Steal the Moon

Chapter Twenty-Six

The day of the fertility ritual, I woke up with a smile on my face because I was in bed with every man I loved. I snuggled down in the soft mattress with Danny’s hand wrapped around my waist, perfectly confident that it wasn’t Declan this time.

After the successful meeting with the alpha wolves, we returned home and relieved Sarah and Felix of their body-warming duties. Dev slid in on one side of Neil and I took the other. Daniel slipped in behind me and curled his body around mine.

While Dev immediately fell asleep, Danny had spent the hour before dawn cuddling and paying particular attention to my neck. He ran his nose around it, sniffing and breathing in deeply. He kissed and licked it with long strokes of his tongue. His fangs grazed it, drawing little lines of blood he lapped up. He’d sighed contentedly before he dropped off to sleep, and I knew he’d wanted to play like that for a long time. It was weird, but nothing about it wasn’t pleasant, so I figured I would just have to get used to the fact that Danny had a perfectly normal-for-a-vampire preoccupation with my neck.

Neil opened his eyes a little and smiled at me, his face soft. “Morning, Z.”

My heart skipped a beat because I was so happy. “Good morning, Neil. How are you feeling?”

His lips curved up in a naughty little smile. “I think I’m in heaven. I’m so sorry to tell you this, Z, but it’s what I suspected all along. Dev’s gay. He’s really in love with me. He was using you all this time to get to me. Hope you’re not too upset.”

“Is he cuddling you?” I tried not to giggle too loud. Dev couldn’t help it. He was a cuddler. He almost always ended up wrapped around me. If there was something warm in bed with him, he was going to be pressed against it by the end of the night. Today Neil was the lucky one.

“He’s spooning me,” Neil admitted with a happy sigh. “Oh, and he suddenly seems happy to be doing it.”

“Did he just get his morning friend?” I asked, and Neil confirmed it with a grin. It was right on time. If Dev followed his usual morning routine, I was in for a good laugh.

Dev sighed and cuddled closer to Neil.

“Hey, baby,” Dev said, his voice sleepy and his eyes still closed. He ran his hand down Neil’s side and then sat straight up in bed, probably realizing I wasn’t as muscular as Neil. “Shit. I thought…I’m going to take a shower.”

Dev stalked out of the bedroom as Neil and I dissolved into laughter.

“Stop being mean to Dev.” Daniel pulled me firmly against his thighs. Dev wasn’t the only one with a morning friend. “He can’t help it. He’s a pervert.”

“How do you explain this, then?” I asked, wriggling my butt against that glorious vampire cock of his.

“That’s a perfectly normal reaction to waking up next to my superhot wife,” Daniel replied. “I would use that on you, too, if we didn’t have guests.”

“Don’t mind me,” Neil offered.

“Maybe you can call Tamara.” That was now my go to whenever I wanted him to feel guilty.

“And just like that, it’s gone,” Daniel grumbled, sitting up. “Great, Z, now I have an off switch.”

I gave him a tart look because if he hadn’t wanted me to lob that grenade his way, he shouldn’t have given me such awesome ammunition. He did look mighty fine in his boxers, though. God, I loved that six-pack of his. I gave him a grin to let him know I was only teasing. I forgave him and hoped he’d finally learned that Dev and I wanted to share whatever fate had in mind for him.

He leaned down and kissed me, nuzzling my neck. “I’m going to sleep in the coffin. It’s too loud out here. Too many damn people. If I put in earplugs and close the coffin, I think I can get some sleep. Wake me up before you leave for the ritual. I don’t want to miss that.”

Danny walked to the door and gave it a cautious look.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, hoping we weren’t about to be attacked again.

“I’m just pretty sure Lee’s going to jump me sometime in the near future. Tell him about the begging, Z. You tell him I begged politely and maybe we can avoid another fight.” Daniel turned and I heard him say, “Morning, Sarah,” as he left the room.

Sarah did a double take as she entered. She was carrying a bag and a large picnic basket. “Great, Daniel can daywalk now and nobody told me.”

“I knew,” Neil said.

I threw my hands up. “Well, it’s supposed to be a secret. We won’t be keeping it for long if Danny just walks around the house in his underwear, scratching his belly in the middle of the morning.”

“It’s afternoon.” Sarah held up her items. “It’s also time to start getting ready for tonight. I was fully instructed on all the rituals we have to perform to prepare you. It’s just supposed to be the girls today so Neil can come, too.”

