Blood Moon Rising Box Set (Books 1-6)

by Lola Taylor

  He stared at her, his breath catching as she slowly undid the buttons on his shirt. She pulled it open, revealing the soft, black hairs along his pectoral muscles. He shrugged his shirt off, then reached for the zipper on her skirt. She stood. The skirt slid off easily, sliding down her long legs. For a moment, all he could do was stare.

  She was perfect, with the right amount of softness in all the right places.

  She slowly undid his zipper, and after some careful maneuvering, he was pant-less and boxer-less. They both stood there, naked, eyeing each other. A tear slid down her cheek. “Oh, Gage….”

  With gentle fingers, she touched the quickly disappearing bruises on his skin. The cuts were healed. Having your skin sew itself back together in fast forward sucked, but he never let on it was painful as she ran her hands over his chest, his abs, his back. He brushed away the stray tear with his thumb. His queen had such a big heart.

  “I’m fine.” He kissed her softly. “I’m going to be fine.”

  With his free hand, he pulled her closer. With her bare breasts pressing against his chest, he could feel himself hardening, growing longer and more eager to mate with her.

  She must have felt him brushing her leg because those gorgeous green eyes ducked down. Her gaze grew hungry and she licked her lips.

  Pulling her to the ground with him, he leaned back and sat her on top of him. Though he was hard and ready to take her, he didn’t want to do so without her permission. She was testing this idea, of being his permanent lover, and he didn’t want to scare her away, not now that he had a chance of winning her forever.

  In subtle movements, she began raking her sex along his shaft. He reached up and cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples with his mouth. She gasped, rubbing harder. He ran his hands over her body, reveling in her softness.

  “What does mating feel like?” she asked, her voice ragged.

  “I don’t know,” Gage admitted. “I’ve heard the bond between mates is incredible. You can feel their emotions, where they are. You’re linked closer to them than any other person, human or were.”

  She smiled. “That sounds nice, to never be alone.”

  He smiled back. “Yeah.”

  He was leaning up to kiss her when a wolf howled in the distance. Gage sighed and squeezed his eyes shut as Danica looked toward the cave entrance. “Was that…?”

  “Nik,” he said, letting out a slow, calming breath. “Sorry to cut this short, love.”

  “It’s okay.” She climbed off him and began dressing, stealing one last eyeful of him as he rose. “We can take a rain check.”

  He grinned. He liked the sound of rain checks. And a very naked Danica moaning his name and digging her nails into his back as he made her dizzy with pleasure.

  He quickly dressed, pulling on his damp shirt and pants and not cherishing any part of it. Wolves didn’t like to be wet any more than humans. Another howl came. “That’s definitely Nik. I’d recognize his howl anywhere.”

  More howls joined in, along with a blinding white light that spilled into the cave. Relieved as he was to be rescued—mostly for Danica’s sake—Gage wished he’d had more time with her.

  Soon.

  Danica got dressed, and he held her hand as they walked to the mouth of the cave. They squinted against the brilliant, pure light that seemed to come from everywhere as they walked to the river. A woman with flowing white hair and a blue dress stood in the center of the light on the opposite side of the river, surrounded by wolves.

  Wraiths shrieked and swirled around her, but they didn’t dare enter her protective bubble. Raising her arms, she shot bolts of light through the wraiths. The bolts went right through the shadowy figures, disintegrating them as their screams filled the air.

  The wolves growled and howled, pawing at the earth as if eager to get in on the fight.

  Finally, she bellowed, “Enough!”

  Light exploded from her, radiating through the woods like a bomb went off.

  Abruptly, the light vanished, sucked back into the woman who now sparkled like snow. All the wraiths were gone.

  “Wow,” Danica said. Beside her, Gage breathed a sigh of relief.

  The woman smiled and walked across the river on a bridge made of warm, soft light. “Gage, it has been too long.”

  Danica stiffened beside him, and he squeezed her hand, letting her know it was all right. “Penelope. It’s good to see you. Thanks for coming.” He gave her a quick, friendly hug.

