“I’ll take an Old Fashioned,” Justin calls.
Shaun requests an extra dry, extra dirty martini which makes me laugh, then snort, and then laugh harder. I am already well past tipsy but very much enjoying myself.
“Tequila shots, Kaleb?” Kaden asks, but he’s already lining up shots.
Even in my whiskey-addled state, I count three too many, wait, no, four too many shots. Clearly, they are all planning on catching up to me.
“No, I think we’re all going to shoot some tequila,” Kaleb says, a grin playing at the corner of his lips.
“That sounds like a spectacularly bad idea. Then, I’ll want to get naked and fuck, and we have at least twenty-three hours before we’re allowed to do that.” I declare.
There’s a knock on my door, and a minute later Chey burst through my doors with her three gorgeous men in tow.
“Holy fuck, Chey. They are way hotter in person!”
She looks behind her then back at me, “Yes they are, but that’s beside the point. I’m here for you because the entire den is buzzing about the drama that just went down. I mean, what the actual fuck? Your dad is alive?”
She stops talking when she sees the tears shimmering in my eye.
“Can we not go down that path again? At least not right now?” I say, as my lips quivers.
“So, we did the initial crying thing and are on to the binge drinking already?” she asks.
“I thought so, but I guess I’m not done with the crying just yet.”
“Sugar, I expect you’re not going to be done crying about that for a good long while, and that’s okay. I tried to come alone, but these guys refused, especially since they knew your men would be here. Apparently, the fact that they literally only have eyes for you is irrelevant,” She glares at them.
“Oh, you guys are in trouble now—you should have let her go on her own. You have to trust her.”
They look properly chastised, so I let them off the hook.
“Well, since you’re here, come drink with us. We’re getting drunk! Very drunk, and Kaden is a fantastic bartender.”
Pierce walks behind my faux bar and begins helping Kaden mix drinks, while Daniel goes to close the door.
“Don’t bother,” Chey and I call in unison, and he looks at us strangely.
“Cara’s coming,” I slur, “and I imagine she’ll be bringing her guys as well. It’s a good thing my rooms are so big because that is a shit-ton of people.”
“So should I pour some more shots?” Kaden asks.
“Absolutely. And a glass of red for Cara. One shot and she’ll be halfway to wasteville.”
I start making introductions and then dissolve into a fit of giggles as two things happen at once.
First, Cara comes into the room with her four men trailing in her wake, and then it dawns on me that all of the guys already know one another. This is further evidenced when Jason goes to the bar and does that male hug handshake thing with Kaden and Pierce before helping to pass out drinks. The boys leave my side and begin socializing, while my girls come and give me a duo of fierce hugs.
“We can chat about all this tomorrow afternoon, while we get ready for the ceremony?” Cara suggests, knowing that I don’t want to rehash the whole thing,
Chey laughs, and nudges me with her elbow, “Yes, but only after the hangover cure we’re all surely going to need.”
“You want the quick and dirty?” I ask, looking at their warm, open faces and feeling my heart squeeze.
“Can you do it without tears?” Chey asks.
“I think so.”
“Alright, then shoot,” Cara says.
“My mom lied to me about my dad. He’s alive, and he’s an Elder.”
“We got that part already, girl,” Chey admits.
“Okay, well apparently my life is in jeopardy because when I was conceived, my power was promised to the Elders. I can’t imagine a power transfer is a simple procedure.
“Holy fuck. I don’t even know how to handle that,” Cara says.
“I’ll take two shots of tequila for me. Right now,” Chey calls, and I see tears in her eyes that she doesn’t want to shed.
She jumps on the bed and goes to puts her phone in the iPod dock. “Alright, it’s time to party!” After finding ‘Twerk Radio’ on a radio streaming station, she starts her own personal dance party. Her men stare at her display with obvious delight, while mine turn their gazes everywhere but at her fantastic ass moving in perfect rhythm with the music.
