Stray Moon

by Kelly Meding

  Alice looked furious, but she didn’t speak against me. The couples looked at each other, as if silently asking if they believed me or not.

  “Please listen to her,” Chandra said. Her skin still gleamed, but she looked less like a human glow stick. “All we want is to help you return home safely.”

  “We chose to be here,” Raymond replied.

  “Then you can also choose to leave.”

  “I want to go home,” a very young lady said. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen or twenty, and she clung to her mate like she’d fall over without him. “I miss my parents and my friends.”

  “But what about kids?” her mate asked.

  “I believe Marshal Harrison. I want to go home. They should let us go home, right?”

  “In theory,” I said.

  “You promise on your life that Alpha Kennedy won’t punish us for leaving?” her mate said to me.

  “Alpha Kennedy is more interested in seeing his Pack whole again, and in bringing to justice the person who violated his lands by delivering those wards.”

  He squinted at me, but said nothing.

  “You said you’re a Marshal,” Harry spoke up. “Why are US Marshals butting their noses into Pack business?”

  “We’re part of the Para-Marshal division,” I said, then introduced Chandra, Jaxon, Novak and—begrudgingly—Kathleen. I pointed to my mom. “She’s a civilian giving us a hand, and he’s”—I indicated Tennyson, who lurked in the back—“helping. He’s also the reason we learned about your disappearances, because vampires had gone missing, too, and Tennyson asked”—asked, ha ha, yeah, right—“for our help locating them. And now he’s helping us find you.”

  “Alpha Kennedy doesn’t trust outsiders.”

  “No, he doesn’t, and at first he was simply tolerating us, until we talked to Danu and discovered the wards. Then he realized this whole thing was bigger than just his Pack. Other Packs have been infiltrated and wards installed in their homes, too.”

  “There are other couples here from the Florida Pack. Why aren’t they here talking to you?”

  “My magic is tricky,” Chandra replied. “The only reason you men are here is because of your female mates, and I only found them through Alice. None of you are friendly enough with the Florida wolves for me to add more minds. I’m already somewhat overwhelmed.”

  Guess the power boost didn’t last long, because at that moment Tennyson, Jaxon, and Novak disappeared.

  “But why would anyone do this?” another young male asked. “Why make us infertile, and then offer us a solution to the problem?”

  “Docile patients,” I replied. “As werewolves, you’re faster and stronger than almost any human. Unwilling patients would require a lot of restraint in order to do their experiments, so why have your test subject fighting you when you can find a way to make them come to you willingly?”

  “You think they’re experimenting on us?”

  “They most certainly are,” Kathleen said, adding to the conversation for the first time. “I work for the Para-Marshals service, but I also serve as an agent for an employer searching for a man called Damian. Is that name familiar to anyone?”

  A lot of no’s went around. Someone mentioned a Pack neighbor who’d named their most recent son Damian, which was incredibly not useful in that moment.

  “Who is this Damian?” Raymond asked.

  “His exact origins are unknown, but he’s believed to be experimenting on Paras. Splicing DNA, creating his own hybrids. He funded another man’s attempt to use a necromancer against a vampire Master in order to take over his entire Line to use against humans.”

  “Against humans?”

  “Yes. It is believed his end goal is to wipe out all human and humanoid life, and to return this planet to the powerful beings who once walked it before the dawn of man.”

  One of the girls started to cry.

  “You truly believe this?” Alice asked. “That someone went to great lengths simply to get twenty-eight werewolves here for willing experimentation.”

  “Yes,” I said. So did the other women in my group.

  Multiple couples stated they wanted to go home at that point.

  “You cannot all try to leave at once,” Chandra said. “It will draw suspicion and put you all in danger. For now, one pair must request to go home. Test the waters and see what they say. Report back to Alice. Because we have been in physical contact before, if she cries out for me, I will hear her. We can continue to communicate telepathically and work together to get you all home safely.”

