by Davis, Lia;
“Rafe…” Shay stared at Luna for a while then nodded. “The MIA brother-in-law. Sorry.”
Luna shrugged. “He’s not a threat to the Pack or he wouldn’t be in my house. Tanner will deal with him.”
The cabin door opened drawing their attention to Cameron, Dani, and Sasha as they entered. Cameron’s features lit up when she noticed Luna. “Now you know it’s going to be one hell of a party when Luna shows.”
“You girls don’t have to pretend to want me here.” She winked and pulled each of the females into hugs. “I feel like we should do something wicked.”
“What do you have in mind?” Cameron asked with a little too much enthusiasm.
Chapter Ten
It was mid-morning and Dane hadn’t heard from his mom or his mate. He was getting worried.
“You okay?” Christa asked as she entered the Pack circle.
“Yeah. Jasmine’s not home yet.”
Christa shrugged. “They most likely stay up all night and are still sleeping.”
She was right. Dane was worrying for nothing. “I asked you to come because I want to make sure I’m not calling a pissed-off spirit.”
Christa drew her brows together. “Honestly I’m not sure. When Rick died he was a mutant and was with Gina when Hayden and I found her. Gina had given him the same counter agent she took, but he didn’t react well to it.”
“Do you know why he would show himself to Bryce?”
Christa shook her head and turned as her niece and nephew walked into the circle. “You ready? He may not be the same person he was.”
“We know,” Brenna said as she gripped her brother’s hand.
“We feel that he needs to tell us something.” Bryce glanced at Brenna then to Dane. “We’re ready.”
Dane moved to the center of the circle, which was lined with rocks from the nearby river. Each stone had a rune craved in it for blessings, protection, and health. Dane took the salt he brought with him and outlined a circle that would contain the ghost when he called to it.
When the salt circle was complete he set the container on the ground and held his hands out to his sides. He closed his eyes and stretched his senses out to the surrounding area of the circle and further, searching for a ghost with a similar signature as the twins. Since Rick was a wolf, as the teens were, it wouldn’t be hard to match his imprint. Although Dane wasn’t sure if that was still the case since Rick died as a mutant.
He found Christa’s aura, then Brenna’s and Bryce’s. Just behind Bryce was his father. “Rick, I call you to my circle.”
Moments later the ghost appeared. He was transparent at first then took on a corporeal form. He had black hair like the twins and looked mostly human with a few mutant features. Glancing at Dane, Rick stepped forward but stopped at the edge of the salt. “Why am I contained?”
“I wasn’t sure what your state of mine was in. I’m protecting the twins as well as my Pack.” Dane let his power surface, showing Rick that he could make him vanish as easily as he made him appear.
Rick glanced away and stared at Christa. Sadness flowed from him as he looked at his sister-in-law. “I didn’t kill Mary. She was my mate, my everything until the twins came and completed our family.” He glanced to Brenna and Bryce. “You have to believe me.”
“Then what happen the day Mary died?” Christa asked with steel in her tone.
“I was working undercover in the Onyx Pack. Ashwood Falls wasn’t the only Pack trying to bring down the rogue. Ashwood just had more balls to go in and do something about the problem.” Rick began pacing his circle. “Felix discovered that I was a spy and injected with the serum. During my transformation, he ordered Mary and the twins to be killed.”
Sorrow rolled from the twins and Dane stepped back so they could lean on him and connect with his wolf. As the Beta, one of his jobs was to be the support of the Pack. Sometimes the youth needed to connect with an adult wolf for additional strength. Adults did too, but not as much. Especially with all the shit MoonRiver and Ashwood had been through.
“Why are you here?” Bryce asked.
Rick watched them. “Faelin. He’s insane but a genius. He was always searching for a way to gain power. He has no natural magick. Everything he can do is because of a demon.”
“A demon?”
Rick nodded. “He has one held prisoner somewhere. It was in Onyx but he moved it when you took back the kids he stole. He moved all the mutants.”
