Steal the Moon

Chapter Thirty-One

I felt the magic pouring off my husband before the wolves had taken more than two steps toward the house. It wasn’t lust magic this time, but something a bit more helpful in this situation. Dev stood beside me, his hands splayed wide as he slowly brought them up, raising them with the greatest of intent from his legs to his chest. His arms moved slowly as though they were pressing against a great weight.

The ground outside the house rumbled as the dirt split open and spat out life. Flowing grass and vines and all manner of things green and vibrant flew up from the earth and formed a tangled mass roughly twelve feet high. Even from where I stood, I could plainly see the thorns that wove their way through the wall of green. It was a barrier as far as I could see either way.

“Goddess, brother,” Declan breathed as he watched the field outside. “When did you learn to do that?”

Dev took my hand and spun on his heels. “They will still get through. We have a little time though. Padric, do you have a guard with you?”

“Always, Your Grace,” Padric responded.

“When the time is right, you will call them,” Dev commanded, his voice all steely determination. I probably shouldn’t have found it irresistibly sexy given the situation, but I did. “They will protect my goddess. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Padric didn’t try to hide the small smile he had. I could guess what he was thinking. He was proud of the man Dev had become. He was proving cool in a crisis and capable of making the right decisions. Declan was the warrior, but Padric was looking to Dev for his orders.

McKenzie seemed a little better as we hurried back into the great room. “What the hell is going on?”

“I’m afraid we’ve brought some of our problems with us, John,” Dev admitted calmly. “You find yourself in the middle of a small war.”

“It did not look small, brother.” Declan didn’t seem terribly concerned, but rather intrigued by the prospect of a good fight. “That was a large army of wolves.”

“Wolves?” McKenzie spat. “Those are my wolves. Why would they be attacking me?”

“The Strong Arm of Remus,” I said and watched McKenzie blanch.

The alpha shook his head. “That’s a myth.”

Lee managed to sit up. The barrier of plants seemed to be helping him a little too. He was still shaky, but some of the color was coming back to his face. “It’s not a myth, Mac. Zoey tracked it down a couple of weeks ago with the full intention to destroy it. Just being near the damn thing made me violently ill. We got blindsided by that fucking demon and lost it. We thought it didn’t work. It didn’t affect Zack at all.”

Zack was one of two wolves on whom it had absolutely no effect. “I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s a petrified paw. It didn’t stop me from trying to kill that bastard and I don’t feel anything right now except regret that I didn’t tear his throat out the first time.”

“It’s not having any effect on Neil, either,” I pointed out.

“Are you telling me Halfer is out there and he has control of all the other wolves in the valley?” Neil asked, his eyes wide. He knew the story. All wolves knew the story of the Strong Arm of Remus. They had thought it was just that—a story. I now had irrefutable proof that it was more than a myth.

“Daniel’s blood is protecting you,” I told Neil and Zack. “You both took a blood oath to Daniel.”

“But Neil hasn’t taken Daniel’s blood in over seven months,” Sarah pointed out logically.

“Yeah, it’s some good shit,” Dev said, his face losing all its smoothness. His eyes were dark and he was ready to fight. Dev had been ready for this fight for a long time. “Tell me where your armory is, McKenzie. Please tell me you’re well equipped. We need guns, preferably semiautomatics at the very least, and silver rounds. Grenades or flash bangs would be helpful.”

“I have some guns, but I’m not running an army here. Why would I have silver rounds?” McKenzie still didn’t seem to believe what was going on. “I have a few in case of emergencies, but it’s just a single box. These are my people. I don’t shoot them full of silver.”

Declan rolled his eyes at what he clearly considered the naiveté of the alpha’s statement. “Certainly no one’s people ever rose up against their good leader. You wouldn’t last a day in Faery, McKenzie. The good news, brother, is my entire guard is excellently equipped.”

“With bows, arrows, swords, and knives.” Dev shook his head. “I wasn’t planning on doing close-combat fighting with a bunch of werewolves. It tends to be best to keep out of the range of claws and teeth.”

“Yes, it is traditional weaponry, but it is all reinforced with silver.” Declan sounded pleased with himself. “I changed all the tips on our arrows to silver and the knives and swords are all silver as well. I was serious about taking that vampire out, Zoey. Then there will be an opening in your bed.”

I ignored my obnoxious brother-in-law in favor of freaking out about another obvious problem. “Daniel’s out there, Dev.”

