46. Kate
It’s strange how easy it is to settle in the comfort of being surrounded by a pack that genuinely wants to be in my company. The Bloodmoon pack has been the found family I’ve desired to have for over five years. I just never imagined they’d become my actual family.
Kane is a generous mate, always making sure I’m satisfied rather than fulfilling his own needs first.
Our brothers bicker over who gets to go on runs with me at night. Kane and I have established a morning routine that I’m never giving up, but I also enjoy running in my wolf form with Trez and Jagger. I’d never admit this, but it’s more fun with Jagger because he’s as fast as me. Running with him is a challenge.
None of the male shifters in my life want me running alone since we haven’t been successful in reaching anyone from Storm’s old coven. It’s like they’ve vanished or were cut off from outside contact. We don’t know if Dick is alive or dead or if he’s plotting something else against us.
The latter is the likelihood. He needs me and my son to bargain for his own deepest desire: immortality. Can’t say that I believe in that. Everything has an expiration date. But I’m not putting up a fight with Kane, our brothers, our fathers, or even Ashleigh. Sometimes, I see her wolf following me randomly between going from the lodge to the cabin.
I’m surprised she didn’t follow me when I left the lodge in search of Ivy like she did yesterday. I searched all over for Ivy, but she evaded me. I also didn’t try that hard to find her. I could have easily if I’d tracked her using her scent, but I figured she needed space if she was going out of her way to avoid me.
Your mate spends too much time with mine, Trez’s thoughts rattle inside my head.
I don’t know what happened or changed. Close to two weeks ago, I was bitching and had my brother on my mind when all of a sudden, he replied with, well, hello to you too, sister. We’ve been talking nonstop ever since.
Jagger is his beta and best friend. Get over yourself. My mate doesn’t want yours, you crazy fucker.
I park the ATV in front of the cabin and then twist the key, turning off the machine.
It’s interfering with me getting my dick sucked.
Pack responsibilities come before you getting off. Also, I didn’t need that visual. You’re an asshole.
I don’t actually care. I can separate my closest friend’s lover from my brother, that brother being Jagger and that friend being Trez, who I will forever consider my brother as well.
My asshole could also use attention right now.
I grumble both verbally and in my mind as I swing my leg over the seat and hop off, leaving the key in the ignition.
If I’m forced to hear about all the ways Kane’s cock is satisfying to you, then you’re going to hear me bitch about not getting any from Jag.
He gets plenty of dick, and he gives plenty of his right back to his mate. His complaints are unfounded.
Yeah, well, it’s expected as my best friend.
I’m also your brother. I feel his eyes rolling despite not seeing him.
True, but not by blood, so it’s not weird anymore. Deal with it.Before he can come back with something else, I say, I’m dealing with Ivy right now. Talk later, okay?
He doesn’t respond, but I know he got the message.
A storm is brewing in the Pacific. The wind kicked up an hour ago. With the temperature in the eighties, the breeze against my skin is welcomed.
I push the door open, seeing Ivy with her back to me and the volume on the television up higher than I’d like with my sensitive hearing.
“Do you often make yourself at home uninvited?” I cross my arms.
I hear her sigh, then she twists around from where her back was against the end of the couch.
“Like you care.” She shrugs as she stands, a bowl of cereal in one hand, the television remote in her other. I can smell the sugary sweetness from here.
Ivy mutes the TV, then tosses the remote onto the couch.
She’s right. I don’t care if she hangs out here. She’s welcome just like anyone else in the pack.
“I hate your mate,” she says dramatically while walking to the kitchen. Once she’s in front of the sink, she places the bowl down and runs water into the dish before turning the faucet off.
“Hate’s a rather strong word, don’t you think? You can dislike someone without feeling hatred. Is that negative energy really worth it?”
I step toward her, leaving the door open. It’s stifling in here. The cabin could use fresh air since Kane and I have been at the lodge lately.
“Kane says I have to enroll in high school come September. It’s bullshit. And even worse, Storm agrees with him.”
“Did you consider they’re only looking out for your best interests and that an education is important?” I reason.
“What would he know about an education? He’s stupid and a big bully.”
How childish sounding of the child, I think to myself.
“Kane doesn’t bully, but he is the pack alpha. As long as you’re here, what he and I say goes. News bulletin: I’m with him and Storm on this one.”
“I’m not pack,” she grits out.
“You are if you’re going to stay here. Witch or shifter, you live here, you’re pack.”
“Then let me go home,” she argues.
“Ivy,” I breathe tiredly. “No one knows if you still have a home in Rivermoon,” I say bluntly. “I can’t in good conscience let you go back while the man that had your mother killed may still be alive. You wouldn’t be safe there, whereas here, an entire pack of wolves plus your sister have your back.”
“Kane won’t let me use magic!” she yells while stomping her feet.
“That’s isn’t true, and you know it. He doesn’t want you using dark magic. There is a difference.”
“Not all dark magic is bad. I don’t know why any of you can’t comprehend that. It’s about how you use it. Your intention.”
