Hunger Moon

by Merryn Dexter

  Quinn’s fingers pressed into Bel’s shoulder, and she looped her arm around the other woman’s waist. They would need to be strong to get through the next few hours. It would help Troy.

  I love you. Words she should have said in the quiet dark of their bed, but he needed them now.

  You honor me, ma belle.

  Chapter Nine

  Troy waited at the foot of the stairs. Quinn had shown Bel to the guest bathroom, and he chafed against the delay, needing to get the hell out of there. He hadn’t properly acknowledged Bel’s stunning declaration of love, fearing his father would see his vulnerability and turn it against him. There would be time enough once he got her safely away. Dinner had been a freak show of forced manners and superficial conversation. Nikolas had contributed little. Never a big talker at the best of times, the rain of blows Clark had landed on his face would be enough to keep anyone quiet. Troy had seen him test his jaw enough to know at least it wasn’t broken, but Nik would have a miserable couple of days even with their accelerated healing. His own injuries were mostly confined to his back. Sitting in the car for the next couple of hours was going to suck, but they were leaving the second Bel returned.

  “He’s asleep.” Dutton’s soft voice startled him. Foolish to let his guard down for a second in this house of horrors.

  “What do you want, Dut?” Troy growled, too tired and hurt to play any more games.

  “He’s getting worse.” A lock of blond hair tumbled across his brother’s forehead, an unforgivable sign of strain. Dutton controlled himself and his wolf more tightly than any other shifter he’d met. On cue, the stray piece of hair was brushed away, set back into place. “Telling him about Belinda’s omega nature might have been a mistake. He didn’t stop babbling about it until he fell asleep.”

  The clack of heels on marble warned them of the women’s approach. Dutton grabbed Troy’s arm, a startling action from a man who schooled his body language. “You cannot bring her home, Troy. If he gets his hands on her, he will destroy her. Destroy us all in the process.” His eldest brother slipped into the shadows a second before Quinn and Bel appeared at the top of the stairs. They walked down to him, arms linked in open affection.

  After a brief, but fierce hug, Bel stepped back and he could see a hint of moisture in her eyes. She gave a watery laugh. “I’ll leave you two to say your good-byes. I’ll be outside by the car.”

  He smiled, grateful at her discretion, watching her until she disappeared from his view.

  “She’s lovely,” Quinn murmured.

  Turning with a nod, he gathered his sister close. “She’s everything.”

  He switched to mental communication. I’m getting us out of here, sis. I can’t go into detail yet, but you need to be prepared. After the mating ceremony in Moonlight next week, we won’t be coming back here. He placed her away from him to stare into her eyes. You, too. Their alpha has agreed to take you into his pack.

  Expecting her to smile, he frowned when she dropped eyes, darting her gaze toward the dining room. The door stood open, the sound of a bottle chinking against a glass carried across the dimly lit hallway. Nikolas had remained at the table when the rest of them had risen, a bottle of scotch in front of him. He’d been with Clark longer than any of them, taken from his pack when still a toddler. He claimed to have no memory of his family and had followed his alpha’s every command. Troy didn’t want Nik or Dut to suffer their father’s predations, but he would not risk his mate or his sister to save them. They would have to find a way to save themselves.

  He touched a finger to Quinn’s cheek, and she glanced back at him. “Be ready,” he whispered, and this time she nodded.

  Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he held her close for a few moments more. His wolf wanted him to drag her to the car, get her the hell out of there, but it also understood the need for patience and cunning. Troy had formed a new plan tonight. One he couldn’t share with anyone else, not even Bel. Dutton was right; his father could not be allowed to get his hands on her. Nothing else mattered other than keeping her out of his clutches.

