Dark Moon Rising (The Revenant Book 2) (12 page)

Piece of cake.

“This one, though,” Nikolai purred, moving back to Deidra.

“Aye, I’m a prize all right.” With a toothy grin, she slid her index finger down the center of Nikolai’s chest. “Are you going to take me away from all this, bloodsucker?”

“Where would you like to go, my beauty?”

She didn’t answer right away, likely for effect. Thea was sure something was happening, some communication passing between them, but in this, she didn’t have all the information.

“Somewhere with a beach, and lots of open space. Maybe a nice lagoon.” Arching her back, she leaned in until her lips hovered just a breath from Nikolai’s. “What say you? Want to run away with me, love?”

“Maybe you’ll find out.” In a quick move, he captured her mouth in a heated kiss, then ducked out of her reach, laughing when she snarled at him. “Is this all of them, then?”

“There are three others.” The alpha scanned the room. Over in the corner. I can bring them over if you want, but I doubt they’d appeal to you.”

“No need. These will do nicely.” Turning his back, Nikolai folded his hands together behind him. “For now, however, I’m bored.”

Alpha Chase laughed as if they’d just shared some private joke. “Right this way. Let me introduce you to my daughter.”

“I can’t believe that sod kissed me.” Rubbing the back of her hand across her lips, Deidra glared at Nikolai’s retreating back.

“A lot of women probably wouldn’t have minded.” Roux jumped when Deke grabbed her by the waist and growled. “Not me. I’m just saying…women. Other women. Women who are not me.”

Chuckling, Rhys pressed against Thea’s back, winding both arms around her torso. “You should eat, angel. There’s a sweet potato casserole. Isn’t that your favorite?”

It was, but she couldn’t believe Rhys remembered it. She’d mentioned it once in passing while they’d been discussing fond memories of their mothers.

“Is it already Thanksgiving?” Hands tucked into his pockets, Brody rounded his shoulders, and kicked at a single piece of straw with his bare foot.

Thea didn’t know if it was the exact day, but it was in the vicinity. “Okay, let’s eat. Then I want more coffee.”

They might still be prisoners, but not for much longer. Besides, it was the one night when the pack didn’t actively torture them.

As a group, they moved through the room, winding their way through the tables to the back wall and the tables piled with food. While Thea and Roux filled plates for both themselves and their mates, Rhys and Deke pushed together a couple of tables in a secluded corner of the restaurant and gathered enough chairs for everyone to sit together while they ate.

Positioning herself between her mate and Deidra, Thea slid into her seat and leaned against the she-wolf’s arm. “What was that about a beach?”

After looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping, Deidra ducked her head and answered in a barely audible whisper. “It’s where the cell phone is hidden.”

Thea couldn’t think of a place with a beach and lagoon in St. Louis, but she didn’t ask for clarification. No one seemed to be paying them any mind, but she knew from experience, someone was always watching.

Instead, they talked about mundane things. They discussed the unseasonably cold weather. Lynk and Brody argued over which teams would have been in the Super Bowl if professional football still existed. Rhys and Deke began a heated debate in defense of their favorite video game consoles. Zerrik missed books. Of course, libraries and bookstores still existed, but no new fiction had been published in the last two years.

“What about you?” Rhys asked. “What do you miss, angel?”

She missed her parents and the friends she’d lost. She missed her home. She missed her car and her gun.

“I miss good movies.” Much like books, no new movies had been produced since the Purge, and it had been a while before that since she’d seen anything really worth watching.

Pulling his mate closer, Rhys brushed her long hair back from her face so he could see her properly. He hadn’t missed the way her shoulders had tensed, or how her eyes had tightened at the corners, and not for the first time, he wished he could peek inside her head. She wasn’t the type of female to wear her heart on her sleeve, but Rhys knew she bore the weight of the world, always feeling personally responsible for things beyond her control.

They hadn’t talked about Abby or the others, not since the day the enforcers had escorted them out of the cabin, but he sensed that Thea blamed herself. She had the look, one he knew well. If she’d been faster, stronger, or braver, maybe she could have saved them. If she’d pushed harder, maybe she could have convinced the alpha to take her instead. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking, because the same thoughts had been taunting him since the night the pack had destroyed his mother.

Partly because they both needed a distraction from their dark thoughts, but also because he wanted to know everything about her, he asked, “What’s your favorite movie?”

“
Hot Fuzz
. Hands down.”

