The Waning Moon Read online

  My anger must have spilled over into Isaac, because when I looked down, his eyes were streaked with yellow and his teeth were elongating. I took a few deep breaths to calm my thoughts and my body, hoping that would calm Isaac as well.

  “Your show of devotion hasn’t fooled anyone,” Finn said.

  “Why are you still talking? Give us your warning and get out. I had other plans for this morning.”

  “Enjoy your time together,” Finn said. “While you have it.”

  “That was your warning?” I asked.

  “Sounded almost like well wishes to me,” Isaac said. “Should we tell him we’re bonded?”

  “No. If he doesn’t already know, it’ll be better if we keep it that way.”

  Finn looked visibly frustrated. This was not working out the way he’d intended.

  “Warning?” I prompted.

  “You have until Samhain to surrender, dog,” Finn said. “If you come with me willingly, we will let you live.”

  “Surrender to whom?” Isaac asked.

  “Who’s we?” I asked.

  “Surrender to me. That’s all you need to know.”

  “And what are you going to do with me next?”

  Finn looked flummoxed. It wasn’t like him to be unprepared. He was usually smoother than this.

  “Samhain,” he repeated, then vanished.

  “That was interesting,” Isaac said.

  “Let’s go back to the house. I’d like clothes and maybe a bloody Mary.”

  We were quite a few miles from the house, but rather than burn energy with two more changes, we walked back naked and barefoot. Almost two hours later, we stumbled into the back yard of the pack house. My feet ached and I bled from a couple of scratches I’d gotten, but mostly I was hungry. My stomach was growling; my midnight deer snack was already gone.

  A few wolves and naked humans slept in the grass, but most of the pack was in the dining room chowing down. Isaac growled, and I gave him some serious side-eye.

  “What are you growling at?”

  “They’re looking at my naked mate. Why wouldn’t I growl?”

  “How about if you stop and we go get dressed?”

  He growled once more for emphasis, and we went inside and grabbed some clothes. After filling our bellies, we searched out Florence to give her the Finn update. She didn’t look terribly surprised, and I started to feel a little suspicious.

  “You know something,” I accused.

  “I know many things. I am not some ignorant fool you picked up on a whim. One of the things I know is when to share my knowledge and when to keep my mouth shut.”

  “Are you sure this is one of those times?” I asked. I was getting pissed.

  “Yes. I can sometimes see two futures and the most likely outcomes if I have the ability to affect a change. Not telling you is the better choice.”

  “Most likely? You could be wrong.”

  “That is another one of the many things I know. But, if I worry and second guess myself, I will drive myself crazy. I make decisions based on the knowledge I have and then I am content. I suggest you content yourself with my decisions, too, as you will not be able to change my mind.”

  “A hint? Something I should watch out for?”

  “Did you guys talk about the Ishaq thing yet?” Florence asked.

  “Are you changing the subject?”

  “I thought that was obvious.”

  I opened my mouth, intent on arguing, when Isaac touched my arm. Without warning, our bond surged again, and I was flooded with emotion: Arousal, confusion, anger—so much anger it staggered me—but also resignation. And hunger.

  “You’re hungry again?” I asked. The anger was more concerning, but I didn’t know how to address that.

  Isaac smiled at me. “I’m always hungry. For all sorts of things.” The feeling of arousal intensified, and everything else faded into the background.

  “Do you two want to be alone again?” Florence asked.

  I took a couple of deep breaths and tried to focus. I stepped away from Isaac’s hand on my arm, which helped me block out his emotions. “We’re good.”

  I sat on the floor next to the door. Isaac moved towards me and I gave him a look. “Please sit a little further away from me. I have a question I need to ask, and you keep distracting me.”

  He smirked, but sat down across the room. Florence sat on the bed.

  “I didn’t sense Finn until he was in the clearing with us. Even if we were distracted, he should’ve triggered my warning system. The only people who should be able to get through the net are you two and Raj. Finn should never be able to surprise me. I do not want to be surprised by Finn.”

  Florence wrinkled her nose up until her brow creased. She stared at the floor between me and the bed. We sat in silence for a while. It didn’t take too long until I was fidgeting. Finally she looked up. “How is your warning web shaped?”

  “Like a large umbrella.”

  “A dome?”

  “Exactly.”

  “If he’s still connected to you—something that will last until either he dies or agrees to remove it, right?” At my nod she continued, “Then he can appear in your vicinity. He must have appeared within your warning dome instead of crossing the boundary of it and triggering the alarms.”

  “Dammit!” I was pissed at myself for not seeing it sooner and for building a web with such an obvious loophole.

  “Don’t beat yourself up,” Florence said. “It’s still an impressive shield, and it’s likely he doesn’t know it exists and that it was coincidental he appeared close enough to you to not trigger it.”

  “It’s a weakness, though,” I said. “You said the other night I wasn’t paying enough attention when Raj snuck up on me, and it’s true. Because I thought my warning system was going to be effective against anyone I wanted to be warned about, I haven’t been paying attention. I relied too much on that shield, and now I’ve no idea how many times Finn has been within it, spying on us.”

