by Renee Jordan
My flesh crawled. “You...taught him the spell that made me...love him?” My eyes widened. “Sweet Lord, you used that spell on my mother.” My stomach twisted. “She...she spent the rest of her life waiting for you. She didn't have a choice to love you. What kind of monster are you?”
“The kind with the will to get what he wants, Dakota.” His voice was firm. “I created you. I need you, and you will help me.”
I laughed in his face. My heart beat faster. I gathered my will and prepared to use my magic. If he wanted to force me, I would make it hard for him. My totem prickled.
“You have a choice, Dakota. You can help me with what I need and then live happily ever after with your wolf, or I will destroy everyone you love.”
“You did train Burt,” I sneered. “He made the very same threat. And now he's dead.”
My father strode towards me, his green eyes burning. “I am far older than Burt. I do not make empty threats. So what will it be?”
I swallowed. His eyes were so hard. I had scoffed at Burt's threat, but I could see it in his eyes. My father would do it. I trembled, biting my lip. “What do you want?”
“What do you think, Dakota?”
My heart trembled. “The power in the Moon Tear Spring.”
“It's why I made you. You will be my conduit. Once I have the power, I really don't care what you do with your life.”
I had touched that power. It was immense. What would he do with it? Why would he need so much power? My heart beat faster. He may be a strong man, he may have planned out my life, but I was a strong woman and I had amazing friends and my powerful mate. We stopped Christian and Burt. We would stop my father.
“No. I will not help you.” I glared at him. “That power is too strong. I don't think you're the sort of man that can be entrusted with it.”
My father sighed. “Yes, you are far stronger than I had ever thought you would be. I did all I could to keep your will tiny. How did you manage to survive Wayne and Burt with any spine intact?”
“I discovered something to fight for,” I spat back. He knew about Wayne?
“I would rather you were willing,” he said. “It'll make this far less painful.”
“I would never help you!” I hissed.
“Well, this was pointless. I'll give you a day to come to your senses.” His eyes flicked down at my wedding dress. “You do look lovely, Dakota.”
He turned and strode out of the changing room.
I almost collapsed.
Chapter Five: Family
Penny, Augustus, Connie, and Evelyn rushed back into the room as my knees buckled. Penny caught my arm and helped me to a seat. My head swam. My father had no qualms laying out everything he had done to me.
Did he make my momma marry Wayne? As a child, I never had understood why she did that. She always talked about my real father like she loved him, but married this abusive drunk anyways. And then she died so young. She was only twenty-four. Far too young to be taken away.
Tears trickled down my cheeks. What if my father killed her? What if he gave her cancer so I would be raised by Wayne? I was so eager to get away from Wayne I probably would have dated Burt without the love spell. For a while, I thought of Burt as the man who rescued me from Wayne.
Penny wrapped her arms around me. “It's okay,” she whispered as she rocked me. “He's gone.”
“He...he...” I sobbed, struggling to speak. “He's a monster.” I looked up into Penny's eyes. “He used magic to make my momma love him. He manipulated my entire life.”
“Kotie!” Forrest shouted from the front of the store.
“Vanessa called him the moment we walked out,” Penny said.
“Back here,” Augustus shouted, opening the door.
Forrest burst into the back room. I flew to his arms and buried my face into his chest. My body shook. My father had controlled my entire life. He inflicted cruelty after cruelty all so I would be thrilled to be rescued from my misery.
“What's wrong?” Forrest asked. “What did your father say?”
His anger grew as I told him all that my father did to me. His eyes burned gold. The wolf was eager to be unleashed. When I finished, Forrest growled, “That bastard was the one who put me here. I've been defending the Moon Tear Spring just so the bastard could use it for himself?”
His arms tightened about me.
“But you messed up his plans,” Forrest continued. “You were stronger than he thought. You escaped Burt. You figured out what a piece of shit he is.”
“So now he'll do what Christian tried to do,” I answered. “He'll try to force me to be the conduit. He's threatened everyone I love. He means it, Forrest. He'll kill you. Penny. Everyone.”
