Midnight Moonrising

by K. S. Haigwood

  I wanted to scream at him that he did matter to me, but he turned and strode toward a walk-in closet. “You can take a bath if you like. I had Lea stock it with girly things for you. I’m going out with a crew for a little while.”

  “Where are you going?” I said, but he ignored my question.

  “You might want to get some sleep. The bed is yours. I won’t be back until right before dawn. I’ll let Rhodes know my address, so he can pick you up in the morning.”

  I took a step forward. “When do you plan to talk to Alex?”

  He didn’t answer me; he just left me standing in front of the fireplace and shut himself inside the closet to get dressed.

  I felt like someone was trying to rip my heart from my chest, but I refused to cry over something that hadn’t happened yet. I wanted to feel anger that he was leaving me here to go do God only knew what, but all I felt was sadness that our argument ended on a flat note. Neither of us would concede tonight and I was too tired to fight with him.

  I gathered some clothes for comfort from my suitcase and went into Phoenix’s bathroom to take a bath.

  Damn! It smelled just like him.

  Chapter 24

  Alex

  Alex casually tapped a finger on the coffee cup that was warming his hands.

  He had already finished with his short stack, but he watched in amazement as Roel, Brad and Heath polished off their third plate each.

  Roel lifted his arm in the air, signaling to the waitress that he was ready for his forth serving.

  Alex bit back the ‘Where the hell do you put it?’ and took a sip of coffee instead.

  At his refusal to go to the Waffle House, Heath had gladly driven them to the International House of Pancakes. Not a great improvement, but at least the food was edible and didn’t taste like grease.

  With a piece of bacon between his thumb and index finger, Brad pointed at Alex with his middle finger as he chewed the food in his mouth. “You know what, Cop?” He swallowed and took a drink of orange juice before continuing on. “We like you. Humph!—”

  Heath slapped him in the chest with the back of his hand, but smiled as he said, “Speak for yourself, asshole. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

  Brad grimaced as he rubbed his sternum.

  “Why am I here?” Alex said. “I know it’s not because you thought I might be hungry, not at nearly two o’clock in the morning. Did Mena send you three to get me to do some sort of initiation to see if I can be trusted to keep her secrets? Because, I gotta say, I’m beginning to re-think things, so all this isn’t really necessary.”

  Roel’s fork clattered to the plate, and all three guys stared at Alex with their eyes wide and their mouths agape. “Does Mena know this?” Roel finally asked.

  Alex shook his head. “I’m no fool. I know she only kissed me to get me to help her—”

  “No, really she didn’t, Cop,” Brad said. “She actually doesn’t want you involved at all, and that’s because what we’re doing is dangerous and she doesn’t want you to get hurt. And… because you would only get in our way. She thought if you refused to give the case to someone else, that you would be better off right in the middle of everything so we could protect you. If you’re really thinking of backing out, you need to be clear about your answer and tell us now.”

  “Why?” Alex said. “Why can’t I just tell her when we have lunch tomorr—” he looked at his timepiece, “—today?”

  Roel’s phone beeped, and he picked it up off the table to read the text message. “Phoenix said he’ll be ready to meet in twenty minutes.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed it on the empty plate.

  Alex sat up a little straighter in his seat. “What? What are you planning to do in twenty minutes?”

  They all stared at him for a long moment, then Heath finally said, “We’re going to talk with an old friend about Katie’s murderer. Wanna come? Or are you still on the fence about what that kiss really meant?”

  He didn’t even have to think about it. “I’m coming.”

  Mena

  I felt a bit better as I stepped out of Phoenix’s huge Jacuzzi tub, relaxed and clean. Today hadn’t been a good one, but I was willing to try and make at least one of the problems in my life right.

  After quickly dressing in my pajamas and twisting my damp hair up in a clippie, I opened the door of the bathroom and walked into Phoenix’s main chamber.

  He wasn’t waiting for me. Had he left already, without saying goodbye? Surely not.

