“He’s right,” Jason agreed. “We will go with you. If they are true to their word and help us here, we will help them there, wherever their battle is. We are a pack, after all. We fight together. We do not allow our leader to fight alone.”
Zaira inhaled deeply, pulling back tears threatening to form. She was their leader and she would not allow them to see her cry, even out of love for their dedication and loyalty to her. Their blind loyalty that she did not deserve. When they all died, the blood would be on her hands regardless how many times she’d protected the race in the past. They would eventually be smited and it would all be because of a brief affair with a man she should have never bothered with.
She turned to glare at Addix, hoping he read her contempt for him and what he’d done in her eyes. They would accept his help now and help him in return, but then she would do no more. She had every intention of casting him completely out of her mind for eternity.
“Speak with your packs,” she addressed the men before her. “I understand that you are the leaders of your respective packs, but where we are going is far more dangerous than this realm you have spent your lives in. Only those willing to go will go, no matter what your orders are, and none of the pregnant females are allowed.”
“Of course,” Jason agreed quickly. “You are, after all, the pack leader over all of us and your word is the ultimate law.”
He dropped to a knee, bowing his head in respect, followed by the others.
See what you’ve given me?
Addix frowned in what appeared to be genuine confusion. A loyal race dedicated to serving their queen? How is that a bad thing?
I’m not their queen. I’m their curse. I should destroy you for causing me to doom them. Maybe after these battles are over, I will.
FOUR
Merta opened her eyes, blinked at the bright light shining overhead from a single bare bulb. Her entire body ached with stiffness, but she knew it could be worse. Addix had obviously healed her after forcing her to shift back into human form. Her temper would someday be the death of her, if she didn’t die today. Where was she and who was that she sensed?
She sat up quickly, ready to defend herself if necessary.
Alarmed by the sudden movement, a man jumped up from the chair he’d been sitting on in the middle of the small room and braced himself to fight. A smirk twisted his lips and he chuckled in relief, letting the tension seep out of his form. “Oh that’s right. You can’t do a damn thing.”
Merta looked down, just noticing the weight on her left wrist. She’d been chained to a cot in the corner of the room. “Silver, huh?”
“Yep. No shifting for you.” The man folded his arms over an impressive chest, a devilish gleam in his slanted eyes. Asian eyes, like Addix. He also had the darker skin indicating mixed race.
“You ever think that maybe I don’t need to be in dragon form to breathe fire?”
His eyes widened, but only for a second before he schooled his expression into a blank mask. “Go ahead and do it.”
Brave. She liked brave. “What would you do if I did?”
“I assume I’d get burnt.”
“Then why don’t you run?”
“I’m a wolf.”
“And I’m a dragon.” That little fact made most men cower, even the immortal ones. There was a time she wanted nothing more than to be the fiercest warrior in Imortia, to cast fear in the eyes of all who dared oppose her in battle. Now every day was a battle, a battle to be accepted, trusted.
“Believe me, I noticed.” The man sat back down in the chair, leaning back casually. “You hurt some of my pack mates.”
“They started the fight.” She studied him, unable to tell if he was angry about her actions or just stating a fact. His expression was blank, as if he’d been trained to show nothing. He probably had been.
The door to the small room opened, and a hulky Hispanic man entered, eyes narrowing on her as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “She’s up. She give you any trouble?”
The man in the chair grinned. “All kinds. I barely came out alive.”
“That might actually be funny if one of our own hadn’t just barely come out alive.” The new wolf’s lip curled in disgust as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the door.
“What did you find out?” Her guard looked toward their intruder, and if she wasn’t mistaken, annoyance added a spark of fire to his eyes.
The Hispanic man continued to leer at her as he shrugged one massive shoulder. “Not much about where these … people … come from, but they’re supposed to fight with us. In return for their aid, we are to offer our own to help them.”
“Help them what?”
“Not sure yet. Some sort of battle of their own. The White Wolf is somehow indebted to them, it would seem.”
Her captor returned his attention to her. “Where did your people come from?”
“Imortia, of course.”
The two men frowned, looked at each other, shrugged, and looked back at her.
“Where the hell is that?” The Hispanic one asked.
“The realm Zaira came from,” she explained slowly, unsure why they wouldn’t recall the name. Surely they knew where their queen came from.
“Zaira?” Her guard’s brow creased. “Who’s Zaira?”
“You’re joking, right?” She looked between the two men, but noted no signs of humor, no indication they were playing dumb with her. “Seriously? You don’t know the name of your own queen?”
“Queen?” The men spoke at the same time.
Merta.
She cocked her head to the side as her leader’s voice filled her head.
Are you alright?
The Hispanic man started to speak, but she quickly held up a finger, indicating for him to wait. Irritation sparked in his dark eyes, but being a Were himself, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out she now spoke telepathically with her leader.
I’m fine. Thank you for healing me.
I wouldn’t have had to if you’d obeyed my command.
I know.
Where are you now?