“Not if I have anything to say,” a new voice snarled. Miss Maggie stumped in, her eyes fierce.
“I called her,” Penny said.
Forrest let me go and pulled out his radio. “Vanessa.”
“Yeah, boss,” she answered.
“Are you still following Kotie's father?”
“Yep,” she answered. “He's driving a black, Chevy impala. I'd say a '65. We're heading up to the cabins by Redrock Lake.”
“You alone?”
“Nope. Kiernan and Bobby Ray are following behind me.”
“You be careful. He's a witch.”
“Boss, that's what you pay us to fight. So he's after the Moon Tear Spring?”
“Yep. We're taking him down today.”
“I'm in,” Penny said, folding her arms beneath her breasts. Her totem, a tattoo of a tornado wrapped in a red bow whirled and Air spirits danced around her. “I'm not gonna let him use me to blackmail you, Kotie.”
Tears burned in my eyes.
“I reckon your father needs to learn some manners,” Miss Maggie snarled like an angry momma bear. “He ain't 'bout to harm a single hair on your head, Kotie.”
I nodded my head and looked at Forrest. How did I get so lucky to find these amazing people? “He can't possibly stop all of us.”
Forrest brushed away my tears. “You look gorgeous,” he said.
My eyes widened. “Forrest, you can't see me in my dress before the wedding.”
“Too late.” He leaned down and kissed me. I trembled when he broke it. “I won't let your father harm you.”
“Are you going to kill him?”
Forrest's eyes were hard. “Doesn't he deserve it?”
I nodded my head. “He killed my mother. I'm sure of it. He seduced her and then killed her all so he could use me.” Another tremble shuddered through my body. “He made her love him. He destroyed her.”
“Augustus?” Forrest asked. “What about you?”
Augustus shook his head. “I'm not sure I'll be much use. But I know you'll deal with him.”
“Let's get you out of this dress,” Evelyn said, her face pale. She was just a normal human, but like most residents of Moonrise, she understood what was really happening in this town. “We don't want to ruin it. You'll need it for your big day.”
I nodded my head.
Forrest withdrew as Evelyn helped me out of the dress. I would not let my father ruin everything. He would pay for all the pain he had inflicted upon me. How could he be so cruel to his own daughter? How could I even be his daughter? How did that monster produce me?
I pulled my cowboy boots on last. I stood up and glanced at the mirror. The beautiful bride was gone. In her place was an angry witch. I tied back my hair in a ponytail. My fists clenched. “Momma, I'll make him pay for what he did to you.” I looked up at the skies, fresh tears rolling down my cheeks. The bastard had stolen her from me.
I wiped away my tears and strode out of the back room. Forrest stood fierce and dangerous, his hand resting on the butt of his gun holstered on his belt. Penny had her arms folded beneath her generous bosom, hard determination on her normally cheerful face. Miss Maggie's face was full of a mama-bear's anger, her lips curling. The hard woman was close to her change.
“Let's stop your fa
ther,” Penny said.
I had such amazing friends. The town of Moonrise had embraced me. This was my home. My family. And there was no way in hell I was letting my father ruin everything. He had already done enough harm to my life.
“Let's go.” My boots thudded on the hard floor of the shop as I strode across it. Forrest fell in beside me, walking with a wolfish grace, his lips pulled back in a snarl. The barbed wire tattoos crisscrossing his chest must be burning bright red. The change was almost upon him. My mate would make my father regret ever meddling in my life.
“Take care, girl,” Augustus said, his narrow face pale.
I nodded to him. I wanted to pause to hug him, but I couldn't. I had to keep marching. I couldn't stop now. Momentum built inside me. I was like a boulder rolling down a hill. My father lay at the bottom and nothing was stopping me from crashing into him.
The day was bright and warm. It seemed far too sunny for what we were about to do. If this was a movie, I'm sure it would be a dark and stormy night. Birds sang in the trees lining the street and a sweet perfume of flowers adorned the air. Moonrise was a perfect town. It didn't deserve my father's taint polluting it.
