The Moon Shadow : The Wolfrik Trilogy | Book 1

by K. Rea

  Run, mo ghràdh, close the bond. The whispered plea echoed through the bond with desperate love. Alex threw Aiden’s pack through the window with vampire strength. The glass exploded into a million shards of glittering multicolored light. The crack of bone echoed through the hall, followed by Aiden’s snarl of pain. Alex leaped through the window, pulling me with him. We fell, leaving the seething vampires behind us.

  THIRTY - THREE

  The star jasmine did little to cushion our fall. I couldn’t move at first. My shoulder throbbed from the healing knife wound. Alex stood and pulled his mask off. He removed my pistol from the pack and handed it to me.

  “We need to get to the woods,” Alex said.

  “We need to help Aiden; they’re going to burn him!” I whispered; Alex’s shoulders fell.

  “I’ve done all I can from here, we need to hide now. The Court of Light abandoned him years ago, and the Court of Darkness refused my bargain. At least Bishop made himself scarce as promised,” Alex said.

  “May the Goddess grant my brother peace and mercy.” Alex said, turning away.

  “It can’t be that simple, that black and white. Why are you here if you’re not going to save him? How did you know I’ll be here?” I asked as I followed him silently out of the bushes.

  “Ruby saw it; her gift is specific. She can see visions of the past and future tied to any weapon she touches. She packed this bag, knowing every weapon inside it would be useful. She packs all our weapons and travel bags,” Alex explained. “She can’t see everything though, only the weapons and the pain they inflict. Aiden has carried this bag since the ceremony knowing that violence was waiting around the corner.”

  “So, Ruby packed a bag that doesn’t explain you being here. Why are you here?” I asked again.

  “Aiden loved you. Right after we brought you here, he and I fought. I wrote you off as another angry wolf. He told me he thought you could have been his mate in another life. After a bit of tough love, I agreed to help him. Or at least try to keep you out of trouble, alive, and away from Court.” Alex explained. “Aiden saved me from becoming my father decades ago. He taught me how to live at this damn Court, act the part and still save innocents. We created projects like Rose Hall for that purpose, but he gave it all up ‒ for you.”

  “I owed it to him to save you, even from yourself,” Alex said. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me through vines and branches toward a wolf tree. The tree where I was supposed to meet Jude was on the other side of the complex.

  “We can’t let him burn,” I said. I pulled my wrist from Alex’s. He turned on me. His face twisted in anger; his eyes full unshed of tears.

  “We can and we will because that is all that we can do. Ruby saw it the first time she touched the stone pillar. Cleo saw it. Every seer that has ever seen Aiden’s future only sees three paths, and they all end the same. In flames and darkness. He was supposed to burn the day he was born; he will burn the day he dies. Aiden knew this; he accepted it,” Alex said. He ran his hand through his blond hair. It was loose around his shoulders, and he looked wild and in pain. The playboy prince shattered; he already mourned his brother as a forgone conclusion.

  “Can you take me to him? We don’t have to be close, but I won’t let him die alone,” I whispered. Alex nodded dejectedly. He turned away from the woods.

  “Can you shift?” Alex asked, eyeing the band around my neck. I nodded.

  “You are faster as a wolf. We need to move quickly,” Alex said. I handed him my weapon and shifted.

  Alex blurred between the trees, I followed him from shadow to shadow. That crisp apple scent leaving a trail easy to follow even as he became nearly invisible in the fading afternoon sun. Sunset was fast approaching. We skirted around the entrance and by the garage. Most of the doors were open, and almost all the cars were gone.

  “Come on, she-wolf,” Alex whispered, the sound carrying on the wind. He stood next to the palace, checking the roofline repeatedly. I ran to his side and shifted back.

  “Where are the guards?” I asked.

  “Most of our external guards were part of the werewolf clans that rebelled, Gaius banished the others until loyalties could be proven. Few vampires live at court, and those that do aren’t trained or would never dirty their hands with something like guard work. Any guards left are young and untrained, or they’re not vampires,” Alex explained.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “To the stone, it’s in a large courtyard on the backside of the palace. We won’t be able to get close, but there’s a servant’s barracks nearby. We can climb it and see everything from the roof,” Alex said, pointing to the end of the wall. A building stood close to it; a few stories tall. It was plain and nestled into the woods.

