Dark Moon Rising (The Revenant Book 2) (9 page)

A tingle started in his lower back, and his sac drew close to his body as his cock throbbed within her core, heralding his impending climax. Each hard thrust pushed her higher up the wall, and she clung to his shoulders as the water sloshed over them, creating a slippery glide between their tense bodies. Lifting his head, he stared into her eyes, watching as they changed from a deep brown to a golden amber. He wanted to see her, to watch as she fell over the edge, and his mate didn’t disappoint.

Tossing her head back, she cried out, bucking against him as her inner walls closed around him like a vise. The sight of her flushed cheeks, the feel of her tight pussy, the scent of her release, sent him into a tailspin of pleasure, and he followed her into orgasm with a roar that shook the walls.

Wrapped together, they held onto one another as they struggled to catch their breath, neither of them ready to let go and face reality.

“Holy shit,” Deidra called from somewhere down the hall. “Did you eat her?”

Leaning away from him, Thea glanced toward the open door of the bathroom and grinned. “Oops.”

“You could at least try to be discrete,” Cade added, his voice echoing through the cabin.

“It wasn’t that loud,” Kamara argued. “I don’t think anyone in Kansas heard them.”

“Stop,” Abby said, her voice much quieter than the rest. “Leave them alone.”

Thea closed her eyes and groaned. “I’m never going to hear the end of this.”

“Yeah, well,” Zerrik called, “I can never
unhear
that.”

Resting his forehead against Thea’s, Rhys pecked at her lips and chuckled. “As tempting as it is to stay like this forever, you need to eat, angel.”

They took turns washing each other again, sharing kisses and light touches until the water ran cold. When they’d dried themselves, and Thea had changed into clean clothes—a plain white T-shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts—they made their way to the kitchen, enduring more good-natured jibes as they passed through the living room. Once in the kitchen, Rhys steered his mate to a wooden bar stool at the center island and motioned for her to sit.

“How about a turkey sandwich?”

“Is there mayo?”

Going to the fridge, he pulled open the door and inspected the contents. “Mustard, ketchup, and strawberry jam. No mayo.” In the bottom drawer, he found something even better than mayonnaise. “Bacon?”

Thea nodded eagerly, a slightly dazed expression on her face. “Goddess, yes, please. Are there tomatoes?”

“There are.” Rhys moved around the kitchen, finding the ingredients for club sandwiches. “Mustard okay?”

Thea nodded, but she seemed lost in thought. After another minute, she finally asked, “You really don’t know why we’re here?”

“I really don’t, angel. I do know there are about a dozen enforcers outside with rifles and shotguns, so that might be why they removed the collars.”

“I don’t get it. They’re not just going to let us go.”

Rhys agreed. “No, they’re not, but we’ll find out why we’re here soon enough. Might as well enjoy it until then.” He held up the package of bacon, waving it at her. “At least there’s bacon.”

To his relief, she laughed, and some of the light returned to her eyes. “Yeah, at least there’s that.”

They fell into silence again, him cooking and her watching. It was easy, comfortable, and almost normal. He wished it didn’t have to end.

He’d finished frying the bacon and started constructing the sandwiches when Thea slipped up behind him, wound her arms around his waist, and rested her cheek in the center of his back.

“This probably isn’t the best time to bring it up,” she murmured, “but…did you see your mom last night?”

Rhys tensed, but the anxiety passed quickly. The mention of his mother didn’t send him into a dark void the way it once had, and he knew he had Thea to thank for that.

“I did, right before sunrise.” She’d been fighting another Ravager, and while every part of Rhys had wanted to go to her, he’d finally accepted that he couldn’t save her. “It hurts, but I can’t keep holding onto her. She’s gone.”

Thea’s arms tightened around him briefly before she let go and moved around to face him. “I’m so sorry, Rhys. I lost both of my parents right after the Purge, but I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you to see her every full moon.”

Driven by guilt and blinded by love, he’d tried so hard to help her, but in his heart, he’d always known he’d never get her back. Jenna Lockwood was dead, and the thing that inhabited her body was just a ghost, a cruel reminder of everything he’d lost.

“I’m sorry, too.” Placing the butter knife down on the counter, he wound an arm around Thea’s neck and pulled her close to kiss the top of her head. “How did your parents die? Was it Ravagers?”