Forrest's SUV was parked a few cars down from Evelyn's Treasures. It was like any sheriff SUV you'd see in any part of America, beige and white, a light rack on top, and the city seal of Moonrise printed on the door.
“Hi, Sheriff,” an elderly woman nodded as she power walked by in her jogging shorts and t-shirt, a pink sweatband half-covered by her gray hair. “Beautiful day.”
Forrest nodded.
Cars streamed up and down Spring Drive, either passing through Moonrise as they followed the highway through this part of Montana, or locals heading home from work, going shopping, or just out to enjoy the beautiful afternoon. I paused at the door to the SUV, looking around at the town. It had that small town charm, the storefronts almost looking like an old west town, only ruined by the modern lighting and the rows of cars parallel parked along the sidewalk.
“Kotie?” Forrest asked from across the SUV as he opened the driver door.
“Sorry.” This town deserved protection. That's why I was here. To stop men like my father from plundering it. I would protect it. I would stop my father's plans for the Moon Tear Spring. I wrenched open the passenger door and climbed into the SUV.
The vehicle rocked on its shocks as Forrest climbed into the cab. He was a big man. In the back, Penny and Miss Maggie buckled their seat belts. Forrest's police radio squawked as he flipped on his lights and sirens. He gave a quick look over his shoulder before pulling out into traffic. The V8 engine growled as he roared down the street towards Miner's Way, the road that led up into the Rocky Mountains and out towards Redrock Lake.
Forrest snatched his radio. “Where's he at, Vanessa?”
“We're still heading towards Redrock Lake,” she answered, her voice a little garbled on the radio. The last few months, I had gotten a lot better at understanding radio chatter. “I don't think he cares that I'm following him. We're approaching the cabins. I'll let you know if he makes the turn or keeps going.”
Forrest didn't stop at the red light at Miner's Way. He honked his horn a few times, stopping traffic as he raced through the intersection and made the left. A patrol car appeared behind us, its light rack flashing as it followed us up into the mountains.
I looked over my shoulder as the SUV climbed the hill. Moonrise stretched out across the valley, tiny and perfect. Flashing lights dotted the roads, more of Forrest's pack racing to catch up with us and take down my father. We would stop him. He was only one man. We wouldn't make the mistake we had with Burt. We wouldn't underestimate my father.
“Yeah, boss, he's pulling into the cabins,” Vanessa reported.
“Don't get too close,” Forrest growled. “All responding units, we'll meet at the entrance and go in together.”
“What could he want at the cabins?” I asked.
“He's probably retreating to a secure place,” Penny said. “He'll have enchantments ringing around it.”
“That's why me and you are here,” I said.
“When we get there, Penny'll take the back and you'll work the front,” Forrest said. “I'll have Hank watch over you, Penny.”
“Gotcha,” Penny answered.
“And me?” Miss Maggie asked.
“You'll be at Kotie's side. Once the witches break whatever protections the bastard has, I'll lead my men in storming the cabin. Kotie, I want you to hang back with Miss Maggie.”
I folded my arms. “You'll need me against him.”
“And you'll be there to rush in and help us,” Forrest answered. “But what if he's got more than magic?”
“Like?”
“Guns.”
“He's not going to kill me. He needs me.”
“Accident's happen. This could get messy.” Forrest reached out and took my hand. “Let me and my men do the dangerous part. If we need you, trust me, we'll holler. Okay?”
His hand squeezed mine. I wanted to go in with him. I knew Forrest was just trying to be protective. That was his nature. “Fine,” I sighed. “You're probably right.” Probably. “But I'll be close in case something happens.”
“I know you will,” Forrest grinned.
“You have your wolf head medallion on?” I asked. I had made it with my magic and inadvertently imbued it with Love spirits.
“Always.”
I nodded. It would protect him. “And your bulletproof vest is in the SUV?”
Forrest's grin broadened. “I'll be protected. I'm not getting killed. Not before I've married you.”
The rugged mountainside rushed past us as we moved deeper into the mountains. Rocky slopes dotted with lone trees and covered in wire mesh to help prevent landslides blurred by us. Forrest took a left onto Circle Lake Drive.
