Devlin Dynasty 3: Mountain Moonlight

by Jaci Burton

  Down boy. I’m too damn tired.

  The low howls of a wolf pack echoed through the forest below.

  His pack. His family now. Curling an arm possessively around Katya, he leaned in and breathed the sweet scent of her hair.

  He hadn’t even told her he loved her yet, but he’d rectify that as soon as she woke. Now he was content to have her in his arms and listen to the sounds of—

  Gunfire! The echo of gunshots was followed by the howls of the wolf pack. He didn’t have to wake Katya. She bolted upright, her eyes widening.

  “Hunters!” she cried, scurrying to her feet and taking off down the mountain.

  He didn’t bother to argue with her, just caught up to her and ran like hell.

  Both of them shifted along the way, Conner taking the lead as they leapt over limbs, rocks and various roots, more sure-footed as wolves and ten times faster than if they were in human form.

  His senses keen in this form, he inhaled, scenting the area around them.

  Would he be able to communicate with Katya this way? The psychic connection didn’t always work.

  Several different human scents, he thought.

  Yes. I know very well the smell of the hunters.

  He nodded, pleased that he and Katya were able to communicate so well in this form. He wondered where Noah was, and if he was with the pack or inside the castle. He could sure use his brother’s tracking skills right now.

  Tread light. I don’t want them spotting us until we can get a feel for how many and where.

  She lifted her snout and nodded, staying right behind his left hindquarter.

  Perfect.

  They entered the flatlands of the forest and crept along slowly, following the sounds and scents of both the packs and the hunters.

  Sounds like about twenty hunters, Katya communicated. That’s a big hunt.

  So much for the cooperation of the ministry. Conner wondered if the man had been blowing smoke up his ass with promises of protection, all the while knowing that some obscure head count of wolves would lead to the hunters’ right to take down a certain number.

  Well, that “certain number” was his pack now, and by God they weren’t going to be allowed to just cull the pack whenever they thought the numbers were too big.

  Let me go around the left and you take the right, Katya suggested.

  No. I want you with me.

  I can protect you better if I can come at them from behind.

  He didn’t care. He didn’t want to take any chances on Katya being injured. If she stood next to him the entire time, he could get in between her and a hunter’s bullet. If she circled around to the other side, she could be ambushed or hit straight on. No way was he going to lose her.

  I don’t need you to protect me, Conner. I’ve done this before. I can take care of myself. We’re much smarter than they are, you know.

  I know that. Just stay here, Katya.

  But—

  He growled a warning to her and she snarled back, but took her place at his flank. Satisfied that she was where he could keep an eye on her, he circled the outskirts of the hunters’ positions, counting them one by one.

  There were about a dozen of them, stalking his pack as if they were nothing but a pelt or a trophy. They disgusted him. Didn’t they realize that the wolves were endangered, regardless of the bogus numbers they put up about the surplus of wolves in the Carpathians? Not that the hunters cared. They weren’t managing the numbers. They were hunting for the thrill of the kill.

  Not this time. Not anymore. He wasn’t going to give the ministry any reason to want to launch a hunt of the wolves, so no way would he injure them.

  But he could sure scare the shit out of them.

  As two of the hunters stalked a young wolf trying to hide, he stepped calmly behind them, then let out a howl that would curl any human’s hair.

  The hunters screamed like little girls, turned around and ran like their asses were on fire.

  Katya growled appreciatively. I hope they pissed their pants.

  He smiled, baring his teeth, lusting to take a bite out of those asses. But he’d have to content himself with merely moving them away from the pack.

  They did the same thing with another pair of hunters, sneaking up behind them and then growling and scaring them away.

  That part was fun.

  The other wolves had spread out, forcing the hunters to split up in pairs.

  I told we’ve handled this before, Katya informed him.

  Your people do well. We should be able to—

  He stilled when he scented lupine on the air first, but not full wolf. One of the pack in human form? That couldn’t be. But when he turned, he realized why.

