Taken by Moonlight: Shifters Wild & Free Reverse Harem Book 1

by Bonnie Vanak

  “Words can be magick,” he said slowly. “This one will stop us from shifting from human to wolf. You say the spell if you sense a shifter is going to attack you in wolf form. ”

  Intrigued, I nodded. “All right. Tell me.”

  “Morpheus Lupus Vim Vitae.”

  It sounded like Latin. “What does it mean?”

  “It’s a spell, roughly translated, that says, ‘Sleep wolf life force.’” Gabriel gave me an intent look. “This is real important, Peyton. You have to chant it, loudly, before the enemy shifts into wolf skin.”

  Oh, sure. Piece of cake. I’d seen how fast an experienced wolf like Gabriel could shapeshift. “Is that all?”

  He frowned. “I mean it. Look for the signs, because if you wait too long, you’ll just piss him off.”

  “What signs? Like ‘Will Shift for Food?’”

  This time, my sense of humor annoyed him. “If you’re going to waste my time, then let’s go back.”

  Gathering the picnic items, he turned his back on me.

  “Hey, wait.” I struggled with my pride. “I’m sorry, Gabriel. I jest when I get scared. It’s a self-defense mechanism.”

  Still, he stood there, not looking at me. “I’m here to teach you how to defend yourself with more than mocking, Peyton. Jokes don’t hold squat when you’re facing a 200 pounds of teeth and claws.”

  “I know.” I bit my lip. “I just don’t know if it’s possible. I’m human, Gabriel! I can’t do this!”

  His voice softened as he turned. “You’re a psi, Peyton, not merely human. Don’t doubt yourself before you even try.”

  Then his jaw tensed as he stared into the distance. “Dante told me and Alex that we needed to trust you, to teach you our ways. He said your psi powers made you unique.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Gabriel waved a hand. “Ask him later. Let’s focus on the spell.”

  I took a deep breath. “Shifters turn too fast. There’s no warning, nothing I can see that will enable me to say the most potent magick spell. Maybe you can sense it among your kind. I can’t.”

  A low growl grumbled from his throat. “Stop being negative. There are triggers. Triggers you can see, and if Dante didn’t think you could do it, he never would have instructed me to tell you.”

  He stepped back and spread back his arms. “Look at me. Look at me, see me. See my aura.”

  I searched his body. Normal blue aura threaded with annoyed bright red and a hint of green. Ordinary.

  “Concentrate.” His voice went sharp.

  Inhaling a deep breath, I closed my eyes and centered myself. Opened my eyes.

  No longer an ordinary aura, Gabriel practically glowed bright silver with the barest hint of green ringing his life force. In the next few seconds, he shifted into wolf.

  My jaw dropped.

  He shifted back into human form. Snapped his fingers, covering his nudity with the same clothing previously worn.

  Gabriel was fast. Too fast. Yet I had seen that change in color and energy patterns before he shifted. It wasn’t subtle. It was as clear as the glaring neon sign outside the Crossroads club.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “You shifted slowly, to give me time to see the changes. That’s not going to be the case if Earl or his dimwit brother decide to make me into an appetizer.”

  Now he did smile. “Yeah, but you’re a quick learner, Peyton. You need a little practice and you’ll get it. That’s why you’re going to practice on me. I am the fastest wolf in the pack, the hunter, and the fastest shifter.”

  He jabbed a thumb at his chest. “Me. Once you can stop me in my tracks, all others will be easier.”

  It took a tremendous amount of trust to hand over such lethal control to me, a human. I felt awed and humbled. And a little scared, knowing I had this power.

  Rubbing his hands together, he hunkered down. “Okay, let’s try it again. This time, watch my face. My eyes. My mouth. Wolves flash amber in their eyes right before a shift, and sometimes their upper lip lifts in a beginning growl.”

  For the next several minutes, we practiced as I watched his aura change color right before the shift and learned to detect the facial changes. Then he held up a hand.

  “Okay, now that you’ve nailed the triggers, let’s try the spell. Remember, you have to chant the words right before the shift to stop your target from turning into a wolf.” Gabriel gestured with his hands. “Let’s do it.”