  “I couldn’t believe it when Nik called me and said you were stuck out here with wraiths. Honestly, what is the world coming to?”

  “What did you do to them?” Danica asked, clinging to Gage’s arm.

  “Oh, I banished them back where they came from. A little light and poof! All gone.”

  Danica sighed with relief.

  Penelope smiled and extended her hand. “Hi. You must be Danica. I’m Penelope. Gage is an old friend of mine.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Danica said warily, eyeing the witch and Gage.

  Penelope caught on and laughed. “Oh, not like that. He’s like a little brother to me.”

  Gage rolled his eyes but smiled. “Penelope’s a White Witch, or a magic user in control of light and life. Her powers are about the only kind that can trump Black Magic, like what summoned those wraiths.”

  “Obviously, someone knew you were coming. Those wraiths must have been summoned when you arrived. It takes a while for a summoning charm that powerful to kick in,” Penelope said with a frown. “Who did you say lived out here?”

  “A generalist witch named Violet, I think. Well, at least, I thought she was a generalist. Apparently, she’s taken to dabbling in Black Magic.”

  Penelope’s face scrunched up in thought, then she whistled. “I remember her. She’s a bit of a quack in the witching community. Keeps to herself a lot.”

  Danica looked around at the woods. “You don’t say,” she mumbled.

  Penelope grinned. “I had no idea she was this powerful. Guess appearances can be deceiving.”

  “No kidding,” Gage murmured. He hugged Danica to him. She was chilled. He needed to get her warm before she caught a cold. Humans and weres had that in common—they could still get sick. “When we were snooping, we came across a name several times. Ever heard of a Mistress Black?”

  Penelope pursed her lips together, thinking. “Nope. Doesn’t ring any bells. Sorry.”

  Gage’s brows stooped. He’d really hoped Penelope would have a lead on who had hired the construction of the cloaking charm for Onyx.

  Gage smiled at Penelope. “Thank you for coming to help us. I’d better get her home.”

  “Anytime. You know where to find me.” With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared in a poof of pink smoke.

  “Wow,” Danica said, blinking. “I need to learn how to do that. I’d never be late for anything again.”

  “Sorry, love. That’s a witch trick, I’m afraid. Come. Let’s join the others and get the hell out of these woods.”

  They couldn’t walk fast enough back to the car. Most of the wolves had changed back into men. It felt a little weird being surrounded by so many naked men, but that was the least of Danica’s concerns. Despite Gage’s reassurances the wraiths would not return, Danica kept glancing over her shoulder, yelping every time a leaf brushed her arm or she tripped over a rock. Eventually, Gage picked her up and carried her.

  “This is completely unnecessary, you know,” she huffed, wrapping her arms around his neck a bit tighter. Truthfully, the feel of his enormous muscles beneath her calves and back was comforting—and enticing. He had taken his shirt off, saying he was hot.

  She was inclined to agree. Sweat suited him, glistening along his exquisite body.

  Yum.

  “It’ll make you feel safer, and I won’t be so on edge with you shrieking at every little shadow,” he said dryly.

  She punched him playfully in the arm. It was like hitting a rock. “Very funny, Mr. ‘I’m a badass werewolf
Alpha, hear me roar!’”

  He chuckled, the deep sound vibrating against her chest. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his shoulder, and his grip around her tightened. “Are weres always this warm?”

  “Yes. That’s why we rarely go to human doctors. They always think we have a fever. Our temperatures run a bit hotter during mating season.”

  She felt her cheeks heat. Technically, humans mated all the time, but she wasn’t used to calling it something so… carnal. It made her feel like an animal.

  Might as well get used to it.

  Nik and the rest of the crew were waiting for them back at the cottage. “About time,” Nik said, clapping a hand on Gage’s shoulder as he set Danica down. “We thought maybe a bear had gotten you.”

  “A bear’s no threat to me,” Gage said with a wicked glint to his eyes that bordered on arrogance. It didn’t make Danica think any less of him, though. If anything, it made her pant for him a little more.