  Peter, in hunting gear, stalking the wolves.

  Katya spotted him too, her growl low but loud enough for Peter’s keen lupine senses to hear. He spun around, his face twisted in a sick smile, and took aim at Katya. Conner’s reaction was swift as he leapt in the air and came down on top of Peter. Peter dropped the gun and fought, screaming as Conner bit into his shoulder.

  Peter shifted, his strength increasing as he made a rapid change to wolf. But Conner’s rage was stronger than Peter’s desperate attempts and he quickly had him pinned, his teeth clamping down on Peter’s throat. The smell of fear filled the air around them. Conner growled, his canines digging into the fur of his adversary’s neck.

  But Peter went still, lying limp. And just as suddenly, shifted back to human.

  “Got you just where I want you,” he choked, his eyes feral, his sanity gone.

  Conner heard Katya’s raging snarl just as the sound of rifle shot reverberated through the forest. A fiery hot pain seared Conner’s chest, followed by a numbing warmth.

  Shit. That shot had hit him.

  Thank God it hadn’t hit Katya. He heard her in his mind, felt her presence as she drew closer. He heard a hunter’s scream and knew Katya had attacked.

  Conner felt the dizziness, the weakness, but managed to hold on long enough to look down at Peter, whose eyes widened.

  Yes, you sonofabitch. You shouldn’t have shifted back to human so quickly. Peter began the swift transformation to wolf, but not swift enough. Conner bit down hard, ending Peter’s life. He felt no remorse for killing a lupine. This wolf was a traitor to the pack and deserved to die.

  He let loose of Peter’s lifeless body and stumbled, barely able to keep on all fours. Wetness seeped down his chest and he fell again, this time unable to get back up.

  He searched the forest for Katya but didn’t see her. He’d die if she wasn’t all right. He still hadn’t told her he loved her. Dammit, it was important that she knew how he felt.

  Later. There’d be time to tell her later, right? Now he was tired. His world shifted and went black.

  * * * * *

  “Hurry. Get him upstairs,” she ordered, thankful that even unconscious, Conner’s body had known to shift back to his human form. Treating him would be much easier without having to search through thick fur for injuries.

  Noah met her at the foot of the stairs. “What happened?”

  “It was Peter. He brought the hunters in. Conner and Peter were fighting and Peter shifted back to human. One of the hunters shot Conner, thinking a wolf attacked a human.”

  Noah nodded and reached for his brother, carrying him effortlessly up the staircase. She read the panic on his face, the same panic she knew was reflected in her own.

  Chantal met them at the top of the stairs, blinking back sleep. Her eyes widened as she spotted her brother. “Oh, God,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “He’s been shot?”

  “Yes,” Katya answered, taking Chantal’s hand as they headed to the bedroom.

  Guilt stabbed at her. How could she have been so careless as to let this happen? Why did Conner step between her and Peter? If he hadn’t, she’d have easily skirted the bullet and hidden, or attacked Peter herself. She knew she would have sensed him before it was too late.

&
nbsp; “Lay him on the bed,” she directed Noah, jerking the coverlet back while Noah set his brother onto the mattress.

  Having a lupine doctor on hand was a blessing, since the nearest hospital was in Bucharest. Besides, they could not explain a gunshot wound to the hospital staff there and the trip would take the better part of a day. Conner could be dead by then.

  The pack physician, Mikail, followed them to the bedroom and immediately set to work checking Conner’s injuries. Katya stood at the side of the bed, trying not to panic at the sight of so much blood pouring from the wound on Conner’s chest. The doctor worked on him for what seemed like hours. She paced, but all she really wanted to do was curl up in a ball on the bed next to him and hope she wasn’t going to lose someone else that she loved.

  No. She refused to think of either losing him or of loving him.

  Love is a fantasy. He is a good partner. A strong alpha. If he dies, you will find another.