  “We will have to run for it. There’s not much cover between here and there,” Alex said. “You ready, she-wolf?”

  I shifted and took off running for the building. The grass was soft beneath my paws. Alex was a blur next to me, keeping pace. Then he was ahead of me. I struggled to keep up. Alex reached the corner of the building. He looked back to check on me before he scaled the corner. He made quick work of it, then disappeared onto the rooftop. I made it to the base of the building and shifted. The sound of snarling and fighting echoed from the rooftop.

  I ran my hands along the bricks, looking for a way to scale the wall like Alex. My fingers brushed against the smallest hand-holds. Freshly made, bits of debris came away in my hands. Alex had literally clawed his way to the top. I follow his example; I shifted my hands into claws and followed his path up. I flipped myself over the edge of the roof.

  “You took your time,” Alex huffed, his hands on his knees. Three bodies lay on the roof, their heads turned unnaturally.

  “Are they dead?” I asked, careful not to walk over their bodies. Alex shook his head.

  “No, paralyzed. They’re vampires; they’ll heal in a day or so.” Alex picked up one body and threw it off the building, and a gasp escaped my lips.

  “They’ll be fine, few things kill a vampire,” Alex quipped before he went a little gray. He quickly threw the next two incapacitated guards off the rooftop. “We don’t need them listening in.”

  I walked to the edge of the roof; we had an unobstructed view of a courtyard. It was large, old, and mostly stone. The courtyard had been shaped like an arena, including stone seating. There was already an audience waiting in silence. In the center, though, was a large rock. It was as tall as most of the small trees in the area. It was black as soot, but it shined in the dimming sunlight. It could have been mistaken for a monument except for the chains draped around it and the wood stacked at its base.

  We watched as vampires piled more and more wood at the base of the stone. Then the sound of beaten drums echoed. A procession of guards and people walked through a set of double doors thrown wide. Gaius walked through; his head held high. He had changed his clothes; he wore a black shirt and pants. He looked paler than the last time I had seen him. His right arm was in a sling. Abigail followed behind him in a matching black dress. The drums continued.

  “I can’t believe she’s attached herself to him,” I whispered.

  “It’s not him she’s after. She’s power hungry, it’s why her people sent her here. To get rid of her. She would do anything for a crown of her own. She’ll never be queen,” Alex mumbled. “I’m pretty sure she killed my mother.”

  “What happened to your mother -” the question faltered on my lips. The sound of the drums grew even louder, faster. Two guards dragged Aiden by his arms down past Gaius to the stone. He barely struggled. He didn’t stand, kick or flail. The only sign he was resisting was the twisting of his arms and his fangs clenched around the gag they’d put in his mouth.

  “Why isn’t he fighting more?” I asked Alex. His face had gone ashen. He swallowed and gripped the edge of the rooftop, bits of stone crumbling under
his clenched fingers.

  “Those fucking bastards,” Alex whispered. “They broke his back. He’s paralyzed.”

  I watched in horror as the guards hoisted him up to the stone. He gripped one by the throat before two more guards came to rescue the guard. They used the chains to strap his body to the rock. They removed the gag from Aiden’s mouth. The guards unfurled more stacks of wood and tinder around Aiden. They poured liquid on the wood; the breeze carried the smell of fuel. I watched as Gaius took a lit torch from the guard that brought it. The invisible drummers’ beat rumbled like unending thunder as the king approached Aiden.

  “It’s a mercy,” Alex whispered, talking to himself. “He won’t feel the flames at first. The druids will call the wind; it will end quickly. The druids won’t let him suffer.”

  The sun set. The sky lit in hues of red, orange, purple, and blues. If looks could kill, the king would be dead. Even from here, as my eyesight adjusted to the dimming light, the fierce, bloodthirsty rage in Aiden’s expression was unmatched. Except for the hate in my heart for the man holding the torch. I must have moved because Alex’s hand gripped my shoulder to hold me in place.

