Wolf Moon (Hunters of the Forest Book 3)

1. A Strange New Place

one

JAMES

My heart skips a beat the moment I see Garnet materialize out of nowhere. I’m both overjoyed and dismayed to see her.

Trevan claims that he’s on our side, but if he has taken Garnet away from finding a way to save me, how can I believe him?

“So, where is this Fae friend of ours? I need to talk to him. He has to send me back so I can help Grammy with the potion,” Garnet insists.

“Trevan?” I call, hoping that he shows up. “I don’t know where he went. He was here, then suddenly, he disappeared, and you were in his place.”

I step forward, not knowing if I’m corporeal enough to touch the woman I love or not. She hesitates, then falls into my arms. I hold her to me, breathing a sigh of relief that I can feel her.

This realm is vastly different than anything I’ve ever seen before. I don’t know how to process the strangeness of it all. I’d barely begun to look around when my host vanished and my love took his place. The purple trees are disturbingly beautiful, as is the pale pink water that flows near us. Green and orange blooms cover the forest floor, and there’s a faint blue haze in the air.

“His name is Trevan?” she asks, and it sounds as if she’s contemplating something.

“That is what he told me. I don’t know enough about him to know if he’s trustworthy or not. Of course, Luca swears that you and he used to come here as kids. I can tell that he trusts this Fae man completely. Is that enough for us?” I counter.

“It’s going to have to be. Otherwise, I may never get home, and you might not be saved. And I can’t live with that. I’m sure the others are freaking out that I disappeared.” Garnet pulls away from me and starts pacing. “Trevan! Show yourself!” she shouts.

A burst of yellow, blue, and green sparkles appears and turns into the man who saved me. “I am here, child. There is no need to raise your voice and make everyone in the realm aware of what I’ve done…unless you’re trying to get me killed?” Trevan’s voice is like honey, thick and sweet.

Garnet stares at him. It’s as if she recognizes the man and has never seen him before, both at the same time. I don’t know how to explain it. “Wait, I know you. How? There’s no way I should feel as if I know you.” He winces at her words, as if they sting him.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. Your little friend used to come here with you to play. That is how you know me, child. Now, if you’re quite finished yelling, we can discuss why I’ve brought you here.”

“Why did you bring her here?” I interject, not giving my girl a chance to verbally attack him again.

LUCA

The moment Orym comes back with the red honeysuckle and not Red herself, I start to panic. “Where is she?” I ask him, grabbing his shoulders and giving him a shake.

“I don’t know. She was right behind me, then it was almost like she disappeared. I looked for her for a couple of minutes, but I knew that she would never forgive me if I didn’t get this back here for Grammy to finish the brew,” Orym reasoned. While I understand what he’s saying, I don’t necessarily agree.

“We need to go look for her. What if she’s in danger?” I insist. When Orym doesn’t respond, I turn to Ryland. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Feel for the bond, Luca. She’s not here. Or if she is, she’s being hidden by magic. It’s the only reason we wouldn’t be able to locate her with the bond,” Ryland explains patiently, as if I’m a child who doesn’t understand.

“So, either Amber has her, or she’s been taken to another realm?” I ask for confirmation. I feel stupid, and hate it, but I haven’t had the bond as long as the others have, and just don’t understand how it works.

“That’s what we’re thinking,” Orym finally says. I’m frustrated and annoyed, but I understand now why they aren’t rushing out to search for Red. Either option means we won’t be able to find her without help.

“Amber is locked up and being watched by the council, though. So, she can’t be the one who has Red. Ugh. What can we do?” Panic still seizes my heart. I just completed the bond with her, I can’t give up on finding her now. I waited so long to claim her as my own. I have to find her.

Ryland grabs my arm and steers me toward the chair at James’ feet and gestures for me to sit. “First, we take care of James. Then we figure out exactly who has Red. Once those two things are done, we can move forward with our search.” Before he can say more, his phone rings. Since he’s the territory alpha, he has to answer, no matter what.

We all stare as he takes the call without leaving the room. “Are you sure?” he asks, growling. “Okay, get a team together and go see if you can figure out how. Keep me updated.” He pauses, then snaps, “No. Do not go after her. She’s too much of a risk to us all. Figure out how she escaped and who helped her. We’ll meet and plan an attack once you have that information for me.”

The moment he hangs up the phone my heart sinks. “Amber escaped. I’m sure you all figured that out from my conversation. I’ve sent a team to investigate. We’ll have to go after her as soon as James is stable. I’ll leave a protection team with you, Grammy.”