Neil sat up, his eyes wide with curiosity. “What are we supposed to be getting ready for?”

“Z’s performing a fertility ritual with Dev tonight,” Sarah confided.

Neil snorted. “She does that every night and probably twice during the day.”

“It’s public, Neil,” Sarah said as I flushed, my cheeks flaming. “You should see the altar. It’s on a hill so everyone will have a nice view.”

Neil’s eyes closed and he sighed in pleasure. “I missed you guys soooo much.” A cloud passed over his face and he sank back into the bed. “I’m not going. It’ll only cause trouble. My brother’s here which means my dad isn’t far behind. If they see me…”

My heart fell as I realized I hadn’t told Neil about last night. He’d been asleep when we got in and we’d been so happy this morning.

“If they come anywhere close to you, I’ll hex them,” Sarah promised.

“Not really necessary. You don’t have to worry about them anymore, Neil.” I watched him cautiously because they were his family after all. Just because they were assholes didn’t mean Neil wouldn’t have a reaction to the news of their deaths.

Neil sat back up and took me by the shoulders. “What did they do to you?”

I shook my head. “They didn’t get a chance. Danny and Dev took care of them.”

“They’re dead then.” Neil nodded as though it wasn’t even a question.

“Yes.” I didn’t think I needed to mention the heart pulling out stuff.

“He would have killed you, you know,” Neil said, searching my face. “You embarrassed Wyatt and he would have killed you. I meant to warn you this morning. I guess it was too late. Don’t feel any guilt, Zoey. They raped their way through my pack. They killed anyone who disagreed with them. They deserved whatever Daniel and Dev gave them.”

“You’re not upset?”

He shook his head and hugged me. “No, I just wish I could have been there.” He turned back to Sarah, clearly putting his biological family in the past, concentrating on the family he’d built for himself. “No more of that. It’s a relief to tell you the truth. So how do we get Zoey ready for her big performance?”

“Well,” Sarah said brightly, holding up a familiar canister, “I was told this sand is important.”

I groaned and fell back on the bed. I hated that sand.

After we got up and found Neil some clothes, we started to head out when Lee scowled at us. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I stopped and stared at him because he was sporting two serious black eyes. Lee had some amazing healing powers, so I would have hated to see him when the injury was fresh. “What happened to you?”

Lee growled and his swollen eyes narrowed. “Your cheating, good for nothing husband happened. Son of a bitch got a couple of lucky punches in.”

“Looks like more than that,” Neil said, his eyes wide. “What did he do to your ear?”

Lee’s hand shot to his left ear. “It’s still on, right?”

“He pulled your ear off?” My voice hit that pitch I got when I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“He bit it off,” Lee said. “I’ll admit though, I had just kicked him in the balls and I was trying to claw out his eyes at the time. It’s okay because Zack held it on until the skin grew back together. Of course he was telling me the whole time how I should stay out of the master’s business and I needed to not upset the master. I’m going to kick Zack’s ass, too. But not until I kill that vampire.”

“Lee, you can’t kill Danny,” I protested. “After he knocked you out, he totally followed your advice and I was damn lucky he did. He killed three wolves who were trying to murder me and then he begged my forgiveness. He was trying to protect me. He thought he could get Dev to take me to Faery and I would be safe from Marini.”

Lee gave that a moment’s thought before finally speaking again. “Did he get on his knees?”

I nodded and Lee seemed somewhat satisfied. I still wasn’t sure he wouldn’t get Danny back, but at least he wasn’t going to try to kill him.

Sarah, Neil, and I spent the rest of the day wandering among the wolves with Lee trailing along. Lee hadn’t been pleased with Neil’s strength and followed us around, frowning the entire time. I tried to ignore his pessimistic attitude because I was feeling good today. Daniel was with us and it felt like forever this time. We’d broken through that barrier and he was going to be himself. Dev and I were going to do his little ritual thingee, and both my boys were going to be happy with me. When the boys were happy, I tended to be happy.

It was the first time since we’d gotten to Colorado that I had a chance to really enjoy the Gathering. We walked through a massive flea market where all sorts of artists sold their wares, from paintings to ceramics to wood carvings.

A portion of the valley was celebrating the festival of Litha. It wasn’t a holiday the werewolves usually observed, but they made accommodations for their Fae guests. Tonight was the solstice. At midnight, we would celebrate the rites of fertility promised to all on Midsummer Night. I watched Dev and Declan teaching a group of children how to dance around the maypole. I smiled but didn’t approach as we were forbidden to speak until the ceremony and I was trying to take it seriously. Dev had given me a look that told me he was anticipating the evening.

