Midnight Moonrising

by K. S. Haigwood

  Jaxon didn’t lose the grin when Phoenix’s hands balled into fists, and he actually laughed when Phoenix rushed him and slammed his body against the rear of the Surburban.

  “Hey! Watch the paint, asshat! Heather will be pissed if I have to file another claim,” Brad said, but Phoenix’s concern wasn’t focused on the lecture the wolf would get from his wife about a body-sized dent in their family vehicle, nor was he much bothered by the fact that he could almost feel Rhodes’ wide eyes on both of them; he sensed by the sound of the rapid beating of the cop’s heart that nothing about this scene looked normal or seemed human to him. It was going to be a bitch to explain. No, his main vexation was caused by the actions of a vampire who had been loyal to him for over a hundred years. Being demoted shouldn’t have had this much of an impact on the guy; he had dealt out far worse punishments to him before without so much as an ill word from the guy.

  With torture on his mind and in his steely glare, he loosened the fingers gripped tightly around Jaxon’s windpipe enough so Jaxon could answer the question that was tearing its way out of his own throat. “What the fuck was that about? Are you trying to expose us all?”

  Jaxon blinked a few times, and then confusion, followed by a large amount of fear, filled his widening eyes. The grin vanished immediately as he stared at his master. Nervously, his gaze flitted over Phoenix’s shoulder to the gawking crowd of onlookers. He shook his head as his eyes closed. “Please, Master,” Jaxon whispered, “I have no idea what I’ve done, or even how I got here, for that matter.”

  Stunned, Phoenix released him and took a step back. There was truth in his words; there was no doubt in his mind about that. “What’s the last thing you remember?” he said, the volume of his voice just as low as Jaxon’s had been.

  “Pulling up at Mena’s residence. What happened? What have I done?”

  Phoenix’s thoughts were conflicted and full of frustration, but something was telling him that Jaxon spoke only the truth. Which left only one other explanation of why this had occurred: magic. But why would the sisters try to out them in front of the detective? It didn’t make any sense. Regardless of the reason why, they were the only witches he knew. He would handle this, but he had to do it alone.

  Without responding, Phoenix turned on his heel and marched toward the witches’ house. Pointing a finger at the rest of the group, he demanded, “Stay out here until I tell you otherwise.”

  Skipping the step full of silver spikes, he bound up the remaining ones until he was pounding on the door with the side of his fist. It swung inward without anyone to greet him on the other side. Wasting no time, he walked in and slammed it behind him.

  “Magnalayna! Morgana! Meridia! Stop toying with my people or I will make sure the Salem Witch trials make a grand comeback in Montgomery, Alabama!”

  Meridia emerged from the shadows first, an expected solemn expression adorning her pretty face. “Do not come into my home and threaten me, vampire. I could end you where you stand.”

  He swallowed a few times, knowing she wasn’t lying, and that she had waited decades for an excuse to do just that. “What did you do to Jaxon?”

  “I’m not certain I understand what you mean. Try being more specific with your questioning. I am sorry to admit that telepathy isn’t one of my gifts.”

  “He nearly exposed Mena for Dana’s murder in front of the detective. He only snapped out of the spell when I confronted him about his betrayal a few moments ago in front of your home.”

  “And you think we three are the only witches who exist in Montgomery?” Meridia said.

  “You are the only ones we know and have had dealings with, so, yes; the blame is all yours until you prove your innocence.”

  Meridia sighed dramatically as she unseeingly glided across the room and sat in a high-backed chair. “Come, sisters. We have guests. The vampire means us no harm.”

  Magnalayna and Morgana stepped from the same shadowed corner of the room Meridia had and took their seats on the couch closest to the fireplace.

  Phoenix wanted to tell them that he was still undecided about that, but he knew Meridia was right; he had already calmed enough to realize his assumption was a false one. These particular witches weren’t to blame for what had happened to Jaxon. But if they weren’t, then who the hell was? She’d also been right about there being other witches in Montgomery, but he knew of none as powerful in their magic as these three.