  They were later than he’d intended. Dusk had fallen and there was little traffic on the rural roads. He listened to Bel make a quick call to Derek. He would know from the trackers they were headed back, but she wanted to make it clear everything was fine. Which was a lie. His back was a blaze of agony from his shoulders to his hips, forcing him to sit upright. He’d lowered the roof again, but this time she hadn’t bothered with her scarf. He risked a quick glance across toward her. Tendrils of her hair blew across her face, and she shook her head to release them, offering him a glimpse of her delicate throat. Her face had been turned toward the side window from the moment her seat belt clicked in place, but he didn’t need to see the expression on her face. Her low, simmering anger filled the space between them. Shit. She’d held the connection between them open throughout his encounter with his father, resisting all his attempts to shut her out of his mind.

  “What did he do to you?” She tugged at the restraining hold of the seat belt and twisted around to study him.

  He flicked a look at her, wished he hadn’t bothered when he saw the pain and torment twisting her features. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Fuck you and what you fucking want. The smell of your blood and pain is sending my wolf crazy. We are going to talk about this, Troy.”

  The profanity shocked him. His Bel didn’t even talk dirty during sex. Humiliation and pent-up fury shot through him and he scanned the side of the road. Spying a dirt road, he yanked the steering wheel, sending the car bouncing down the rutted lane until they couldn’t be seen by any passing traffic. He turned off the engine, unclipped his belt, and threw himself out of the car. Bel shot out the vehicle, rounding the hood so they met halfway. Chest to chest, they glared at each other. With a growl of frustration, he dragged the wrinkled linen jacket from his shoulders and tossed it on the ground. If she wanted the truth, he’d damn well show her every ugly fucking stripe of it. Unbuttoning his shirt took too long and he gave up. His fingers were too damn shaky to fiddle with the small pearl discs anyway. He ripped the front open, unable to stifle a cry of pain when the cotton stuck to the dried blood on his back. Shoving away her attempts to stop him, Troy pulled his shirt off and spun around.

  “Oh, my love. Oh, what did he do to you?” The shock in her voice stole the anger from him, leaving him naked and vulnerable beneath her gaze. Tears trickled down his face, but he couldn’t raise a hand to brush them away, terrified any movement would break the dam he’d built around his heart. Soft fingers and softer kisses traced each livid strap mark across his skin as Bel sought to alleviate the injuries laid down by his father’s belt.

  Clark had been livid, refusing to listen to anything Troy had to say to him. He was alpha. His children would mate if, when, and to whom he chose. Cursing Troy for his sentimentality, his weakness, his failure to obey orders, Clark had threatened to punish Quinn in his stead. Stripping his clothing and offering his unprotected flesh to the alpha had done the trick.

  Nikolas and Dutton had stood by in silence until Troy had fallen to the floor under the force of one too many strikes. Nik had stayed their father’s hand at that point, refusing to allow Clark to flay his face. Just as well or Troy would likely have lost an eye, or worse. His intervention had cost him dearly, drawing the last of Clark’s seething rage in a flurry of punches. Dutton had pulled out a first-aid kit from a cabinet. Ignoring Clark, while he beat Nikolas bloody, his brother had talked quietly and calmly to Troy as he cleaned the wounds on his back. Through gritted teeth, he’d told Dutton about his observations of the Moonlight pack. Persuaded him to see the sense in a bloodless coup, rather than a full-out assault.

  The mating ceremony would be the perfect cover, they’d reasoned together. Allowing the principals of the Brighton pack to walk right into the center of Moonlight as invited guests. Once Derek was out of the way, the rest of the pack would come to heel, he’d assured them. Lie after
lie spilled from his mouth about how weak Moonlight was. How small, how insignificant compared to the strength of Brighton. Every word had fed his father’s ego, his madness sated by blood enough for him to join the conversation. Didn’t he see how Troy had delivered him the perfect way to assimilate the new pack?

  When Clark hesitated, pain and desperation forced Troy to let slip about the gift Bel would bring to their family through her omega abilities. A dark gleam of excitement lit Clark’s eyes, and he acquiesced to their plans. Something in his expression had told Troy this was not the first time his father had encountered a wolf like her. He regretted it instantly, but it had been too late to take it back. It was at that moment the new plan coalesced in his mind.