  I focused, watching his eyes and his aura and as the energy around him shimmered, yelled, “Morpheus Lupus Vim Vitae!”

  Stunned, I watched the light surrounding him turn dark and then swirl with purple, honey gold and green and red, like a dysfunctional rainbow. Gabriel doubled over, gasped.

  “Fuck,” he yelled.

  But he was still human. Half his clothing was gone, leaving him clad only in black boxer shorts. Wheezing, he rocked back and forth. “Son of a bitch, that hurts like a bastard!”

  Horrified I rushed to him. “I’m sorry!”

  A smile twisted his mouth. He held up a hand, keeping me at bay. “You did great, sunshine. It’s just me. I forgot.”

  A laugh tore from him. “And this is why the spell is so effective, sunshine. It’s got the equivalent of kicking a guy in the balls, only it works with males and females. Incapacitates them with pain for a few minutes, enough time for you to deliver a blow, and get the hell away.”

  I slid my arms around him, helping him stand upright. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry! Why didn’t you tell me what would happen to you?”

  “You…” he dragged in another breath. “Needed to see it for yourself.”

  I kissed him deeply. Kept kissing him, until he finally backed off. “No.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Much as I’d love to fuck you here in the open, I took you here to learn how to fight.”

  For the next hour, he did exactly that. I learned to throat punch a man to incapacitate him, some quick self-defense moves that would come in handy for both humans and shifters.

  By the time we returned to the ranch, confidence filled me. I knew a magick spell that could prevent a shifter from assuming animal form, and give me a fair fighting ground.

  The Harley roared as we rode through the countryside, down winding roads to the ranch entrance. The gate was closed, as usual, for Dante had increased security in light of the latest Brown raid.

  Something was hanging from the gate. Gorge rose in my throat as I stared at the blood dripping from the animal impaled on one of the steel spikes decorating the gate.

  A paper was attached to another spike.

  Gabriel’s face paled. He halted the bike, parked it and leapt off.

  The rabbit came loose with a sickening pull of flesh. “Did it die that way?” I asked.

  Gabriel glanced at me, his brows knit. “No. They broke its neck. It’s a traditional calling card.”

  Calling card. Another reminder of the viciousness of shifter packs intent on revenge.

  “Don’t have sympathy for rabbits, Peyton. The enemy will tear you apart,” he snapped at me.

  Of course. He, and the other wolves, hunted and ate rabbits.

  While I preferred grilling meat bought from a supermarket.

  Gabriel tossed the rabbit aside and read the note. I peered around him and my blood went cold.

  Bring Peyton here to the front gate by dawn tomorrow or we’ll raid your ranch, steal your young and females and kill the rest of you. You’ll die screaming. Earl Brown.

  23

  Once again, the pack faced a raid from the Browns. Only this time I was to blame for the forthcoming danger.

  Dinner was served hastily, everyone fending for themselves. I could not eat from the buffet in the dining hall. My stomach roiled, every time I remembered that rabbit and the deadly threat behind it.

  It seemed there would be a war, unless I surrendered myself to Earl Brown’s demands. And I knew that if I did, I might not survive what he had planned for me.

 
; Rape, most certainly.

  And then they would probably set me out in the woods to hunt for sport.

  Dante called a meeting in the lodge basement that evening in the large recreation room. Serious business for the pack, and I wanted to be there, but not in an obvious way. This was about me and I wasn’t about to hide.

  So I curled up on a black leather sofa near the fireplace. Ping pong tables, even the two pool tables had been moved with efficient care and chairs set up to accommodate everyone.

  Even the little ones were present. I didn’t know much about werewolf culture, but I did know the young were shielded from much of pack politics. Seeing the five babies, all of whom were barely older than six months, made my stomach clench when I thought of the Browns trying to invade the lodge and steal them away.

  The shifters milled about the rec room, much like I’d seen humans do at the neighborhood watch meeting I’d attended. Someone had set up a side table with bottles of water, sandwiches and cookies. Shifters helped themselves, and speculated about tonight’s meeting topic.