  “There are whispers that the bond you have with my brother is unnatural. Even Aiden thinks so, if you can bring him any peace, please do it,” Alex asked with a whispered plea.

  The king raised the flaming torch as I took down the wall on my side of the bond. The drums stopped; the echo died out. The world stopped except for the crackling, dancing flames at the end of that burning piece of wood. The audience didn’t utter a word. Everything was still for a moment, but for the flickering flame.

  “Aiden Kensley! For your treason, I sentence you to death,” Gaius bellowed, his voice echoing off the stone surroundings.

  “Your wife, Evelyn Wolfrik, will be hunted down to serve her blood debt,” Gaius paused, Aiden’s snarls audible even at this distance. The ruthlessness expressed in that snarl promised if Aiden could get off that stone that Gaius would be a dead man. Entranced by the king, I forgot Alex’s request.

  “From darkness, you were born, from flames, I saved you. May they both take you in their arms again, and darkness damn your soul to the abyss,” Gaius cursed. The crowd gasped, and Gaius threw the torch at Aiden’s feet. As Gaius stepped back, three druids in green stepped forward.

  The wind picked up. The gentle breeze that danced through the wolf trees and jasmine changed. The breeze became a gust. The trees around the stones swayed and bent. The audience clutched their clothing to themselves. Those that were standing struggled against an invisible force. Lady Abigail’s hair came loose and twisted in the wind. Guards staggered, but the druids did not move as if they were stone themselves. The king watched as they fed the flames; they climbed higher.

  I wanted to gnash my teeth and howl. I struggled to keep myself under control. My claws wrapped around the edge of the rooftop. Alex’s fingers dug into my shoulder. A growl slipped through my lips. Aiden’s head fell back against the stone. He sagged against the stone. My breath caught in my throat. I felt warmth through the bond, love, and as if someone knocked on my mind. I let the wall on the bond crumble.

  Are you safe, little wolf? Did Alex get you out? Aiden’s voice echoed in my mind. He shared no pain, no hurt, only love echoed down the bond.

  “Yes, I’m safe,” I said out loud and down the bond.

  Ours is a love made of starlight and shadows, mo ghràdh. I love you. Aiden whispered.

  The Court of Light is coming. Run. Aiden said before a flash of heat raced along the bond so hard it threw me backward. The bond blazed between us for a moment, then went dark. I could hear Aiden roar from the stone. I scrambled to my feet. My heart, my soul screamed; flames covered the stone. Flames whipped around the stone like a tornado; I couldn’t see Aiden’s body anymore.

  Alex grabbed me before I threw myself off the top of the rooftop to run to Aiden. A crack rent the air as the black stone exploded. I heard screams from the audience. A gust of wind plowed into Alex and me, carrying us into the air and off the roof in a cloud of black smoke. I didn’t have time to shift before I fell, but I knew one thing beyond a doubt—the Blood King better be dead.

  Or I was going to kill Gaius myself.

  THIRTY - FOUR

  A creature dragged me into the forest. Black from head to toe, even his eyes. Only the white of his fangs showed against the black soot covering his body. One arm was bent unnaturally, the other hand wrapped tightly around my wrist as he pulled me through the trees. The outline of silver wings tattooed to his back showed through the layer of soot in the dim light. Soot coated my tongue. Through the trees, the sky darkened from twilight to night. The air heavy with the smell of smoke and fire. The occasional thunder rumbled in the sky; roaring and screaming followed until it grew quiet.

  “Where is that fucking tree!” Alex hissed.

  “Jude! Where are you? You fucking fae prick!” Alex bellowed. Smoke surrounded us. Fire rained from the sky. Trees were on fire. Blood, Alex’s blood, smelled bright in the air.

  “Alex?” I rasped; Alex dropped my arm. My head hit the ground; a grunt escaped my lips.

  “Thank the Goddess. Can you stand she-wolf?” Alex asked, concerned.

  I didn’t know how I was breathing. Everything hurt, everything burned—my everything was missing. Everything felt wrong. There was a void where the bond had curled around my heart and into my mind. My mate was dead.

