The Waning Moon Page 21

  “That makes sense.” I was still in awe. “Did you do the carvings yourself?”

  Extra nodded, and this time looked pleased rather than pissed. The bannister was comprised of intricate carvings. The spindles were cats, stretched up on their hind legs, and carved up the handle were a number of squirrels, running up the hand rail. “This is amazing.”

  “Might I offer y’all some refreshment?”

  “I’d take a drop of some Mountain Dew, if you’ve got it,” Isaac said.

  “Now, Ike, you know that shit ain’t legal.”

  I looked up, wondering what I’d missed that soda wasn’t legal. “Moonshine,” Isaac explained.

  “How ‘bout a Co-Cola for the ladies?”

  “That sounds great. Extra brought out Cokes in dusty bottles for Florence and me. He pulled out a gallon-sized glass jar with clear liquid in it and poured out two shots. He handed one to Isaac, they clinked their glasses, and threw it back.

  “Whew!” Extra said. “That’s some good shit, there, ain’t it?”

  “It’s been ages since I’ve had finer,” Isaac replied.

  Florence and I watched as they proceeded to throw back three more shots each. After that, the liquor became a sipping drink, and they were ready to get down to business.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “TELL ME WHY yer gracing my fine establishment for the first time in almost longer than I can ‘member? And then mebbe tell me how you knew where I was to be found.”

  “I’ll start with the second question, if that’s alright, since the first will take some telling.” At Extra’s gracious nod, Isaac continued. “I’m sure you remember Rebecca Driver.”

  “Oh and I surely do. That was one fine bitch. Didn’t she mate some asshole up in North Dakota? The day she mated, all the shifters in these here United States let out a mournful howl, they did.”

  “It was South Dakota, but the description of her former husband is spot on.”

  “Former, you say? How does that work? I thought you puppy dogs mated for life.”

  Isaac raised an eyebrow. Extra raised his glass in salute before downing the rest of the liquor in it and refilling both glasses. Isaac shook his head but accepted the shot anyway. “If a bonding takes place, it’s difficult to end the mating while one partner is still alive, and that’s as true for wolves as for any other shifter.” Isaac took a sip of the moonshine and a shudder went through me. I almost laughed out loud when I realized that was Isaac’s reaction. He wasn’t enjoying the good ol’ mountain dew as much as he was pretending. “However,” Isaac said, returning to the thread of the story, “Rebecca and Greg never completed the bonding. I’m not sure how she managed to put him off, but she did. And it doesn’t matter now anyway, because she killed Greg in a dominance fight and took over the Black Hills pack.”

  “Did she now? Mebbe I should be traveling west, then. She sounds like the kind of bitch I wouldn’t mind getting to know better. I likes me a strong, powerful woman.”

  “Rebecca is a good friend of mine,” Isaac said.

  “That’s not the stories I’ve heard,” Extra interrupted.

  “Really?” I asked.

  Isaac shot a glare at me, but Extra answered. “I heard that this man o’ yers and Miz Becky were more than good friends,” Extra said. “But that was more than a few moons ago, now, weren’t it?”

  “It was more than a century ago, now, Extra,” Isaac said. He tried to continue his story, but Extra interrupted again.

  “Why did you ever end things with Miz Becky? I thought you two were going to get hitched.”

  “I met someone else,” Isaac said. “So Rebecca’s cousin...”

  “Not this one, though. She ain’t old enough to be your someone else, for all that ain’t as human as I thought when we first met. She ain’t no bitch, neither, though.”

  I worked through his last sentence trying to decide if the double negative of ‘ain’t no’ was canceled out by the ‘neither’ and missed the first part of Isaac’s reply.

  “...settled in Portland for a spell. I reconnected with Rebecca this summer when we spent some time in the Black Hills. That’s where we met Florence, too.”

  Florence bobbed her head in acknowledgment. She was expressionless except for the barest hint of a smile I didn’t think anyone would see if they didn’t know her. She was enjoying herself.