  I knew, but I wasn’t saying anything.

  Dante’s sister spotted me and bounced over. Felicia curled up next to me on the sofa, resting her head on my shoulder. Her trust and affection touched me, as much as it pained me because tomorrow night, I was gone.

  The girl had already been through enough separation anxiety in her young life. How I wished she hadn’t liked me so much. Would have made parting easier.

  Felicia smiled up at me. “I’m glad you’re here, dimples.”

  I sputtered. “Where did you hear that name?”

  Her wide brown gaze remained guileless. “I heard Dante calling you that.”

  Terrific. The alpha’s pet name for me, bestowed in his bed when he noted my bottom had two distinct indentations, was now public knowledge.

  I would have to talk to Dante about that nickname.

  Seeing Felicity, shifters who hadn’t made my acquaintance yet came over to greet me. I made casual small talk about the nice weather, last night’s excellent barbecue and the anticipated full moon run.

  Running with the pack was expected once a month. As a guest, and a human, I was exempt. I hoped. I mean, did Dante expect me to get naked and race on two legs as the four-legged pack bounded over the fields and into the woods?

  Paul, the sous chef who had served myself and Dante, came over and greeted me. “Miss Peyton.” He kissed my hand, lingering over my knuckles. Then he grinned. “So good to see you. Did you enjoy dinner?”

  “Very much. You’re an excellent cook.”

  A shadow crossed his face. “Yes, I am. I was hoping to make head chef here. One day.”

  “Maybe you will,” I encouraged.

  A bell chimed somewhere and the pack settled into their seats. Dante entered the basement rec room, Alex and Gabriel flanking his sides. I felt a shiver of awareness skate down my spine. These were my boys, and the entire pack bowed their heads, touching their throats. Showing respect for their alpha and his betas.

  Dante saw me, nodded. Then he jumped atop the dais that had been set up. In his trim, black suit and starched white shirt, he looked amazing. Powerful. In command. Boots clicked on the wood dais as he walked back and forth, his fierce gaze scanning the pack.

  Holding their attention. I sensed their loyalty, their devotion to their alpha.

  Alex and Gabriel flanked his side, but did not join him on the dais as they faced the pack.

  “I’ve called you here tonight to discuss the issue of the Brown brothers. They have threatened to raid our ranch, steal our young and our women and kill the males unless we turn over Peyton by dawn tomorrow.”

  Everyone turned to look at me.

  I flushed.

  “That, of course, is not an option.” Dante scowled.

  Everyone murmured, “Of course not.”

  “So we will fight instead. Gabriel has set up extra patrols and the new security system is operational on our perimeter. I’ve been on conference calls with the Shifter Council, and their lead investigators are examining details of the incident at the Crossroads club, as well as this latest threat, to bring charges against the Browns.”

  Murmurs sounded, not all of them good. Seemed as if the pack didn’t place much faith in the council, who could be bureaucrats.

  “What if the bad men invade our home?”

  This question, said in a paper thin voice, got Dante’s attention. It came from a girl about ten years old, with straight blond hair and a too-thin body clad in a Hello Kitty t-shirt and denim shorts.

  He went straight to the girl, bent down to see her on eye level. Even from my vantage point, I could tell she cried. My heart broke for the child, who struggled to be brave, but her voice trembled when she spoke to the alpha.

  “Will I have to go live in that smelly, nasty tent again, if the bad men win? Will they steal me away?”

  Dante’s jaw tightened. I could tell he clenched his teeth and struggled to leash his temper. Not because of the child’s question, but from what she’d suffered. Felicia had told me the girl and her parents were refugees from a shifter camp east of the border.

  There were shifters from other countries who had lived in the big cities, like New York, who were thrown out because they were eyed as dangerous. Not only had they been evicted from their homes, they were interred in camps until an alpha from a known, respected pack claimed them.

  Oh, there weren’t many cases. Only one hundred. Last time I’d heard, the camps were cleaned out and closed because good, powerful alphas had taken them all in.

  Thanks to Dante.

  Dante had granted asylum to twenty of those shifters and urged his alpha friends to do the same.