She shook her head. “Hunters, like the ones who killed your dad. I barely got away, but my parents didn’t make it. Sometimes…” After a pause, she pulled in a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. “Sometimes, I think that if I had the training back then that I do now, maybe I could have saved them.”

“Maybe,” he conceded, because he knew she’d want the truth. “But you didn’t, and there’s nothing you could have done. Don’t blame yourself, angel. Blame the assholes who killed them.”

“I do,” she said, a hard edge to her tone. “It’s not your fault, either, Rhys. What happened to your mom? You can’t blame yourself for it.”

Oh, but he could. “My mom is here because of me. I told you before that being a prisoner, being forced to participate in the Gallows, that wasn’t my punishment.”

A quiet gasp escaped her parted lips, and her eyes widened with unrestrained horror. “The alpha brought your mom here? He knows who she is?”

Rhys nodded, releasing his mate so he could continue preparing their meal. “After my dad died and I became an enforcer, my mother came to live with the pack. Partly for protection from the Hunters, but I think mostly to be close to me.” Of course, back then, he’d never had time for her, so caught up in his rage and despair. “When the pack raided the bunker and found me there, Alpha Chase decided I needed to be taught a lesson. He didn’t just bring her here. He’s the one who pushed her over the edge.”

“Oh, my god. Rhys…I don’t even know what to say.”

He finished building her sandwich, added a few sticks of celery to her plate, and slid it across the counter. “Eat, angel.”

“Rhys…”

“Eat,” he repeated as he washed his hands at the sink. It was easier to talk about his mother with his back to her. “They put one of those sadistic collars on her, took her out into the woods, right above my cell, and zapped her with enough volts to kill a full grown man.” The cruelty had gone on for hours, and Rhys would never forget the sound of her screams. “They tortured her until she went insane, until she finally stopped fighting and let the madness claim her.”

By the fourth morning of their respite, the walls that sheltered them from the falling temperatures were starting to close in on Thea.

The enforcers never came inside, but half a dozen of them took shifts patrolling the grounds, each with a rifle slung over his back. No one in her group knew why they’d been taken to the cabin instead of the enclosure at the zoo, nor did they have even a working theory. It didn’t make sense that they’d been given food, fresh clothes, and had their collars removed. Not even Rhys had a guess as to why the sudden change in routine, and he knew the pack better than anyone.

Men like Bricksten Chase never did anything unless it benefited them in some way, and she wanted to know what he had planned. The three nights in the cabin hadn’t been a show of mercy, nor had it been a reward for surviving the full moon. Whatever he had planned for them, she couldn’t imagine it would be worse than the Gallows, but mostly, she was just tired of sitting around waiting for something to happen.

The morning had dawned cold and gloomy, and the clouds beyond the window held the suspicious hint of snow. Growing up in Pennsylvania, Thea was no stranger to snow, but she’d only had to spend the night in it once, and it had been the worst night of her life. While the cabin protected them from the elements now, she had the feeling their level of comfort would take a drastic turn soon.

“There you are.” Crossing the room, Rhys leaned over the back of the chair where she sat by the window and kissed the side of her neck, the stubble along his jaw tickling her skin. “What are you doing in here by yourself? Breakfast is ready.”

The scent of maple syrup drifted to her in the little room where she’d been brought to dress for the Gathering on her first night with the pack. Her stomach rumbled in response, but she didn’t much feel like socializing.

“Thanks. I’ll grab a plate in a few minutes.”

Dragging one of the other armchairs over to the window beside her, Rhys settled into his and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Talk to me, angel. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“It’s nothing.” A grin twitched at the corners of her lips when he grunted at her. “Nothing new,” she elaborated. “Still worrying about why we’re here and what it means. I’m glad not to have that collar around my neck, but it doesn’t exactly fit with what I know about the pack. It seems like a huge risk to just let us run around uncontrolled.”

Rhys arched a dark eyebrow at her. “Is that what you think? Angel, there are guards surrounding this place, armed with enough firepower to take down a city block. There are cameras everywhere.”

Thea’s cheeks heated when she thought about someone watching her with Rhys in the shower. Nudity didn’t bother her, but what she’d shared with her mate had been private, intimate, and she hated that the pack had managed to taint it.

Unaware of her embarrassment, Rhys pointed to a small rectangular opening in the ceiling, covered by a black grate. “If anyone tries to shift inside the cabin, the pack would pump gas through these vents, and everyone would be out cold in a matter of seconds.”

“Okay,” she relented. “I get it. We’re locked up tighter than a virgin’s asshole.”

