Moon of Fire (The Blood Pack Trilogy #1)

by H. D. Gordon

  In that same calm and casual voice, Erek said, “I’m a Hound, boys. You sure you want to do this?

  I would have bet my bottom dollar that the grins on the goons’ faces only stretched wider, and the way Erek’s expression settled resignedly told me that I would have bet true.

  At that moment, Lucian slipped out of the shadows where he’d been watching, his teeth bared in a silent growl, the crazy shining out of the Wolf-gold lighting up his eyes.

  Erek glanced toward the enormous Mad Wolf, and even from the distance, I could see the muscles in his jaw stand out as he clenched his teeth.

  The goons moved, one throwing a punch that Erek managed to block and return while the other male dropped his head and rammed his shoulder into Erek’s midsection, lifting him off the ground.

  As if by fate, just before he’d been slammed back into the darkness of the room, Erek met my eyes across the distance, spotting me on the rooftop before being taken down by the Wolf who’d slammed into him.

  I wasn’t sure when I had moved, but I was now standing in my spot on the roof of the adjacent building, my hand slapped over my mouth as if to stifle a budding scream. The weight of my irons hung heavy at my waist, as if accusing me in my inactivity. Between that, and the final look Erek had given me when he’d spotted me, I could scarcely seem to draw air.

  The scuffle between the two males and Erek ended before it even started. Even if Erek had been able to get past them, Lucian sat patiently outside the door, his furry tail perked high in excitement.

  A few moments later, the two goons exited the room they’d forced their way into, dragging an unconscious Erek between them.

  Lucian peeled his lips back in another silent growl, the expression terrifying even from my vantage point. The two males dragged Erek to the waiting carriage, tossed him inside, climbed in after, and shut the door.

  The driver snapped the reins, and the horses jolted forward. By the time I was able to breathe again, the wagon had rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

  When I looked back to see the Mad Wolf, I found myself looking right into Lucian’s crazy gold gaze, his huge head tilted up so that he could look at me, too.

  For the second time on this dreadful day, I swore to the Gods that the Mad Wolf was smiling, grinning as if this whole thing were some ridiculous, dangerous game.

  The possibility struck me that the Mad Wolf had known I was watching this exchange the entire time, that perhaps that had been the whole point, that Erek was just the bait, and though they had taken him, I was the actual target.

  As I stood on that rooftop, meeting the murderous gaze of the Wolf I had grown up hearing horror stories about, I could not seem to think straight.

  Lucian finished flashing his Wolfish grin and strode off up the street, his movements sleek and smooth for such an enormous creature. Just before he disappeared around the same corner the carriage carrying Erek had rounded, there came a knock on my mental wall.

  I was in too much mental turmoil to deny the request, and the next thing I knew, a voice made of darkness and nightmares filled my head. Though I had not been aware the creature was even capable of such communication, and though I had never heard his voice before, there was no question of which Wolf it belonged to.

  Just before his furry tail slipped out of sight, in the telepathic manner of our kind, the Mad Wolf said, “Come and play, Miss Silvers. My brother would like to see you.”

  I cursed, but could not be sure if I uttered the word aloud or just in my head. When I reached into my pocket and pulled out my timepiece, I realized that my hand was shaking. I had to focus more than I should have in order to take note of what time it was. When I slid it back into my pocket, I cursed once again.

  Just go, I told myself. You don’t love him. You don’t even know him that well. On top of that, he’s a Hound. Will the world really be that much worse off without one more Hound? Hounds are the Wolves of the oppressor. They are the ones who whipped you in the streets when you stole that milk from the store to feed Ana and Ada. They are the ones who protect the interests of the Masters, who make sure you stay in your place. They were the ones who kept you locked up for a year in that shithouse, where you had to fight not to be raped daily, all for being caught with a dime bag of Wolfsbane.