  Looking left, toward the closed closet door, I frowned when I didn’t hear anything from within.

  “Phoenix?” I said.

  No response.

  Maybe he was in the house somewhere, I thought, and made my way to the door.

  The knob turned freely in my hand, but wouldn’t budge when I tried to pull it open. My eyes bulged in surprise, and I jerked on the thing as my temper rose. He had locked me in his room!

  “Phoenix!” I yelled, and then slapped the thick wood of the door with my palm. “Let me out of here!”

  He had really left.

  As I stood there, fuming and completely bewildered that he wouldn’t trust me in his house alone, it occurred to me that he thought I might escape the compound altogether, and that pissed me off even more.

  Doing something childish, like destroying his room, came to mind, but I doubted that would upset him; he would just have someone else clean up the mess and replace anything I broke.

  Spotting my cell phone on the bed, I rushed and grabbed it up, intending to give him a piece of my mind—

  “Put the phone down, Mena,” my wolf said.

  “Don’t talk to me,” I snapped. “You siding with him is what got me locked in this room in the first place.” I could feel her attempt to take away my anxiety, but I gave a rough mental shove and put a stop to her intrusion. “And stop messing with my emotions!” I screamed. “I want to be mad at you!”

  “Just calm down and listen to me.”

  I stomped my foot and growled in frustration. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say, bitch! I just want to be angry. Please, just let me have that much control right now.” I could feel the tears welling up, and I knew I was about to cry. For the first time in, well, forever, I saw that as a good thing; she was giving me what I asked for, my emotions back. I wiped at my cheeks as I sighed. “Thank you.”

  There was a brief moment of silence as she let me calm down on my own. I was shocked at how much better throwing a temper tantrum made me feel. I took in a deep breath and smiled a little.

  “Mena, Phoenix isn’t afraid you’ll leave the house—he knows I won’t let you—but he did suspect you would get the wrong idea and get angry. That was his way of getting even for you hurting his feelings.”

  My eyes popped wide at hearing her theory. “I hurt his feelings?” I said on a laugh. “You can’t be serious. He’s centuries old.”

  “He doesn’t seem like the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, but, with you, it doesn’t appear as though he can help it. Phoenix is enamored with you and you keep pushing him away.”

  I plopped down in a chair by the fireplace. “Only because I don’t want you to kill him.”

  I heard a heavy sigh and sensed that she was rolling her nonliteral eyes at me. “Fine. I won’t kill him, not unless he really, really pisses me off. I’m sorry for stirring up trouble in Phoenixland. It just gets boring in here with only your thoughts to keep me company. I’m sure you understand.”

  What was I going to do with her?

  “Can I have your word on that? However much that’s worth,” I mumbled to myself as I rolled my eyes.

  “If I say it, you can believe it,” she said.

  “Well, if Phoenix wasn’t worried about me leaving the compound, what the hell is he worried about?”

  “You are a werewolf in a house full of vampires who have never met you. I’d imagine he locked you in to keep us safe. I’m sure he’s expecting a nasty text message, so
if you really want the upper hand, I suggest doing the complete opposite.”

  Pursing my lips together in irritation, I looked down at the phone in my hand. She was right. I hated that she was right. It grinded me in a bad way that she was right. But that anger stemmed from the fact that she was right most of the time, and I didn’t feel in control over my body, my mind or even my destiny anymore.

  “Do the right thing, Mena.”

  “I hate that I’m stuck with you for an eternity.”

  I heard her sigh. “I’m not a bad person, Mena. If you would just—”

  “You’re not a person at all,” I said, irritation creeping back into the tone of my voice.

  “Fine! I’m not a human, but the fact remains that we are stuck together, so we need to figure out a way to co-exist and be happy about it. Your whining is a little annoying.”

  I rolled my eyes. She was right again. “Okay. I’ll try if you will stop instigating—”

  “I’m only trying to test my boundaries.”

  “You could just ask instead of taking over every time you or Phoenix don’t get your way.”

  “All right… I will also try.”