I had a surprise for him, too. We’d managed to find a little tattoo booth offering piercings as well. Wolves are big on piercings. The artist had several lovely rings with jewels on either side. I found an emerald one and one with sapphires and I knew just what I wanted. Once I bought both, the proprietor was more than happy to change them out so I had one emerald and one sapphire. They matched my boys’ eyes and I loved the way it looked.

The wolves had decorated their tents and shelters with wildflowers, paying particular attention to sunflowers, marigolds, and St. John’s Wort. Sarah explained these were the flowers associated with Litha and were said to aid fertility. I found the entire thing fascinating while Lee groused the whole time.

The sun was starting to set as we finally made our way to the stream Dev had directed Sarah to take me to for our final preparations. Sarah spread the blanket on the ground and stripped down to her bikini. There were several torches around the space that I supposed Dev and Declan had prepared. Sarah went around lighting them. It gave the whole place an intimate feel.

“You should probably turn around now,” Sarah said Lee’s way. “I know how you don’t think you should see naked married ladies.”

“Damn it. Why does all the faery crap have to be naked?” He found a tree and sat with his back to us.

Sarah laughed and got out all the products she’d been told to use. “Okay, Z, take it off, honey. You’re seriously supposed to get this stuff everywhere.”

Neil looked up from his place on the blanket where he was unwrapping the ham Albert had sent. “Do you need any help? I can eat this really fast.”

“We have to wash her hair,” Sarah explained. “But we’re not allowed to use anything modern on it afterward, so when I’m done here, she’ll dry off and you can comb her hair out.”

“Nice,” Neil replied. “It’s curly when we don’t use a blow-dryer and a flatiron.”

“Then we have to weave St. John’s Wort all through her hair,” Sarah continued, referring to the little yellow flowers she’d brought with us.

“I can wash my own hair,” I grumbled as I shed my clothes for what seemed like the thousandth time since Dev decided to go all formal on me. I didn’t see why we couldn’t just get it on. It had worked fine before.

Sarah and I walked into the stream and had to get all the way in the middle before it got deep enough to bathe in. Even in the mountains it was a hot summer, and the water was a respite from the heat. It was cool against my skin and felt a little delicious. I sighed and let myself sink in. Dev had done this yesterday. He’d bathed in the same pond, thinking about me. I wondered if Declan had washed his hair for him. I would have paid to watch that.

“So, I think I’ve waited long enough to ask,” Neil said, knocking back a bottle of soda and starting in on some cookies. “Who’s Tamara?”

I rolled my eyes and Sarah simply stared at me expectantly. I knew she’d heard some of the fight. I sighed and answered honestly. “Tamara is the companion Danny brought in to replace me.”

“No, he didn’t,” Neil said, his jaw dropping open.

“That’s why I kicked his ass.” Lee threw in his two cents from behind the tree.

I shook my head at Neil because Lee really hadn’t kicked Danny’s anything. I would let him think that, though. I didn’t have many people willing to go up against Daniel for me so I was going to let Lee think whatever he wanted.

“OMG, Zoey, I can so handle this for you.” Sarah’s eyes went a little dark. “By the time I’m done with him, his dick will wish it was just a pretzel. I have a hex that will make it turn in on itself.”

“The witch is making sense.” Lee yelled from behind the tree.

I took the soap from Sarah’s hand and started the first part of my well-orchestrated bath. “He’s upset because it’s getting serious. He’s just realizing that what we’re doing is dangerous. People are going to die. People we know and love are probably going to die.”

“So Danny gets all freaked out about you dying and tries to get Dev to take you someplace safe before you can die.” Neil neatly summed up the story with a shrug. “Well, I was his servant for years. I heard many a dumbass plan to force Z into a cage where she would be safe, and she would never have to know all the creepy stuff he wanted to do to her.”

I smiled, thinking about the night before. “Well, he’s decided to do all the creepy stuff to me now. Once I got it through his thick skull that I wasn’t playing that game, he suddenly wasn’t so hot for Tamara, who better get herself out of my house.”

“Yeah,” Sarah said, starting to soap up my hair. “I’ve got a hex for that bitch, too.”

“We might be using that one,” I said under my breath. “Okay, Neil, so you’ve been around Vampire Daniel for a long time. Explain to me why he thought I couldn’t handle the freaky vamp stuff?”