  “No one’s going to throw us off our land, Cherise. This is your home now. You will never have to live on the streets again, I promise. No matter what I must do.”

  She glanced at her worried parents. “And mom and dad? Can they stay here as well?”

  Dante’s mouth compressed. “No one is separating you from your parents, Cherise. They will stay with you.”

  He hugged Cherise tight, and my throat closed up. No matter what else Dante was – scamp, arrogant and authoritative, sometimes overbearing, he loved his people.

  Treated them with respect and kindness.

  He was a good leader.

  And me… I was a stranger here, who did not belong. A human who was causing them problems, forcing them to enter into a vicious battle where some of them could die.

  Dante patted Cherise’s head, and wiped away her tears. She beamed at him and I saw a ribbon of approving purple ripple through the pack’s auras.

  He returned to the dais, his shoulders thrown back, carriage erect and proud. Gold flashed through his aura, the gold of the alpha wolf.

  “I wanted to assure you that the Browns will not win. We will fight and be victorious.”

  Cheers rose from the pack, and several raised their hands in the air, claws emerging from their fingertips. They howled.

  “We will fight ‘em tonight if we must,” one man shouted.

  “Not tonight.” Dante shook his head.

  “Tonight, we run.” He glanced at the window. “With the full moon.”

  I did not run, of course.

  But I watched.

  Dante escorted me outside as Gabriel and Alex snapped out a thick blanket on the grass for me to sit. Then they shifted.

  Magick sizzled in the air, the crack of several shifters changing at once, the powerful current of energy dancing with iridescent sparks lighting the night. I had never seen anything like it.

  The black wolf, Dante, padded toward me. The top of his head came to the lower half of my hip. He easily weighed two hundred pounds, all of it all muscle and sinew.

  Dante playfully head-butted me, and I plopped onto the blanket. Then he gently licked my face, his tongue like warm, wet sandpaper. Laughing, I stroked his head.

  “Easy, big guy. I’ll be fine. Go with your pack.”

>   He ran off, checking once behind his shoulder, the pack following him.

  Alex and Gabriel, both gray timber wolves, came on either side of me. They also licked my face.

  I pointed to the woods. “I don’t need a babysitter. Go run!”

  At a much slower pace, they loped off.

  Enthralled, I watched them run through the meadow beneath the silvery light of the moon. Then they vanished into the forest. Howls ensued.

  The pack hunted prey.

  Hugging my knees, I sat on the blanket on the grass, studying the sky. Loneliness swept over me. Did I belong anywhere? I felt comfortable here, but couldn’t participate in one of the most important pack rites. I had fallen in love with my boys, as I called them, but they weren’t human.

  I was.

  Suddenly three wolves burst out of the forest, racing toward me. Confused, I watched them circle me. I recognized Dante, and the two smaller gray timber wolves must be Alex and Gabriel. But why were they here?

  “Shouldn’t you be hunting rabbits or chasing your tails?” I teased them.

  Dante the wolf threw back his head and released a long, loud howl at the night.

  A call of the wild.

  Wolves tore out of the forest, answering his call. And then suddenly the entire pack surrounded me. They crawled onto the blanket, curled up next to me, tails wagging. One rested his head on my thigh.

  Emotion clogged my throat. I might not be able to shift like they did, and run with my boys, but Dante made sure I was not forgotten. This was his way of ensuring I was not alone, and the pack was with me.

  Damn, why did he have to do that? Why must he be so considerate, so sweet? It would make it even harder to leave.

  The muscled black wolf pushed his way through the crowd, approached me and licked my cheek. It was a claiming in wolf skin, saying, ‘She’s mine.”

  It did not surprise me when the two gray timber wolves did the same.

  These were my boys, who adored running with the full moon and hunting, who came back to make sure I was not left out.

  I choked back my emotions and struggled to speak. “Just don’t think about marking your territory the way wolves usually do, okay boys?”

  Giving a wolfish grin, the larger gray wolf went to lift his leg on me. Jokester. I held up a hand. “Try it, Gabriel and you’ll get an unwelcome surprise in your bed tonight. Ever have jalapeno juice on your dick?”