Beneath a Blue Moon (Crescent City Wolf Pack Book 2)

by Carrie Pulkinen

  Bekah placed her palms against Emma’s cheeks. “Incredible. You’ve been so kind. Thank you.”

  “I’m glad I could help.”

  Chase shoved his hands into his pockets. “Speaking of kindness…” He nodded to Emma. “She’s sick because of me.”

  Bekah furrowed her brow. “Full werewolves don’t get viruses. She didn’t catch this from you.”

  “She’s sick because she was kind to Rain.” He explained the curse, making sure to put all the blame on himself for not telling Rain that Emma was half-witch. “She never would have come over to babysit if she’d known.”

  “She feels terrible,” Snow added. “My sister is very conscious about her curse. She won’t let it happen again.”

  “I see.” Bekah lowered her gaze and stared at her daughter. “It doesn’t make sense.” She motioned for Chase to move closer and whispered in his ear, “Fate wouldn’t make you choose between your family and your soulmate would it?”

  He tried to respond, but he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. Choose between his fate-bound and his family? It was an impossible decision, but it seemed he’d be forced to make it.

  When he didn’t answer, Bekah straightened her spine. “I’m sorry to say this, but as long as she’s cursed, she can’t be around Emma.”

  “I know.”

  “Emma is family, and she’s pack. She’s not going to stay home all the time because Rain is around.”

  He held her gaze. He knew exactly what his sister was saying. Family and the pack came first. Rain would have to be the one staying home, missing out on pack gatherings. Who knew how many other weres had witch blood flowing through their veins? He’d be putting his pack in danger by taking Rain as his mate.

  Sharp pain flashed through his heart, and he placed a hand against his chest to rub it away. He looked at Snow. “Isn’t there a way to break the curse?”

  Snow’s eyes tightened. “She hasn’t talked to you about that?”

  “No.” If she had, he’d be doing everything in his power to break the damn thing.

  “She needs…” Snow inhaled deeply, pressing her lips into a hard line. “She needs to commit an ultimate act of selflessness.”

  His head spun. Could she be any vaguer? “What does that mean? She needs to give her life to save someone?”

  “No. If she gave up her life, that would defeat the purpose of breaking the curse, don’t you think?” She laced her fingers together and gave him a strange look. Was it pity? Hope? She looked like she wanted to say something, and if she didn’t spit it out, his head might explode.

  “What then?” he said through clenched teeth. “What does she have to do?”

  Snow deflated. “I don’t know. She’s become the most selfless person I know. She’s reined in her temper. She gives, volunteers. Nothing has worked so far, but…” Her expression turned pained.

  “But what?”

  “You need to talk to her about it. Maybe the two of you can figure it out together.”

  “Uncle Chase?” Emma’s voice sounded tiny. “Where’s Rain?”

  With two purposeful strides, he moved to the bedside and brushed the hair from his niece’s face. The color was already returning to her cheeks, and she managed a weak smile. “She couldn’t make it, squirt, but Snow is here.”

  “Hi, Emma.” Snow waved from the foot of the bed.

  Emma’s smile widened. “When Rain becomes my aunt, will you be my aunt too?”

  “Emma…” her mother chided. “Grown-up relationships are complicated.”

  She huffed. “Rain is going to be Uncle Chase’s mate, Momma, and then she’ll be my aunt.”

  A lump the size of a cantaloupe wedged into his throat. He could only hope. But as long as she was cursed, he didn’t see how…

  Snow suppressed a smile. “What makes you say that?”

  “They love each other.”

  Warmth spread through his body. He obviously loved Rain. His wolf had made up his mind the moment he met her. The thought that she might already love him too sent his heart racing. Sometimes kids were more perceptive than adults.

  Snow laughed. “What makes you say that?”

  Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. “A girl just knows these things.”

  Snow arched an eyebrow at Chase. “A girl does, doesn’t she?”

  He raked a hand through his hair. A guy knew too. Fate would not send him a mate he couldn’t be with. He had to figure out a way to break the curse. He pinched Emma’s cheek. “How you feeling, squirt?”