  “Rebecca asked me to visit her cousin Christopher to carry the news of her victory to him, and we traveled down to St. Louis for a visit. While we were there, Christopher mentioned your name in passing. Since you and I are old friends, I made him tell me everything he knew about you so I could pay you a visit and relive some old times.”

  “Bullshit,” Extra said. He belched loudly and for an uncomfortably long time. He looked over at Florence and me and said, “’Scuse me, ladies, fer my poor manners.”

  “No worries,” I said, waving away his concerns. “Please continue.”

  “You didn’t come down here to reminisce about the shenanigans we got up to during the Reconstruction.”

  “Not in front of my mate, anyway,” Isaac said.

  Extra downed another shot, refilled his glass and waved it towards Isaac. “You say you settled in Portland, then visited Miz Becky in the Black Hills before taking word of her down to her cousin in St. Louis? I don’t s’pose you’d wanna give me your travel timeline, would you?” Before Isaac could answer, Extra continued, “I’d be mighty surprised if your visits di’n’t coincide with these terr’rist events those guvmint idjits are always going on about on the teevee. Why would you think that’d be?”

  “And now we come to the first part of your earlier question,” Isaac said. “You’re right. As much as I wanted to spend some time with an old and dear friend I hadn’t seen in more years than is polite to count, that’s not the only reason I perked up when your name was mentioned.”

  “’Afore you get started with this part o’ the story, I find I need t’ excuse myself a moment. I have a feeling this is going to be a long-winded tale, and I must go see a man about a horse.”

  Extra stood up and stumbled out of the room, presumably headed for a bathroom.

  I looked at Isaac and tried to quirk an eyebrow. He shook his head slightly, asking me to stay quiet, and grimaced.

  “You’re drunk,” I whispered. He started laughing. I rolled my eyes and leaned into the sofa, trying to make myself comfortable. I had a feeling this was going to take even longer than I’d thought.

  When Extra returned, he refilled both glasses again and waved at Isaac. “Spin your tale, wolf.”

  Isaac told a grand story. He left large swaths of it out, but managed to cover the main points with alacrity. He didn’t say much about me and my role in what was going on, kind of made it sound like I was along for the ride while Isaac and Florence were running about destroying the world.

  Extra looked over at Florence and me when Isaac wound up his story. “You left out a few details,” he said. “No way do I believe a wolf and a witch—pardon me for the term—are running around on Fae business. And the way Murphy is going on and on about ‘no proof this is any kind of terrorist operations’ leads me to believe this is Fae business. And since I know you ain’t a Fae, and I can smell the witch—no offense, Miz White Elk—I’m going to have to go with the little lady as the Fae here. She didn’t seem to have much to do with yer tale, but she don’t seem like the kind of gal who sits on the sidelines, although if you don’t start feeding her better, she’ll be too weak to do anything else.”

  “I was afraid if I told you she was Fae, you’d kick her out.”

  “Why would I do that? I ain’t afraid of no Fae.”

  “Not out of fear. It’d take a rabid grizzly shifter to scare some sense into you, Extra Grady. Out of anger—or self-preservation. It could be dangerous if it got out you knowingly harbored a Fae.”

  “Ain’t nobody can tell me who I can and can’t have in my house. You tell me what you need and I’ll make sure you get it.”


  I was in awe of Isaac’s manipulative prowess. I had a feeling if we’d started off with, ‘Hi! I’m a Fae princess on a mission to break your world, might we have some new license plates?’ we would’ve been shown to the door immediately. I resolved to reward Isaac for his cleverness later. Florence shot me a stern look.

  “If you’re of a mind to help us out, we could really use some new plates for the car and our camper. We’ve got Illinois plates on the car and Ohio plates on the camper, and we need something much more Southern to ease suspicion as we travel to our next destination.”

  “And where is that next destination? It ain’t Asheville, is it? I’d rather you didn’t break my city like you’ve broken them other ones. No offense, ma’am, but I like Asheville the way it is.”

  “We’re headed to Savannah next, but the dark zones are going to keep spreading. The world is breaking, and this is only the beginning.”

