Moon Thrall

by Donna Grant

  “Are you afraid of me now?” Court asked in a low voice as they walked.

  Skye frowned. Afraid of him? Where did he get that idea? “Why would you think that?”

  “You won’t look at me.”

  She turned her head to him and gaped. Court grabbed her and moved her out of the way of an oncoming group of people. On her other side, Griffin chuckled.

  “No, I’m not afraid of you,” she answered and looked forward.

  She could feel him watching her. He was a force unto himself, and she didn’t even think he realized it. It was obvious as they walked down the sidewalk with Griffin a little ahead of her. Anytime someone got too near her, Court pulled her toward him.

  Most took one look at his stern face and gave them a wide berth.

  “I never intended to shift in front of you,” he finally said.

  Skye shook her head in confusion. “Why? It’s part of who you are.”

  “You’re freaked enough already with the vampires. Why would I want to scare you more?”

  “I like to know what I’m dealing with.”

  He made a sound at the back of his throat. “Are you telling me that you’re not a little uneasy about the fact that so many weres are around?”

  “What makes me nervous is the fact there are vampires after me,” she said tightly.

  Griffin glanced over his shoulder at her and gave her a nod of approval. Strangely, that made her feel better.

  They grew quiet as they continued through the city until they reached the outskirts and the sidewalks ended. All around her were huge live oaks with their branches stretching outward, some so heavy they rested on the ground.

  Skye thought the city was scary, but it was nothing compared to the woods. Just the thought of it made her shake. Her eyes were wide, her heart pounding in her ears. Vampires were fast. Really fast.

  But so was Court. She hadn’t expected that of a werewolf. Or the sheer size of him.

  He laced his fingers with her cold ones. Skye looked at him, thankful he was beside her.

  “How much farther?” she asked.

  Court’s face was half hidden in the night, but she could still see his anxiety. “Too damn far.”

  The cicadas were loud, their music surrounding them like a symphony. Above them, the occasional bat in its frenzied flight to catch mosquitos appeared. Skye was busy keeping the nasty insects from biting. How she hated when they buzzed near her ear.

  She slapped at her arm, killing a mosquito. An owl hooted twice. The cicadas gave a crescendo of noise before the sound died to nothing for a few seconds.

  Griffin slowed until he came even with Skye. He looked over her head to Court and said in a low voice, “I expected something by now.”

  “We all did,” Court whispered.

  Skye was just happy that nothing had happened so far.

  They moved off the road through the woods. Every moment became scarier than the last. Skye saw multiple opportunities for a vampire to attack or a place for them to hide. She really didn’t know how much more stress she could handle before her heart just gave out.

  Court never loosened his hold on her hand. Being flanked by two werewolves was comforting. It was a thought she’d never imagined herself having.

  For so long, she thought the only good people in the supernatural world were the witches. Not because she’d had a bad experience with demons, werewolves, or Djinn, but because she assumed they were all evil.

  She was learning she had been wrong about a great many things. The one thing that hadn’t changed was the knowledge that vampires were nasty, vile creatures.

  The group seemed to walk forever on a trail that apparently only the werewolves could see. What little light the moon shed was barely enough to keep Skye from stepping on anything. What she wouldn’t give for a flashlight. Or a car.

  Practical shoes.

  Mosquito spray.

  The LaRue house.

  Court halted, jerking her against him before spinning her away and shoving her at Griffin. Skye’s heart leapt into her throat as she waited to see a vampire, but nothing jumped out into the night. She looked over to find Court bending before grabbing something from the ground. Her mouth fell open when she realized he had a snake by its tail before snapping it like a whip, breaking its neck instantly.

  “That was a cottonmouth,” Griffin whispered. “One of the only snakes that won’t run from humans. They’re aggressive.”

  Court held out his hand after he tossed the snake away, and Skye eagerly went to him. Now she wasn’t just scared of vampires. There were snakes out there that were hostile, too.

  This night just kept getting better and better.

  It felt like an eternity before she saw a structure through the trees. It didn’t take her long to realize it was a house.

  They came out of the trees to a grand area of nothing but grass. In the middle sat a stately home. It’s tall columns and wrap-around porch were indicative of plantation homes in the south.

  Court made her stay back as Solomon and several of Griffin’s men walked in and around the house to make sure it was safe. As soon as Solomon waved them in, Court ran, pulling her with him.

  Skye let out a relieved breath as soon as she was inside. She bent over, her hands on her knees as she drug in deep breaths.

  She straightened while the others set up in different rooms with a clear view out the windows. Skye glanced through the narrow pane of glass next to the door and saw many of the Moonstone pack setting up a patrol around the perimeter of the house.

  Court placed his hand on her back and turned her away from the door. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you need anything?”

  She could only shake her head, her eyes darting in each room as he hurried her past them. She had no time to notice anything about the house other than the very wide foyer she was walking through.

  Then she was at the stairs. Court led her up them, turning her left, and not stopping until he reached the second door. He opened it and walked inside.

