Over the Moon (Gemini Book 6)

by Hailey Edwards

  “Is there any movie you haven’t watched?” Isaac nudged me aside. “You’re like a walking movie trivia encyclopedia.”

  “Wrong question,” I deflected. “What you ought to be asking is if there are any good movies I— Wait. What are you doing?”

  The door swung open under his hand, and he stepped out into the sandy lot. “There’s only one bathroom, and I thought you might appreciate the moral support.”

  “Aww.” I cuddled against his side. “The couple who barfs up their toenails together…”

  Chuckling, he gestured to a scraggly grouping of scrub bushes. “Ladies first?”

  “Such a gentleman.” I patted his chest and picked my spot. “Here goes nothing.”

  More like here comes everything I’d eaten since the Huntsman.

  Chapter 10

  We had collected two globules of flesh that glowed green in soft lighting by the time Theo returned, on foot, carrying a half-dozen hares slung over his shoulder. Isaac met him at the door, and they traded, each inspecting the other’s haul.

  “Huh.” Theo locked gazes with Isaac. “They’re twitching.”

  “The rabbits?” I peered around Isaac. “Do you need help with them?”

  Isaac couldn’t tear his eyes from Theo’s palm. “He means the—”

  “Huntsman shish kebab?” I supplied. “Skewered wild man?”

  “Yes.”

  “They weren’t a minute ago.” I crowded them, the scent of fresh kills working wonders on my appetite. “Do you think it’s a proximity thing?”

  “No idea.” Isaac passed me the rabbits. “What are you going to do with those now, Theo?”

  He looked at us like we were the crazy ones. “Feed them to him.”

  “I’m going to skin breakfast,” I announced. “Isaac?”

  “I’ll stay and help.” He kissed my forehead. “I’ll come to you when we’re done here.”

  Nodding, I left the brothers to force-feed the big guy and headed outside to start the cleaning process. Lost in the familiar motions, I let myself breathe a small sigh of relief at all we had accomplished. Tibs was in the wind, but Theo was safe. A little self-cannibalism would patch up the Huntsman, and he would zip us home in no time.

  Please let there be a home to return to, please let all our loved ones be safe.

  Focusing on the small things was easy. The big picture was too freaking terrifying at the moment.

  With the sun rising, I braved powering up the single-burner doohickey and started cooking in batches.

  “We got it down him,” Isaac said from near my elbow. “Now we give his magic time to reabsorb.”

  “I found a few packets of salt and pepper from a fast food place in a basket in the break room.” I passed him the first bite of tender, seasoned rabbit. “Today, we eat like kings!”

  “Delicious.” He licked the grease from his fingers. “I’m impressed.”

  “You don’t have to sound so surprised,” I harrumphed.

  He squatted on the asphalt beside me and dropped a kiss onto my shoulder. “I meant that you figured out how to turn on the burner.”

  A growl revved up my throat, and I lunged for him, but he was already on his feet and dancing out of my reach. Laughter spilled behind him as he climbed the nearest dune. It wasn’t until I reached the top and tripped over a plastic disc that I noticed what he’d snitched from the supply closet.

  Apparently sand surfing was a big thing here, and the office where we were crashing handled renting out what looked to me like the plastic lid to a trash can. Isaac was a blur on his purple one, and I hopped onto the red one and coasted after him.

  He was running up the next dune when I spun out, heart in my throat in a good way, but he waited for me to join him at the top.

  “This is insane.” I swatted him on the butt with my disc. “You’re insane.”

  “I hear love makes you that way.” He captured my lips in a kiss, biting down at the last moment until the sting left me tingling. “Race you back. Winner picks the prize?”

  “I’m not going to fall for that.”

  Still, just in case, I bumped him hard with my shoulder, and he went sliding down the dune in the opposite direction. Cackling like a madwoman, I hopped on my disc and sped down the hill. A whooshing noise rose behind me, and I could almost feel Isaac’s breath on my nape as I slogged up the dune that overlooked the parking lot. I didn’t spare a second glance for Theo, who had rescued the rabbit I’d abandoned on the heating element, before I threw all my momentum forward to carry me spinning across the asphalt.