  “We’ll do it.” The first couple to say they wanted to go home put their hands up.

  “Good luck, and remember, no one else knows what was said here. So keep this secret close and do not show fear to your keepers. We are here in Gabriel, and we will not abandon you.” Chandra made some sort of gesture, maybe the moon witch sign for good-bye.

  The silo interior winked back into existence, and I swayed a bit. Someone caught my elbow, and I didn’t miss the crackle of Tennyson’s power beside me. I wasn’t used to being in my own head for so long, and with so many other people.

  Jaxon stood in front of me, and he bared his teeth at Tennyson, who released my elbow and took a long step backward. “You okay, Shi?” Jaxon asked.

  “Yeah, just a little dizzy coming out of it.” Chandra was sitting and rubbing her temples. “Chandra?”

  “I simply need a moment,” she replied. “That blood . . . it felt like the biggest sugar rush of all time, and now I’m crashing.”

  “Got it.”

  “That was an unusual experience,” Kathleen said. “Not only the blood exchange, but also the mind meld, for lack of a better term.”

  “Yeah, it was weird,” Jaxon agreed, “but some of us missed the ending. Did you get through to them?”

  I gave the three men a quick highlights reel. “Now we wait for them to contact Chandra with the results.”

  “It’s risky.”

  “It is, but it’s a calculated risk. If they ask to leave and are denied, it reinforces the fact that they’re actually prisoners of the people running the place.”

  “Has anyone seen Gideon?” Mom asked.

  “No,” Novak replied. “The vampire said he could try tracking him once the sun goes down.”

  “Great,” I said. “We’re down a werewolf, and we kind of picked an uncomfortable spot to wait on the other wolves to return our brain call.”

  “Someone is approaching,” Kathleen said.

  I turned toward the silo’s entrance, hoping to see Gideon. Instead, two men walked in, one of them in law enforcement uniform, the other in a dress shirt and tie.

  “Gabriel police,” the first man said. “May I ask what you’re doing trespassing on Mr. Oakley’s property?”

  I approached the men with Jaxon on my six and showed off my badge. “US Para-Marshal Harrison. This is Marshal Dearborn.”

  “Officer Joe Murphy. This is Mayor Don Oakley, owner of this here property.”

  “Pleasure, and I apologize for trespassing. I didn’t notice any private property postings.”

  “That’s because we’re a small town and people know better,” Mayor Oakley replied with a gentle laugh. “Don’t get too many outsiders in Gabriel, especially not of your caliber. What brings the Para-Marshals and friends here?”

  “We are tracking a runaway werewolf.” Thank you Gideon for the perfect excuse.

  Both men started looking all around them, as if the werewolf was waiting in the shadows to pounce. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure if he was, because I’d never seen magic force a werewolf shift before. Should have thought to ask one of the couples before the group chat ended.

  “There’s an awful lot of you for one werewolf,” Officer Murphy said with an audible tremor in his voice. “Is he that dangerous?”

  “He can be if he’s cornered or frightened, so if you happen to spot him, do not approach or attempt to capture. Give me a call.” Jaxon gave the man a card
.

  “Will do. Should we let the town know?”

  “I wouldn’t,” I replied. “You don’t want folks to panic. We’re hoping to find him and leave with as little fuss as possible.”

  “What if we just tell folks to be on the lookout for a big stray dog we’re looking to pick up alive and unharmed?” Mayor Oakley said. “It’ll keep folks indoors if they think their kids are at risk and less likely to shoot first.”

  “That sounds like a good compromise, thank you.”

  “Sure thing. My family’s been in this town for generations, way back before farming got too hard out here. We protect our own.”

  “I can appreciate that.” So much. I protected my own, too.

  “Grain silo isn’t much of a place to set up base,” Officer Murphy said. “We’ve got an empty office up at the municipal building. Police department’s only two of us, so we don’t need all the rooms anymore.”