“Do you want his reasoning or the actual truth?”

“Hit me with both.”

“In Daniel’s mind you’re far too sweet and innocent to ever handle his darker impulses,” Neil offered. Lee snorted because he’d seen some of my own dark impulses. “He has you on a pedestal. You’re his darling, beloved princess who shouldn’t be bothered with the bad crap the world has to offer.”

“But I seek that crap out,” I replied because god knew I did.

“I didn’t say it made sense. Think of it this way, Z,” Neil offered, trying to make me understand. “Daniel died. That in and of itself is horrible and traumatic. Then he rises and figures out he’s this monstrous thing. He finds the girl he loves and all of a sudden she glows like an angel and when he tastes her blood for the first time, it’s so sweet and makes him feel so good and then she’s gone. He spent the next three years being tortured and made into a death machine. All he wanted that whole time was to get back to you. You were this perfect light for him. He would have done anything to keep you safe. Then you run off with Dev.”

I groaned because put like that, it seemed like a crappy thing to do.

Neil shook his head. “I can see now that Dev is necessary, Z. Daniel would never have accepted you as a partner without Dev. He would have taken you as a companion and hidden you away from everything, but he wouldn’t have been able to handle the real you. Dev forced that issue.”

“It doesn’t hurt that he trusts Dev to take care of you.” Sarah opened the dreaded canister and started to rub that sand into my back. “Daniel can do what he needs to do without being worried you’re on your own.”

“All right.” I accepted his explanation. “And what’s the real reason?”

“So if Daniel thinks you can’t handle the truth then the real reason is this—Daniel can’t handle the truth,” Neil stated bluntly. “The things he wants to do, he’s afraid you’ll never forgive him for.”

Sarah laughed, a sweet sound. “Yeah, I’m living, breathing, not in Hell being tortured proof of Z’s ability to forgive.”

“He’s fighting his nature,” Neil said. “He’s going to lose.”

I thought about the look on his face last night when he cleaned the blood off of me. He enjoyed killing the wolves and he’d definitely enjoyed playing with me afterward. “I think he lost that battle last night.”

“It’s the best thing for all of you,” Neil said. “You and Dev can handle Danny’s freaky stuff. If any two people in the world can embrace the sexual dark side, it’s you and Dev.”

I turned to look at Neil as Sarah scrubbed my scalp. “So, Neil, when you and Chad used to…”

“Make mad, passionate, earth-shattering, award-winning love?”

“Yes,” I allowed. “Did he do weird things to your neck?”

Neil threw back his head and laughed. “Daniel’s coming out of his shell, girlfriend. You have no idea. Chad would just sit and lick my neck for hours. I think it’s their version of TV. He would do this thing where he scraped his fangs…”

“…and drew a little blood and licked it up?”

“Yup. He got a hard-on every time I got a paper cut. I got a whole lot of paper cuts while we were together.” Neil sniffed the air deeply. “God, Z, sometimes I can still smell him.”

I heard Lee growl deep in his throat, and despite his promise to himself to never see me naked again, he came out from his hiding place. He started to circle around something as he scented the air and growled.

Neil joined Lee, though his senses were not as good now that he was weakened.

I frowned as I watched the wolves circle something that wasn’t there. Sarah stood beside me, waiting to see if we were about to be attacked, but I knew our visitor just liked to show off. I would have covered myself up, but this visitor didn’t care about boobs and hell, he’d seen them in action. “Chad, you might as well come out. Lee won’t care that he can’t see you. He’ll tear a hunk out of your invisible flesh just as fast.”

Chad appeared between the two wolves. Lee still growled but Neil took a startled step back. I could guess what he was thinking. The Chad who stood before him was a completely different person than the one he’d loved. Chad had been a straightlaced lawyer who tended toward slacks and button-downs. His hair had been stylish but conservative. The vampire who looked at Neil like he was going to eat him alive was a dominant sexual being in leather, his hair running long.

“Lee, it’s all right,” I said quietly. “He belongs to Daniel.”

Chad bowed to the wolf. “Daniel Donovan is my master, wolf. If you protect that which is his, you’ll have a care with me.”

“Yeah, I only give a shit about Zoey,” Lee replied, letting Chad know he wasn’t impressed. “I couldn’t care less about Donovan or his property.”

Chad arched a dark eyebrow curiously. “Interesting.” He bowed to me. “Good job finding him, Zoey. I knew you would do it.”

