Fever (Blood Moon Rising, #1)

by Lola Taylor

  “Shut up.”

  “You like it.”

  Gage smiled, but the motion seemed wrong. Like he shouldn’t be smiling with so much death and tragedy hanging over his head. Clearing his throat, he sat up and leaned his elbows on the table, his hands clasped together in front of him. “I caught the part about the funerals being in two days. I’ll call their loved ones in a moment so they can make arrangements. Good thing Tony, Erik, and the kid were all locals. At least their families won’t have to travel far.”

  Gage tensed, staring at his hands. He could just imagine the blood of his brethren on them…. He had led them to their deaths.

  “Stop blaming yourself,” Nik said quietly.

  “Who else is there to blame? I was their leader. I should have been there.”

  “You can’t be in two places at once.”

  “Then I never should have split up the group!”

  Nik pressed his lips together. Gage knew by now that meant he was hiding something. “Spit it out,” he snapped, already knowing what Nik was about to say.

  Nik sat up and drummed his fingers along the tabletop. “You might want to give the others some space for a while. To grieve.”

  “It’s not just to grieve, and you and I both know it. They’re angry with me. They know this is my fault.”

  “Dammit, Gage!” Nik said, slamming a fist down on the table. “Stop acting like you’re the only one to blame! You’re not! If anything, Tony, Erik, the kid, they all decided to go. You didn’t make them.”

  “But didn’t I? When I commanded them as their Alpha?”

  Nik was silent.

  Gage was coming apart inside. Wolves felt the loss of a packmate as deeply as a relative. It was one of the quirks of being bonded through pack blood.

  But Gage also knew that while their mistrust was natural, since he was the leader of a mission gone horribly wrong, it had been there far longer. Malachite had ruled with an iron fist. His atrocities and the abuse of his pack would linger for many years. Gage knew taking on the position of packmaster was not going to be easy, not when he had a band of abused wolves under his protection.

  And how good a job did you do of protecting them?

  Restless, Gage stood and decided to pace.

  Nik watched him silently from his seat.

  “We’re still no closer to finding out who was responsible for the hit on my mate,” Gage said.

  “I’ll put the word out, and I’ll ask Penelope to do the same. That name is bound to pop up again. Still sounds like mafia involvement, if you ask me.”

  “But why? Why kill my mate? What do they have to gain by knocking me out of the leadership position?”

  Nik sighed hard. “That I can’t tell you.” He looked at Gage warily. “Have you decided when you’re having the mating ceremony?”

  “I can’t possibly think about that now, not after the massacre that happened yesterday.”

  “The Blood Moon rises in three nights.”

  “And we have three wolves to bury day after tomorrow!” Gage roared.

  Nik stood, his voice every bit as steely as his brother’s. “I’m aware of that. But regardless of what happened in those woods, you are our leader, and to remain so, you have to mate before the Blood Moon sets. It’s in the law.”

  Gage thought he would blow a fuse. With a roar, he fisted his hands, tempted to throw something but knowing it wouldn’t solve the problem at hand. “Damn our laws,” he growled. “Can we not have a few days to grieve?”

  Nik looked at him with sympathy, resting a hand on his shoulder. “The Blood Moon Law is a magical rite. You can’t risk losing Danica and your pack forever. Take some time to grieve. I can call the families.”

  “No,” Gage said, grasping his brother’s hand and squeezing. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not helpless. I can call.”

  “Take care of yourself, brother. And don’t forget there’s nothing wrong with letting others help you. You can’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

  Gage smiled slightly. “But I sure as hell can try.”

  Concern weighed down Nik’s sharp features. “True, but how long will you last before you break?”

  He started to turn to leave when a thought crossed Gage’s mind. “Do you think it was planned?”

  Nik paused. “What?”

  “The attack in the woods. What if… what if it was someone in our pack trying to kill Danica?”

  “Gage-”

  “No, listen. What when Onyx failed, they lured us out to the woods, knowing it was a trap.”

