Moonlight Kin: A Wolf's Tale (22 page)

The sun slowly faded on the horizon, its waning rays winked over the treetops before saying goodbye. Madie felt the chill to her bones and snuggled deeper into her sweater.

After a quick fuel stop, they finally reached the long familiar driveway that led to her childhood home. Gaston didn’t put on his blinker nor did he slow down as they approached.

 “Gaston, you’re going to miss the driveway.” Madie watched as they drove past it. “We have to turn around.”

Gaston glanced at her. “We aren’t going to the house, girl.”

She frowned and looked back as the drive faded into the distance. “But I thought…what about the ceremony?”

“Isn’t held at the house,” he said, finishing her thought.

Jack kept a watchful eye on the woods. His sharp gaze scanning the tree-line for any sign of movement.

“Anything yet?” Gaston asked, without taking his eyes off the road.

Jack shook his head. “Not yet.”

Suspicion rose inside her. “What are you looking for?”

“Company.” Jack’s eyes fastened on her abdomen and his expression slowly twisted in to hatred, before carefully resuming its stony façade.

Madie crossed her arms defensively and looked straight ahead.

Gaston pulled onto an unpaved road that was full of ruts. The truck bounced its way to the woods, then stopped. “We’re here.” He shut the engine off.

They all climbed out.

Madie was stiff from the long ride. She stretched her arms above her head, then touched her toes.

“Stop fooling around!” Gaston said. “We still have a ways to go.” He led them down a trail, deeper and deeper into the forest.

Fear and her crutch slowed her footsteps. “Where are we going?” Madie asked.

“You’ll see.” He dismissed her question.

Jack nudged her forward, but continued to watch their surroundings.

“Father?”

“Don’t ever call me that!” he bellowed.

Madie flinched as his words struck her. Something was wrong, very wrong. “I want to go back to the house.”

Jack reached out and grasped Madie’s arm, his grip tightening to the point of pain. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

She tried to pull away, but he only increased the pressure. “Let go! You’re hurting me.”

“I’ll do more than that, if you don’t come along.” Jack leaned in close to her ear, so that only she could hear what he was saying. “I can smell him on you,” he growled. “You carry his heir in your womb.”

 He knew about Damon and the baby. But how?

Madie struggled to break Jack’s punishing grasp. “Gaston, what is going on?”

Gaston’s lip curled. “You always were weak.” He shook his head in disgust. “I should have rid myself of your existence when I found out your mother had that affair in Boston. She said you were mine, but the Valois’ breed true, and they always breed male.”

The shock of the admission numbed Madie to the core. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. All the years of trying to get Gaston to love her. All the years of thinking that she wasn’t good enough in his eyes, finally made sense. So much wasted time. Well no more.

She stared at Jack and Gaston. The two men looked as if they were possessed. Their pale faces were sunken, their eyes reduced to slits, and their mouths were no more than twisted lines of determination. They upped the pace and Madie found herself having to hobble quickly to keep up, which sent pain spiking through her ankle.

They reached a clearing in the center of the woods. Someone had gathered stones and laid out in a circle. Four torches were perched around the crude structure. Jack released Madie long enough to go light them.

She looked around.

The center of the stone circle held four stakes with leather tethers attached to each one. She didn’t like the looks of this at all. Madie gauged the distance back to the truck, but knew with her bum ankle that she’d never be able to outrun Jack.

“What are you planning?” she asked.

Before her Gaston could answer, Jack lifted off the ground and carried her into the circle. He held her down, while the man she’d thought was her father tied her arms and legs to the stakes.

“He’ll come for her,” Jack said. “He has no choice. She carries his spawn.”

Gaston gasped in horror. “She’s been tainted?”

Jack nodded.

“How do you know?” Gaston’s gaze examined Madie closely.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jack asked. “She doesn’t cringe from my touch. She’s used to male hands being upon her body. If she were pure, that wouldn’t be the case.”

Gaston’s face flushed. “But you said there was a babe, perhaps you’re wrong?”

Jack shook his head. “No, I followed her to the Alpha’s house. I heard her tell him that she was carrying his heir.”

Gaston’s eyes burned with hatred. “You whore!” He spat. “If you weren’t my sole heir, I’d shoot you this instant.” He slipped the safety off on his gun.