In a small room. There is a cot and a table. I’m being guarded by a wolf. Another recently came in. She noticed the two Weres stiffen, their heads cock slightly to the side as hers had done, and knew they were also being spoken to, either by Zaira or their pack leader. She assumed the latter judging by the way they didn’t even know Zaira’s name. So strange.
Have they hurt you?
No. They’ve chained me to the cot though, with silver. They appear to believe just having me cuffed with the metal will keep me from shifting.
They don’t know the strength of our power. They are being ordered to let you go. Behave. Zaira’s cooperation is important to our mission.
I know. I won’t anger her by hurting her precious pups.
She felt Addix grin down their mental link.
Good. Gain her trust by torching her enemy. I’m counting on you.
Understood. She thought about the questions she’d been asked prior to Addix’s interruption. Why do these men not know Zaira by name? Is she not their queen?
What have you told them? His tone dark and threatening, she was immediately thankful his interruption had come when it did, before she could tell the Weres more about Zaira.
Not much. They asked where we came from. I told them we came from Imortia, where Zaira came from. They do not seem to know who she is. I asked them how they did not know their queen’s name. They seem puzzled over the use of that title.
Tell them nothing more. A direct order.
Understood.
Her head felt lighter as Addix withdrew, and she looked up to see the Asian guard pulling a key from the pocket of his slacks. The imp inside her jumped up and down in glee at the thought of shifting into dragon form right in front of them, surprising them with her ability to do so despite the silver cuffs they foolishly thought strong enough to hold her. However, the deep scowl and stony-eyed distrust coming
from the Hispanic cautioned her against doing anything that might illicit a knee-jerk reaction.
Instead of having her moment of fun, she sat still and allowed her captor to unchain her.
“Have I gained your trust so quickly?” She batted her lashes at the guard.
“Not at all,” the other man replied, opening the door. “But intruders have been spotted. We’ve been ordered to let you go, although I’d rather leave you here as bait.”
“That’s enough, Rico.” Her captor glared at his partner. “Jason said she’s to fight with us. John’s wounds healed, and had we not attacked her in the first place, he wouldn’t have been injured.”
“Had they not come here in the first place, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Well, they’re here now and our army is greater for it.”
“Ever hear of friendly fire?” Rico cast one more hateful glare her way and stepped out.
“Never mind him,” her captor muttered. “He takes it like a baby when anyone gets the better of him in battle.”
Now it clicked, why all the animosity. “He was one of the wolves I injured.”
“And he’s pretty pissed off about it.”
“Oopsie.” Merta shrugged as she stepped toward the door, Addix’s words in her head. She had enemies to fry. “Take me to your foes and I’ll earn his favor.”
“Fry those bastards and you’ll earn everyone’s favor.”
They stepped outside of the small cabin and took a trail headed north. “What is that place, a torture room?” she asked, noting its seclusion as they followed the trail she assumed would lead to where the other Weres congregated.
“It can be. Or in this case, it was a holding cell. We didn’t know your people’s true intentions when you arrived and you seemed the most dangerous.”
“Really?” There was a time she would have found the statement the ultimate of compliments. “You don’t seem so scared of me.”
“Fear is a useless emotion.”
She smiled, feeling the same. “I’m Merta. You are?”
“Mercury. Rico and I are Jason’s main enforcers. I need to reach him before the intruders do. It’s my job to protect him.”
“You consider your pack leaders your kings?” Merta tried to understand the werewolves’ hierarchy, and where exactly Zaira fit into it.
“Kings?” Mercury frowned. “Who thinks like that? If Jason were a king then I’d be a knight.” He laughed at this. “That’s crazy. We’re wolves, not royalty.”
“But what about the White Wolf?” She’d caught on that none of them knew Zaira by name.
“Before today, I don’t think any of us had seen her in human form,” Mercury commented. “Hell, we didn’t know she had one. She was just this majestic wolf watching over us, guiding us. The story is that she’s the mother of our race. Sometimes she blesses us, but she stays hidden, sometimes for years at a time. The unicorn you came here with. He knew her?”
She nodded. “He hasn’t seen her in hundreds of years. We came for her help.”
“Hundreds of years?” Mercury stopped, faced her. “What the hell are you people?”
Merta heard the arrow whizzing toward Mercury’s head and instinctively shoved him to the ground before the silver tip could find purchase.
FIVE
Bones crunched and blood sprayed as hunters and Weres clashed. The hawks had alerted the Weres to the hunters’ presence minutes before their attack. They’d moved in swift and furious, the human men growing bolder.
They’d been right to expect their opponents to be fierce, to be quick, but they had not expected the beasts they came face to face with. They’d been mentally prepared to see humans shift into wolves, but when Addix’s Weres shifted shape before them they were momentarily stunned.
After a dozen slack-jawed men were cut down, the hunters shook their fear off and dug in for the fight.
“I’d hoped they’d tuck tail and run in the other direction,” Zaira murmured from where she observed with Addix. Out of the way of the fight, they watched from a hilltop as their warriors fought for their lives.
