“So that you won’t hurt her?” Evelyn asked, her brows lifting slightly as she leaned forward.
Conall nodded. He’d lost control in his human form the first time he’d lain with Vivienne. With his animal loose, he didn’t even want to think of what the beast might do to her. She might be a witch, but compared to his beast, she was still fragile. And there was that matter of her mortality.
Evelyn laughed lightly. With a frown, he glanced at Max, who was staring at the woman in confusion.
The laughter stopped almost as quickly as it had begun and Evelyn straightened herself. Her golden eyes locked onto Conall’s as she said, “Listen to me, Conall Athelwulf of the Cedar Creek Wolf Pack. Your mate is much stronger than you think.”
It didn’t surprise him she knew of his status or his pack. What did interest him was what she’d said about Vivienne.
“What do you mean?”
Evelyn’s head swiveled and she glared at Max, who’d been previously silent. A haughty eyebrow lifted. “I would have thought that Maximilian Cronin would have told you that already. Perhaps you would like to shed some light on the situation, Maximilian?”
Conall immediately recognized the name, though his confusion must have shown on his face, for Evelyn clarified, “Maximilian Cronin the son, not the father.”
***
Max winced when he heard that name, sensing the tension from different sources in the room. “I am not my father. I mean Vivienne no harm.”
“Why should I believe you? You’ve been to this house numerous times in the past years as my daughter’s human friend, Max Carter,” Evelyn retorted and even though her voice never lifted, the anger behind it was palpable. “How can I be sure you haven’t given your father the address? How can I be sure your Grand Wizard isn’t planning an attack on my family as we speak?”
“Everything I’ve done was out of protection for Vivienne. I swear it.” He turned to look from Evelyn to Conall, whose eyes had narrowed and were following his every move. The eyes of a predator. “I didn’t know she was a witch when I first met her. By the time I found out, she was my friend and I’ve done everything since to keep her safe.” Max paused and decided to use another strategy. Logic. “If I wasn’t protecting her, I would have turned her over to the covenant when I learned her identity. I didn’t. If I wasn’t protecting her, I wouldn’t have fought against my own people to keep her safe.”
Conall shifted slightly, and Max noticed he had relaxed. Evelyn’s eyes were still frost-like as she looked at him.
“You still seem human,” she murmured after seconds of silence had passed. “But I know you’re not. What are you?”
Max explained as he’d explained to Drew and to Conall. Evelyn’s brows rose as if she didn’t believe him but then she nodded, as if pieces of the puzzle had suddenly come together in her head.
“If this is another trap concocted by your father to capture my daughters, I will find you, and I promise you, it will not be pleasant.” Though Evelyn’s voice was low, it seemed almost cordial. She pushed herself forward and placed her hands against her jean-clad knees, looking between Max and Conall. “I’ve been a poor hostess. By the way, Conall, my name is Evelyn Bordeaux. You can call me Evelyn, not Mrs. Bordeaux. It makes me sound old.” Conall blinked at the woman sitting before him. She continued on. “Would you like something to drink? Tea? Water? Coffee? I’ll bring tea. It’s a bit chilly in here.”
***
Vivienne could hear their voices, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She’d been sitting on the top stair since her mother, Conall, and Max entered the living room together. Although curious to know what they were discussing, she was also intent on keeping her sanity, and she was sure her brain was on overload at the moment.
She was just about to head back to her room to attempt to sleep away most of the day, when someone suddenly plopped down beside her. Vivienne jumped before she recognized Drew.
Her friend’s eyes were puffy, her face full from sleep.
“I had the weirdest dream,” Drew began, her voice scratchy. She cleared her throat and stared down the staircase. “I dreamed our apartment was robbed by witches who were after Max, who then attacked us at Max’s other apartment and oh, yes, the guy from the club that you kissed—he was in my dream too—he was some wolf creature….” Her voice trailed off as she looked around, her brows lifting in confusion. “In my dream your mother appeared and brought us back to her house.” She ran her hand over her braids and then pressed it against her eyes. “It was a dream, right?”
When Vivienne didn’t immediately answer, Drew’s eyes widened to the point of falling from her head and she pushed herself to her feet. Vivienne stood immediately, afraid her friend was about to do something rash, but Drew simply stared down at her T-shirt in horror.
“I was wearing this exact shirt in my dream.” She paused and looked at Vivienne’s clothing, the white blouse and the black slacks. “And you—you were wearing that as well.” Her gaze lifted to Vivienne’s. “Please tell me I’m still dreaming.”
Vivienne shook her head slowly. She was beginning to wish she were.
“And Max is really a combination of witch, warlock, and human?” Drew asked inquisitively.
“Is that what he is?” Vivienne wondered, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just know that he changed into something blue.”
“So the guy from the club—”
“Conall,” Vivienne automatically corrected.
“—what’s he supposed to be?”
“A werewolf.”
Drew’s eyes grew wide and she didn’t blink for long seconds before she finally burst out, “Say what?”
“Werewolf: creature created by Luna or Artemis, whichever name you like.”
Drew stared at her as if she’d grown another head, and Vivienne sighed. “Yeah, at least you didn’t sleep with him,” she murmured under her breath. Of course, Drew heard it.