Madie’s heart slammed into her ribs. “I can explain.” She pulled against the restraints, but it only made them tighter.

“Don’t say another word. I raised you as my own and you’ve dishonored me. You’ve dishonored this family,” Gaston said. “Jack, get the head strap. We’ll have to pry her jaw open to get her to drink the potion.”

In that moment, Madie knew they were insane. She had to get away from them or she and her unborn child were going to die.

Jack hesitated. “Will it kill the child?” he asked, but there was no concern in his voice, no feeling whatsoever. The utter disregard for her safety chilled her.

“What does it matter?” Gaston countered. “She’s already ruined everything.”

Unholy light filled Jack’s eyes. “Perhaps not,” he said. “I’ve been giving her pregnancy some thought. We might be able to use it to our advantage.”

Gaston turned to him. “How so?”

“She’s carrying what will in all likelihood be the future Alpha of the Moonlight Kin pack,” Jack said.

“So?” Gaston glowered.

“So, if I was to say marry Madie, and she had the baby, then we’d eventually have total control over the pack,” he said. “They wouldn’t be able to deny their Alpha once the child got a little older.”

Jack’s reasoning, though sound, terrified Madie. No way would she agree to any of this. She’d die before she’d allow her child to be used in this fashion.

“If the abomination lives,” Gaston said with a disgusted snort. “You can do whatever you want with it. It’s not like it’s human.”

Jack retrieved the potion and handed it to Gaston, who stirred the paste until it thinned into a semi-liquid state.

Madie pulled on the tether as Jack strapped her head in. The restraints locked her forehead in place and yanked at her jaw down until her mouth hung open. “Don’t do this!” she pleaded.

Jack leaned in close. “This is the only chance you and your baby have of making it out of here alive. I suggest that you shut up and take it, before I remove the offer from the table and move on to our backup plan. It’s not like I’m happy to be getting Damon’s sloppy seconds.”

Gaston approached. There was no love in his eyes as he poured the potion down her throat. Madie tried to spit it out, but the tether prevented it. She held it in her mouth for as long as she could, but with Jack massaging her throat, she eventually had to swallow.

The bitter taste made her gag, but the potion stayed down.

“Now we wait,” Gaston said. “It shouldn’t take long for it to take effect. When it does, she’ll do whatever we want.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Damon had spent the night and all morning reading the Book of Lycan. He was still in shock over what he’d discovered. The pain that followed was nearly unbearable. He had to contact the Elders, then he’d go find Madie. If what he’d read was true, then she was in serious danger.

It was early evening by the time Damon reached Madie’s home. He pounded on the door, but there was no answer. She was gone. Had been gone for a while, if her fading scent was any indication.

He recognized Gaston’s stink and the same elusive werewolf scent that he’d caught earlier. This time it was fresh. His blood went cold. Fear gripped his heart like icy tentacles.

“Why?” he asked, but the empty house held no answers.

There was only one place that Madie could be—at her family’s estate. He had to reach her. Save her. It wasn’t until that moment that Damon realized how much he loved her.

He raced out of the house, his heart beating a mile a minute. Damon turned a corner and slammed into a wall or at least that’s what he thought. When he looked up, he was face to face with Luc.

Damon stumbled back, preparing to fight his Beta if need be. “What are you doing here?” he asked, a growl forming in his throat.

“I’ve come to warn you that the pack is after your mate.” Luc grumbled. “But I can see I’m too late.”

Damon smiled at the sour expression on Luc’s face. “I should have known I could count on you my friend.” Then the words Luc spoke finally sank in. Damon’s face drained of blood. “How long have they been on the hunt?”

Luc glanced at his watch. “At least an hour or two. They were headed out to the Hunter’s estate.”

“Then we must hurry. My mate and child are in even greater danger than I realized.”

Luc grabbed Damon by the shoulder and guided him to his waiting vehicle. “I’ll drive. You talk,” he said.

Damon explained that Gaston had Madie.

Luc’s eyes narrowed. “But Gaston is her father. Surely no harm will come to her.”

“There is another.” Damon raked a hand through his hair. “I thought it was you. The scent was familiar. I didn’t know the truth until last night. I still can’t believe it.”

