Spellbound Moon

by Loribelle Hunt

  “So we know when. Do you know where?”

  Dane looked around. “Here.”

  Jonas snarled and stood to pace. Mick could guess what he was thinking. This damned wizard was coming after their mate in their territory? Stupid. But lucky for them. Jonas got control of his initial rage and turned to meet Mick’s gaze. They were definitely thinking the same thing.

  “Why do you think it’s tonight?” Jonas asked.

  Dane turned and pointed to the window over the sink. “Because in the vision I could see the moon, almost full, in that window. And if the weather report is right, tomorrow will be too overcast to see it.”

  Well now. Maybe the kid was smarter than he looked. Mick never bothered to check weather reports. His wolf alerted him to impending changes. A storm was moving in, probably after daybreak, and it wasn’t quite dark yet.

  “We need to get you up to the alpha’s house,” he told Harper.

  “What? No. It’s me he wants.”

  “And he isn’t getting you. We need you someplace we know you’re not in danger,” Jonas growled.

  She lifted her chin in the air, stubbornness radiating from her tense body.

  “You need my help. Dane is a seer, but not a great a spell caster, and Liza isn’t good enough yet. So you’re stuck with me.”

  Jonas snarled and resumed pacing. Thinking. Unfortunately, he’d reached the same conclusion Mick already had. She was right. But they sure as fuck didn’t have to like it.

  “I’m not going either,” Dane said belligerently. Mick sighed. Apparently, pigheadedness was genetic. “I’m good with fire if nothing else,” he added with a glare at Harper. From what little he’d seen, he’d guess Harper protected her younger brother from danger as much as possible.

  “Is that why Liza sent me down here?” a voice drawled from behind them.

  *

  Jonas turned to see Zach lounging against the door frame behind him. Great. Just what they needed to add to the clusterfuck. Zach was annoying on his best days, antagonistic the rest of the time.

  “Why would she send you here?” Jonas asked.

  Zach shrugged and strolled into the kitchen. “Said she had a bad feeling and wanted me to check up on Harper.”

  One day very soon Jonas was going to give into the urge to knock his beta on his ass, but the threat to Harper had to be eliminated first. He could guess by Mick’s expression he’d decided to give in to her demand to stay. Like her, he hadn’t thought the whole thing through. He was a healer. He’d never kill unless he was in the heat of battle. Jonas was not so reserved. They were only thinking of beating the bad guy, not what it would take to keep the bad guy away forever.

  He walked outside, past Zach, who followed and closed the door behind him.

  “Kid says he had a vision. Harper’s father isn’t willing to let her go after all.”

  “You believe him?”

  “Yeah.” Unfortunately. “If the kid is right, he’ll show up tonight.”

  Zach’s expression changed from predatory to amused in half a second. “The kid has a name.”

  Jonas snorted. Like they had time for stating the obvious? “Whatever. I need them out of here. All three of them.”

  Technically, Jonas outranked Mick, but under the circumstances Mick wouldn’t follow the order if he gave it, and because of what they meant to each other Jonas was reluctant to force him. Zach, on the other hand, was beta. Not even Mick would go against his orders. Zach nodded.

  “And then we wait for her father.”

  Jonas nodded.

  “Get Gabby and Ethan here too. And put a couple extra patrols on my place.”

  He tossed his phone to Jonas and left him outside to make the calls while he went back into the kitchen. Jonas stepped away from the house and scrolled through the address book. He picked up raised voices inside but couldn’t make them out. A few minutes later, everyone trooped out, and he turned his back on Mick’s angry glare.

  He should’ve known he wouldn’t get off that easy. He scented that Zach, Harper, and Dane had moved away, but he knew when he finished his last call, Mick would be standing there waiting for him. Knowing he couldn’t put it off any longer, he flipped the phone closed and turned to face him.

  Mick strode forward, stopped inches from Jonas, a growl rumbling in his chest. “She’s my mate too. You wouldn’t try to stop anyone else from protecting what was theirs.”