  Nik shook his head. “The pack might be a mess emotionally right now, but I don’t believe for a second any of them would be out to get you like that. You’re not Malachite.”

  Gage shivered at the mention of the cruel ex-Alpha’s name. “And I never will be,” he murmured, a promise to himself.

  Nik smiled. “No. You’re too kind. You’re a damn good Alpha. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise, including yourself.”

  He walked off, leaving Gage in the room by himself. He stared into the fire, then out over the bleak, overcast sky. Deep down, it was one of his worst fears, that his pack would betray him. He couldn’t blame them for being wary of a new king. Seeing them so frightened, so scared… it had reminded him of when he’d been alone, with no one to defend him. Except for Nik. Nik had always been there, his guardian, tattooed angel. Gage knew there was no way he could ever repay Nik for taking care of him when he needed it most, so he had vowed to pay it forward by helping out this pack. Truth be told, he didn’t want to be a leader. But with Nik’s encouragement, he began to believe in himself more and more. That he truly was capable of being a great leader, a guide, a shepherd.

  The urge to nurture and protect was still in him. Growing up, Gage’s gentle heart had been a weakness to the kids who bullied him. But as he grew older - and with Nik’s guidance and nonjudgmental love - it became a strength.

  He could - would - turn this around.

  With renewed hope, he prepared himself mentally for the difficult task of delivering the news to the victims’ families. He had almost made it to the door when he heard Danica scream his name in his mind.

  GAGE!

  Her terror ripped through him, causing him to stumble and grit his teeth.

  “No,” he breathed, the moment he realized what was happening. Bolting through the door, he raced up the stairs.

  Nik saw him and immediately raced after him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Danica.”

  He didn’t stop to talk, only kept running toward his bedroom. The guards stood at their posts, their heads facing forward.

  Gage slowed. Maybe he had only imagined his beloved’s voice calling out to him, a reaction from lack of sleep and stress. Then he saw the purple hue over the guards’ eyes, and the blank expressions on their faces.

  “Damn,” Nik said, “they’ve been enchanted.”

  Which could only mean…

  Gage tried the door, finding it locked. Not wanting to waste another minute, he kicked the door down and rushed inside, Nik close behind.

  He searched the room, mentally and physically, unable to find a paranormal signature or any sign of his Danica.

  She was gone.

  Chapter 13

  Since Onyx had gagged her - and threatened to shoot her should she not comply - she’d been pretty quiet. But he didn’t say anything about reaching out to Gage with her mind.

  It was weird, and she had no idea if she was doing it right, but she focused every brain cell on Gage’s handsome face. Then she started yelling his name in her head.

  Onyx had also tied her hands behind her back. As he guided her out the window and to the edge of the roof, she started having second thoughts about this whole kidnapping thing. Onyx must have sensed it, because the barrel of the gun pressed to the back of her skull.

  “Don’t think for one minute I won’t follow through,” Onyx growled into her ear. “It would give me great pleasure t
o kill you, then march back in there and take out that obnoxious wolf of yours.”

  The thought of Gage coming to harm at her expense was too great a pain to bear. Nodding once so he’d get she wouldn’t try anything, Onyx pulled her to him and jumped. Her scream was muffled by the handkerchief, her eyes wide as they plummeted toward the ground. Like an animal, Onyx landed on his feet, catching Danica so she wouldn’t injure herself.

  Two shadows moved around the side of the house. Danica recognized them as two of Gage’s packmates. Spotting her bound and gagged, one of them swore and started to transform when Onyx aimed and shot him. The bullet went clean through his head. The man’s body arched backward, and Danica’s eyes widened further as he hit the ground, dead.

  “Let’s go!” Onyx hissed, dragging her across the lawn toward the woods.

  The second were had Changed, coming up behind them in a blur of snarls and brown fur. Onyx whirled, placing Danica in front of him as a shield, and planting the gun against her temple.