“Okay, I’m going to veto the twerk party, and anyone who suggests line dancing is going to get kicked out,” Cara exclaims, and a quick glance shows me her men are also staring anywhere but at Cheyenne. She’s usually not this bold, but I get the feeling Chey is fighting to be the person she was before the dungeon. Her men have had the same healing effect as my own. But her happiness comes off a little too bubblegum pink. She’s trying to make me feel better, but I love her for that.
“I vote for pop or bachata, and since it’s my party, we’re starting with pop music!”
I turn on a newer pop station instead of the ‘90s my men were expecting, and the night ends much more spectacular than it began. After drinking and dancing half the night away, I persuade Marcus to make us pizza. Chey’s mate Daniel and Cara’s mate Adam took pity on him and agreed to help. Our attempts to make our way downstairs without waking the whole house are a lost cause. Giggling like idiots, we raid the wine cellar and the real wet bar as we wait for the men to whip us up something delicious. We don’t need more drinks, but my desire to be responsible alpha is long gone. Honestly, I don’t even know if what they made was any good. But it was warm dough, spicy tomato sauce, and an absurd amount of cheese, so I was happy.
After eating half a pizza on my own, someone slings me over their shoulder and carries up to my room. I felt like that scene in Breakfast at Tiffany’s where she asks not to be taken home until she’s “very drunk indeed.” I am there, and I am feeling very blessed that I have friends and guys like this. I tuck into bed, and somehow all five men pile into bed with me.
Oh goddess, I need a new bed.
Fuck, I don’t even want to face tomorrow, but there’s comfort in knowing that at least I have people like this around me. Even Chey is putting on a bright smile and acting like all is right in the world. She thinks I didn’t notice her laughing too hard, her eyes too bright. I didn’t miss the concerned looks on her men’s faces when she plowed through a bottle of tequila, but if she wants to pretend things are okay, I’ll let her for now.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Megan
I watch my daughter leave the room in tears, and I can actually feel her anger and heartbreak pierce through the veil of the tonic. I am really doing a shit job at being a mom these days. I usually have it together, but these past few months my world has been crumbling.
I should have told her sooner. She deserved to know the truth. Even if I was bound from telling her about David, I could have found a way to tell her something. She should have at least known the truth behind this ceremony.
I turn to look at David. I want to throw myself at him, but I always want to punch him just as badly. I don’t trust myself not to do the latter or the former, so I clench my hands tightly at my side and stare at him. Claiming hormones are one thing, but being back around your mate after time spent apart is a very different sensation. When we’re around the High Priestess at the temple, the feelings are easier to fight. I haven’t been alone with David since the day I told him I was pregnant, and I’m beyond out of sorts.
I breathe in and out through my mouth, not wanting his scent to invade my nostrils. It will only make it worse. I channel my lust into anger and lay into him.
“So, you want to tell me what the flying fuck you’re doing here?”
He reels back like my words are physical blows. I don’t understand his reaction. Nothing I say should matter to him. After all, I’m nothing to him. I remember him saying those words very clearly.
Mouthing off to an Elder is not the smartest idea. But certainly, I deserve a little leeway. He is, in spite of everything, my mate. My wolf leaps inside of me. The two-timing little brat, far too willing to forgive and forget.
David stares at me, but says nothing for a long moment. I don’t understand why he’s not talking. It’s like he’s been struck dumb. He just stares at me, the hunger in his eyes heating my skin with the direction of his gaze.
“Hello,” I bark, “I asked you a question. What are you doing here?”
Finally, he snaps out of his stupor. “Maeve sent me. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Like you didn’t have a choice before you ripped my heart out after we created our daughter? Or how about how you just ripped our daughter’s heart out with no care whatsoever as to what she needed?”
“Megan, I didn’t come here to fight with you.”
“Well, that’s too bad because I want to fucking fight with you!”