  “No.” Jonas closed the distance between them, lifting his hands to cradle Mick’s face. “But do you want her to watch me kill her father? Is there another way to keep her safe?”

  Mick’s body jerked, but he didn’t pull away. “Mick, baby, let me do what I have to without worrying about y’all,” he pleaded.

  Mick’s eyes glowed in the evening gloom. “You think I’m not capable? You think I can’t help?”

  Jonas took a deep breath. “I think it’s against your nature. I think it would eat at you. And that would make me feel…less. For not protecting you too.”

  When was the last time he’d been this honest? Had he ever? It surprised him how easy it was to do, to just lay everything bare. He leaned his forehead against Mick’s. “I need you to stay whole,” he whispered.

  Finally, finally Mick touched him. His arms lifted, circled Jonas’s waist, and yanked him close. “You are not getting off the hook for not discussing this with me.”

  No but and Jonas heaved a huge sigh of relief. Mick was going to go. “Someone has to watch Harper, and I have to be focused elsewhere. You know that.” He couldn’t help push, though. “Could you really do it?”

  Even Mick’s scent went cold. “If it meant protecting you or her, yes.”

  “And that I don’t want you to have to make that choice? Does that mean anything?”

  Mick smiled, slow and sweet and sensual. “Baby, the time is going to come you have to let someone take care of you.”

  They did something — those words — to Jonas. The sensual promise. The exacting command. He whispered, “Maybe. For now, though, I need you to go.” He leaned forward and kissed Mick. All teeth and tongue and bite. “Be safe. Keep her safe. And let me do my thing.”

  Mick didn’t let him go so easily. He bit him hard on his bottom lip. “We are going to talk about this again.”

  He scented Zach returning, and he wanted Mick away. Safe. “We will. For now, go.”

  He wasn’t happy about it, but he turned to leave. Jonas watched until he disappeared in the growing dark, and Zach stood at his side. Then Gabby and Ethan strolled into the yard. They both radiated tension.

  Zach heaved a sigh. “You two. Can it.”

  Gabby flashed a quick rueful grin, and the anxiety seemed to deflate out of her. “What’s the plan?”

  “You’re playing decoy.”

  Ethan jerked, his eyes glowing wolf yellow, but he nodded. Even if he claimed her right now, she was a lieutenant in the pack, and she’d remain one. Up close she looked nothing like Harper, but they were the same height and had similar builds. Harper’s father wouldn’t realize he’d gone after the wrong target until it was too late.

  The patrols had been ordered to let the man slip through or believe he had. He’d probably use magic at the gate for entrance and to find the location of Jonas’s house, so the gate guards hadn’t been warned. Jonas felt a little bad about that, but they couldn’t accidentally betray a plan they knew nothing of.

  Now it was simply a matter of waiting, and he was nothing if not a patient wolf. If he’d been in lupine form, his lips would have been pulled back in a snarl. This was one kill he was looking forward to.

  The plan was put into action.

  Hours later, he could see Gabby through the window where she pretended to be Harper, puttering around the kitchen. He could smell the others in the woods — his backup should things go wrong. He wouldn’t need it. He had determination and cold, cutting fury on his side. He lifted his snout to check the angle of the moon. Almost time.

  But the minutes stret
ched on and on until the wolf that was sometimes Jonas thought Dane’s vision must have been wrong. The wolf grew restless, then agitated when suddenly the forest around it felt wrong. Too quiet. Too still. There was a yelp — Ethan’s — that was cut off too quickly to indicate anything other than unconsciousness or death.

  Teeth bared, he crept forward from his place hidden in the trees, sharp wolf’s eyes quartering the open space. Watching and waiting for the wizard to reveal himself. The only movement was from Zach, who crouched in bushes close to the house.

  Sensing something approach from his left, he froze. His muscles coiled tight, ready to spring at any attack or threat. Careful to keep the movement small and natural, unnoticed, he swung his head in that direction, keeping his eyelids narrowed to tiny slits to avoid giving his location away. The glow of a werewolf’s eyes couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.

