Midnight Moonrising

by K. S. Haigwood

  “Mena is the pack leader, Daryn. The meeting will start when she says it should start.”

  “I’m coming, Daryn. Could you wait in the car for me? I’ll just be one more minute.”

  The muscles around Daryn’s jaw flexed a few times as he stared hard at Phoenix, but he finally huffed and glanced back at Mena. “Sure,” he said, and then turned and left through the front door.

  Phoenix chuckled lightly and closed the distance between their bodies. “Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?” His hand came up to cup her chin, but she took a step back. His eyes flickered surprise, but he quickly smiled to keep her from seeing how much that had disappointed him. Her lips were a craving like none he had ever experienced.

  Mena sighed and avoided eye contact. “Phoenix, you have to stop kissing me.”

  What? That was a big hell no! He let his arm drop away from her. “Do you not enjoy it?”

  “I do, too much maybe. You cloud my thoughts, and I terribly need to focus on my pack right now. Daryn almost caused me a lot of problems today, but thankfully my wolf knew how to handle it.”

  Phoenix looked through the window to the vehicle parked in the drive. Daryn was sitting behind the wheel, shooting daggers through Phoenix with his eyes. “How did he cause you problems, Mena?”

  “He almost did, and it’s not important—”

  “It is important to me. Tell me what he did.”

  Mena growled in frustration. “Fine. Alex Rhodes, the homicide detective working Marc’s case, came up to offer his condolences, but Daryn thought he was interrogating me or hitting on me, so he came up and put his arm around me, insinuating to the detective and everyone else at the funeral that we were dating. He didn’t realize that his actions made it look to everyone like I was having an affair, or, rather, he didn’t see it being a problem for me. I had to tell Alex that Daryn was just an overprotective cousin who probably thought he was making a pass at me. I have to make a statement in the morning to the press about what happened to Marc, and tell them that the police are doing everything in their power to catch the killer. They will eat me alive if they think I’m dating so soon after Marc’s death. Whatever this is between us… it has to stop now. I can’t afford to risk everything that’s on the line for a few kisses from Adonis.”

  Phoenix’s brow furrowed as he blinked. “Adonis?”

  Mena snickered. “Greek mythology. I’ll let you look it up.”

  “Is this… Adonis… as attractive as I am?” he said with a wicked grin.

  She smiled at him as she backed out the door. “Almost.”

  Phoenix

  It took every last bit of willpower Phoenix had in him not to follow Mena and her pet. A sigh escaped his pouty lips as he watched the brake lights of the Camry disappear around a corner. She had made him promise before she left him, standing on her front lawn, that he wouldn’t interfere with pack business, at least not tonight. He had negotiated.

  What the hell am I supposed to do now? He had planned to spend the entire evening wooing Mena, but with a pack meeting screwing up his plans, he was left all alone and brooding. That was new.

  And what is this shit about not kissing her anymore? That was not going to happen. She was absurd to even suggest such a ridiculous thing. He wanted that woman, and when Phoenix wanted something, he didn’t politely ask for it; he took it. A growl rumbled up his throat. He didn’t want to have to take it, not from her. The woman was definitely different than any other he had met.

  She needs time. He shook his head and began to pace, another huff expelling from his mouth to the cold air in a puff of white vapor. Why do women always need time? He grunted.

  As he pondered ways to make her realize that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her, a thought came to him, and he stopped flattening Mena’s sod with his boots. She would need help with her new pack. He had been a leader for over a century, so he was certain he had advice and tips to offer her. He would make her need him first, and then the want would follow.

  The image of Mena in his arms, with desire filling those intoxicating pale green eyes, made his head spin. He had been two seconds away from untying that blasted robe belt and having his way with her, right there on the Persian rug. They may have eventually made it to the bed, but he had imagined Mena’s dark hair splayed out on the carpeting and a sheen of sweat glistening off her bare body from the light of the nearly full moon through the window, from the moment he walked through the door and saw it.

  It had been tough to have a normal conversation with her after that. He knew she had been nervous, and that was probably all that had saved him. The girl did not pay attention to detail when she was nervous. That was good for him, but bad for leadership. That was one thing he could help her with, that was if he could concentrate himself. She was right about him clouding her mind. He found it difficult to concentrate on anything except getting her clothes off whenever she was near him.

  “Foolish man,” Phoenix whispered into the night, and looked up at the stars, seeking the answers to his problem. There was nothing.

  The cell phone in his pocket chimed, and he pulled it out to see he had received a text from Jaxon.

  At the club. Lots of blue lights. We’ve got trouble.

  Phoenix cursed under his breath, and ran to his electric blue Corvette Z06 without responding to the message.

  Chapter 4

  Mena

  “This may not be what you’re used to,” Daryn said as he took the keys out of the ignition. “I know you knew the part of Marc that was a big-shot lawyer, but he was actually comfortable here.” Daryn seemed uncomfortable, or maybe he was ashamed or embarrassed to show me the wolves’ den.

  I opened the door and stepped out. The wind had died down since that morning, but the air was still biting as I let my eyes take in the scene before me. Cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles had been parked, in no apparent order, beside the trees and bushes of the dense forest, and there were two lit torches on either side of a hole in the side of the mountain: a cave.

