Blood Moon Rising Box Set (Books 1-6)

by Lola Taylor

  Even their own family.

  “Nik!” Gage came up behind Nik and grabbed him, narrowly holding him back from tearing Elijah a new asshole.

  Elijah stood there, mutely staring at his brother with sorrow in his eyes. As if he almost wanted to be hit, clawed, marked.

  Punished.

  Crushing guilt jarred Verika’s nerves through their mate-bond. Oh God. Had he really done this? Was he the one who had hurt Alara?

  Nik kept snarling and snapping his fangs at the air, like a wild animal. Murder gleamed in his eyes.

  “It was an accident,” Gage growled, the muscles in his neck straining as he held Nik back. “Calm down before you do something you regret.”

  “The only thing I regret is not killing him the second I saw him!”

  His words rang through the air. Each word seemed like a blow to Elijah.

  “Nik,” Alara rasped, shaking her head.

  Grief-stricken, Nik glanced at his mate, and then his eyes flitted back to Elijah. His gaze became filled with hatred. “What did you do? What the fuck did you do?” he screamed. With every word, he fought harder against Gage’s hold.

  “Stop, brother!” Gage ground out through gritted teeth.

  Nik kept screaming, “What did you do?” over and over, thrashing about.

  Footsteps approached—Heath and a trio of guards.

  Heath went straight to Alara’s side, ascertaining her injuries before he worked his Blue Magic.

  Alara screamed as the bone began to right itself.

  That did it—Nik broke free.

  Verika held her breath as he charged her mate, claws raised high, ready to slice him open.

  She thought about intervening with her magic, had already summoned tendrils of flickering black flames to her fingertips.

  Then Nik jerked to a halt. He growled and whirled on Gage. “You command me to stop, brother? After you vowed never to invoke the Alpha’s Right on another wolf after all Malachite did?” He barked a bitter laugh. “This is low, even for you.”

  “You left me no choice.” Gage’s voice sounded strained. Sadness shone in his eyes.

  Two of the guards, one on either side, grabbed Nik.

  “Take him to the dungeons to cool down for an hour.” Gage wearily rubbed his temples.

  “Seriously, bro? You’re taking his side? What the fuck? After everything we’ve been through? After everything I’ve done for you?”

  Gage was silent, his face grim as the guards started to drag Nik off. Nik fought, eyes glued to Alara. “No fucking way am I leaving her out here, with him. The son of a bitch who did this to her.”

  Elijah’s stoic expression never changed. Verika rested her hand on his arm and squeezed, studying him with worry.

  He never even responded to her touch.

  Her heart broke. He’d shut off the bond between them, too, masking his emotions from her. Or more likely to keep from overwhelming her with them. God, the guilt and shame he must be feeling right now…

  “It’s fine.”

  They all looked up as Alara spoke, her voice wispy from screaming. “Don’t worry. Go.”

  Nik stopped struggling, his face incredibly sad. He stared at his mate a long while, no doubt warring it out with her in some telepathic mate-bond conversation the rest of them weren’t privy to.

  Evidently, Alara won. Nik’s face set in a scowl.

  With a huff and another snarl thrown at Elijah, he turned on his heel and stalked toward the manor, leaving his guards jogging to catch up with him.

  Half an hour later, Elijah still couldn’t believe what he’d done.

  Alara had been patched up and given a sedative to knock her out while Heath’s spell finished repairing her leg.

  The image of her injury was burned into his mind. It flashed through his mind’s eye, making him sick.

  He squirmed on the sofa in Nik and Alara’s bedroom.

  Alara and Nik had taken over Gage’s old rooms once they’d come back to Crescent Manor as the Alpha pair. Though the space was definitely bigger, the furnishings were no more opulent than those in his and Verika’s chambers.

  Would he ever own anything half as nice? The thought of fussing over a mortgage and credit card bills sounded blissfully mundane. Peaceful, even. He wanted that kind of life for him and Verika.