  Fuck him, Dita. Seriously. There are people you actually care about counting on you. This is a trap, and all you have to do to escape the cage you’ve been trying so long to free yourself from is head to the mountain. This is a trap, and you know it.

  I released a slow breath, watching it cloud into the cold air before me, cursed myself for being the biggest fool in all the realms, and followed in the direction the carriage had been heading.

  Chapter 26

  It was not hard to find them, because they wanted me to follow, of course. The whole damn point was that I follow.

  We wound through the streets of Borden, and with every passing second my heartbeat seemed to kick up a notch. One part of my mind was absolutely raging at me to turn around, to head my ass toward the Murdock Mountain and toward my family, who was waiting for me, who needed me.

  But my foolish feet just kept on following the carriage, even though my rational mind could not make sense of it. It was true that I did not love Erek, nor did I feel as though I owed him anything. In reality, our union had been a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and meeting the absolute wrong person.

  Cold-hearted.

  I needed to be cold-hearted. Perhaps now more than I’d ever needed to be in my entire life.

  But you know he doesn’t deserve to die. He’s a Hound, yes, and you hate the system that title supports, but that doesn’t mean you have to hate all the individuals who wear that title.

  True, but I also didn’t have to go getting myself killed to save them.

  And, yet, I kept chase. The Mad Wolf did not even look over his shoulder to see if I was following. The bastard knew I would. How he knew that, and subsequently how Lukas knew that, was beyond me. I was sure they’d heard of my reputation, sure they knew that I was not a Wolf who looked after anyone other than my own.

  And, yet, here I was.

  The carriage left the boundaries of Borden, taking a dirt road that cut through the lavender fields. As I followed, I kept checking my timepiece. I did not have time for this, and even if there was time, what the hell did I think I was going to do, exactly? Go in with guns blazing and take on Lukas’s goons in order to save Erek?

  Truth was, I had no plan, and I couldn’t think of a single viable one as I followed the carriage to the old storehouse where I had made the last drop of moonshine—when I had seen the crazy in Lucian’s eyes and thought for the first time that I had gotten in over my head, that all the money in the world might not be worth doing business with these particular Wolves.

  But now was not the time for regrets. The current situation was all that mattered.

  Sure enough, the carriage pulled up outside the storehouse. The wide doors were rolled aside to allow the horses to enter. Lucian slipped into the darkness inside the storehouse, disappearing from sight along with the carriage and the goons who’d ridden in on it.

  Overhead, the sun was starting to sink below the horizon, the light blue of early evening beginning to wash over the land. The air was growing colder, and a few early winter snowflakes began to drift down from the sky, their lazy descent a stark contrast to the panic that was coursing through me.

  I shouldn’t be here. I couldn’t help Erek. There was nothing I could do.

  The double doors to the storehouse rolled shut, the metallic sound of wheels rolling in tracks ringing out through the night. Though I knew they knew I was coming, I crouched between the high lavender stalks of the surrounding fields, eying the two Wolves who’d been stationed just outside the building.

  “We need to go,” whispered a voice beside me, and I damn near jumped out of my skin. It took several seconds before I could get my heart to stop beating loudly enough to blink
and take in who had spoken.

  Kyra sat beside me, having no doubt appeared out of thin air. She wore a dark purple cloak, the material thick and velvety. Under the dying light of the day, her violet eyes were so dark they were almost black. The Sorceress repeated herself.

  “Dita, we need to go,” she whispered.

  I had to swallow twice before I could respond. “Kyra, what are you doing here?”

  My friend looked at me like she might just slap me. “You were supposed to meet us at the mountain a half hour ago,” she snapped. “Why the hell do you think I’m here? The real question is, what the hell are you doing here?”

  I answered honestly, because no other words came to mind. “They took Erek,” I said.

  Kyra snorted. “Okay,” she said. “But that does not answer my question. We need to be leaving, so what the hell are you still doing here? I was sure you’d been captured, thought Lukas took you.”

  “So you used illegal magic to find me, and then teleport yourself here?”