She doesn’t say anything in response but looks worried as she stirs the potion that’s supposed to save James’ life.

GARNET

I wait, not so patiently, for the Fae man who claims to be our friend to explain why he ripped me from my own reality to bring me here. My body shakes with rage, and I’m barely keeping my magic at bay. I know from what my guys told me that this man is probably my father, but I”m desperate for him to admit it. I just don”t know how to ask yet.

“Look, I know you’re pissed, child, and I understand. But this was the only way,” he says.

“The only way for what?” James asks, trying to keep me from tearing this man’s head off. It’s working, but barely.

“This place is safe. You can learn to control your magic here without hurting anyone or being noticed by Amber. She can’t see you here,” Trevan explains.

“If you want me to trust you, I’m going to need some answers,” I insist, snarling at him. I know that I shouldn’t trust him, but part of me already does. It’s as if I know him and am certain that he wouldn’t hurt us. But I can’t know that. Because I don’t know him. I might have spent some time here as a child, but that doesn’t mean I know this man, this Fae, who claims to be helping.

“I will tell you what I can,” he answers carefully. “Please know that while I cannot lie to you, there are some questions I cannot answer. It’s for your own safety, and that of your mates.”

“Fine, whatever. Let’s start with the obvious. Who the fuck are you?” I’m glad that Grammy isn’t here to slap me in the back of the head for being rude. I don’t care at this point. I want answers, then I want to go home and save James.

“I am Trevan Graypond, and I am the King of the Fae in this forest,” he answers simply.

“Well, Your Majesty, what exactly is your interest in me?” His eyes go wide at my second question, and I can tell that he doesn’t want to answer it. Just admit that you”re my father and we can move forward.

“I only desire to help you, and see you succeed.” The response is not the complete truth, and I know it. He’s hiding something from me.

“That was a very non-specific answer. Why should I trust you?” I push further.

I watch as he fights against answering the question. It’s as if the words want to come out, but he’s trying to hold them inside. “I can’t answer that. You shouldn’t ask things like that. Those questions are dangerous.” The words rush from him, and I feel like he’s forced himself to speak them instead of the answer he wants to give.

I stare at him, taking in his appearance for the first time. His hair is the same red as mine, but his skin is pale and shimmers a little. His clothing is bright, covered in so many colors that it’s hard to focus on any single one. If he wore different clothes, he might look normal. I get the impression that he wouldn’t care for that thought, so I keep it to myself.

“It’s dangerous to ask why I should trust you? That seems odd,” I respond, watching his face closely. I want to dislike him, but somehow, I can’t.

“I cannot lie to you, but there are some things I should not tell you. Please understand, I have good reasons for the things I do. My goal is to protect you. My desire is to see you happy. Beyond that, I cannot explain. As for trust, I believe that should be earned,” he states plainly.

I continue to stare at him, trying to decipher the hidden meaning to his words. There’s more to this man than meets the eye, but I can’t quite figure him out. “And how do you plan to protect me and see me happy?” I can’t help asking, even if he won’t answer.

“I’m going to teach you how to use your Fae magic, child.”

“How do you know about that?” I don’t even mean to ask, but the question is out before I can stop myself.

He smiles and my heart warms. I can’t understand the connection I have to this man. Maybe it’s just because he’s Fae and I’m half. I don’t know. But something inside of me is pulling me to him. I know he’s not another mate, but there is a connection.

“Oh, child. Fae can sense each other. Of course, I know your family, so I am aware of your powers.” His expression changes the moment the words leave his lips. He’s given me something that he didn’t intend to.

“You know my family? You knew my mother? And my father is alive? Please, you have to tell me about them.” I grab his arms and hold him still when he tries to flee. I will force the truth from him if I have to.

Trevan shakes his head. “I can’t. You don’t understand. It’s not safe to have this conversation here.”

“Then where is it safe? Because she deserves to know whatever you know,” James says, reminding me that he’s been here with me this whole time. The idea that we aren”t safe is enough for me to table this conversation until later.

“There isn’t a safe place here for that. I promise I will tell you what I can, but not right now. We need to move, before the guards arrive. Come to the palace with me, and I’ll teach you how to use your magic.”

“What about James?” I ask. I need to figure out how to heal his body and get him back into it.

“I can keep him safe in the palace until his body is healed. Please, we must go,” Trevan urges. I exchange a look with James, and he nods.