  But if he didn’t get his shit together, that was never going to happen.

  He’d lost control of his inner wolf again. The first time he had nearly killed Verika, a diverted disaster that still made it difficult to face himself in the mirror. Now, Alara had been the victim. He was hurting people he cared about, and felt powerless to do anything about it.

  The guards Gage had posted inside the room watched Elijah like hawks, barely blinking. Elijah couldn’t fault Gage for being careful. Hell, it made him feel better they were there. He didn’t exactly trust himself right now.

  They were big boys, too, and imperially trained. These guys could probably fuck him up six ways to Sunday without breaking a sweat. Not that he had any plans on testing his mettle.

  Guilt and regret washed over him anew as he turned his attention back to Alara.

  He had some apologizing to do…soon as she woke up.

  But first, he needed to sort some stuff out on the inside.

  There could be no more running from his trauma. It was finally time to face his nightmares—or risk letting them destroy his life and everyone in it.

  Verika wandered the garden, trying to sort out her thoughts. And having absolutely no luck.

  Elijah had insisted on waiting beside Alara’s bed until she woke up. Sensing he needed some alone time to figure things out, she’d volunteered for some fresh air. Though it bothered her to leave her mate by himself when he was in such a wrecked mental state. She wished there was some way she could make it better, some magic she could perform to take away all his pain and suffering.

  But that’s precisely what had landed them in this mess in the first place.

  Magic.

  It had been a long while since she’d felt so helpless. Magic could fix damn near everything. That’s one of the things she loved about it. But it was a double-edged blade that could also deal irreparable harm.

  Elijah, and so many others like him, couldn’t be healed from an outside source. They were going to have to heal themselves.

  Elijah choosing to wait for Alara to wake up so he could beg her forgiveness was part of that healing process. And she suspected he didn’t want Verika around right now because he was so ashamed over what happened. He didn’t need to worry about her judging him; she assured him she loved him to the moon and back.

  Which was why she didn’t argue when he asked her to be alone, no matter how much it pained her to walk away.

  Verika rounded the corner. She was back at the courtyard with the stone angel. She’d been aimlessly wandering around, lost in her own thoughts; she hadn’t paid attention to where her feet took her.

  She sat down on the bench and watched the koi swim about. Alara was right—it was peaceful. A good thinking place.

  A chilled wind brushed her hair, smelling faintly like—

  She startled, looked around.

  That was magic she had detected, though faint. She was sure of it.

  Her skin tingled with the sense that another paranormal creature was near, but the signature wasn’t strong enough to detect exactly what it was.

  Footsteps approached, sounding harried.

  A second later, the sensation vanished, right before Gage walked into the courtyard.

  Verika scrambled to her feet. “Your Majesty,” she blurted. Should she do a curtsy? Did she even know how to do one?

  Gage rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. “Please, not you, too. I get enough of that ‘Your Majesty’ business as is.”

  The tension drained out of her body, and she smiled. “I could see how that would be annoying.”

  “You have no idea,” he mumbled as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. He
looked more haggard upon his arrival, much leaner and wearier than the passionate, soft-spoken man she remembered.

  But he was no longer just a man—he was a king of wolves. Thousands of them, all the lives of which were on his shoulders. And from the looks of it, it wasn’t a light load to bear. The job of High King had already taken a toll on him.

  Her heart squeezed. Maybe after this was all over, she could find a way to help him with the stress. She hated seeing any of her friends suffer.

  Gage paced a time or two, looking as though something was on his mind. “I just came from the dungeons.”

  “Oh,” Verika said quietly, twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands. “How is he?”

  Gage inhaled a long breath, let it out. “He’s calmed down, somewhat. So that’s a relief.” He pressed his lips together. “It’s going to be awhile, I think, before we’ll be able to bring the two of them together again.”

  Verika swallowed hard. She’d expected as much. Nik could hold a grudge.

  Gage sighed and pointed at the bench. “That seat taken?”