  “So yer the one, are ye?” he said. For the first time, he gave me more than a cursory glance. “You don’t seem too bad, for a Fae, that is. Good looking, anyway. I guess it’s time to move on, then. I’ve enjoyed myself immensely in this line of work, but if you’re going to make it impossible to take advantage of the technological wonders we have in this world, I’ll need to find another way to keep myself busy. What kind of services do you think will be in demand when the gates are fully opened?”

  During his last couple of sentences, Extra’s accent shifted from backwoods to a more aristocratic Southern accent. I looked at him. “You’d do yourself a service if you didn’t believe everything you hear, darlin’,” he said. He went back to the original accent, “There ain’t a one of us that don’t hide who he truly is.”

  “Thank you for your aid, Mr. Wiggins,” I said.

  “Call me Extra, ma’am. No one has called me ‘mister’ in longer than I can remember, and I don’t think I’d know to answer to it.” He turned to Isaac. “I don’t have any Georgia plates for a trailer, but I could do Alabama or Mississippi.”

  “We’ll be heading into Louisiana at some point. Which would be best for evoking an air of belonging in both Savannah and New Orleans?”

  “You’ll be looked down on by the natives with either set. How ‘bout I grab what’s most handy?”

  “That sounds great.” Extra disappeared again. When he returned, he had Alabama license plates for a car and a trailer as well as the matching registration. “Will you all need new papers?”

  “Wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Isaac said.

  “Come on back to my portrait studio and I’ll get you taken care of. You can pick up registration and title, as well as new drivers’ licenses and passports day after tomorrow, if that’ll fit with your timetable.”

  “That would be perfect.”

  We followed Extra back through a maze of rooms until we got to his ‘portrait studio’ which was a small room with good lighting and a blue backdrop on one wall. We sat for a few pics—we didn’t want our driver’s license pictures to match the passport pics—and then after some money changed hands, we were on our way. Florence drove this time.

  After we were finally back on a paved road, I turned and looked back at Isaac. “Wow. He was interesting.”

  Isaac laughed. The odor of alcohol poured off of him and I felt the intoxication coursing its way through him. He was drunker than I’d seen him—at least since the night we’d met.

  Florence dropped us off at the campsite, muttering about hormonal youngsters, and drove off.

  Isaac wasted no time in pulling me close. “Now that we’re alone, what do you think we ought to do?”

  “We should talk.”

  He groaned, “I hate it when a woman says we should talk.”

  I glared at him. “Why? What’s wrong with talking?”

  “Nothing at all, darlin’,” he said. “But we’ve been mated less than a month, the moon is shining, and you’re beautiful. The last thing I want to do is talk.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “Something involving considerably less clothing.”

  “We’re alone until Florence deigns to fetch us. I suppose we wouldn’t need to remain clothed to satisfy her modesty.”

  “Sure an’ we’re the only people in this part of the campground right now.”

  “It’s chilly, though. I don’t want to get cold.”

  “I could probably find a way or two to keep you warm.”

  “Before I commit to removing any articles of clothing, maybe you could fill me in on what you’re planning?” I tried to widen my eyes into innocence and looked up at him. He leaned down, lips parted. I moved into him, anxious for the kiss. It didn’t come—he grabbed my lower lip in his teeth and pulled gently, growling a bit.

  Warmth rushed to my center. I might be a motherfucking dragon, but something about the wolf taking charge got my motor running.

  Isaac abruptly let go of my lip and leaned back. The space between us felt cold and I leaned into him.

  “Uh-uh, Princess. You’re wearing altogether way too many clothes right now. I’ll consider holding you close when you need me to warm you up.”

  I rolled my eyes again. “Whatever, wolf. Maybe I’ll take myself to bed right now. I’m not sure I need you to get rid of this ache anyway.” I strutted away, wiggling my ass much more than was called for—and probably more than was attractive.

  I got a wolf-whistle for my pains. I pulled off my t-shirt, and returned to my lover. He eyed my exposed cleavage appreciatively and pulled me onto his lap when I got close enough. I leaned into him.

  “Do you think what I’m doing is right?” I’d meant to flirt, but my mind was dwelling on more serious things.