  Skye paused a moment before she followed him in. Court clicked on a light, flooding the room. It was a good-sized bedroom with a black wrought iron bed against the far wall. There was an old, dark wood desk with many dings and scratches on the wall closest to Skye.

  She looked up at Court, watching as he looked around the room as if remembering. That’s when she knew. “This is your bedroom.”

  “It was.” His chest constricted as he drew in a breath. “The house is warded against any enemy we might have. Nothing will get through the doors.”

  “Wow.” She didn’t know what else to say. She hadn’t even known those kinds of wards were possible.

  Court ran a hand down his face. “It’s been a long night. You should try to rest.”

  Right. As if that were going to happen.

  Skye walked deeper into the room and sat on the bed. “Why didn’t the vampires attack?”

  “I don’t know, but it worries me.”

  “Do they know they can’t get to us here?”

  Court nodded slowly. “They do. Which makes it even more troublesome.”

  “Maybe they’ve given up trying to get to me,” she said hopefully.

  One side of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “I sincerely hope so, but in my experience with vamps, they don’t give up easily.”

  She glanced down at her hands. “You know, I meant it earlier. I’m not afraid of you.”

  “I saw your face, Skye.”

  “I wasn’t prepared to see a werewolf, but whatever fear I might have had vanished because you were protecting me. That kinda changes a girl’s view.”

  Court’s bright blue eyes watched her for long, silent moments. “You’re one of a kind.”

  “Hardly,” she said with a snort. “I’m stubborn, and I don’t think things through all the way, which gets me in trouble.”

  “You’re fearless.”

  “No.”

  He moved away from the open door across the room and sat beside her.
“I’ve known people who thought they could handle anything. They claimed to be brave, but at the first sign of true and imminent danger, they ran away. You didn’t.”

  “I didn’t have a choice,” she argued.

  “You did.” Court turned his head to her and smiled. “You made the choice to go back into the Viper’s Nest. You made the choice to stay with us. You made the choice to leave the bar and come here.”

  He made her sound so...valiant. It warmed her.

  She returned his grin. “I wish I could take credit, but I was following your lead.”

  “Which shows how smart you are,” he said with a wink.

  Their shoulders were touching, their gazes locked. Skye was drowning in the depths of his blue eyes. Chills raced over her skin from being so close to him.

  They had held hands for the past hour, but being so close to him now while they were alone, wasn’t just comforting. It was heady.

  Sexual tension sparked between them as their smiles faded. Her stomach fluttered when his gaze lowered to her mouth. She held her breath when he leaned toward her.

  She slowly moved to him, anxious to kiss him. Then they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Court jerked his head to the door, ready to take someone’s head off when he saw Solomon. He stood and nodded to his brother. “How’s it looking?”

  “Quiet. Too quiet.” Solomon leaned against the door jam and looked at Skye. “How are you doing?”

  Skye smoothed a hand down her hair. “Much better now that I’m here.”

  “Make yourself at home. I’m not sure how long you’ll be staying,” Solomon said.

  It was something Court had intentionally left out. He’d been afraid if he told Skye she might be at the house for several days, she might not have come. Then again, she wanted to live. She seemed to understand that her best chance to do that was with them.

  Skye’s eyes widened. She turned her gaze to Court. “How long am I going to have to wait?”

  “That’s hard to say. We don’t know exactly who is working with the vampires, which means it’s still not safe for you to go out during the day.”

  Solomon shrugged. “It’s your decision, Skye. You can either stay here and trust us to help you or you can leave.”

  “If I leave, I won’t have your protection. Is that what you’re saying?”

  Court was about to correct her when Solomon gave him a quick look to silence him.

  “That’s right,” Solomon said. “A lot of people willingly put themselves out there tonight to get you here. You really don’t want to waste their efforts, do you?”

  Skye slowly let out a long breath. She looked at the floor. “No.”

  “Good. Get some rest,” Solomon said and pulled Court out of the room as he closed the door behind him.

  Court opened his mouth, but Solomon turned him around and gave him a shove. Court had no choice but to walk down the hallway and descend the stairs.

  When he landed in the foyer, he whirled around. “Why did you lie to her?”

  “Do you really need to ask?” Solomon said as he reached the bottom. “If she leaves, the vamps will find her and turn her. Is that what you want.”

  “You know it isn’t.”

  “Then I did what had to be done.”

  Court briefly squeezed his eyes closed. “Even if she changes her mind and leaves, I’m going to protect her.”

  “As we all will, but I’m trying to save us that trouble. It’s easier to fight here.”

  Court knew that was the truth, but he still didn’t like lying to Skye. She didn’t deserve that. The only thing that kept him from running back up the stairs and telling her was the memory of Solomon holding Misty’s dead body in his arms.

  Solomon walked away, leaving Court standing there trying to come to terms with what was going on. It never entered his mind to fight the attraction he felt for Skye. It had been there from the first time he’d seen her, but the fire had grown the more they were together.

  It was a good thing Solomon interrupted them before that kiss because Court wasn’t so sure he could’ve stopped once he’d gotten a taste of her sweet lips.

