Rise of the Lycans: Shadows And Secrets

Chapter 34 – Mine

Rex

“Everyone okay?” I asked when the dust cleared.

“Yeah, let's get back to the Louvre,” Storm dusted herself off.

“My nuts are still here, so we’re good,” Flaym replied.

I saw the golden glass pyramid lit up in the courtyard before I saw Grandma Dori waving at us.

“Storm…Rex…” Grandma beamed with excitement. “You missed all the action.”

They were all here, standing outside in the courtyard, with no sign of what may have happened inside. I looked up at the historic building, and everything seemed perfectly normal.

“Caspian!” Storm greeted our cousin with a hug.

“I should send a clean-up crew for the bodies,” Alpha Orléans said.

“That won’t be necessary,” Lukas told him. “The Goddess took care of it.”

“Goddess? What Goddess?” Flaym looked just as confused as I felt.

“Here comes Dad,” Storm announced, and everyone turned to find my father, Xena, and Mateo with a small army of warriors.

“Where’s the demon who's been causing all the trouble,” my father demanded.

“She’s gone,” Grandma told him like he had just missed the sale of the season.

“Do we need to do damage control?” Xena questioned.

“No,” Uncle Zeus replied. “The Moon Goddess took care of that.”

“The Moon Goddess?” My father asked.

“Rex honey,” Grandma Dori reached for my arm. “I need to talk to you about something.”

I was torn between wanting to hear the details of the Moon Goddess and stepping away with Grandma Dori.

“Can it wait?”

“Honey, at my age, nothing can wait,” I let out a slow, deep breath. I hated it when she tried to guilt me with old-age nonsense. She was a she-wolf and still had many decades left, and if I had to, I’d inject her with venom to keep her around for hundreds of years more.

“Where are you going?” My father called out.

“I’m exhausted from all the excitement,” Grandma Dori replied. “Rex is going to fetch us a cab so we can get back to the hotel.”

“We’ve got vans on the other side of the park,” he replied.

“Oh, honey, that’s a long way for me to walk,” she said with a cough. “We must have walked miles in the long, dark, rat-infested tunnels this evening.”

“It’s okay, Dad. I’ll get her straight back to the hotel,” I assured him.

“No detours,” he warned.

She looped her arm through mine, and we continued to the nearest side street. The uniformed security guard stood with his eyes glazed over as if under a spell, holding the iron gate open for us.

“Grandma?”

“Now that the mate bonds have been restored—”

“What do you mean restored?”

“Lilith was the she-demon we kept seeing in Paris. She had trapped the Moon Goddess for nearly two decades, so the mate bonds were withheld even though the Goddess had already given shifters soulmates.”

“You mean to tell me the Moon Goddess was actually in the Louvre for the last two decades?”

“Yes, but I think it was only a few months for her because time moves differently in her realm,” Grandma told me.

“Does she look like the moon?”

“You know mortals will die if they look upon a God's true form, but her human form sure looks like Storm. In fact, she said that you were both touched by the moon… the dark and light side.”

“Let me guess, I’m the dark side,” I scoffed.

“Nothing wrong with the dark side of the moon. You’re a lycan,” she reminded me. “But the Moon Goddess did share a little secret with me that she trusted only me with,” Grandma gleamed with pride.

“I won’t try to pry it out of you,” I told her as I waved for a taxi.

“Oh, you should,” she giggled. “It’s a secret I’m only supposed to share with you.”

“What?” The black taxi pulled to a stop, and Grandma slid into the back seat.

“We should get some crêpes or something, I’m famished.”

“The hotel will be able to whip those up for you, and hopefully not the kind that requires a flambé.”

“One little mistake, and they never let you live it down.”

“Parisian Grand,” I told the driver through the small opening in the partition. “Grandma, you said she shared a secret with you for me?”

“Yes,” Grandma nodded. “She said you’re a shmuck.”

“What?”

I heard a low chuckle from the driver, who quickly coughed into his shoulder to mask his amusement.

“I’m kidding,” she giggled. “But you’ll have to bring your ear to me.”

I lowered my head, realizing a moment too late that I could have just mind linked with her.

“She said that she’s given you and Storm a special gift,” Grandma whispered. “Your gift is the ability to shadow jump.”

I studied Grandma’s face briefly and knew she was telling the truth.

“Did she explain how to do it?” I whispered.

“No,” Grandma shook her head. “There was so much going on, and then the Demon King arrived.”

“Demon King?” I didn’t like the sound of that.

