She sat there and stared at the back of the wine shop. Something big and obviously terrible was about to go down, and Ben was clearly right smack in the middle.
She didn’t want to run away. She wanted to help. Except he was refusing to let her.
The next best thing? Go to the alpha.
Chapter Seven
He should get out to the caves where Vape and his minions were likely making preparations to attack the Dark Moon pack, before he was missed, but Ben’s priorities would always be with his own pack. Even if he was putting his own life in danger. Hell, he did that every day. Had for the past five years.
Sure, this was a tad different; he was disobeying a direct order from Vape. If he died as a result, hopefully, the rest of the pack would survive.
Ben waited until he was right next to Elias’s garage to shift into human form, and then he picked the lock and slid inside.
He wove his way through tool boxes and truck parts and garbage cans and Rubbermaid bins with “Christmas” scrawled across the top in black Sharpie, and then he beat on the door leading into the house until the alpha himself flung it open.
The furious look on the man’s face morphed into surprise. “Ben. What are you doing here?”
“Ben?” he heard a high-pitched voice say. And then Hannah’s face popped into view next to Elias’s shoulder.
Why couldn’t the damn woman follow a simple freaking direction?
“What are you doing here?” she asked, repeating Elias’s question.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.
Elias pulled the door open wider. “Come on in, Ben.”
He stepped into the kitchen, glaring at Hannah as he brushed past her. “What happened to leaving town?” he practically snarled at her.
“You’re lucky I can tell that your snippiness is a result of fear for my safety,” she replied.
“Snippiness?”
“Stop it, both of you,” Elias cut in. “Now, Ben, I take it you have something to report?”
Ben glanced at Hannah. “She needs to leave first.”
Elias sighed. “Ben, I think you’re underestimating Hannah. I know I certainly have been these past two years. She can be an asset in this—”
“No. Absolutely not. I’m not putting her into danger.”
“That’s not your decision to make,” Hannah annoyingly pointed out.
It should be, though. If she were his mate, he’d have every right to ensure she was safe.
Wait. Whoa. He didn’t want a mate. His lifestyle was far too dangerous to even consider—
“She’s right,” Elias said.
“Huh?”
Elias waved at Hannah. “You don’t get to make decisions for her. Let her make her own choices.”
“Son of a—” Ben flung his hands into the air. “Fine. You want to know what’s going on? We’re dealing with a pack of rogue shifters, Hannah. A very dangerous pack. They’re the largest one on the freaking continent right now, and their leader has been traveling around the country, recruiting shifters to strengthen his numbers—”
“Vape,” she whispered, her face going so pale she could pass for a ghost.
Ben grabbed onto her arm, in case she needed help staying upright. And then he snatched his hand away. “Wait. How do you know Vape?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know him. I know of him.”
“What?” How the fuck was she connected to Vape and his crew?
Elias shoved a glass full of clear liquid into her hand. She lifted it to her lips and chugged. Hopefully, it was water and not vodka.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Thanks.” And then she sucked in a deep breath, blew it out, and said, “Vape killed my brother.”
Ben exchanged a quick glance with Elias. “So that’s what happened.”
Hannah narrowed her eyes. “What am I missing?”
“Ben asked about you the other day,” Elias answered. “I told him you’d moved here after your brother died, but I didn’t know how it happened.”
“You asked Elias about me?”
“He’s the only person in the pack I currently talk to.”
“Speaking of that,” Hannah said, crossing her arms. “Why don’t you explain?”
“That’s what I was trying to do,” Ben snapped back.
She rolled her eyes.
“Anyway, he’s here. Vape and his crew. And they’re probably twice as big and strong as when they killed your brother.”
Hannah grabbed Elias’s arm. “He’s going to try to recruit all the young, strong shifters from the pack. You need to warn them. You need to—”
“That’s not exactly the problem anymore,” Ben interrupted. She turned her focus from Elias to him. “He’s decided to take over Dark Moon Falls. He wants to settle down here.”
Hannah flung herself back around to face Elias. “Oh gods, you’re in danger. We need to get you out of here. He’s going to come after you first—”
Elias glanced over her head at Ben. “She’s definitely not as naïve as I thought. Although, Hannah, you should know that I have no intention of abandoning my pack, and I’m a little insulted that you think I would.”
“Sorry,” she said meekly. “I was just thinking about your safety.”
Gods above, Ben loved this woman.
Holy shit. Now? This was the moment he had such an earth-shattering revelation?
He shook his head.
“What?” Hannah asked, like she tuned into his inner thoughts. Although, frankly, his thoughts were pretty muddled at the moment, so he wasn’t worried that she’d figure out what he was thinking.
“Hang on,” she said, her attention returned to the issue at hand. “How do you know all this?”
Ben raked his hand through his hair. For five years, he’d not breathed a word of his assignment to anyone. Never let them in.
“I’m part of Vape’s pack.”
“What?” She took several steps backward, until she bumped into the kitchen table. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open, her body so tense he was half afraid she might shatter.
Elias gave his shoulder a shove. “You need to work on your communication skills, man.”
