“Of course,” Storm said.
“I need to come,” Rebecca protested. “This is all my fault.”
“No,” Elias stated, calm but firm. “You’re safest here. With Storm. I’m going to send a few wolves ‘round to guard the premises, okay?” He turned to Jagger. “We’re going to need some magical help, too.”
Storm nodded, and then kissed Jagger. “Be careful,” she whispered.
After the men left, and Rebecca joined Storm in her home, she went to pieces. Everything she’d kept in, from the day of the attack to right this moment, came out. She shook, and shivered, so cold she felt as if she’d never be warm again. She was crying, great, big silent tears that rolled endlessly down her cheeks.
“It’s all my fault,” she choked out. “If anyone gets hurt, it’s all on me.”
“Nonsense, this is not your fault.” Storm’s words were firm, but kind. “You were attacked, and yes you blanked a lot of it out, but that’s a protection mechanism, and not one you consciously chose.”
She rubbed Rebecca’s arm in a reassuring gesture. “Jag is a fantastic tracker, so if Josh isn’t at home, he’ll be able to find him. And as for Elias, he’s a very powerful alpha. Trust me, Nigel won’t get away with this.”
“But that woman…if there is magic involved…”
Storm smiled at her. “We have people capable of magic right here in Dark Moon Falls. There’s going to be an army after Nigel because he dared to come here and threaten a member of our pack, and Josh is pack. He may be new, and he might be somewhat reclusive, but he is pack.”
Rebecca sniffed, and wiped her nose with the tissue Storm offered.
A low howl rent the air, and she shivered.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, that’s one of ours, and he’s letting us know there are wolves out there, guarding us.”
Another howl came on the heels of the first, and Rebecca took comfort in it this time.
12
Josh
The witch had bound him and stopped him from shifting, and then she’d used a transportation spell to move them from his house to this empty cabin. It was bad because it meant other shifters wouldn’t be able to track where he’d gone as she’d simply magicked him there, but it was good because the cabin was minutes from his home. She clearly didn’t have the power to transport him far, and that boded well for him. It also meant that if a good tracker, someone like Jagger, was around, they might be able to figure out where he was.
He’d tried to contact the pack with his mind, but in human form, and with magic surrounding him, it hadn’t been possible.
Now, the bitch was busy wrapping him in silver, but Josh had a secret of his own. One that he’d not told anyone except for Elias, and he’d only told him because the alpha would have figured it out anyway. Josh was immune to silver. As a youngster, he’d been instructed by his father to tell no one. It was said in their pack that if a wolf shifter was immune to silver, they were tainted with human genes. His father said that was nonsense, and it was simply a genetic abnormality, and one which was incredibly rare.
When he’d told Elias, the alpha had smiled, and said it might come in useful one day, and damn if that day wasn’t here. He’d let this stupid witch, and that bastard Nigel think they’d got the better of him for now, but the silver wouldn’t contain him. He might not be able to shift, but if he could get free, he could do Nigel some serious damage, although it would be hard with the witch watching over things.
He needed her gone, if only for a moment or two.
He looked around the room, and then he figured out a way to get her to go outside. Biting back a smile, he jerked his head up and scented the air, giving a low, whining growl.
“What’s that fucking thing doing?” Nigel said with a sneer.
The witch watched him, and frowned. He cocked his head to one side, and listened as if he could hear something.
“I think we might be due company, from his pack,” she said. “You stay here and watch him. I’m going to go look outside.”
“What? You’re leaving me here with this monster?” Nigel protested.
She shook her head impatiently. “I’ll be but a moment and wolves are rendered helpless by silver, stop being a baby.”
Josh felt a surge of satisfaction. He couldn’t have asked for a better result. Josh waited until she’d closed the door and Nigel had gone to the window to see what she was doing, before he calmly began to unwrap the silver chain.
Seconds, that was all he had before that witch out there would realize there was no one coming, and she’d be back in this room, and his chance would be gone forever. Luckily, seconds was all it would take for Josh to stop Nigel…for good.
He knew that once he’d dealt with the fucker, the witch would probably harm him, maybe even kill him, but Rebecca would be safe, and Kat would be safe. That was all he, and his wolf, cared about in the moment.
The chain clattered to the floor with a heavy thunk. Nigel whipped around, mouth open, and stared. Josh didn’t give him time to shout, he ran full speed at Nigel and took him down to the ground, one hand over his mouth. He was a wolf shifter, and he had that on his side, but he was also a highly trained military man. Even if he’d been purely human, Nigel wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Underneath him, Nigel struggled, but Josh pressed his arm over the sick bastard’s windpipe and pushed down, hard.
Feet kicked underneath him as Nigel thrashed, but to no avail. Josh wasn’t letting him live. He’d read about the things this man was accused of doing, and he’d said he’d never let Rebecca go. He was sick. Wrong.
He’d also likely target Kat, too, simply for her being Josh’s sister. So, yeah, Nigel had to die, it was the only way to keep Rebecca safe.
The door burst open and he didn’t look at the witch he knew would be coming for him; he had to finish the job.
“Josh, get off him.” The command of his pack leader, his alpha, had Josh doing what Elias ordered, almost against his own will.
