Beneath a Rising Moon

by Keri Arthur

  the sound of snapping teeth and tearing flesh. He swore

  and sat up, hurriedly undoing the chains from his legs

  before surging to his feet.

  He swung around, saw the two wolves, silver and gold,

  at the back of the cavern. Neva was on the bottom, but

  her teeth were deep into Betise’s throat, and blood gleamed

  on silver fur.

  He shifted shape and arrowed toward them, hitting

  Betise and sending her rolling off Neva, who scrambled to

  her feet and spat out a huge chunk of hair and flesh.

  Are you all right? Her mind voice was rich with concern

  and caring.

  Yes. Just seeing her made everything all right, though

  he knew it wasn’t.

  You’re bleeding. She licked his wounds tentatively,

  then a rumble rose up her throat, and she nudged him

  sideways, taking the full impact of Betise’s leap.

  He swore as he hit the ground, though it came out

  little more than a harsh growl. He rolled to his feet, saw

  the two wolves tearing at each other near the cavern’s

  entrance. Felt the sharp caress of electricity in the air, a

  sensation that built and built until every hair on his coat

  stood on end. It was similar but far stronger than the

  force he’d felt building in the kitchen the night Neva had

  slammed deep into his mind and assaulted him with her

  fear and pain.

  Shield. Neva’s warning blasted him, and he thrust up

  his shields immediately.

  A heartbeat later, the force in the air seemed to explode,

  and Betise was torn from Neva’s body and flung out the

  cavern entrance.

  He shifted shape and walked towards Neva as the

  changing haze rolled across her wolf shape. He stopped

  beside her and slid his fingers through hers. They were

  trembling, and as wet with blood as his own.

  Betise lay ten feet away. She’d regained human form

  and was half curled up in fetal position, her bloody body

  shaking, her green-grey eyes wide and staring.

  “I fried her mind,” Neva said, voice flat, emotionless.

  He didn’t say anything, just wrapped an arm around

  her and pulled her close. She rested her cheek against his

  chest, and though she made no sound, warm tears slid

  down his skin.

  Over the top of her head, he saw a russet-haired ranger

  holding a gun on Iyona as Savannah cuffed her. Watched

  his father and brother’s kneel beside René’s still form.

  Felt the surge of relief as his father looked up and nodded.

  His brother was okay.

  “It’s over,” he said softly.

  “Yes, it is.”

  He closed his eyes at the starkness in her voice. And

  knew that for now, it was.

  ***

  Neva winced as the needle slid into her forearm.

  “Sorry,” the doctor said, much too cheerfully. “But I

  can’t do much about it. Tetanus shots are never pleasant,

  no matter how careful we are.”

  She nodded vaguely, her attention more on what was

  going on in the other room than what the doctor was doing

  to her arm. They’d been at the rangers’ office for over an

  hour now. Because of the fire at the hospital, the

  emergency doctors had come to them, looking after her,

  Duncan, Iyona and Betise. Only René had gone on to the

  emergency room.

  She hadn’t seen Duncan since they’d come here, and

  she desperately needed to see him, to talk to him. Needed

  to make him understand why she’d come to the decision

  she had. Savannah was probably talking to him, as she

  couldn’t see her sister, either. But Betise and Iyona were

  visible—the older wolf cursing and fighting every order,

  the younger wolf catatonic, not responding to anyone or

  anything. A living, breathing zombie.

  Neva closed her eyes, not wanting to see what she’d

  done. And yet part of her didn’t regret it. Betise had killed

  without remorse, and would have killed her and Duncan,

  and anyone else who got in the way of her mad scheme.

  “Don’t go lifting anything heavy for the next couple

  days,” the doctor said. “And if there’s any sign of soreness

  or infection, go straight to the emergency room.”

  She nodded and slipped off the table, walking into the

  other room. That’s when she saw her parents. She stopped

  and met her father’s gaze for a moment, saw the relief and

  worry haunting the green of his eyes. Her mother started

  towards her, tears on her face and one hand outstretched.

  Neva spun away, not ready or willing to talk to either of

  them just yet, and walked down the passage to Savannah’s

  office. Her sister was there. So was Duncan.

  Savannah rose and walked around her desk. “I’ll leave

  you two alone.” She placed her hand on Neva’s good arm,

  and squeezed it lightly. Then she walked out and closed

  the door behind her.

  Duncan rose from the visitor’s chair. Neva let her gaze

  travel up the long, lean length of him, etching it into her

  memory. Though in truth, it already was. His left arm

  was in a sling, and there were scratches across his

  beautiful face.