  Gage sniffed and looked at her, a slow smile lighting up his handsome face.

  She shifted her weight and looked away, humiliated. He could smell her. Of course he could—he was a freaking werewolf!

  Soon, my queen, Gage murmured in her head.

  She blinked, startled. It was going to take some time to get used to someone invading her thoughts.

  “What are our losses?” Gage asked gravely. He looked afraid to ask, like he was steeling himself for the answer.

  Nik’s expression was equally grave. “Erik, you already know about.”

  Danica subconsciously glanced at the car and wished she hadn’t. Nothing remained of Erik but a dark stain on the ground. A tremble worked its way through her body, and Gage pulled her to him, keeping her face away from the gore.

  “Tony, and that kid from Kansas, Alec, I think his name was, didn’t make it,” Nik said. “They couldn’t outrun the wraiths when they started swarming in the woods. Apparently, that’s where the trap was set.”

  Gage swore.

  “Only a handful were injured. They’re back at the mansion recovering.” Nik gave Gage a hard look, and Danica had a feeling he was intentionally not telling Gage something.

  Gage nodded once, curtly. “We’ll have funerals arranged for them when we get back.” He swallowed. “Then we’ll notify their families, and contact the Prima if Penelope hasn’t already.”

  “Prima?” I asked.

  “Witches and warlocks are big on the whole north, south, east, and west thing. There’s a head witch or warlock—a Prima—of every corner of the United States. They have laws, same as we do. Some things, all of the Underworld has to obey, including reporting when a witch is illegally practicing Black Magic, especially when there are deaths involved.”

  Heavy silence settled over the group.

  The other weres had watched the exchange but now came over and acknowledged their leader. Gage looked happier to see them than the other way around.

  Something felt off to Danica. There wasn’t so much warmth in their eyes as accusation.

  They blame him, she realized.

  Fisting her hands, she started forward, mouth open to defend Gage, when Nik shoved an arm out. “Not now, little queen,” he said quietly.

  Danica looked from Gage’s brother to her mate and pressed her lips together. Feeling restless, she crossed her arms, warily watching the wolves she would soon rule.

  She blinked. Since when did she start to think of them as her subjects?

  Since you decided to give Gage a chance.

  She shivered. Taking chances on people in the past had cost her dearly. She had thought people had loved her enough to stick around, but they hadn’t. She hadn’t been enough.

  Would she be for Gage? What was to stop him from leaving her someday?

  She rubbed her arms, trying to think about anything but her upset stomach.

  Gage spoke in low tones to the others for a moment before declaring they head out. “There is much to be done,” he said, heading for the trunk of the car and pulling out a change of clothes. “Gather the remains and meet back at the base.”

  The wolves put their right fists over their hearts, some giving lingering glares to Gage before heading back in the opposite direction, to the cars waiting down the road.

  Danica watched them leave, frowning, then eyed Gage as he changed out of his wet clothes into some dry ones. “You keep clothes in the trunk?”

  “We’re always prepared,” Gage said, “since you don’t know when you might need to change.”

  Not much was said after that. The ride back was tense. Gage sat in the back beside Danica, though he and Nik went over details of what had happened. “Damn things trailed me for nearly eight miles,” Nik said. “I didn’t think I was going to lose ’em, but I did.”

  That troubled look left Gage’s face for the briefest of moments. “Nik’s the fastest wolf in our pack,” he explained with a look of pride.

  “Ah, stop, precious,” Nik said gruffly. “You’re making me blush.” His eyes glinted gold. “Onyx was there, all right. I could smell him all over the woods and in that cottage.”