He snorted at her crude metaphor, but otherwise didn’t comment. Linking his fingers together, he bobbed his head a couple of times. “I’ve been thinking about why we’re here as well.”

“And have you come to a conclusion?”

“More of a guess, but you’re not going to like it.”

It couldn’t be worse than the scenarios that had starred in her dreams recently. “I feel like they’re luring us into a false sense of security, but I can’t figure out what purpose it serves. So, I’m open to ideas if you have them.”

“I don’t think it’s that.” With a huff, he pushed back in his chair and scrubbed both hands over his face. “I think we’re being fattened like calves for slaughter, so to speak. There’s enough food in the kitchen to feed an army. We’re warm, sheltered, and no one has threatened us in days, so we’re calm. Well, as calm as we can be given the circumstances.”

It made sense, but like her theory, she didn’t understand the end game. “I can see that, but why? What is this metaphorical slaughter?”

Rhys shrugged. “Maybe they want us healthy before the next Gallows. It wouldn’t be as much fun to watch us fight if we can barely stand.”

Thea thought it over for a few seconds and shook her head, rejecting the idea that their current seclusion had anything to do with the Gallows. “They can just kidnap more people before the full moon.”

“Yeah, but like I said before, no one ever survives. It’s always a bloodbath, but it’s not much of a fight. We gave them one hell of a fight, angel.”

“See, that’s the thing. I don’t think the Gallows are just for entertainment purposes. Are you sure no one has survived? I mean, have you actually seen them die?”

She could practically see the wheel turning inside his head. “A few, but the previous groups, they weren’t big on teamwork. I’d wake up alone in an isolation cell and never see them again, so I just assumed they’d all died.”

Something big, something that would explain everything, danced just beyond her comprehension. “What if the Gallows are a test? Survival of the fittest. That kind of thing.”

“And the winners…what?” His fingers fisted in his shaggy locks, and a frustrated growl rumbled through his chest. “What happens to the survivors?”

Neither of them questioned why Rhys had never been placed in that distinctive category. Alpha Chase wanted to control Rhys, and he wouldn’t give that up, not without a damn good reason. Whatever was happening to the survivors of the Gallows clearly didn’t qualify as a sufficient motive.

“Guys,” Kamara appeared at the doorway, her ebony hair twisted into a messy bun at the top of her head. “I think you need to get in here. Deidra just overheard one of the enforcers say Alpha Chase is on his way.”

“I think we’re about to get some answers.” Rising from his chair, Rhys offered a hand, pulling Thea to her feet as well. “You still need to eat.”

She wanted answers far more than she wanted food, but her stomach rumbled in protest. “Fine. I’ll grab something portable.”

Following her mate down the narrow hallway, she could feel the tension in the air before she ever reached the living room. For the past few days, the atmosphere had been one of cautious optimism from most. Now, her friends gathered on the sofa and armchairs, some curled up on the floor, their expressions guarded, anxious.

When Thea nodded and turned toward the kitchen, Rhys stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll get it. Go.”

She didn’t know how he did it, how he always knew the right thing to say, the right move to make, but she adored him for it. Food was the last thing on her mind, and with the alpha’s arrival imminent, she wanted to be with her friends, presenting a united front when he walked through the door.

Settling onto the floor beside Abby, she took the female’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. “How are you holding up, Barbie?”

The tiny blond trembled, but she held her head high, chin up and set at a stubborn angle. “I’m sorry, Thea. I’m completely useless.”

“What? Abby, you’re not—”

“Stop.” Turning her head, she smiled kindly. “I know who I am, and I’m not a fighter. That would be okay if everyone else didn’t keep getting hurt trying to protect me.”

Abby couldn’t help her small size or her lack of fangs and claws. They could, however, improve on her self-defense. “I’ll work with you. You’ll be a regular badass by the time we’re finished.”

“Thea, come on, look at me.”

One of her dad’s favorite expressions came to mind. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight.”

“It’s how hard he bites,” Deidra interrupted, leaving her place by the fire to join them on the floor. “She’s right, Abby. It won’t happen overnight, but we have time before the next full moon. You just have to be willing to put in the work.”

“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes.” A genuine smile curved Abby’s bow-shaped lips. “I’m willing to put in the work, but that doesn’t change the way the pack sees me. I’m the weakest one in the group, and they’re always going to use me against you.”