  I beamed at Daryn as he rounded to my side of the car, and my expression seemed to surprise him. “I love it!”

  His lips parted over his teeth, and he smiled back at me in relief. “Good.”

  I took his outstretched hand, and he led me inside.

  “How do you keep people from stumbling across this?” I said in a whisper. Torches lined the stone path he had taken me down, but it was still dim, and voices were always louder in the dark.

  “Well, it’s private property—now your private property—but we take everything with us when we leave, so there really isn’t anything for anyone to find besides a big empty cave.”

  “Oh.”

  There was an opening about ten yards ahead, and two men stepped into view, carrying torches. One was older and tall. The silver of his hair glinted from the light of the torch in his hand. The other was about my age and average height. His build was stocky, and his skin was tanned by the sun. I imagined him to be some sort of construction worker.

  “Any news of her whereabouts?” Daryn asked the approaching men, and my focus moved to him.

  “Not yet,” the older man replied.

  “Damn it,” Daryn swore.

  “Who?” I said.

  Daryn pursed his lips and gave the two men long looks before answering me. “Jess has been missing since last night.”

  With so many names and faces of my new pack to remember, I was having a difficult time pinpointing who Jess was. “Do you think she is hurt?”

  Daryn shook his head. “No, but I do think you’re in danger. I suggest that you appoint four of us as bodyguards until she is found, two for the day shift and two for the night.”

  “Wait,” I said as Daryn began leading me forward. “Why would I do that? Who is Jess?”

  Without stopping, Daryn said, “Jessica was Chris’s mate, and now she wants revenge.”

  I vaguely remembered a pretty girl with long, dark, curly hair staring m
e down at Chris’s funeral. I was just about to speak, when the older man spoke.

  “There are still a few who don’t like the idea of you becoming our leader, but we all agree that Jess as a leader would be even worse.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come to me. I didn’t know whether that had been a compliment or an insult.

  The guys led me into a massive round room. Torches lined the stone perimeter, lighting the entire space with a golden glow. The sound of rushing water pulled my attention to a twenty-foot wide creek on the far left where it disappeared through a water-worn black hole in the stone. I assumed it went deeper into the cave and then fed into the Alabama River somewhere.

  A crow cawed overhead, and I glanced up to see a hole in the stone ceiling with twinkling stars beyond it. I could see how this place would have been comfortable to Marc. It was so peaceful here. Why hadn’t he shared that part of his life with me? I thought sadly.

  It should have been the first thing I noticed but, as I looked back to the room, I realized that every person was on bended knee with their heads bowed low. The sight of all of them, showing me respect as their leader, took my breath away.

  “What do I say to get them to stand up?” I whispered to Daryn, who was kneeled by my side.

  I heard him chuckle before he replied with, “You may stand.”

  I nodded, and looked back to my pack. “You may stand.”

  In unison, everyone stood and placed their fists over the center of their chests.

  This was going to take some getting used to.

  Phoenix

  Jaxon was waiting in the parking lot across the street from Hellhound, with a lot of other nosey humans, when Phoenix pulled up.

  “They won’t let me in,” Jaxon said.

  “You don’t own the club. Why would they?” Phoenix said, and ducked under the yellow strip of caution tape surrounding the building. Jaxon followed.

  They were immediately stopped by two uniforms.

  “Excuse me, sir. You’re not allowed on the crime scene.”

  Phoenix sighed. He hated dealing with humans. “I own this club.”

  The shorter of the two officers piped in with, “Well, the club is closed until we are finished.” He shrugged. “That could take days.”

  Phoenix’s jaw clenched, and by the look on the cop’s face, he knew he had gotten under his skin. Phoenix forced a smile and glanced down at the brass name badge above the pocket on the guy’s button-up: J. Harden. He made a note to give Officer Harden a visit at a later time. After all, it had been almost a week since he had fed last.

  “What happened?” Jaxon said.

  The taller of the two shot Jaxon a hard look. “We aren’t allowed to disclose that information to you.” They both took a step forward, and Phoenix held up his palms and took a step back.

  The radio on the officers’ shoulders came to life. “Anybody know how to get a hold of the owner of this place?”

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow, but kept his hands up. The cops both appeared irritated, but the shorter one reached up and pressed the button on his radio so he could respond. “He may be out here with us, Rhodes,” he said, and then glanced back to Phoenix. “Do you have identification?”

  Slowly relaxing his arms back down at his sides, Phoenix reached to his back pocket for his wallet, took out his driver’s license and the license he had as club owner of Hellhound, then handed them to the shorter officer.

  He looked back and forth between the I.D. and Phoenix several times before reaching up and pushing the button on his radio once more. “He’s out here, Rhodes. Want me to send him in?”

  “That’d be nice, Harden. Sometime tonight would be great,” came the irritated voice back over the radio.

  Phoenix fought hard to keep from smiling as the officer released the button and then called the guy a prick. Cowards’ blood always tasted sweeter. He found he already liked this detective guy.

  “I guess you know the way in?” Harden said shortly as he handed Phoenix back his identification.