He let go of Nigel, who rolled over, gasping for breath.
“How did you find us?” he asked, thankful beyond belief that they had.
“They didn’t take you far,” Elias said, “and I had help.”
Jagger marched the witch in, along with Phaedra, the high priestess of the Dark Moon coven, who held the woman by her wrist.
Josh turned to Nigel. He hated having to let the bastard live. “This is wrong,” he said to Elias, still breathing heavily from the exertion of almost killing a man. “He’s a danger to Rebecca, and to all those women he stalked. He won’t give up. The law won’t sort him out either, not without great pain to Rebecca, who will have to testify.”
“He’s dying,” Phaedra said.
“What?”
“Nigel has cancer. He has only a couple of months to live.” She glared at Nigel. “And while I too feel this man shouldn’t be allowed to walk out of here after the way he terrorized those women, I also believe spending his last few months in a jail cell awaiting trial is a fitting end to his life.”
“The British authorities want him, and the list of crimes they are going to throw at him is huge,” Jagger said. “Trust me, he’s not going anywhere. His last days will be spent in a British cell contemplating his total failure. I’ve heard they aren’t too nice, not in solitary, where he’s going.”
“Josh,” Elias said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me when I say that there have been times when I’ve allowed the law to be…interpreted loosely, shall we say, when it comes to the pack and their safety. However, I believe this time we can let the law do its job because he’s never getting his day in court. I’ve been told it will take over six months to get the cases ready and he doesn’t have that.”
“What if he does?” Josh persisted. “You hear of miraculous recoveries every day.”
“Trust me, he won’t recover.” Phaedra’s words were final. She must have carried out some sort of magic to see how sick Nigel was because she seemed absolutely
certain.
“This way, you don’t have his blood on your hands, Rebecca doesn’t have to testify, and Nigel here gets to spend some time in a small room, alone, thinking about all those terrible things he’s done in his life.”
Josh sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. Every instinct in him screamed to end Nigel, but if the British authorities knew the man was here, Josh would face legal repercussions, and that might mean he could no longer protect Kat. He trusted Elias, too. The alpha was a wise leader, and a strong one. If he was telling Josh to stand down, then Josh would stand down, the same way he would if a military commander gave the order.
He nodded once and stepped away from a still gasping Nigel.
Jagger moved forward and cuffed Nigel. He read him his rights, and explained that he would be held in the local jail until the British authorities collected him.
“What about her?” Josh jerked his head at the witch. “She might still help him, even while he’s in jail.”
“Oh, she won’t,” Phaedra said with a cold smile. “I’ve made sure that Yvette here will never practice her weak, but dark, arts again. Well, myself and the coven have, I should say.”
Josh reminded himself never to cross Phaedra.
“Not that she’d likely be willing to even if she were able,” Jagger said with a smirk. “Not now that the British authorities have moved to freeze all of Nigel’s assets. He can’t pay her a penny.”
“You’re welcome to Rebecca,” Nigel spat at Josh as Jagger dragged him toward the door. “She’s nothing but an ugly whore.”
Jagger stopped, then pushed Nigel into the wall, banging his head. “Whoops,” he said with a shrug.
“Come on.” Elias patted Josh on the shoulder. “Time for you to go get your mate.”
Josh stared at the pack leader. They hadn’t even discussed this.
“I was going to come to you.” Josh didn’t want Elias thinking he’d not thought to talk to him.
“I know,” Elias said with a smile. “I’m giving you my yes, now. She’s a good woman, who has been through hell. I was upset at first, I’ll admit, that she brought danger to the town and the pack, but it isn’t her fault, and she did a brave thing in trying to face her past.”
“I’m not totally sure…” he trailed off.
“Yeah, you are,” Elias said.
13
Rebecca
She saw Josh and Jagger climb out of the cruiser and approach the house, and Rebecca was running for the door before she was even aware of giving her feet the order to move.
She rushed to Josh, who pulled her to him, his big arms comforting, his scent soothing.
“Hey there,” he said, chuckling into her hair. “Nice to see you, too.”
“You’re safe,” she choked out.
She’d been imagining the worst the whole time they’d been gone.
Jagger had called Storm at one point from his car to update her on some of the information coming out about Nigel. It seemed her ex was so much more dangerous than she’d ever known. He was also dying, and call her evil, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel any sympathy for him. None.
The man had made her life, and the lives of many other women, hell, and he’d have killed Josh if given half the chance.
“Guess who has been keeping secrets?” Jagger said to Storm as Rebecca and Josh stepped apart.
Rebecca wrinkled her brow. Did he mean her? She’d already told them she hadn’t remembered much of what had happened.
Jagger pointed to Josh. “This one here is immune to silver.”
“What?” Storm gasped.
“Yeah, he can’t be bound by it…immune. If you don’t think Elias might have some use for you in the future…” He raised one brow.
“I’m up for helping the pack,” Josh said. “If ever I can. I think it’s time I got to know you all a bit more anyway.”
“Oh, and what changed? You seemed to prefer your own company before.” Jagger had a smile playing over his lips.