“I didn’t do it for you.” I went back to washing my hair. I had a ritual to get to and Dev would have my ass if I was late. “Did you bring the stuff from Marini?”

“I did,” Chad replied. “I gave it directly to my master.”

“That was for me.”

“It’s for my master to decide,” Chad said solemnly. “I serve him, Zoey. I follow his orders.” He turned to Neil, who was still staring at his boyfriend. “Hello, my lover. You’re far too thin.”

Neil rolled his eyes, his expression bitter. “You walk out on me and the first words out of your mouth after you get business out of the way are to complain about my looks. Nice. That’s makes everything so much easier.”

Chad pinned Neil with his gaze. “I wasn’t complaining. I was worried, Neil. I told Zoey to find you for me.”

“If there is one thing on this planet that I am certain of, Chad, it is that Zoey loves me,” Neil said quietly. “She would have found me whether you gave a damn or not. She wouldn’t have stopped.”

Chad seemed unsettled by that announcement. “I had a job to do. I’m doing this for you, Neil. I haven’t sacrificed myself for my own pleasure. I did this to protect you.”

Neil glanced my way and we had a moment of pure sympathetic connection. He looked back at Chad. “You love me enough to sacrifice a year of your life, but not enough to take five minutes to discuss the decision with me. Perhaps we’ll speak on it further when you return from the Council.” Neil turned his back on Chad and walked to the water’s edge, picking up a big fluffy towel on his way. “Come on, Z. We need to start on that hair now. We only have until midnight and it’ll probably still be damp.”

Sarah had scraped off the top layer of my skin, so I supposed I was ready. I let Neil wrap the towel around my body and rub the soft material over me. Chad watched his lover help me through angry, slitted eyes.

It was now me under the glare of Chad’s dark stare. “You think to take him from me?”

There was that good old vampire jealousy. I folded the towel under my arms. “I’m not taking anything from you, Chad. This is totally your fault. You should have talked to him. You should have treated him like a partner and not some piece of property that would just sit at home and wait for you.”

Suddenly Chad was in my face, his fangs twin threats. “He is mine. I will not allow you to take him.”

Lee was ready to pounce, but I held him off with a wave. If I couldn’t handle one vampire who was blood oathed to my husband then I didn’t deserve my title. I stared Chad directly in his dark, scary eyes. “You will back off now, Chad Thomas. You forget yourself. Neil belongs to me as you belong to me. My husband is king and I’m your queen, or do you deny me?”

Put like that, he could do one of two things. He could back his ass down or he could break from his master. Chad wisely chose to back his ass down.

Chad took a smart step back, lowering his head in a deferential gesture. “Forgive me, Your Highness. It’s easy to forget. You don’t hold yourself apart. Of course, I don’t deny you. I’ve merely missed my lover. Please accept my apologies. We do belong to you.”

I sat down on the blanket, that particular crisis averted. Sarah came in behind me and started working the comb through my hair because Neil had other things to worry about. Chad stood there looking at his feet, unwilling to leave. I took pity on him. “You should have told him that. You could also try begging. It works for Daniel.”

Neil looked at me, and it was easy to see that he wanted to be with Chad. I knew how he felt because I’d been there before so many times. He felt backed into a corner and his pride wouldn’t let him out. He was angry with his lover, but there wasn’t time for such useless emotions if he wanted to get to the good stuff. Chad would be gone again tomorrow night. They shouldn’t waste time on rage. Danny and I had done enough of that for all of us.

“Neil,” I said as Sarah fought with a tangle. “Could you escort Chad back to the tent? If you get lost on the way, I’ll understand.”

“I can do that for you.” He walked over and took Chad’s hand. “Just because I let you do some nasty stuff to me, don’t you dare think this fight is over. I won’t be in a relationship where you treat me like a piece of ass even though I’m a really sweet piece of ass.”

“Oh, the fight is over,” Chad corrected him. “You win. Let’s find some private place and I’ll do a little begging.”

Sarah and I watched as they walked into the forest, and I knew they were going to do some serious making up.

Lee sighed heavily and threw me an accusatory stare. “Gay werewolves, gay vampires, public sex, and naked women all over the place. What the hell have you gotten me into, Your Highness? I want a raise.”

Lee stalked back to his tree and tried not to see anything.

I let Sarah work her magic on my hair. In the distance, I heard music being played. The festival was starting. The bonfires would be lit and the dancing would begin. It was almost time for me to play the goddess. I’d seen how many wolves were counting on us and I hoped I was enough for them.