This is where I’m sort of on Ivy’s side, but I haven’t told her that. She makes a good argument, but after what Salem did, I don’t trust it. I don’t want to be near it. In fact, I don’t want to be around any magic. I’m not comfortable with it being used on pack land, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. I don’t want Storm or Ivy to feel suppressed. Magic is a part of who they are, the same as my wolf is a part of me.
“Ivy…” I begin, about to give in and tell her this, when a scent rich and smoky with traces of moss like Scotch wafts up my nose. The smell is old, ancient even, but I have no idea how I even know that fact.
I pivot, turning to face the door. Ivy sucks in a sharp breath.
A man stands just on the other side of the threshold. He’s tall, not Kane or shifter height, but over six feet. He’s lean too, dressed in an expensive tailored suit, wearing all black. It matches his midnight hair and eyes. A box is clutched between the inside of his upper arm and the side of his body.
The most unsettling thing about him is that I can’t hear him breathing. He doesn’t have a heartbeat. How does he not have a fucking heartbeat?
“Are you going to invite me in, Darling?” he muses, his accent heavy and British.
“Don’t let him in, Kate. He’s a bloodsucker,” Ivy spits in disgust, her nose wrinkling, yet her trembling hands giving away her fear. She huddles against my back, shaking. Her admission causes my eyes to grow round.
“I’m sorry, a blood what?” I ask, flabbergasted.
I am pretty sure I understand what she means, but I need someone to clarify right the fuck now.
“I believe the term your rude little witchling meant was vampire,” he bites out, his tone turning as dark as his eyes. His jaw locks.
My wolf growls from inside me, sensing the sinister vibe rolling off him in waves.
I go to step forward when he holds his hand up, his palm facing me like a stop sign.
“Stay where you are, Darling. You’re close enough.” He almost blanches, and that’s saying something with how pale his skin is.
“Is your creepy ass afraid of me?”
He isn’t creepy in a gross sort of way. Between the accent, his tall stature, the designer suit he’s adorning, and the dark, tussled hair on the top of his head, it’s all rather appealing in a gothic-like way. His creepiness is more bone-chilling. Demonic maybe. His skin lacks warmth like the sun hasn’t touched it in centuries. And I get the feeling that if he wanted to harm me, kill me even, he could do so with a speed I’d never see it coming.
My wolf growls deep again: a warning. She doesn’t like his presence. Her flight or fight instincts have kicked in, but mine haven’t, which is strange but not something I’m about to ponder on.
“It’s not you or your protective puppy dog that unsettles me, Love. It’s your blood.”
My brows turn inward, furrowing at his admission. What’s wrong with my blood?
“Did your mate not warn you?” he inquires. “Luna blood is more addicting to us than heroin is to humans.”
Did Kane put him up to this? Someone to convince me that Luna wolves really exist?
His head cocks to the side, studying me.
“You don’t believe him,” he muses, one side of his mouth tipping upward. “Interesting. I’d offer to sample you, Love, but I’m in a bit of a hurry, and I didn’t come to drain a dog.”
“Wolf,” I bark.
“Tomato, to-mato.” He shrugs. “You all smell the same. That wasn’t a compliment, by the way.”
“I understood the implied insult. Why are you here?” I demand.
“I brought you a peace offering.” The box under his arm slips. He catches it with both hands, holding it out for me to see. “Something I think will wipe that murderous little look off your pretty face.”
Kate, what the fuck is wrong? My beast is trying to tear from my skin. Are you okay?
How do you kill a vampire?I ask back, my eyes not leaving the creature in front of me—because this snobby motherfucker with his nose held high needs to go. I narrow my eyes on him.
“You’re concentrating awfully hard, Darling. Did you tell your furry mate I’m here?”
“How could I? You failed to introduce yourself.”
Excuse me? Kane wails.
“My apologies, Love. Axton Ambrose.” He tilts his head respectfully, but the gesture just makes this situation more weirder.
Ambrose.
Why does that name sound familiar? I think to myself while shouting, It’s a simple question, Kane. How. Do. I. Kill?—
We’re coming.
Of course, he is. Couldn’t just tell me how to handle it myself. Knowing my mate, Jagger or Trez or both are running with him. Stupid men. I’ll figure it out if need be. I’m not going to let this creature hurt Ivy or me.
“I’m going to sit this on the floor.” He squats slowly, but when I blink, the box is already in front of my feet, and he’s back to standing with his shoulder leaning against the doorjamb.
What the hell? How did he do that?
“You’re going to open your present, Sweetheart. You’re going to accept my fair trade, then I’m going to be on my way. There was really no need to call your mutt. If it’s not already obvious, I’m not here to harm you.”
The only way to kill a bloodsucker is to sever his or her head. Kane finally tells me.
“What’s in the box?” I glance down and then back to Axton, his name tickling something in the back of my head.
“A souvenir,” he offers. “My maker doesn’t want you or the little thing in your belly. That’s what you were told, right? By the angry, dark witch.”
“Where’s Aunt Salem?” Ivy juts from behind me, her fear overtaken by the mention of her aunt. “What did you do to her?”