  Isaac’s hand that’d been tracing circles on my back stilled. “Princess, I’m only going to tell you this once, so listen good. I love you. I’ve loved you from the day we met and you threw a knife at me, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been blinded by love. I would’ve walked away from you if I’d thought you were the kind of woman to exult in the destruction of our world.

  “Do I wish there was another way? Yes. Do I think there is another way? Nothing ethical. I support you and will be by your side as long as I can.”

  “You won’t leave?” I asked, needing to hear the answer.

  He looked at me, the gaze more piercing than I would’ve expected for a question designed to elicit simple assurance.

  “Why would you ask?”

  “That’s not an answer.” Icy fear crept into my heart.

  “I don’t want to leave you,” he said.

  “What happened in St. Louis?”

  “I’ll tell you, I promise.”

  “You’re scaring the shit out of me.”

  “Listen, Princess. It’s late. I’m tired and more than a little intoxicated. I’m not trying to hide anything from you, but I really, really need to tell you later. Please let it go.”

  I knew this was a terrible time to get into an argument. “How long is it going to take you to tell me this secret? I hope it doesn’t come back to bite me on the ass.” Just because it was a terrible idea didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do it.

  Isaac pulled me into his arms. “Do you really want to fight? We’re alone. Your shirt is missing.” He cupped my backside. “Your jeans might go missing, too.” He leaned in and bit the side of my neck lightly. I tried to stifle my moan, but couldn’t stop the rush of warmth that washed over my body. Even if he didn’t get the depth of my feeling through our bond, he’d smell my arousal, but I wasn’t ready to let go of our argument yet.

  “You’re trying to distract me.”

  “Is it working?” His hands left my ass and cupped my breasts. He lifted them, rubbing his thumbs over my nipples. The roughness of his skin against the material of my bra caused my nipples to pucker up immediately. He leaned down and sucked first one and then the other into his mouth. When he backed away, I had two wet circles on my bra and the chilly November air caused my nipples to get even harder.


  “You are beautiful,” Isaac said.

  “We should talk about this,” I said. My voice was shaky now; it would take only one more sensual assault before I gave up. I tried to pull back, but didn’t try hard. Isaac’s hands were at my waist now.

  “Tomorrow. I promise we’ll talk tomorrow.”

  “Before you get any further, you should know you’re not alone.” Raj’s voice floated to us out of the dark. “I’m not looking, and if you’d rather I come back later, I will. Of course, if you’d like me to watch—or join in—I can do that, too.”

  Isaac jumped away and I sat up. “Jesus Christ, Raj. How long have you been standing there?”

  “Mere seconds. I wouldn’t play the voyeur without your explicit permission.”

  Isaac’s eyes were streaked with yellow and glowing in light of nearby street lights.

  “It might not be a bad idea to take off right now.”

  “My apologies, Eleanor. I did not mean to startle your wolf.”

  “You can make your apologies later. At that time, we can talk about the wisdom of startling a werewolf who’s standing over his nearly naked mate.”

  Raj bowed slightly and disappeared, but not without a parting message. “You look mouth-watering, my sweet. I cannot wait until it’s my turn to taste you.”

  “Isaac,” I said. “He’s gone. Shall we continue?”

  Isaac stepped between my legs. He lifted my hips and pulled off my jeans with one swift motion. He knelt, his mouth hovering above my center. When he made no move to touch me, I took matters into my own hands. I reached down and dipped my hand under the waistband of my panties, slowly brushing a finger back and forth across my clit. I gasped as that light touch sent shivers throughout my body. His breath tickled my skin as he sent a second finger to explore. I wasn’t going slowly now. My hips churned with impatience as I stroked faster and faster.

  “Stop,” Isaac said. I was close to the edge now, and ignored him. He grabbed my wrist and moved my hand away. My hips rose up, trying to follow, but before I could complain, Isaac’s mouth replaced my hand and I whimpered. He sucked on me through the wet material of my panties and my hands came down to hold his head. I tried not to push him into me, but control was not my strong suit at the moment.