  The Sorceress looked at me like I was stupid. “Yeah, and you’re welcome.”

  I let out a low sigh. “Kyra, you should not have done that. The Seers track that kind of magic, and if they catch you, they will lock you up.”

  In an unprecedented move between us, the Sorceress surprised me by gripping the front of my jacket in both hands, fingers fisting into the fabric as she hauled me close enough that our noses almost touched. I was so shocked that I didn’t think to jerk away, could only stare into those fierce violet eyes as they burned in frustration.

  “Wake up, girl,” Kyra snapped, giving me a little shake as she gripped my shirtfront. “You are not the only one who cares about people. Of course I used illegal magic to find you. What the hell would you have expected me to do?”

  What she was doing was perhaps the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me, and so any real words failed me.

  I said, “I expected you to go with the others. To lead them home.”

  Kyra’s gaze was so intense now that even I had trouble holding it.

  “Gods damn it, Dita,” she said, and released her hold on me, shoving me back a bit. “This is a bit of a stressful situation, so I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just wound the fuck out of me. And if I hadn’t used the Tracking Spell to find you, your brothers would have torn through half the Southlands to do so. So as much as you might like to think all of this to be about you, it isn’t. Now, let’s go while we still can. You’re right about the magic. The Seers track all of it, and their hunters will be on this place before night’s end.”

  If ever there was a speech that might have pulled me away from the task, that would have been it. But when I tried to command my feet to move, they just stayed rooted to the spot.

  After a tense moment of silence, where the early evening sky only deepened in darkness, I spoke past the lump in my throat and the knot in my stomach.

  “I can’t leave him, Ky,” I whispered. “They’ll kill him. You know they will.”

  The expression that came over my friend’s face revealed that part of her had been expecting me to say this, that she had only been hoping I would do otherwise.

  “You don’t love this male,” she tried, but her tone was half-hearted, had lost its hard edge. It was not a question. It seemed the Sorceress knew me better than I’d known myself.

  “No, I don’t… But that doesn’t mean I can just let him die, not on my account.”

  Another tense moment passed where I was almost certain Kyra would vanish from sight, taking her good advice and her disappointed stare with her.

  Then, she blew out a slow breath, which hung in a cloud in the cold air between us before drifting up toward the almost-dark night sky.

  “Okay,” she said. “Then what’s the plan?”

  I blinked. “I don’t have one,” I admitted.

  Kyra rolled her purple eyes. “Of course you don’t… We better get to thinking, then.”

  “Kyra, you need to go. I’m not letting you die for this.”

  Kyra held up a finger. “First of all, you may be the boss but you don’t ‘let’ me do anything, Miss Silvers,” she said. “And, second of all, your arguments are only wasting time. You want to save this handsome Hound or what?”

  If I hadn’t been a bundle of nerves, I might have laughed. “Well, then, I’m open to ideas. By my count, there are at least eight Wolves inside, not counting Lukas or Lucian. The latter is the one I’m most concerned about.”

  “The Mad Wolf… This male’s love making was good enough that you’re willing to fight the Mad Wolf to save him.”

  Again, it was not a question, but rather a statement of disbelief.

  I shrugged. We’d been over this. Yes, I was an idiot for being here. No, I wasn’t leaving while Erek was still in danger.

  Kyra rolled her neck, and I watched in awe as the violet irises of her eyes began to swirl like hot liquid. The air around us took on an almost electric quality, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Kyra’s hair was a huge cloud of dark curls atop her head, and a wicked grin pulled up her lips as I watched her summon the full extent of her magic around her.

  The full extent—an amount that would not just get her locked up, but likely killed if the Seer’s hunters were to catch her.