  “Before your friends join us, there is something you must know,” Meridia said. As she gestured to the chair across from her for him to sit down, she continued, and he sat as she began talking again. “Only part of the spell was successful—”

  “I know the nexus was,” he interrupted. “We’ve had quite an eventful day.”

  Morgana smiled as she turned her head in the direction of Morgana, then Magnalayna giggled. Phoenix’s eyes narrowed at the two women before turning his attention back to Meridia.

  “I warned you of what could happen,” Meridia said.

  “I’m not blaming you for any of it. I was the one who asked you to do it. What part of the spell didn’t work?”

  “The location spell for the dagger and the rogue shifters. There is a very powerful blocking spell around them that is preventing me from seeing what needs to be seen. I have no idea who the caster is.”

  His eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? That’s the most important part!” He leaned forward, lowering his voice as he continued. “We need to know where they are, Meridia. Mena can’t sense them anymore. It’s like they’ve disappeared.”

  “I imagine it’s the same spell blocking her that is blocking me,” Meridia said.

  Phoenix growled in frustration. “Some news surfaced today, and we have a bigger problem on our hands than finding the wolves who are trying to kill Mena, but that is still a massive issue, I’m sure you know.”

  Meridia grinned devilishly. “There is a bigger issue than the Master Vampire and Alpha Wolf of Montgomery dying at the same time? Do tell.”

  He huffed as he thought of how to phrase something he was still sort of in denial about. “You’re already aware that the previous Alpha bit Mena, turning her into one of them, and that she put a silver bullet through his heart immediately after, making her Alpha, right?”

  She nodded once, and he continued.

  “Well, that’s never happened before, that we’re aware of. Most shifters challenge the Alpha for position, already knowing most of what they need to know about what they are. Mena didn’t know anything, and her pack forgot to mention that she needed to name her wolf within two days of being bitten or the thing inside her would start to take over her body.”

  A barely audible gasp issued from Morgana’s mouth as she grabbed Magnalayna’s arm, her cheeks flushing pink and her eyes growing wide as she stared at her sisters in horror.

  “What is it, Morgana?” Meridia said, panicked.

  “She gets it. Took me a lot longer to figure it out,” Phoenix said.

  Meridia turned her head in his direction. “What does she get?”

  “Mena never named her wolf. The bitch is taking over, and if Mena doesn’t find out what the wolf has named herself and call it out by the next full moon, she will be gone, completely imprisoned in her own mind, and the Alpha moonrising wolf will wreak havoc on the world, turning every mortal it comes in contact with. Hell will pretty much be unleashed on Earth.”

  Troubled now, Meridia wrung her hands together, twisting and entwining her fingers until they were bone white. “This is bad,” she said as she turned toward her sisters. “Morgana, check the book. See if there is anything in it about moonrising shifters.” Moving her attention back to Phoenix, she said, “Tell your friends to join us. Maybe I can get a feel for a solution if I meet her. Act as if everything is normal. If the moonrising wolf suspects we are trying to overcome her, we may all be in jeopardy.”

  He stood and walked to the door without commenting. What could he say? He already knew this was bad,
but he was happy the witches were on his side for once.

  Forcing a smile into place, Phoenix opened the door and cheerfully said, “Everything is fine. Come on in. Watch that first step.”

  “I said to act normal,” Meridia moodily mumbled from her seat, “not like a bloomin’ idiot.”

  Mena

  Relief flushed through me when Phoenix opened the door, but my happiness quickly faded when his eyes avoided looking at anyone directly. Something was wrong. He was hiding something, and he was usually better at being discrete when he had a secret. Maybe the witches had located the dagger and he just didn’t want Alex to find out about it. I was still a murderer, and the weapon belonged to my boyfriend. What if it was even worse news? What if they couldn’t find the rogue shifters?