I look at his brown eyes, noting that, unlike Abby, they have a hint of honey where hers are just pure cocoa.
Goddess, they’re beautiful.
“The High Priestess sent me here. She wants to keep an eye on you, and this close to the ceremony, she’s showing the strain.”
I’m so angry that I want to smack him. Being around him has me in a tailspin, and I don’t like it. I’m used to being numb. That’s what works for me, and now I don’t know how to cope without the Emerald tonic that keeps me functioning. His presence is fucking with the efficacy of the potion; it’s not working at all. Unfortunately, that means I have to experience real emotions. I am still trying to figure out what to do with the Death Claws, the ceremony, and now my former estranged mate.
“David, is there a reason you chose to tell our daughter about her being in danger? You and your Elders are the reason she’s in danger.”
“Oh, come now, Megan, that’s not even close to being true! You were the one who came to us, and you agreed to our terms.”
“You asshole! That’s a half-truth at best, and you know it. Do you even care about your daughter?” I ask him. “You know what? Don’t answer that. Anything that comes out of your mouth would be a lie anyway.”
He walks towards me, and all I want to do is sink into his arms. I want to press myself against the hard planes of his body and to grab his head and possess his lips. Those massive hands belong all over me, rolling my nipples in his fingers. I wonder if he remembers how to please me. Does he still know how I like to be touched?
Fuck, my wolf is not helping me. Her joy over him being here is filling my mind with her presence. My arousal is becoming too much for me to handle, and I try to tamp it down.
Thank goddess he’s a witch, not a shifter because then he would know just how much he’s affecting me. Being so near to this man has my hormones going haywire.
I should be focused on my daughter. I don’t know how she is going to forgive me for this. I can’t imagine that she’ll look at me the way she used to ever again. I could try to explain to her that the High Priestess bound me. I couldn’t tell her the truth, even if I wanted to, but did I try hard enough? I am sure there was a way for me to tell her. Seeing that look of complete betrayal in her eyes, I just don’t know how to handle it.
He takes another step towards me, and I almost back away, but now he’s close enough for me to breath in the scent of him. He smells like a fresh pine forest, and it’s making my mouth water.
“Megan,” he breathes out, and I can smell it then, his need for me. It fills the room coating me like a fresh blanket of snow. Ice and pine, it’s a scent I dream about.
“David, no! Stay away from me. You lost your right to touch me decades ago.”
“Please Megan, don’t do this. Let me explain. I wasn’t allowed to be with you; I wasn’t allowed to come to see you. You don’t understand; she bound me just like she bound you.”
I turn and look at him startled. “What?” I want to believe him, but it doesn’t settle right with me. “If you were bound before, how are you telling me now?”
“I don’t actually know. I think it must be the magic of the moment, or maybe it’s being here behind your own magical barrier.”
“You realize that everything you’re saying is total bullshit, right?”
“I do realize that it sounds awful, yes, but it’s also true.”
I snap out of my trance and start paying attention to what I need to focus on, which is not fighting with my mate.
What I will do is take advantage of being close to him for my own personal benefit. I will soak up the comfort of being near him, but that’s it. Switching tactics, I try to throw him off his game.
“So, Elder David,” I say, taking on a formal tone. “How can I help you, and to what do we owe this honor on the eve of our Blood Moon Ceremony?”
I want to laugh at how annoyed he looks as his eyes narrow in suspicion. And David loves my laugh, or at least I think he loves my laugh.
Fuck, I don’t know what is real or what is fake anymore, but all of it is scrambled in my mind.
“Maeve sent me here to oversee the ceremony, but I’m here for you, and for Abby.”
I nearly snort with laughter, but if he wants to play at formality so can I.
“Let me show you to your rooms, Elder David. We have a great set of rooms that we have available at all times.