“Darling, we need to wrap this up,” he says, not acknowledging Ivy. “I suspect your overgrown dirty mutt is en route. He’s no match for me,” he touts in the most conceited aristocratic way I’ve ever heard. “I’d rather not have to put him down.”
A growl, low and threatening, leaves my lips.
“You’re adorable, Love. I can see the appeal. You’d make the cutest pet. Luckily for you, I desire another pet. Of the human variety,” he clarifies when my brows furrow in concern. “And she’s waiting for me to take her home. The longer this takes, the more likely she’s going to damage her porcelain skin trying to get out of the chains I placed her in yesterday.”
“Sounds like kidnapping,” I snarl on behalf of someone I don’t know.
“Sounds like fun.” He gives me a pointed look. “What do my students say? Oh, yes, don’t ick someone else’s yum.”
“So, she consented to being chained?”
“Darling, I haven’t asked you about your love life, don’t pry into mine. You won’t find anything pretty or sweet.” He turns up his nose, but then his dark stare goes pitch black. A chill races down my spine. “Open the box, Kate. I’m losing my patience, and I have better things to do than stand here at your door.”
The fact that this man is a teacher is rather concerning after what he’s admitted to.
I bend and grab it. It’s not wrapped, nor is there much weight to it. It’s hard plastic with an airtight lid that has a latch. I unlatch it with my eyes fixated on the vampire, not trusting his psycho ass.
The rotten dead smell of flesh hits before I pry the lid up. My eyes snap to the inside, seeing a severed, bloody hand with a metallic silver wolf tattoo blended into a full moon.
Dick. The hand of the man I once thought was my father, my alpha.
My wide eyes snap back to the vampire, a smirk now on his face.
“Is the gift to your liking, Darling.”
Ivy peers into the box, a gasp leaving her mouth so loud it hurts my eardrum. A heartbeat later, she darts off behind me, running to the bathroom, I presume. My feet stay rooted to the floor as I recall Salem telling me that without his hand, his alpha power would be no more.
“Where is he?”
“Dead, Love. I killed him myself,” he says like he’s proud of himself, and well, maybe I’m feeling relieved. However, that doesn’t tell me why he killed Dick. “My maker’s wife apparently has a soft spot for you. His head was sent as a trophy to my maker, and I, out of the kindness of my cold, dead heart, brought his filthy paw to you. Now, your gratitude would be appreciated.”
“You didn’t do it for me, so why did you kill him?” My curiosity is too high not to ask.
“His usefulness to the king of the underworld was no more. I’m sure there is more to it than that, but that’s all I know. If you’ll say thank you, Axton, I’ll be on my way. I can smell five wolves, dear. Trust me when I tell you it’s in everyone’s best interest for me to be gone when they arrive.”
“I’m not buying that you brought me his hand and don’t want something in return. So, let’s hear it. Tell me what you want.”
“Are you not going to thank me?” He sounds displeased at the thought.
“Thank you, Axton. Now, what the fuck do you want? My patience is waning, and trust me, I’ll enjoy snatching your head clean off your shoulders.”
“You’re a crazy one, aren’t you, Darling? I’d probably like you if I got to know you, and I don’t like anyone.” He chuckles. I cross my arms and press my teeth together. “I told you, Luna girl, my pet is waiting for me with a chain around her pretty little neck.”
I suck in a breath, my eyes blinking, but when they open, he’s gone, and I’m standing there with my mouth hanging open.
Who the fuck did he take?
Before I can answer my own question, a blond wolf barrels through the door, shifting at the same time. Kane pulls me into his arms, his lips going to mine in panic, the box dropping to the floor with a thud.
“Kane—” I try, but he’s mauling me like he thought he was going to lose me.
“Are you okay?” He pulls back, scanning me from head to toe. I barely see my father and brothers out of the corner of my eyes before my mate’s lips are smashing against mine once again. Then he rips away from me. Turning his back to me, he looks in every direction, ready to neutralize any threat. “Where is he?”
“Gone,” I assure him, thinking that’ll settle Kane down. It doesn’t. He starts for the door as an epiphany wraps around me. “Just wait.” He turns back to face me. “Does the name Axton Ambrose mean anything to you?”
Kane stumbles back, his eyes wide, his emotions like a tsunami crashing into me.
“He’s the first vampire ever created,” my father answers. “Please tell me he wasn’t here, Kate. Why the fuck would he be here?”
Because she wants to do him. Her much older, more experienced, and highly forbidden professor,Storm had said, to which Maddy replied, yes, I like him. He’s hot. You’d understand if you saw him, Kate. Then her expression deflated when she said, He doesn’t even know I exist.
But apparently, her assessment wasn’t true.
“He wasn’t here to harm me. He delivered that.” I nod to the box that’s been kicked several feet from me. Their eyes follow. “Dick is dead. That’s one problem solved,” I say, realizing it myself. Dick is dead, and a weight had been lifted. My son isn’t in danger anymore, but…
“What is it?” Kane asks, feeling the way my thoughts are flickering from one emotion to the next.
“He took Maddy.”
Growls and snarls come from all of them while the oddest realization festers. Maddy’s biggest desire is to become a supernatural creature. No one here, including me, was willing to give her that.
What if…