“Yes, he is,” Dev acknowledged as McKenzie began to lead our party toward the armory. “The good news is Halfer won’t consider him any kind of a threat and probably won’t even look for his resting place until after he kills all of us. The bad news is Daniel can’t hear a damn thing in that coffin. He’s wearing an advanced set of earplugs. I bought them because he’s such a grump when he doesn’t get enough sleep and Zoey snores.”

“I do not,” I protested as Dev drug me alongside him.

“Yes, you do, my goddess,” Dev shot back. “I think your little snuffles are sweet and they don’t bother me at all, but Daniel struggles because his hearing is so much better. He says you sometimes sound like a water buffalo trying to mate. His words, not mine, my love.”

I huffed, offended because I was quite certain I didn’t snore. Danny, on the other hand, had been known to blow the roof off from time to time when he was human. I was pretty sure vampires didn’t snore at all.

McKenzie stopped and opened a door. The armory was small and full of mostly shotguns and rifles. Dev would use his SIG as his primary weapon, but he took a shotgun and shoved a .38 in his pocket as well.

He sighed over the tiny armory. “I spend a fortune, deal with the most unsavory of arms dealers, and when I finally get my little war, I’m stuck with this. I hoped to finally get to use the P90s. Well, perhaps when we fight Marini.” He handed me two pistols and a box of bullets.

Felix stepped forward, his hand out.

Dev looked at him sympathetically. “Felix, we all know you’re a pacifist. You don’t have to do this. Just stay at the back of the group and we’ll protect you.”

Felix gave Dev a hard look and kept his hand out, waiting for his weapon. “Give me a gun, Dev. If you think for one moment I’m going to let a bunch of wolves tear my wife apart, then you’re wrong. I took vows. I took vows of nonviolence, but I took deeper vows, too. I vowed to protect her. It takes precedence over everything else.”

Dev passed Felix a shotgun and quickly showed him how to load it. Sarah had never been a pacifist and knew better than Felix how to use a gun. She shoved a .38 in her pocket and kissed her husband passionately.

“It’s going to be all right, Felix,” she said quietly. She would do whatever she could to protect the man she loved. She’d been off the black magic for a long time, but I was sure she would use it if she had to.

“Zack,” Dev called to his bodyguard. Zack ran forward from the back of the group. “I need you to change.”

Zack changed with zero hesitation. His suit ripped around him, falling in pieces to the floor. He sat back on his haunches, waiting for further instructions.

Dev focused on his well-trained wolf. “You will find a way out of here. Those wolves out there are trying to kill us. They will likely ignore another wolf, especially if you don’t cause them trouble. Get to Daniel. Wake him up and tell him to get off his ass. It’s time for us to kill Halfer. Tell him I’ll be waiting. You must be sneaky, though. I don’t want Halfer to suspect Daniel isn’t in the ground as he should be. Watch and wait for the time when Halfer won’t see you slip into the tent. Join with the others if you have to in order to bide your time. Be patient, Zack. This is our only shot.”

The big brown wolf thumped his tail once and then took off.

“So we’re supposed to stay alive until sundown?” McKenzie asked, sarcasm dripping. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, Your Grace. There are at least a thousand wolves out there and many of them are stone-cold killers.”

“Under the influence of that artifact, we have to consider them all stone-cold killers. They’ll do Halfer’s will, and he wants us dead. We have a secret weapon that Halfer isn’t counting on. Trust me, McKenzie,” Dev assured him. “My partner is a king. Daylight will not stop him. We have to stay alive until Daniel is awake then he and I will take care of Halfer. How do we get out of here?”

McKenzie moved down the hallway and we followed. “I have a secret tunnel that leads from the house to a cave in the mountains to the north. We’ll be able to see the field so at least we’ll know what’s coming.”

He led us to the back of the house. Even now I could hear the wolves beginning to howl. The sound was far closer than I was comfortable with. At least some of the wolves had made their way around the barrier. We found ourselves in a narrow hallway. McKenzie came to a dead end and we stopped, giving him space to do what he needed to do. The walls in the hallway were paneled in rich wood. The alpha pushed against a seam in the paneling and a small door slid open. McKenzie pulled on a pair of heavy gloves that had been hanging from a hook near the door.

Neil had taken up position at the rear. He listened, his senses wide open. “Dev, we’re about to have incoming.”