  “If you were with me, I would’ve scented him if he were that close,” Isaac said.

  “Like you did this morning?”

  “If you were with me and you were fully clothed, I would’ve scented him,” he amended. “And if I was distracted enough to not scent him, then he was getting no information except we have a lot of sex.”

  I smiled.

  “I can hear his thoughts,” Florence said. “So if you were with me and we were not in a public place with lots of thoughts to tune out, I would know if he approached.”

  “And I’ll bet Raj can smell his blood from miles away,” Isaac said.

  I felt a little bit better. “Okay, but no more discussing secret plans unless we’ve done a scan of the area.”

  “That seems like a good safety precaution,” Florence said. “And, now that we’ve taken care of our security breach, can we talk about Ishaq?”

  Isaac took a deep breath. “Can it wait?”

  “Probably,” Florence said. “But is there a reason it should?”

  “Because I asked nicely? I am newly mated and would like to try my hand at romance today.”

  “Hey! There was plenty of romance. We killed and ate a deer together. We frolicked in the moonlight. I fell asleep curled up on a furry rug.”

  Isaac growled. “I am not a rug.”

  “You are furry, though.”

  “Give your real answer, wolf,” Florence said as she stood up. “I’ll drop it if you’re honest.”

  Isaac stared at Florence, yellow streaking through his eyes. She met his gaze calmly. “You can’t out-Alpha me, Isaac. Not when you’re this uncertain of your own dominance.”

  “Just my luck to end up in the company of so many dominant women,” Isaac muttered as he dropped his gaze.

  “I’m sure you mean ‘so many dominant people,’ since our gender identity has nothing to do with our power,” I said.

  Isaac ignored my jab at his unconscious sexism and looked back at Florence. “Ishaq is
long-dead. He was me, or I was him, so long ago. You’ve surmised, I’m sure, that I was born to that name. Either you or Raj will have also determined the general geographic area from which it springs. A man from North Africa, born when I was…I’m sure you can think of a reason I don’t want to relive that part of my past?”

  His meaning hit me hard and I gasped, nausea welling up to consume me.

  “That is a good deal closer to honest than you were before, but as far as truth goes, something is still lacking,” Florence said.

  “Florence!” I was horrified that she was dismissing his revelation so callously.

  “Will you drop it then?” Isaac asked.

  “I will, but your ability to lie with the truth has been noted.” She headed to the door. “Eleanor, will you run with the pack tonight?”

  “No,” Isaac said before I could answer.

  “Apparently not,” I said. “Do you want to stay at the campsite with me tonight?”

  “That would be fine,” Florence answered. “I’ll come by an hour before sundown to pick you up.”

  “Have a good day!”

  She left, and I looked at Isaac. “No?” I asked. He looked a little uncomfortable. “C’mon, Isaac. Our mate bond doesn’t give you permission to speak for me.”

  “My apologies,” he said. “Come sit by me?”

  “You can’t distract me that easily. Why no?”

  “Most of the pack doesn’t know your other form. Some don’t even know you’re Fae, although they will tomorrow, when the danger of accidentally shifting and trying to kill you passes. I’d rather not take any risks.”

  “They can’t hurt me when I’m a dragon.”

  “I’m not worried about you. I’m more worried some idiots will attack you, you’ll fight back, and Christopher’s pack will be down a few members. I’d really like to retain the cooperation of the pack for the gate opening. We’ll need a perimeter guard like we did in the Black Hills.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Now will you sit by me?”

  I crawled over on my hands and knees. “What did you have in mind for the rest of the day, Isaac Walker?” I asked as I slowly slid into his lap.

  He kissed me behind my ear, “I was thinking I’d start here.” He slid his hand down my side and then up and under my shirt, “And then make my way here.” He pushed me off his lap and onto the floor, managing to remove my shirt at the same time. Then he unbuttoned my jeans and slid them off my hips, “Then eventually make my way here.” I arched my back to push towards his mouth, and he laughed. “But only eventually.”

  A couple of hours later, we stumbled to the kitchen to refuel. We spent the afternoon alternating between eating and making love. Evening—and moonrise—arrived too quickly. Florence showed up to collect me, and I kissed Isaac goodbye. “Have fun!” I said as he strode out into the clearing with the rest of the shifters. We left before they all started shifting, but I could feel Isaac’s change through our bond. I’d been distracted last night, but felt every last painful second of it tonight.

  Raj was waiting for us when we arrived at the campsite. “How was the hunt, my sweet?” he asked. He sat on the other side of the picnic table, sipping a glass of red wine.

  “Satisfyingly bloody.” Isaac was running with the pack, and joy from the freedom of four legs surged through our bond. I shook my head to bring my attention back to my present. “There was a bit of a surprise this morning, though.” I told him about Finn and Raj confirmed he’d be able to sense if a Fae was close to us.

  “Thank you, Eleanor,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For putting me on the trusted guest list. We do not know each other well, and I have done nothing for you but crash your party and flirt inappropriately.”

  “You helped with the witches at the cave.”

  “I wasn’t necessary for that operation. Between you, your wolf, and your witch, you would’ve handled the situation fine.”