“Are you sure it’s a demon?”
Rick met Dane’s stare. “I felt its dark magick when I searched the den a few days ago.”
A demon held against its will was never a good thing. It could break free and then no one would be safe from its wrath. “How is he using the demon’s power?”
“By drinking its blood,” Brenna said. Her tone was flat. “Is he going to bond with it?”
Her last question carried notes of fear. Bryce shook his head. “If he bonds with the demon, it will be worse than Felix and Savannah. And I’m not sure Ana and Sable are strong enough to stop them.”
Rick moved closer to Dane again. “I want to help. I can search for the demon and spy for you.”
Dane ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t stop the ghost from being there. By the sounds of it he’s been around for a while. Probably since the day he died. And he didn’t pick up any aggression from Rick.
With the toe of his shoe, he brushed away the salt, breaking the circle. Rick stumbled out and rushed to the twins. Christa stiffened as Rick gathered his kids into a tight hug.
Dane stepped back to give the kids some space with their father. Christa moved back with him. “How long will he stay solid?”
“It’s hard to say. I can’t control that part of my power. Usually a few minutes. The longest I had a ghost in a corporeal state was an hour.” Dane looked at his phone. “Where are the females?”
Jared crossed the field to them. He looked pissed. Well, more so than normal. Dane faced him and lifted a brow. “What’s wrong with you?”
“My mate is not hanging out with your mother anymore.”
“What has our fearless Alpha done now?”
Jared growled. “Apparently, it was Luna’s idea to go bar hopping in Boone. All eight females were arrested this morning. As their lawyer, I have to go bail them out.”
What the fuck? “Arrested? For what?”
“I don’t know. I assume there was a large amount of alcohol involved. However, two of the females are pregnant and don’t drink. Not sure what their excuse is.” Jared started walking back toward the center of the den.
Christa was laughing but she managed to say, “Go ahead. I’ll take care of Rick and update everyone later.”
Dane jogged after Jared. “We can take the van then play the music loud on the way home.”
“If the Healers haven’t healed their hangovers yet.” Jared cut left to head to the school and nursery to get one of the vans.
They made the drive to Boone in under forty-five minutes. Going the speed limit, it would have taken an hour, but Jared apparently was in a hurry.
Dane followed Jared inside the police station. So the females didn’t actually go to jail, they were being held until they sobered up. His mom as never going to live it down. And neither was his mate, now that he thought about it.
They went to the receptionist's desk and Jared told the officer they were there to pick the females.
Several minutes passed before the females filed out from the holding area. Sable was in front and she looked like she was holding in a laugh. Leave it up to Sable to find getting arrested fun. She walked up to Jared and pressed a kiss to his lips. He growled at her, which made her laugh harder.
Luna met Dane’s glare and she shook her head. “Don’t ask. But I’m sure Dani and Sable will tell you all about it.”
Jasmine walked with Rhea and Cameron, followed by Shay, Dani, and Sasha. If it wasn’t for the smell of alcohol, he wouldn’t guess they’d been out causing trouble. Dane grow
led low. “Please tell me none of you shifted in front of humans.”
Luna frowned. “I don’t think so.” She looked at Sable then Dani—the two pregnant females that didn’t drink.
Dani shook her head. ”Sable and I did good in keeping the animals on the inside. Clothing was optional.”
She burst out laughing, which made Sable laugh.
“This was the best night ever. We have got to do it again,” Sable said in between laughs.
Luna walked toward the doors. “Next time with less alcohol. Let’s go home. I have to deal with the twin of my dead mate.”
“What?” Dane moved passed her and blocked the door. “Rafe is here?”
Luna pressed a hand to her forehead. “Not here. In the den. My house.”
Jasmine walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. “I need sleep and a bottle of aspirin. Dani won’t heal our headaches. She was being mean.”
“Good,” Dane rumbled and kissed her forehead. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Eleven
Dane took Jasmine home while his mom and the other females went to their homes to sleep off their hangovers. After he tucked Jasmine into her bed, he went to his mom’s house.