  It was the mantra she had repeated to herself over and over since the moment she realized her emotions for Conner ran much deeper than she wanted them to. Staying remote made losing him easier. If only she could convince herself to be that heartless.

  She glanced down at him. So pale, his lips nearly blue, his chest rising and falling with supreme effort. Her sense of hearing picked up the bubbling rattle of his breathing, as if he was drowning in the thick, flowing blood filling his lungs.

  Her gaze flitted over to Noah. He frowned, looked almost angry. Deep lines etched his forehead and she knew he was as concerned as she was. But he hadn’t said a word. Just stared down at Conner, looking more like he wanted to strangle his brother.

  Chantal held tight to her hands as if she was her only lifeline. Katya squeezed back, not knowing what to say to offer comfort.

  Mikail stood and turned to her. “The bullet just missed his heart. In that respect, he was very lucky. However, he’s lost a lot of blood, and his left lung has collapsed. He needs a chest tube. Katya, he needs more than what I can do for him.”

  The bleak look on Mikail’s face told her more than she needed to know.

  “He’s going to die, isn’t he?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Noah cursed and turned on his heel, his fists balled up at his side. He left without a word. Chantal let out an anguished sob and rushed out of the room after him.

  She felt their anguish, but could do nothing to help them. Her heart fisted in pain, so unbearable she nearly dropped to her knees. How could this have happened? She couldn’t have found him only to lose him so quickly.

  Not again. Please, God, don’t do this to me again.

  “He is lupine, Katya,” Mikail said. “You know we recuperate much faster than humans.”

  Suddenly shivering, she wrapped her arms around her middle and shook her head. “You said he needs more care. More than what his healing powers are capable of.”

  Mikail stood. “All we can do is watch him for the next twenty-four hours, see if his body is strong enough to repair itself. Sometimes the damage is too great, as you know.”

  Yes, she knew. She’d watched her parents die, knowing there was nothing she could do to save them.

  Mikail left, promising to come in every hour and check on Conner. He left instructions for two of his assistants to take turns watching over him and to alert him if there were any changes.

  But she couldn’t just sit here and wait for him to die, watch his breathing slow more and more each hour until he just…stopped.

  No! She wouldn’t go through it again! Never again. Pushing past the woman who’d entered the room to sit with Conner, she hurried down the stairs, ignoring the concerned looks from the people lining the staircase and standing below.

  She couldn’t speak to them, couldn’t tell them that their new alpha had sacrificed his life to save hers. She brushed past them and hurried through the door, running toward the woods at the end of the path. Inhaling the pine scent, she began to strip as soon as she stepped into the forest, then shifted, running nonstop with no direction in mind.

  While she ran for her mountains, she practiced hardening her heart against losing Conner. Actually, she barely knew him. It would be easy to get over the loss. It wasn’t the same as her parents. She didn’t rely on him, he hadn’t been around that long.

  She hadn’t even told him she loved him.

  Finally out of breath, she tipped her snout up and howled at the morning sun coming up over the horizon. The changing from night to day, season to season, year to year.

  Life went on. But Conner wouldn’t.

  And she’d get over it. Strength had always been her salvation. It had seen her through the death of her parents, it would see her through the death of her husband.

  The wolves of the Carpathians surrounded her, one by one moving slowly toward her, their heads bowed, their pain evident.

  They knew what had happened, and they cared. They hurt. Despite the fact they didn’t even know Conner, his pain was their pain.

  They felt. Something she had tried to deny, but could no longer hide from.

  Loving someone meant taking the risk of losing them. She had to face the pain, to feel the love she’d tried so hard to deny.

  The humanity within her took control and she shifted, falling to her knees and sobbing for what she was going to lose. The wolves stayed close, lying down beside her and watching her with mournful eyes.

  “I love him,” she whispered to them. “I love him and I don’t want to lose him.”