  My mate was dead. My soul screamed, screamed so loud I could hear it. As if the woods echoed my pain. Alex slapped his hand over my mouth. I was screaming. My wolf was silent.

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry,” Alex said as he tried to pull me into his lap and cradle me, his broken arm limp at his side. He rocked me, like an infant, until I stopped screaming and sobbed.

  “She-wolf, we don’t have time for tears. We need to get out of this forest alive. We’ll grieve him proper later, I promise you,” Alex said, giving me a tight squeeze.

  “The Court of Light is here. The palace is on fire, the woods are burning. They’re burning everything to the ground. The garages are gone. The only way out is with help, but all our friends fled days ago. Ruby told me Jude has a tree in these woods, she described it to me, but I don’t know what the darkness I’m looking for,” Alex said, easing me out of his arms.

  “I’m not strong enough to drag you throughout these woods. Can you stand, walk with me and help me find it?” Alex asked. I tried to stand, only to fall back to the ground. My ankle was twisted in an unnatural direction. It must have broken in the fall and was still healing. Alex cussed, laying me back against a nearby tree.

  “Jude is supposed to be waiting next to an old oak tree on the same side of the palace that has a stairwell that leads to the dungeons,” I explained. Alex shook his head and pulled at his hair before punching the tree. It shook, and ash fell down like snowflakes.

  “All stairs lead to dungeons; there’re dozens of them. Gaius packed them to rafters during the Shadow Wars. We’re never going to find that fae,” Alex moaned.

  “The same dungeon that led to the throne room that I used,” I explained, breathing through a wave of pain radiating up from my ankle.

  “I can work with that; will you be okay if I leave you here?” Alex asked.

  “As long as you come back for me, vampire,” I said.

  “Of course, she-wolf,” Alex said before leaning down and handing me my old pistol. “If you can shift, you should.”

  “Alex?” I whispered.

  “Yes, she-wolf?” He responded.

  “I’m sorry I stabbed you, thank you for coming back for me,” I breathed. He smiled grimly.

  “Don’t worry about it, I had it coming. Stay put, I’ll be back.” Alex promised. He turned away and limped through the trees. His pace faster now that he wasn’t dragging me behind him. His steps grew quiet, only the sound of the win
d whipping through the trees keeping me company. I closed my eyes for only a second. Only for a second, then I shift, I promised myself.

  The sound of a twig breaking caused me to flinch. I opened my eyes; darkness had fallen around me. Stars winked at me through the swaying trees. Ash fell from the sky like snowflakes. I had fallen asleep. Where was Alex? The smell of roses wafted over me.

  Ciara smiled at me.

  Unlike me, the youngest Kensley wasn’t covered in ash, blood, and dirt. Ciara’s curled platinum blonde hair didn’t move an inch as the wind tore through the trees above us. Her green eyes sparkled as she flashed her fangs. She was better suited to a club or catwalk with the outfit she wore than the woods. The twig she snapped on purpose dropped from her hands. She strolled up next to me.

  “Whatever do my brothers see in you, I wonder? Well, my only brother now. Then again, my twin never had the best taste in women. I expected more from Aiden, though,” Ciara mused as she pulled a knife from her boot. I gripped the pistol in my hand; it rested by my thigh, hidden below dirt and ash.

  “Alex is coming back for me,” I said.

  “No doubt he was. I took care of him. That’s what sisters do for their brother, right? Keep them out of trouble, convince them they don’t want to rule. Ally with Courts that would otherwise destroy them,” Ciara rambled with a smile and a laugh.

  “You’re the Court of Light’s spy,” I said. She laughed again.

  “Hardly their spy. No simple girl—they were a tool. A means to an end,” Ciara said, twirling the dagger across her fingers.

  “What end?” I asked, wrapping my fingers around the trigger of the pistol.

  “They wanted many things, specifically a war, and Gaius dead. I want to be Queen. Once Court of Light has their vengeance, I will wear the Shadow Queen’s crown,” Ciara explained, smiling with wicked delight.