“Let’s go,” I agree, taking James’ hand and following our Fae captor. I know that it’s not his intent, but Trevan is holding us against our will, which makes him our captor. It doesn’t matter if he’s doing it for benevolent reasons or not. Kidnapping is kidnapping.

Hopefully this time goes a little better than the last. I try to push away my worry for James and my other mates as we head to the Fae palace.

RYLAND

I don’t want to leave James and Grammy, especially with Red missing. But with the call that Amber escaped, I don’t have a choice. We have to find her, and hope that she isn’t the one who took Red. I can’t imagine what Amber has planned, but I know it’s nothing good.

Once the protection team is in place, and Grammy assures us that James is as stable as possible, Orym, Luca, and I head out to meet the search teams. Just outside the door, Luca stops us.

“I have to tell you guys what Red and I realized before all of this happened. We may know what Amber has planned,” he says.

“Why did you wait to tell us?” I growl. I can’t believe that they didn’t share their theory with us sooner.

“Because as soon as she started to say it, you made us leave to hunt Amber’s people, then James got injured,” he growls back. That’s a good reason. I guess I should have let her finish talking before rushing them all out the door. I’ll work on that.

“Well, don’t keep us in suspense. What is it?” Orym asks, trying to broker peace between us.

Luca holds up his hands in defeat. “I’m not trying to fight, especially now. But something clicked and if I got the same idea that Red did, I think we’ve figured it out. Amber is the one who took Delilah’s blood when Dec was kidnapped. She had to be. And she’s been injecting supernaturals and humans with something, then getting upset when they die from it.”

He pauses, and I finally understand what he’s trying to tell me. “That bitch is trying to make a hybrid army,” I whisper.

“Exactly. So, she’s not going to stop until we stop her,” he insists. I know he’s right, and now there’s even more urgency to find Red.

“But what does she want with Garnet?” Orym asks.

“Her power. Even if it kills her. Amber thinks that if she has Red’s power, she can make the hybrid transformation work. That has to be it,” I say, staring off into the woods. How can we defeat what we can’t find?

“We have to find them. Maybe Amber doesn’t have Garnet. But is that better or worse? We have no idea where she is or what happened to her. And with James barely hanging on, she has to be out of her mind with worry.” Orym’s words echo in my head.

I lead the guys to where we’re meeting the search teams. Everyone is pretty organized, and they seem to be waiting for us. “We’re ready to start the search, Alpha.”

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to being the head alpha here. It’s all I ever wanted, but more responsibility than I realized. I wonder if it would have been better to take Red and leave the pack instead. But that would have left these people at Gunnar’s mercy, and that’s not something I could do.

ORYM

I’m more than a little panicked that Garnet disappeared. I have no idea if Amber is involved or not, but finding out that she’s escaped from where the council was holding her makes it a pretty convincing argument. I know that Garnet is worried about James, no matter where she is or who has her. She would never just abandon us, so someone must have taken her. But who? And why?

It’s up to us to find out and get her back. Once we meet up with the search teams, I wait for Ryland’s orders. I’m not sure if he’s going to split us up or keep us together. “We should each go with a different team, since we can communicate telepathically,” he decides. I nod and follow one of the teams into the woods. He and Luca can figure out which ones they’ll go with. I’m too anxious to wait.

I’m not paying much attention to anything except finding Garnet. It doesn’t matter which wolves are in my search team. The only thing that matters is her. I would rather start this search where she disappeared, but it’s not my call to make. And I refuse to undermine Ryland’s authority, even within our pack. So, I keep the thought to myself. I can always go back there later and do it myself.

Or I could sneak off now and do it. No one would know if I slipped away. I toy with the thought before making a decision that might end badly for me. With everyone else distracted, I head toward the waterfall, in the opposite direction of the search teams. I understand why Ryland thinks Amber would be on this side of the forest, but I’m not really looking for her. I’m looking for our girl. I need to know that our mate is okay. That is the only thing I’m focused on right now. Until she’s safe in my arms, I cannot search for Amber.

I work my way silently through the woods, keeping low to avoid being seen. If Ryland realizes that I’ve left, he can always call to me through the mate bond that we all share with Garnet. Of course, if he realizes that I’m gone, he might consider that I won’t respond. That doesn’t matter. I have to find her.

When I’m far enough away from the search parties, I stand straighter and pick up my pace. Desperation claws at my heart as I run to the waterfall where I last saw Garnet. I never should have let her walk behind me on the way back from gathering the red honeysuckle for James’ healing potion. At the time, I had thought I was keeping her safe. Now I know it was the worst mistake I’ve ever made.