  Through it all, Bel held the bridge between them, masking his lies, his fear, his desperation. She’d sat beside him through dinner, making small talk, eating her food, acting for all the world like an excited mate meeting her new family, not realizing he had betrayed her. Forcing himself to move away from her gentle ministrations, Troy hung his head. “He knows about you.”

  “He had to learn about it sometime.” Her simple acceptance floored him. Didn’t she understand? Clark had the scent of prey in his nose, and he would hunt Bel to the ends of the earth to possess her. He swung around to face her, to scream his fear and regret of what might now never come to pass between them. The words died in his throat.

  She knew.

  She stared at him, big blue eyes full of sorrow, but no blame, no censure. Christ, she was incredible, and he didn’t deserve her. A wild groan loosed from his throat, and he fell upon her, seeking her mouth, shoving her back against the hood of the car. Like a flower unfurling beneath the sun, she opened her lips, her arms, her heart, and took everything from him. Shoving his tongue deep into the welcoming warmth, he clutched her waist, lifting her up until she perched on the hot metal of the hood. Her thighs fell open, creating a cradle for his thrusting hips. He felt her ankles lock at the base of his spine, heard one of her sandals clatter to the ground behind him as he licked and sucked and probed the wet heat of her mouth. Her fingers dug into the thick muscles of his biceps, pulling him closer until his upper body pinned her against the hard surface of the car.

  They rocked together, their grunts and gasps punctuating the still night air. “I need you, Bel,” he moaned against her lips, reaching back to unhook her legs.

  She raised her hips, giving him room to tug off her panties. He’d barely unfastened the front of his pants before she reached between them to grip the pulsing weight of his cock. He bucked once, sliding between her eager fingers. Feeling the tension melt away at the first kiss of his aching cock against the drenched seam of her sex, he threw back his head and shouted her name, pushing forward into the molten heat of her delicious core. Her hand released him only long enough to clutch his ass, as though she feared he might draw back. He pressed again, sliding deeper, relishing the tight squeeze of her rippling muscles. She deserved better than this, deserved better than a desperate grind against the hood of his car. Jamming her heels against the hot metal, she lifted her hips to him, dropped down, and thrust again. He held still, letting her fuck herself up and down the length of his cock, watching the desire cloud her eyes as her pace increased. Hot little noises burst from her lips. Grunts and sighs and gasps that drove him wild with need for her.

  Tucking his hands under her body, he grabbed the plump cheeks of her ass and took over. He ploughed the depths of her pussy, grunting with effort as he drove away the horrors of the day. There was only her, only him, and the slap, slap of flesh on flesh. Her sighing breath, his growling demand for her to come. And she did, milking his cock, dragging his release from the depths of his soul. He shoved his face into her neck, sobbing in relief, and she cuddled him close, rocking them until the storm passed and he could think again.

  Lifting his wet face, he stared down at her. “I love you, Belinda.”

  “I love you, too, Troy. We’ll get through this; we’ll find a way through. Focus on that, focus on the future we will have together. One more week and this will all be over.”

  He hid his face in her neck again, afraid she would read the truth in his eyes. A week from now everything would be over, but not in the way she hoped. Her hands cupped his head, pressing him into her throat for one long moment before she dropped them to his shoulders and eased his weight from her body.

  “Let’s go home.” Her lips whispered over his in the softest caress. With a nod he stood up, bent to retrieve her sandals where they’d dropped to the floor, and winced when the movement tugged at the healing skin on his back. “Give me the keys. If you shift, it will accelerate your healing.” She finished adjusting the strap on her sandal and glanced up at him through her bangs. “I can drive, you know.” She shook her head, muttering about stubborn dominant asshole men as she slid from the hood and straightened her dress.

  He hesitated. Everything hurt. His body, his head, his heart. They were still well over an hour from home; he should drive. It was his job to get her safely home…. God damn it, I am an asshole. Bel crossed her arms, leaned back against the car, and stared at him, her expression a mixture of amusement and frustration. She looked good, looked more than good, with her hair rumpled from his rough hands, her cheeks rosy, a hint of stubble burn at her throat. Her resilience floored him. She’d seen his family at their twisted worst and took everything in stride.