  “Kyra,” I said, but the word was just an amazed whisper. Now every hair on my body seemed to be standing on end. In all the years I’d known the Sorceress, I’d never seen her use more than a blip of her magic. Only trace amounts that would go unnoticed or overlooked by the Seers. Perhaps because of this, I’d always foolishly believed that I was the more formidable of the two of us. As a Wolf, I had incredible strength and speed, and even fangs when the mood suited me. But watching Kyra summon her magic just then, I realized that I had been wrong.

  It was no wonder the Seers wanted to keep the Sorcerer people in check. This kind of power could change the world, and since they sat at the literal and metaphorical top of it, I was sure the old bastards liked things just the way they were.

  My friend must have glimpsed the wonderment in my eyes, because a sly smile pulled up her full lips. “I got your back, D,” she said. “Even if I sort of think you’re an idiot.” She turned toward the storehouse, sparks of violet magic dancing between her fingertips.

  “Thank you,” I said, resisting the urge to plant a big kiss on her lips for the swelling she was causing in my heart at that moment. The two words did not seem anywhere near enough.

  Kyra kept her gaze focused on the target, but said, “You can thank me later… Right now, let’s go save your Hound. We have a damn boat to catch, and I intend to be on it before the Seer’s hunters show up.”

  Chapter 27

  The plan was simple.

  Kyra would cause a distraction while I would free Erek.

  There was no time to come up with anything more, no time to hesitate or discuss any longer.

  Having Kyra here made things both easier and harder. Easier, because her magic would no doubt rebalance the scales that had previously been tipped way out of my favor, and increase my odds of getting Erek out of here alive. And harder, because, now, it was not just myself who was at risk, but also my best friend.

  But one look at the Sorceress told me that I wouldn’t be able to convince her to leave me had I the time to utter a million convincing words. So, as it was, the two of us decided we would go face the pack of Wolves to free the Hound.

  It made no sense, but it was what it was.

  And Lukas knew we were coming, so we did not even have the element of surprise on our side.

  Still, this didn’t stop my heart from thundering in my chest as I watched Kyra stroll out of the concealment of the lavender stalks we’d been crouching in and approach the storehouse as if she were on a casual early evening stroll.

  Kyra walked right up the center of the dirt road that faced the building. Her velvety purple cloak rippled behind her, the shimmering fabric catching the dying light of the day
and sparkling like a night sky flecked with endless stars. Though my friend was always lovely to behold, she was downright majestic in that moment, and I took the shortest of seconds to admire her awesome beauty.

  Violet-tinted magic danced along her brown skin, giving it an otherworldly glow, and her eyes continued to swirl as a grin pulled up her lips. Her boots were near silent as she glided over the ground, magic sparking at her fingertips and sending an electric current into the air.

  The two Wolves that had been stationed outside of the storehouse, guarding the large double doors, took notice. Even they could not stop themselves from staring for a second at Kyra’s magnificent allure before remembering that they were supposed to be doing a job.

  “Good evening, boys,” Kyra said, her voice echoing like that of a divine being.

  By the time the Wolves thought to reach for their weapons, Kyra thrust her hands toward them, and two streams of violet lightning shot out from the tips of them.

  These streams struck their targets dead-on, lifting the two males off their feet and slamming them back into the metal building.

  If Lukas didn’t already know we were here, he knew it now.

  I slipped out of my position in the adjacent field and went to join my friend. I’d made the decision to remain in my mortal form for various reasons. For one thing, I would not be able to fight all of Lukas’s goons tooth and fang, because there were more of them and they were much, much bigger in their Wolf forms than I was in mine. Also, if ever there was a time that I would need to be quick on the draw with the duel revolvers hanging perpetually at my waist, that time was now. Hesitation was not an option. Hesitation would get me killed. I needed to shoot first, and be gone by the time all the questions were asked later.

  And whether we walked out of here alive or not, there would be questions, all right. Heaps of them.

  There was so much raw magic emanating from Kyra that I had to grit my teeth just to keep stride beside her. The two males she’d taken out seemed down for the count, slumped against the walls into which she had thrown them and not stirring in the least.