  “Not at all. Besides, you’re a king. You can do whatever you want.”

  “Still polite to ask.” His eyes sparkled with his smile. The mirth was gone as quickly as it came. They both stared out at the fountain, the running water the only sound as the minutes stretched on.

  “I’ve never seen him like this,” Gage murmured. “Eli was always so strong. Now he’s… I don’t recognize him.”

  Verika watched him in silence, waiting for him to continue.

  Gage’s nails dug into the bench. “Mistress Black changed him, just like Malachite changed most of the members of our pack before I became Alpha. They broke them inside. Some days I think we’ll never put the pieces back together. Even I’m still trying to come to terms with what Malachite did to me, what he made us do to each other in those fighting pits. I…I know where Elijah is coming from. I get it. And I want you to know I don’t blame him. It’s not his fault, him being the way he is. It’s Mistress Black’s.”

  Verika’s throat grew tight. “I’m sorry we brought this on you guys. Eli didn’t want to get you involved. He wanted to protect you for as long as possible.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s nothing you could have done to protect us. It was coming regardless of your actions.”

  She supposed he was right. In hindsight, they weren’t the only ones involved in this fight. The whole nation was, if the string of attacks the DPI had been called out to investigate were any indication.

  “I guess this means we’ll be going with plan B, for finding Mistress Black’s lair,” Verika said.

  “We could try again—”

  “No,” she said firmly. “I won’t risk subjecting Elijah to more buried memories. I can’t do that to him. I won’t, even if you are a king and command it.”

  He stared at her. Finally, he blinked and smiled. “You might not have been a werewolf for long, but you’re as ferocious as any she-wolf I’ve ever met when it comes to protecting your mate. I’m glad Elijah has you.”

  Her lashes fluttered as her cheeks heated. It was the first time Gage had really said much of anything about her relationship to his brother. “Thanks,” she mumbled, looking away.

  Gage stilled. He tapped his head. “One of my guards just informed me Alara’s woken up. Nik will want to see her. He made me promise to tell him the second she woke up.” He stood and held out his arm. “Shall we go see her ourselves?”

  Verika stood. “Let’s take our time, so Elijah can have some one-on-one time with her. I think they both need it.”

  “Agreed.”

  They started to walk away. Verika’s spine tingled, and she glanced behind her. The sensation of being watched was back.

  “What is it?” Gage looked around.

  The tingling dried up, and Verika shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just my imagination.”

  Or, at least, that’s what she kept telling herself as they walked back toward the manor.

  At first, Alara saw only blurs when she opened her eyes. As the world focused, she realized she was staring up at the ceiling in her room. The moments leading up to this realization were hazy.

  How had she gotten here? What happened?

  She started to sit up, reaching out with her senses for her mate. And cried out as white-hot pain flared from her leg and up through her backside.

  “Easy,” a deep male voice said. Warm hands pressed her shoulders back down, urging her back against the pillows. “You’re still probably sore from the spell.”

  Spell?

  She looked up at the owner of the familiar voice she couldn’t quite place. She blinked. “Elijah?”

  He stared down at her with a mixture of worry and something else—regret?—in his eyes. He looked away, clenching his fists. “Do you remember what happened?” he asked quietly.

  She searched her brain. Gage and she had been running through the woods, tracking Elijah right after he’d Shifted and ran for it. There had been a brawl, and he’d—

  Her breath caught. Flipping off the covers, she surveyed her leg. The skin was smooth; only a thin scar remained of the ghastly wound.

  “Heath healed you.” Elijah gestured to her leg and shifted his weight again. He wrung his hands and wiped his palms on his pants, seemingly unable to keep still. He at last shoved his hands inside his pants pockets.

  Alara studied him. He seemed nervous. And guilty as hell.

  She recognized that kind of shame. It was exactly the same shame she’d harbored following those long, dark weeks after her family’s murders. And in that moment, upon recognizing him as a kindred spirit, she instantly forgave him.