Josh turned to Rebecca and gave her such a scorching look, she felt it in her toes. “Everything,” he said.
Jagger laughed. “I think it’s time I gave you two a lift home. Where to? Your place, Josh, or yours, Rebecca?”
Josh smiled at Rebecca. “Well, Kat is at her friend’s for the night, and you’ve not seen my place yet. What do you say?”
She nodded. “Your place would be good. If we can get Darcy?”
Jagger swung his car keys around his finger. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said to Storm, giving her a kiss as he turned back around and walked to the car.
Rebecca followed him, trepidation and excitement mixing in her system, making her on edge and jittery.
She had a feeling something monumental was happening here between herself and Josh, but she didn’t know quite what.
Jagger drove them to her house first, picked up Darcy, who he put in the back, and then carried on toward the edge of the town boundary, and parked outside a modern, spacious looking home.
“Thanks for the lift,” Josh said.
“Anytime,” Jagger replied.
Josh climbed out of the car and grabbed Darcy, and Rebecca went to follow him, but Jagger put his hand on her arm, stopping her. “I just thought you ought to know,” he said. “That he was willing to lay his life on the line for you today.”
Oh…wow, what did she say to that?
“Erm, thanks,” she said lamely.
He chuckled. “Lady…I’m not the one you should be thanking.”
She got out of the car, a smile tugging at her lips as Jagger threw the vehicle into reverse, and spun around on the gravel before tearing off down the road.
“He drives like there’s a fire somewhere,” she said.
“Wants to get back to his mate, is all,” Josh replied.
There it was, the unspoken thing between them.
Josh said she was his mate, and she felt it, too. The energy, the connection, the desire. It scared her, but it also simply…was. Like her need for air, or water, it seemed she now needed Josh. It was the most unsettling thing to experience on one level, but her artist’s mind also saw the fascinating aspects of it. The way her body seemed in total control, and something greater than her…than both of them, seemed to be guiding this. Perhaps the Goddess did decide fated mates after all as Josh believed.
They entered the house, and she looked around approvingly. They were standing in a large hallway, and off to one side was a large, gleaming kitchen, to the other an open plan living and dining room. The kitchen had a breakfast bar, with six stools around it, but no table.
“This is nice,” she said. Poking her head into the lounge area, she admired the furniture. Beautiful wooden pieces dotted the room. “Your work?” she asked.
“Yep,” Josh said. “Would you like a drink?”
“I’d love a glass of wine.” She realized then that he’d seen her drink a lot of wine in the last couple of days, and might get the wrong idea. “I don’t normally drink much at all,” she clarified, “but it’s been a hell of a few days.”
He chuckled as he went into his kitchen. “You only had a couple of glasses of wine. I’m hardly worried you have a problem. Red or white?”
“White, please.”
He opened the fridge and took out an unopened bottle of pinot grigio poured her a glass, and then grabbed a beer. “Go make yourself comfortable in the lounge, and give me five. I’m just going to check up on Kat, okay?”
She nodded, and took her wine into the lounge with her.
The room held a lot of photographs, and she went to look at them. There was an older couple, and the man looked a lot like an older version of Josh, so she presumed they were his parents. She brushed her fingers over the photograph and a flash of her painting zipped through her mind, so intense it was as if for a moment, she felt them running free. It was there and gone in an instant. Her heart fell at his loss.
She moved on from the picture to a few photos of Kat. And a bunch o
f pictures of Josh with his army buddies.
The man was a hero. He’d served his country, then he’d put his sister and her safety above his own needs, and finally, he’d been willing to lay down his life for Rebecca, to keep her safe.
She wanted him, wanted to be with him, but worried about what it would mean for her if she mated with him right there and then. Surely matings were for life? No divorce, no second guessing it…once it was done, it was done.
Josh came back into the room, beer bottle dangling from one hand.
“Josh, if we mate, what happens to you when I die?”
He started at her words and frowned. “Wow, I don’t want to think about you dying, Rebecca.” He smiled then. “Thing is, if we mate, you get some of my power. You will live longer, and you’ll heal more quickly if you’re injured.”
“Really?” She’d already been feeling the whole mating thing, but finding out she’d get a longer life and a stronger body didn’t hurt the enticement any.
“This has all happened so fast, is it always this way?” she asked.
Josh considered her words, and swallowed his beer as she watched his throat work. He licked his lips, and she swore he was trying to get her all hot and bothered on purpose, but then he leaned back and spoke. “Not always this quick, I don’t think. It’s a little bit mysterious how it works, even for us, but it is fast. I think our wolves probably know straight away, and some of us tune into that immediately and some of us don’t. For some reason, the moment I saw you, and scented you, and heard your voice, I knew.” He smiled. “Then again, I’ve always been the sort of guy to go straight for what I want, and I’ve always been a bit impulsive, so I would understand completely if you want to wait.”
“Maybe for a few days at least,” she said, suddenly relieved that he wasn’t going to push for it now. She was pretty damn certain it was what she wanted, but she needed at least a little time, she realized, to be absolutely sure. “I’d like to talk with Dr. Rogers and let what’s happened today digest before I rush into anything. Is that okay?”
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 115