  Ugh! I hated waiting for bad news.

  Alex took my hand and led me to the steps leading up to the porch, but just before I placed my foot on the first step, he whisked me up in his arms and jogged the rest of the way up them.

  He was smiling as he released me to stand on my own again, but he held me tightly to his body as he glanced down at the others. Roel grabbed a broom propped against the rail and touched the bottom step with the handle. I jumped in surprise when hundreds of tiny spikes shot up through the board.

  The others skipped the step and came up to join us.

  As we walked into the house, Phoenix caught my arm and leaned in by my ear, whispering so only I could hear, “They’re silver.”

  My brow lifted as my wolf took note of that, and she nodded. Instead of thanking Phoenix for that important piece of information, she clung tighter to Alex’s side and smiled at him when he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me even closer.

  “Thank you for saving me,” she said.

  “Stop trying to piss Phoenix off!” I said through my thoughts. “He told everyone to watch the first step. He deserves credit, too.”

  Huffing loudly as she rolled her eyes back toward Phoenix, she snarled out one word, “Thanks.”

  Alex chuckled. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

  Grinning slyly at Phoenix, she answered Alex’s question. “Not even a little. I was actually thinking of staying with you full-time, you know, until we find the killer and all this blows over. Would that be all right with you, Alex?”

  I barely caught a glimpse of Phoenix’s red face and clenched jaw before Alex spun me around and planted a big kiss on my lips. She hummed her approval as she wrapped my arms around his neck and opened my mouth, inviting him in for a brief make-out session in front of everybody.

  I was just about to start screaming through my thoughts at her when a woman’s voice interrupted them.

  “You must be Mena.”

  A stunning woman with long, black hair and a thin frame practically danced across the room, her hand outstretched for a greeting. With all her physical perfection, I sensed there was something off about her; I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

  My wolf was smiling, but the instant our flesh touched, a surge of energy passed between us and my wolf immediately jerked away. It hadn’t hurt, but it had stunned us both, and I was well aware that my wolf didn’t have any intentions of letting her touch us again.

  “Chill out. It was probably just static electricity,” I said through my thoughts, but she only shook my head then laced my fingers together behind my back.

  The woman smiled apologetically. “I am sorry, my dear. That is just my way of getting to know you. It’s harmless, I promise.”

  “Yeah, well, I hope we’re good and acquainted now, because you’re not doing that to me again.”

  Sweet smile still in place, her head dipped into a slow nod of agreement. “Very well. My name is Meridia, and these are my sisters.” She took a step back as a fiery redhead joined us. She was also very pretty, elegant even.

  She didn’t try to touch me, and I was grateful for that. I didn’t know how much more touchy-feely my wolf could take without showing her hairy side. “I… am Mag… na… laaayna. It is… so nice… to meet you.” A proud smile graced her pretty face, lighting up her eyes.

  I knew right away the girl was deaf. I was raised with only one sibling, and he had been deaf from the age of ten. Their speech was slower than and not as clear as someone who could hear.

  With every ounce of energy I had in me, I pushed my wolf out and took full control. Being fluent in ASL, I used my hands to tell her that it was lovely to meet her, too, and to thank her for inviting me into their home.

  Magnalayna’s mouth fell agape as excitement filled her features, and she signed back that the pleasure was all theirs and she hoped I came to visit again soon.

  “I could have learned how to do American Sign Language from your memory in less than a minute, Mena. There was no need to be so pushy,” my wolf said through my mind.

  “I communicate a lot better with people than you do. I’m definitely nicer,” I said as I nodded to Magnalayna, and then signed that I would love to come back for a visit.

  “Being nice will only get you challengers for my position as Alpha.”

  I ignored her, and smiled when a pretty blonde walked up beside Magnalayna and only looked at her, anxiety clear in her petite body. My smile faded when she turned her head to look at me. Shimmering tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t say a word as the tears cascaded over her cheeks and fell to the floor.

