Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2

by Bella Roccaforte

  Smiling, she traced a finger down the center of his shirt, feeling his body his through the thin cotton. “I’ll go message her.”

  * * *

  Teri watched Vicky walk into the living room and set the puzzle box on the coffee table before picking up her phone to send Scarlett a text. After a few moments, she glanced up and smiled. Her jade green eyes brightened. He hardened and fought the urge to drag her to the bedroom.

  Tearing his eyes from hers, he grabbed three beers. When he rounded the kitchen island, Vicky said, “Scarlett doesn’t drink. You can grab her a water.”

  Good to know. By the time he replaced one of the beers with a bottle of water, Scarlett materialized in the living room holding a couple of boxes of pizza. She waved at Teri as she sat beside Vicky.

  When Scarlett set the pizza on the coffee table, she noticed the puzzle box. Her long blonde braid fell over her shoulder as she reached and picked up the box. “Is this it?”

  “Yeah. It has some markings I’ve never seen before.” Vicky opened one of the pizza boxes.

  Teri took a seat in the armchair across from the females, handing Vicky her beer and Scarlett her water.

  Without taking her eyes off the puzzle box, Scarlett took the water and said, “Thanks.”

  The Gifted in general had a youthful appearance, but Scarlett seemed to be the youngest of the four that lived in the Kensington mansion. Her heart-shaped face, the dimples that materialized when she smiled or laughed, and her big brown eyes made her appear more innocent. And not the powerful, alpha female she was.

  Scarlett was also clairvoyant. She not only saw the future in her visions, but the past and sometimes the present. Teri didn’t know what her limitations were. The possibility that whatever was in the box could have been put there outside of Scarlett’s visionary scope. If there was a such thing.

  Sitting back, Scarlett held the box in her hand stared at it for a long moment before she closed her eyes.

  Teri grabbed a slice of pizza and met Vicky’s gaze. “How far back in time can she see?”

  “Not sure. None of us have ever pushed our powers to their limits. There was no need to. We train to protect ourselves but that’s it.” Vicky took a bite of her pizza.

  Scarlett started moving her hands over the box without opening her eyes. A jolt of excitement and hope flared inside Teri as he watched her. She pushed in one section while pulling out another section. Then she turned the box to do it again. Her hands started moving too fast for him to track what she was doing.

  A moment later the box clicked open. Scarlett opened her eyes and looked inside. Vicky moved closer to her until the female’s heads were pressed together. Vicky frowned and pulled out a piece of paper. “Coordinates.”

  Teri growled. “This is turning out to be a scavenger hunt. Or a trap.”

  Scarlett shook her head. “The coordinates lead to the sunstone for sure. I saw it. Whoever hid the stones didn’t want anyone to get them without working for it.”

  That was his guess as well. Still the frustration that they were being led on a wild chase that could bring more danger to them all settled deep in his bones. The fact that Vicky was exposed to that danger put him and his wolf on edge.

  They wanted their mate sheltered and protected. yet, Vicky was to strong willed and stubborn to allow him to lock her somewhere.

  “We’ll go get the stone in the morning. I’ll call in the team to go with us so if we do walk into a trap, we have backup.” Teri focused on Vicky. Even though she nodded, he could tell her thoughts had drifted to something else. “What is it?”

  She glanced to Scarlett then back to him. “Bill selling his soul to a demon still bugs me. Something is nagging at me like the whole situation with Mary is connected somehow.”

  Scarlett looked between the two of them with a confused expression. Teri filled her in on Mary’s kidnapping and discovering that Bill sold his soul a demon. “I agree it is odd that Bill would do that. What I know about Bill is that he was born in the pack and lost his parents at a young age and was raised by his grandmother, who passed away a year ago. He’s always been a loner, but that doesn’t always mean he would go rogue.”

  “But something happened to make him get desperate.” Vicky took a drink of her beer and sat back into the couch.

  In a matter of fact tone, Scarlett asked, “Do you have access to Bill’s house? I could see if there is anything there I could pick up on his past and see if there is a connection.”