Rhys laughed. “Really? I love that movie.”

While the others returned to their own conversations, he and Thea discussed the finer points of the movie, and every time she laughed, the breath caught in Rhys’ throat. His mate was beautiful, inside and out, with a smile that brightened the darkest of nights, and for reasons unfathomable, she wanted to be with him.

He was a damn lucky male.

They moved on from movies to television, then into the topic of favorite actors. He could have gone on talking to her forever about nothing at all, but a commotion near the dance floor drew his attention when he heard his name being shouted.

“I want him, Daddy!” Kara exclaimed, stopping her foot like a child. “Rhys is mine!”

“He’s a mongrel.” Clearly uncomfortable with the looks directed toward them, Alpha Chase drew his daughter close and lowered his voice. “You can have anyone else.”

“I don’t want anyone else,” Kara practically screeched. “I want Rhys!”

“What’s her deal?” Thea asked, her casual tone belied by the claws extended from the tips of her fingers.

“She’s a spoiled brat.” That was the only explanation Rhys could offer. “She’s young, only twenty-three, I think, and she believes that since her father is the alpha, she should have everything she wants.”

“Okay, but why you?”

“Alpha Chase hates me.” He shrugged when Thea snorted. “He does, and that just makes her want me more. She’s as deranged as her father.”

She made him the same offer during everything Gathering, and every time, Rhys turned her down. He’d rather take his chances in the Gallows than submit to deluded kid with a superiority complex.

“Twenty-three isn’t so young. I’m only twenty-six.”

And he was only twenty-eight, but that wasn’t the point he’d been trying to make. “Maybe young is the wrong word. She’s…immature.”

“Crazy.” Reaching over, Thea patted the top of his hand where it rested on the table beside his plate. “Let’s just call her crazy.”

Rhys was still laughing when he heard his name again, this time, spoken by the alpha.

“Okay, princess, okay. If Rhys survives the full moon, you can have him.”

Hearing the alpha promise her mate to another female as if he was some kind of packaged gift made Thea’s stomach turn. Granted, it didn’t surprise her, but nor did it make her any less angry.

Two enforcers escorted Kara out of the café amidst curious stares from the rest of the pack. Alpha Chase watched her go, his hands resting on his hips and a disgruntled frown tugging at his lips. Once she’d disappeared through the exit, he turned, motioned for two enforcers to follow him, and disappeared through a couple of swinging doors that likely led to the kitchens.

“Forget them.” Gripping her chin gently, Rhys tilted her head up for a soft kiss. “Come dance with me.”

“I don’t dance.” When she fought, she moved like the predator she was—quick, agile, graceful. Dancing, however, existed beyond her realm of capabilities.

Standing, Rhys took her hand, pulling her up heedless of her protests. “You do now.” Backing away, he led her to the dance floor and pulled sharply on her hand so that she tripped into his arms. “Did I mention you look beautiful tonight?”

“I think you’re a bit bias, Mr. Lockwood.”

“Probably. Take the compliment.”

Winding her arms around his neck, she stretched up for a soft kiss that was ruined only by the sound of their collars clanking together. “In that case, thank you.”

So, they danced. When the song ended, leading into an upbeat classic, Rhys continued to hold her, swaying them from side to side while others gyrated around them. Focusing on the feel of his arms around her, his hands sliding up and down her back, his warm breath against the shell of her ear, she almost managed to forget where they were.

“See, you do dance.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call this dancing.” Her feet had barely moved.

When the third song faded into silence, Rhys stepped back, holding just her hands. “We should have pie.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the buffet tables. “Do you like pie?”

“Absolutely. Who doesn’t like pie?”

Since she hadn’t been able to decide what kind of pie she wanted, Rhys had taken the liberty of placing a slice of each on her plate before walking her back to the table. The apple had been too tart, and the pecan too sweet. The pumpkin pie had been decent, though not as good as her mother used to make.

“You miss them.” Rhys’ fork clinked against his plate when he set it down and turned in his chair to face her. “The holidays are harder.”

“They are.” She’d spent the previous Thanksgiving in bed with the curtains drawn, but it hadn’t been nearly as bad as Christmas.

“My mom used to decorate the whole house, inside and out, for every holiday.” Rhys moved his arms around in big, lively gestures. “In December, it looked like the North Pole vomited all over our lawn.”