  “So could I,” Gage said. “If we can’t find any more leads, we should find him.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  The two men made arrangements while Danica listened silently in the back. Yesterday, her life was boring. Today, she didn’t recognize who she’d become. Who was this girl who made out with a stranger, who got involved in life-threatening situations? She’d never strayed too far from the safe zone. Maybe that was why this freedom—the permission Gage gave her to enjoy being a carnal creature—felt so good to her. It felt right. Until she’d lived on the edge, she realized she hadn’t fully been living. She’d grown numb to life. It was easier to deal with it that way, deal with her friends moving on and creating the perfect life she couldn’t seem to reach, of her boyfriend dumping her for someone more “suitable” to his lifestyle, of the aunt who chose her boyfriend over her niece, a house that would probably fall apart within the next ten years, and a job she loathed.

  Yes, she hadn’t just wanted this—she had prayed for it, had been begging for a change. And it had come in the form of a hunky werewolf named Gage Johnson. With him, there was no pretending, no hiding the fact she was a bit of a dork with a big imagination. He didn’t judge her like her friends had, didn’t chastise her like her aunt did, saying she’d, “Better stop daydreaming and get her head back in the real world.”

  Being with Gage felt right, like she could be herself and be accepted for who she really was.

  When they arrived at the mansion, Nik went to get preparations for the funerals underway while Gage led Danica up to their room. She watched him as they walked, worrying about the heaviness on his face and feeling miserable about not being able to do anything about it.

  When they were inside his chambers and the door was closed, she nearly ran into him when he stopped suddenly, staring at the floor. Without warning, he picked up a vase and threw it across the room, where it shattered.

  Danica jumped. It hadn’t entirely been unexpected, but she didn’t have much of a taste for violence. Her childhood had given her plenty of that.

  Gage punched the wall, driving his fist through it. “DAMMIT!”

  Danica stood frozen, unsure what to do.

  Gage’s shoulders heaved as he took in deep breaths, closing his eyes as his composure broke, and all the anger leaked out of him. With a sob, he collapsed to the floor, shaking as tears ran down his face.

  Danica immediately went to him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. When he leaned into her, putting his head against her chest, she cradled him and rocked him. She didn’t say anything—she didn’t have to. For some things, just being held, being close to someone, was enough.

  She let him grieve, holding him until he decided to sit up. “I’m sorry,” he said raggedly, wiping a hand over his face.

  “For what?” she asked softly.

  “For putting you through that. I
never meant for you to be dragged into this world of backstabbing violence.”

  “Sssh,” she said, putting a finger to his lips. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else except right here, with you.”

  He looked at her, a small smile appearing. “You say that now just because you haven’t experienced Thanksgiving with us.”

  She snorted and sat down beside him, their backs to the bed’s footboard. “At least you have a family to share it with, no matter how dysfunctional.”

  He studied her. “You spent the holidays alone?”

  She looked at the floor and shrugged.

  Gage grabbed hold of her and hugged her to him. “I swear, you’ll never feel alone again.”

  It sounded so wonderful. She didn’t realize how much it meant to hear that until tears pricked her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pushed the emotions back. She needed to stay strong for him. Losing his packmates had broken a piece of him, and he needed her strength.

  “So do you really think a witch mafia is behind this?” she asked, sitting up and pushing a strand of unkempt hair from her face. “Who are they, anyway?”

  He sighed hard. “The Underworld’s races have houses of power, much like humans. Some bloodlines are ancient, going back into the dark ages. There’s been a lot of bloodshed, and witches aren’t known for being modest when it comes to conquests of power. It’s said there are two main mafias, the Blackwater Brethren and the Order of the Sun. The two most powerful houses are light and dark, or it used to be that way. Black Witches are all but extinct, which is probably why the Blackwater Brethren are the most desperate for more power. As for whether or not they’re behind this, I don’t know. I wish I did. Some clarity of motive is much needed about now.”

  “Can’t you hire a psychic to spy on them or figure out what’s going on?”

  “That’s the thing. True psychics are rare, even rarer than a trueborn Black Witch.”

  “Trueborn?”

  “Born with the innate disposition for a certain craft, whether it be black, white, red, blue, green, or gray magic. Clairvoyance falls in the area of white, though few White Witches or Warlocks are gifted with it. If they all came psychic, we would have asked Penelope.”