  “And you will stop taking away my emotions?”

  “I only do that so your fear and grief don’t cloud your thoughts. But, yes, I will also let you keep your emotions… unless I see that I need to interfere.”

  I thought about that a moment, but doubted I would get a better compromise.

  I typed out the text: ‘I’m sorry about our argument. We’ll talk when you return.’ Then I hit send.

  Phoenix

  “I miss pancakes,” Jaxon said as Phoenix pulled into a parking spot at the IHOP.

  “How can you miss something that you haven’t had in centuries? I don’t think I’ve ever even had pancakes.”

  Jaxon’s mouth pulled to the side as he pondered the question. “I think it’s the smell of maple syrup that makes my mouth water,” he said, and then opened his door when Phoenix did.

  Phoenix smiled when the phone chimed from his pocket, but the grin slowly slipped from his face as he read Mena’s text.

  “Damn wolf is smarter than I thought,” he grumbled, and then looked up to meet the confused expression of Alex Rhodes.

  Without responding to the question in the detective’s eyes, Phoenix turned his attention to Roel. “IHOP? Really?”

  “What?” Heath said. “We were hungry.”

  Brad chuckled. “He’s just jealous because he can’t eat—”

  Roel’s elbow came up swiftly and collided with Brad’s mouth.

  “Shit!” Alex said. “What the hell is wrong with—?”

  Wanting to take this whole convo on a detour, before the human discovered their secret identities, Phoenix glanced up at the sky when lightening streaked across the horizon. “She’s expecting us. We need to go; dawn will be here soon.” He nodded toward Jaxon. “This is Jaxon, my… friend,” he said when Alex’s wide eyes moved to look back at him.

  A slow smile spread across Alex’s face as he shook Jaxon’s hand, and Phoenix’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Alex Rhodes. It’s nice to meet you, Jaxon. I wasn’t aware Phoenix was dating anyone. How long have the two of you been a couple?”

  A burst of laughter erupted from either Brad or Heath; Phoenix wasn’t sure which with the blur of profanities going though his mind at the moment. Shit, he thought as he realized the guy thought friend meant lifelong partner, and that there could be no possible way he could come between him and Mena now, since he was gay!

  He cringed as he glanced at the murderous glare in Jaxon’s eyes, and ran a hand down his face as he nodded; maybe if the cop thought he had same-sex interest, he wouldn’t keep coming up with excuses for why Mena shouldn’t stay with him at his compound at night.

  “A while,” Jaxon said through a clenched jaw as he released the detective’s hand, “but we try to keep our relationship status private, if you know what I mean.”

  Alex nodded. “Absolutely. It’s nobody’s business.”

  It no longer mattered who had laughed first, because all three wolves were red-faced and nearly down on the sidewalk, clutching their sides and howling with laughter. He was never going to hear the end of this, and the worst part was it was his fault the guy got the wrong idea in the first place. Way to go, Phoenix!

  “Wait,” the cop said, “who’s expecting us?”

  “Meridia,” Phoenix replied solemnly, and then glanced toward Jaxon as everyone made their way to the black Suburban.

  “You fucking owe me,” Jaxon said quietly.

  Phoenix pressed his lips together as he opened the rear door. Maybe now was a good time to punish him for the mistakes the guy had made over the last few months. Holding out his hand, he winked as he encouraged Jaxon to get in first. “After you, Sweetheart.”

  Chapter 25

  Phoenix

  As the Suburban came to a stop outside a set of wrought iron gates, a chill passed over Phoenix’s skin, and he knew it had nothing to do with the frigid winter temperatures outside.

  “How do we get in?” Heath asked as he looked out the driver’s window for any sign of a call box.

  “We wait. They know we’re here,” Phoenix said.

  Roel glanced through the windshield at their surroundings: dead trees, the gate and not much else. “I don’t see any cameras or anything. Are you sure they know—?”

  Just then the gate began to swing inward.

  Roel sat a little straighter in his seat. “O-kay. That wasn’t spooky at all.”