  “I win,” I yelled and then promptly collapsed backward. “Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Right here.”

  A shadow fell across my face as Theo strolled up to inspect me. Lucky for him, I was too tired to protest.

  “You’re good for him.” His lips quirked. “I could barely get him to go outside and play when we were kids. This? He never would have initiated this with me. I would have had to steal his toolkit or tattle to Mom to get him out here.”

  Happiness warmed my middle, and I had to work to keep the goofy smile off my face. “It means a lot to hear you say so.” Family meant everything to Geminis, the same as it did for wargs. “He’s good for me too.”

  “Yeah.” His gaze softened. “I always wondered how the warg soul-mate connection worked. I figured it would be this instantaneous connection, that you would snap together like opposite poles of a magnet and stick.” He offered me a hand up, and I accepted. “I’m glad I got to see the ugly parts too. It’s nice knowing you can buck fate, at least for a little while, before it catches up to you.”

  Spoken like a man happily avoiding his. I was about to stick my nose in his business—a totally sisterly thing to do—when Isaac barreled into me. His disc hit me in the ankles, and momentum flung me into his lap. Theo dove aside to avoid becoming a smear on the pavement, and I held on for dear life until it became obvious we were about to collide with the building. I stuck my legs straight out in front of us and braced for impact, and thankfully the drag slowed us down. My knees buckled, but there was no damage done.

  “Showoff.” I melted in his arms. “You could have killed someone.”

  “Nah.” His chuckle vibrated through my spine. “I calculated my trajectory—”

  “What’s all this about?” a groggy voice boomed from the doorway.

  Wincing at the Huntsman’s volume—seriously, the man needed a dial or something—I tilted my head back. “It’s alive.”

  “Where are we?” the Huntsman demanded as he patted his leather pants. “Why is there sand in my…?”

  “Don’t finish that thought.” I shut my eyes and leaned my head against Isaac’s shoulder. “Please.”

  “Here.” Theo shoved a plate piled high with rabbit into the grumpy fae’s hands. “It’s time for us to eat and bed down for a few hours.”

  “The sign on the door says the office opens at eight.” I doubted any employee would be dedicated enough to show given the current state of the world. “I’ll take first shift just in case we get any thrill-seekers or troublemakers.”

  Local teens could only be terrified for so long before they got bored and came out to break all the delicious rules previously off the table.

  Theo shuffled the Huntsman back into his room then returned for his own plate.

  “How do you know so much about the care and feeding of the Huntsman?” I wondered. “You acted like it was odd Isaac would know about the Morrigan’s Aves, but you did, and a lot more besides. What gives?”

  “I studied Thierry,” he admitted. “When Cam first attracted her attention, I wasn’t sure how things would go. I wanted to be prepared in case Thierry attempted to recruit her, and that meant exploring her relatives to see what threat they might pose.”

  “I’m guessing your handler let you dig through the good stuff?” His intel was ten times better than ours.

  “That’s classified” was all he said before returning to his room and leaving Isaac a
nd me to disentangle.

  “How can the fact it’s classified information be classified?” I grumped while flailing my arms until I rolled onto all fours on the pavement. “Isn’t saying it’s classified the same as admitting it anyway?”

  “You lost me.” Isaac yawned while flipping out of the disc. “That’s one too many classifieds.”

  “You’re tired.” I helped him stand. “Go eat, sleep. You’ve earned your rest.”

  “Are we ever going to get a whole night together? Just me, you and—no. I don’t even need a bed.”

  “We’ve spent plenty of whole nights together.” I tossed a clump of dried brush at him. “You just want back in my pants.”

  “Much like the sand in all our cracks, I’d never leave yours if I had a choice.”

  “You’re cute when you’re dead on your feet.” I passed him a plate and nudged him toward the door. “Sweet dreams.”