  He took a deep breath, still not looking at her. “Alara, I’m so—”

  “You don’t have to say anything.” She reached for his wrist and pulled his hand out of his pocket, squeezing it. “I’m all right. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.”

  “You’re not fine. It’s not fine,” he said sternly. “I could have killed you.”

  “But you didn’t,” she insisted, smiling up at him. “And I know you would never intentionally hurt me.”

  “How? You don’t know me.”

  She studied him. “It’s…more a sense I get about your character. When I’m around you, when I look into your eyes. I saw how fiercely you fought when you first arrived. Even though the room was swarming with DPI, you came in anyway and helped. That requires selflessness. And though you might have been fierce and frightening to behold that day, I’ve sensed no malice in you since. Though I have detected a great deal of suffering and self-loathing. Uncertainty. Doubt. Fear. Like your spirit’s nearly broken.”

  He looked down at their joined hands, stared at them. At last he took a step back, letting go. He stood several feet away, as if not trusting that he wouldn’t Shift right there and try to kill her.

  Alara rested her hands on her lap, studying them. “You can’t go on forever blaming yourself. That kind of guilt will destroy you,” she said softly. She took a deep breath. “When my…when my family died, I thought it was my fault. I wasn’t there to save them. I was the reason this happened to them. The reason they died the way they did. I held on to my guilt, punishing myself, for a long time. Eventually, that guilt gave way to anger. My anger turned into rage, and…” She shook her head, blocking out the horrid memories of what she’d done to those poor men in that chicken factory. “The point is that I nearly let my guilt and rage consume me. Those feelings hurt me more than anything else I’d ever done. They almost ruined not only my life, but the lives of the people around me. Elijah, you have to forgive yourself. If you don’t, if you hold on to that self-loathing and hatred, it will kill you from the inside out. Trust me, you don’t want to look in the mirror one day and not recognize who you’ve become. It’s scary.”

  He was silent for a moment.

  “It won’t be easy.” Alara smiled softly. “I’m still working through my inner demons. Some days are good, a
nd some are bad. I just take things one day, one breath, one moment, at a time, and hope for the best. Just keep moving forward. That’s all you can do.”

  He looked at her for a long while and then tentatively smiled back.

  A soft knock came at the door. One of the guards went to open the door when Nik burst through, followed by Gage, Danica, and Verika. Nik’s haunted eyes roved over Alara, as if he were trying to assure himself she was still alive.

  Elijah immediately stiffened as Nik’s gaze landed on him and sharpened.

  The room held its breath, waiting and prepping for a fight.

  At last Nik turned away. “Just get out,” he said halfheartedly.

  Alara exhaled. She pressed her lips together but remained silent. They should count their blessings, really. It was a miracle Nik hadn’t moved to immediately take Elijah’s head off.

  Elijah started to walk toward the door, when he paused and looked back over his shoulder at Alara. “Thank you.”

  She smiled and nodded.

  Nik’s hands clenched into fists, and his face got redder by the second.

  Elijah must have sensed Nik’s rising fury, too, because he swiftly walked out the door without a backward glance.

  Verika chewed on her lip as she silently followed her mate back to their room. He hadn’t spoken to her, wouldn’t look at her. She might as well be a shadow tracing his path.

  Once inside their room, she decided she’d had enough of the silent treatment. It was time to end the pity party she knew was going on inside his brain. Placing her hands firmly on her hips and cocking her head, she said, “Talk to me.”

  Elijah went to go wash his face in the bathroom, splashed icy water on it. Still, he hadn’t looked at her. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “There’s plenty to talk about.” She followed him into the bathroom and leaned against the doorjamb. “You just don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Is that so hard to believe?” he asked, an edge to his voice and a hard glint to his eyes.

  She stared him down, unabated.

  He sighed; his shoulders sagged slightly. “I can’t stand the thought of you looking at me,” he at last said on a ragged whisper. “I’m…trash. I’m…”