  He didn’t step any closer, just reached out, cupping

  her cheek with his palm, letting his thumb brush warmth

  across her trembling lips. She briefly closed her eyes,

  breathing in the scent of him, battling the tears that

  suddenly threatened her control.

  “You haven’t changed your mind?” he asked softly.

  “No.” It came out little more than a tortured whisper.

  He stepped closer, his dark eyes holding hers,

  shimmering with deep determination. And love. “I won’t

  give up on us, you know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” The word seemed to stick somewhere in her

  throat. She swallowed, but it didn’t ease the burning in

  her throat. Didn’t ease the burning in her chest. “I have

  no choice, Duncan, not with my father’s ultimatum. I can’t

  walk away from my family.”

  “Nor do I expect you to. But I intend to come back to

  Ripple Creek, and I intend to make your father see that

  we were meant to be.”

  “My father will never accept you.”

  “I won’t give up,” he repeated, his breath warm against

  her lips. “You are mine, Neva. You always will be.”

  He kissed her. Softly. Sweetly. Then he turned and

  walked out the door.

  It felt like her heart had shattered. Pain unlike

  anything she’d ever felt before welled, and she raised a

  hand to her mouth, holding back the sobs. Holding in the

  need to cry out his name as the echo of his footsteps grew

  softer, until all that was left were the caress of his scent

  on the air and the taste of him on her lips.

  A sob escaped. She closed her eyes and slumped back

  against the desk. Tears slid down her cheeks, and she

  swiped at them impatiently. She wouldn’t cry here.

  Wouldn’t cry in front of her parents. Heartbreak could

  wait until she was alone.

  And alone was something she’d
be for the rest of her

  life.

  She bit her lip and pushed away from the desk.

  Savannah was standing next to their parents, and all three

  were standing near the exit. As much as she didn’t want

  to talk to anyone right now, she had no choice but to

  approach her family.

  The relief so evident in her father’s expression had

  Neva clenching her fists.

  “It is for the best,” he said gruffly. “You deserve far

  better than a man with a past like his.”

  “Father, you have no idea what you’re talking about,”

  Savannah said, voice sharp and impatient. “Why don’t

  you just get over—”

  Neva touched her sister’s arm, stopping her from

  saying anything else, and met her father’s gaze squarely.

  “Did you marry your soul mate?”

  He frowned. “You know I did.”

  “And don’t you wish both Savannah and me the same

  happiness?”

  “Yes, of course, but—”

  “There are no buts, Father. And you’ve made me choose

  between my family and my soul mate.”

  And with that, she pushed past them and walked out

  the door.

  Sixteen

  “I’m really tempted to give the old bastard a piece of

  my mind,” Ari said as she plopped down in the booth seat

  opposite Neva. “I mean, how dare he spout words of

  tolerance to the council when he’s not even practicing it in

  his own backyard?”

  Neva smiled as she swished the straw through the froth

  of her strawberry shake. “He’ll fire you again.”

  Ari airily waved the comment away. “He’s fired me three

  times this week already. We both know he can’t afford to

  lose me. You and I are the only ones crazy enough to work

  for peanuts.”

  That was certainly true. She sipped her drink and

  glanced out the diner’s window. Nearly two months had

  passed since Duncan had left, and spring had truly come

  to Ripple Creek. But the warmth hadn’t touched her heart.

  And wouldn’t. Not until he came back into her life.

  And that couldn’t happen soon enough. She blinked

  back the sting of tears and tried not to think about him.

  Tried not to think about the long nights of dreaming about

  his touch and waking to nothing more than loneliness and

  despair.

  But at least not seeing or talking to him for so long

  had convinced her of two things. The first being the fact

  that she loved him, heart and soul, and wanted him in her

  life no matter what the cost. And the second being she

  was the biggest goddamned coward on Earth for letting

  him walk away from her that night. They should have

  confronted her parents together. Should have given them

  the ultimatum to accept their relationship if they wanted

  to be a part of her and Duncan’s future.

  But even when her heart had been breaking, part of

  her had still refused to believe love could happen so fast.

  Nor had she believed the ritual they’d performed was real—

  not until the next full moon, when the moon’s heat did

  little more than make her ache for his caress. They were

  one, now and forever, committed to each other heart and

  soul.

  And if her parents couldn’t accept that, too bad. She

  had come to the point where she was more than willing to

  walk away—except when it came to Savannah.

  A hand slid across Neva’s, and her gaze jumped to her

  friend’s.

  “Your father is a fool,” Ari said softly. “But I’m beginning

  to think you’re a bigger one. If you love this man so much,

  go after him, babe. Your parents will come to their senses

  once they see how happy you are together.”

  Neva’s smile was slightly bitter. “It’s not quite as simple

  as that.”