  “Better. The medicine tasted like bubblegum.”

  He looked at Snow. “Did you make the same potion you gave me? Mine tasted like honey.”

  “It tastes like whatever you need it to taste like. Does whatever it needs to do. That’s how magic works.”

  That was how he worked too. He would do whatever he needed to do to keep his family and his pack safe and save the woman he loved from a curse. “What will you tell the doctors when she mysteriously recovers?”

  Bekah shrugged. “They have no idea what’s wrong with her. I doubt it’s the first mystery illness they’ve encountered.”

  “I’m going to head to the bakery and see if I can talk some sense into my sister.” Snow patted Emma’s leg. “Take care of yourself, little one.”

  “I’ll be there shortly.” Chase nodded at Snow. “Thanks for your help.”

  He stayed at the hospital for a few more hours to make sure Emma’s condition improved before heading to the parking garage. Hopefully Snow would have calmed Rain down by the time he got to the bakery. Seeing so much pain in her eyes had torn him to pieces.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rain slipped her hands into a pair of oven mitts and pulled a tray of fresh-baked clarity cookies from the oven. Setting it on the counter, she dropped the mitts in a drawer and stared at the plain, beige treats. If she were to eat one now, before they were frosted, she could focus the effects on anything she wanted.

  She chewed on her lip. Sliding a spatula beneath a warm cookie, she lifted it from the platter. Her breathing grew shallow as she gazed at the spellbound treat, and she let it fall back to the tray. Don’t be an idiot, Rain.

  She’d made the right decision about Chase; she didn’t need a cookie to confirm it. Putting his family and his pack in danger wasn’t a risk she wanted to take. No matter how much her heart ached to be with him, she couldn’t. Even if he figured out a way to balance his time between her and his pack, she couldn’t ask him to make that sacrifice.

  Of course, if he gave her two drops of his blood, her curse would be broken and he wouldn’t have to divide his time. But after everything he’d been through…asking him to give her a sacred part of himself, to break his pack laws and risk who-knew-what kind of punishment…she couldn’t do that to him. What good would it be to have her curse broken but lose the trust of the man who’d broken it?

  The door chimed, signaling a customer, and Snow’s heels clicked across the tiles as she entered the kitchen. “Ingrid is here. She wants the rent.”

  “She told me she was coming for it tomorrow.” Rain rolled her eyes. Leave it to Ingrid to insist on getting paid early. Though, the check was already late, so she couldn’t blame her. “I’ll bring it out to her. Can you take care of these cookies?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Rain snatched the rent check from a drawer and padded into the storefront, but she stopped short at the sight of the person standing by the window. To the naked eye, the woman appeared to be Ingrid. She had the same red hair and slim build, but her aura was off.

  Really off.

  All witches’ auras glowed a shade of magenta. Some leaned more toward deep purple, while others could be light pink depending on the level of their power, and Ingrid’s aura usually had a dark, rosy radiance. This woman’s aura didn’t glow at all. Instead, a dull gray, almost mist-like form hovered around her body.

  “Ingrid?”

  Her landlord turned around. “I’m here for the rent
check.” She looked like Ingrid, but her voice…her expression…wasn’t quite right.

  Rain forced a smile. “How was your trip? Did you get home today?”

  “I’m here for the rent check.” She blinked rapidly, plastering a fake smile on her face. She never smiled at her.

  Rain’s pulse thrummed. This wasn’t the Ingrid she knew. “You told me where you went, but I can’t remember. Was it Cancun?”

  “I’m here for the rent check.” Blink. Blink. Blink.

  A chill crept up her spine to pool at the top of her head. What if this wasn’t Ingrid at all? Could demons shapeshift? Chase had mentioned they hadn’t found the shadow he’d seen by the river. Maybe it had been hiding, gathering its energy so it could catch Rain alone and…what? Collect a rent check? It didn’t make sense. If whatever had taken on Ingrid’s form wanted Rain dead, it would have killed her by now.

  Unless this really was Ingrid, and the demon possessed her, using her until her magic and energy were drained before moving on to the next host. And since Rain’s magic was bound, the demon didn’t deem her a potential target.