Even as he shouted the warning, I heard the crack of glass shattering as the strongest and fastest of the wolves made their way through, over, or around the barrier Dev had created. McKenzie opened the door with his gloved hands and ushered Felix and Sarah through. Declan stood beside his brother, sword drawn, and Neil ran to stand in front of me.

“Come with me, Your Grace,” Padric demanded, taking me by the arm.

“Dev,” I yelled out as Padric tried to manhandle me into the passage.

Dev turned briefly to look at me. “Go with Padric. I will follow you, my goddess. Padric, if you have to carry her out of here, you will do it.”

I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just come with me now, but he was being a control freak with Daniel out of action. He would never allow anyone else to control the battle besides Daniel. I saw Lee trying to stay by Dev’s side, but he faltered and fell to his knees.

“Lee!” I couldn’t leave him behind. Even if he changed, he was different. The wolves would sense his difference and he would be at their mercy. I struggled against the royal guard, trying to get back to my wolf.

McKenzie cursed as Padric shoved me into the small passage. He pushed us through as quickly as he could, directing us to move through the darkness. I looked at John McKenzie and attempted to play to anything soft inside him.

“Please,” I begged the alpha who was more than strong enough to bring Lee with us. All he had to do was drag him a few feet. “Please, don’t leave him behind.”

The alpha shook his head and started toward the sick loner. “Damn it, Owens,” McKenzie said under his breath. He picked Lee up in a fireman’s hold and walked through the doorway. “Get through that gate and we should have a shot at getting out of here.”

“We’re through,” Padric called out as he hauled me past a large gated doorway. It ran from the top to the bottom of the tunnel and created a complete barrier. Even in the gloom of darkness, I could see the silver shine of that tightly barred gate. I shivered as I realized if we got stuck in this tunnel, Daniel wouldn’t be able to get through the gate. He would be helpless to get to us.

Dev, Declan, and Neil ran through, though Dev was now laying down suppressive fire. Neil and Declan scrambled into the tunnel while Dev backed into the space, not letting up on his firing position. I held my breath as a huge black wolf reared back and leapt toward my husband. The wolf was in midair, snarling with fury as Dev took his shot. The wolf hit the floor and Dev fired through the gate as Declan slammed it shut behind him. I heard the satisfying sound of the bolt sliding home.

Dev pulled me close as the first wolf hit the gate and his flesh began to sizzle. We all turned back toward McKenzie.

“Well I don’t shoot them full of silver, but I’m not a complete idiot,” he explained. “Everyone needs an escape hatch when the going gets tough.”

I shrank back as another wolf joined the first. They shoved their bodies against the silver, not seeming to care that their flesh was burning. They snarled and howled their frustration at being so close to their prey but unable to take it down. The two wolves shoved their paws through, trying desperately to get their claws on anything.

I didn’t recognize them in this form but I knew these were people I’d probably met during our stay here. These were men and women who asked us for help and offered their hospitality in return. They weren’t raging killers. They were just pawns. They had children and lives to go back to.

Dev raised his gun and leveled it at the wolves trying to claw their way through the silver bars to get to us. His eyes held no mercy, and I knew he was ready to kill every wolf that came our way. I wasn’t quite so ready as my husband.

I put a hand on his shoulder. “Dev, they’re victims, too.”

“Victims who are trying to kill you,” he growled at me. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t feel a lot of sympathy.”

“Please.” I forced him to look me in the eyes. “They’re contained. Let’s go and wait on Danny. If we can get out of this without killing our allies, won’t it be best for all concerned?”

He shook his head but lowered his weapon. “We’ll go, my goddess, but there will be no mercy for Halfer. Understand that now. I will not be swayed.”

I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t about to plead for that bastard’s life. “I won’t try to sway you. Kill Halfer, please, and use a painful method.”

McKenzie found a flashlight on a shelf built into the side of the tunnel. He clicked it on, and I watched as he stared back with the greatest of regret. There were more wolves at the gate now but it seemed like it would hold. I was sure McKenzie was looking back at those wolves, recognizing them and wondering if he was going to have to kill them before the day was through. I wondered if it wouldn’t have been easier on him to give in to that initial urge to join the pack, to follow the Strong Arm of Remus. McKenzie had fought so hard to remain in control, to maintain his alpha status, but now it was costing him as he was on the other side from everyone he knew and loved.

“I’ll do everything I can to keep your wolves safe,” I promised him.

