together, and then do it all over again.”
“What are we going to do now our informant is dead?” Luna whispered, trying her best to keep the fear and desperation out of her voice.
A heavy silence hung in the air, stretching into what seemed like an eternity before Michael shrugged. “At this point, sis, I couldn’t tell you. Keep warding the house and make sure someone guards you at all times, I suppose.”
Striding over to where her brother stood, Luna snatched the bottle out of his hands. “How are you going to guard me when you’re drunk, Michael? I’m sorry about Kevin, but we’ve got to do something instead of drink!”
“What do you suggest then?” Michael asked, anger starting to break through the mask of despair he wore.
Slamming the bottle on the side, Luna crossed her arms, feeling cold underneath her frustration and rage. “Let’s start acting instead of just reacting.”
Raising an eyebrow and spreading his hands as if to say, well go on then, Michael waited for her to continue. Taking a deep breath, Luna quickly glanced back at Chase, his face etched with interest.
“What’s your idea, Luna?” Chase asked, his tone encouraging.
Luna turned back to her brother, fixing him with a hard stare. “Cassandra informed us that the Crescent Moon pack should be here within the next few days. What if we do something to them along the way, before they get here?”
“Like what? Run?”
“We don’t need to run; we need to plan. It’s one thing to fortify the house and part of the woods, but let’s take it a step further. How far can we set up traps outside the property’s boundaries without it harming any of the outsiders?”
Michael’s face turned serious. Creasing his brows, the storm in his eyes swirled as he considered her words. “We’ve got a few traps in the woods already, but nothing that extends past there. Anything too far and it could hurt the humans.”
Luna turned thoughtful. “How many ways are there into town?”
“Two. One on the north side, the other to the south,” Chase told her, cradling a cup of coffee which he passed to Michael. The sharp bitter aroma filled Luna’s nose.
Twisting a lock of hair around her finger and pursing her lips, she glanced sideways at both men in turn. “From town, there’s only one way to our home, right? And only the main driveway to the house?”
Nodding, Michael took a sip of the steaming liquid, wincing at its strength. “Yep. With almost fifty acres of woods surrounding the property.”
Curiosity got the best of her. “Michael, does anyone go into the woods to try and find the wolves that are meant to be here? I know the pack runs here, but do any humans?”
Michael shook his head. “Centuries ago, the alpha would hire a witch to bespell the area, warding it off from humans. It worked – mostly. The few times it didn’t, the mangled bodies of the idiots would be sent back to their families. Over time, the humans knew not to come here. About forty years ago, there was a petition to hunt the wolves completely, but the pack shut that down pretty quickly. The spell hasn’t been redone in years, though. There wasn’t any real need.”
“Plus, it would have put a dampener on your sex life.” At Luna’s confused expression, Chase explained with one side of his mouth curled up into a smirk. “Pretty hard to get laid if your human date can’t get past the perimeter.”
“Oh.” Heat flooded her cheeks, and Luna glanced at the ground in embarrassment. Sometimes she forgot how big a player her brother was. Shaking her head as if to discard those thoughts, Luna raised her gaze back to her brother. Sipping his coffee, he remained silent, waiting for her to articulate her thoughts. “So, we can control their access into town and to the property, is that right? If we can control their route …”
“We can capture them,” Chase finished as Luna’s words trailed off.
“Oui. If we can get Russo, then we can end this.” Luna nodded, a triumphant smile stretched over her tired features.
“It would be much easier if we can kill this bastard off the property,” said Chase, squeezing her waist. “They can’t shift in front of humans; they wouldn’t be able to hide after that. None of us would.”
“If the demons get into our world then shapeshifters would be the least of their problems,” Michael scoffed, his voice rumbling. He shook his head. “Besides, how would any of us be able to kill them in public? We have the same issues; only we would need to maintain our secrecy afterwards. I can’t see that happening.”
Luna’s shoulders sagged with disappointment. She was about to give up on the subject when a thought suddenly came to her. “What if we lure him into a trap that kills him?”
Scepticism flared in her brother’s eyes. “And how do you suppose we do that?”
“With magic. Those little orbs can make you see things. Let’s use those to tempt Russo away from the property,
away from the townsfolk. If we can trap him, we can kill him.”
“Never thought I would hear you talk about killing someone for real,” Michael said, a hint of teasing in his voice as he cocked his head to one side, his eyes assessing her.
“Never thought I would have to but when one has a crazy werewolf out to use her to destroy the world, one tends to prioritise a few things,” she told him, rolling her eyes back so hard she thought she’d be able to see Chase hiding a smirk. Hell, she could already hear a faint snigger from where he was standing.
Luna watched Michael as he sagged his shoulders. She could see sorrow, fear and a thousand doubts mingled within his troubled blue eyes. “Sorry, Luna, I’m just tired, and there’s so much to do tonight. Tell me what happened at the seer’s.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Luna relayed what Cassandra had told them. From the curse that bound Dean Russo to the one she could possibly suffer from in the future, and reluctantly, she repeated Cassandra’s last words in a hollow voice. “For the world to live, you may have to die.”
She was quite surprised to find Michael neither growling nor reaching for the whiskey bottle, although anger contorted the features of his face.
Chase remained silent by her side, sipping his coffee, but his eyes continued to devour her. Although she tried her best to stay calm, she couldn’t help but hear the faint quiver in her voice when she spoke. “I don’t want to die, Michael, but if there’s the possibility of him taking me, of releasing the demons into this world, then I will. I’ll drink the damn potion and stop the whole thing from happening.”
Michael stepped forward, fire raging in his eyes, his voice a low guttural growl. “You will do no such thing. You hear me. You will not drink that goddamn concoction.”
“But if it’s the only way … surely my life is worth the sacrifice?” The words made her throat ache with unshed tears.
Temptation Of The Moon: A Silver Moon Novel Page 9