I walk out of the study and head towards the long hallway that houses our guest rooms. Not all of our pack wants to live in our home, so we have these rooms ready for large events. With the ceremony tomorrow, we have pack members who live in town coming in. It’s actually one of my favorite times. We even get packmates who have moved away coming home to lend their magic to us.
I show David to one of our largest, most luxurious suites that we’ve literally named the “Elder Room” on the off chance one of the Thirteen might actually come to visit our den home.
Once he’s settled in his room, I turn to leave, but he grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. The contact has me turned on faster than an electric fireplace. I want to shake him off, but I stand my ground.
“Megan, you’re avoiding me, and I don’t blame you, but it’s not going to work. I think we’ve been apart for so long you’re forgetting that I can hear your thoughts.”
Holy fuck! I’m an idiot, and of course, he’s right.
I am so used to not needing to guard my thoughts because he’s not around, and when I’m at the temple, it’s as automatic as breathing to block him out.
His brown eyes warm as he looks down at me, and I lick my lips involuntarily at his low, husky tone. He’s doing things to parts of me that haven’t been awake in years.
I watch as he lowers his mouth towards mine in slow motion, but I don’t stop him. He’s telegraphing his moves as loudly as possible giving me an out, but I want this.
When his lips meet mine, the veil rips open, and all of the feelings that I’ve tucked away rush forward. I moan and open up my mouth to his, greedily devouring his mouth like a woman starved. Our tongues duel for dominance, and he wins. He backs me up towards a wall, hurriedly unbuttoning my blouse and pressing his nose in the crook of my neck. He inhales deeply and nips my neck. The power play is like a bucket of ice water to the senses, bringing me out of my lust fueled haze.
What the fuck am I thinking? No, this is wrong.
I push him away, breaths coming in heavy, and I cram the desire that threatens to swallow me back down. Slowly I reverse course, my hands fumbling behind me, scrambling for the door handle. “So, I’ll see you at dinner then? Our chef will probably be on her own tonight,” my voice rough with passion.
“Usually, Marcus helps her cook. He’s very good, you know. Abby really lucked out with such an accomplished chef for a mate—” I cut myself off. He’s got me so nervous I’m babbling, and I hate the weakness that I’m showing. I swallow a couple of times and try for a more normal voice. “Anyway, feel free to come down for dinner, or don’t.”
; His smirk makes me want to punch him again, as he takes in my disheveled state and my nervous chatter. He knows how much he affects me, and even though I’m blocking him now, I have given myself away.
“Will Abby be there?” he asks, choosing to ignore my behavior.
“I highly doubt it, based on what just happened. I’m pretty sure we won’t see her until it’s absolutely necessary I’m afraid.”
“I fucked that up, didn’t I?” he says with a wry grin.
“You more than fucked it up—you annihilated it,” I agree.
“I can’t even decide, out of the two of us, who she hates more.”
At his words, I can’t help the laughter that bubbles up out of me. “Me, it’s definitely me. She doesn’t even know you, but me? I’ve lied to her for 25 years, whether it was by choice or not. She may never forgive me.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Megan. You didn’t have a choice; she’ll understand that someday. I’ll do anything to make her understand that.” He chuckles lightly. “She’s beautiful, Megan, and so strong, just like her mother,” he says while caressing my cheek gently.
Fuck, it is so easy being around him, and part of me wishes I could forget the bullshit and just go back to when things were easy between us, but that was all an illusion. “I’ll see you later, David,” I say, and barely stop myself from kissing him goodbye. We stare at one another for one charged moment before I throw the door open leave the room, hurtling myself towards my rooms.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Abby
The next morning, I wake up with a monster hangover. My head is pounding, and last night’s drunk munchies rumble in my stomach.
Serves you right.
Judge much?
I’m not helping your hangover, now. You can suffer.
Keep it up, girl, I’ll find a way to get back at you.
How?
I’ll run on the treadmill and only the treadmill for weeks.
No, I hate the running machine. I’ll help … a little.
Blood Moon Magic Page 32