  They didn’t respond, but she felt them within her, giving her the strength she needed to face what was to come. Her time of cowardice was over. It was time to go back and hold her husband’s hand, to will him to recover, or stand by his side until the end.

  The sun had climbed nearly overhead by the time she made it back to the castle, dressing quickly and hurrying up the stairs. Inhaling deeply, she was determined to face whatever happened in there.

  Noah and Chantal were in there with Conner, their faces as grim as they had been when she’d seen them last. Her gaze flitted to her husband, and she fought back tears as she saw how deathly pale he had become.

  “No change?” she whispered to Chantal, sitting down beside Conner.

  “No.”

  “Have you called your parents?”

  “Yes, but I told them not to come. There’s not enough time for them to get here. If he survives, they can come then. If he doesn’t, there’s no point.”

  She didn’t question Noah’s decision, just nodded.

  “I had to leave,” she started, feeling the need to explain to them why. “I was afraid of losing him. I didn’t think I’d be able to face another loss of someone I loved.”

  Saying the words made her feel more the coward than ever. She dropped her chin to her chest, ashamed to look at them.

  Chantal squeezed her hand. “We understand, honey. Besides, there’s nothing any of us can do right now except wait. It’s up to Conner now.”

  She nodded, but the remorse didn’t lessen. Her place was by his side. Comforting him, encouraging him to heal. Instead, she had run away and hidden, afraid to face reality like an adult.

  It was time to grow up.

  “Conner, listen to me,” she said, sitting down beside him to hold his hand. “You need to heal. Tell your body to heal. I need you.”

  The words spilled along with the tears, but this time she didn’t run. “I love you, Conner Devlin. Don’t you dare leave me now. We’ve gone through hell together in such a short period of time. That means we have a destiny, a purpose. I need you to survive, to use your strength to heal. Come back to me, love. We have babies to make, a dynasty to create.”

  She sat by his side until the sun had shifted into the western sky, slowly lowering and bringing on the night. The moon was still full, shining in through the windows of the bedroom, its silver glow reflecting off Conner’s deathly white complexion.

  Long after she had made the others leave, she sat there, talking to him. Som
etimes cajoling and teasing, sometimes crying quietly, and other times railing at him, screaming at him to find the strength within him to fight it off.

  She would not lose him!

  Fearing he’d drift away from her if she wasn’t there watching him every second, she kept her vigil, unable to eat, sleep or leave his side. Chantal finally came in and forced her to get up and stretch, promising if there was any change while she showered and got something to eat she’d let her know immediately.

  Knowing that his sister had as much right to be by Conner’s side as she did, she took her advice. After showering, she slipped into the kitchen and found Noah there, downing a glass of ale.

  She nodded to him, then fixed herself a sandwich, automatically preparing one for him, too. They ate side by side at the table, never once saying a word to each other.

  No words were necessary. They both knew what the other felt. When they finished eating, she washed the dishes and dried her hands on the towel. Noah was right behind her when she turned around.

  She fell against his chest, sobbing. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her, stroking her hair as she let out the pain tearing her apart inside. When she finished, she looked up at him and said, “I love him so much, Noah. I’ll never survive if I lose him.”

  Was that moisture glistening in Noah’s eyes? He set his chin firmly and said, “You won’t lose him. He’s strong. He’s fighting this, Katya. That’s why he’s still with us. Go back up there, hold his hand, and tell him how you feel. He needs to hear it.”

  He kissed her forehead and she hurried back upstairs.

  “Anything?” she asked Chantal.

  “Nothing. I’m sorry. I need to go make some phone calls.” Chantal stood, then hugged her tight. Katya drank in the support of his family, needing it more than she could ever tell them.

  “Are you okay?” she asked Chantal.

  She nodded. “I’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. I know he will.”

  “That’s what Noah said.”

  “He’s right. Believe it. We know our brother. He’s too damn stubborn to die.”

  She managed an encouraging smile for Chantal, then turned to Conner as soon as Chantal left the room.