  “Crap.” Ari leaned back in the seat and crossed her

  arms. “Do you love him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does he love you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then what else is there to worry about? Go get your

  man, and to hell with your parents.”

  “My father swore an oath to the moon that I’d be

  evicted from the pack should I continue my relationship

  with Duncan.”

  Ari stared at her for a moment, then cursed softly. She

  knew, as Neva knew, that such an oath was binding to all

  members of the family. If she walked away to be with

  Duncan, she’d never be able to talk to her sister again.

  And that was something she wasn’t willing to lose.

  “Moons,” Ari commented. “What a mess.”

  “That it is.” And she didn’t see a way out of it. Not

  without putting Savannah in the middle.

  I’ll never be in the middle of it. The strength of

  Savannah’s mind voice told Neva she was close to the diner.

  Because I’m on your side, completely and utterly. You finally

  ready yet to do something about this whole situation?

  More than ready, Neva replied with a smile. With her

  twin by her side, all things were possible.

  The bell above the door chimed as the door opened.

  Savannah walked in, dragging their mother in behind her.

  If the look on Nancy’s face was anything to go by, she

  definitely wasn’t here by choice. Neva glanced at the clock.

  No wonder. She was missing her weekly facial.

  Nancy’s scathing glance took them in, then swung back

  to Savannah. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “What I should have done a month ago.” The scar above

  her sister’s left eye looked as angry as her expression. She

  thrust their mother into the booth next to Ari. “You move,

  Mom, and I swear to the moon, I’ll shoot you.”

  With that she spun and marched toward the kitchen.

  Ari chuckled softly, a sound she quickly smothered as

  Nancy glared at her.

  “This is your doing, isn’t it?”

  Ari’s eyes were dancing with mirth as she held up her

  hands. “Nothing to do with me, honest. But you know, I’m

  damn glad someone is doing something. You and the boss

  seemed content to sit back and watch your daughter die

  of a broken heart.”

  “Ari—” Neva warned.

  “You’re fired,” her mother said over the top of her voice.

  “Yeah, right.” Ari sniffed and crossed her arms.

  Nancy slid out of the booth and pointed an imperious

  finger at the door. “Leave now.”

  Ari glanced at Neva, a smile playing around her lips.

  “Call me. And good luck.”

  “I’ll probably need it.”

  Neva crossed her arms and watched her mother slide

  back into the booth, but she didn’t bother saying anything.

  Even though she’d been back working at the diner for the

  last month, she’d barely exchanged a civil word with either

  of her parents since the night she’d let Duncan walk away.

  She saw no reason to change that until Savannah came

  back with their father.

  Her mother obviously had no such inhibitions. “If

  you’ve ended up hurt, you have no one to blame but

&n
bsp; yourself.”

  “You’re right,” she bit back. “Because I let him walk

  away from me rather than having the courage to confront

  Father’s edict with him by my side.”

  Her mother blinked. “Have you lost all the sense we

  bred into you? Why on earth would you think someone

  like Duncan Sinclair would ever make a suitable mate?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe the fact that we’re soul mates?”

  “Men like him don’t have soul mates. They have lovers,

  and plenty of them. It’s the sex that has you hooked, Neva,

  nothing more.”

  “If this is just sex, then I sure as hell can understand

  why the dance is so popular.” Though her voice was flat,

  she had to thrust her hands under the table to hide the

  angry trembling. How dare they not trust her enough to

  know her own heart?

  “Don’t be crude,” her mother replied stiffly. “A man

  with a past like his is not the sort of man we want—”

  “And what of your past, Mother? Or has that been

  conveniently forgotten?”

  Her mother’s face went white. “What are you talking

  about?”

  But the fear in her widening eyes suggested she knew

  exactly what Neva was talking about. “Dad doesn’t know,

  does he?” she said, suddenly understanding.

  “I don’t know what?”

  Her father’s voice was sharp as he stopped in front of

  the booth and glared at the two of them. Savannah stood

  behind him, arms crossed and expression severe. Neva

  had a feeling she fully intended to stand there like that

  until this whole mess was sorted out.

  “About mother’s double standards,” Neva replied.

  “About how it’s all right for her to be given a second chance,

  and not Duncan.”

  “It all happened a long time ago,” Nancy said, her face

  white, lips trembling. “I was only a teenager.”

  “So? Duncan wasn’t much older. And nothing he has

  ever done has led to someone’s death.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She met her father’s stony glare and let the anger finally

  boil over. “We’re talking about double standards. You stood

  up in front of the council yesterday and supported the

  Sinclairs right to the moon dance, stating no harm had

  ever come from it in all the years of it being here in Ripple

  Creek. Yet in private you state the dance is little more