  While the others ate and settled in for their nap, I watched the sun rise and polished off my meal. I used sand to scour my dish and the pan clean then collected the others’ plates and scrubbed those too. When I finished that, I made a few passes up and down the road, always careful to keep an eye on the sky. As easy as it was for Isaac to pick out this place, it would be just as simple for the Aves or another winged foe to locate us. Though I’d bet most wouldn’t expect us to hole up in the middle of a mini desert. Maybe there was a method to Theo’s madness after all.

  “There’s good news and there’s bad news,” Theo announced after barging into our room. “Which do you want to hear first?”

  Grumbling, I snuggled up to Isaac. Sleeping on the bare floor sucked. Sleeping curled up next to my mate… Well, that sucked substantially less. “Is the bad news that it’s his turn to stand watch?”

  A broad hand smacked my upper thigh, and I shot upright with a snarl lodged in my throat to find Theo squatting beside me. “Give me one reason not to gnaw off your hand in case you get any more bright ideas.”

  “Peace, sister.” He held up both his hands to ward me off. “I just wanted to get your blood pumping.”

  “Touch me again, and I’ll get your blood pumping.” I smiled with all my teeth. “Right down your face after I break your nose.”

  Isaac sat up and tugged me against him. I couldn’t tell if he was comforting me or protecting his brother. Probably a little of both. “What’s wrong, Theo?”

  “Good news it is then.” Theo clapped his hands. “The Huntsman has fully recovered, and he can sift time to get back to Butler.”

  “That’s great news.” Already I wanted to murder him less. “So what’s the bad news?”

  “He can sift himself back to Butler.” He shrugged. “Not the rest of us.”

  “Hold on, you said he was fully recovered.” Panic clawed at my chest until I had trouble breathing. This was supposed to be the easy part. Patch him up and we all go. “What’s the issue?”

  “Our first issue is the bond between you and me isn’t strong enough for him to call me through you. I would have to stay behind.” Isaac started to speak, but Theo cut him off. “Our second issue is neither you nor Isaac are currently bound to the Huntsman.”

  That problem was easily remedied. “So we choke down another Huntsman kabob.”

  “Don’t go take a bite out of him yet,” Theo warned. “Listen.”

  “We’re listening.” Isaac covered my trembling hand with his. “Explain this to us.”

  “Remember what you were telling me about Faerie’s magic repelling Dell? This is like that. She’s not fae. She might have a wild core that responds to him, enough that he convinced himself he could control her, but he can’t induct a non-fae into his pack. Pretty sure the same is also true for regular fae.” He rubbed a hand over his mouth. “The Huntsman creates his pack with bits and pieces of himself, and his workaround to get you to Butler was smart, but if he tries it again, he’s going to burn out even faster.”

  “You’re telling us we have a choice to make,” Isaac said slowly.

  “We use him to get home and then write him off for however long it takes him to recover—” I picked up his logic, “—or we send him on ahead and make our own way.”

  Reckless Dell was about to say screw the Huntsman, I want to go home when Level-Headed Dell put in one of her rare appearances. As hungry as the wolf was for pack, as terrified as I was of what had happened in my absence, I had to be smart. There was more to being beta than biting first and asking questions later.

  “Who is the greater asset?” I rasped, well aware of the answer.

  “The Huntsman is a legendary warrior. Factor in his hounds and his ability to sift time, and he can do greater damage to a larger area than all three of us put together. There’s no contest.” Theo summed up his argument. “He’s a power, and the pack needs him.”

  “Then there’s your answer.” I breathed through the ache in those words. “Send him back.”

  “Wink is something like fourteen hundred miles from Butler. We shaved thirty or forty miles off that by coming here, but we’re still talking a significant distance,” Isaac murmured. “Best-case scenario is it takes us a week to make the trip. Can you handle that?”

  “I have to do what’s right for the pack.” I cut him a sharp smile. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” I looked to Theo and told him the absolute truth. “You need to get the Huntsman gone before I change my mind.”

  “I’m on it.” Theo rose and backed toward the door. “Any messages you want to send?”

  “No.” There were too many. To Cam, Cord, Zed, Enzo… “Just ask him to let them know where we are, and tell them we’re on the way.”