Thea couldn’t argue with the logic, so she chose to focus on the positive instead. “Then, we’ll just have to show them that you’re not weak.”

“I didn’t say I was weak.” Straightening her spine, Abby drew her shoulders back and glared. “I said I was the weakest one in our group. Compared to vampires, werewolves, shifters, and former police officers, it’s true. At least physically, I’m the weakest one here.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. Not knowing what else to say, Thea was grateful when Rhys entered the room and folded his massive frame onto the floor beside her. From his expression, he’d heard their conversation, and like Thea, he seemed to be at a loss for words.

“What is this?” she asked when he passed her a paper plate piled with what looked like a waffle sandwich.

“It’s good is what it is. Eat it.”

“Bossy.”

Between two square waffles, he’d piled scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese. Maple syrup dripped from the assembled concoction, running down the sides of the waffles and making her fingers sticky. While comprised of all of her favorite foods, it didn’t exactly look edible in its current form, but she braved a bite to appease her growly mate.

“Holy shit, this is fantastic.” Thea had inherited her dad’s ability to burn boiling water, and most of her meals over the past year and a half had come out of the freezer or from one of the local restaurants in Trinity Grove. “If you keep this up,” she mumbled around another bite, “I might just have to keep you.”

Rhys winked. “That’s the plan, angel.” Then he started to laugh and leaned in to swipe his tongue across her bottom lip. “Mm, you taste delicious.”

“Did you just lick syrup off my face?” She couldn’t quite summon the proper indignation at the act, so she settled for a half-hearted elbow to his side. “Gross.”

“You liked it.”

Yeah, she did, but he didn’t need to know that. Nor did she need him seducing her when two other people in the room could scent her desire. They already teased her relentlessly about the shower incident. The last thing she wanted was to add fuel to that flame.

The front door of the cabin swung open, and the cold November air swept into the room, an ominous preamble of things to come. Alpha Chase strode toward them, his posture relaxed and amiable—except for the two enforcers who flanked him with handguns on their hips and rifles in their hands. Dressed casually in a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a navy blue, hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with the St. Louis Rams’ logo, he was indeed handsome, strikingly so. If this had been their first meeting, Thea never would have never guessed that beneath the polished veneer, he was a deranged and merciless psychopath.

Two more enforcers waited by the open door, and past them, three others stood guard on the wooden patio. From the belts of the two wolves bracketing the doorway, shackles hung from rusted and bloodstained chains. She counted only four sets of wrist cuffs, and she was still working through the implications when Alpha Chase spoke.

“Take the humans.”

On her feet at once, Thea pushed Abby behind her with a vicious snarl. “Where are you taking them?”

“That’s not really any of your concern, Miss Mendez.” The alpha smiled, a predatory twist of his lips. “Stand aside.”

Jumping to her feet as well, Deidra stepped forward, blocking the enforcers’ view of Kamara. Behind them, Zerrik and Rhys had made similar moves, placing themselves between the human males and the werewolves advancing on them.

“What are you going to do?” Thea challenged. “Shoot all of us? Because that’s what will happen before you take the humans.”

“Thea.” Quiet, lilting, almost musical, Abby’s voice pierced the tense silence that blanketed the room. “It’s okay.” With a hand on Thea’s forearm, Abby stepped around her to address the alpha. “I’ll go with you.”

“Abby,” Cade growled, trying to shove his way past Zerrik, “don’t be stupid.”

Shoulders back, spine rigid, Abby ignored him, speaking instead to the alpha. “Take me.”

“That’s sweet.” His hands resting on his hips, Alpha Chase nodded slowly. “You’re brave, little one.”

“I’m not. I just don’t want anyone else hurt because of me.”

“Brave,” he repeated, “but foolish. While impressive, your sacrifice means very little.” Turning to the enforcers, he motioned them forward. “Take them.”

The guards nearest the door unhooked the shackles from their belts and started forward. Thea saw no way out of their predicament. They could fight, but half of them would still end up taken, while the other half bled out on the floor from bullet wounds.

“Wait.” Abby threw her hands up and backed away. “Can we have a minute to say goodbye?”

Alpha Chase considered her for a moment, his arms folded and his head tilted to the side. “One minute.”

“Abby, this is crazy,” Thea said when the female hugged her. “We don’t even know where they’re taking you.”

Abby squeeze her a little tighter, rising up on her toes to whisper in Thea’s ear. “Find us.”

Then she was gone, moving away to say her farewells to Zerrik.