“You slept with him?” Drew asked in a voice that could only be called a loud whisper.
Vivienne looked around immediately, expecting her mother or her father to emerge from one of the rooms and give her the evil eye.
Where was her father, anyway?
When she looked back at Drew, her friend was staring at her with raised eyebrows and huge eyes. Leave it to Drew to forget all else because Vivienne finally gave up her goodies.
“What?” Vivienne asked, looking down to the entryway that led to the living room. She hoped that her mother had closed the door.
“Well, how was it?” When Vivienne looked at her as if she was crazy, Drew cut her eyes at her and sucked her teeth. “I mean, I saw him Vivienne. The man—erm, thing—looks like something out of on a fitness magazine.”
Conall was a beautiful man, perfect in face, form, and persona. Well, he could work on his personality. He was a bit bossy, and arrogant, and damn it, she found that attractive, too. Her body temperature spiked even as a scowl touched her lips.
“It was bad?” Drew sounded doubtful.
“No, I mean, it was…you know—” She broke off and made a circular motion with her hands as her face flushed. Granted she was an ex-virgin, but that condition had only existed for a day!
“It was that good?”
Vivienne didn’t have to look at Drew to know that her friend was smirking. She nodded quickly.
“Ah, Drew, you’re awake.”
Evelyn’s voice had them both jumping like schoolgirls caught talking about boys. Ironic that they were, despite the schoolgirl thing. She stood at the bottom of the staircase balancing a tray with a tea pot and some cups between her hands. “Come to the living room, both of you.”
She didn’t wait for their responses. She just kept walking.
“What’s in the living room?” Drew asked.
“A witch, a werewolf, and whatever Max is,” Vivienne replied, pushing herself to her feet. She was already walking down the staircase when Drew asked, “Who’s the witch?”
Maximilian Cronin had long ago lost his patience.
He’d lost more men in two days than he’d lost in years. As the five measly trackers who’d returned told him of the creature, the werewolf, and the witch who’d defended the girl, he’d wanted to unleash his power and kill them all. Weak. Pathetic! Power crackled beneath his fingertips just thinking about them. Was it so difficult a task to find two girls and bring them back to the covenant? Was he asking too much of the trained trackers assigned the task? The only reason they were still alive and with their families was because killing them would expend his energy and weaken him. Centuries of casting longevity spells were beginning to affect his other powers.
He’d gotten to the point of thinking he would have to find and take the girls himself, when another thought occurred to him. The Council. Maximilian had been in opposition to the idea of an interspecies council, but he’d been outvoted by his fellow Grand Wizards. Still, he occupied a seat due to the size of his covenant. As he’d thought of the girls, he remembered one of the laws passed by the Council, a law that he could now use to his advantage.
Chapter Nine
“What did you find out?”
Conall stood in front of Vivienne’s bedroom door, the cordless phone pressed to his ear. After listening to Evelyn, he’d learned interesting details about his mate. Like the fact that although she’d presented as human, then witch, Vivienne was actually a druid. When Evelyn had mentioned that, Conall’s eyes had come close to falling from his head, Max had sputtered, and Vivienne’s human friend had made a strangled sound.
Vivienne had been the only one unaffected, as fifteen minutes after taking a seat, she’d fallen asleep. She hadn’t even awoken when he’d lifted her into his arms and, trailing her mother, carried her to bed. When he’d thought her a human and taken her for his mate, he’d anticipated the complications, both with their relationship and his pack, but finding out his mate was actually a mixture of races that culminated in a druid, was even more complex.
“I don’t think it’s the vampires. I spoke to Hastings. He hasn’t heard anything that would call for a Council meeting. He said he’d make a few calls, just to make sure,” Sloan replied through the phone.
“The witches?” Conall asked softly. Something Evelyn had mentioned was replaying in his mind. She’d said that Maximilian Cronin had killed both of her parents, and had been hunting her family for years. Since his arrival in New York, Cronin had been on the Council. Could it be Cronin?
“That’s my guess. It’s definitely not our people. We would have heard something before now, and Hastings would have heard if anything was happening with the vampires.”
There was no need to mention the fact that they had no contacts with the witches. Centuries of deserved suspicion on the parts of the weres and the vampires made it hard to give trust to any witch. Even now.
Conall sighed. “The compound’s secure?”
“Yea. Patrol started about three hours ago. Everyone’s accounted for. Raoul’s at Fangs.” Sloan paused and Conall knew from the silence that his beta was trying to figure out how to tell him something. No doubt something he wouldn’t like. “Some of the Elders aren’t happy about your human.”
Conall resisted the urge to snarl. “Who?”
“Gresham and Brennus are the most vocal about it. I’m not sure who else.”
He felt his body relax slightly. Their opposition was understandable, expected even. Samia was Brennus’s youngest, and the only of his children still with him. He also had the tendency to oppose everything that Conall did. Gresham was a loyal supporter of Brennus. Because they were usually the only two opposing him, he found it easy to ignore them. This was no exception.