  But Snow would be…

  She shoved the check into her pocket. Whether or not this was really Ingrid’s body, the entity in control was not her landlord. “I’ll bring the money by tomorrow. It’s locked in the timed safe, and I can’t open it again until morning.”

  Ingrid stared at her blankly as if she only knew how to speak the single sentence.

  Dread trickled from the base of Rain’s skull down the length of her spine. “Will that be okay, Ingrid?”

  She opened her mouth, and her lips trembled as she fought to form an O shape. “Okay.” Her scratchy voice sounded forced. Not at all like Ingrid. She nodded and shuffled out the door.

  Ingrid didn’t shuffle; she always walked with purpose. Rain watched as she made her way down the sidewalk and disappeared from view.

  What the hell was going on?

  An image of the dead witch flashed in her mind. Could Isaac have summoned a demon and sent it after Rain? Not unless he’d summoned it from the grave. Stop being ridiculous. Seeing that body in the morgue was affecting her more than she’d thought. Isaac wasn’t the only energy vampire to ever exist, and if he were alive, he wouldn’t send a demon after Rain.

  He’d want to kill her himself.

  Rain yanked her phone from her pocket and dialed Ingrid’s number. It rang five times before going to voicemail. She hung up without leaving a message.

  What if this was an effect from her curse? Could Ingrid be deliriously ill because of her? No, she hadn’t shown her kindness. She hadn’t spoken to her in a week.

  Rain dialed her number again. No answer.

  Snow carried the tray of cookies from the kitchen and put them in the display case. “Rent’s all paid?”

  “Did Ingrid seem…off to you?”

  “She wasn’t her usual cheerful self.” Snow winked. “She told me she was here for the rent check, so I came to find you. That’s all she said to me. Is something wrong?”

  What if she were dead? Rain couldn’t live with herself knowing she’d been the last person to see Ingrid. Knowing she could have—should have—done something to help her.

  “Her aura was off. I’m going to go check on her.” She grabbed her keys and headed out the back door. A chill ran through her body as she climbed into her car and drove to Ingrid’s house, a sure sign something was awry. A cyclist darted out on Esplanade, and Rain slammed her brakes to avoid a crash. She needed to calm down, but the closer she got to Ingrid’s house the more thoughts swirled through her mind.

  Focusing on the scenery, she took in the nineteenth-century mansions painted in shades of peach, lavender, and blue. White columns led up to second-story galleries, where colorful flags and plants adorned the buildings. Giant oaks towered from the neutral ground, the grassy median separating the opposing flow of traffic, and created a canopy over the street.

  She accelerated, and the mansions gave way to smaller, more modest houses. Hanging a left on North Miro, she navigated through the neighborhood and found her landlord’s home. Ingrid’s car sat in the short driveway, and all the shutters were drawn.

  Parking on the curb, she darted up the front steps and knocked on the door. “Ingrid?” Her hands trembled, so she clenched them into fists as the lock disengaged and Ingrid opened the door.

  Ingrid squinted as she peered between the door and the jamb. “Rain? What are you doing here?”

  “Are you okay?” Did she not remember coming to the bakery at all?

  She opened the door wider. Her disheveled hair hung tangled over her shoulder, and indentions from a pillow marred one side of her face. Though her purple button-up had appeared freshly-ironed when she’d arrived at the shop, creases now zigzagged across it as if she’d lain in the same position for hours. “I’ve felt better. I must be coming down with the flu.”

  Rain’s throat thickened. “Does your entire body ache? Like you’ve had the life drained out of you?”

  Ingrid rolled her head from side to side, stretching her neck. “Yeah. Is something going around?”

  That was the same way Rain had felt after Isaac stole her energy, but she’d always awoken coherent. The way Ingrid had acted that afternoon had seemed like it wasn’t her. “Any other symptoms?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I might be having hallucinations too. I thought I saw a shadow.”

  Rain clutched the doorframe. “A shadow?”