“My parents weren’t big into decorating, but every year, we’d go to the mall and scour the stores until we found the perfect ornaments, ones that represented each of our personalities.” The memory made her smile. “I think I liked that part better than the presents. My dad was so damn picky, and it took him forever. It drove my mom crazy.”

Rhys’ laughter enveloped her in warmth, and his smile chased away her sadness. He had the kindest eyes, so expressive, framed by long, thick lashes that had surely been the envy of every female he’d ever known.

“My dad was like that, too,” he said, piercing a small bite of pie onto his fork and holding it up to her lips. He winked when she accepted the morsel without complaint. “He’d get something in his head, and there was no stopping him, but he had to research every little detail. My mom wanted a new flat screen for the den, so they spent an entire day driving all of the city, going from store to store, my dad asking a million questions while he tested out a hundred different televisions.”

“Your mom was a saint.”

Rhys nodded. “Indeed. The funny part, though, is after about six hours of this, he ended up going back to that very first store and buying the first television they’d looked at.”

“I bet your mom was ready to strangle him.”

“Oh, she was mad, but not nearly as livid as when he insisted he could mount it himself and ended up cracking the screen before they’d even plugged it in.”

“He didn’t!”

“Oh, he did.”

They took turns, sharing funny stories of their parents and their childhoods. Rhys had fallen off the roof of his house and broken his arm when he was six while attempting to literally rope the moon. Thea told him about the time when she was three and had refused to leave her room for three days because her parents wouldn’t buy her a unicorn. It had been one of her mother’s favorites to tell at parties.

“My dad thought he was clever, and he brought home a stuffed unicorn on the second day.” She ducked her head, her cheeks heated. “I ripped its head off and stuck it in the dishwasher.”

Rhys roared with laughter as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s okay. I tried to run away when I was nine.”

“Tried?”

“I got scared, and I didn’t make it past the front porch. I didn’t want my parents to know I was scared, though, so I made a big scene about not being able to leave without clean underwear.”

They were still laughing when a group of enforcers approached their table to escort them back to their glorified cage. Thea pouted, but Rhys just tapped the underside of her chin with two fingers and smiled.

“The venue is changing, that’s all. Tell me another story, angel.”

“Not you,” an older wolf said, pushing down on her shoulder when she started to stand. “The alpha wants to speak with you.”

Smile gone, Rhys shoved to his feet, placing himself between her and the other wolf. “I go where she goes.”

“Not this time.” The older male attempted to push him aside, but he could have been pushing on a brick wall for all the good it did.

Her mate’s menacing growl vibrated down into her bones as he advanced on the guard. From the corner of her eye, Thea watched another enforcer at the end of the table lift his arm, pointing his pistol at Rhys’ head. She didn’t think they’d actually kill him, not right before the Gallows, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t seriously maim him.

The chair scuffed across the floor when she pushed it back to stand, the sound drawing the group’s attention. “Rhys, it’s okay.” Hurrying around to stand in front of him, she placed both hands on his chest, finger splayed, trying to hold him back as he pushed toward the enforcer. “Go. I’ll see you in just a few minutes.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t, either. Look at me.” Sliding her hands up the side of his neck to his face and cradled his cheeks between her palms. “I’ll see you soon. I promise.”

He seemed a little calmer, a little more rational…until the idiot behind her grabbed her by the elbow and jerked her away. With a roar that shook the windows, Rhys lunged, tackling the guard to the ground and driving his fist into the guy’s face with repeated and brutal force. Blood splattered against the white table cloth, dotting it in drops of crimson, but Rhys didn’t stop.

Cocking his arm back to deliver another blow, Rhys froze, his body rigid and his face contorted as blue sparks danced around the collar on his neck. His left arm locked against his side, the cords on his neck strained, and when the electricity stopped, he slumped sideways to the floor. Moving faster than she thought possible, Thea hurried forward, dropping to her knees just in time to catch Rhys’ head in her lap before it cracked against the hard tiles.

Stroking his hair, she glared up at the enforcer still holding the collar’s control between his fingers. At least they hadn’t shot him.

Stopping beside her, Roux leaned down and squeezed Thea’s shoulder. “I’ll make sure he’s okay until you get back.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. He’s not going to be very happy when he wakes up.”

“Definitely not,” Roux agreed. “Be safe, Thea.” Her green eyes darkened with warning. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

None too gently, two enforcers lifted Rhys from the floor by gripping him under the arms, then dragged his limp body out of the café. The rest of her friends followed a few paces behind, flanked on either side by enforcers as they trekked out into the snow. For the second time in only a few weeks, Thea watch as wolves led her friends away, hating that she could do nothing to stop it.