  “She’ll be all right,” Myles said as he came to stand by him.

  Court looked up the stairs. “I sincerely hope so.”

  ~

  Five days. Five very long days.

  Skye loved the old house, as well as Riley and Addison’s company, but the situation was draining and grating on her nerves. In order to get some time alone, she had closed herself up in her room and wrote the article on her phone.

  Typing a text was one thing. Typing an article on her phone was the worst type of torture. Especially with the stupid auto-correct that always changed the wrong words and left misspelled ones.

  She didn’t tell Court or the others that she was writing it. Skye had a deadline to meet and had promised the article, so she had to write it.

  That was three days ago. The article would be up today. She was nervous about it. Mostly, however, she was worried about how the brothers would feel about what she had written.

  “It’s your turn,” Riley said as they sat around the gaming table.

  Skye blinked and focused on her hand of cards. They had been playing Spades for the past two hours. She glanced down at the cards that had been played and chose the ten of clubs. She couldn’t win the hand, and it was her largest club card.

  Minka let out a little whoop and collected the cards, winning the trick. “I’m smoking y’all,” she said and tossed down the queen of clubs.

  “When are the boys getting back?” Addison asked as she placed a two of clubs.

  Riley shrugged, a smirk on her face as she laid the ace of clubs on top of the others. “Any moment.”

  “Oh, you sneak!” Minka said, laughing.

  Skye laughed as she threw down the seven of clubs, giving Riley the win.

  Minka rolled her eyes at the look Addison kept giving her. “Stop it. I don’t care what Solomon has to say. He can kiss my sweet ass if he doesn’t like me here.”

  “Amen,” Riley said with a wink.

  Skye took a long drink of her sweet tea. “What is it with Solomon. Why doesn’t he like you? You saved Myles from death when he had all that silver in his system.”

  “I don’t know,” Minka said with a shrug. “Some people just rub each other wrong. That’s us, I suppose. I don’t care enough to even worry about it.”

  But Skye knew that for the lie it was. She hadn’t been around very long, but it was obvious from the tightening of Minka’s body every time Solomon’s name was brought up that she very much cared what the eldest LaRue thought of her.

  They played the next round, ribbing each other. Addison thought she was going to win since she had the ace of diamonds, but Skye didn’t have any diamonds, so she played a spade, winning the trick.

  Skye calmly pulled the cards her way with a smile and a little dance in her chair.

  “Oooooh. You got whooped,” Riley told Addison.

  Minka covered her mouth with her cards, her eyes playfully wide as she looked at Addison. She lowered the cards. “Looks like we need to watch this one.”

  Addison lifted her nose and fought to keep the smile from her face as she pretended to be affronted. Then she burst out laughing.

  It felt good to be a little normal in such a strange situation. Skye knew Riley, Addison, and even Minka were doing their best to keep her mind off things. However, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stay at the LaRue house.

  There was the sound of talking from the front porch. Skye recognized Court’s voice. She sat up in her chair, hoping that he’d found something during his patrol of the land around the home.

  He was the first one in the house. His tall, muscular form filling the parlor entry. With his windblown blond hair, she knew he had been running. The fact his clothes were spotless told her he had been in wolf form.

  “Hey,” he said, his gaze going to he
r.

  Her heart leapt and she couldn’t help but smile when his blue eyes landed on her. He didn’t look at anyone else, and it made her stomach feel as if there were butterflies taking off. “Hey. Good news?”

  “No news,” he said as he moved over to make room for Myles to walk past as he went to Addison and kissed her.

  Skye wished Court would kiss her. It was all she’d thought about for five days since they’d almost kissed in his room.

  “Nothing?” Addison asked.

  Solomon stopped next to Court in the doorway. His gaze instantly went to Minka, who sat with her back to him. Minka was looking at her cards as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “What are you doing here?” Solomon asked.

  He didn’t say Minka’s name, nor did he have to. She knew he was talking to her. Skye could’ve kicked him because the little burst of excitement on Minka’s face vanished instantly, her hackles rising.

  Minka played her next card and said, with her voice dripping with sarcasm, “So good to see you too, Solomon. No, I don’t have anything to share, but I’m so glad you asked.”

  Skye watched as Court elbowed Solomon in the side before motioning his head to Minka.

  Solomon rolled his eyes dramatically. “Of course, you’re welcome in the house, Minka. We would appreciate anything you can add to help.”

  He said the words tightly, as if each syllable was painful to get past his lips.

  “Of course,” Minka replied silkily.

  Skye set the rest of her cards face down on the table. “Still nothing? I don’t understand.”

  “We don’t either.” Court ran a hand through his hair. “There are no tracks out there other than ours.”

  “This makes no sense,” Riley said. “If the vamps want her, and they know she’s here, why haven’t they attacked? Or at least tried.”

  Minka lifted her eyes to Skye. “They’re waiting on something.”

  That’s when it hit Skye. A small tremor raced down her back. “They’re waiting for me to leave.”

  Minka nodded slowly. “They have all the time in the world. They know you’ll eventually think you’re safe and return home.”