It doesn’t matter that neither Ryland nor Luca have blamed me. I blame myself. And honestly, they should too. I have to find her and get her to safety.

GARNET

I have no idea how long I’ve been in the Fae realm. Don’t the stories speak of how time moves differently here? I’m certain they do. But are the stories true? I have no idea, nor do I trust my new captor to answer any of my questions.

I grip James’ hand tightly as we follow Trevan through the forest. This place is like a rainbow-colored mirror version of our woods. I think I know where we’re going, since I figured out how things relate to what I grew up with. We make a left turn and come to a clearing.

In the spot where Ryland’s cabin sits in our reality, there’s an enormous castle. It blends in with the trees, standing tall and majestic over everything. “Is this your home?” I can’t stop myself from asking, though I don’t expect a response.

“It is. Do you like it?” I can’t see how my opinion matters, but the moment he asks, I feel compelled to tell him what I think.

“It’s gorgeous. I don’t understand anything in this place, but it all feels so familiar. It’s like I’ve been here before. I know that’s ridiculous, because Luca and I only played with you near the waterfall,” I insist.

“The land calls to you, child. This realm is your home. The people here are your family. That’s why it feels familiar.” His words do little to calm the anxiety building in my chest.

Trevan leads us into a gated garden behind the castle. I’m a little surprised that there are no guards, but he seems to know that the coast is clear. I wonder how many times he’s slipped away in the past.

“I need you both to be quiet. Do not speak to anyone unless I tell you that it’s okay. We have to be careful getting inside. Once we are safely in the palace, you’ll be able to move about freely. I just need you to trust me for now,” Trevan’s insistence has me agreeing without objection. I wonder if it’s because he’s the king and has some kind of Fae power over me.

I’ll have to ask about that at some point. If I ever feel like he’s actually going to answer my questions. “There are a lot of things we need to discuss, Trevan. We can go along with your request for now, but only if you promise to give us some answers.”

I recoil at the harsh tone James uses with the Fae who’s helping us. It’s not like him to be so demanding. I’m not used to it, but it is pretty hot. My mind wanders a little and I find myself curious if we can be intimate here, since technically James’ body is in another realm. I get so distracted that I miss a turn and end up running into a tree in the garden. When I turn around, Trevan and James are nowhere to be seen.

James? Where did you guys go? I call to him through our bond. My heart races and I gulp down breaths. How did I lose them? It happened so fast. Or did it? How long was I distracted? I have no idea. And James isn’t answering, so I have no choice but to look for them on my own.

I wander around the garden for a little bit, looking for clues that will lead me to them. I wish I was as good at tracking as Luca. If I were a wolf like my other mates, I wouldn’t be lost right now. Fuck, I miss them already. How did my life get so fucked up?

Amber. Yeah, that one is impossible to forget. It still amazes me that my own aunt is the one causing all the problems for the supernaturals. And the whole thing is just one big grab for power. I have to stop her. That has to be why the Moon Goddess blessed me with four amazing mates.

I’m distracted again, and don’t see the woman following me until it’s too late to hide. “Excuse me! You don’t belong here. Who are you and how did you get here?” she steps toward me, and holds up a hand. I’m instantly frozen in place.

I struggle against her magic, watching the tendrils of yellow wrap around me and tighten. It takes me a moment to realize that her magic isn’t as strong as mine. I shrug the yellow tendrils off and watch her eyes go wide.

“How did you do that? No one can shrug off my magic,” she insists. I shrug, refusing to answer her. It was the biggest thing Trevan had asked us for. Since I’d already wrecked the rest of his request, I would at least keep that promise. The Fae woman blasts her magic at me again, but I toss up a shield and it bounces off.

Her brow furrows in concentration. As I watch her, I realize that her hair matches her magic color. That seems strange to me, since my own magic has so many hues, depending on what I’m doing with it.

Just as she lets another blast of magic go at me, I hear Trevan’s voice. “Miriam! Stop now. You will not attack our guest.”

The Fae woman pulls her magic back and dips her head in shame. I wait a moment, then drop the shield. “I’m sorry. I got distracted and lost.” He glares at me as if he’s scolding me for speaking. I shrug and drop my own head. I should be more upset about the situation than I am.

“Miriam, go inside and get the guest room prepared. I will bring our guests in,” he orders. Miriam rushes away without another look at me.

“You could have killed her. What were you thinking?” he rounds on me the moment she’s out of earshot.

“I didn’t attack her. I wouldn’t,” I insist.

“But you don’t even know what your magic will do yet, do you?”