“Handsome fella, with gold horns and everything,” she hummed approvingly. “Looked a little familiar, but he may as well have stepped down from Mount Olympus because he looked like a God.”

“Gold horns?” I thought back to Storm's Vision.

“Come to think of it, he looked like that actor from General Hospital… What a snack!”

Another low chuckle sounded from the front of the car, and the driver took a hard turn near the hotel. This asshole could forget about a nice tip.

“Grandma, what exactly did the horns look like?”

“Horny,” she replied, and this time both she and the driver broke out in a fit of laughter.

“What the hell is your problem?” I turned to the driver and caught his eyes in the rearview mirror. He wasn’t laughing now.

“YOU!” I recognized him just as he pulled to a stop in front of the hotel.

“She should get out,” he rasped. “We need to talk.”

“Ohh, is this one of those ransom scam things I saw on the ticking-tok?”

“Grandma, get inside and go order the crêpes,” I slipped out and held my hand out for her. “I’ll only be five minutes.” I waved one of the warriors over to ensure Grandma went inside.

“I have a kitchen torch in my purse if you need it,” she whispered, and I heard another roar of laughter from inside the cab.

I decided I would let him drive away before I shifted my claw and plunged it through the plexiglass barrier. Or I might just fill the front cab with a ball of fire and see who’s laughing then. I slipped into the back seat and closed the door. He pulled out into traffic, and I waited for him to speak.

“So, you’re Rex…” He sneered.

“I saw you in Scotland,” I snarled, letting my lycan eyes swirl.

I decided to shift my claw, put him in a choke hold, and demand to know where he was keeping Maeve. I’d spear him with my claws and read his mind if he refused. One way or another, I was going to find her.

“Your granny just shared a secret from the Moon Goddess, and you’re going to sit there and ignore it,” he looked angry.

“Who the fuck are you?” My claw shifted and crashed through the partition. He must have anticipated it because he ducked, threw the car in park, and jumped out onto the sidewalk.

“You want to fight me?” He held his arms up, fire glowing in his eyes. “Let’s do it like real Alphas.”

I sensed his aura but knew there was no way he was a lycan. It had to be a trick.

“You took Maeve away from me,” I charged at him, ready to dig my claws in.

“I took her away?” He delivered a swift kick to my lower rib just as my claw grazed his shoulder.

“Where is she?” I shifted my hand back to a closed fist and swung at his face. He turned into mist, and my hand went right through him.

“You’re a fucking demon,” I growled, swiping my claws into the mist over and over again, hoping to make contact.

“You don’t know who or what the hell I am,” he snarled back.

“You’re a coward!” I roared.

He shifted back to human form, and my foot made contact with his chest. He stumbled back a few feet and charged at me with a closed fist aimed at my head and another at my side. I dodged the fist to my head but absorbed the blow to my side.

I reached into my pocket, looking for my lighter, and realized that it was empty. There was no phone, money clip, lighter, or necklace. I felt around the shallow pockets, desperate to find a necklace that wasn’t there.

“I can give you fire if that’s what you’re looking for,” a ball of flames floated between us—taunting me to use it on him.

My eyes searched the ground around me, and my beast rumbled in frustration.

“Lose something?” He crossed his arms over his chest, studying me.

“I lost her necklace.”

“Whose necklace?” He tilted his head.

“It’s none of your damn business.”

“Goddess,” he chuckled. “Are all shifters this dense? Whose necklace is it, Rex? Tell me, and I might help you find it.”

“Maeve’s… it’s Maeve’s necklace,” I admitted.

“And who is Maeve to you?” He demanded.

“What?”

“Maeve… what is she to you?”

Her smiling face floated through my mind, her sweet eyes looked up into mine, and her scent came rushing back to me. It was the most delicious thing I had scented. I had ever tasted. I knew what Maeve was to me, but why didn’t I recognize it before? My lycan howled at the realization. He’d always wanted her, and maybe he always knew.

The silence stretched between us, heavy and tense.

“Maeve is… she’s…”

“Say it,” he insisted.

“Maeve is my mate,” the words left me and floated out into the world. Maeve was mine, and I needed to find her.

“So why did you reject her?” His words bit at my chest.

“I didn’t reject her,” I told him. “I didn’t even know she was my mate until this very moment.”

“Maeve is not a liar,” he snarled.

“I pushed her away because she was still a pup,” I started to say… “I couldn’t understand what my attraction to someone so young was, and there was no mate bond.”

“So, you slept with her, and then you pushed her away…”

“She told you?”