  My hand flew up to cover my mouth, and after a moment I lowered it to speak to her. “Did I say something to offend you? I apologize if I did—”

  I stopped short when Magnalayna leaned over and whispered something in Meridia’s ear. The black-haired beauty inhaled deeply then let it slowly seep out.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex said, but Meridia didn’t answer him as she turned her head toward Phoenix, rage coloring her pale cheeks a shade of red that wasn’t very becoming, and fury filled her eyes. That’s when I realized what was so off about her. She didn’t have pupils. A light blue haze covered them and her irises. She was blind. Somehow I knew she wouldn’t have to see to strike us all down. I did the first thing that came to me; I twisted and threw myself against the front of Phoenix’s chest, shielding him from any nasty spell she might decide to cast upon him.

  “How dare you come into my home and make me look like a fool!” Meridia said.

  I heard him sigh, and barely caught the stern look of disapproval in his eyes and the shake of his head before I was swiftly shoved behind him.

  “Meridia, I don’t know what you think I’ve done, but—”

  His intake of breath was brief before he reached toward her, but it was too late; she clapped her hands together and power swept through the room.

  Chapter 39

  Phoenix

  Phoenix’s eyes grew wide as he stared in horror at the unconscious bodies scattered on the living room floor of the witches’ cottage. And he knew they were only unconscious—not dead—because he was breathing and Mena was still standing, but all the others, besides the witches, were out cold.

  “What did you do to them?” he finally managed to say.

  “Quiet, vampire. I had to make it believable,” Meridia said as she closed the distance between herself and Mena then brought her hands up to place on either side of Mena’s face. After drawing in and letting out a relieved breath, she nodded. “The wolf is asleep, too. We don’t have long, maybe five minutes, at best, before she and everyone else wakes up, so we have to make this fast. Mena, dear, I’ve put a block on this conversation, so your wolf won’t know what is said here unless you deliberately think about it. Let Phoenix and the few pack members you are linked to try and fix this. I left you conscious because I felt you had a right to know what your fate may be if their efforts fail.” Angling her head toward another room in the house, she spoke to her sisters. “One of you bring me a wolf’s bane elixir.”

  Mena blinked in confusion. “What—what has happened? I don’t understand.”

  Meridia huffed as she hurriedly spoke to Phoenix. “Only anot
her Alpha wolf can find out what the wolf has named herself. When the time is right, Phoenix will give you the elixir to drink. It will only put your wolf to sleep long enough for you to do what is necessary to save yourself.”

  “What?” Phoenix shouted in disbelief. “We’ll never find an Alpha willing to cooperate with her pack and my clan. There has to be another way, Meridia. Find another way.”

  “What my wolf is named? Somebody help me understand what’s going on, please,” Mena said, and Phoenix sighed as he raised his hands and placed them gently on her shoulders, desperately trying to calm the racing blood in his veins so he could explain that there was absolutely no hope of a future for any of them.

  “Mena, I’m so sorry, baby. Your pack forgot to tell you that you had to name the beast inside you within two nights or she would begin to take over. So much was going on, and they simply forgot to mention it. Now it’s too late. Your wolf is taking over your body, and you have to call out her name by the next full moon or you’ll be locked inside your head forever. If she succeeds, she’ll be a Moonrising Alpha and will be able to pretty much take over the world in a matter of weeks.”

  Mena’s eyes grew wide as the realization hit her at full force. “I knew it! She was being so shady and secretive, and she refused to talk to me when I asked her direct questions. She can’t have my body, Phoenix. I have to do something.” She looked at the three witches as the blonde one handed Phoenix a small purple bottle. “What has to be done? I won’t let her do this,” she said, determination filling her tone. She grabbed Meridia by the arms and pleaded as tears filled her eyes. “Tell me!”

  “I’ll do everything I can, Mena,” Phoenix said. “You know I will, but it is going to be difficult to get another Alpha to agree to even come and try.”