“Werewolf? Are you saying the Hunter is working
with
a wolf?” Damon’s expression mirrored Luc’s shocked one.

Damon nodded, then leaned forward to grip the dashboard. His claws spray out of his fingertips, digging into the leather as if that would somehow make the car go faster.

Luc punched the accelerator.

“If the wolf doesn’t get her, then the pack will.” Damon spoke the words they were both thinking.

“We’ll make it.” Luc’s voice was soft and menacing.

“For all our sakes, I hope you’re right.”

They reached Gaston Valois’ home in record time. Damon jumped out of the vehicle before it had even stopped. His nose was in the air, sifting through the clues that had been left.

“They’re not here.” He dropped to his knees. He couldn’t lose her. Not now.

Luc raced into the woods. Five minutes later, he returned. “They’ve headed this way.” He pointed back in the direction he’d just come from. “I can smell the pack.”

The two men sprinted through the woods until they came upon a trail. Their senses alert to an ambush. Damon heard voices grumbling in the distance. He stuck a hand out to halt their silent pursuit.

“What should we do?” Gaston asked. “He should have been here by now.”

“Be patient, Gaston. He’ll arrive soon,” Jack said.

“You said that before.”

“And I’ll say it again. Be patient.” The quiet threat behind the innocent words went unnoticed by Gaston. “Check to make sure that she’s ready.”

***

Madie felt strange, really strange. The concoction she’d drank left her sluggish. She looked around at the shifting shadows. What were they doing in the woods?

“Look at me,” Gaston said.

She did as he asked. She could do no other.

“You will do everything that I tell you to do,” he said. “You shall have no fear, no hesitation.”

“No fear. No hesitation,” she murmured.

“When Damon Laroche arrives, you will kill him,” Gaston said.

Madie hesitated.

“What did I tell you?” he snapped.

“I will do everything you tell me to do,” Madie parroted.

He stepped closer. “What did I tell you to do?”

“Kill Damon Laroche,” she said. His orders surrounded her, filling her brain until nothing else remained.

Gaston slipped one of the rifles off his shoulder and handed it to her. “Good! Now take this.”

Madie held the weapon. She knew how to use it. He’d taught her how from a young age.

“Remember to aim for the heart,” Gaston said.

“Aim for the heart.” Madie couldn’t feel her limbs. Nothing in her body seemed to be working except for her brain. And with the constant fog, it didn’t feel like her own. She needed to kill Damon Laroche. She just couldn’t remember why.

Growls emanated from the woods.

“They’re here,” Jack said. He and Gaston drew in closer to be ready for the impending attack.

Several sets of red eyes glowed in the darkness. Excited cries broke from the wolves’ throats. Gaston and Jack stood back to back. Damon broke from the trees.

“Kill him!” Gaston shouted.

Madie raised her rifle and aimed.

Damon slowed his approach. “Madie, it’s me.”

“I must kill Damon Laroche,” she said in a voice that sounded disembodied. The gun never wavered.

“Madie, honey. Put down the gun. You’re in danger,” he said.

“Must kill Damon Laroche,” she repeated as she stared straight through him. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew that he was her target.

“What have you done to her?” he bellowed.

Jack looked at him. “We didn’t do anything to my future wife.”

Damon reeled back in shock. “Wife?”

Gaston barked with laughter. “He seems surprised,” he said, glancing at Jack. His attention quickly returned to Madie. “Tell him how you plan to marry Jack.”

“Marry Jack,” she said.

“Like hell you will.” Damon rushed forward.

The rifle in Madie’s hand rose with blinding speed, her finger resting on the trigger. Damon ran into the barrel.

“Go ahead,” Damon said. “My heart is yours to do with as you please. I can’t live without you. Without either of you.” He reached out and gently touched her abdomen.

Madie’s hands trembled and tears filled her eyes. “Must kill Damon Laroche.”

“Do it now!” Gaston shouted as the pack came out of the woods.

***

Pain blossomed in Damon’s side as the bullet ripped through his flesh. Blood spread across his T-shirt. He looked down in disbelief. She’d shot him. Madie had shot him. He glanced at where the barrel of her gun now rested. Only moments ago, it had been over his heart, but not now. She’d moved the rifle at the last second, sparing his life.