  Bobbing his head up and down, Teri pulled out his phone and sent a text to Luca. The male was supposed to go through Bill’s place for clues. Usually they didn’t go into investing why a wolf turned rogue. They hunted them down and eliminated the threat. Bill’s case hadn’t sat well with any of the hunters.

  Luca texted back within seconds. Hadn’t gone over there yet. You going?

  Teri: Yeah. Meet me there.

  Luca replied with a thumb’s up emoji.

  Terri slid his phone back in his pocket. “Luca’s going to meet us there.”

  Vicky stood and picked up the pizza boxes. “I’ll put these in the fridge, and we can leave.”

  Teri took the pizza from her and put it in the fridge before they headed out. He hoped there were some answers to be found. Then again, dread churned inside him on what the information would be. The fear that whatever they would find would put Mary’s life in more danger.

  He prayed that he was just being paranoid and the whole kidnapping was because Bill was crazy.

  Chapter Six

  A small cabin came into view as Vicky stepped off the narrow road and on to a gravel driveway. The cabin was in good shape. The exterior looked like it was just cleaned, and the roof looked new. It surely didn’t look like a home where a rogue lived.

  Then again, she didn’t believe Bill was a rogue, not until the demon gained his soul.

  The sound of leaves crunching made her, Teri, and Scarlett whirl around. Luca moved down the driveway behind them. His face was in the shadows so she couldn’t see his expression. However, the way he prowled closer with his shoulders stiff told her he was tense for some reason.

  Scarlett let out a low growl before she turned and headed to the house. Vicky met Teri’s stare while keeping her features void of emotion. Teri, however, didn’t hide his amusement. Moving closer to her, he chuckled while saying, “This should be fun.”

  When Luca joined them, he jerked his head toward Scarlett, who was entering the cabin. “What is she doing here?”

  Yeah, Teri was right. It was going to be fun. “Scarlett can tell us why Bill sold his soul.”

  Luca grunted and walked pass them. Vicky smiled and teleported to the middle of the living room. The first thing she noticed was the fading scent of the soulsucker. “I’ve never understood why they smell so bad.”

  Scarlett crinkled her nose as she moved around the room with her hand hovering over the furniture. “Because they are rotting, soul stealing bastards.”

  Waiting for Scarlett to do her thing and pick up on energy left behind by either Bill or the demon or both. Vicky turned to the windows and with a wave of her hand she willed them to open.

  Scarlett, being connected with the element air, swirled her fingers while flicking her wrist. Soon, a cool breeze blew into the room, making the smell a little more bearable.

  When Scarlett was done in the living room, she went down the hallway. Vicky didn’t follow because she spotted a small desk in the corner of living room next to the bay widow that looked out into the backyard.

  She spotted Luca moving to the opening of the hallway as if standing guard. Silently laughing, she focused back on the desk and opened drawers, searching for anything that would make since of the whole situation.

  Every drawer she opened so far was empty, so she didn’t expect anything to be in the final one. When she opened it, she froze. A file folder laid inside. After a quick glance at Teri, she picked it up and set it on top of the desk.

  “Scarlett,” called
out to the other Gifted. Vicky didn’t want to open it and put more of her emotion and magical energy on the folder before Scarlett could get a read on it.

  Scarlett materialized beside her. “What did you find?”

  Vicky pointed to the folder, and Scarlett studied it briefly before picking it up. She held it for several seconds before putting it back down on the desk. Then she turned to Teri. “Is Mary a Gifted?”

  Frowning, Teri shook his head. “She’s human.”

  “The demon believed she was and that she has the sapphire, the air stone. There must be someone in her family who either is Gifted or found the stone somehow.” Scarlett opened the file. The only things inside were a photo of Mary and a single sheet of paper.

  Vicky picked up the photo and searched it, taking in every detail. It was of Mary’s high school graduation a few years ago. She was laughing but not looking directly at the camera. Her features were lit up with hope, love, and excitement.