  The wolf drew up short, lips pulled back over its fangs, ears pinned low against its head.

  “Tell your master not to pursue us, or I’ll kill her,” Onyx demanded.

  Danica trembled against him, not sure if she should be more afraid of her captor or the ferocious, giant wolf pawing at the dirt like a bull about to charge.

  After a stare down, the wolf at last turned and ran back toward the house, howling. Danica’s eyes flashed up to her bedroom window to see Gage.

  Though he was too far away for her to tell for certain, she swore their eyes met. It was a feeling she had inside, a rush of hope that was quickly extinguished when Onyx took her into the woods.

  This part of Harper’s Forest wasn’t nearly as ominous as that which surrounded the witch’s cabin, but it still made her skin crawl to be handled so roughly by Onyx.

  Her heart pounded in her chest as panic set in, making it harder to think.

  You have to stay calm. You can’t afford to lose focus in case an opportunity to escape or tell landmarks shows up. If she could give Gage directions and clues, maybe she could guide him to where Onyx was taking her.

  A black SUV was parked along a dirt path. Onyx shoved her in the backseat, then walked around toward the driver’s side.

  Danica immediately tried going for the door handle while his back was turned, but he grabbed her hair and yanked her away.

  She glared at him as he started the engine, her scalp burning. She had a hundred questions and couldn’t ask any of them.

  Closing her eyes, Danica focused on sending info to Gage. Black SUV. License Plate 067HGNM. At least, she hoped that’s what it was.

  “Oh, no you don’t.”

  Danica had just enough time to open her eyes and see the butt of the gun flying toward her skull. There was a cracking sound, followed by a flash of pain, and then darkness pulled her under.

  Chapter 14

  As Gage climbed through the window and leapt from the roof, he couldn’t get the image of his mate staring back at him, green eyes wide with fear. If Onyx hurt her….

  He would kill him, either way. No one broke into his house, kidnapped his mate, without paying the price.

  With fury running through his veins, he started to shift when Nik yelled, “Wait!”

  Gage Changed as fast as he could, ignoring his brother. If Nik weren’t as fast a shifter, he might have actually made it all the way to the woods before the great brown wolf pounced on him, and the two went rolling through the grass. Desperate and panicked, Gage snapped his teeth at Nik, growling as he tried bucking him off.

  Stop it! Nik yelled telepathically.

  What the hell are you doing? Gage yelled back. They’re getting away!

  We’re in no shape to chase them down. There are too few of us.

  Then let me go after them alone.

  No, Nik said firmly, growling low in his throat.

  Gage paused. Are you working with Onyx?

  Nik barked a laugh. Don’t be stupid. You couldn’t pay me to cooperate with thug-ilk like Onyx. I thought you knew me better than that.

  I don’t know what to believe.

  We need a plan. We need to regroup the others.

  Gage strained to turn his neck enough to be able to see the SUV he could hear driving away in the woods. That’s when Danica shouted something at him through their bond - a license plate.

  Gage’s tail wagged. Perfect.

  What?

  She gave us a lead. He started to sit up, and this time Nik let him. Shifting back to human form, Gage stalked toward the house, not caring in the least he was naked. The only thing that mattered was getting Danica back as soon as possible, before anyone could hurt her.

  If Onyx hadn’t already.

  Gage’s throat tightened with worry.

  Nik had shifted back as well, and followed him into the house. Gage reached out to his packmates. One of the perks of being the Alpha was the ability to reach out to his fellow wolves whenever and wherever they were. Board room - now.

  Soon as Mary spied him, she just sighed. “I’ll get you both some pants.” Muttering something about “indecent, knucklehead wolves,” she scurried off to one of the guest rooms. She’d seen so many naked men wandering around the mansion it was commonplace for her now. Mary got it - she was were after all.

  Mary returned with pants for both Gage and Nik about the time the first wolf rolled in, a youngster named Jason.

  “What’s happened?” he asked, toweling off his still-damp hair. His face was flushed and the scent of pine body wash clung to his pores.