He gave me a sad half-smile, not showing any sign that Lee’s weight was bothering him. “I believe you, Your Grace. I’m not so sure about your husband though.”

He started to guide us down the tunnel, leaving the wailing of the angry wolves behind.

“I won’t kill for pleasure, John,” Dev explained flatly as though he didn’t care what the other man thought. “I will also not allow my wife to be killed.”

“My wife is out there too, Quinn,” McKenzie snarled, his temper fraying. “She’s out there and for the first time she has a real shot at getting what she’s always wanted—a baby. We’ve tried for years and she finally believes it’s going to happen. She’s a strong bitch. She won’t stand at the back of the crowd. She’ll be fierce. She’ll kill or be killed, and I don’t want either of those options for her.”

I needed to bring down the testosterone level a bit or my husband and the alpha would be at each other’s throats. “None of the wolves want to attack us. They’re being used, and we have to remember that. The rounds aren’t silver so more than likely they won’t kill if we don’t use too many or hit vital organs. We just have to hold them off until Zack wakes up Danny.”

“Well, I can certainly kill the wolves.” Declan held his sword in hand, walking with an arrogant swagger. “I assure you with my weaponry, when I fight them, I can kill them.”

“I’m asking you not to, Declan,” I said between clenched teeth.

He simply shrugged and kept walking. “I promise you nothing, Zoey. I am a prince of Faery. I will defend that which belongs to Faery. I will agree to allow the wolves to consume the others if that is your wish, but I will kill them if they lay a single paw on anything that belongs to me or mine.”

I drew in a frustrated breath and followed McKenzie as we walked through the dimly lit tunnels. It was cold here, deep within the mountains. The chill seemed to come from the tunnel itself. We were down to single file at one point. The faeries had to duck down to get through the shortened ceiling in part of the passage. Every now and then we came to another gate and McKenzie opened it and locked it again, a wall between us and the wolves. We walked for what seemed like hours, but I knew it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes. I wondered if Zack had done his job and Danny was awake or if he was still out there, waiting for his chance.

We came out of the smaller portion of the tunnel into a wide room, and I could hear Dev sigh as he could finally stand up straight again. McKenzie let Lee drop to the ground as he felt around in the darkness. He lit a match and then the room started to fill with the glow of torches.

“This is a way station. There’s food and water. We rest here for a minute and then push on.” The alpha pointed to a group of metal shelves containing bottled water. He took one for himself and started to pass them around.

I cracked open a bottle and went to where my bodyguard was resting.

Lee was a little better now that we were farther from the artifact. He lay against the floor, but even in the gloom I could see his color was coming back. I sat down beside him and shifted his head into my lap. I twisted the cap off the water and held it to his lips. He drank for a moment and then let his head rest back down. Without thinking really, I stroked his head.

“I said no petting,” Lee growled.

I pulled my hand back. “Sorry.” But I was happy that he was growling again.

He sighed deep in his chest. “Just this once, Zoey. But it doesn’t make me your lapdog.”

I grinned down at him and let my hands rub his head and scratch lightly behind his ears. I was glad he let me do it because I knew he felt bad and the contact would help. I stroked his now flea-free scalp and he tried not to show me how nice it felt. I gave him another drink and thought briefly how much nicer he smelled after his time in the tub. If we survived, my bodyguard and I were going to have a long fight about grooming.

Before I could mention it, my brother-in-law was standing over me.

“If you do not mind, I would like a word with my sister-in-law before we move on.” Declan held his hand out, and Lee managed to get himself into a sitting position. I took Declan’s hand and allowed him to haul me up.

The prince glanced behind him and when he was certain his brother was engrossed in the conversation with Padric, he pulled me to a place where there was no way Dev would hear our conversation.

I didn’t like the proprietary way he clutched my arm. I also didn’t like the fact that he didn’t want his brother to know what he was going to say to me.

“What do you want, Declan?” I practically hissed the question.

“There are many things I want, dear sister, but I have to put those things aside and think of my position,” Declan whispered bitterly. “Several things have become clear to me over the last twenty-four hours. The first and foremost being my brother loves you. He will not be swayed away from you.”

“Well, he is my husband.” I wondered where he was going with this. I held my tongue, waiting for the threats to start.

“Yes, and you aren’t going to let him be the priest he should be. At this point, I do not think he would do it even if you let him. I do not know what you did to my brother to ensnare him so much he will not even look at another woman.”