  “You’re fucking amazing, ma belle,” he said, putting all his admiration for her in his voice.

  “Damn straight I am. Now give me the keys and get furry.”

  His wolf grumbled at the indignity of squeezing into the confined space of the passenger side. Bel lowered the seat as far as it would go, and he managed to sprawl across it and half into the narrow rear seat of the convertible. He kept his head down, and Bel stuck to a few miles under the speed limit. Still, his hackles didn’t soften until he felt the car bump onto the rougher roads, signaling they were back in Moonlight. Derek waited for them. Troy caught his scent the moment the car rolled to a stop a few feet from Bel’s front door. The alpha strode from the shadows, raised one eyebrow at Troy in his wolf form, and tugged Bel into a tight hug. A wash of possessive jealousy rolled over Troy and he snarled, too worn down by the privations of the day to school his temper.

  Derek released Bel, grabbed Troy by the scruff of his neck, and shook him hard. “Don’t fucking test me, pup. When your car stopped so close to your father’s lands, I feared there had been an ambush.” The alpha softened his grip, stroking his hand over the wolf’s head in a gesture of affection no other male had given him for twenty years. Not since the night Clark had changed everything. He turned in to the alpha’s touch, seeking reassurance. Derek dropped to his haunches and caught Troy’s muzzle in his hand. Golden eyes blazing, he stared deep at Troy. “You’re mine now. He doesn’t get to hurt you again; do you hear me?”

  The vow rocked Troy to his core, giving him a flash of brief hope before reality dug its cruel claws into his heart. His father would hurt him again, and he would take the pain gladly to protect this noble wolf and his pack.

  Chapter Ten

  The next week flew past in a tumble of love, laughter, and lies. When Troy wasn’t closeted with Derek and the rest of The Defenders running over every conceivable scenario of what might happen at the mating ceremony, he was on her, over her, in her. His appetite for her burned like a living flame, and desperation tinged their every encounter.

  He stared into her eyes, pumping his seed into her body, telling her he loved her, making plans for their future together. And lied and lied until she thought she might choke on it. Something had changed during the hour he’d spent in his father’s study. He’d given up on her, given up on them, she could tell.

  She checked her watch. Troy and the others were prowling around the open ground behind the cottage. The grass had been mown, and a beautiful wooden pagoda dominated the center of the strip of land. Garlands of flowers and fairy lights twined around th
e open frame. It would be a magical setting for their mating ceremony and provide a precise location for the ambush of their guests from Brighton.

  Watching from the rear porch, she saw Kirk leap up, grasp the lower branches of a tree on the edge of the wood, and vanish into the thick foliage. Jesse and Charlie, the human sheriffs who had mated into their pack, stared up into the branches, a large rifle strapped across Charlie’s back. She turned away with a shudder. What should be the happiest night of her life lay a few hours ahead, and everywhere she looked her pack prepared for war.

  She shook away the tears pricking the back of her eyes and stepped inside. Picking up her phone, she scrolled her contacts for Quinn’s number. They’d talked often over the week, discussing plans for the ceremony, forging a connection they both needed. The line rang a couple of times, and Quinn answered it, sounding slightly breathless. “Hello?”

  “Hi. Sorry, are you busy?” Bel sank onto the edge of the couch, nibbling on the corner of one fingernail. She caught her nervous action, tucking her newly manicured hand under her thigh to prevent any further abuse of the pearly pink lacquer Riesa had applied the night before. The alpha’s mate and her other close female friends had thrown her a surprise party. Nothing extravagant, just a few drinks, home mani-pedis, and some ridiculous feel-good chick flicks. It should have been a special memory, something to cherish for years, and yet a pall of fear had hung over the group. How many of them would still have their mates happy and whole when this latest nightmare to challenge their pack was over?

  She heard a whisper of material, a closing door, and Quinn sighed into the phone. “Just trying to get everything organized at this end. I’m having a wardrobe crisis. I swear I’ve tried on everything in my wardrobe. Twice.” Her laugh settled some of Bel’s nerves. “So what’s up, sis? Cold feet?”