He knocked on the door and Rafe answered. A mix of anger and happy-to-see-him swirled inside him. The anger came from seeing his father's face. Yet, Dane was happy to see his uncle after years of him being MIA. Then anger returned for not hearing from him. “Rafe.”
“Dane.”
Pushing past him, Dane entered his mom’s home. “Why are you here?”
Rafe shut the door and followed him into the living room. "I came to warn Luna of Faelin."
Dane glared at him. "And what do you know of him?"
"That he's Royce's son and he's insane."
Dane snorted. He couldn't help it. "You're a few days late with that info. Did you know he is holding a demon hostage and drawing from its power?"
She frowned. But it was Dane's mom who spoke as she entered the living room, her hair wet from a shower. "What demon?"
Rafe added, "I didn't know of a demon. How do you?"
"A ghost told me." Dane locked gazes with his mom. "Bryce saw Rick the other day and Hayden sent him my way. So before Jared and I came to pick you and the other females up, I was in the pack circle with the Baker twins calling the ghost of their dead father."
He told them everything Rick had said. "So the raid to get the children from his underground lab forced him to move his mutants and the demon."
Luna turned to Rafe. "I thought you said you had spies in Onyx."
"I do but they haven't gotten close enough to Faelin, yet. The bastard doesn't trust anyone. Not even his own Beta, Easton." Rafe pulled out his phone and sent a text. "I'll find out where he might have taken the demon, but it'll take some time. Meanwhile, we need to go searching for the moonstone pendant."
Dane glanced at the two in confusion. "What pendant?"
Luna rubbed her head and moved to the kitchen while talking to them. "It's a wolf craved from moonstone. Rafe saw Royce with one and we think it might be with his stuff at MoonRiver."
"When were you going to search?"
Luna came back into the living room with a bottle of water. "Tomorrow. I need to let Blaine and the Elders know what's up. Today, I'm sleeping."
And Dane had a date with his mate, whether she knew it or not.
* * *
Jasmine gave up on trying to sleep. As soon as she entered the apartment the boys smelled the alcohol on her and started with the jokes. So there she was, stretched out on the sofa with an icepack and a large bottle of water.
A knock sounded on the door and she groaned. She was in no mood for visitors. Cole jumped up and answered it. "Hi, Dane! Jasmine got drunk last night."
She threw a pillow at Cole. It hit him in the back and he laughed. "Don't start a pillow fight Jas."
She growled. "Please don't. Go get me something for my head."
Dane appeared in her line of sight and shook his head. She sat up and he settled beside her. "Rafe is back."
"I know. Luna told me." Jasmine leaned her head on his shoulder. Her head was starting to ease. "Kyle, can you make me a sandwich?"
"Yep." He disappeared into the kitchen.
"I'm glad our natural shifter healing abilities help with hangovers. I couldn’t imagine how humans deal with feeling this way."
"Well, humans can't drink as much as we can." Dane chuckle and she pinched his side.
"It's not funny. I didn't have nearly as much as Luna and Cameron." Jasmine chuckled and then wished she didn't.
Cole came back with some meds. She took them. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Her brother smirked and went back to flipping through the TV channels.
Kyle came back with a huge tray of food. She arched her brow at him and he shrugged. "I made enough for everyone."
"That was thoughtful." She picked a sandwich and bit into it. After she chewed it, she said, "After lunch, do you guys want to go for a run? Well, you guys can run, I'll just tag along behind you."
Dane chuckled again. "Actually shifting into your wolf should help with the hangover."
That was what she was thinking too. Plus it'd be good for the boys to let their wolves out.
Cole asked, "Why don't we pack everything up and have a picnic?"
"We can." She studied Cole for a long moment and realized he liked having Dane around. Even when Dane was getting on to him for the stupid shit he did, Cole was respectful to him. Unlike how he mouthed off to Jasmine.