He tugged against the collar of the T-shirt he’d borrowed from Max. The thing was tight on him, and he felt stifled. “I’ll be back tomorrow to smooth everything over with the Elders. Do you have this number?”
“The caller ID picked it up. Where are you and what happened to your phone? It goes straight to voicemail.”
“I’m in Scarsdale. My phone was incinerated. Trackers tried to take Vivienne.”
“What? The witches attacked you?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Call me here if anything happens.”
***
Drew had watched Conall gently lift Vivienne into his arms and follow Evelyn from the room. Prior to their leaving, the conversation had revolved around druids, and Max’s father. Like many other things she hadn’t known before today, she hadn’t known druids were real. She was finding it much easier to accept that surreal things were happening when they were spoken about in a normalized setting. Drew was contemplating that when she recognized she was now alone with Max.
A distinct chill crawled up her spine, and she scooted farther into the sofa. She wasn’t afraid he’d hurt her. She still trusted that Max never would. She just had no idea what to expect from him, which was damn scary.
He remained in the same position he’d maintained during the conversation with Conall and Evelyn. His upper body was pushed forward, his elbows against his thighs, chin resting against his hands, eyes downcast. Her feeling of agitation dimmed as she tried to read him. She’d never seen Max look like this before. Ever. Max was usually the life of everything, smiling, teasing, goading, even annoying, but she’d never seen him look…like his world had caved in around him? Then she remembered bits and pieces of the conversation about his father. From what she’d gathered, Max’s father was evil with a capital “E.” And she got the feeling that Max was taking it pretty hard.
As if sensing her stare, Max lifted his head. A lock of blond hair fell into his eyes as they each tried to figure out what the other was thinking. Max broke eye contact first by standing and walking over to the window. It was steadily growing dark outside, and she wondered if he was looking at anything in particular.
With his back to her, he said in a low voice, “Maybe you should go check on Vivienne.”
Drew was almost to the door when she paused. Instead of heading through the door and up the stairs, she walked over to him. The living room looked out on the large back yard, which Drew could barely see due to the oncoming darkness.
She looked up at him, taking in the strong jaw and straight nose and said the first thing that came to her mind. “I can’t believe you gagged me and tied me to your bed.”
His gaze never wavered from whatever it was that held his attention but he snorted softly. “Why not?”
“B-b-because,” she sputtered, glaring at him and shaking her head. “You just don’t tie people up and gag them, Max! What century are you living in?” She paused. “You were born in the twentieth century, right?”
A little smile touched his lips and he nodded. “Yes.”
“And you’re not like ninety years old or anything, right?”
“Hate to disappoint but I really am twenty-five.”
He suddenly turned to look down at her. His eyes were once more warm, and although the smile on his face didn’t fully reach his eyes, he no longer looked as…defeated.
Drew looked away. The warmth in his eyes was lending him a type of vulnerability she’d never seen before. It was…unnerving.
She heard him sigh and looked up in time to see him run long fingers through his hair.
“You know, we don’t choose our parents,” she said softly, lifting her eyes slowly to his hazel ones. They were currently a vivid shade of green but she could still see the flecks of gold-brown inside. “We just choose the types of lives we live. From what you’ve done today, what you’ve been doing since you found out about Vivienne, you chose a different path from your father.” She swallowed when his eyes grew darker, from moss to leaf green in the span of milliseconds. “I think that’s pretty admirable.” She smiled and pulled her gaze away from his, blinking as she tried to focus on anything in the gradually darkening back yard.
No words were spoken for minutes as they stood there, and then Max turned to fa
ce her.
Feeling slightly self-conscious, especially as she was still wearing one of the old thigh-length T-shirts that served as her sleepwear, and no bra, she crossed her arms over her breasts before turning to face him.
There was no smile on his face, no teasing grin. His eyes were sincere.
“Thank you.” Before she could blink, he leaned down and placed a kiss to her forehead.
She cleared her throat and stared at him in confusion. Except for the crowding in the bathroom when she’d had her client over, and him tying her to his bed—she still remembered that look in his eyes as he’d untied her—they’d never been this close.
When he stepped back, Drew blinked, uncertain of what she was to do next. She spun toward the window, reminding herself that Max might be one extremely good-looking guy, but he was still Max. He’d teased her to the point of tears, and he was a huge slut—she shouldn’t forget that—and the big whammy, he was not human! For crying out loud, it was Max. It was Max and she was feeling butterflies in her stomach from that peck that shouldn’t even be called a kiss.
Max took his time turning back to the window. When he did, his voice was light and almost teasing. “I know you’ve got a million and one questions swirling through that big brain of yours.” He paused, lifted a brow as if daring her to contradict him, and then grinned down at her. “Go ahead. Ask me anything. My life’s an open book.”
***
Conall checked on Vivienne, who was tucked under her covers, sleeping deeply, before making his way downstairs in search of Evelyn. After his conversation with Sloan, he had questions he needed answered. He found her in the kitchen, placing a large baking dish into the oven.
Without turning to face him, she asked in a voice laced with amusement, “You have more questions already, Conall Athelwulf?”
She straightened, took her baking gloves off, and turned around. A small smile appeared on her lips.
Taken by Moonlight Page 18