  “That would be wonderful, Officer, thank you.” An office space was a way better spot to hang out than the silo.

  I left Gideon’s clothes behind, hopeful he’d return, shift back and dress, as well as a note about where we were heading. Tennyson wasn’t happy about moving, but he could deal. I was tired of the dusty stink of the silo. Our two vehicles followed the police car back to town and down to the municipal building I’d noticed on our first drive through. I also side-eyed DM Clinic as we passed.

  Both the mayor and cop led us into the unused office, which had a desk and chair, two empty bookcases, and a nice street view of the brick medical building we were investigating.

  Perfect.

  “Do you know anything about DM across the street?” I asked.

  “No, they keep to themselves,” Mayor Oakley replied. “I’ll admit, I was surprised when they came here asking to erect their building, but the construction brought a boost of income to the area, and they leased two spaces to locals.”

  “They’ve never given me any trouble,” Officer Murphy added. “They pay their taxes and do whatever it is that clinic is for.”

  “No one’s ever asked what they do?”

  Murphy shrugged. “Said fertility research mostly. As long as they aren’t in there cooking up meth, I don’t ask.”

  They’re cooking up something so much worse than meth.

  “Why the interest?” Oakley asked.

  “No real reason,” I replied. “The building stood out to me, that’s all. You seem somewhat remote for medical research. And please don’t let us keep you from your other responsibilities. We appreciate the office space.”

  “Not a problem. It’s not every day a man gets to meet a real Para-Marshal. Only usually hear about you folk on the news, like that vampire . . . thing . . .” Oakley really seemed to see Tennyson for the first time, who stood in the darkest corner of the room, his hood pushed slightly back.

  Kathleen closed the window blinds.

  “We best be getting back to work,” Murphy said, and the pair of men backed out of the room.

  “Their fear is amusing,” Tennyson said.

  “I’m glad they’re finally gone,” Chandra said. “On the ride over, I heard from Belle and Andrew, the couple who tried to check out of the clinic as a test.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “Belle said her request to leave was denied, because Dr. Ferguson insisted she hadn’t given the process enough time.”

  “Did he say when she would be allowed to go home?”

  “No. But Belle also told me the staff seemed agitated and on alert because of a magic surge someone felt right before we contacted everyone. My surge.”

  “So they know we’re here?”

  “She isn’t certain, and asking questions of the staff would look suspicious. But she said all the wolves are paying closer attention now, and the California Pack is working on convincing the Floridians of what’s going on.”

  “That’s a good move,” Jaxon said. “We need them all on our side if we’re going to get them out of that clinic.”

  “The question now is, how do we do that?” I asked. “We have no idea what the interior looks like other than it has five levels. We don’t know staffing, security, or what else might be there as a voluntary test subject. Or even involuntary. And we have to find Gideon before they do. The last thing we need to worry about is a hostage.”

  “Technically, they’ve already got twenty-eight.”

  I shot him a look. “Mom, anything from your friend about those symbols?”

  “Not yet,” she said. “Chandra, are you absolutely certain no one else could have listened in on our group mind chat?”

  Chandra frowned. “I’m reasonably certain. To my knowledge, no one has ever breached such a communication. Why?”

  “Nervous, I suppose.” Mom repeated a tiny bit of what we’d talked about in the car earlier—how her parents died, the familiarity of the magic in the cube wards, and her desire to remain hidden from the wrath of those witches.

  “We’ll do everything we can to keep you safe, Elspeth,” Jaxon said, reaffirming his earlier promise.

  “I know. But one of the women who murdered my parents could be across the street in that building.” Anger overrode some of her fear, and I saw my mom’s endless courage peek out. If she could go toe to toe with a powerful earth djinn, she could do anything. Even face down the witches who killed her parents. My grandparents.

  “You’re one of us,” Novak said to Mom. “And like that other guy said, we protect our own.”

  “You’re just saying that because I made you chili.”