  “Drive, Heath,” Phoenix said.

  Heath gave a long, uncomfortable-sounding sigh, but put the vehicle in Drive and drove forward.

  The winding road up the steep, woodsy, rocky mountain was nearly a mile long, and as they drew nearer to their destination, strange things started to happen. Phoenix could feel the spell creep into his bones, but he recognized it for what it was, so it was easier to fight it off. But by the sweat that dampened Roel’s brow in the front seat, he didn’t know how well the others would handle it if he didn’t give them some sort of warning.

  “Whatever you’re feeling, just ignore it; it isn’t real. It’s their way of introducing themselves and getting to know each of you a little in the process.”

  “I think I’m going to puke,” Brad said. “Pull over, Heath. Heather will kill me if I throw up in here.”

  “You don’t want to do that, Heath,” Phoenix said, when the vehicle began to slow down. “Leave the windows up, the doors locked and just keep moving forward.”

  “Shit! I would if I could see, man, but my vision has gone all wonky. It’s like I’m in one of those carnival rooms where everything looks distorted.”

  “What the hell is happening to me?” Alex shouted. “I can’t feel my arms!”

  Without answering, Phoenix glanced over to Jaxon in the other Captain’s chair. The guy was seriously trying to hold his shit together, rocking back and forth with his head in his hands, and Phoenix could tell if they didn’t get to the witches lair soon, they wouldn’t have to keep their secret anymore from the human, but they would have a whole hell of a lot of explaining to do to Mena. She would blame him for the death of her pack members and her wolf would blame him for the death of the cop.

  The right tires slipped from the hard-packed dirt road, but Heath jerked the wheel and got the Suburban back on track right before almost hitting a huge tree that magically appeared out of nowhere. The momentum nearly caused the vehicle to hit the rock wall on the left side of the road.

  “Stop the vehicle!” Phoenix said frantically, and then swore under his breath. “Whatever you do, don’t open the door. Climb back here, Heath, and I’ll drive the rest of the way. It’s not much farther.”

  “Gladly,” Heath said, then did as Phoenix told him to do.

  Phoenix quickly climbed over the console and sat in the driver’s seat, put the vehicle in Drive and stomped on the accelerator, before anything could attack the vehicle and
mess up his plan.

  Wrapping his fingers around the steering wheel, he tried to ignore the bugs crawling under his skin. It wasn’t real; he knew it wasn’t, but even saying that out loud wouldn’t make the illusion stop. Slapping at his arms and then his face only made it worse, but it was one of those uncontrollable things, like coughing when you had a tickle in your throat; it just had to be done.

  “Make it stop!” someone cried out from behind him, and there were other moans and groans coming from the others, but Phoenix’s only focus was getting them to their destination unscathed. Maybe it wouldn’t be tonight, but the witches were definitely going to get what was coming to them. He despised the fact that he needed them as much as he did, but finding the missing dagger and killing this werewolf with a chip on her shoulder were at the top of his to-do list; he could do that faster with the help of the three wicked sisters.

  Sharp, bright white eyes reflected in the high-beams in the road up ahead, and he could tell it wasn’t anything any of them wanted to mess with; predator, not prey.

  “Uh, Phoenix… you see… that thing, right?” Roel said in between gasps of air.

  If said thing had been anything normal, like, say, a bear or a rhino or even a saber toothed tiger, Phoenix could have handled it all on his own, but knowing Meridia, he knew it wasn’t a normal animal. He had only two options, because stopping and getting out of the vehicle was not one of them; he could swerve off the road and pray there wasn’t a drop-off or he could plow right through the thing and pray it was only a mirage. Either way, he was going to be doing a whole hell of a lot of praying tonight.

  “Yeah,” Phoenix said, and made his decision. “I see it.” He pushed the accelerator to the floorboard.

  Out of his periphery, he could see Roel cover his head with his arms, but Phoenix kept his eyes locked on the beast standing broadside in the road, looking at him, daring him to hit it.