And then Hannah ran.
Chapter Eight
Hannah ripped open the door and dove into her truck, her shaking hands fumbling as she shoved the key into the starter and cranked. She glanced into the rearview mirror and watched Elias and Ben struggle to get through the door at the same time, but obviously two fully grown men who were rather beefy and musclebound couldn’t quite make it work, so Elias finally conceded and let Ben go first.
She pressed the gas and tore the hell out of here, not even a little bit ashamed by the fact that she sprayed gravel and dust in Ben’s face as she did so.
Ben was rogue.
She had not seen that one coming. Especially since he said he was from here, her safe haven. The place she’d only just begun to think of as her home.
Ben said he was from the Dark Moon pack.
Then again, her ex had once been part of a real pack, too. Not anymore. When she’d run away from Chicago, he’d been pretty high up in Vape’s organization.
Why the hell was Ben at Elias’s house?
Oh gods, was Ben, too, in town looking to recruit the strongest of the pack, to convince them that they should join Vape’s crew of misfit and highly dangerous shifters?
Her thoughts bounced over each of the names of individuals from Dark Moon Falls she’d met, had become acquainted with, had begun to think of as friends… If Vape got ahold of them, they’d all be dead, just like her brother. Or they’d become betrayers, like Ben and her ex.
She squeezed the steering wheel and clenched her teeth while staring at the road, willing her foot to press harder on the gas pedal.
She’d discovered Dark Moon Falls while she’d been trying to put her past behind her, to start fresh. Starting over did not mean returning to the exact same situation she�
�d left in the first place. She did not want to be around to watch someone else she cared about die.
Not that she’d seen her brother’s death, thank the gods. She’d only heard about it secondhand. Durango had informed her, after he’d lured her baby brother into Vape’s clutches.
And he hadn’t made it through the hazing ritual required to prove they were worthy of joining the pack.
Hannah’s grip on the steering wheel tightened until she was afraid she would break the damn thing. She forced herself to ease up. She didn’t need to end up stranded only a few miles out of town because she couldn’t control her emotions.
Ben had betrayed her.
Okay, technically, he hadn’t. She’d never told him about her aversion to rogue shifters. Hell, they hadn’t known each other long enough to divulge such personal information.
Even though they’d slept together. But that was physical attraction, straight-up lust.
Although it had certainly felt like a whole hell of a lot more than pure pheromones.
And none of that mattered anyway. He was a rogue shifter, and that was a deal breaker. She couldn’t betray her brother’s memory by falling for a rogue.
Again.
Damn it, someone needed to destroy Vape and his cronies so other shifters would not be lured into the fold.
Could Elias and his pack do it? Maybe.
Especially if the witch’s coven helped.
And Hannah.
She didn’t have any experience fighting a war—and this most definitely qualified as such—but she had a secret weapon: Durango.
She knew him, had a history with him. Hell, the Dark Moon pack didn’t have any concept of how strong the man was, let alone that he was even in town.
Hannah could warn them and then brainstorm ways to take him down. Because one thing was certain: if they wanted to destroy Vape’s pack, they were going to have to destroy his strongest, scariest member.
She made a U-turn.
Chapter Nine
Ben summoned the magic, demanding his body change from human to wolf form so he could race after Hannah. As if somehow he would be able to keep up with her as she sped away in her vehicle. He wasn’t thinking rationally, clearly. He only wanted to go after her, to stop her so he could explain.
I’m not who you think I am. But we still can’t have a relationship, because regardless of what happens in Dark Moon Falls over the next few days, I’ll leave again. I don’t have a choice.
Which wasn’t exactly true, and he damn well knew it. If by some miracle they managed to save Dark Moon Falls from Vape, Ben could retire from being Elias’s spy. He could settle down, live a normal shifter’s life.
Of course, saving Dark Moon Falls was a gigantic if. Vape had the means, he had the desire, he had the strength; he was practically unstoppable.
Something grabbed the scruff of Ben’s neck, causing him to yelp.
“Shift back,” Elias demanded, not letting go as Ben struggled to get out of his grasp.
After a few tense seconds, he did as his alpha commanded. Elias didn’t relax his hold until Ben had fully returned to human form.
Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “What was that for?”
“Let her go,” Elias said, pointing at the now empty driveway where Hannah had taken off like a bat out of hell. “We need to figure out how to save this pack first. Then you can go after her.”
Ben refused to say it out loud, but Elias was right. Anywhere but Dark Moon Falls was the safest place for her at the moment. Apparently taking his silence as assent, Elias continued.
“I need to summon the pack. We need to prepare to fight. I need to get our young and elderly and anyone who can’t fight to a safe location. How much time do we have?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I missed the strategizing meeting.”
“What does that mean, in terms of your safety?”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “Vape isn’t the forgiving type, and he definitely won’t go easy on his followers. Especially someone as high up in the organization as I am."
“So you shouldn’t go back?”
“I don’t know. If he’s figured out that I’m from here, that I’m still loyal to you, I’ll probably be executed as soon as I reached the first checkpoint.”