  Novak grinned. “It was blessed fine chili.”

  “Spare me your sentimentality,” Kathleen said. “We need a plan stronger than sitting on our rear ends waiting for one of your female wolves to contact you again.”

  “How come our side is doing all the work here?” I asked her. “What’s your employer contributing besides your sour disposition? Can she help at all?”

  “I have not had a chance to update her on our progress. Now that I have news, I’ll report in and inquire of any additional information she may have on DM Clinic.”

  “Thank you.”

  Kathleen left the room, ostensibly to find a private place to make her call. I didn’t like her going off alone, but I needed the input of all my people right now. If she double-crossed me again, I’d put the nearest wooden object right through her heart.

  “We need to get inside that facility somehow,” Jaxon said. “Problem is none of us can just turn invisible at will. Chandra’s telepathy only goes so far. My stag doesn’t do us any good unless I let myself get captured—”

  “Not happening,” I said, surprising myself with how quickly I’d shot that idea down.

  “I could theoretically seduce someone into getting information,” Novak said. “But I would need to actually meet an employee.”

  My mind jumped to the middle-aged receptionist. I met Jaxon’s eyes and saw the same humor there. Novak preferred women, but he was an equal-opportunity seducer. Except the fallen demon was also starting to develop a conscience, because he no longer enjoyed getting straight guys or lesbians to sleep with him. And a middle-aged guy in Kansas? Probably straight.

  “What?” Novak said, clearly suspicious of us both.

  “Nothing,” I said. “The clinic had a receptionist, but he struck me as the kind of person who sits in a booth for his paycheck and doesn’t ask questions, so he probably wouldn’t know anything.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Mom?”

  She shook her head. “Other than calling on your father and asking him to pop in to look around, I honestly don’t have any ideas.”

  “Yeah, let’s not get Dad involved again. The only reason he checked in last time was because I nearly died from that spider bite. We aren’t quite there yet.”

  “Yet? Watch your words, young lady.”

  Novak snickered, probably over the “young lady” part.

  “There is an alternative no one has put on the table yet,”
Tennyson said.

  “Which is what?” Jaxon asked.

  “Shiloh, of course, and her three wishes. Bind her and we have all the power we need.”

  Jaxon growled once before he charged.

  Chapter 12

  Novak grabbed Jaxon by the arm before he got anywhere close to swinging on Tennyson, and he herded him to the other side of the small office space. “Down boy,” Novak said.

  “No fucking way is he binding her again,” Jaxon replied.

  “I did not say I should bind her,” Tennyson said calmly. “We were already bound once, so I am uncertain if it’s possible to do it twice. But my point remains: with her powers at someone’s disposal, breaking into the clinic will be, as you might say, a piece of cake.”

  “Big flaw in that plan,” I said. “No one besides you and I know the binding words, and neither one of us can speak them out loud.”

  Tennyson’s lips quirked, and a second later, Jaxon shouted something indecipherable and clutched at his temples. “Motherfucker!” Jaxon stabbed a finger at Tennyson. “Get out of my head.”

  I gaped at Tennyson. “You can still talk to him?”

  “We’ve shared blood, remember? I simply choose to ignore him, as I find skin-walkers uninteresting, and he has clearly shown his dislike of me.”

  “So you can tell Jaxon the words, he speaks them, and I’m bound to him for three wishes?”

  “Precisely.”

  It wasn’t an altogether awful idea, but giving power over me to someone I barely knew? And yet trusted, all the same, because we did have history. I’d seen it in his own mind, and even though my own new memories of him were as slippery as gelatin, I believed we’d known each other once. Maybe even loved each other.

  “I don’t suppose I could use a wish to get your memory back?” Jaxon asked.

  “I doubt that will work because of rule number one,” I replied. “I can’t alter the physical state of a human body, and for all intents and purposes, those memories were removed and I don’t know where they went. I can’t change back what’s been done to me. I don’t know if anyone can.”