  “My mate’s been kidnapped,” Gage said, pacing. If he didn’t move about, he’d go mad.

  Jason’s face turned serious. “What do we need to do?”

  Gage had to admit, he was impressed with the kid’s maturity. He had almost not let him join the pack, with him being only nineteen, but not once had he felt like he was babysitting. The kid had pulled his own, more so than some of the adult members.

  “I have a license plate we’ll need to get one of our friends in the D.P.I. to do a quick trace on,” Gage said.

  Nik whipped out his cell phone. “On it.”

  “After that,” Gage went on, “We’ll need to track it down, which is why we can’t waste too much time. For all we know, the vehicle could be stolen.”

  “Got it,” Nik announced. “Thank God for witchery. It seriously scares the shit out of me sometimes, but times like this, I have to admit tracing spells are pretty handy. Verika said she’d even put a Trail on the vehicle.”

  Gage’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and he made a mental note to take her out to dinner for all the help she’d been. It was a good thing Nik was on such good terms with his ex. He was actually on remarkably good terms with most of his exes, a quality that astounded Gage.

  “Well, then, let’s waste no time.” Gage paused. “Where are the others?”

  Jason and Nik looked around, then at the floor.

  Gage didn’t have to ask to see what had happened. They’re abandoning me. They must still be upset with him over what had happened in the woods.

  He warred with himself. No, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t - wouldn’t - force them to do his bidding as Malachite had. If anything was to change, then he needed to set as good an example as possible, to show he was not Malachite.

  “Let’s go,” Gage said at last, walking purposefully toward the door.

  “Don’t we need backup?” Jason said, striding after him with Nik at his side.

  “That’s what you’re for,” Gage said with a wicked smile.

  Jason gulped.

  Nik just shook his head and muttered a curse. “You should reconsider your stance, brother.”

  “No,” Gage said without hesitation. “I knew their loyalties would have to be earned, and I would be tested. I failed one test with the massacre that happened with the wraiths. I’m not failing another by forcing them to do my will.”

  Nik let out a long breath. “Too good for
his own good,” he grumbled under his breath.

  Gage looked at Jason, who’d gone pale despite the determination burning in his eyes. “You don’t have to do this. I’m not going to hold it against you.”

  “I want to go! I mean, I never got to help with anything at home. No one trusted me. I want to do this. Please?”

  Gage softened, his respect for the kid growing by the minute, and grunted a response.

  He swallowed hard, praying he wasn’t leading them all to their deaths.

  Hold on, Danica. I’m coming.

  Chapter 15

  “Wakey, wakey, little wolf.”

  Sound, color, and smell swirled together in Danica’s foggy mind. It felt like her brain had taken a beating. The lights of the warehouse were way too bright, causing her head to throb more.

  As she slowly came to, she looked around her. She sat in a chair, with her hands tied to the arms and her ankles to the legs. The warehouse was empty and chilly, with dirty concrete flooring and long, bright lights stretching across the high ceiling.

  There was something else about the air, a tingling sensation along her skin she couldn’t quite place. “Where are we?”

  “Somewhere your wolf won’t be able to hurt me.” Onyx pulled out a dagger encrusted in blood-red gems. The blade glowed with a pale blue light as shadowy tendrils wrapped around it.

  Danica swallowed, her eyes never leaving the dagger as Onyx stalked toward her. “If you were going to kill me, why didn’t you just do it back in the car? Or back at the manor?”

  “Because I don’t want to kill you. I was just bluffing to get you to cooperate.”

  “What about the parking lot?”

  He grinned. “I did want to kill you at the time. It was the reason I was getting paid, after all. Then once I saw what Gage was willing to do for you, I had another idea. You were far more useful to me alive. With you, I can kill two birds with one stone.” He forced her palm up and raked the sharp edge of the blade across her skin.

  She hissed at the sharp pain. The skin puckered as it split, and blood welled between the edges of the cut.