  Phoenix nodded as he stepped around the officers.

  “Wait,” Harden snapped. “Who’s this guy? He can’t go in.”

  Without turning around, Phoenix replied with, “He’s my lawyer, and he’s coming with me. I will need one if any of you jerk-offs touched anything of mine without a warrant.”

  There was a short pause, and then the taller of the two said, “Are you hiding something we should know about?”

  Phoenix grinned as he opened the door of Hellhound. “Oh, I have my secrets.” He turned and gave the officers a wink, before disappearing into the club.

  Chapter 5

  Mena

  Daryn placed me in the center of the huge room, and then he disappeared somewhere. I was too distracted to look around for him, because there were several people gathered around me, brushing my hair and pinning it up, clipping and filing my nails, powdering my nose and oohing and awwing as they worked. It was difficult to keep up with it all, and I was confused by why they thought I needed pampering in the first place; I thought I had done a pretty good job getting ready.

  A large chair was placed behind me and the women around me encouraged me to sit. I did.

  The crowd of smiling onlookers parted, and a tall and tanned, and ruggedly handsome male approached me, bright white fabric draped over his large outstretched forearms. He knelt on one knee and bowed his head as he held what appeared to be a dress out for me to take.

  I stared at the top of his sand-colored hair in confusion for a moment, until one of the elder females at my side leaned closer and whispered by my ear. “He is bringing you an offering, a gift. It’s his way of asking your permission to be in the running to be your Beta. If you accept the gift, you are accepting him as a possible second in command.”

  I blinked, and turned to look at her. “My… Beta?”

  She snickered. “Yes. A female being pack leader has never happened before, but you are the Alpha, dear. You have to pick a second by the next full moon.”

  “But, how will I choose?” I pleaded in a whisper.

  She smiled and patted my arm as she looked back to the male at my feet. “Don’t worry, dear. You’ll know.”

  I let my gaze fall back on the handsome man, but swallowed and asked her the question Phoenix had asked me. “How many are there?”

  Her brow drew down in thought for a moment, and then she smiled. “I think there were twenty-seven at the last count—”

  “Twenty-seven!” I shouted as I shot to my feet.

  Silence filled the room and, as I turned, I realized that there was a look of shock on every face in the room. Good. I was glad I wasn’t the only one stunned.

  Twenty-seven? Did that many always compete for the position of Beta? I almost laughed as a thought came to mind. Phoenix had nearly lost his mind when he had thought there were eight. Now… twenty-seven! Wow. I seriously couldn’t wait to tell him. I would have sent him a message, but I really wanted to see the look on his face.

  And what would they all have to do, just give me a gift to let me know they are interested and then wait for me to choose one of them? Hmmm…

  My fingers slid along the soft wood of the chair arm, and I sat back down. “I’m terribly sorry.”

  Sandy-haired guy was looking at me with wide eyes, as if he was thinking of changing his mind and keeping the gift, but he quickly bowed his head and held the dress up higher.

  I sighed as I took the dress, noticing instantly that it was a formal gown, and that the material it had been made of was beautiful.

  “What is your name?” I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

  “My name is Roel, Pack Leader.”

  I smiled. “You can call me Mena, Roel, and I accept your gift.”

  Phoenix

  The smell of stale beer, cigarettes and cheap whiskey did little to cover up the smell of death in the air.

  Phoenix had been around long enough to learn how to avoid killing his prey, so
the scent drifting in through his nostrils was a bit offensive to his senses.

  Rounding the bar, he saw a wild mess of red curls in one of the booths, and nodded to Jaxon to go make sure Lexi was okay, and to find out what she knew.

  Jaxon left without saying a word.

  There was a quick flash of light and, as Phoenix turned his head, he caught sight of a brown-headed guy of average height and muscular build looking down at what could be the only reason he had been summoned here tonight. This had to be the famous Detective Rhodes he’d heard so much about lately.

  As if the guy could feel someone staring at him, he turned his head, and hazel eyes focused on Phoenix. The guy didn’t smile. He looked exhausted, but Phoenix knew the guy probably still had a long night ahead of him.

  “Detective Rhodes,” Phoenix said as he held out his hand. “Phoenix Mahoney.”

  Alex gave Phoenix’s hand two solid pumps as he shook his head. “Alex or Rhodes is fine by me. I try to avoid the cop tag when I can. I just like solving mysteries.” He looked down at the open, but unseeing eyes of the girl sprawled out on Hellhound’s dance floor. “Like this one.”

  There were two more quick flashes of light from the camera man, and Phoenix’s attention was drawn to the girl. His fingers curled into tight fists, and his vampire blood began to rush through his veins when he saw the cause of death. The four inch hilt of a dagger was protruding from the center of the girl’s chest, and it wasn’t just any dagger; it was his dagger, the exact one Mena said her wolves had destroyed. How the hell was it here, and in the heart of a human?

  He grabbed for his cell phone, but stopped after his fingers pulled her number up. Texting her was a bad idea. She was with her pack, and if he told her that someone in her pack was trying to frame her or him for murder, that could cause her big problems if she told the wrong person. Besides, Alex was looking at him again.