  “Look,” Scarlett said and pointed to the clip in Mary’s hair. It was a silver butterfly and the body was a sapphire.

  Meeting Scarlett’s brown depths, Vicky asked, “Do you think that’s it?”

  “I do.”

  “I’ll call Shane to see if Mary still has that barrette.” Teri pulled out his phone. Both of the females glanced at him and nodded.

  Luca moved closer, but not too close. all the while, he kept his eyes on Scarlett like she was going bite him. Which she would if he asked her to. The thought almost made Vicky giggle, but she refrained. It was so hard to not tease the two of them. It was obvious they were attracted to each other. Why were they fighting it?

  Leaving them to stare and growl at each other, Vicky crossed the room to Teri, who was on the phone with Shane.

  When she got within arm’s reach, Teri snaked one of his around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. Their body heat melted together, stirring a desire in her core.

  Shane answered on the third ring, “Either you have news for me or your bored.”

  Teri chuckled although there wasn’t much humor in it. “Have you heard of the Gifted?”

  The vampires who protected the Gifted kept their existence somewhat a secret. There weren’t many Gifted still alive because they used to be hunted out of fear of their powers. Nowadays, only the families and bloodlines with Gifted in them knew about them. Others figured they were legends and myths.

  “I’ve heard rumors and whispers when I was younger. My grandmother used to talk about them, and Mom would play it off as it was stories.” Shane paused, then asked, “Why do you ask?”

  “What do you believe?”

  Shane sighed. “I wasn’t sure. Grams said her mother was a Gifted. I asked once why she wasn’t a vampire or why Mom wasn’t. Grams said not all Gifted were vamps and that because my great grandmother had married a human, the magic that would pass down had died. I never understood any of what she said. I loved her, but always thought she was a little crazy.”

  There was a hesitation in his tone and something else that gave Vicky the impression that Shane hadn’t fully dismissed what his Grams said was made up. Teri must have sensed the same thing because he asked, “Do you really believe that?”

  “When Levi started dating Aimee, I know she was more than just a vampire. But you guys were my friends and I trusted that you’d tell me what I needed to know. Plus I had no reason not to trust Aimee or any of you. Paranormal beings are secretive. It was something I learned to accept as the human in our group.” Shane chuckled and Vicky could almost see him shrug.

  “We are over at Bill’s place and found a photo of Mary from graduation. She was wearing a butterfly hair clip with the sapphire as the body. Does she still have that?” Teri tightened his fingers into Vicky’s waist, not painfully, just in anticipation of Shane’s answer. She wrapped both her arms around his waist.

  Shane said, “Yes. It was my great grandmother’s so Mary only wears it on special occasions. We keep it in the safe.”

  Relief shuttered through Teri and Vicky blow out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Thank the gods!

  “I’ll have Kit come over in the morning to collect it and explain why we need it and how it relates to Bill. I will say that your grandmother wasn’t crazy, Aimee was a Gifted and so is Levi’s daughter, and from what you said, you and Mary come from a Gifted bloodline.” Teri paused as if giving Shane time to absorb everything.

  After a few seconds, Shane said, “You might as well have him come over now. It’s not like I’ll be sleeping tonight anyway.”

  “Okay, I’ll text him. He should be there in a few.” Teri hung up and pocketed his phone.

  Vicky rose on her toes and kissed him. “Two stones down, three to go.”

  “We leave in the morning to collect the Sunstone.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I can’t shake the bad feeling about what we’ll be walking into.”

  Scarlett joined them. “I’ll come with you. I didn’t get warm and fuzzies from the puzzle box. I can try to see the future, but I doubt the magic surrounding it will let me.”

  Which meant they were going in blind. Vicky hoped they were being paranoid, but she sensed something dark mixed in with the magic from the box. It was like the universe was trying to warn them, prepare them for what awaits them.

  Chapter Seven

  Teri really hated the teleporting thing. However, it was the fastest way to travel. Levi, Samira, and Luca left the night before, traveling by SUV to the coordinates. They chose to drive because Luca refused to be ported to the location and Levi mentioned they would need the SUV if it was truly a trap.