  “Yeah. I was lying on the couch, and I heard a shuffling sound. Then this shadow appeared in front of me, and it touched my face. I must have been dreaming. I woke up when you knocked on the door, and now I feel like shit.”

  Rain tugged the crumpled check from her pocket and tried to keep a neutral expression. “Here’s the rent. I’m sorry I woke you. I hope you feel better soon.”

  “Thanks.” Ingrid took the money and shut the door as Rain darted to her car.

  Collapsing into the driver’s seat, she leaned her head against the headrest to stop the spinning sensation. Someone drained Ingrid’s energy and then took on her form. It was the only explanation. She let out a slow breath and started the engine.

  Rain drove to the bakery and double-checked the locks on all the doors and windows. As long as they remained engaged, Snow’s charm would keep evil out of her space. If the demon decided to come back for her, it wouldn’t be able to get inside unless she let it in.

  She hung a sign in the door that read please ring bell for entry and shuffled behind the counter. Keeping the door locked wasn’t the best for business, but at least she could check out the customers’ auras before she invited them in.

  Snow glanced at the sign and gave her a quizzical look. “We’re screening customers now?”

  “Ingrid wasn’t okay. Something drained her energy.”

  Snow’s mouth dropped open. “Isaac?”

  Rain shook her head. “Isaac didn’t do it, nor any other witch. Ingrid said she saw a shadow right before she passed out. Whatever came to the bakery wasn’t our landlord; it was a shapeshifter.”

  Snow’s shoulders relaxed as she let out her breath. “Didn’t you and Chase see a shadow by the river last week?”

  “He assumed it was a demon targeting him, but it sounds like it’s targeting witches.”

  “Why would a demon be hunting witches?”

  “I don’t know, but it seems more probable than possible at this point, don’t you think? Something is draining witches’ energy.”

  Snow nodded. “I hate to say it, but I’d rather it be a demon on the loose than to think Isaac has returned from the grave.”

  She let out a slow breath. “I hate to say it, but I agree.”

  Snow’s brow knit. “Why did it come here? Are we its next targets?”

  “That’s what I thought at first, but if it drained Ingrid’s life force, it probably got a glimpse into her mind. And knowing Ingrid, she was thinking about getting th
e money, convincing herself she wasn’t showing kindness by not evicting me immediately.”

  “So it took some of Ingrid’s energy, took on her form, and showed up here because that was what she’d been thinking about?”

  Rain bit her lip. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess so.” She nodded, the wariness in her eyes making way for resolve.

  “And it didn’t bother attacking us because it had plenty of Ingrid’s energy running through its veins.”

  “Do demons have veins?”

  Rain straightened her spine. “It doesn’t matter. Demons are nasty creatures, hell-bent on causing death and destruction. We aren’t targets any more than any other witches. And we’re Connollys.”

  Snow put her hands on her hips. “That’s right. We can take care of ourselves. No demon is getting past my charm.” She leaned against the counter. “But you should probably tell Chase. Fighting demons is what werewolves do.”

  Her sister had a point, but to talk to him after everything that had happened? “I can’t. You call him.”

  Snow crossed her arms. “You’re the one who talked to Ingrid. It’s your theory. Besides, I know he’d want to hear it from you.”

  Pressing her lips together, Rain closed her eyes for a long blink. As much as she ached to hear his deep velvet voice, she couldn’t do it. Instead, she dialed the number for O’Malley’s Pub and asked for Luke. Cool relief flooded her veins when he picked up the phone. She explained what happened with her landlord and her theory that the shadow demon had taken on her form.

  “You’re sure it came to the bakery because of Ingrid’s thoughts? Someone didn’t send it after you?” Concern emanated from Luke’s voice.

  Thoughts of Isaac raced through her mind, but she pushed them aside. “I don’t have any living enemies. I don’t believe it was targeting me.”

  “Okay. Let me talk to Chase.”

  Rain swallowed. “He’s not here. We’re…not talking at the moment.”

  Silence hung on the other end, stretching out until she thought the call had dropped. Finally, Luke responded. “I see. I can send someone else over to stand guard.”