“Damn it,” Elias muttered. “Okay, so we do this without a man on the inside. Tomorrow night is the full moon. That’s a safe bet. They’ll think it’ll be easier for them to sneak into town without being seen. If it were me, that’s when I’d attack.” He glanced at Ben. “We need to reach out to the coven. This isn’t their war, but I’m going to ask for their help. I’m sure they’d rather not have Vape’s pack as new neighbors.”
Ben smacked his own head. “Witches.”
Elias stared at him, probably thinking he’d lost his marbles.
He shook his head. “Witches are Vape’s weakness. He’s deathly afraid of them. Well, he’d say he hates them, but that hate is emotional. That’s our secret weapon.”
“Okay, head out to the farm. Tell Natalia and Lyall what’s going on. Natalia will ask the coven for their help. Hopefully, the high priestess will agree to fight with us. Meanwhile, I’ll start making calls, summoning everyone to a pack meeting. Keep your head down. I’d rather you survive and have a chance to hang out like the rest of us boring old shmucks.”
How funny; that was exactly how Ben himself had described life in Dark Moon Falls. Being a boring old shmuck sounded like a damn fine plan, frankly.
Grabbing his alpha’s arm, he said, “If…if something goes wrong, find Hannah, make sure she’s okay. Take care of her. Will you do that for me?”
Elias gave him a curt nod. “Of course.”
This time, when Ben shifted, Elias didn’t stop him. He took off at a run, heading toward Natalia and Lyall’s farm instead of down the road, chasing after Hannah.
I’ll find her, he vowed. If I make it out of this thing alive.
* * *
Hannah’s truck was parked in the driveway when Ben arrived at the herb farm. He shifted back to human form. “Son of a bitch, does that woman ever listen?”
Stomping up to the door, he beat on it with his fist, too furious over her lack of consideration for her own safety to care that he was rattling the whole damn house with his pounding.
Lyall flung open the door, his face dark with fury. “I thought you were my friend,” he said, and then he swung, clocking Ben in the jaw and sending him flying backward until he slammed into the porch railing. The wood splintered under the impact and he crashed through, tumbling into the damp grass next to the steps.
“Fuck,” he snarled while he sat on the ground and rubbed his swelling jaw.
“Get the hell off our land,” Lyall bellowed.
“I take it Hannah told you,” Ben said wearily. Damn, his friend had a hell of a right hook.
“Yeah, you traitor. Now get the fuck out of here before I hit you again.”
Hannah and Natalia stood in the doorway, watching their exchange. Natalia’s look was calculated, like she was working out some sort of spell in her head, probably something terrible to zap him with, while Hannah looked…what was that in her eyes? Hurt?
Of course it was. They hadn’t known each other long, but there was no denying there was something between them. The fact that she could see him when he was deliberately hiding himself from the world was proof enough. But then add in the way they’d made love, the forceful urge he’d had to bite her, to mate with her—that wasn’t just a physical attraction. That was the gods, telling him that he and Hannah were meant to be. They’d kept him from mating with Felicia even when he’d believed she was carrying his child, and then they’d made it damn near impossible not to mate with Hannah.
Except their timing seriously sucked.
“Natalia! Natalia!” A witch with dark skin and multi-colored braids trailing behind her came rushing around the corner of the house. “The coven is in danger!” She came to a halt and bent at the waist, g
asping for breath. Had the woman run all the way from the coven? That had to be well over a mile, cross-country.
Natalia hurried down the steps to the woman’s side, wrapping an arm around her while asking, “What’s wrong?”
Between gasps, the witch said, “Danger. Luna. She had a vision.”
Few witches had the Sight. Many, with practice, could use herbs and candles and incantations to conjure vague imprints of the past and sometimes even the future. Luna was an exception. Ben knew her; they’d gone to school together. She was the only witch he was aware of who had full-blown visions of what was to come.
Unfortunately, even her vivid visions were often hard to decipher. The gods never bestowed gifts that were easy to use.
“What was it?” Natalia asked. “What did she see?”
The other witch straightened and gave Ben a curious look before saying, “A shifter. Male. With long, stringy hair. Dark skin. And a beard, but only on his chin. Black eyes. Full lips. Massive arms. An evil smile.”
Vape.
“What about him?” Natalia prodded.
“He’s coming to kill us.” She glanced up at the fading sun. “Tonight.”
Shit, there wasn’t enough time for Elias to prepare for battle. Plus, the alpha was going on the assumption that the attack would happen tomorrow.
Ben had to get back to him, to warn him. There was precious little time.
He stood, wiped at the blood dribbling from the side of his mouth, and with one last glance at Hannah, he shifted into wolf form and took off.
The fastest way back to Elias’s house was through the valley next to the mountain where Vape had taken up residence. It was dangerous, now that Ben was certain he was on Vape’s most wanted list, but with time fast ticking away, he took a gamble.
“Hey,” Durango called out as Ben rushed past him.
And struck out.
He considered not stopping, but that would raise even more suspicion, which might make Vape decide to attack even sooner. So he reluctantly shifted back to his human form.
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 54