  Once the door shut behind Theo, I stood and wandered to the window. The curtain slid aside to reveal a moonlit night. I hadn’t realized it was so late. He must have taken an extra shift so we could rest longer.

  “You’re doing the right thing.” Warmth encased my spine as Isaac cozied up to me. “You can usually tell, when you pick the option that hurts the most.”

  “I want to go home.” I pressed my forehead to the glass. “I want it so badly, but it’s part instinct and part denial. You’d think I’d be happy to take my time. Once we’re there, once we’ve seen it, there’s no going back. No pretending that Butler is some kind of untouched oasis during all this.”

  Ridiculous when it was the site of the original rift. It had never been untouched. It had been hammered right from the start. That the town still stood at all was a miracle. If it still stood.

  “Things have changed,” he breathed in my ear. “Butler is no longer ground zero. The only tactical reason Rilla has for attacking there is to recapture Tiberius, who is bound to the area through Leandra. Rook, if he is truly on our side, will have to prove it by using all his influence to make sure they strike where we’re best suited to defend against them.”

  “He wants Branwen. That’s what will bring him to Butler.” My hand rose to touch the pendant nestled at my throat. “He’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I believe that.”

  “The Huntsman is gone.” Theo didn’t bother knocking this time either. “Are we heading out tonight or waiting for daylight?”

  With Faerie trickling into this world, there were more monsters in the dark than ever before.

  “I have a few aspects saved up if we need them,” Isaac said, reading my mind. “We should shift and get moving. We’ve stayed here too long as it is.”

  “Can I get some privacy?” I aimed the question at Theo. “Shifting hasn’t ever been pretty, but it’s a lot uglier these days.”

  “I’m staying right here.” Isaac kissed my nape. “You’re not going through this alone.”

  “You got this, sis.” Theo lingered in the doorway. “We’ve got your back.”

  Tears pooled in my eyes. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll let you get away with that because you’re family,” he teased, “and you’re hot when you’re naked.”

  “Tidy up and make sure we’ve got everything pac
ked.” Isaac shoved Theo out into the hall. “This will take a while. A half hour if we’re lucky, an hour if we’re not.”

  I didn’t miss Theo’s sympathetic grimace, but he covered it quickly and left me alone with Isaac.

  “I’ll say one thing for the Huntsman,” I joked, hoping to bring the light back to his eyes. “His magic hurt like hell, but it got the job done.”

  He didn’t so much as crack a smile. “How dangerous is it for you to shift?”

  “I won’t know until I try. It’s getting harder each time, and without the Huntsman to force it on me…”

  Isaac sat down and made himself comfortable while I got naked and curled on the floor.

  The misery in his eyes twisted in my gut, flowing into a familiar ache that wrenched my tendons and jarred my bones. Rather than take the easy way out, he held my gaze while my body tore and bucked. He was the one fixed spot in my universe, and he was unflinching in the face of my agony, sharing it the only way he could until I came out the other side.

  I’m not sure how long I panted on the floor, too wrecked to move. Even the weight of my fur felt bruising on my tender skin. I do know I would have sprawled there until Isaac forced me up if Theo hadn’t knocked to gain entry with a few pieces of rabbit in his hand.

  “I brought motivation.” He extended his arm toward me. “She won’t bite, will she?”

  “Me? No.” Isaac winked at me. “You? Probably. You did hit her earlier.”

  “I popped her thigh,” Theo scoffed. “It was more sound than pain.”

  That got my attention. More sound than…? Was he actually insulting my legs? They were one of my best features. With a rumble of irritation in my throat, I advanced on him.

  “Now, Dell.” He tossed me one piece, and I plucked it from the air. “I didn’t mean anything by it. You’ve got great thighs. Really.”

  For the first time since the change swept over me, Isaac smiled. “I’d run if I were you.”

  Flinging the last handful of meat in my general direction, Theo did exactly that. I cleaned the slivers off the floor with my tongue then trotted over to Isaac to lick his face while he scratched behind my ears the way I liked it until my leg would have thumped had I not flexed my paws to hold still.