“Why is it so bad, Declan?” I didn’t understand his point at all. We were in love. That couldn’t be a bad thing. “If your brother is happy with me, then what’s so wrong with that?”

His eyes took on an angry sheen. “What is wrong with that? He is the only one of our kind with this magic. We are not a fertile people. We need his magic or we will die. We may be immortal, but even immortals need a reason to live. Without children to love and care for, many of our kind have faded. Dev is a mortal. When he dies, that magic dies with him. The best and most reasonable course of action is for Dev and his new friend, Bris, to impregnate as many women as possible in order to pass on their magic. You have made that impossible.”

I tried to step back, but his hand gripped my arm like a chain keeping me where he wanted me.

“I thought about killing you myself. I believed he would mourn you for a while, but then go about his business. Then last night happened and I now think he would lay down somewhere and allow himself to fade if you were to die.”

“Why are you telling me this, Your Highness?” I kept my voice low because here and now wasn’t the place for a brotherly throw down.

Declan raised himself to his full, intimidating height. “I am telling you this because I need you to understand me. Your womb is now the most important thing in my life. Devinshea has been too happy with his brand new marriage to think about the consequences of last night’s activities. I am well aware of what happened.”

I didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. “I’m not pregnant. You don’t understand how medicine works on this plane. I take this shot and it chemically stops me from getting pregnant until Dev and Daniel and I all agree to it.”

Declan had the nerve to laugh. “I assure you, Your Grace, that even if your womb had been removed, after that magic Bris pumped through your body last night you would merely find you had grown a new one and it would be full. He said it himself. You are very fertile. He knows what he is talking about. I do not doubt that even now his child is starting to grow inside you. I want that child. Faery needs that child.”

Lee growled behind Declan. He’d gotten to his feet and even now his eyes were changing to hold his wolf. He was quiet about it, not wanting to attract attention, but he wanted Declan to know he was there and he’d heard everything. I noticed the others were still resting or talking. Only Neil was making his way from Sarah’s side, moving toward me.

Declan let my arm go. His voice was perfectly steady now, all brotherly caring. “I am concerned for your safety, sister. You should understand I now count your safety as my highest priority. I would sacrifice anyone to save you. I request that you not make that necessary. I would prefer to not have to make hard choices.”

The ramifications of what he was saying washed over me. I should watch myself because if it came down to it, he would take the child in my womb over his brother. I felt sick to my stomach and suddenly Neil was there holding me up. He didn’t understand what was going on. He only knew I needed him.

Declan turned to go but I had one more question and I needed to know. “If I am…is it Dev’s?”

“No, Zoey,” Declan replied remorselessly. “Though I have no doubt he will consider the babe his. The child would look like Dev’s, but it would be a magical child. He would be a fertility god. That baby in your belly could save all of Faery. I will kill to protect it.”

I heard Neil breathing behind me and knew what Declan said shocked him, but he held his tongue.

Declan looked down on me and sighed. “I like you, Zoey. I am sorry it must come to this. I told you before. I am to be king one day. I must think of my kingdom. The needs of a single person must be pushed aside for the safety of all my people.”

“What is going on, brother?” Dev asked, finally noticing our little gathering.

Declan sent his brother a smooth smile. “I was just telling my new sister how things work in Faery. I would not wish for her to go into her new kingdom ignorant. She should be well aware of her duties. All of this is, of course, dependent on our surviving this current experience.”

Dev pulled me to him and kissed me. “Her only duties are to be my sweet wife and to drive me and Daniel as crazy as possible.” He cradled my face with his hands. “Don’t let him scare you, sweetheart. I will take as good care of you in Faery as I do in our world.”

I plastered a smile I didn’t feel on my face. “I have no doubt.”

“It’s time to go,” McKenzie said. “We have another mile and a half to cover. I hope your wolf has done his job.”

Dev nodded as he took my hand firmly in his. “He will do his job as Lee and Neil will do theirs and protect my wife.”

“I assure you, I’ll protect her. From everyone,” Lee said in a low growl, but he was looking at Declan when he said it.

McKenzie’s flashlight was joined with several more and now we could move more freely through the tunnels. The opening was larger, and Dev was able to hold my hand as we made our way toward the cave.

“It’s going to be all right, Zoey,” Dev promised. “I would never let anything happen to you.”

I knew he meant that, but I suspected something had already happened to me, and I had no idea how I was going to deal with it.