“You really wanted that? For them to have time to regroup?” Addix shook his head, studying the fight intently. “No. This is good. Some of our people will come out scraped and sore, but theirs will all die.”
Zaira glanced over at the unicorn-shifter she’d once been intimate with and sighed. “Fairuza liked her men blood-thirsty. I’m surprised you’re not down there bathing in hunter blood.”
Addix said nothing, but the indentation in his cheek and tightening of his fists said enough.
“Hit a nerve?”
Ignoring her, he growled as he turned his attention toward a loud rumbling sound coming from the trees lining the clearing. A truck emerged from the path that led to the clearing, followed by another, and another. Hunters filled each truck to capacity, and they jumped from the beds before the vehicles fully stopped.
“We need to get down there.” Zaira moved to rush forward but a strong arm crossed her middle, stalling her.
“I told you my dragon would take care of your enemies.”
As if summoned by his words, the red dragon flew into the clearing, passing over the Weres and hunters still fighting in the center. She headed straight for the newcomers and with one long breath of fire, burned them and their vehicles to a crisp.
“Holy crap.”
“Nice, huh? Told you we could help you out. You shouldn’t run into the fight anyway. Your place is as their queen. They’re supposed to protect you.”
“This is my family. It’s not their job to protect me. I protect them.”
Addix looked at her sideways, frowning. “I don’t understand you. You were given a race to rule and you treat them like children. They are soldiers, servants, not family.”
“You know, I realize now why Fairuza was so upset over your betrayal. The two of you were perfect for each other.”
Addix stepped back as if struck. “That cold-blooded bitch is nothing like me, and I for damn sure am nothing like her.”
“You might want to check that again.”
She stepped forward, needing the distance, even if it wasn’t much. She refused to stand side by side with this man a moment longer.
“What would happen to them if you die?”
“They’ll live. Their creation may have been because of me, but they do not need me to live. They know how to function on their own. I haven’t babied them.”
“You really think Fairuza would allow them to live if you died? It is for their protection that you must protect your own life first.”
Zaira scoffed. “If I were to die, Fairuza’s game would be over. What reason would she have to strike them down after it can no longer hurt me?”
“Dying doesn’t stop love. It doesn’t stop pain. If anything, it makes it greater.”
“What do you know of dying?”
He looked at her, and she swore she could see the rage of hellfire, the suffering of a hundred widows and the promise of revenge all twisted together in his eyes before he turned away to focus again on the clearing beneath them.
The fight was over. Wolves, tigers, ravens, dingoes, gargoyles and assorted other Weres walked among the littered bodies of the hunters, surveying their work.
“We have a mess to clean,” Addix commented as he stepped forward, making his way down the cliff.
Zaira could have zapped them down to the clearing easily, but decided she’d let him walk. As for herself, she willed her body into its wolf form and weaved herself through various overlapping realms until she stood in the clearing with her people.
Once among them, she let out an approving victory howl. It was what they’d all grown accustomed to. Impersonal, but proud at the same time. It wouldn’t serve them well to know her as a person. To actually love her on that level. Yes, they were her children and she had no choice but to care for and protect them. They didn’t have to feel the same way about her. She didn’t need any of them to die for her
.
The Weres, even Addix’s group, bowed their heads, or dropped to a knee, depending on what form they were in.
Then the foliage behind her rustled and she turned in time to see a hunter step out from the trees, undetected by her people. One hunter had survived, and this one carried a machine gun she already knew would be loaded with silver bullets.
He took aim.
Her breath caught. She could quickly vanish but he would still mow down her Weres. Even Addix’s dragon shifter wasn’t fast enough to save them before taking the man out.
She would die with them. She was the one the hunter really wanted, anyway. She saw it in the gleam in his eyes. Then his eyes changed, widened. His sneer crumbled as his jaw dropped in surprise.
Turning, Zaira saw the big, black unicorn walking to her side.
Another rustle came from the foliage. The man turned, screamed. A giant snake swallowed him whole before shifting into a curvy blonde. She stepped into the clearing, licking her fingers. “There went my diet,” she said with a wink, passing them by.
“Your anaconda has become quite the celebrity among my wolves,” Zaira commented, sensing Addix’s presence.
He joined her, both of them now in human form, at the edge of the clearing, beneath the cliff they’d watched from earlier. “Lana is a good fighter, a fierce protector. They are lucky to have her among them.”
“As am I. And thank you, as well.” It didn’t thrill her to have to thank the man who’d caused her banishment, but he had saved them. “How did you know shifting into unicorn form would stun the man?”
“If you thought unicorns were mythical creatures and one popped up in front of you, wouldn’t you gawk a little bit?”
“If my heart were so set on execution, like his had been? And if I’d already seen dragons and gargoyles? I don’t know if anything would have stopped me.”
“Even seeing something so pure and innocent mingled with creatures you believed to be impure and evil?”
Moonlit Majesty Page 3
