Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Noah
“The only way I would declare war on my enemy would be to aid a member of my own pack.”
My heart thuds against my breastbone.
I can’t decide if he’s telling me no and throwing it in my face that I played this all wrong, or if he’s demanding my fealty.
I hope it’s the latter.
“I am yours.” I show my throat.
He makes me suffer, staring down at me for a long moment before he offers me a hand and tugs me to stand. “Welcome to the pack.” He pulls me in for a grim bro-hug, thumping my back once before releasing me.
Madi stands on tiptoe to pull me in for a hug, too. “I’ll get the team to strategize,” she signs and says when we pull apart, going to the door.
“In the dining room.” Brick ushers me out. “We’ll need food. This is going to take some brainpower.”
A few minutes later, Nickel, Sully, Vance, Billy, Brick, and Madi gather around the giant table in the elegant Blackthroat living room.
“Our newest pack member requires our assistance,” Brick announces, attempting to sign as he speaks. “His mate has been taken by our enemy.”
I expect one of them to say something about how my mate is the enemy, but no one does. Nor does anyone seem to begrudge my late admittance to their pack.
For the second time tonight, a mixture of guilt and gratitude close my throat.
What happened? Billy signs.
He was the first to learn ASL to communicate with me.
Madi mastered it in college–no doubt along with several other languages.
I got the sense that Billy’s competitive side didn’t like her knowing something he didn’t.
The two of them had a rough start, mainly because Billy hated humans.
Brick nearly shut him out of the pack for rejecting Madi.
Then he had to get over his bias fast when Fate smacked him with a human mate.
I explain our near capture and how Aster turned back.
“Aster is their prisoner. The Adalwulfs plan to bind her to their alpha during a Blood Bonding ritual under the lunar eclipse tomorrow,” I explain.
“It supposedly creates a psychic connection with Aiden, so she receives visions for the highest good of the pack. Aiden wanted the moonstone tiara I stole from the museum for the ritual.”
The housekeepers bustle in with platters of cold cuts, cheese, olives, and bread.
“Should we invite the Moonborn females to this conversation?” Sully asks Blackthroat. “They’ve been living there. They might have insight.”
Brick nods, and Sully gets up, returning a few moments later with Liora, Oriana, and Sophie.
I get up and pace behind the table, my wolf too wound up to sit. “My accomplice has the moonstone tiara. We were planning to return it to the Mayan people. I could offer to trade it for Aster.”
“That won’t work. They want the tiara for Aster to wear,” Liora points out. “But they might allow you to trade it for Violet, Lupe, and June. The young ones who didn’t get out will be sentenced to death… or sacrificed in the Alpha Rites.”
“Then it’s settled,” Brick says. “Call your accomplice and get the tiara.”
What if Aster meant it when she said she didn’t want to be your mate? Oriana signs.
I give her a tight smile. Aster just shared a vision with me.
Oriana’s eyes widen.
She’s waiting for me to come for her.
Noah
The morning of the lunar eclipse, the sky is streaked red and purple. There’s a heaviness to the air, and in my mind, I sense vibrations like thunder. It’s not the weather, it’s a psychic sense.
I try to reach for Aster and get nothing. I reach for calm and try to send it her way. I doubt it’s working, but it makes me feel better.
After breakfast, Catherine Adalwulf, Brick’s mom, takes my mother and sister out for a walk in the Blackthroat gardens. There are guard wolves everywhere, and that’s the only thing that keeps me from escorting them.
I gather with Brick, Madi, and the pack’s top wolves in the dining room. Everyone looks serious and stressed. The tension turns the air into mud. We’re working on the plan for tonight.
“Noah,” Madi waves to get my attention and signs, “Your friend is here.”
“What’s up, party people?” Esme walks in with her arms spread like she’s ready to hug all of us. She’s wearing a worn Pink Floyd t-shirt with her usual leather jacket and skin tight black jeans.
I greet her with a hug. “Nice shirt.”
“I know, right? Dark Side of the Moon. Get it? Because of the lunar eclipse.”