  I tilted my head and looked at him. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

  “I’m not trying to get at anything. I’m saying thank you for trusting me when I’ve done nothing to earn that trust.”

  “That’s an excellent point. I mean other than flying out to confirm whose shriveled head I was carrying around, you haven’t done much for us, have you? Our first meeting was because you sent some of your minions to kidnap me and kill my companions. Then you bit me without permission. Hmmm...maybe my trust has been misplaced and you are trying to lure me into complacency with your charm and good looks until you have a chance to kidnap me again.”

  “Tell me more about my charm and good looks,” Raj purred. He was standing in front of me holding my hand. I looked at his wine glass which was ten feet away, where he’d been an eye blink ago. He raised my hand up to his mouth, turned it over, and breathed in deeply, his tongue reaching out to flick the vein in my wrist.

  “You’re incorrigible,” Florence said, swatting him on the back of the head.

  “The wine I brought is good, but this is a much finer bouquet. Kidnapping is no longer my goal.”

  “What is your goal?”

  “I want to help you on your quest to break the world,” Raj said.

  “I wish people would stop using that phrase.”

  “Okay, then. I wish to assist you on your quest to return magic to this world, thereby rendering all technology useless.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine, call me the world breaker if you must.”

  “It is in the prophecies.”

  “Call it what you will, then. But answer me true. Why are you here?”

  “You will need my help in New Orleans and by the time you need to go there, it is possible you would have no means of easily contacting me.”

  “And you want to help, why?”

  “I’m bored. I’ve been kicking around this world for over a thousand years, and you are the first person in centuries to interest me. Ruling a little slice of the Pacific Northwest has been okay, but I don’t really want to be a king—that hasn’t turned out well for me. You, Eleanor Morgan, are interesting.”

  “You’re here because you’re bored? Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” he mimicked. “Never underestimate the power of boredom in the extremely old. It’s what motivates us to do almost everything we do. Most who’ve lived more than a couple of hundred years would go to great lengths to have a new experience.”

  I eyed him skeptically. He was telling the truth, but not the whole truth.

  “How about we leave it at that for now,” he said. “Maybe I’ll answer more at another time.”

  “As you wish,” I said. “There are a lot of deferred origin stories happening around here.”

  “You want an origin story? That’s different,” Raj said. “I can give you my origin story. I was born in the mid part of the tenth century, the lesser son of great kings. I ruled our land for a number of years, and was considered blessed by the gods with divine beauty. However, I was conquered by the invading Muslim armies and lost my throne. Fortunately, they were not in a beheading sort of mood when I was executed. I decided to give up ruling and make my way in the great world, and here I am.”

  “Divine beauty?”

  “Have you seen me? Blessed by Lakshmi herself.”

  I smiled at him. “You are a beautiful man. You were made a vampire while ruling India?”

  “Only a small part of India. It wasn’t a unified country then.”

  “And you were executed?”

  “Ineffectively.”

  “Interesting. How did you become a vampire?”

  “Ahh, my dear. That is a tale for another time. You are hungry and exhausted, and I will take my leave. Again, thank you for your trust in me. I will keep my senses alert for this Finn of yours. Should I kill him if I find him?”

  “No!” Florence said.

  We both looked at her. “Capture, but do not kill.”

  “Might I ask why?”

 
; “No, you might not. Trust me.”

  “As you have trusted me.” Raj bowed again and flew straight up into the air.

  Chapter Thirteen

  THE NEXT MORNING, I woke before sunrise. I heard Florence still sleeping. I put on shoes and a hoodie to guard against the chill of the early morning air. When I went outside, there was a large, steaming cup of coffee on the table. I sniffed it. Vanilla latte. Fuck. Finn had been here.

  I went to the out building to use the bathroom and wash my face and stopped to fill up my water bottle on my way back. By the time I’d lit the little stove and gotten the water boiling, Florence was up. I made coffee while she performed her morning ablutions. When she returned to the campsite, I handed her some coffee and then we both stared at the latte sitting on the table.

  “Are you going to drink it?” Florence asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Wow. I’ve never seen you turn down coffee before.”

  “Ha. Funny. Is he still here?”

  Florence closed her eyes for a moment. “If he is I can’t hear him. He was never good at guarding his thoughts from me.”

  “Or maybe he didn’t guard them because he wanted you to believe he couldn’t.”

  “I feel that there were things I picked up he’d rather I hadn’t.”

  “Things like what?”

  “There was a point he was seriously contemplating getting rid of his competition.”

  “It was never a competition,” I said.

  “I know and you know, but Finn honestly believed without Isaac in the picture, you’d choose him.”

  “By the time we got to that point, I wouldn’t have chosen Finn if he was the only choice in the world.” Something tripped my security web. I turned and saw someone running away from us.

  Florence turned and looked, too. “Your hypothesis that his weak mental shields were a sham has new evidence. If he’d left in his usual fashion, we never would’ve known.”

  “Popping out doesn’t work when he’s pissed off.”

  “Or hurt,” Florence said. “His emotions may have been equal devastation and anger. In his own way, he really does love you.”

  “It’s too bad his own way is creepy as fuck.”