The boys rushed into motion. Kyle turned off the TV and helped Cole pack everything up. Jasmine frowned. "I'm a bad mom-sister. I haven't taken them out for a run in so long."
"There's been a lot going on. The scare with the kidnapping didn’t help any of us feel secure." Dane stood and offered his hand.
She took it and pulled herself up. "Yeah. That and I work too much."
The boys came back into the living room with a basket and a blanket. "We're ready!"
"Okay then. Let's go." Jasmine opened the apartment door and crinkled her nose. The smells of the bar below churned her stomach. "I'll never drink that much again."
Dane laughed and nudged her to go. "You might."
He was right, but she wasn't going to tell him that. She descended the stairs and made it out the door before anyone saw her. If her employees asked her something, she'd get roped into working.
Not today. She was relaxing and spending much needed time with her brothers and her mate.
She let the boys choose where they wanted to run. Surprisingly, it wasn't too far from the bar, but it was outside the first layer of wards. Which from what Luna said the night before, Faelin could get in.
The sound of a low growl, more like a yowl caught her attention and she looked up. A leopard laid lazily on a thick branch. Alec.
Seeing him there made Jasmine relax a little more. The boys noticed him too. They set the basket and blanket on the ground and shifted into their wolves. Then they circled the tree. "Boys, leave Alec alone."
The boys ran off into the woods. Jasmine could hear them so she didn't worry, too much. Dane wrapped his arms around her and yanked her to him, then he kissed her. Raw passion exploded inside her, and she pressed into him. Too soon he broke the kiss. "What did you females do to get arrested?"
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "I think the cops were just checking on us. I'm not really sure what drew their attention. Everything is a little fuzzy. Then Luna started making demands saying she was the Alpha and no male was going to order her around."
"Mom doesn't get out much." He chuckled.
"It's why I invited her to come. And in my defense, who am I to deny the Alpha a good time." She batted her lashes.
Dane picked the blanket up and spread it out. "You're guilty by association."
"Ha. I'm still sticking to my story. I was following Alpha orders."
He studied her for a few mome
nts. "The reason Luna will get away with this is because there were two Enforcers and the Hunter with y'all. Otherwise, Hayden would give her hell for it. The Alphas aren't to be outside the den without Enforcers." He paused as if thinking about it. "But both Healers were with you."
Yeah there was that. "I know. The original plan was to stay at the cabin, drink, and talk shit about the males."
Suddenly the forest fell silent. Jasmine turned in a circle, searching for the boys. "What's going on?" Then she smelled them. "Mutants."
She went to yell for the boys until Dane motioned for her to stay quiet. Fear gripped her gut. Taking a deep breath, she recalled what her father taught her about fighting rogues and mutants.
A wolf sounded several yards into the thick of the forest. It was followed by another almost identical. The boys! She rushed forward and stopped as Faelin materialized in front of her.
Backing up, she kept her eyes on him. He moved with her until he lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
Dane faced her and snarled. "Faelin, let her go."
"She's my insurance."
Jasmine frowned. What kind of insurance? She needed to stay calm and to do so, she focused on Dane.
Faelin yanked her back into him, not letting go of her throat. "I need your gift of life."
Dane pressed his lips in a thin line before answering. "I don't have the gift to give life."
"Lies. I saw you call a ghost and bring him to life."
Dane worked his jaw. "It doesn't work like that. If you want to talk to someone I can call to their spirit, but only if they are still in this realm. If they passed onto the next life, I can't connect to them."
Just then Alec jumped out of the tree and growled, baring his teeth. A few minutes later a black wolf stepped behind Dane. Jasmine recognized the wolf. It was Tanner. Relief flooded her.
"Faelin, you should train your mutants to be better fighters," Ana said as she advanced toward them from the groupings of trees. She wiped her blade on her black jeans before sheathing it. "Let her go."
Faelin laughed and squeezed her throat, cutting off her breathing. Jasmine widened her eyes as she stared at Dane. She clawed at Faelin's arm, trying to get him to let go. It was no use.