  They materialized outside what looked like a temple. Well, what was left of a temple. he glanced at Vicky. “Another library?”

  “It’s hard to tell. How far away are they?”

  Teri glanced at GPS tracker on his phone. “Five minutes maybe.”

  Vicky took his hand and moved toward the temple. Scarlett materialized behind them at that moment. “Magical rooms are so creepy.”

  Teri glanced at her then to Vicky, who shook her head. “Scarlett is being dramatic.”

  Vicky climbed the three steps at the front of the temple then moved across the concrete slab. Nothing happened. “Was it supposed to change or something?”

  “Like I said, it’s hard to tell.” She stopped in the center of the ruins and scanned the area.

  Scarlett entered and gasped as she stood frozen in place. She was looking off to her right. The hairs on Teri’s arms stood on end. “What’s going on?”

  “Part of being a clairvoyant is seeing ghosts and communicating with them,” Vicky explained and then added, “Seeing one always surprises Scarlett. You’d think she’d be used to it by now.”

  “Ghosts pop in and a lot of them are…disturbing to look at.” Scarlett moved to the far side of the temple and began talking with someone. After a while, she returned holding quarter-size raw sunstone.

  “So the ghost just gave it to you?” Teri asked.

  Scarlett handed the stone to Vicky. “He revealed it to me. That corner actually enters another dimension, but only he had the key to it.”

  Frowning Teri glanced around at the sound of the SUV rolling toward them in the narrow dirt road. He was about to tell them to turn around and have the females teleport him out of there when a group of demons materialized outside the temple, surrounding them.

  Teri snarled, stepping in front of Vicky, who at the same time twisted and pressed her back to his. The SUV skidded to a stop, sliding on the hard dirt and gravel. Instantly the three hunters inside jumped out and shifted into their wolf forms. They each took a demon down.

  Charging forward, Teri shifted his hands into claws and sliced across one demon’s throat and catching another across the chest. He felt the pulse of magic at his back and guessed the two Gifted were tag-teaming a few demons of their own. As much as he wanted to protect Vicky, he trusted…no knew she was strong enough to fight. In fact each of the Gifted were deadly
in their own way.

  A quick glance reassured him Vicky was holding her own. It also cost him. Pain exploded in the side of his head and he staggered back a few steps. Shaking off the ache in is jaw and skull, he growled and clocked the demon in the jaw, then punched him in the stomach. Teri kept hitting him, forcing him to back up with each hit.

  Fury race in his blood as he delivered the killing blow. When the demon fell in a heap on the ground, Teri shifted into his wolf and joined the other hunters, tearing into what was left of the bastards.

  * * *

  Vicky whirled and kicked out, hitting the demon in the stomach. He flew backwards a few feet, so she threw a fireball at him before he touched down. Beside her Scarlett was using her earth magic to create large boulders and throwing them at the demons.

  Glancing at Teri, Vicky debated on rushing over to help him eliminate the demons. But her strong, beautiful wolf didn’t needed her help. He and the hunters now outnumbered their opponents.

  Her and Scarlett, however, were facing four of the fuckers. Throwing a fireball at two of them, Vicky gathered her magic to blast them with an energy ball. Suddenly, Scarlett cried out and was thrown across the temple ruins.

  “Scarlett!” Vicky went to rush to her but couldn’t move. Her magic that she called to moments ago was no longer there. What the hell was going on?

  She heard her name and someone else was calling out to Scarlett. When she turned her head to the voices, she locked eyes with Teri, now in his human form, and the world around her faded away.

  She materialized inside a room with very little furniture. She’d guessed it was a one room house like the one they found Mary in. Only the one Vicky was in was a lot cleaner. And it was surrounded with demonic magic that prevented her from using her own power.

  “As much as I loved the show, I couldn’t allow you to kill all my demons.”

  She whirled around, facing the voice. Narrowing her gaze, she crossed her arms. “I doubt your army of minions is that weak.”