He smirked, shaking his head. “It’s hard not to know.”

Jealousy pulsed through me. She had shared intimate details with him, but I knew nothing about him. Was she in love with him? No… she was my mate. Destined for me.

It never happened. My bitter words echoed back in my head, and I let out a frustrated growl.

“Who are you to her?”

“I think I’ll let her tell you,” he smirked, stepping closer.

“Where is she?” I asked as a dark mist encircled us.

“This is your first and only shadow jumping lesson, so pay attention.”

“What?”

“You step into a shadow big enough for your entire body,” he said as darkness shaded the rest of the world. “Then you imagine the place you want to go or the person you’re trying to find.”

“Maeve,” I breathed out as I felt my feet lifting from the ground. “I need to find Maeve.”

“All the possibilities of exit points will start to spin around you,” he spoke calmly. “When you see the place you want to get out, you step forward and exit from the shadow.”

Images of Loch Lomond appeared, and I saw her family cabin beside the lake.

“She’s been hiding at the Highlands Pack?” I asked as my feet landed.

“No,” he told me just as a black cat let out a low snarl. “I’ll let her explain, but know this… If you hurt her, I’ll make sure you spend eternity in the bottom pits of Tartarus!”

His dark eyes were suddenly ringed in gold, and they started glowing. I knew there was an old legend about golden rings, but I couldn’t recall it now. All I wanted to do was rush inside and find my mate.

“Mate!” My eyes started swirling, and my beast needed to finally see her. He gave a nod and evaporated into smoke before me. The cat moved to the front door and looked at me expectantly.

I needed to see her , and my chest was burning with the need. Would she want to see me? After I pushed her away? After I had let her leave without a word? She had stayed away from her family, from her pack… from me.

Maybe she hated me… she had every right to, but I’d beg if I had to. Crawl on my hands and knees and kneel before her. An Alpha was nothing without his Luna, and I needed her.

My heart was pounding in my throat as I pushed inside. The warmth of the fire greeted me, and the cat rushed inside. He jumped up on the cushioned window ledge, and watched me like a hawk. A faint yellow light spilled from the door I recalled was the bathroom.

I didn’t wait another moment and stalked closer. The unmistakable sound of running water told me she was taking a bath. Through the crack in the door, I caught sight of her long ginger hair. The sight of her released something inside me. The painful coil around my heart seemed to ease. I slipped inside the bathroom and watched her climb into the tub, drinking her in.

The mark on her ass was a reminder of what she was to me. I knew that now, and my beast let out a low, possessive growl. Maeve was my mate… she was…

“Mine.”

Her wide eyes met mine, and her lips fell open with one word. “Rex!”

My nostrils flared, scenting her. Her scent was mingled with mine, which meant…

“Pup!” I heard the low bark of my beast.

My heart stuttered as I sensed the growing pup. Not just any pup… my pup. I stumbled forward, taking in her heavy belly. A swell of pride mixed with awe filled me, followed by disbelief, guilt, and joy.

“Rex?” She spoke softly as a wave of emotions crashed into me in a single moment.

“Maeve,” I murmured, reaching to cup her face. She was more beautiful than I remembered.

It had been a year and a half, and I wasn’t sure how it was still possible, but I didn’t care. I knew the baby was mine, just as I knew Maeve was, too. We’d have plenty of time to discuss what happened after I had her in my arms.

“I can explain,” she said, and I dipped my head down to kiss her.

I dropped to my knees, and the sight stole my breath away. My hands gripped her hips gently, and I peppered kisses all over my little miracle. On my knees, she stood naked in the bath, her eyes glistening with tears.

“Say that you’ll have me, Maeve,” I rasped. “Say you’ll give me one more chance to love you the way you deserve. I swear to the Moon Goddess, I will love and cherish you until my last breath, Maeve. I’ll protect you and all of our children—” I brushed my lips against the swell of her belly, caressing it again.

“All of our children?” She giggled.

“At least a dozen,” I smirked.

I rose to my feet again and wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me.

“The Moon Goddess has been freed, and the mate bonds have been restored. Do you feel that?” I kissed her again, knowing she was feeling the tingles of my touch.

“Tingles?” She whispered.

“You’ve always been my mate,” I told her. “Lycans can only reproduce with their fated mates.”

“You mean…” her spine stiffened, and her mouth fell open.

“You’re the other half of my soul.”

Between us, I felt the press of our pup kicking against my abdomen as my beast howled with pride—and it felt so right.