Is this the thief? Brick asks, signing clumsily.
Esme gives him a winning smile. “Don’t worry, Alpha. I’m off duty.” She tosses me a small leather pouch. I peer inside, and the tiara sparkles at me.
“Don’t let it out,” Esme instructs. “It’s not happy about being hidden away. It wants to come out and wreak havoc.”
Madi’s eyes go wide. “How do you know?”
I’ve got a bit of clairtangency. Esme signs fluidly. Runs in my family.
“Who’s your family?” Billy asks.
“Montaigu. You may have heard of us. We’re famous. Well, infamous. Is Nicholas Twylton-Wickham Cavendish the Seventh here?”
Nickel steps forward.
“It’s possible my great-great-grand uncle stole a Tudor brooch from your ancestors at the turn of the last century. Sorry about that.” She whirls away from Nickel and rubs her hands together, looking excited. “So what’s the plan, man?”
“We want you, as a neutral party, to make contact with the Adalwulfs,” Brick says and signs, looking grim. “Offer them the deal: the tiara in exchange for their three virgin sacrifices. Tell them your witch cult wants them for a sacrifice of your own or something.”
“Okay, sure.” Esme wriggles her fingers and then holds up my cellphone. She must have picked my pocket during the hug. “Oh, not this one.” She winks and tosses it back with a quick, “Sorry. Habit.”
It’s fine, I sign back. And it is–I’m used to it.
Brick gives her the number, and she makes the call to Aiden.
Esme turns her back, pacing as she speaks, so I can’t read her lips, but Madi interprets for me. I wish to speak to your alpha, she signs. Well, give him a message. I have something he wants. Ancient Mayan. Sparkly moonstones.
Tell your alpha to call this number if he wants to make a trade. She pivots and grins at me as she ends the call with a dramatic punch of her finger.
The room falls silent as we wait.
“How long do you think it will take?” Madi says and signs.
“Not long,” Brick says.
“Is anyone bored yet? I can do tricks.” Esme pulls a deck of ancient looking Tarot cards from her pocket and spreads them in her hands. “Pick a card, any card,” she offers to Nickel.
Pass, he signs.
She pivots and offers it to Madi, who seems more willing to play along. Madi plucks a card that shows a stone tower getting struck by lightning and set on fire.
“Hmm, the Tower, very interesting. Looks like some old structures are coming down.”
“Hey British, are you a duke? A werewolf duke?” Esme cocks a hip, looking Nickel up and down.
Jake leans in, grinning. “As a matter of fact, his family wants him to marry an heiress, so he’s eligible to inherit the title.”
“Duke?” Esme’s dark eyes sparkle.
“Viscount.” Nickel looks unamused.
Esme snaps her fingers. “That’s right, British, I have something for you.” She shows her empty palm and then with some sleight of hand, the Tower card appears. “Oops not that.” She tucks it away and points to Nickel. “Check your right pocket.”
He does and pulls out an ornate gold brooch with a big red stone in the middle.
“There’s your brooch. If anyone asks, you found it in some furs stored in a wardrobe. Must have gotten lost.”
Nickel stares at the brooch, looking stunned.
“You’re welcome.” Esme turns away. Her gaze snaps to her phone, and she brings it to her ear.
“Alpha!” A brilliant smile lights her face. “I knew you’d call.” She holds the phone away from her ear, wincing, like he’s yelling at her.
Her lips are blocked by the phone, so I can only partially read them, but Madi interprets again. Here’s my offer: the tiara in exchange for all the young virgins you plan to sacrifice tonight during the lunar eclipse. I have a better use for them.
Esme holds the phone away from her ear again. Five o’clock tonight at the gate to your property. Be there or be square. She gives another dramatic punch of her finger to end the call. “Done.” She grins at me. “What’s the endgame?”
You get the acolytes to safety while I free Aster, my mate, I sign.
“We just need some sleight of hand. Maybe we run a Maltese Falcon. Or a Bohemian Rhapsody.” Esme frowns.
I shake my head. I have a better plan, I sign.