“Damn!” Penny gasped in the backseat as Forrest raced down the gravel road, the SUV bouncing through potholes.
Forrest had both hands on the wheel as he drove, the SUV weaving on the road as he tried to avoid the worst of the holes and ruts that marred the road. The trees fell away on the left. A crystal-blue lake appeared, the rippling waves reflecting back the sun. In the distance, across the lake, a group of log cabins lay amid the towering pine trees. Docks jutted out into the lake. We passed the landing. A few boats bobbed on the lake as their occupants fished.
The gravel road curved around the lake before it pulled away from the water. In moments, Redrock Lake was obscured by trees and brush. Blue flashed through gaps between trees. Ahead, two cop cars waited, pulled off onto a grassy median before a sign that proclaimed:
Redrock Lake Cabins
Inquire with manager for rentals
Deputies Kiernan, and Bobby Ray were strapping on their body armor and checking their shotguns. Forrest pulled his SUV up. “Boss,” Kiernan nodded. He was a ruddy-faced man with intense, blue eyes.
Forrest climbed out and walked to the back. He opened the rear door so Miss Maggie could get out—the rear passenger doors could not be opened from the inside—and I did the same for Penny. The witch climbed out and stretched.
“Hey, Kiernan,” she said, a tight smile on her lips.
Kiernan shifted his shoulders and looked away. He and Penny had dated for a while. Well, dating wasn't quite the word since Penny insisted they were only having fun and not a couple, but they sure seemed like they had been dating to me. Whatever their relationship was, it had ended badly.
“Where's Vanessa?” Forrest asked.
“Farther up the road, boss,” Bobby Ray said. He was a tall man with a shaved head and mirrored sunglasses. “The suspect is in cabin 7.”
There was a map of the cabins carved onto the wooden sign. Cabin seven was the most remote at the end of the right branch and butted up against the forest. As Forrest studied it, I opened the back of his SUV and grabbed his bullet proof vest.
“Here!” I pushed it into his hands.
Forrest absently nodded as he kept studyi
ng the map. The velcro ripped apart as he pulled it on. The black vest made him seem even bulkier. Other deputies arrived, piling out of their cruisers, racing to their trunks, and pulling on their flack jackets before gathering around Forrest.
“Kotie, lovely day we're having,” Hank smiled. The redheaded werewolf had a pleasant grin on his face.
“Hank,” Forrest said. “You'll be leading the team that breaches the rear entrance. Penny will be with you for handling any spells.”
“Roger, boss,” Hank nodded, then grinned at Penny. “I'll keep a good eye on her.”
Penny winked, “There is a lot of me to watch.”
Hank's grin only broadened. I rolled my eyes. This really wasn't the time. “Remember, you're married, Hank.”
“Macy don't mind if I look.”
The last deputy arrived. Xavier rushed up. He was the youngest, and he had an eager gleam in his green eyes. There were ten deputies in total. “Bobby Ray, Smith, Curtis, and Xavier, you're with Hank. He'll be taking the lead on breaching the rear entrance. All these cabins have a back door.” Forrest tapped the corner of the cabin. “Should be there. Since there's no good way to flank it, we'll drive up in force and form a perimeter. The witches will disable his protections, then we'll breach the front and rear of the house at once.”
“Roger, boss,” his deputies nodded. They all grinned and shifted. They were excited. All of them were wolf shifters, and the hunt was on.
I wish I had their enthusiasm. I just wanted this to be over. I wanted to punish my father and then go back to my life. My insides were twisted. It took all my self-control not to tremble as the adrenaline roared through me.
“Kiernan, you'll have the battering ram for the front door. Arnie will take the back. We don't take chances. This witch is a terrible man. He's hurt Kotie. He's Burt's mentor.”
More than a few deputies snarled. They had lost three of their pack when Burt burned down the school gymnasium at the Policeman's Ball. Their excitement changed to snarling rage. The pack's eyes all gleamed. They were out for blood.
“So we put him down. You get a shot, take it. This witch is too dangerous to let live.”