  He saw nothing but a blackness where there should have been trees, and barely restrained his triumphant howl. The wizard was cloaking himself, or trying to, but he couldn’t hide from Jonas. Couldn’t hide from justice.

  The wolf edged closer, still careful, but moving faster now. The wizard was too far away to spring at. Yet. The blackness moved forward, no longer cautious as it approached the house. It didn’t notice the wolf pursuing at its back. But the other wolf had been spotted. The blackness solidified into form for a moment and Zach rolled out of the way just in time to miss a blast of energy erupting from the wizard’s hands. Then Alexander was that almost invisible again.

  Jonas leaped for his back, worried only fleetingly as his teeth sank into the blackness. The illusion dropped so fast Jonas almost lost his hold, disoriented. The hesitation nearly cost him everything. He was amazed at the strength of the wizard, who dropped desperately to knock him off his back. Then there was nothing but a human cry of pain as Jonas’s teeth closed over his jugular. Nothing but the sound of gurgling death when he ripped it out.

  He shifted as he dropped the wizard. Spit blood out of his mouth, and then wiped it away with the back of his hand. Zach joined him as Gabby ran out of the house, shaking and panicked.

  “Ethan?”

  He didn’t smell Ethan’s death in the air, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t in trouble. “We’ll find him. Go get Mick.”

  She took off up the trail. Zach jerked his head to where the trees were thickest. “This way.”

  It only took a few minutes to find Ethan. He was unconscious, pale but breathing. Jonas slung him over one shoulder and followed Zach back to his house, where a crowd had gathered inside. He wasn’t surprised to find Gabby and the others had beat him back to the house. Jonas carried him to the living room and laid him out on the couch, where Elspeth approached and looked him over.

  “Knocked out by a blast of magic. He’ll be fine in a few days,” she gently told Gabby, who’d knelt by his side and taken his hand, refusing to be moved. “He’ll be more comfortable at home in bed.”

  Jonas stepped forward to lift him again, but Zach and Caleb stopped him. “We’ll handle it. And get all our women out of your hair,” Caleb joked, his critical eye sweeping over Dane also. “And the boy. Grab your things.”

  Harper, looking pinched and worn, jerked forward. “Why?”

  “Don’t worry, little one,” Zach said. “He’ll be safe at our house.”

  Mick stood behind her, his hands massaging her shoulders, and she nodded, relaxed at the comfort given by her mate. Jonas felt something tighten, then snap in his chest. Emotion overwhelmed him. He couldn’t speak as everyone left. Didn’t know what to say when it was just the three of them alone. It was Harper who broke the spell. With a cry, she pulled free of Mick and rushed to him, clinging around his waist.

  “What is it, darlin’? What’s wrong?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  She shook, but it wasn’t until she looked up at him that Jonas realized it was with fury. “If you ever scare me like that again, I swear I’ll rip your heart out.”

  That seemed a little extreme under the circumstances, especially coming from his gentle-souled mate. He looked over her head at Mick and cocked an inquiring eyebrow.

  “Gabby was pretty freaked out when she came to get us.” He shrugged one shoulder, but Jonas knew he wasn’t as unaffected as he appeared. He seemed to vibrate with pent-up energy. “We didn’t know until you walked out of the woods with Ethan that you were safe.”

  Harper’s hands fisted in his shirt at the base of his spine. “I mean it, Jonas,” she said fiercely. “Never again.”

  He held her tighter, sliding his hands up and down her back in an effort to comfort her. He kissed the top of her head and looked up to meet Mick’s gaze.

  “Let me make it up to you,” he whispered, letting the desire, the love he felt for them color his voice.

  Mick didn’t budge, and his arms were crossed over his chest. “Is this a breakthrough, then? Something has changed?”

  He laughed. “You mean other than I’ve been an idiot?”

  That startled Harper enough that her scent changed with it, the anger finally leaking away. She leaned back in his arms. “You’ll have to explain that. Now would be a good time,” she said tartly.

  She amazed him. So vibrant. Full of life. His. “Why did I ever think you were submissive?”

  Mick finally moved, hands dropping to his sides as he strolled closer. “Oh, she has her moments, don’t you, sugar?”