“Wait here.”

The male didn’t look at her as he dragged himself up from the floor and mopped the blood from his face with the hem of his black T-shirt. Thea didn’t know his name, but she did recognize him. He’d headed the group of guards who’d ushered them out of the restaurant after the first Gathering. Later, she’d challenged him when he’d snapped at her for taking the time to find proper-fitting clothing for everyone.

A sort of grim satisfaction filled her at the sight of his swollen eye and bleeding nose.

The minutes ticked by while she waited for the alpha to grace her with his presence. Across the room, females gathered the serving dishes from the buffet tables, disappearing with them through a set of double doors that likely led to the kitchens. Other females cleared the tables, moving the dishes into big, gray tubs, while two teenage boys emptied the numerous trash bins placed throughout the room.

When the female who’d offered her coffee earlier in the evening came to clean the table where she and her friends had eaten, her grumpy warden grabbed her arm and dragged her to the center of the room, leaving her near the front doors while he retrieved chairs from a nearby table.

She didn’t sit.

Time marched slowly as she watched the pack scurrying about like ants, cleaning away any remnants of the night’s festivities. Eventually, the café cleared, everyone going back to wherever they went when they weren’t aggressively trying to kill her and her friends, leaving Thea with only the guard beside her for companionship.

Still, she waited. The night was hushed but for the sound of the wind, the occasional gust rattling the glass panes of the windows. Tired and growing impatient, Thea leaned against the wooden beam in the middle of the room and yawned.

Finally, emerging through the double swinging doors that led to the kitchens, Alpha Chase entered the main room with long, purposeful strides. He jerked his head, and the enforcer at her side nodded, retreating to stand near the exit. Two other enforcers—the ugly bald one who had tormented Abby when they’d first arrived, and one she didn’t recognize—stood at attention several feet back from their alpha.

Thea was almost flattered that Bricksten Chase felt he needed so many guards present just to speak with her.

“Please sit.”

Straightening, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d rather stand.”

“Suit yourself.” Alpha Chase smiled, a feral light in his eyes. “I have a problem, kitten, one I think you can help me with.”

“And why do you think I’d do anything to help you?”

Ignoring her, he hooked his foot around the leg of the closest chair and jerked it to the side. He sat, leaning toward her, resting his forearms on the tops of his thighs as he pressed the tips of his fingers together in a clichéd act of contemplation.

“My daughter has a certain
fondness
for your mate.”

Thea pursed her lips, unwilling to comment.

“Currently, Rhys holds no value to me. In fact, your arrival has made him a rather dull plaything lately. However, I have no intentions of allowing my little girl to associate with that kind of filth.”

Her blood pressure rose along with her anger, but Thea bit the inside of her cheek, gnawing on the flesh until the coppery taste of blood coated her tongue. The alpha was goading her, but she wouldn’t rise to the bait.

“Now, I can’t release him, obviously, but I can’t just kill him, either. Kara would be quite upset if I did.”

“Get to the point,” she blurted, growing impatient with his meandering.

“If Rhys were to die in the Gallows, well, these things happen. Kara is aware of this fact. She would shed a few tears, of course, but move on quickly.”

“And?”

“Don’t be thick.” Alpha Chase growled, all pretense of civility gone. “You will kill Rhys during the Gallows tomorrow night.”

“No.” Well, that had been easy.

“I don’t think you understand. I’m not asking, kitten.”

“Oh, I understand, but that doesn’t change anything. I’m not going to kill my mate just so you don’t have to tell your daughter ‘no,’ because it might hurt her feelings.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.” Standing, he turned just as the front doors opened, and two enforcers wrestled Zerrik into the café. “Remember, you did this.”

Before she could ask what he meant, Alpha Chase drew his gun, pointed it at Zerrik, and pumped three rounds into the vampire’s chest.

“No!” Sprinting across the room, her pulse pounding in her throat, Thea slid onto the floor beside her friend, covering the bullet holes with her hands as if she could stop the bleeding by sheer will alone. “No, no, no. Zerrik? Zerrik, can you hear me? Say something.”

The tears came hot and fast, flowing down her cheeks as blood seeped between her fingers. Beneath her palms, she felt only stillness, no rise and fall of Zerrik’s chest, no beating of his heart. His icy blue eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling, and his thin lips remained parted on his last breath.