  “Um.” The scent of arousal spiked, lush and tangy in the air, on his tongue. “We’re talking about Jonas right now.”

  “Later,” Mick murmured against her nape. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  “No, I’m not.” Not now. Not ever.

  Harper escaped from their arms and retreated a few feet, switching her gaze back and forth between him and Mick. He groaned when he got a good look at the mutinous, stubborn look on her face. She pointed a shaky finger in his direction.

  “I have questions you two need to answer. I’m new here. Not a werewolf. I’m flying blind, and sometimes I get the feeling you prefer it that way.”

  Well, hell. “That’s not true. I just forget that you don’t know our world like…” He almost said like Liza, but something told him that would be a mistake.

  “We can answer questions just as well naked, sugar,” Mick drawled, his voice deep and sexy and coaxing, rushing to Jonas’s rescue.

  Harper wasn’t being deflected, however. One eyebrow cocked, she switched her attention to Mick. “Maybe the more answers I get, the more skin you’ll see.”

  He jerked at the tone of her voice, felt the subtle flare of magic she used to infuse it with a sultry invitation to sin. “Not fair,” he croaked.

  She shrugged. “Neither is you keeping me in the dark. I’m here for more than sex, aren’t I?”

  Finally, he could retreat into irritation. This emotion shit sucked. “Of course you are,” Jonas snapped.

  Mick sighed and gave him the baleful look that seemed to scream you damned idjit. This was his worst nightmare. Out numbered. Hell, he’d said he wasn’t going anywhere. They knew how he felt. Why did he have to put everything into words? He was so much better at action. He almost said all that. He almost stomped out of the room. One look over and he knew Mick was his usual calm, or maybe resigned, self. He didn’t expect Jonas to do anything but avoid expressing how he felt. Hadn’t he promised himself he wouldn’t do that to Mick anymore?

  Then he looked at Harper. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her face blank as she waited for him to respond. But though she seemed relaxed, she stood straight and sure, like she’d built a wall around herself. A wall that kept him and whatever cruelty he might come up with out. There was a hurt, a disappointment in her eyes she couldn’t quite hide.

  And all it would take to make that go away was to answer a few uncomfortable questions. He nodded.

  “But let’s go out on the porch.” He needed to be outside, under the cool glow of the moon, where his animal nature was more at peace. “And, darli
n’?” No reason he couldn’t have a little fun while he bared his soul. “For each question I answer, you lose an article of clothing.”

  She met his gaze with a startled one of her own. “Outside? It’s cold.”

  “No one will bother us. And the sun porch is enclosed and heated.”

  He recalled all the games of strip poker he’d played as a teenager. “Shoes and socks stay inside.” They’d slow the game down.

  “How is that fair?” she grumbled but sat to remove them, and when she stood, her color was high, her eyes bright. It was a weird game to play with his mate, but he didn’t think she’d had much chance to play in her life.

  Just to make things even, he took his footwear off too, then gestured for her to lead the way. It was full dark, the moon high and bright, and she walked away from him to lean against a glass wall with one shoulder. She didn’t say a word, just watched, and the longer she remained quiet, the more nervous he became. What the hell was going on in that pretty little head? Finally, though he knew it hadn’t been more than a couple of minutes, Mick joined them. He was barefoot and tossed a bottle of lube on the double-wide lounger.

  “We’re all here, darlin’. Start,” Jonas ordered.

  “Okay.” She licked her lips nervously. “But we all take something off. Not just me.”

  “Fine,” Mick answered and elbowed him sharply in the side when he opened his mouth to point out that had not been the original deal.

  Harper nodded acceptance, though, straightened away from the wall, and gave him a hard look. “Are you still in love with Liza?”

  Fuck. He turned to glare at Mick, who backed away, hands held up in a placating gesture Jonas didn’t buy for a minute. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t talk to her about it.”

  He turned his glare to Harper and then ripped his shirt over his head. She wanted to play? Fine. They’d play.

  “No, I’m not. I don’t think I ever was. We’re friends. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for her.”